Ayo with her album Joyful.
Do I need to say more .... ?
When Nicolas was born in Turkey from a well to do family and was appointed bishop of Myra (today Demre) in the forth century nobody could have imagined that he would become one of the most prolific and intrigueing patron Saints of the Catholic Church.Like Buddha and Saint Francis, he was appalled by riches (good for him!) and gave financial support to young women without a dowry and children at every occasion. At the beginning of the second Millenium almost all European cities had their own patron Saint, and Bari in southern Italy was already a beautiful and thriving city; it was, in fact, a bridgehead for commerce with the Orient, though still didn't have a proper patron. It was then that the authorities from Bari asked Pope Urbanus II for permission to adopt this Nicolas the "Moor" about whom had heard a lot on their travel to the Orient.
Therefore a group marines from Bari sailed off a couple of caravelles to Myra, and, taking advantages of the war with the muslim Saracens, emptied the crypt that guarded the bishop's relics without difficulty, to return to the coast of Bari. Venice lacked a patron Saint as well, and wanted the same Nicolas for themselves, but the Baresi protested vehemently and obtained permission from the pope to build a basilica dedicated to Saint Nicolas.
During the same period the 'crusades' were ne vogue that were intended to liberate Jerusalem from the Muslims, and Bari was a point of reference and refreshment for European soldiers before embarking for their adventure in the lands of the Orient. They say the "Templars" often gathered in the Saint's crypt and that the basilica's portals may hide something important.
When the spanish conquered the whole of southern Italy, Bari fell victim as well, but the Spanish, being rather religious, did not rage against the city, but on the contrary, hearing about the deeds of the Saint, adopted him as their own patron for marines and children.
The Netherlands were dominated by the Spanish as well and during this period they brought their traditions to the country: here's the legend of the Saint accompanied by "Moors" bringing presents to children. This tradition was preserved by the ages.
Today not only Bari is protected by Saint Nicolas, but Greece as well, and Russia, Belgium, France, Amsterdam, Barrn, etc, etc ... Amsterdam has its church dedicated to Saint Nicolas. The colors of Bari's football team are : white and red. Both cities face the sea and are seafaring. And then there's a recent history: during the migrations to America in the twenties and thirties, the Dutch brought Sinterklaas with them, where it was adopted under the name of "Santa Klaus".
How many travels, how many stories for this holy Moor, this kind of traveler; from far away Myra, through Bari and Spain, and finally through the Netherlands he has become a symbol of kindheartedness for children ...
And today he hired me to be one of his 'pieten'... wish me luck :-)
Have a great evening all
CucinaMosae is situated in and around the old domes of the Mosae Forum. It has become a gathering of different food concepts in which the kitchen (La Cucina) is literally and figurative the center point. Here there will be cooked all day before the eyes of the public, here is were people eat and there are cooking clinics. The kitchen with lunch restaurant, cooking studio, winebar, coffeebar, pastry and bakkery together are Cucina Mosae 100% Gusto. Of course surrounded with retail stores where products are sold connected to food.
At least that's what they say themselves ... time for some inspection, last time I was in Maastricht (preuvenemint) it was still closed, so need to go there again. Situated in this lovely town where people like to dress and impress, so much people enjoy a good coffee / glass of wine with friends, and of course love food. Next to the river on one hand and the heart of the city on the other hand. 3500m2 they say, the largest market with a roof in the Benelux ...
After a long journey starting with a drink and something light to eat ... need to discover all of this :-) It might be 3500m2 but not only devoted to food I guess, it's pretty big but not that big! It lacks a bit of the real market style, it's a bit to 'clean'. The setting with these old arches is so beautiful although I would have done some different lighting. The presentation of the food still need some work. The products you can buy are lovely for the biggest part. The 'nut' department is rather small and I suggest they will have a look at the Market in Amsterdam on Saturday and go to Gotjé (De Nootzaak) talk to Jos and he'll arrange a nice assortment. The cheese section is rather poor. The vegetables are perfect, the meat section was oke, but not far as good as the English Market in Cork (Ireland), winebar was superb, rather small selection of wines, the coffee bar was from DE, not quite a brand I would suggest, although the espresso was good, and the Cappuccino's made like it should. The traiteur was fine, nice products (bought a lot) and the taste was perfect for 9.5 out of the 10. Good presentation, nice people and enough choices.
The restaurant had a small menu, nice items but such a bad service and sooooo slow. About 20 tables, more than 5 cooks and needed to wait for a simple foccacia. Taste was good, salad had a nice dressing (good attention to small things is what makes the difference). Slow service rather, wrong invoice at the end .... so some improvements to be made.
It's a good step forward for Holland though. Not an attraction where I need to go back too but when around I certainly will get some stuff from the traiteur.
