Invited to Russia, composer Giuseppe Verdi was convinced he wouldn’t enjoy the food. So he did the obvious thing – reserved two railway carriages for the trip. One for accommodating him and his wife, and the second for supplies: hams, eggs, Parmigiano Reggio,  Italian breads and flour… Then there was the problem of what to drink. French wines were the great man’s favourite, so a third carriage was stocked in Lyons and sent to Berlin where the Verdis waited for it. The whole entourage then proceeded to St Petersburg, where they presumably ate and drank to their satisfaction for the whole of their trip.