Arriving as a young man with his wife of three months Hadley, he was poor, but ambitious. Calling Paris home between 1921 and 1928, it is the artsy Rive Gauche, the Left Bank of the Seine, which was his preferred haunt. Initially living in a bedsit at Rue du Cardinale Lemoine 74, just off Place de la Contrescarpe, at the top of the market street Rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter, without running water, he unsurprisingly spent many hours in the nearby cafés.

As it so often happens with life as an expatriate, you tend to meet people with similar stories and dreams as yours, but introductory letters from American author Sherwood Anderson to a slew of well-known personalities in Paris certainly helped getting him settled in the scene. Hemingway became a firm part of the so-called Lost Generation, a group of writers and artists living and working in Paris in the 1920s, which included illustrious names such as Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sylvia Beach, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, and artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. 

While Hemingway rented a room at Rue Descartes 39 to write in, he started to frequent cafés such as La Closerie des Lilas, on Boulevard Montparnasse, just by the Jardin du Luxembourg, where he reportedly stocked up his meagre food cupboard occasionally by catching wild pigeons, and other cafés such as the Dôme, and La Rotonde, steps away at the corner of Boulevard Raspail. In the 1920s, café culture in Paris was cheap, and you could spend hours discussing your creative ideas with fellow artists over a cup of coffee or a bottle of wine. La Closerie des Lilas still has metal plaques on the tables to commemorate favourite seats of famous people, such as those of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Satre, with Hemingway’s plaque located firmly at the bar. 

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Публикация от Claudine Hemingway (@claudinebleublonderouge)

Another favourite spot, of Satre and de Beauvoir, as well as the Hemingway set were the cafés on Boulevard Saint Germain. A regular spot was Les Deux Magots, but he also frequented the Café de Flore next door, and, when he had money, Brasserie Lipp, on the opposite side of the road, where he loved the Alsatian sausages with potato salad.

Working as a European correspondent while trying to write fiction, Hemingway not only travelled widely throughout Europe, but also wrote regularly about Paris, covering news stories as well as expatriate gossip. Ironically, in one story for the Toronto Daily Star, he famously lambasted the café culture of Paris, and particularly that of La Rotonde, bad-mouthing the artistic expatriates of Paris hanging around cafés, all while having his place firmly among them.

Hadley and Hemingway welcomed their first child, John, nicknamed Bumby, in 1923 in Toronto, and upon their return to Paris, Hemingway not only published his first novel in 1926, The Sun Also Rises, a semi-biographical story about American and British expats in Spain, but also collections of previously published short stories. After briefly moving in with Ezra Pound and his wife at Rue Notre Dame-de-Champs 70, the Hemingway family relocated to Notre-Dame-des-Champs 113, living above a sawmill, an address that no longer exists today.

With Hemingway’s literary success came the breakdown of his first marriage, with the pretty much immediate onset of his second marriage, this one to Vogue journalist, and reason for the divorce, Pauline Pfeiffer. They started off life together in her apartment at Rue Ferou 6, which would have lain right en route between his apartment and the cafés in Saint-Germain-des-Pres, and, after the wedding, they moved into Rue Froidevaux 69, south of Montparnasse Cemetery, but still within steps of his favourite cafés, and sticking to the Left Bank.

Hemingway left Paris in 1928, no longer a poor man, and stored a couple of custom-made Louis Vuitton trunks at the Ritz Paris, one of his few regular spots on the other side of the Seine. In 1944, after the end of WWII, he came to ‘liberate’ the Ritz, and reclaim his cases. Inside where the hand-written notes he took during his life in Paris, which became the basis of A Moveable Feast. Sadly, the book, one of his most famous ones, was only published posthumously in 1964.

Further Hemingway addresses to search out in Paris:

L’article Where did Hemingway spend his time in Paris? est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

1. Brezen

You cannot take one step in Bavaria without coming across a Brezen, a pretzel. You get them with your beer, you get them spread with butter for breakfast. You get them on the train, you get them in bakeries, you get them simply everywhere. A traditional food since the Middle Ages, the yeasty, twisted, and salted bread is best eaten fresh, when the outside is slightly crispy and the inside doughy. Head straight to the Viktualienmarkt in Munich and eat your pretzel as you walk exploring the stalls.

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Публикация от Munich Finest Bakery | Sourdough Bread (@munichfinestbakery)

2. Obatzda

Now, this is something you can’t get anywhere else. Obatzda is a cheese dip made from an aged cheese, such as a Camembert, mixed with lots of butter, plenty of salt and pepper, plus paprika, and all whipped until soft. Best eaten with pieces of pretzel to scoop it up, and with a beer to wash it down. Where should you try it? On the Wies’n, of course. If Octoberfest is too busy and touristy for you, try the Spring Fest, a smaller but just as fun version of the famous event.  

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Публикация от Janina Lechner (@kleines_kulinarium)

3. Weisswurst

These pale-looking sausages are, very much unlike the typical German Bratwurst, made by simmering in water rather than grilling, and are eaten in a specific way, and at a specific time. Just like the Italians have their cappuccino rule, the Bavarians frown upon anybody eating a Weisswurst after midday. And to eat it, you basically suck the meat out of the skin, discarding the casing later. Try them near the wholesale market in the Gaststätte Grossmarkthalle in Munich, a repeat winner of regular surveys in the city.

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Публикация от K_fe Garten (@k_fe_garten)

Not keen on boiled sausages? Head straight to Nuremberg. There you get the famous Rostbratwürstchen, small, herby sausages, which are best eaten at the Christmas Markeet, or on the weekly market, fresh from the grill.

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4. Leberkäse

Leberkäse, translated as liver cheese, confusingly does not contain either liver or cheese. The name derives from the old word Laib meaning loaf, and apparently the loaf looked just like a loaf of cheese. Either way, this is a meat dish made from beef and pork, and baked until the outside is golden brown. Eaten cold or warm, it is usually cut into thick slices. Because it really does make a great sandwich, get some at the train station to eat for a lunch on the go.

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Публикация от Simone Lindner (@meinewildekueche)

5. Knödel

Knödel, or dumplings, are everywhere in Bavaria. You have Leberknödel, liver dumplings, often found in a special soup, and you have Semmelknödel, bread dumplings, as a side dish on any restaurant menu, and they are perfect for soaking up a good sauce. There are also Kartoffelknödel, potato dumplings, and further varieties. Head to the traditional restaurant Wirtshaus in der Au in Munich, not far from the German Museum. Here, you’ll find pretty much all of the above dishes, but the bread dumplings are perfect, especially when eaten with a Jägerschnitzel, a typical breaded cutlet with plenty of mushroom sauce.

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Публикация от Paula Bründl (@paulabrundl)

6. Spargel 

Spargel, asparagus, may not be a typical Bavarian dish, or even a typically German dish, but when the season starts, in April, Munich is a great place to be. On the day, the entire city suddenly sprouts little market stands selling the freshest asparagus, harvested that morning at sunrise. But to really get into the asparagus mood, head to the restaurant Der Pschorr, where they start the season off with a brass band, many guests, and a menu that celebrates everything to do with asparagus.

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Публикация от GINKGO. GINGER. GIRL (@ginkgo_ginger)

7. Bayrische Creme

Also known as Bavarian Crème, crème bavaroise, or just bavarois, this is a dessert, a vanilla crème, not unlike a panna cotta. While many say that this is a French dessert, there is some dispute over whether the original harks from Bavaria or France. But when it comes down to it, if it were French, surely it would have been called French Crème? Round up an often meat-heavy Bavarian meal with this light dessert, in a traditional restaurant such as the Wirtshaus in der Au or The Pschorr, or head to the market and grab a warm Krapfen, a Bavarian doughnut, filled with said cream. 

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Публикация от An Tschi (@antschis_pku_kueche_)

L’article 7 typically Bavarian foodie treats to try, and where est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The festival takes place in Gabala, also known as Gebele or Qabala, located on the foothills of the Great Caucasus Mountain range in northern Azerbaijan, some 215 km from the capital Baku. Gabala, today a small city of around 14,000 inhabitants, was once the capital of Caucasian Albania, a country that preceded Azerbaijan, and was mentioned by Roman historian Pliny the Elder in the first century AD.

Together with its historical sites, it is the area’s stunning natural settling which brings tourists to the region, searching out the mountains, lakes, forests, and waterfalls with its many outdoor pursuits, from biking and hiking in the summer to skiing in the winter. The mainstays of Gabala and its surroundings are agriculture, silkworm farming, and, to a lesser degree, cultural tourism.

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But since the inauguration of the International Music Festival 15 years ago, Gabala has gone from strength to strength and has turned into one of Azerbaijan’s fastest growing cities. Named the Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2013, for its contribution to the history of Azerbaijan and the region, Gabala’s influence on the cultural heritage of the country is undeniable.

Fostering local and regional young musical talents, bringing together notable experts, composers, and musicians holding lectures about musical genres and their history and influences, and, of course, showcasing concerts by international musicians attending from as far as the USA, Mexico, and all across Europe and central Asia, the festival not only brings Azerbaijani music to the world, but also international compositions and music styles into Azerbaijan.

An event that promotes and nurtures cultural growth, each year the festival adds unique celebrations and experiences, such as in 2017, hosting Azerbaijan’s Uzeyir Haijibeli Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra, or in 2023 celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov, and the 190^th anniversary of German composer Johannes Brahms. 

But while the focus is very much on bringing together a variety of musical genres and international artists, one of the festival’s integral parts is always the Mugham, which marries poetry with folklore and improvisation, and which was listed in 2003 by UNESCO as a part of Azerbaijan’s Intangible Heritage. The festival highlights Azerbaijan’s national folk music, traditionally performed with a trio of historical instruments, such as the tar, a long-necked lute-like string instrument; the bowed-string instrument kamancha, and the gaval, a percussion instrument dating to the Middle Ages, while the music’s lyrics evolved from ancient poetry and historical storytelling.  

Held every summer, at the end of July and early August, the festival is a perfect excuse to visit Gabala, enjoying and learning more about its cultural heritage, while also taking full advantage of the region’s seasonal excursions.

L’article Why you should add Gabala to your music festival bucket list  est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Here are some of the best words to do with reading and books from around the world.

Abibliophobia, from Greek. A humorous word made up of the Greek prefix a, for ‘not’, bibli (book), and phobos for ‘fear’. that describes the fear of running out of books, or things to read. Presumably the precursor of Tsundoku (see below).

Bibliomania, from the Greek biblio for book, combined with mania, meaning madness or frenzy. Bibliomania comes in many guises, from not being able to walk past a bookstore without going in, to having a nearly insurmountable stack of to-be-read books on your bedside table, to never leaving the house without a book, just in case of some slack time somewhere en route. A severe case may result in the following term:

Bibliotaph, from Greek. Combining biblio with taphe, from taphos meaning ‘tomb’, a book-tomb is something someone who hoards books creates. The book-tomb created by the late German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, was made up of an impressive 300,000 books.

Bookarazzi, a slang term found in the English Urban Dictionary, meaning someone who posts about their reads on social media.

Book-bosomed, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a word coined by Scottish poet, writer, and historian Sir Walter Scott, which is said to mean “carrying a book at all times.” If not necessarily pressed against one’s bosom.

Book-hangover, slang term.A book-hangover is an acknowledged term describing that sad feeling after finishing a book you enjoyed and disappeared into for a while.Feeling lost without the characters and the plot, the thought of starting the next book is unbearable. Maybe the cure is to go out schmökern?

Bouquiniste, from French. Who doesn’t love the bouquinistes along the Seine in Paris? Simply meaning booksellers, usually of second-hand books, it sounds so much better in French.

Leseratte, German. Literally, a reading rat, but simply meaning someone who reads a lot. The English equivalent would be a book worm, a book horse in Danish, an ink-drinker in French, or even a chapter maggot in Finnish.

Librocubicularist, from Latin. Someone who reads in bed, combining the Latin for book, liber with cubiculum, meaning bedroom, which itself is from cubare, to lie or to recline.

Logophile, from Greek. Made up of logo, word, and phile, meaning a lover of or enthusiast of, this is you: a lover of words.

Omnilegent, from Latin. Made up of omnis meaning ‘all’ and legere meaning ‘to read’, someone omnilegent is that never-to-be-found person who has read everything.

Schmökern, German. A word meaning not only leisurely enjoying reading a book, preferably in a comfortable position, such as lounging on a couch, but also meandering through a bookstore or a library, picking up random books, browsing their blurbs, putting them back, and maybe eventually having a stack of future reads.

Scripturient, from Latin. A derivative from scribere, to write, being scripturient means to have a strong urge to write. And were would a Leseratte be without an author who feels scripturient?

Shelfie, slang. Remember Zoom meetings during the Covid pandemic, and everybody sat in front of their bookshelf? Showing off that one reads was de rigeur at the time, so much so that singer Adele went out to buy a shelf-load of books, random books, to create a shelfie that looked as if she actually occasionally read.

Tsundoku, Japanese. A term for the practise of buying more books than you can read in one go and piling them up in a to-read stack. A common ailment for book worms.

L’article The world’s best words related to books and reading  est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Anticipating what the city will have to deal with is only the start. Some 800 sporting events, around 15,000 athletes, an estimated 45,000 volunteers and 26,000 media, are only the tip of an ever-melting iceberg. Paris is also readying itself for around 15 million visitors, all of which will bring their own carbon footprint challenges.

Compared to other host cities, Paris has already taken one major step toward more sustainability, by building only one new sporting venue for the games. The Aquatic Centre in Saint-Denis, while new, will be solar-powered, and has been built with recycled and bio-rated materials, generating 47% fewer CO₂ emissions than conventional methods. The housing for the athletes, who will be sleeping on mattresses made from recycled fishing nets and are to be fed plenty of vegan and vegetarian and locally sourced meals, will be turned into residential accommodation after the games, and the roofs have already been planted with green habitats, attracting insects.

With public transport in good working order, bicycle lanes opened in favour of roads, and many once busy streets closed to vehicles other than public transport, visitors will also be supplied with reusable water bottles and drinking fountains throughout the city and the venues, which is said to reduce single-use plastic by 50%. Paris is certainly looking set to go green.

But it is not all plain sailing, or, in this case, swimming. Back in 2021, the son of Mayor Anne Hidalgo, swam the length of the Seine in a show of clean water and the river being ready for hosting Olympic swimming events. But the continuous effort hit several snags along the way, with failed water quality tests casting doubt at the cleanliness of the river and its safety over the last couple of years.    

To help the effort, in April a new water treatment plant opened in Champigny-sur-Marne, a south-eastern suburb of Paris, and a vast storm drain facility is opening this month next to Gare d’Austerlitz, capable of holding the equivalent of 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools of excess water, to prevent the drains and sewers of Paris from overflowing and potentially contaminating the Seine.

Another sticking point may quite literally be the lack of air-conditioning in the athletes housing. Built such that the rooms are insulated and cooled by a geo-thermal water system instead of energy-guzzling air-conditioning units, in July and August there is a high chance of a heat wave, potentially making the accommodation rather uncomfortable.

So, how much of the green efforts are truly beneficial, and how much of the hype is white washing the gransjd ambitions? It has to be said that if any country or city can go green, then Paris, and France, stand a good chance.

Anne Hidalgo has been creating a green city over the last decade and more, relatively quietly implementing bicycle lanes, closing the Champs-Élysées to cars on a monthly basis, taking away car parking spaces even in the residential neighbourhoods, scrapping outdoor heating from the café terraces, and working toward the 15-minute city ideal. The Eiffel Tower has already gone sustainable, with its own wind-turbines, solar panelling, LED lighting, and rainwater collection set up long before the Olympics were won. France was also the first country in the world to ban short-haul flights where suitable train journeys were available in their place.

But whether the ambitions will be met, the challenges won, and useful lessons learned for the future of the games and the planet will have to be assessed after the event.

L’article Will the Paris 2024 Olympics be the most sustainable games ever? est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.