The Moric Olives

Tici is just one of many small farming villages on the Lustice peninsula of Montenegro. Past the ocean views and the rolling hills of family farms lie the olive groves of Nedeljko Moric.

His is a true family business. Nedeljko has spent his life here among the olives, as did his father and his grandfather. He and his wife, Zorka, have 3 adult sons: Pater, Jovan, and Ilija, all of whom are college graduates, all of whom are now involved in the tourism and agriculture of this place.

And theirs is the first and only certified organic olive oil in the whole of Montenegro; a lineage dating back to when olives were picked by hand and pressed using very old machines still present on the property.

Approximately 900 olive trees on 8.5 acres produce 700 to 1,000 liters of organic olive oil every year. A modern Italian oil press is necessary now, and the Morics no longer pick the olives by hand. At least not most of them.


As Ilija explained to us how to sample and taste the olive oil like wine, accompanied only by the olives themselves and simple, homemade sheep's milk cheese, his passion was evident and infectious.  

An authentic and fascinating experience.

The Fairmont Grand Hotel, Kiev.

On the banks of the Dnieper river we found the Fairmont Grand Hotel Kiev . It's an attractive, modern hotel offering large, luxurious rooms with expansive views. The location is perfect, within walking distance of many of the city's major sites, including:

Saint Andrew's Church

Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery

and Saint Sophia's Cathedral,  the most important church in Russian Orthodoxy.

And if you don't feel like walking, there's even a fun and almost-free funicular just steps from the Fairmont to take you there.

A Pictorial Feast in Croatia

Lunch at Stancija 1904 in Smoljanci (Istria): Local prosciutto, olives, cheeses and a fresh fish spread on homemade bread, accompanied by a sampling of local wines.

Lunch at Bota Sare, near Ston on the Peljesac peninsula: Amazing fresh oysters, and mussels cooked with white wine, tomatoes and garlic.

Dinner at Proto, in Dubrovnik: Fantastic truffle pasta starter followed by fresh shrimp, octopus, squid and fish.

Lunch at Nostromo in Split: Fresh fish and shrimp, grilled local vegetables and squid ink risotto.

A Decade in Russia

When I traveled to Russia in the fall of 2012 to lead an educational trip for Exeter International agents, it had been eleven years since my last visit in 2001. I was really excited to see how things had changed, and Russia did not disappoint.

I found St. Petersburg much brighter and more beautiful thanks to the major facelift completed for the city's tricentennial celebration in 2003.   The Grand Hotel Europe and Rocco Forte Astoria were both as glorious as ever, and it was exciting to have a “hard hat” sneak peak at the Four Seasons Lion Palace set to open in the summer of 2013. St. Petersburg’s palaces and Hermitage also never fail to amaze.

 

But what stood out most was the food. Whether devouring three different dishes at the local "Russian empanada" café, Stolle, or while sitting in the sleek, open-kitchen restaurant Terrassa, I could see the terrific advances in the gastronomy of St. Petersburg since my last trip.

After three glorious nights in St. Petersburg, we continued on to Moscow by the high-speed Sapsan train. My last trip between the two cities had been by air, but the train was far better. Traveling city center to city center in a comfortable first class car while admiring the Russian countryside, we seemed to have arrived faster by train, and avoided all the airport traffic and security headaches. A shinier, more delicious, and even more amazing version of the Moscow I had seen and loved years earlier embraced us with arms of both history and modernity.

The newly renovated Ararat Park Hyatt and the Ritz-Carlton are still perfectly located, just steps from the Kremlin and the Bolshoi Theater. They’re also in the vicinity of the Glavnyi Universalnyi Magazin, or GUM. 

 and the Tsentralhyi Universalhyi Magazin, or TSUM, two of Moscow’s world-renowned shopping malls. The Red October complex and Fallen Monuments Park are both new and wonderful, but the Grand Kremlin Palace, of which we had an amazing private tour, was the highlight. I had sent many clients there and seen countless photos of this building, which originated as home to the Czars, but nothing prepared me for the beauty of it.  

That's the amazing thing about Russia: Just when you think you can't be more impressed, it finds another way to take your breath away.