A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity

“Travels to a Different Time” ; 2August1974: Drače, Yugoslavia: Do I Follow My Heart or Logic? A Melted Shoe and A Heart to Match

I have been in Drače for over a week. It has been a well-deserved break from the rigours of Romania. An idyllic and mostly undiscovered place where strangely many end up by accident or chance. Yugoslav Twilight Zone. I could have easily missed it had I been in another car. Why am I here? One wonders if life is nothing but a stream of coincidences. Not to be macabre but I might very well have ended up dead at the bottom of a gorge with these treacherous roads.

You see I have a problem and that is Mirela. We have become good friends despite communication difficulties. My heartstrings have been pulled probably for the first time. But is it mutual? I think we are ready to come to some conclusion on this but her security sems to be tightening with her brother hanging around with her. Is this a result of parental radar? Serbians are inherently conservative and to see their daughter hanging around with a long haired may be causing some concern. But time is running out as she is heading back home to Belgrade in a couple of days. Should I follow her and carry on a relationship on the sly but as for her family isn’t that disrespectful? I suppose I can visit in another year. After tossing and turning all night I am leaving but not without misgivings. Perhaps if we discussed this? But when two people are on the verge perhaps a discussion is too early.

Woke up on the pier to a vicious “dirty old man cough” by a fisherman that rivals my own famous throughout Europe! I am heading out Easy Rider style on the back of André’s Suzuki 250. A farewell kiss and hug to Mirela. Her eyes tell the story as she says I will miss you and let’s keep in touch. Feeling like I have made a bad decision we roar off northward with a heavy feeling on my heart. I don’t have the spirit to write about the rest of the day other than I lost my watch on the road and one of my shoes melted on the bike’s exhaust. Have I made a terrible mistake? A melted shoe and a heart to match.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 1August1974: Drače, Yugoslavia: Thank You Roosters: Up to a Pack a Day: The Crazy Jumping Barber

The roosters did their job well today waking me up early. I was too pooped to walk three kms to buy some bread in Janina so I had a pack of Moccas which are wafer cookies the Yugoslavs excel in making. I am up to a pack a day of these great cookies. I try and eat a peach a day if I can find them but generally speaking I am starved for vegetables and fruits. The heat was intense and unrelenting so off to the pier and the Adriatic. Beautifully calm water and so refreshing. Who on earth would want to go to the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria and Romania! A group of us stayed until 2 and headed off for the usual lunch. Back at three to watch the town barber climb the light pole and dive into the ocean. Is he crazy? Then he goes for a swim with his two dogs! I borrowed an air mattress and floated around frying like a roasted green pepper or better said a red pepper! Back at the tent around 7 to pack up but an accident smashed up my glasses. I met Jean and André and we went to the restaurant for a beer. Mirela joined us and we had another beer and Dalmatian smoked ham sandwiches. We went to other restaurant and had some beer and wine. At 11:30 gentleman that we are we escorted Mirela home and then went to sleep at the pier. But with so many people walking on the pier and singing sleep was fitful.

RKS Wine: “Sunday Sail”: A Winner at the Regatta or a Loser Hitting the Rocks?

There will be a new Sauvignon Blanc sailing into Ontario at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario on April 2, 2022. It is called “Sunday Sail”. I like good Sauvignon Blanc but simply saying it is from New Zealand, as “Sunday Sail” won’t convince us. Right? I know a huge seller Zealie Sauvignon Blanc here in Ontario that politely said is good for swabbing the decks with.

The marketing material mentions “Sunday Sail” has a “fresh and contemporary style”. EEKS! What does this snappy phrase mean! Is this the wine that all those happy and smiling models in LCBO Vintages catalogues drink? You know that young and very rich lady (model) sitting in Air Canada business class with the latest 13 iPhone and sipping white wine from a glass while this impoverished wine writer sits in steerage or God forbid the humiliating Rouge drinking 4^th rate wine from plastic bottles in plastic wine glasses.

I suppose what counts is what’s in the bottle. So lets get to work.

As for aromatics this light gold wine has piercing beams of Florida white grapefruit one happily devours in April. Nice lurking on the edge’s passion fruit and guava. There are lesser notes of tangerine and honey. Ahoy matey no choppy waters here.

Now to the palate. You can have a great wind behind you but can you capture it and take advantage of it? By this I mean there may be a great aroma to the wine but managing the palate and propelling to the finish line are intertwined. The gale force aromatics are fine tined and harmonized by the wine’s palate which tones the aromatics down and gives us a serious Sauvignon Blanc. Sleek notes of exactly what you get for aromatics. Thank goodness none of this “crisp acidity” you see used in describing white wines.

The finish is short.

I will say I have had some awesome Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand but I have had some atrocious ones. This Sauvignon Blanc will not win the regatta but it sure will not embarrass itself by crashing into the reef. It can hoist its sails and cross the finish line with the better sloops in the Ontario marketplace.

I would match this with a tofu in peanut sauce over organic Japanese buckwheat noodles. I can’t see it improving in the bottle so best to consume this year. By the way do not serve this cold but rather chilled as too cold robs it of aromatics and taste. It just keeps on improving as it transcends cold to chilled!

(Sunday Sail 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, (Produced and Bottled For The Barrel Hunter Corporation, Vaughan, Ontario), $19.95, LCBO # 22850, 750 mL, 13%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 90/100).

“Andrij the Orphaned Ukrainian Rescue Dog” :Chapter 17: A Quick Stop at Vatican City

Reggie and I are exhausted as Bob took us on a long walk before we boarded our private jet. Bob always makes sure we are walked and fed and have plenty of cold water. Both of us crawl into our beds and are kept warm by the Tehran soccer team blanket. We fall into a deep sleep. I can see why Reggie is seen as a giant in the world. Hob knobbing with the Grand Ayatollah and doing what no man or woman could do!

We are awoken by a jolt and have landed at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport at 05:30. We are picked up by a chauffeur and whisked to Vatican City. The Pope will see us at 7:30 for a quick breakfast and has asked we stay behind him as he addresses the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Bob takes us for a walk in Vatican City and we get a few stares as there are rarely dogs seen here.

We meet the Pope and have a simple breakfast of olives, cheese and bread as the Pope says sometimes we have to eat what Jesus ate. Reggie hops up on his lap after breakfast like they are long lost friends. But he points at me and motions for me, and only me to follow him to a private chamber. He sits on a huge chair and says with great compassion he knew the terrible circumstances of my human family in Kiev being killed in explosions. He holds my head and looks into my eyes and says how sorry he is that such an innocent animal had to witness such horrible deaths. He also says he has seen the video of me killing The Brute. He praises my bravery but being the Pope has to be careful about commenting on whether deaths can be deserved. He asks if as a Ukrainian Orthodox can I receive a special blessing from him. I bark of course and just like that and like Reggie I am blessed.

We return to the room and Reggie is bristling with excitement asking what happened. I told him and he wags his tail saying that he knew it.

The Pope gives his Sunday homily from his balcony and all of it is pleading for the end of madness in the Ukraine and a cessation of the barbarity of the Russian government. There are many Ukrainians with flags in the square. The Pope then asks that all say a special prayer for the pets of the Ukraine some 75,000 of them abandoned or orphaned. The Pope then tells my story and raises me for the crowd to see. There is a long round of polite clapping. I am on televisions throughout the world. Bob later heard from the CIA that Putin saw me being held up and turned red with rage and screamed at his advisers. Strangely his defence minister has never been seen again. This made me feel my vengeance is hitting where it should be. I hear more than a few people in the crowd shout in Ukrainian “God Bless the Ukraine. God Bless Andrij! “

We head back to the airport off to Washington to deal with President Biden and the message from Iran.

Wine America’s Perspective on Cannabis and Wine

“Travels to a Different Time” : 29July1974: Drače, Yugoslavia: Movie Night in Drače: The Singing Czechs

Up at 09:30 and I went to Nino’s house to take advantage of the running water having a shave and brushing my teeth. We sat around and I met a Yugoslav girl called Daria but I call her Dacia which is a Romanian car made under license from Renault. Mirela joined us and Nino took some pictures of the gang. Nino’s friends arrived and off they drove to Split. A group of us went swimming until 7 and two Belgian guys and I went to the restaurant for dinner and a few beers. At 8:30 about 10 of us went into the cinema at Janina and watched a French movie. The volume was so loud it distorted the dialogue and it was impossible to hear the dialogue. Two Belgian girls and two Belgian guys joined me at the restaurant where we remained until closing time.

30July1974: The days seem to be melding into one continuous stream. I waited a day later to write this and I can’t remember many details of the day. I remember getting up and having some cherry juice, bread and cheese and then going to the pier. I am becoming friends with the two Belgian guys André and Jean who are travelling on motorcycles. It was off to lunch for the usual with a fellow from Sarajevo. Had a rest on Nino’s balcony and spent the afternoon frying on the beach. Mirela joined us. The Belgians had some taped music we listened to which was good. At 7 Mirela and I hopped on the back of the motorcycles and off to buy some food at Janina. The locals were interested in the Japanese motorcycles and were asking questions about them. If this was Romania I think there would be a crowd of two hundred people with a policeman controlling them! Once back in the campground we went to a restaurant and had a jam. We left at 01:00 and returned to a quiet campground. Everyone seems in bed by 9 except for a group of Czechs that drink beer and sing all night long.

“Travels to a Different Time: 28July1974: Drače, Yugoslavia: Drače Dance Party: Fueling Gossip!

Up early to hunt down food in Janina. Hot as blazes so early in the morning and a beautiful blue sky. I feel like I am drying out from my often-soggy Romanian trip. Chocolate wafer cookies and a rusk. It was simply too hot to have anything more complicated. I went to sit on the pier and met some students from a high school in Zagreb. Usual lunch and so blazing hot I found some shade to sit under. Met up with the students later in the afternoon. They said at night here there is nothing much to do. They said there was once a disco club in Janina which closed because the older folks said it was keeping them awake. No wonder young Yugoslavs are leaving the countryside. One of the students said the population of Drače in the winter was 10 people. Mirela arrived at the pier around 3 with a few young folk. One had a guitar and we played some music as I brought my harp on the trip. We stayed until 7 and I went back for dinner of bread and cheese and an orange juice that tastes like Tang. The Yugoslavs have great fruit juices but orange juice here is gross. Back to the pier with Mirela for an hour or so until her brother came to haul her back at 22:00. A few of us went to Nino’s house and he fixed me up with Vitamin enriched orange juice.

Nino said there was a monthly dance party at Janina so off a few of us went. This was a big event as many teens came from small villages. The old folks sat on the other side of the street gossiping. Someone said this will give them enough to gossip about until the next monthly dance. Two fights broke out in 30 minutes. The dance hall was the local cinema with the Yugoslav guys cruising with their shirts open but were doomed to failure as there was a shortage of girls. There were more adults up on the balcony with little children watching the spectacle below. Any event in a small town can often involve the entire community. The music deteriorated like a Romanian beer does after you open it. Walked home and crawled in the tent.

RKS Film: “Visionary Gardeners”: “Food Without Limits”

The Canadian television series “Visionary Gardeners” is a five-part series premiering March 7, at 9 p.m. ET on Vision TV and it runs for 5 weeks in half hour segments. It features avid Canadian gardeners with their own vision of what a garden is. You may think the series is about them and their gardens and that is true and of course that is interesting particularly if you are gardener. But these episodes may spark a certain reaction on your part particularly about the social use of food and just how far gardening limits can be challenged in Canada.

Visionary gardener Bob Duncan: Lemons in Canada!

Episode 4 which shows on March 28^th is entitled “Food Without Limits”. Bob Duncan of Victoria, British Columbia challenges the climate of Victoria, British Columbia by growing tropical and semi-tropical plants such as limes, lemons and figs. Duncan has had a passion for growing tree fruits for some 50 years collecting seeds from Spain, China and Florida. He has no complicated vision other than his joy of doing what most will say is impossible. Although he seeks to challenge the limits you may ask why. In this case gardening is shown time and time again, like life itself, to dangle impossibilities in front of the gardener who throws down the glove and duels with nature.

Tiffany Grenkow shows us the social importance of food seeking to feed the less fortunate in her Winnipeg community and recreating some indigenous food like Pemmican. Food grown in her garden helps people connect with nature. Is Grenkow a Johnny Appleseed? Her garden gives her a personal connection with community.

Surely you must conclude gardening can be more than the act of growing food. It is but an expression of human will.

Not a gardener? That’s not important here as this series is above and over gardening and is about life. If you are gardening averse that’s fine as the cinematographic feast will have you coming back for more!

“Visionary Gardeners” is a new series from filmmakers Ian Toews and Mark Bradley of Victoria, British Columbia based 291 Film Company. If you miss the broadcast Canadians can catch it free for two weeks after the broadcast at www.visiontv.ca.

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner and The Russian Oligarch: Is There a Putin Lovechild Igor?

We haven’t heard much from the Penniless Pensioner in some time. He contacted me and apologized for not keeping in touch with me. He says he had taken up with a Russian oligarch Svetlana before “all this Ukraine crap”. Svetlana apparently made a fortune in vodka, oil and fentanyl and was staying in her Toronto luxury penthouse condo at The Lonsdale in Forest Hill a tony suburb in Toronto. In fact she has the penthouse above PP but was rarely in Toronto. Well they exchanged pleasantries in the lobby one day and the rest is history. It wasn’t long before they were a couple. PP and Svetlana were cruising in the Adriatic on her luxury yacht when the Russian invasion started. She ordered the captain to nip into Serbia up the Danube as the Serbs were siding with the Russians. PP and Svetlana headed back to Toronto where she is keeping a low profile. She had squirreled away much of her money in Canada through a labyrinth of holding companies so she remained flush with cash for the time being. PP says he does not want to talk politics with his sweetie Svetlana. There is a nasty rumour PP says which is filthy and slanderous that she had a love child with Putin called Igor.

Does this rugged man have a lovechild Igor?

In any case PP invited me over to try some unbelievably cheap French wine as Svetlana would be at the dog fights all night. So it was an Atipic a Pays D’Oc wine for $13.95. PP looked great with a glorious tan and an upbeat attitude. But he was concerned about the amount of vodka and caviar Svetlana scoffs down each day! PP rolls his eyes and says that “those Russkes” brush their teeth with vodka and that two shots are enough for him but for Svetlana that is just getting started.

As for aromatics a stream of black cherry greets the nose like a vapour trail from a Stinger missile. There are lesser notes of blueberry and strawberry jam lurking on the edges like timid Russian soldiers more intent on running than staying and fighting. On the palate there is an unexpected brief flirtation with sweetness which transcends onto the finish giving the wine a unique quality. Notes of raspberry, cherry and blueberry in a light tannic framework. This bizarre twist of fleeting sweetness adds some charm to a wine that otherwise might have been categorized as cheap n cheerful like a minor KGB official before a ruthless ascension to power.

A good sipping wine. For food there is that adage you match sweet with sweet although how do you match a fleeting sweetness? Try this. Sautee an onion and throw in six cups of sliced mushrooms. Sweat the shrooms down then add a can of diced tomatoes and a half cup of brown sugar with salt and pepper to your liking. Bubble away until the sauce is done and serve over bucatini making sure you are wearing a bib as bucatini can cause collateral slurping damage. A great match like a Patriot missile taking out a Russian MIG at 30,000 feet.

(Atipic 2019 Pays D’Oc IGP, Caves de Roquebrun, Roquebrun, France, $13.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 21268,750 mL, 13%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).

“Travels to a Different Time” ; 27July1974: Drače, Yugoslavia: Adopted by a Serbian Family: A Ride on a Putt Putt

Well I think I am in a tiny town called Drače in Croatia. What a beautiful beach! What clear sparkling water. There isn’t much to do but get up go to the beach, have Dalmatian smoked ham and a bun with a cold litre of Radenska mineral water, sit in the shade and head back to the beach. Romania was tiring and quite frankly disappointing so I am in paradise “recovering”. I walked into Janina to mail some letters and buy some food. I returned and ate my breakfast in the shade and then went to hang out on the pier and then enjoy my favourite lunch of Dalmatian smoked ham and an ice-cold bottle of Radenska sparkling water. I went back to the pier and felt like I was burning but couldn’t see any evidence of it. Around 4:30 a very good-looking girl with soft brown eyes and her brother stopped by in their small putt putt boat. The girl’s name is Mirela and her brother Boca. They recognized me as the camper next to their camper. We puttered around for half an hour and had a swim and played some Frisbee. Mirela is here with brother Boca and is my age. Her mother and father ae here too. They are from Belgrade in Serbia. I cut my finger opening a can of Russian sprats. I watched the sun set on the beach and was in bed at 21:30 tired from the sun and surf but feeling very happy to be in the Adriatic again!

28July1974: Up early at 06:30 and I am healthy and even wealthy and wise. I am wealthy as I have learnt so much in my travels and all that has made me wiser. I wonder at times if I am too driven to discover a country and its people so perhaps it is good to cool my heels here and veg out. I have almost everything I need here including a sweet girl Mirela who seems different from all the other Yugoslavia girls. She has a good heart to match her good looks. I had my breakfast of two peaches, fruit juice with some bread and cheese. These Croatian peaches are just as good as Turkish peaches. At 10 I was at the pier and Mirela, her dad and Boca picked me up in their put putt and we travelled to tiny islands where we had beaches to ourselves. They are very good to me and I feel somewhat like an adopted guest. Me the pasty white boy is turning a glowing red. A great Dalmatian smoked ham sandwich and a cold bottle of Radenska sparkling water for lunch. The staff don’t even ask what I want and simply bring me the usual! I walked with Boca and Mirela to Janina which is a small town with donkies, chickens and goats wandering around. We went for a cherry nectar and walked home. I talked with Mirela until she had to go for supper and she stopped by to talk more being very curious as to what life is like in Canada. The trailer beside us had their television was blaring so we walked to the pier and hung out until 22:30. I said my goodbye to Mirela and went to bush my teeth using the hose with cool water. The camping is free so one hose for the entire campground will have to do.