Cultural Connections

[Recipe] Tomates à la Provençale

Thursday, July 28, 2011
by Kristen Romanelli

Tomates à la Provençale is a side dish (or a nice mid-afternoon snack) of stuffed, baked tomatoes that is popular in Southern France. I made this recipe on Sunday afternoon and thought it would be fantastic inspiration for anyone considering Vantage Deluxe Travel's French Waterways: Highlights of Burgundy & Provence river cruise.

Tomates à la Provençale
Serves 4-6 as a side dish

6 tomatoes
Salt and pepper
½ c fresh breadcrumbs
3 tbsp minced green onions
4 tbsp minced green herbs
¼ c olive oil
Clove of crushed and minced garlic

Pre-heat oven to 375°F
Cut tomatoes in half crosswise.
Gently squeeze out seeds.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, mix breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, onions, herbs, oil and garlic.
Spoon mixture into tomatoes.
Arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes at 375°F until heated through and top is lightly browned.

Les voilà! tomates provencales finished

Be sure to check out Vantage Deluxe Travel's French river cruises: French Waterways: Highlights of Burgundy & Provence and Champagne, Normandy, Paris & a Seine River Cruise for more inspiration.

Bon appétit!

Here is a list of our top 10 destinations that have received raving reviews:

• Castles Along the Rhine & Danube
• Waterways of Holland & Belgium
• Imperial Russian Waterways
• Romance of the Blue Danube
• French Waterways
• Best of Africa
• Gateway to the Black Sea
• Switzerland & the Heart of the Rhine & Moselle
• Grand Norwegian Coastal Voyage
• Heart of Africa

For trip information visit our website.
To read Customer Reviews click here.
For great travel tips, check out 151 Travel Tips.
For information on Small Group Travel, click here.

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Cultural Connections: Tulip Mania

Friday, May 27, 2011
by Kristen Romanelli

We hear a lot about "economic bubbles" today, usually in reference to real estate or technology, but did you know that one of the first recorded bubbles was the 17th century "Tulip Mania" (tulipomania) that ravaged the Dutch economy? On Vantage Deluxe Travel's Waterways of Holland and Belgium Deluxe river cruise, you'll learn more about this fascinating phenomenon that took the Netherlands by storm.

Although solid-colored tulips were highly fashionable, the most coveted bulbs of this craze were those that were infected with a mosaic virus called the "Tulip breaking virus," which caused the flowers to grow with striped petals (an effect that is now often achieved through tulip breeding). The desire for these flowers cause a sharp increase in prices in November of 1636. The scarcity of bulbs, the sudden rise in demand, and the quick spike in prices soon had buyers offering their land, their livestock, and valuable goods so that they could hoard the precious bulbs.

In less than three months, the tulip market crashed. People started to sell, which started a domino effect of panicked sellers flooding the market. The value of the tulip bulb took a nosedive and soon everyone tried to sell, despite the obvious losses.

You'll learn more about tulipomania when you explore Amsterdam's Keukenhof Gardens, the modern hub of Dutch flower production. And you'll learn more about local culture and cuisine on your Vantage river cruise through Holland and Belgium. For more information, please visit Vantage Deluxe Travel's website, and continue to read about Cultural Connections offered on Vantage's waterway cruises, small ship tours, and escorted land tours on this blog.

Here is a list of our top 10 destinations that have received raving reviews:

For trip information visit our website.
To read Customer Reviews click here.
For great travel tips, check out 151 Travel Tips.
For information on Small Group Travel, click here.

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn,YouTube & Flickr

Cultural Connections: Musical Vienna

Monday, May 2, 2011
by Kristen Romanelli

As you linger in Vienna, Austria during Vantage Deluxe Travel's Castles Along the Rhine and Danube cruise, you will enjoy a lecture given by renowned violist and founding member of the Seifert String Quartet Professor Edward Kudlak on "Musical Vienna." During the 18^th and 19^th centuries, Vienna was the musical hub of Europe due to the patronage of the Habsburgs. The most famous composers associated with Vienna include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss II, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Joseph Haydn.

Mozart was a prodigy who composed over 600 works including symphonies, concertante, and operas from the age of five. His patron Archbishop Colloredo summoned him to Vienna shortly after the premiere of his opera Idomeneo during the ascension of Joseph II. Mozart found himself underpaid and mistreated by the Archbishop. He was eventually dismissed from his position and Mozart decided to remain in Vienna and work as an independent, commissioned composer and musician-for-hire. His influences included Baroque masters J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel, and his close friend Joseph Haydn. Mozart's circumstances worsened towards the end of the 1780s; work for musicians and composers dwindled due to decreased prosperity in the aristocracy because of the Austro-Turkish war. Mozart was forced to move his family from Vienna to Alsergrund, and he took out several loans he was unable to repay. In September of 1791, Mozart fell ill while in Prague for the premiere of his opera La clemenza di Tito. By December, he had died of what is now believed to have been acute rheumatic fever. Although his funeral was sparse, memorial concerts in Prague and Vienna were well attended and enthusiasm for his music grew tremendously over the years following his death.

Mozart's legacy has not endured simply because of his huge catalogue of work, but also because of the musicians he influenced with his music, style, and innovation. A young Beethoven specifically cited Mozart as an influence and sought him out in 1787 in the hopes of studying with the master. There is no surviving record of whether the two composers had ever met, but some of Beethoven's work is directly modeled after Mozart's music. Beethoven, of course, became a master in his own right and his style matured in the years following the death of his idol.

Johann Strauss II, known as "The Waltz King," is credited with making the waltz the most fashionable dance in 19^th century Vienna. Strauss was the son of composer Johann Strauss I, himself a composer famous for his waltzes and the Radetzky March (a popular military march). Strauss's most famous piece is the Blue Danube waltz, which he composed in 1866 for the Wiener Männergesangsverein (Vienna Men's Choral Association). It had a mild reception at first, but as Strauss reworked the music into an orchestral form, it quickly became very popular amongst the Viennese upper class. Strauss's music is now regularly performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at their annual Neujahrskonzert (New Year's Eve Concert), which traditionally ends with the Blue Danube. A gilded bronze statue of Strauss, unveiled in 1921, may be seen in Vienna's Stadtpark among monuments of other famous Austrian composers and artists.

To enhance your morning of learning about Vienna's musical tradition, in the evening you will enjoy a Vantage-exclusive classical music concert at the world-famous Kursalon, also located in the Stadtpark. Johann Strauss II began performing at the Kursalon in 1868 when he was the Music Director of the Royal Court Balls. He helped make the Kursalon a popular venue for concerts and balls, and it continues to be a popular location for musical events.

To learn more about this Deluxe Danube cruise and other Cultural Connections such as learning about commerce on the river, seeing an apple strudel baking demonstration, and watching a local glass blower, please visit Vantage Travel's website. You will also find that Vantage offers many more river cruise options including trips along the Rhine and Moselle, as well as Seine river tours.

Here is a list of our top 10 destinations that have received raving reviews:

For trip information visit our website.
To read Customer Reviews click here.
For great travel tips, check out 151 Travel Tips.
For information on Small Group Travel, click here.

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn,YouTube & Flickr

Cultural Connections: Quechua Weaving in the Peruvian Andes

Monday, May 2, 2011
by Kristen Romanelli

On Vantage Deluxe Travel's Machu Picchu & the Galapagos: Lost City of the Inca, Living Wonder of Nature Escorted Land Tour, you will have the opportunity to take part in a Quechua weaving demonstration in the town of Chincheros. You’ll see local weavers use the ancient backstrap loom to craft the colorful, patterned fabrics so strongly associated with this region. The backstrap loom is a very old but practical tool. It’s made up of two sticks — one attached to a stake in the ground, and the other attached with a strap that wraps around the weaver’s back. The simplicity of the loom makes it portable, so a woman who weaves with a backstrap loom can fold up her work along with the loom and take it wherever she needs to go.

The fibers most commonly used by the weavers are sheep and alpaca wool. Llama wool may also be used, but its texture is not appropriate for clothing and is most useful for rugs or horse blankets. Prior to the arrival of Spanish Conquistadors, alpaca was the primary Peruvian spinning and weaving fiber. Alpaca wool is soft and warm, which makes it ideal for clothing in mountainous regions like the Andes. It is also hypoallergenic since alpaca don’t produce lanolin like sheep do, making it a good choice for fabrics that will wrap and clothe children. In the 16^th century, the Spanish introduced sheep into the region and sheep’s wool has since replaced alpaca as the fiber of choice. Sheep produce a thicker, hardier fiber; and the lanolin that the alpaca cannot produce provides a certain amount of weatherproofing to the fabrics woven with sheep’s wool.

Quechua textiles often feature designs called “pallay” that are inspired by the daily lives of the weavers. These traditional designs are passed through generations of weavers, and they tell the stories of these women by interpreting objects and events into the cloth’s pattern. The symbols used in the pallay are metaphors for both the physical and spiritual worlds of these women. There are regional variations in pallay interpretations, and styles even differ from village to village. This Cultural Connection gives you a great opportunity to ask the weaver about the personal significance of the pallay she uses and to praise the skill of her craft.

This is only one of many Cultural Connections you'll experience as part of this combination land tour of Machu Picchu and small ship voyage to the Galapagos Islands. Other cultural opportunities include tasting local maize beer, joining a family in their home for lunch before exploring Cuzco (the ancient Incan capital), and strolling through the Otavalo Market in Quito, Ecuador where you’ll find many examples of local woven handicrafts.

Please visit Vantage Deluxe Travel’s website for more information on this Memorable Journey^®.

Here is a list of our top 10 destinations that have received raving reviews:

For trip information visit our website.
To read Customer Reviews click here.
For great travel tips, check out 151 Travel Tips.
For information on Small Group Travel, click here.

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn,YouTube & Flickr

[Recipe] Tomates à la Provençale

Cultural Connections: Tulip Mania

Cultural Connections: Musical Vienna

Cultural Connections: Quechua Weaving in the Peruvian Andes

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