We’re continuing our journey south in this episode, having been to Painswick and the Slad Valley in episode five. We begin in Stroud, and move through the golden valley to Minchinhampton, high up on the escarpment and then down to Cirencester, before moving through Malmesbury and onto Tetbury.
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the centre of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets, independent spirit and cafe culture.
Tetbury is a town and civil parish inside the Cotswold district in England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681.
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies Dubai Fountain, with jets and lights choreographed to music. On artificial islands just offshore is Atlantis, The Palm, a resort with water and marine-animal parks.
This is our 2nd video from our STREET FOOD in DUBAI series. This time we are taking you to some of the BEST local restaurants and street foods that Dubai has to offer! We are starting the day with a delicious Egyptian hummus with beef and pine nuts and specialty foul (fava beans) at a shop called Foul w Hummus. They serve unlimited bread and a dish of pickles with the dishes. This restaurant has amazing quality food for a good price. Those that can’t afford the food can eat for free. After breakfast, we visited the Public Beach. It is a great place to view the Burj Al Arab, but also locals and tourists visit to swim, surf and enjoy the weather. It was especially nice in December, where it wasn’t too hot. For lunch, we visited a famous restaurant for seafood. Bu Qtair specialized in fish and prawns. The fresh fish and prawns are marinated in a mixture of spices and then are fried. They are served with rice and a curry. Next, we head to the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world) which is one of Dubai’s top attraction. The Burj Khalifa has unobstructed views over Dubai, but is quite expensive to enter. We recommend seeing it from the base, which is free and equally awesome. For dinner, we head to a restaurant which has a reputation for having the BEST Pakistani food in Dubai, Ravi Restaurant. There are many dishes to try, but we chose to try their dal fry, mutton Peshawari and chicken tikka. The naan served with the meal was DELICIOUS! Finally for dessert, we wanted to try an Emirati specialty – luqaimat. Luqaimat are small balls of dough which are fried until golden brown. You can get a variety of toppings, but the traditional topping is a thick date syrup and sesame seeds. These are served across the UAE, but we visited the shop in Global Village. This isn’t the most authentic version, but it was interesting to watch the women make this dessert.
Ouzoud Falls is the collective name for several waterfalls that empty into the El-Abid River’s gorge. This popular tourism destination is located near the Middle Atlas village of Tanaghmeilt, in the province of Azilal, 150 km northeast of Marrakech, Morocco. ‘Ouzoud’ means “the act of grinding grain” in Berber.
For more than six centuries, the Forbidden City has awed all those who have travelled from near and far to explore its 900 golden-roofed buildings, set amid moats, gardens, and plazas, where thousands of people lived and worked in service of the world’s largest and most sophisticated pre-modern empire. Marco Polo called it “the greatest Palace that ever was;” Simon Leys praised its architectural genius; and Franz Kafka viewed it as an impressive yet alarming symbol of power.
In this compelling addition to Assouline’s Ultimate Collection, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ian Johnson guides readers through the magnificent and storied palace built by China’s Yongle Emperor to serve as the seat of the Ming dynasty. Weaving in history and events of the past six centuries and featuring more than 100 photographs, artworks, and historical artifacts, this luxury tome conjures life in this imperial sphere—a small city unto itself, in which soldiers, eunuchs, concubines, and merchants resided alongside the royalty they served. A stunning homage to the grand beauty of one of the most complex structures in all of history, Forbidden City reveals that 600 years after its construction, this royal monument endures as the physical and spiritual heart of Chinese civilization. This volume is presented in a regal, glossy red box reminiscent of traditional Chinese lacquerware, and that features a delicately carved map of the Forbidden City’s grounds.
Iwate Prefecture may be known as a place devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, but it’s coming back better and stronger than ever.
Iwate is a large prefecture on the northeastern coast of Honshu, Japan’s main island. The southern city of Hiraizumi contains a rich architectural legacy from its period as a political center in the 11th and 12th centuries, including Chūson-ji Temple and the adjacent Mōtsū-ji Temple. Northeast, the city of Tōno was the birthplace of many folk tales, now recounted in traditional surrounds at its Old Tales Village.
The Fujian Hakka Earth Buildings are a design of building where people belonging to the same clan live together, with the added function of defense. Yongding County and Nanjing County in Fujian Province have the greatest concentration of Fujian Hakka Earth Buildings, which can also be seen in Pinghe, Zhangpu, Yunxiao, Hua’an, Zhao’an and other regions in the Minnan area (the southern part of Fujian province).
Fujian Tulou were built in the Song and Yuan Dynasties and have a history of more than 1,000 years. This style of building was in its heyday in the late Ming Dynasty, the early Qing Dynasty and the era of the Republic of China, and has been preserved until now. The buildings are over two-stories tall, consisting of thick walls constructed of rammed-earth between outer panels.
The main architecture materials were earth, wood, stones and bamboo. It was a mixture of clay and sandy soil in a specific proportion. In 1995, as the representative of China’s southern and northern circular architecture, architectural models of Fujian Hakka Earth Building and Temple of Heaven were displayed in the World Architecture Exhibition of America in Los Angeles. It caused a sensation and was honored as “the Oriental Pearl of Architecture”. In 2008, the Fujian Hakka Earth Building was officially added to the World Heritage List.
Welcome to the United Arab Emirates!! This is the start of our new FOOD series from this amazing and diverse country. We are leaving the big city of Dubai to show you the traditional food and culture of the Emirates, starting with a very special family meal, and ending with an awesome desert feast!
BIG thank you to our friends Omar and Salem for their help and hospitality. For our first Emirati family experience and food, we were kindly invited to the guest home of the Royal Al Qasimi family. We ate a delicious Arabic biryani, salads and Khabees (traditional dessert). This food is often what guests will experience when they are invited into a family’s home. After the meal, it is also common to enjoy a cup of Arabic coffee, which was rich with cardamon. The family was also kind enough to show us their vintage car collection, which included the original Land Rover from 1948. Thank you very much for the warm invitation and the wonderful gifts! Next, we explored the town of Ras al-Khaimah to see original architecture, old cafes and experience real Emirati lifestyle.
We visited the oldest cafe in the city, where locals from the mountains and locals from the coast would meet and exchange news and drink tea. We tried their sangini tea and it was very sweet. We also stopped at a traditional juice stall that serves mixed fruit juices with avocado. So refreshing! We then drove into the desert near Sharjah, to visit Omar’s family farm. Along the way we met a camel farmer who offered us tea and Omani halwa.
At Omar’s desert farm, we started cooking Majboos, an Arabic rice dish that is cooked with goat, vegetables, potatoes, dried fruits and tons of spices. The Majboos was then cooked for several hours over wood fire, which worked up a big appetite! The Majboos is served on a massive tray and shared with everyone. The goat was so tender and the rice soaked up all of the flavours of the spices. It was an extremely special experience and we are very grateful.
Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital, known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled facades, legacies of the city’s 17th-century Golden Age. Its Museum District houses the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk. Cycling is key to the city’s character, and there are numerous bike paths.
Amsterdam has more than 100 kilometers of grachten, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings.
While he was in pandemic lockdown, Sir Paul McCartney was writing new music for his latest solo album, “McCartney III,” on which the 78-year-old not only served as songwriter and producer but also played nearly every instrument. Correspondent Seth Doane talked with McCartney about the former Beatle’s “rockdown,” and his songwriting relationship with John Lennon, who was killed 40 years ago this month.
For me, Dubai is a very interesting mixture of the hypermodern skyline with the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Frame but also the “old” part at the Dubai Creek with the gold souk, deira, and old dhows which carry goods from Iran and beyond (wooden arab boats). Watching people loading and unloading these old dhows and the busy scenes in the souk are a real joy to witness.
I hope you enjoy my little mini documentary about an overnight stay in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit.
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies Dubai Fountain, with jets and lights choreographed to music. On artificial islands just offshore is Atlantis, The Palm, a resort with water and marine-animal parks.
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