as the weather turns...

...i couldn't help but think of warmer spaces. one of my favourite places in recent years is lanzerote (canary islands), and going on a camel trek day trip through the desert.

lanzerote has to be one of the most physically varied places i've ever been to - and am a bit wistful looking at the photos. this was the last trip we did before i got pregnant with my eldest son (the 3.5yr old). one day we will go back and show them this amazing, diverse space.

colombia - inspiring memories and this week's menu

bogota

i have travelled to and around colombia over a dozen times
it is the place where dh and i cemented our relationship
love and culture and romance
bumpy bus rides to remote places
bingo-callers on flights
taxistas that try to over-charge

dh lived in colombia for several years, teaching at one of the universities, and so i went there often and we would go to all of these places i had never heard of - barichara, popayan, villa de lleyva - and places both famous and infamous - cali, medellin, cartagena and of course bogota.

some were the most delightful surprises like barichara, others were in the get-me-out-of-here category like honda. too many experiences for one post.

many wonderful memories
many amazing meals - even the comida typica was delicious - rustic, wholesome, flavourful - real honest food

and a few of the photos from the many trips to colombia...

above and below - barichara
popayan
bogota - the candelaria (area where dh lived

food for thought and travel

i was just eating my lunch - slices of prosciutto from the deli, a sliced hot house tomato, and chunks of cantaloupe and not only was it delicious
but i was transported
taken back to the places where i savoured these same things
sweet, savoury memories

and it got me thinking about how central food is to the travelling experience. the monuments, historical sites, beaches and beauty are great
but what i go back to seems to be the food.

so i thought about the connection of food
not just where it came from and how it arrived on my plate
but when i travel
how i am instantly connected to another culture by eating their food
and when i reflect on it
it is amazing how a meal can join you with people you have seemingly nothing in common with

hmmm

when i think of places i didn't particularly like i can quickly conjure up a brilliant food memory

like albania - in tirana (a sad, neglected city of old communist buildings and the odd older building that somehow made it past the levelling ways of the soviets)
- i had the best seafood pizza i have probably ever had. the wine was terrible, but the perfect pizza replete with more scallops than i can count (and a whopping 4$ to boot) - well it was divine.

or meknes, morocco
- a delicious and perfect lamb tagine - teeming with steam and flavour - unequalled

or rethymno, crete
- the best gyro - loaded with french fries and garlic sauce that inevitably drowned the lips and chin...yum

these were a few places i didn't particularly like as a tourist, but as a food experience, fond, fond memories

travel tip - albania

albania is not an easy country to travel

it's difficult enough to get to

what i found is that you really need to rely on the kindness of strangers due to albania's lack of tourist infrastructure

there are NO bus terminals, bus stops change all the time

travelling south from montenegro means being dropped at the southernmost bus terminal in montenegro and hopefully finding a minibus to take you over the border

so the tip -

make friends with people on the bus in montenegro

we did and thankfully so as there was no minibus for albania, and one of the albanians called and got one, and then helped arrange a minibus to tirana after crossing the border at albanian prices

tirana is chaotic and the same new-found friends walked us to one of the inns we had marked down and negotiated a decent rate for the night

tirana is not worth spending much time in - most of the buildings are communist blocks, and there are few historical remnants. but the pizza is good!

i found the everyday albanian to be wonderfully hospitable even though we didn't share a language to communicate easily in

and the most useful word to learn in albanian is thank you - and i used that a lot