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tv   The Travel Show  BBC News  December 10, 2022 5:30am-6:01am GMT

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this is bbc news. the headlines: argentina are through to the last four of the football world cup after beating the netherlands in a penalty shoot—out. they'll face croatia in the semi—final, who knocked out the favourites, brazil, in another penalty shootout. croatia's win puts them into a second successive world cup semi—final. the hong kong media tycoon and pro—democracy activist, jimmy lai, has been sentenced to five years and ninemonths forfraud. he is already serving prison sentence for attending a vigil marking the tiananmen square massacre and is facing further charges under beijing's national security law imposed on hong kong. the united states says russia and iran are transforming their relationship into a fully—fledged defence partnership,
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with serious consequences for ukraine and for iran's neighbours. the us national security spokesmanjohn kirby said iran is supplying hundreds of drones that have been used to attack ukraine's infrastructure. now on bbc news, the travel show. coming up on this week's travel show... as the cost of energy soars, cat meets the islanders making the most out of mother nature... we are in an active, dormant volcano. ..nic tests his taste buds in turkey... i'm suddenly doing a jigsaw puzzle with pastries. ..uno, due, tre... ..and things get a bit competitive in italy!
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wow! welcome to the travel show. this week, i'm in tuscany, in the mountain town of volterra to find out all about the delights of this region. check these guys out behind me. they call this banderatoris. but first up, we're off to the azores. and if you're not familiar with them, they're an archipelago far out in the atlantic ocean, about 1,500 kilometres off the coast of portugal. now, we sent cat moh to san miguel, the largest of the islands, to see how they're using volcanoes to power up and keep tourism going amidst rising energy prices.
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adventurers have long been drawn to these nine volcanic islands jutting out in the middle of the atlantic. they've been called the hawaii of europe, and it's easy to see why on san miguel. this intense greenery is a result of regular rainfall and mist. i mean, just look at all of this. now, locals say you can experience four seasons in one day, and right now, it's pretty misty. but that could change at any moment. hiking in the forest, i almost forget that san miguel was born out of volcanoes erupting, but there's no getting away from it in the valley of furnas. it's, in fact, a huge volcanic crater and a hot spot of geological activity. that's boiling and the mud boiling, so... 0h! bubbling and gurgling we are in an active dormant volcano. so the magma below us, even if it's crystallised magma, it releases
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temperature and gases. that heat produced by the volcano can be used to make energy to sustain life on the island. it's a good position to be in at a time when the rest of europe is struggling with high gas and electricity prices. but what's it really like living in an active volcano? would you say that the azores is a safe place for people to live and for tourists to come and visit? 0k. i usually say... there was a pause there! yeah! usually, i say that we live| in the centre of the world. of course, that from a seismic and volcanic point of view, - we need to be aware i that we live in volcanic, active volcanic systems. what is important is - that we monitor the sites. if this is done, i thinkj we are in a safe place if we follow the rules.
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unsurprisingly, the locals have been making the most of having these natural steam pots around. these bubbling ones near the lake are perfect for cooking in. how hot is it inside? it varies between 60 to 97 degrees. 60 to 97 degrees celsius inside! and how long is it going to stay in there for? seven hours. tourists chatter these cooking holes act like a steam oven for the island's most iconic food — cozido das furnas. and i'm definitely not going to pass up the opportunity to try some. so we have chicken, we have beef, and pork, sweet potato, yams, everything. sweet potato. carrots, cabbage. carrots.
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i see everything here. is this pork? this is pork. just pulls apart. hmm! good! the meat�*s really soft and tender. you can tell it's been cooked for a very long time. just like... the juice, the juices you see is the from the product. yes. all in the produce. and that is cozido? that is cozido! with over half a million visitors a year — that's four times the island's population — san miguel needs all the energy it can get. just a 30—minute drive from here is one of the island's two geothermal plants. i want to find out how they're harnessing volcanic energy to produce electricity, reducing the island's dependence on oil and gas. this is where everything starts. a geothermal well is drilled inside the reservoir. oh, my goodness. i can feel the heat coming up. exactly. because deep inside, at between 500 metres to 1,000
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metres, there is hot water at 240 degrees. wow! it's notjust geothermal energy that's used here. the island has been taking advantage of all its natural resources to increase its green credentials. between geothermal, hydro and wind, we already are able to fulfil almost 60% of the needs of the island. and this is important because this allow us to be a little bit self—sufficient. if we have situations like a war or something that makes the prices go very high of energy, this allow us to source to be a little bit less dependent on what concerns energy. that's no small feat at a time when global events have made electricity bills shoot up to record levels elsewhere. energy independence, sustainability and wild beauty combined in one small island. and what better way to finish
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off than to come here — the crater of sao miguel�*s largest volcano. some come to hike whilst others do this. i can't believe i'm kayaking in a crater! it's so calm and serene here. it's incredible to think that this was once the site of a very angry volcano. thanks, cat. well, if you're inspired by visiting a volcanic island, here are some places you could consider around the world. kilauea is the most accessible active volcano in hawaii and receives nearly 3—million visitors a year. fortunately for visitors, huge explosions are not its style, as it prefers to belch out
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slow—moving lava and has been doing so almost continuously for a0 years. japan is home to 108 active volcanoes, with mount fuji being the most famous one. 0n clear days, it's visible from the capital tokyo. the best time to visit isjuly to september, when it's officially open and free of snow. finally, it would be remiss of us not to include iceland, the land of fire and ice, famous for its volcanic activity. you can find a handy guide online to the island's 32 volcanoes, where you can see their current status and scientific descriptions. we're going to take a quick break now, but please don't go anywhere because we've got loads of great stuff coming up on this week's travel show. ifeel like i'm tasting raw spices. am i? yes, you are. nic taste some of turkey's
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unique flavours. and i am going to be getting to grips with a great big hunk of cheese as i try and roll it down this hill, cheered on by hundreds of screaming italians. you won't want to miss that! welcome back to the travel show. now i'm in beautiful tuscany in italy, just outside of volterra, and this factory here produces the purest salt in the whole of italy. and i'm told that the salt is a sight to behold. let's check it out. wow! look at this. yes! why is the salt here so pure? amazing, amazing!
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here we go. it's snowing salt! she laughs that's incredible. look at that! and can tourists come and visit this place to see this? it's such a cool sight and it's amazing to think that they've been producing salt in this area for 3,000 years! 3,000 years! incredible! next, we're off to ayvalik in turkey where nic quek has been discovering new flavours only found in that part of the world. ayvalik is a quaint seaside town 400 miles south of istanbul in the aegean region.
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its churches and narrow alleyways are reminiscent of its greek heritage. wow! look at this little cobbled street. this is beautiful. for me, food is what makes a destination. i travel the world taking photos of what i eat, and i'm pretty obsessed with food. i grew up in a kitchen and i've worked in some, too. and there's a saying in my family — we don't eat to live, we live to eat! my parents ran chinese restaurants in scotland, so my childhood was a constant mix of cultures, tastes and flavours. and now i'm on a mission to uncover more authentic dishes and ingredients from around the world. and ayvalik, i'm told, is famous for its fresh seafood, herbs and olive trees. today, i'm meeting chef semsa denizsel. a few years ago, semsa exchanged her pad in the city for an olive grove in ayvalik. now she puts on cooking courses for travellers from abroad. we have this group of
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americans are coming for a workshop to cook. right. so there's a menu i need to go through and do the shopping. we're on the hunt today for okra. 0kra, red peppers. and we're going to buy tonnes of stuff! 0k! what i like to do is, i mean, get something we like very much, do it maybe in a nontraditional way as well to show people there are many other ways to enjoy the stuff. chef semsa is introducing me to a famous ingredient here in turkey. this is tarhana. they make a paste and then they dry it on tables. i make my own tarhana that i will be using for the meal. so off to the kitchen we go to cook with sensa's modern version of tarhana. turkish cuisine is a highly regional cuisine like the italians. i would like to share this with non—turkish people so they will come, learn, witness a bit of what we are, and then turn to their countries with thinking something different than kebab!
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so it's your own unique twist on tarhana? this is, yes, yes. and you can make a soup with this or, like we do today, i will make a porridge with oatmeal. ifeel like i'm tasting raw spices. am i? yes, you are. dried fava beans. fresh fava beans. is there lemon in this? yes. lemon zest in there. fresh marjoram, fresh dill, spring onions and artichokes. semsa will serve the tarhana—infused porridge with her main course — grilled squid. i need more of a tarhana flavour to this. sure. uh-huh. while the tarhana porridge slowly cooks, we learn how to hand roll burek, a samosa—style turkish delicacy, using a local dough called yufka. like this. start doing it. i'm suddenly doing a jigsaw puzzle with pastries.
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now i think we're ready for cocktails. huh? what do you think? yes! lessons over, it's time to treat our taste buds. will all of my hard work will have paid off? delighted exclamations it's almost a little bitter. yes. and you can taste... i remember the smell of the tarhana. i think it's earthy. earthy? yeah. you know, it reminds me of a risotto, but yeah, it's kind of, it is unexpected, actually. unexpected. surprising. how's it going? marvellous, i think. yeah. what do you think? everyone�*s enjoying themselves. yeah. yes, they have... they have enjoyed it. and i think they are my ambassadors now! it was delicious! thank you very much. thanks, nic. well, tuscany here in italy
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is also well known for being a foodie destination. why didn't i get into food instead of travel? finding any excuse to hold a food or wine fair! grazie mille! and one not to be missed is the three—day festival which takes place inside the old medieval walls of the mountaintop town of volterra. just be ready for the steep streets. sometimes you need to hold your hand up and say you need help and i need a good, old—fashioned two—legger to help me up this. paolo, come on! paolo, please, bruv! 0nyvas! it's certainly worth the trip up. look at this guy. he's going three! hey, bravo! i started that!
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cheering and applause but what makes this weekend special is the palio dei caci, a downhill obstacle course, racing cheese. and i am taking part. oh, my days! look how steep this is! oh, my! i'm struggling just to control my chair. oh, no! ok, so maybe i need a masterclass? ade. nice to meet you. all right, let's see. jeez, he's off at pace! pace! this is going to be carnage. the rules are simple — guide the cheese around the hay bales as quick as possible. the winner moves through the rounds till you're left with one champion.
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the cheese rolling is a pretty strange tradition. how did it begin? so you must be one of the best, yes? so you're the champion? you're the reigning champion? the best cheese roller in the whole of italy?
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si! champion! that's what i'm talking about. so should i be wearing a helmet and some kneepads and gloves? no. no? ijust need tough skin! yeah? 0k. one last practice run. come on, come on, come on! come on! come on, come on, come on! laughs. broke through the barrier! good? good! good, man. come on! right — well, i've learned from the best. there's nothing more i can do here until the race. so i've been told if you want to truly understand what the cheese race is all about, then you got to start at the beginning. i'm at one of the ten sheep cheese farms in and around volterra. this one is open to tourists all year round. rosita is the third generation
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of sheep cheesemakers in herfamily. it's a very important cheese. smell the cheese. wow. it's quite sharp. si, because the milk, it's very fresh. so how long do you preserve the cheese for? it's one—year—old. one year? yes, but we produce pecorino in four different kind of maturing. so it's like fine wine? yes! since the middle ages, tuscans, particularly the poor, relied heavily on this cheese. i eat a lot of cheese, but i've never, ever had a chance to make some cheese. it's a great alternative to expensive meat for its nutrition. and this one, which they use in the cheese race, comes specifically from the milk of sarda sheep that graze both on lowland and mountainous terrain. perfect for here, then.
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time now to chat to the big boss — rosita's father. speaking to everybody here, they tell me that you are the king of cheese! i'd love to know about your history and your family's history. so over 100 years your family has been working with cheese? si! what do you think about the cheese race? maybe me and you? we can race in the cheese race. ade jokes in italian laughs well, the time has come. the medieval costumes all add to the experience, as this race is also in part
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an historical re—enactment. the contestants come from all over volterra, having been specially selected to represent their village or district. uno, due, tre... so this is our guy, davide. go, davide! shouts of encouragement cheering almost there! cheering and applause ha! so i clearly didn't win the prized cheese. but i found the man that did. grazie! it's my first time trying this.
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wow! that's actually really good. good? multo bono? buono. buono! multo buono! wow! well, that's it. bells toll. those bells are a sign that we're done for this week. look out for us next week when. .. rajan heads to egypt's valley of the kings and visits tutankhamun, whose remains were discovered exactly a century ago. but the big question is who really made the historic find? so this is the 12—year—old boy that they said really discovered the tomb. until then, you can find loads more amazing travel content from the bbc online by using the tags on the screen. but for now from me, ade adepitan and all of the travel show team here in volterra in italy, it's arrivederci. we'll see you soon.
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bye! hello there. it does look like this cold spell is here to stay for the foreseeable future. we are likely to see further spells of rain, sleet and snow. some significant accumulations towards the second part of the weekend in one or two areas. we will start to see increasing amounts of freezing fog developing as the winds will turn lighter, particularly across england and wales. bitterly cold start to the weekend then, as you can see from these temperatures, even lower in a few spots, maybe down to —9 in places, and watch out for ice first thing around northern and western coastal areas. it is here where we are likely to see the wintry showers
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continuing throughout the day. elsewhere, there will be a lot of wintry sunshine around. we could see this area of snow becoming heavier and more persistent across the north—east. and the east of scotland through the day, some significant accumulations of snow, certainly over the grampians. temperatures range from freezing to around 4 or 5. another very cold day to come, temperatures below par for the time of year. through saturday night it stays icy, northern and western areas where we have had this rubbish, this area of snow continues, drifts south into southern scotland, particularly towards the borders, perhaps up to the very far north—north—east of england. again, a widespread sharp frost across the uk. temperatures down to around —7 or —8 in a few places. into sunday, we need to keep an eye on this weak area of low pressure, this weather front developing towards the south—east quadrant of england. that could develop thicker cloud and even some sleet and snow, particularly later in the day, which could affect parts of the south—east and east anglia.
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elsewhere, another bright day on sunday. however, areas that start with some freezing fog could stay quite grey and very cold through the day. parts of east wales, the midlands and eastern england, so no higher than freezing here, elsewhere 1 to 4 degrees. for sunday evening and sunday night, we could see that area of sleet and snow affect the south—east, could see some significant accumulations in the south downs. there could be some disruption in places for monday morning across the south—east. stay tuned to the forecast as this might change. elsewhere, largely clear, another very cold night to come, wintry showers around coastal areas. you can see the upcoming week, it is remaining cold, all areas will stay very cold, temperatures below the seasonal norm.
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good morning welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines today — england's footballers prepare for their toughest test. they'll play defending champions france for a place in the world cup semi—finals later this evening. yes, a very good morning from doha. it is the quarterfinal line—up that many had predicted when this world cup draw was made. the holders france taking on england. the biggest test of their world cup so far, and at stake a place in the world cup semifinals. another child dies from invasive strep a, bringing the total to 16 since september, say health officials. the blind farmer, breaking down
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barriers for more disabled people to work in the agriculture industry.

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