Travelling and food

In the last few years I have taken a few trips that have really been culinary adventures.  One to Strasbourg, 2 years ago over the Christmas holidays, and the other to Argentina this past fall.  They were both so different, but they were both so wonderful.

In Strasbourg, we spent 3 weeks, eating and exploring France, Germany and Switzerland.  If you look at where Strasbourg is on a map, those three countries are within a 2 hour drive of the city of Strasbourg.  There are hundreds of amazing little towns and cities to explore, each with their own unique characteristics.  We spent our days driving to quaint restaurants in the mountains, where the restaurant would be right beside the field where the pigs were living that were served on our plates, beside the veggies from their garden.  It was truly wonderful.  Luckily, I had my camera out the whole time.

The city of Strasbourg also allowed us to live like I used to live in Paris.  Shopping everyday for the food we needed just for that day in the gorgeous little shops that lined the pedestrian only streets and the daily farmer`s markets that we would explore.  The food was amazing on all fronts.  Even though this trip was 2 years ago, I have decided to pull a couple of posts that I wrote about some of the food experiences that I had there to this blog and also continue to write about some of the experiences here. I just can`t write about my love of food without writing about Europe and this trip.

Last fall, I spent 2 months in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the land of red meat and malbec.  It was fabulous.  I fell in love with the simplicity of their cuisine.  The need for a good grill, good meat, some potatoes and good wine, to make a meal is brilliant.  The focus on ingredients that were in season because of the restrictions on imports was wonderful and frustrating all at the same time.  I had forgotten how good fresh asparagus, in season, tasted, and the wonderful aroma and sweetness of a melon brought in from the fields that morning, was not the side to ham and melon, but a star player in the dish.

The other wonderful thing about Argentina is that there are so many historic, famous places in Buenos Aires, that are full of stories.  I tried to explore as many as I could, take as many pictures as I could, and eat my way through as many as i could.  I plan on writing about them here too.

So those are two of the bigger trips that I have taken in the last little while, but that does not mean that I haven't had my eyes open and my camera out while on mini-breaks, or trips to the Caribbean.  I plan on writing about those too.  All in all, I find inspiration for cooking, tasting and eating everywhere, both where I live and abroad.  I don't think i could more blessed.