Suisse Normande, France - May 2015

Our group trip to France, celebrating 25 year of the local Wine Group.

Our accommodation in a beautiful rural location in Normandy.

A few hundred yards from the River Orne, in the Suisse Normande.

We were able to purchase locally and enjoy some exceptional cheeses and wines (these came from other regions!).

Purchased lots of wines to try and to take home, especially Loire wines;

Florence - May 2014: A Florentine picnic

A picnic in Florence

Staying in a hotel and dining in wonderful restauant is a blessed experience but so is buying and tasting local foods. On this visit to Florence the nearest we came to diy was a picnic. But this was Florence, so it was no ordinary picnic.

Chianti Classico for the picnic, not the wine everyone would have chosen but it suited the location and occasion.

The rooftops of Florence are magnificently interesting. The hills beyond Florence contribute to its unique setting and climate.

This was a last moment picnic but all the better for it.

Florence - May 2014: Florence Market

Florence Market

I had to visit Florence market, even though we were staying in a hotel and could not really buy anything meaningful. I'm sure the stall holders spotted that we were yet more tourists just looking and not buying their wonderful produce.

Do not touch!

Organic Sicilian sun dried tomatoes. It would be so easy to take the whole barrowful away!

Cheese..

The incredible Caffe' el Mercato di Cubattoli Roberto

Fine Florence meat, including their famous cuts of steak.

I wish I had taken a van - it would have been worth driving across Europe for these superb products...

Wild boar salamis etc.

As always, I visit the fish stalls and spend time looking at each fish....

Amsterdam - February 2014: Cheese

Old Amsterdam

We were keen to look at the range of cheeses available in Amsterdam itself, and to compare these to some of those available in the United Kingdom. Many shops offered advice and small samples but the labelling was clear and did not need much explanation. There were a range of grades within a specific cheese, from very young cheeses to more seriously aged and complex flavours. We learnt much more about the Old Amsterdam cheese and what makes it so full of complex flavours. Those in the cheese industry rate Old Amsterdam very highly, yet many here is the UK fail to see beyond over processed Edam as representing 'Dutch' cheese!

Whilst some of the shops sold limited ranges of cheese and were surrounded by the obvious touristy items, there was enough serious focus on the quality of cheese in most shops. It was easy to buy the quality products and it was a treat to be able to bring some of these wonderful cheeses back to the UK with us.