Getting the flavour of…
Albania’s food revolution Think of Albania under communist rule and chances are “grey soups and meagre rations” spring to mind. But a new “slow food” movement there is drawing on older culinary traditions and the country’s natural bounty with “delicious” results, says Elizabeth Gowing in The Independent. At Rapsodia, in the northern town of Lezha, chef Alfred Marku offers witty takes on flavours he remembers from childhood, including a dough made of clover flowers and potato; while over at nearby Mrizi i Zanave, Altin Prenga serves kebabs on “twiggy branches several feet long”. In Tirana, the capital, Dashami Elezi’s Etnik and Bledar Kola’s Mullixhiu stand out, and the cool Komiteti “café museum” is worth a visit for traditional drinks such as rosehip wine and
karafili, a “warming” clove liqueur. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from Gatwick to Tirana from £299 return.
An island wilderness in Maine Acadia National Park in Maine celebrates its centenary this year. Occupying much of Mount Desert Island, off the far northeastern tip of the state, it is a natural “playground” of forests, mountains, lakes and pebbly ocean beaches, says Kathy Arnold in The Daily Telegraph. Five hours from Boston by car, it has plenty of hiking trails and cycle tracks, and you can drive to the top of its easternmost – and tallest – peak, Cadillac Mountain (466m), which is among the first places in the US to see the sunrise. Picturesque towns such as Northwest Harbour have “unfussy” but comfortable clapboard hotels and lots of excellent lobster shacks, as well as guides offering first-rate birdwatching and coastal kayaking tours. America As You Like It (020-8742 8299, www.americaasyoulikeit.com) has seven nights from £1,240, incl. flights and car hire.
The bite-sized Balearic Each summer, tourists descend on Mallorca, Menorca, Formentera and Ibiza in droves. But there’s a fifth inhabited Balearic island that is no less beautiful, but sees only a tiny fraction of the visitors, says Paul Richardson in the FT. Situated 11 miles off the coast of Mallorca, Cabrera is a strictly protected national park, crowned by “rocky summits” and ringed by sea cliffs and “sublime” beaches. Just 20 people live here, and tourists can only stay in a small, “basic” hostel, the Albergue de Cabrera, for a maximum of two nights. You might spend that time visiting the island’s medieval fortress and ethnographic museum, snorkelling in crystal-clear seas, or hiking along trails through countryside that smells “of hot stone and sun-warmed herbs”. See www.cvcabrera.es, www.excursionsacabrera.es and www. marcabrera.com for information.