Tag Archives: river cruise

Travel Egypt – Part 3 – It’s All About the Experience

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

When we travel, each of us is looking for an experience of some sort. We want to be made to feel special and treated like a valued guest. We want to be immersed in culture, or relax and listen to the waves, or expand dining horizons, or learn something new. All of those things are valuable, but for me I want to experience new things. I want to do things I have never done before and eat things I have never eaten before. I want to stretch my comfort zone and reach just a little further.

Stretch My Comfort Zone

When you cruise you have that opportunity to stretch, immerse, and relax regardless of your itinerary. With a river cruise it’s even easier to get immersed in all of the joys of travel. Touring around different towns, trying local food and beverages, and meeting the local people. I find on a river cruise I am more fully able to stretch my comfort zone than when I am on an ocean cruise because on an ocean cruise all the ports feel the same to me.


Typically with a river cruise, the smaller ship allows for more personalized service and attention to detail. What is great about Uniworld as a cruise line is that all of the ships are small and intimate. The staff gets to know you, and your preferences, and you are treated like you are the single most important guest on the ship. That was made even more apparent to me on our Nile River cruise.  I have a habit of making friends with chefs and bartenders. I had made friends with Chef Daniel on our Uniworld cruise through Europe and he clued the staff on the River Tosca that I was on my way. And the staff of the River Tosca made this trip a truly memorable experience.

Value Added Experience

From the initial welcome, to walking the souk with Chef Hamdy and Sameh to the experience that follow, I was made to feel truly special and like a little mini celebrity. And who doesn’t like that?

If you have been following along on Facebook or Instagram, you know that there was some fun with a scimitar and some fun with fire. Uniworld likes to kick off each cruise with a champagne sabering, or in this case a scimitar-ing. My husband just casually mentions to our butler, Abd el Salam, “Yeah. My wife knows how to do that”, so as we gather up on deck for the sabering things got a little weird. I had no idea of John’s conversation with Abd el Salam, so I was clueless as to what was going on. Sameh and the staff ask me to come over and explain what is about to happen and how it is done and then I did it. It was my very first time ever. No pressure or anything, it just happened to be in front of all the other guests and the staff. Thanks to Panche our butler on the Europe cruise for the lesson and tutorial.

Oui Chef!

If you are a culinarian and a Chef tells you to do something, the only appropriate response is “Oui Chef!” And that’s how the fire started…I am only half kidding. So Chef Hamdy asked me if I knew how to flambe, “Oui Chef, of course.” Then he says, “Good! Then you are cooking with me!” And I gave the only acceptable response, “Oui Chef!” I asked for a loaner jacket and hat because I didn’t bring one on this trip and the next thing you know, I am making bananas foster in the dining room in front of all the guests. Now this wasn’t such a problem because I have done over 1000 live cooking demos in my lifetime, so I was not intimidated in the slightest.

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Travel – Egypt – Part One – the Souk

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I have often said if I won the lottery, I’d sell the house and travel and you’d probably never see me again. If money were no object, John and I would travel ALL of the time. In fact, I’d travel just to see new places and try new experiences and of course, EAT. ALL. THE. THINGS.

Do As the Locals Do

As I write, I am sitting on the sun deck of the Uniworld River Tosca on the Nile in Aswan (yes, tomorrow I am seeing the dam). Up until last night the cruise has been wonderfully packed with gorgeous history, monuments, ancient temples. Our Egyptologist, Ayman has been extraordinary in THE very sense of the word (more on that in separate blogs). But when I travel what I really crave is a “do as the locals do” experience as we had on our first Uniworld cruise, checking out the local markets and such. Because we are “repeat offenders”, and I have kept in touch with Chef Daniel from our first cruise, he suggested I chat with Sameh (the Hotel Manager) and share my desire with him, and lo and behold, last night we had the BEST night of the cruise so far. We had a private guided walking tour through the local souk and I ate all the street food Sameh and Chef Hamdy recommended.

What the Fuck was She Thinking?

Now there are some of you out there thinking, “What the fuck was she thinking?!” or “She ate stuff off street carts and didn’t freak about about getting sick?” or “Wasn’t she worried about food poisoning?” I am here to tell you this: if you are going to eat like you are at home, travel may not be for you. Stay the fuck home and watch a documentary! I am also here to tell you that none of the places I ate from would have passed “code” in the US and frankly I don’t care. If it was good enough for Anthony Bourdain (RIP) it is certainly good enough for me. Most, if not all, of the passengers on this cruise would NOT participate in this type of event and it is not offered as a scheduled excursion for that very reason. For me it was perfect! And what made it even more perfect is that there wasn’t a crowd of other people there from the ship. I had a one-on-one experience with just John and I. No question I asked was too stupid, all answers were given frankly and openly, and many great moments were shared. If this had been a scheduled tour, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. It was just me and 3 guys, walking around eating snacks, smelling the smells, and taking in all of it. Every lush moment.

Shopping Where the Locals Shop

When you walk into the souk, the first thing to hit you are all of the aromas. The smell is literally intoxicating, heady, and energizing all at once. Spices. Meat cooking. Bread baking. Fresh produce and herbs. The second thing to hit you is all of the action. Throngs of people of all ages, shopping, eating, and visiting LATE into the night. Egypt is full of night owls and shit doesn’t really start to go down until after the sun does. Up until now, all we had seen shopping-wise had been touristy knick knacks and cheap souvenirs, but this was different. I was shopping where the locals shop, so there was no haranguing, bartering, or hassling. In fact, the vendors didn’t even speak to me unless I stopped to look at their displays and ask what something was. Truth be told, I am not sure if this was because I was obviously with Egyptians (Sameh and Hamdy), or if it was because that’s how it just IS, but all the same, I was in hog heaven (though obviously there was no pork to be had).

Pita Being Freshly Made

First off, I want to mention the bread. ALL of the bread here had been out of this world and I was enthralled seeing all of the pita being freshly made. They come off the hot oven tiles puffed up like a football and deflate as they cool. Last night we had ones so hot we had to toss them back and forth in our hands because they were simply too hot to hold on to for very long!

Pita puffs up to football size and deflates while cooling.
Sameh holding the fresh from the oven pita

Let’s Talk About Food Baby

So let’s talk about the food. I told Sameh that I eat everything except pineapple (allergic), and he questioned me TWICE to make sure I was game for anything. First up was the sautéed beef liver sandWISH*. A skinny, airy French baguette filled with thinly sliced sautéed beef liver seasoned only with salt. Superb! Then on to a spleen – yes, you read the correctly, SPLEEN – sandWISH done the same way. Would I have tried it in the US? Would I have tried it if I knew what it was? Maybe, maybe not, but I’ll tell you this – I am glad that I did! In very much the same way that beef heart makes a tartare that is beefier than regular tartare, this was like liver that was both beefier and liver-ier than liver alone…if that makes any sense at all.

Spleen tastes like beefier and liver-ier beef but it is a different texture than both.
Sameh and I eating spleen sandWISHes

We made our way through the souk and Sameh and Hamdy wanted me to try several things so they talked amongst themselves and settled on shawarma with a garlicky aioli, falafel in pita (not as good as Hamdy’s and he gave me the recipe), crunchy salt brined pickled carrots that had very little vinegar to them, and this crazy salted fish called fesikh (pronounced fee-SIKH – the KH in the final syllable like the CH in Challah bread – in your throat). The shawarma is served like a “wrap” in a flatbread similar to lavash instead of pita, and much lighter. The meat shaved off a revolving spit like gyro meat by a wild knife wielding vendor.

I am not sure that fesikh would meet "code" in the US, but the umami packed flavor punch was worth it!
Picnic in the park – L-R – Sameh (the Hotel Manager), Chef Hamdy, and me eating the Fesikh.

Travel Makes You Try New Things

While the spleen was totally off my normal grid, let’s get to the fesikh. This is the most authentic, and off the wall, totally off my radar and special thing I have eaten in ages. In fact, I would say it was the single most interesting thing I have eaten in a decade. Not for the faint of heart to be sure, this is an umami punch in the face. Not a flavor bomb…an umami punch in the face. I ate it drenched in olive oil and wrapped in a pita, but it is also served pureed with tahini into a dip or served wrapped in a pita with veg like you would enjoy on a gyro. It is a celebratory staple for Ramadan. So…they take a mullet fish, gut it, and ferment it in salt. It’s not hard salt cured fish like bacalao, it’s soft, like an anchovy, with ten times the umami kick. As I ate it I could imagine all kinds of applications for it in place of anchovies. HAmdy said it was like being electrified, and he wasn’t that wrong. The Egyptians on staff were flabbergasted that I ate it and that I liked it. Apparently most westerners are too afraid to try it. I am not the usual westerner to travel here.

Fesikh is salted fermented mullet
Fesikh in part of the freshly baked pita
Fesikh on display in the Aswan souk.
Salt fermented fesikh in a display case. And yes…it is vertical!

While I have enjoyed nearly every moment of this trip so far (despite irritating fellow passengers) and the historic sites and sight seeing have all been amazing, for me this trip is now complete. I want to see, do, and eat like a local. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just authentic. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming…Stay tuned for more on this cruise coming up soon.

Notes:

  • I have, for years, typed sandWISH instead of the regular spelling
  • I know the header is fucked up, I’m still working on it.

Bartenders, Butlers and Bubbles – All the Drinking – River Cruise Part 3

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Drinking is a mainstay on all cruise ships. After all, when you are on vacation you feel freer to enjoy a cocktail at any hour. That has been true on our river cruise as well as ocean cruises we have been on. The difference is the quality, not the quantity of drinking. The bar was stocked with brand names you recognize and civilized beer, not only on tap, but in bottles (no Bud, Miller or Coors). And I have to admit, I was drinking more wine and champagne on this trip than I have all the rest of this year. I normally avoid both because of migraines and hangovers in the past, but I had no issues at all in Europe. Was it the wine, or that I was relaxed? I am crediting the wine – perfection!

Each evening we had regional wine pairings created by Sorin our head bartender who is working toward his Sommelier certificate (a little more challenging with his mobile work venue) and has 13 years of experience working in the beverage industry. I am not an expert on wine, by any stretch of the imagination, but I know what I like and can tell you that the wines were delicious. Each region we sailed through had us drinking a different type of wine. In Budapest we had Hungarian wines, Austrian wines in Austria and of course, crisp and clean Riesling and Pinot Blanc were what we were drinking through the German wine regions.

Drinking My Vodka and Soda in a Daiquiri Glass

Without exception, the entire bar staff on the ship was exceptional, starting with Sorin, Stoyan, and Bruno. What makes a great drinking experience for me is that the bartenders knew what I wanted after just a few visits to the bar. We pesky Americans LOVE our ice and I personally love a tall or large glass. These guys had it figured out in just a few days and started serving me my drinks in daiquiri glasses because they held the most ice and liquid by volume. I may have looked a little ridiculous drinking my vodka and soda in a daiquiri glass, but, “Frankly I don’t give a damn.” And Agnes (the only woman on the food & beverage service team) in the dining room had my number too. I asked for a “large glass of caffeine” in the form of a Diet Coke at lunch and she made that happen in a red wine glass, the largest they had in the dining room.

City-side Drinking Experiences

And of course there were the city-side drinking experiences. We hit 5 breweries in 5 hours in Bamberg, found a brewery and a fine American style cocktail and cigar lounge in Vienna, and a craft beer bar in Frankfurt where we were having such a good time drinking with the locals that we skipped dinner on the ship! There were so many opportunities to enjoy local adult beverages and we took advantage of them all!

Bamberg – Five Breweries in five hours! Wish we had more time in this city! Currywurst, pretzels and beer.

Vienna – Left – Beer at a little bar, Kruger American Bar cocktail lounge, 1516 Brewery with the best coaster of the entire trip. Right – all the goodies from Demel Cafe – Amaretto coffee, Sachertorte and the House Specialty torte.

Frankfurt – L – R Mispelchen, Calvados brandy and a special breed of apricot. You do it as a shot – chew the apricot and then drink the brandy, tagliatelle with in season chanterelles, local craft beer, all at Naiv bar; the hilarious trashcans in the touristy city center.

Remember how I mentioned that John upgraded our room to a suite? Well, yeah. The suite came with an honest to goodness butler who has been trained by the head butler to the royal family in England. It is part of the corporate structure of Uniworld and Red Carnation Hotels (sister companies) that the butlers are all trained in classic English tradition. Our butler, as mentioned before is named Panche and I’d love to take him home just for the little details (he folds laundry like it was meant to be folded). John has a sweet tooth and always has some sort of chewy candy on or in his nightstand at home. John had been grabbing a small glass and filling it with gummi bears from the lounge snack bar stash and leaving it on the nightstand. Panche saw this and replaced the offending glass with a proper canister for his chewy treats! We, of course, had a great chuckle over that one! I mentioned how much I have always wanted to learn how to “saber” a champagne bottle and he provided me with an instruction sheet and a lesson using a bottle of bubbles given to us by British Airways as a celebratory gift for our 30th Anniversary. It’s the details kids…it’s the details.

After the sabering lesson, Chef Daniel treated us to caviar complete with accompaniments and fruit.

Service Makes the Difference – River Cruise – Part 2

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Detail Oriented Service

As I sit waiting to go through one of the many locks (in total more than 60) on this voyage, I am stumped on where to begin and how to share with you how much fun I am having with the food and how much I appreciate the detail oriented service from the ship’s staff. I do miss cooking though, and can’t wait to get back to my kitchen to play with the new spices and pastes I picked up. At home I would just rattle some pans, but I think Chef Daniel might take umbrage with me just waltzing into his kitchen. For the record, I have asked for a tour of the kitchen and have yet to be invited to check it out. According to Marin, the hotel manager, the entire kitchen is electric. As one would expect, no open flames are on board. And there are of course safety concerns with allowing guests into “behind the scenes” areas of the ship.

Continued Excellence from the Kitchen

The food on board this trip continues to be quite excellent. If you have ever been on an ocean cruise, you know how fucking miserable THAT food is, and that is SO not the case here. I expected after the Welcome Dinner (see Part 1) that the food would be simpler, or somehow “less” and that is not the case AT ALL (witness John’s lamb shank, below, from the other night). Continued excellence from the kitchen and the bar staff pleases me to no end. The freshly baked-on-board breads and the variety of European cheeses are truly wonderful. And I feel quite virtuous that I am skipping dessert most evenings or selecting the cheese plate. The other fun thing about the food on board is that regional specialties are served as you sail. For instance in Hungary we had Paprikash, in Austria there was Schnitzel and so on. And to make it even more special, they gifted me with a set of recipe cards of some of the dishes that we have enjoyed on this cruise.

Lamb Shank with roasted root veg

Roast Duck with red cabbage and potato dumpling

Recipe cards featuring some of the recipes from this cruise and a few other Uniworld itineraries as well.

Special Surprise for our 30th Anniversary

Our cabin attendant, Veronika, is a gem. Fast and efficient, she always makes sure the room is perfect whenever we return from any adventure. Upon returning from dinner one night, there was a bottle of bubbly, rose petals, a bow and electric candles set out as a special gift for our 30th Anniversary. I am not sure if a staff member overheard us talking, or our travel agent, Phillip Archer, clued them in, but it was an unexpected treat!

We came back from dinner to THIS – chocolates, bubbly German “champagne” and a beautiful setting. And yes, those are electric candles.

The service from the wait staff in the dining room and bar are spot on! Because the ship is intimate, they are able to provide personalized service and attention. After a few meals, they know I don’t drink coffee, skip dessert most evenings, and always want water. The bartenders know what I want to drink and have it ready in an instant.

Uniworld must have a lock on the best tour guides in the river valley. Without exception, each of the guides has been knowledgeable, entertaining and fun to be with. At the Melk Abbey, we were guided by docents of the abbey, but in every other city thus far, we have had a local who gives great tips on what to see, do and eat outside of the tour. So far my faves have been Elizabeth at the hops farm and Stephanie in Bamberg.

Here I am, bedecked with a freshly cut wreath of hops at the Hallertau Hops Farm. Just call me the Hops Queen!

This is the original “town hall” or Court in Bamberg. When royalty came to visit they stayed nearby and all of the merchants and “support staff” worked from here to accommodate the royals. Grain, beer and other consumables were stored here as well. This building was used in The Three Musketeers version with Orlando Bloom and Mila Jovovich.

And let us not forget our Cruise MANAGER (not cruise director) Heidicha (Pronounced Hi-DEE cha)! She has the patience of Job and has demonstrated that time and again this cruise, not only with me (and I can’t remember SHIT!) but also with a few problem children who don’t listen to anything anyone says. I plan things and get paid to it, but I’d be slapping someone if I had to do her job. She’s incredible

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Stay tuned for more soon! John upgraded our cabin to a suite for the remainder of the voyage and all I can say is WOW! We now have an honest to goodness butler . No. I am not kidding. His name is Panche (pahn SHAY). Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For Facebook, enable ALL notifications so you never miss a post.

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River Cruise? Why You Should Do it!

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

When we started planning our 30th Anniversary trip, and The Hubs suggested a European river cruise, I looked at him slack jawed and said, “Why would you want to do that?! You hate cruises!” We had been on a few ocean cruises and he said he felt “trapped” and really didn’t enjoy the food (I agree), the entertainment (I agree), the other people and their kids or anything about it, so I was beside myself wondering why he thought he’d enjoy a river cruise. Apparently he’d done some research behind my back and hit me with the details.

He had checked out a few different routes, cruise lines and options and had decided on Uniworld’s European Jewels 15 day river cruise over the others for various reasons:

  • Unlike Viking, because Uniworld is a “boutique” cruise line that specializes in river cruises, there was a significant price difference, so the chance that there would be families with young kids was reduced. In fact we anticipated being among the youngest on our ship and we are.
  • All of our meals, snacks and beverages (including alcohol) are included all day long. Many of the other cruise lines had upcharges for beverage packages, just like the ocean cruises.
  • All tips and shore excursions are included on Uniworld. Each city offers multiple excursions, and of course there are options for “bespoke” tours that are exclusive to each ship and itinerary at an upcharge. That was not the case with the other lines. On other river cruise lines the options for shore excursions were limited and all were at an additional fee; just like an ocean cruise.
  • Each ship has less than 200 passenger occupancy. Our cruise has 63 passengers (half capacity).
  • While we had lived in Europe at the beginning of our marriage, each of the cities on this cruise would be new to us.

When it comes to the excursions, Uniworld provides a small “QuietVox” unit and earpiece to help you hear your tour guide in even the noisiest of conditions. The Vox unit also works while you are sailing to indicate and explain points of interest on the banks of the rivers. Everything from castles and ruins to modern architectural marvels and small towns are explained.

Make No Mistake, This is NOT a Budget Trip

Make no mistake, this is NOT a budget trip and it is one you should plan well in advance and be prepared for a bit of sticker shock if you are used to ocean cruises and their pricing. The bonus with THIS type of all-inclusive service is that are really no financial surprises. You can leave your wallet in the safe until it is time to go on an excursion, and sometimes even then.

Our ship is the River Princess and while our cabin is smaller than I imagined, it is outfitted with luxurious linens both on the bed and in the bathroom. It is beautifully appointed in an “old world” style in keeping with the locales we’ll be visiting. Our stateroom attendant offers turndown service and handles special requests of course.

Regionally Influenced Wine Pairings

And let’s talk for just a sec about the food and beverage. SOOOO much better than I could have hoped for! Our welcome gala dinner on this river cruise was beautifully plated and included regional cuisine from the area of Europe we were travelling through at the time. Spot on flavors, regionally influenced wine pairings, with excellent preparation and attention to detail from kitchen to service. After speaking at some length with the Chef (did you think I wouldn’t?), Chef Daniel informed me he shops the markets at each port so all the ingredients are the freshest possible.

River Cruise Welcome Dinner

The following pics are from our welcome dinner. A set menu with the entree as the only option. It was truly fantastic!

Amuse Bouche of bleu cheese mousse

Shrimp cocktail with radicchio

Scallop with risotto and caviar garnish

Broiled branzino with bok choy

Veal Chop with bearnaise – John enjoyed this. I just say “NO” to bearnaise because I dislike tarragon. Had there been another sauce, I’d have eaten this! It was perfectly cooked and seasoned…other than the tarragon.

Chocolate mousse with mango sorbet

Dessert assortment of mousse cakes. These were petit fours sized.

 

Watch for part 2 on this river cruise extravaganza as WiFi permits. Enjoy the photos here and follow along on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for frequent updates throughout this journey.