View from the Back
Ramblings of a retiree in France
The Musette: Chorizo and beans
Post-covid, my OH now loves food shopping though I do have to keep a watchful eye on what he lobs into the shopping trolley. He has no truck with shopping lists which is why, before departing for Germany, I had to use up some very spicy chorizo sausages.
Luckily, I had the makings of a dish using ingredients in my pantry and ailing fridge which got re-purposed a second time with the addition of fresh tomatoes and rice.
Ingredients (serves 4)
Step1:
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 6 fat confit garlic cloves or 2 raw
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 400g (14 oz) cooking chorizo, sliced (or sobressada)
- 400g (14 oz) fresh/tinned cherry tomatoes
- 300g (11 oz) jar of sliced red peppers
- 400g (14 oz) jar cannellini beans/butter beans/chickpeas
- 50g (2 oz) serrano ham, chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 240ml (1 cup) dry sherry
- 1 fresh or dried bouquet garni
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
Step 2:
- 200g (1 cup) long-grain rice
- 500g (18 oz) fresh tomatoes, chopped
Method
1. Place a large frying pan (skillet) on the hob over a medium heat and add the olive oil. When it’s warm, add the onion and 1 tsp salt, cook until translucent (approx. 10 minutes). Now add garlic and cook for further minute.
2. Add the sliced chorizo and ham, cook over low heat until the former starts to give up its glorious rust-coloured oil. This generally takes around 15 – 20 minutes.
3. If necessary, drain off any excess fat and de-glaze the pan with the sherry. Let it bubble away for around five minutes to burn off the alcohol.
4. Add the bouquet garni, bell peppers, tomatoes, beans and tomato paste to the frying pan. Stir gently to combine.
5. To prevent the casserole from drying out, cover the contents with a circle of crushed, damp greaseproof (parchment) paper (cartouche) and the pan lid, leave to simmer away on a gentle heat for at least 30 minutes.
6. Discard the bouquet garni and serve with a green salad and some crusty bread to mop up the juices. Leave two remaining portions overnight in the fridge.
7. For stage 2, re-heat over medium heat, add chopped tomatoes and cook until they start to break down.
8. Turn up heat until it comes to the boil, add rice and turn down to simmer, lid on for 10 minutes or so. When, rice is cooked, leave lid on for further 10 minutes, then serve with more salad.
Sheree’s Handy Hints
1. Don’t forget to taste and season as you cook. Unseasoned food is bland and you use less salt and pepper if you season at the start and during the cooking process, rather than at the end.
2. This dish can be cooked the day before, left overnight in the fridge and then reheated the following day. This also makes it easier to remove any excess fat which will harden on the surface.
3. The recipe works equally well made with chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Again, you can used tinned or cook from dried the day before.
4. As this is cooking rather than baking, feel free to play around with the ingredients.
5. You could use orzo (rice shaped pasta) instead of long-grain rice.
Friday’s Tall Tales #170
Whenever I photograph a door or gate I wonder about its provenance, who and what has happened across said door or gate, and what lies beyond.
I thought I might pick one from my sextet of Thursday’s Doors and tell you a bit more about it or……maybe even weave a story about it.
This is one of the many doors of the Real Jardín Botánico in Madrid where they make lavish use of wrought iron gates, doors, lights, balconies etc etc
The Royal Botanical Garden is an 8-hectare historic and scientific garden located at Plaza de Murillo, right next to the Prado Museum.
The garden was established in 1755 by King Ferdinand VI and has been managed by the Spanish National Research Council since 1939. Declared an Artistic Garden in 1942, its collections include an outstanding herbarium with more than a million species, the library and the archive – with nearly 10,000 drawings – as well as the exhibition of 5,500 species of live plants.
Guided tours are offered to get to know the multitude of species that inhabit this green corner of the city centre, from onions or roses to the most exotic plants. The route through the garden and its greenhouses combines general botanic content, curiosities, history, the singularity of its examples, uses of the plants and their importance in our lives.
The Botanical Garden’s current location is not coincidental. Rather, it is the result of the enlightened monarch Carlos III’s wish to create a complex dedicated to the natural sciences in Madrid. That is why it is next to what is now the Prado Museum, which was built in late 18th century to house the Museum of Natural History. Its scientific spirit is still alive, as the garden is currently managed by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain’s National Scientific Research Council), which organises all kinds of educational activities such as conferences and exhibitions.
In June 2024, the Royal Botanical Garden and Fundación de Cultura Islámica launched the “Andalusí Route”, a self-guided tour created to show and highlight the natural heritage of Al-Andalus. An invitation to explore and travel to Islamic Spain from 8th to 15th centuries through the colours and aromas of 15 plants that grow in the Royal Botanical Garden, many of them linked to food, medicine, pharmacopoeia or ornamentation.
There is another route round the garden to explore unique trees, a tour of 15 specimens that stand out in terms of their longevity, monumental size or because they are historical specimens associated with the tradition of the Garden such as “El Abuelo” (The Grandfather), a cypress tree over 280 years old.
Flora and Fauna Friday #170
This post is my weekly homage to my parents who both took pleasure in having a beautiful garden. In particular, they loved sitting and watching the wild life enjoy it too. They had a bird bath in front of the kitchen window where they could watch the birds drinking and showering before popping into one of the many, well-stocked bird feeders.
Thursday doors #351
Finally, I’m featuring entrances from this year’s trips.
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments’ on Dan’s site, anytime between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American Eastern Time).
Update: It comes in Trios, or does it?
I thought I should update you on the status of our recent unluck, first outlined in this post.
The fridge-freezer has slowly slipped away, finally hoisting the white flag on Saturday 24 October. This coincided with me at long last identifying a supplier of a replacement that was the correct size and functionality. Moreover, this supplier will both deliver and fit the replacement, plus haul away the broken down American fridge at no extra cost – result!
Not long after the incident with the car alarm, my beloved SMART car went in for its annual service. I explained to the technician the problems we’d experienced. When I collected the car, he proclaimed it was fixed. He’d changed the batteries in both keys. And it was fixed, until we returned from Spain, when it started acting up again. I rapidly returned it to the garage where they fixed it again – so far, so good.
The large television in the office was obviously suffering from heatstroke. It has thankfully resumed working. No need to replace that just yet.
On a recent business trip to London, my OH damaged his MacBook. It still just about works but the top right corner of the screen is totally black. To be fair, this was due to be replaced early next year as it’s so old, it’s no longer supported by Apple. Its replacement has merely been advanced by a month or two.
Finally, and I do hope it’s finally, we’ve identified the perpetrator of a small, slow, long standing leak into a neighbour’s apartment. Unfortunately, it’s from my OH’s shower. Of course, it only leaks, when it’s used. The building plumber managed to locate the leak using a teeny, tiny camera. This means, it too will have to be replaced sooner rather than later. Fortunately we do have further bathrooms and I won’t have to share with my OH. That would be a disaster.
The leaking shower was an all-singing, all-dancing shower cabin with flashing coloured lights, multiple-jets, steam and a radio. Its replacement will be much more vanilla. The OH is in agreement.
Note: The term “unluck” used above was coined by former professional Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara to denote bad luck which is impossible to avoid in professional cycling.
Postcard from our German Adventure II
The days just flashed past and in no time at all we were heading to Munich on a slightly delayed train, a town we know only too well. It was so cold on our last trip here in December 2022 that we only visited Dallmayr’s and the Bayerische Hof hotel.
Bizarrely, as we moved further south it became cooler, particularly at night. Any respite from the booming heat was very welcome. The hotel where we stayed, a former post office, was close to the station, yet just a short stroll from the centre of town. Saturday was a holiday in Europe (Ascension Day) so none of the shops were open but it didn’t matter as we enjoyed a wander around before a late lunch at one of the many Brauhausern.
Just as in Hamburg and Berlin, there was plenty of renovation and rebuilding taking place with a large number of cranes punctuating the skyline. We were relieved to discover our two favourite cafes for Kaffee u. Kuchen were still alive and kicking.
We visited the Stadthalle for a fascinating exhibition about hair and generally just pottered about visiting our favourite locations, including many of the churches, though sadly we didn’t find time to pop into the recently renovated Bayerische Hof hotel. Three nights hadn’t really been enough and all to soon we had collected our hire car and were heading away from Munich.
We had intended to stay in Konstanz, but our usual hotel was renovating its gym and spa so my beloved suggested staying at a hotel he knew in Isny, among the Allgau’s undulating and beautiful countryside which seemed the perfect conclusion to our trip around Germany.
Occasionally, I let my OH book hotels just so he can appreciate the planning and preparation I put into all our bookings. Not long after our arrival he was whinging about the internet speed, then the small gym…..until I reminded him that he’d chosen and booked the hotel. It rather brought to mind the last one he’d booked in Seefeld. He said in future he’d leave the bookings to me.
In any event, we had a very pleasant day catching up with his former work colleagues in Biberach and charming days re-visiting Lindau and Isny. The temperatures dropped, we even had rain and finally it was time to return home. We dropped the car off in Freiburg and caught the Flixbus to Basel airport for our Sleazy flight back home. But only after we’d had a delightful drive past the Bodensee (Lake Constance) and through the Black Forest.
However, this is where things start to go off-piste. We were sitting in the lounge, enjoying some refreshments when I received an sms from Sleazy, our flight had been cancelled. We immediately tried, in vain, to re-book on one of Sunday’s two flights but our earliest alternative was Tuesday morning. We’d recently visited Basel and did not feel the need to repeat the experience quite so soon.
It’s only a six-hour or so drive home but the Hertz office on the French-side was closed while the Swiss one wanted to charge us CHF 1,800 to return the car to Switzerland. Hence, this wasn’t an option. We looked at various ways of flying home via Geneva or Zurich but again this wasn’t feasible. Finally, the realisation dawned, it would have to be an overnight Flixbus.
We returned via Flix to Freiburg’s station and then waited in the reception of the nearby Novotel – thanks to my Diamond Accor membership – for the connection to Nice. Not something I would necessarily recommend but, remember, I can sleep anywhere.
Despite the less than optimal conclusion to our holiday, we’d really had a wonderful trip down memory lane visiting places we knew well and had, in the past, visited with my parents. We also met up with long standing friends, always a pleasure.
Christophe picked us up at the airport the following day after lunch and gave us a bag of goodies to tide us over until Monday – he really is a treasure. Of course, we’d missed the Vuelta a Espagna peloton riding pass the Domaine but it couldn’t be helped. We’d enjoy watching it on the television for the next three weeks.
Our trip however didn’t stop there. We’re claiming compensation from Sleazy and disputing our Hertz bill. The latter are claiming we returned the car two days late. We didn’t. We had returned it when agreed on the rental agreement but the office was closed. Luckily then that I had proof of the time and location of the car’s return.
Postscript: Compensation and refunds received from both Sleazy and Hertz.
Postcard from our German Adventure I
Finally, back to my recentish travels………
This year has been long and hot with temperatures on average 4-5 degrees higher than usual. We’ve managed to swerve much of the heat by staying in air conditioned accommodation. It’s not so much during the day when there’s often a gentle off-shore breeze moving through our flat but, at night, temperatures rarely drop below 25°C. We are seriously and regrettably going to have to consider installing air conditioning.
Consequently, we planned a trip to slightly cooler climes – Germany. This commenced with Hamburg to renew our long-standing acquaintance with both the city and friends. There are no direct flights to Hamburg, so we flew to Berlin and took the train. We had hoped to be relaxing in our room by early afternoon but Deutsche Bundesbahn had other ideas. A nearly four hour delay for a two hour train trip meant we didn’t arrive until cocktail time.
Our initial train booking was cancelled five minutes before its much-rescheduled arrival. Luckily, my OH had pre-booked our first-class tickets which enabled us to get a seat on the next available train.
It’s many years since I’ve frequently travelled on German trains which used to be a byword for timeliness and propriety. Well, no longer! While we sat in the station waiting, we heard every excuse under the sun trotted out for delays. It felt like we were back in the UK. I’m not sure why this was happening but maybe Germany hasn’t invested enough in its infrastructure in recent years.
Of course, no sooner had we gotten on the train, which had no staff and no refreshments, it stopped just outside of Berlin’s main station for what seemed like an interminable delay but was only another 30 minutes. Finally, we got underway but it was apparent that we were following another, slower route to Hamburg.
At long last, we arrived at Hamburg’s main station and walked the short distance to our hotel in serious need of refreshment and nourishment. Unfortunately, we had gotten there four hours later than anticipated. We filled in some of the time by completing the DB online claim form for compensation. Let’s see whether we’re successful.
The following day dawned bright and sunny so we put yesterday’s disappointing start behind us and set off to enjoy a boat trip on the Alster, something we’d not done for many years. We also wandered around Hamburg noting all the many changes since our last visit in 2016. We then enjoyed afternoon tea in the hotel which was all we needed after our splendid and copious breakfast.
The following day we paid a visit to Hamburg’s Art museum before meeting our friends at our hotel for refreshments then heading out for an early dinner, near the fish market, at a restaurant recommended by their youngest son. We just picked up where we’d left off last summer which was so nice. Next year’s get together has been organised, plus they’ve promised to visit us in France.
On Friday, we went out again with our friends, this time into the surrounding countryside. The trip was a welcome respite from the urban environment and concluded with an early dinner at another highly recommended fish restaurant overlooking the water.
Saturday we more fully explored the harbour and port on a lengthy boat trip and returned via one of our old stomping grounds, Poeseldorf, home to plenty of property porn and pretty one-off shops.
We were sorry to leave Hamburg the following day but resolved to return soon. We opted to take a Flixtrain back to Berlin which left and arrived on time, not so the Deutsche Bundesbahn offering. A quick taxi ride and we were soon ensconced at our next hotel, near the Tiergarten and a number of embassies.
This provided a delightful area to stroll and ride around while not being too far from anywhere. I rather liked that we caught tantalising glimpses of the zoo’s occupants who were keen to investigate passers by.
My OH had wanted to use Berlin as a jumping off point to visit Dresden, Leipzig and Potsdam. He quickly appreciated that this was far too much to do but Potsdam was definitely achievable and we spent a glorious day there visiting the Old Town and Sans Souci, Prussia’s Versaille.
We fortunately finally found somewhere in Potsdam to enjoy “Kaffee und (hausgemacht) Kuchen.” This is something that’s sadly disappearing from the German high street, again I don’t know why. Should we blame GP-1?
Admittedly, any trip to Hamburg used to feature Saturday afternoon Kaffe u. Kuchen round at Heike’s parents. Her Mum was a fantastic cook and baker, sadly she doesn’t appear to have passed on these traits to any of her three daughters, nor have they found or made any record of her cherished recipes.
The weather was glorious, sunny but not too hot, such that it was a pleasure just to be out and about. However, we kept moving for fear of being covered by either graffiti or tattoos, both overly prevalent in Berlin.
Most days after a hearty breakfast we set forth to conquer at least 15,000 steps during the day before enjoying an early dinner, followed by further steps. We ate in a number of other hotels and restaurants, including an old favourite, the Adlon. In addition to which we were just a short stroll from the Tiergarten’s most well- known lakeside restaurant and a short stroll from the KaDeWe’s food hall and restaurants.
The rest of the week was spent walking around Berlin’s many splendid buildings and museums. Though I did have to spend a morning in a rather unprepossessing part of Berlin at the launderette washing most of my OH’s wardrobe while he was down the gym.
Postscript: We’ve received a 50% refund from Deutsche Bundesbahn.
Musical Monday: Soundtracks #34
I’ve reported on a whole variety of songs: ones by artists I’ve seen live, covers, duets and those deemed iconic. I’m now turning my attention to what might be called “Soundtracks” specialised musical compositions, often instrumental or lyrical, designed to establish the mood and identity of TV shows and films, typically played during opening or closing credits, plus those used in advertisements.
The Fiat 500X Blue Pill commercial is a famous 2015 car advert created by The Richards Group that humorously uses a Viagra metaphor to introduce the larger, more muscular crossover. It first premiered as a longer teaser video at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, where it went viral with nearly 10 million online views. A 60-second version aired nationally during the Super Bowl in February 2015.
The music in the advert is a unique, modern cover of the classic 1958 Italian song, globally known as Volare.This specific version was produced by Flavio Ibba. Because the track was custom-created as a commercial jingle, a full stand alone version was never officially released for public download or streaming platforms
As always, don’t forget to let me know your thoughts.
The Numbers Game 58, Monday 26 October 2026
Today’s lucky number yielded 173 photos from which I’ve selected 6 at random.
The challenge is kindly hosted by Life Lessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown
To play along, go to your WP Media file and type the number 763 into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find including that number and post a link to your blog in Judy’s Numbers Game blog of the day – easy, peasy!
French Fancies Revisited: Typology
This is where I tell you all about some of my and my beloved’s favourite French brands. I initially looked at this company just two years after its establishment and it has flourished in the intervening period.
Established by Ning Li, co-founder of Made.com, Typology is a new Paris-based startup that designs and sells quality skincare and cosmetics products directly to consumers. According to Li:
Typology is a relatively ambitious project. We want to challenge FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] brands with a digital pure player. I spent all my career working in e-commerce. I’ve seen a lot of industries move from offline to online. But some industries, such as cosmetics, food and do-it-yourself, have been migrating to online channels more slowly.
Typology is now starting to make serious waves in the industry. Its turnover has massively increased during the pandemic. Aside from its cool packaging and branding, it has an incredible product offering. Not only are the formulas amazing, but the brand’s approach to skincare is what makes it stand out. Whereas products from many other French skincare brands risk overwhelming consumers with overly technical and scientific language, Typology seeks to totally demystify (and disrupt) the industry.
Typology differentiates itself from cosmetics giants with simple lists of ingredients and no dangerous products for your skin or the environment. The company also promises that all its products are vegan, cruelty-free and made in France – all good, right?
So the company ticks all the right boxes but there are countless brands around the globe that make similar promises. The main difference is that Typology doesn’t want to become yet another small-batch beauty brand. The team wants to create an e-commerce giant with multiple sub-brands, hundreds of products and an aggressive e-commerce strategy. Li said:
Unilever, L’Oréal and P&G represent over 50% of the market. And on the other side, you have a ton of independent brands that are quite small and will probably never stand out.
Typology launches different product lines every month each of which has its own concept and its own sub-brand. Everything has been developed in-house.
On its start-up, the company launched three sub-brands. “Raw” is all about mixing products at home. You order a kit and you get the raw ingredients – oils, powders, spoons and a small box – to create your own mask, hair oil, beard oil, etc. You can also order each product individually. Raw products are only made using one ingredient.
The “Lab” product line contains only cosmetic serums with its own set of properties depending on need.
Finally, “Ten” is the basic skincare product range, each of which has less than 10 ingredients. The company is started with face, hand and body moisturisers and moved onto shower gels, shampoos, micellar water and makeup remover etc etc
When it comes to branding and packaging, Typology uses minimalist design to represent transparency and simplicity. It’s also worth noting that Typology is a unisex brand. The company uses recyclable packaging as much as possible by relying on glass and aluminum.
Initially, Typology was only available in France, but the company quickly expanded to other countries following a significant seed round of funding: US $10 million from Alven Capital, Marc Simoncini, Xavier Niel and Firstminute Capital.
In June 2025 Typology announced a partnership with global luxury boutique hotels MGallery Collection (part of Accor). The brand will have five personal care products available to hotel guests in thirty hotels by the end of the year, marking a thoughtful move into a new channel that will further its reach to new audiences.
Since launching in 2019, Typology exclusively sells its products through its e-commerce website, with only a very recent entry into physical retail with its permanent corner at Parisian department store Printemps Haussmann. At a time when most brands look to diversify their touchpoints for optimal success, Typology is going against the tide of traditional omni-channel strategies.
Typology has refused to partner with beauty retailers even six years after launch. This move is uncommon, with the majority of beauty brands eager to obtain partnerships with Sephora, Ulta and other beauty retailers after a few years of activity and traction. Founder Ning Li is clear on the reason behind this unique channel strategy. He wants full brand control.
We don’t want our brand to be sold at places where we don’t have total control of the shopping experience. So far, we remain very much on our DTC route.
It’s a bold move but, from a brand perspective, it enables Typology to grow its reach and unlock brand trial with international hotel guests who may not be familiar with the brand.
Also, the brand extended its popular “Tinted” series. Moving beyond their viral tinted serum, they introduced highly successful additions like serum mascaras, brow sculpting gels, and tinted lip oils that blur the lines between makeup and active skincare.
Postscript:
Founder Ning Li has continued to use Typology’s Parent Company (Good Brands) as a launchpad for modern consumer concepts. In late 2025, Li debuted a separate, highly anticipated sibling brand called Sujet—a fragrance house entirely focused on raw, agriculture-inspired scents (like harvested hay) and radical ingredient traceability, mirroring Typology’s disruptive ethos.
Images courtesy of Typology
