Hard not to fall in love twice a day in Egypt. Just open your eyes, and that’s it. Here are some of my picture memories from my recent trip to Nefertari’s homeland.
View From the Philae Islands
A felucca on the Nile…
Abu Simbel Temple is already impressive by day. Here it is by night…
I had not taken my suitcase with me, just a pair of trousers and a regular hunger. Nevertheless, Friday night , I went on a trip without going to Trudeau Aiport ! I just had to unfasten a little my belt and follow the waiter’s instructions. Friday night I was at the Auberge Saint-Gabriel, a restaurant in Old Montréal and Captain Éric Gonzalez was in charge of the flight we made and Jessie was our stewardess.
Before lifting my fork up in the air and put the first piece of food in my mouth, I took a little time to look around me. Hard not to fall in love with the warmth of the place. L’Auberge is historical: it was built in 1688 by a French soldier, and is considered as the first inn in North America. On 1769, the owner of the Auberge, received the first liquor license granted under British rule.
But Friday History was in our plates. In several exquisite chapters Chef Gonzalez, told my friend and I an incredible story. Chapter one: “Ode à la nature” (Ode to Nature), composed of a pea emulsion, a strawberry sorbet and a cheese goat mousse. My taste buds are still smiling. Then is was a fine delicatessen platter, followed by a seafood platter. But don’t picture the classical seafood platter… no, no, here the products are not only put on the traditional circular metal platter with a lot of ice. With these two starters symphony, Gonzalez managed to turn tradition into “traddiction”: one taste of the Scallop and you get immediately high. It is a little culinary poem I could recite every day. Same thing with the lobster claw, prepared beautifully.
After these three chapters, well, we were not very very hungry but still, we were ready for the main course… a tender piece of beef that made me say to myself God may exist after all…
As for the wine, let Emmanuel be your guide, he will surely find you the perfect match.
The final chapter was a sweet eruption of flavors in our mouths: sorbet, chocolate verrine, raspberry meringue and Churros with mango sauce, which was my favorite.
I had a trip Friday night at the Auberge Saint-Gabriel. One incredible food experience in an out-of-time restaurant. But my next trip is far less exiting but so necessary: the YMCA Gym… Thank you for flying on Saint-Gabriel Airlines…
Auberge Saint-Gabriel
426 rue St-Gabriel
Montreal (Quebec)
(514) 878-3561
info@aubergesaint-gabriel.com
www.aubergesaint-gabriel.com
(Geek myself twitting before dinner)
Today I’m leaving for a 11 day-trip in Egypt. I’ll do a photo story and write several articles about that attractive country. Just reading the name of the places we’ll visit is already a trip: Cairo, Louxor, Aswan, a cruise on the Nile…
I am not especially proud of it but here is the main thing that comes to my mind when I think of Egypt: a bunch of pyramids and a quiet Stone Sphinx. Cliché? Probably. But clichés are usually nothing but a short-cut of reality. There ARE pyramids. But as a George Clooney disguised in Lawrence of Arabia would say: "What else?". You have to imagine the accent…
I will try to send some postcards from time to time, depending on time I’ll have and the Internet connection I can get. Let’s go and look what is beyond this picture…
See you in a while.
