Macedonia The Travel Show

Now it's time for The Travel Show.

This week on The Travel Show...

So we're going to be diving on an archaeological site?

Yeah, exactly.

Underwater?

Exactly.

We're swimming back to the Bronze Age in Macedonia.

Oh, wow.

You see all walks of life coming in to get a tattoo,

bankers, lawyers, doctors.

We're making a lasting mark in Singapore.

It's art, and it's beautiful art at that.

We're taking someone else's seat in first class.

If someone finds me in an airport and says, hey,

catch me if you can, yes, I will switch seats with you.

You can take my first or business class seat and I'll go back

to wherever you're sitting.

I'm going to prepare this how it would have been in the Tudor times.

And we're taking a bite out of one of King Henry

VIII's favourite treats.

First this week, we're visiting this small country with a big history

and sites stating all the way back to the Bronze Age.

People there are hoping that ancient past will pull in today's tourists.

We sent Amanda Ruggieri to Lake Ohrid in Macedonia to find out more.

This mostly rural country has drawn people and empires

for thousands of years.

The ancient Persians conquered this area,

so did Alexander the Great.

So I arrived into Macedonia late last night.

It is a landlocked little country in the Balkans,

so I drove 3.5 hours through mountains and forests.

It was lush, it was absolutely beautiful.

But I didn't see a single body of water.

Until I drove over a hill and found myself here at Lake Ohrid,

one of the most beautiful lakes I think I've ever seen.

This is the oldest lake in Europe.

The area around it is old as well.

Even the town of Ohrid already was a town at the time

that

King Alexander the Great was king in the fourth century BC.

That ancient history is one of the main reasons

visitors love to come here.

Most of the tourists want to experience the ancient

thing,

to see the culture here.

What about as a local, as a Macedonian, what does

the history here mean to you?

The history, I actually love the history.

At the same time I'm feeling so proud about my history.

I've got a sense of this lake's extraordinary

history from its surface.

Hello!

Hi, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you!

A little diving today?

Yes, please.

Come on.

But to really go in search of Lake Ohrid's ancient roots,

I have to get a little wet.

You are ready?

Come on, follow me.

So we're going to be diving on an archaeological site?

Yeah, exactly.

Underwater?

Exactly, exactly.

So it's not just your normal typical everyday dive,

it's like something more on top of that.

Including a lot of interesting artefacts and objects which are more

than 3000 years old.

We don't have to go far to find traces of Ohrid's

ancient history underwater.

With the water so still and clear, diving here is so relaxing,

but I almost swim right by without even noticing

the first artefacts.

Jovan has to point them out to me.

But when I look, I see they look like the stumps of trees.

These are wooden pylons that in a stroke of Bronze Age ingenuity,

once held up houses built on a platforms over the water.

In fact, archaeologists have found 6000 remains of these

wooden pylons in the lake.

Jovan also points out some other object and it's obvious they aren't

just the normal debris that you would expect to see

in the lake bottom.

This artefact is probably something used to drink from, all right,

so as you can see there is a really small handle right here,

ergonomically made, right?

So judging by this, if you can see...

Can I hold it?

Please do, careful.

Wow.

You can see some shells around it.

Still wet from our dive.

That's the most perfect little handle!

So, it's kind of interesting to see how they used to do these things.

You think this would have been a cup to drink out of?

Most probably, yes, yes.

Wow.

And the last one is the stone axe.

This is the front part.

You put the stick there or the wooden stick with the handle,

and there from behind you have the part that

we've seen underwater.

As fascinating as it is to discover, and even touch artefacts

from Ohrid's ancient past, it is still difficult to picture

what life would have been like here some 3000 years ago.

This is where this reconstructed Bronze Age settlement comes in.

Called the Bay of the Bones, the settlement has 24 houses built

on a wooden platform over the lake.

Lake Ohrid and the area are considered so special,

they even have been listed as a world Heritage site by UNESCO.

And Ohrid has another big draw for visitors around the world, too.

The annual Ohrid summer festival has hosted musicians,

actors and singers from more than 60 different countries.

Our concerts are full and this year we have more than 350 artists

playing and acting here.

We have 33 concerts, ballet performances,

and nine drama shows.

The venues used for the Ohrid summer festival are all historic sites.

That includes this ancient Roman amphitheatre.

We have this marvellous stage also in the amphitheatre,

made 2000 years before our era.

Is there is something really special about performing

in an amphitheatre like this or in an 11th century church?

I think it is because this amphitheatre looks spectacular in

the night with 3000 visitors here.

Also every musician is really excited performing.

Yes, and the acoustic of Saint Sofia is really spectacular.

I'm sure you will come for some concerts and you will have

the opportunity to listen.

Possibly dating all the way back to the ninth century,

Ohrid's church of Saint Sofia is one of the most important buildings

in all of Macedonia.

Today, it's interior is covered with glorious Byzantine frescoes,

painted between the 11th and 13th centuries.

I think that Ohrid is an excellent mix between the ancient history

and culture and the programme we do as a festival, and also the culinary

and the restaurants and the good food and the good nightlife.

I think that everything is important to have a good

offer for the tourists.

On a night like this, when a pianist is performing

here for the festival, the combination of Ohrid's history,

art and music is intoxicating.

It is easy to see why locals are hopeful that more and more

visitors will fall in love with this area and its history.

Next on the Travel Show, let's take another trip back in time,

to get a taste of a dish made for one of the most

notorious of kings.

My name's Andrew Chan, I'm the head chef at Thornbury Castle

in South Gloucestershire.

Thornbury Castle's famous for Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

They came here for their honeymoon.

Today I'll be trying to replicate a dish they would have

eaten at that time.

I'm going to prepare a dish that could have been had in Tudor times.

It's South Gloucestershire pork cheek with black pudding bonbon,

some vegetables and sage.

This is Gloucester pork.

You have the pork cheek.

The only meat we're going to take out initially is the cheek.

What I'm going to do now is season that.

Get it into the pan and get some nice caramelisation on it.

In Tudor times the food was homely and very moreish.

So they would have grown their potatoes, their carrots,

their swedes, their parsnips.

You get natural sweetness out of the vegetables.

And some red wine.

Pour some red wine in.

Just plain beef stock.

Going to pour it so it covers the whole dish.

Leave it there for like two hours, give or take.

I'm making the bonbon.

You have your flour, your eggs, your breadcrumbs.

We have our mix so I'm going to make the mix now for you so I'm

going to show you the black pudding.

Put it into a mixing bowl.

So from the pork stock you cook your pork cheek.

We keep the sauce.

That's all left over.

Reduce it down so it becomes quite sauce consistency.

Put a tiny amount in.

Just mix it up into a paste.

So it's easy enough to mould.

Just put them in gently.

And all we're going to do is cook these for about a minute so we get

a nice golden colour on them.

Put the apple sauce, the vegetables, black pudding bonbon,

South Gloucestershire pork cheek and you finish off with a nice

little bit of sage.

And pork broth.

Still to come here on this week's Travel Show...

Still to come here on this week's Travel Show...

We're taking someone else's seat in first class.

If someone finds me in an airport and says,

hey, catch me if you can, yes, I will switch seats with you.

You can take my first or business class seat and I'll go back

to wherever you were sitting.

And we're baring almost all in the name of body art.

You are not only going to attract more people looking at you,

you will also help the wearer to have a better self-confidence.

So don't go away.

The Travel Show, your essential guide to wherever you're heading.

Time now for Trending Travel, your monthly mash up of the best

travel related stories, snacks and videos online.

First-class flying is a luxury few of us can afford.

But if you see this man at the airport, you could be

in for a free upgrade.

His name is Gilbert Ott and he's a travel blogger offering

money-saving tips on air travel.

He's claimed he will trade his first class or business class seat

to anyone who spots him before a flight.

If someone finds me at an airport maybe the check-in, the security

lane, you know, duty-free, getting some food or even

the boarding gate, and they say, hey, catch me if you can,

you're that guy, Gilbert?

Yes, I will switch seats with you.

You can take my first business class seats and I'll go back

to wherever you're sitting.

The key here is they find me before I'm on the plane.

Because once I'm on the plane, that seat is mine.

You can keep up-to-date with Gilbert's Twitter feed

where he'll post hints on where you're likely to catch him

around the world.

The next generation of lunar robots explored a more earthbound

location last month.

Researchers travelled to Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano to test

the machines for project XXX, the robotic exploration

of extreme environments.

Etna's rocky terrain is similar to the moon's.

And like the moon's it's also prone to earthquakes.

It is hoped the robots will monitor these lunar quakes and answer

questions about the moon's core.

Closer to home, robots are also helping out passengers at Charles de

Gaulle airport where a robot valet called Stan parks your car

after you've dropped it off.

It then monitors your flight on the way back and has your car

ready for you on your return.

If the prototype is a success, stand's makers claim this automated

procedure will also maximise space in overcrowded car parks.

And if you are struggling to find your next holiday

destination, you might want to leave it to the team at SRPRS Me.

This Dutch company has recently launched in the UK and for a fee,

they claim they'll book you a mystery break

with the destination kept secret until you reach the airport.

Faced with a choice between city break and backpacking adventure,

you're given only the barest idea of what to pack for.

And of course, there's always the risk you could end up

going somewhere you've been before.

Thanks to everyone who's sent us their pictures this month,

using the hashtag Travel Tuesday.

Here are some of my favourites.

Karl visited Norfolk in the UK when he took this photo

of a beautifully lit woodland trail.

And Kyle has snapped this sunset image of the Disney springs

in Orlando, Florida.

Don't forget to check out our Twitter and Facebook feeds

for extra special Travel Show content.

Now let's look at the travel videos clocking up reviews online.

One country which has seen record-breaking numbers of tourists

in the last year is Morocco with over 10 million

visitors in 2016.

So we've selected a couple of films which show the country at its best

that you can also check out online.

The film Morocco was not a kind of preconceived plan.

It was the result of the month of travel across the country

that my wife and I did for our travel blog.

This film was made using just one camera at the absolute minimum.

I find people to be less intimidated.

When you come in with the crew and large production,

it just changes the environment.

Although the film shows you some beautiful imagery,

it's really nothing compared to experiencing it yourself.

Don't forget to get in touch.

It's @BBC Travel Show.

A couple of years ago on the Travel Show, I had a preview

of the massive new National Art Gallery in Singapore.

So what are we looking at here?

We are looking at a work by Japanese artist who was born

in an aristocratic family.

It's very visceral with that tiger scowling at us.

Well, now we're taking a look at a very different kind

of Singapore art.

You know, it's rare that a lot of our local tattoo community comes

together, congregated in one area in one spot.

These are very talented individuals and, you know,

it's art, and it's beautiful art at that.

I guess I'm one of the most well-known tattooists in the world.

I've been travelling for about ten years now,

tattooing just anybody that I can.

It's so intimate.

Tattooing is really intimate, because you're dealing with touching

people and it is one-on-one for so long, it's just

an intimate thing.

It's overwhelming getting a lot of attention, you know what I mean?

It's hard to focus because I just want to create good art.

Super grateful but it's hard.

What I've noticed about Singapore in general, it's not

very heavily tattooed.

But walking around the streets, I didn't see a lot of tattoos

on lower limbs where you can see it, or necks and faces and stuff.

So that was really interesting because everywhere I go everyone

is really heavily tattooed.

This is a very significant event for the tattooing community,

especially in Singapore.

We've come up from an era of back in the day where tattoos might have

had a bit of negative connotation.

There are still a few barriers and the stigma

is still kind of there.

So doing an event like this is really just trying

to remove all that.

The people in Singapore associate tattooing with negativity

like being a triad and mostly bad stuff.

But now we are opening up, you see all walks of life coming

in to get a tattoo, bankers, lawyers, doctors, you know.

People are opening up to it quite a lot more and I think that's

a good thing.

Category four.

$50.

We are looking for the quality of work.

The points are given in each individual details.

For example, for colours, we make sure they are bright

and solid and the blends are smooth.

For black and grey, of course we're looking at the design,

the depth, the detail.

The individual creation from the artist.

To me, every single tattoo design is between the client

and the artist.

That should be the way that we are looking at it.

A good tattoo on the individual body, you're not only

going to attract more people looking at you,

you will also help the wearer to have a better self-confidence.

Unfortunately, I have never been satisfied for the things I've done.

As long as my client likes it, they are happy about it for many

years, it is fine with me.

The greatest part of going to conventions is I am able to draw

tattoos all over the world, my name, and a piece of myself,

my soul, and it lives there until the person

passes, you know.

And that's it for this week's Travel Show, but coming up next

week: Carmen begins becoming a journey through Japan.

Tackling the flavours that locals love but visitors might find a bit

of a challenge.

A bit like an oyster, really salty but the consistency...

bleugh!

Join us next week for that if you can, but if you can't wait

until then, sign up to our social media feeds.

The details are on the screen now.

But from me, Henry Golding, and the rest of the Travel Show team

here in Singapore, it is goodbye.

Hello.

The UK weekend weather coming up in a moment,