Showing posts with label Dublin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dublin. Show all posts

9.18.2010

Easy fasting and yummy remembering

I wish an easy fast to all of my fellow members of the Tribe out there today.

Strange how fasting gave me the idea to write a post on my favorite meals that I've eaten during my travels. Here goes a mild form of masochism. Hope those of you who can eat today enjoy it, and for those of you who can't, I'm very sorry — though, come to think of it, you're probably not reading this on Saturday anyway, because that's not allowed, so enjoy it over your own yummy meal!



Cava sangria and salmon topped with pineapple with a side of fresh vegetables on our first night in Barcelona made for the best meal ever in my European travels.

 

The next day in Barcelona brought a meal constituted of individual pieces bought from the awesome food market off of La Rambla, including a baguette, cheese, lunch meat and tomatoes, all for a whopping 2 Euro per person. The day ended with an enormous seafood paella split between the four of us.

                              

Edam cheese is super duper yummy, especially when you get it from a shop in Edam.


I could have eaten my way through Italy, and practically did ;-). Our trip started in Venice, where I had the best slice of pizza of my life at a hole-in-the-wall little shop in Ghetto Vecchio (the Old Ghetto). Gelato was EVERYWHERE ... this shot was taken in Rome.

                                          

In Dublin there was a lot of liquid nourishment, but this traditional Irish breakfast helped soak up some of that alcohol.


 I loved being in Prague. The effortless beauty of the city and its architecture was a pleasure to explore. As was the food, which reminded me so much of the food I have grown up with. This meat plate was enough to fill up two of us.


French food is renowned for its flavor and yumminess. Even this Parisian deli hot dog, smothered in cheese, and accompanied by delicious pastries held up its reputation.


I think the best meals are ones you create for yourself ... especially when they're made with the freshest produce. This simple but absolutely delicious meal of pasta with pesto chicken and tomatoes and some white wine was the result of a day of shopping at London's Borough Market. I bought the tomatoes, my friend bought the pesto, and we topped it off with some Waitrose pasta and chicken. It was yummy!


During my trip to Egypt, our group took a detour, on camels, to a small Nubian village where we had one of the best meals I have ever had. The delicious meat, potatoes and vegetables were prepared in a traditional Nubian fashion, slowly baked in clay pots in the oven. Seriously, YUMMY!


Eating Indian food feels like an explosion on your tongue. The spices and exotic flavors create a party for your pallet. And it tastes even better when it's the product of your own hard work. Below is a fruit pizza (not something you'd think would taste good, but totally is) from a small restaurant and the fantastical result of a cooking class, both in the little town of Orcha in India.


In Nepal, my tour guide doused his meals in hot sauce because he claimed they were too bland. For me, they were just right. Below is a Nepalese samosa, which was more like a burrito, covered in cheese (which is always OK with me).


Chicago's known for its deep-dish pizza. And rightfully so. The stuff is delicious. Now, I know that as a native New Yorker, uttering that phrase is probably blasphemous, but I'm not saying it's BETTER than my beloved NYC pizza. In my opinion, it's too different to compare. Below is a yummy steak and broccoli stuffed pie from Giordano's.


On my most recent trip to Grand Cayman, my boyfriend cooked a lot in our hotel suite. It was cheaper, and frankly, a lot more delicious than the on-site restaurant's cuisine. However, as food lovers, we absolutely had to try the local delicacy of turtle. And it was delicious. Below is my boyfriend's yummy concoction of chicken in hickory-barbecue sauce combined with peach preserves and broccoli, a meal of turtle steak from what we were told was one of the best restaurants on the island, and a coconut that we devoured at a coconut tasting at our resort.

             



For me, food is such an important part of travel. Experiencing local cuisine is a great way to partake in local culture — and it's yummy to boot!

What are some of your favorite travel meals?

8.23.2010

Why I travel

The New York Times is asking readers to show "Why We Travel" by submitting their favorite photos to the site. Below is a sampling of why I travel.


1. The people ... both the locals and those you share the adventures with.

My TopDeck group in Egypt
Egyptian schoolgirls who were very eager to pose for pics.
An Indian family that agreed to pose for a picture in Orcha.
Old and new friends in Copenhagen, Denmark.




Edam cheese in the Netherlands (above)


Paella in Barcelona (below)


2. The food. I find one of the best (and yummiest) ways to truly experience another culture is through the food.
Food market in Barcelona
Interesting chocolate in Brugge, Belgium
Pasta and wine in Florence, Italy
3. And, of course, the sights! I don't care what kind of a traveler it makes me, but when I go to Egypt, I expect to see the pyramids. When I'm in Paris, you better believe I'm going to gander at the Eiffel Tower. And I'm sure as hell seeing the Taj Mahal if I've taken the 17-hour flight from New York to India. I'm all for seeing things "off the beaten path," but I don't think there's anything wrong with seeing a country's, city's or town's famous landscapes. Besides, that's all other people want to hear about when they ask you about what you saw and where you've been. If anything, those sights are great conversation starters to then open up people's perceptions to everything else a place might have to offer that you were fortunate enough to experience as well.




A street in Prague, Czech Republic
Park Guell in Barcelona, Spain
A liquor shop in Denmark 

The Tart with a Cart, Dublin
Sunrise over the Sahara, Egypt
Sugarcane trucks in Egypt
Fancy gardening, Brighton, England
Punts in Cambridge, England
Leeds Castle in England
View from the river in Orcha, India
A pretty park in fall, Minsk, Belarus
Up close with a Nepalese elephant
The Magic Garden in Philly
People bathing in Ganghes
Iconic London
Collosseum in Rome, Italy
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
Realto Bridge in Venice, Italy

      And those are the reasons why I travel!
      Why do you travel?