A little late, but better late than never- here are some of the highlights from our travels for 2014:
In May we quit our jobs and road tripped through Oklahoma (to visit Nick’s family), Texas, New Mexico and finally into Colorado (to see my family). Some of the highlights were grilling with family in Oklahoma City- we grilled fish and steaks and tons of veggies, from asparagus to portobello mushrooms to broccoli and cauliflower. Delicious! We stopped at Martin House Brewery in Fort Worth, Texas and got to try some of their really unique and delicious microbrews during one of their Saturday brewery tours. In Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico, we had my absolute favorite food- New Mexico Christmas Chili (never one to decide between the green and the red chili, I like them both and especially love them mixed or “Christmas”)
From Denver we flew to San Juan, Costa Rica and took a bus to Monteverde. In Costa Rica, we enjoyed tons of amazing, tropical fruits and enjoyed the bean and rice based “casados” for a few months before deciding to move on and see other parts of the world!
From Costa Rica we traveled down to Panama and did one of the scariest border crossings I have ever seen across a rickety bridge.
We saw the canal in Panama City and enjoyed the amazing food scene in Bocas del Toro- which is a serious “foodie” town. We especially loved the burritos and the 2-for-1 “wrappy hour” at Bocas Blended, a bus turned food truck.
After several long flights and layovers we made it to Brazil. The beer was a little lackluster, but the caipirinhas and the food were amazing. Of course, we enjoyed tons of great grilled beef and took full advantage of Brazil’s snack culture enjoying such snacks as tapiocas and popcorn with bacon. There were also plenty of healthy snacks and fresh fruit- there were acai smoothies everywhere and fresh squeezed juices at many stands.
We crossed from Brazil into Argentina at Iguazu Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world (several times the size of Niagara). Argentina had a very interesting food culture, pulling from their Italian roots there were pizzerias and gelaterias on every corner. A big adjustment for us was the time they ate in Argentina- most dinner places did not even open until about 8pm. We ate some of the best burgers we have ever had and enjoyed juicy steaks and sausages at a parilla in Bariloche with some wonderful new friends. We also tried some of the street food, namely the choripan- sausages covered with chimichurri, cheese, lettuce and tomato and served on a baguette.
After Argentina we left South America (with a 10 hour layover in Houston- nice to be back in the US!) and headed to Sofia, Bulgaria. Bulgaria has an amazing food culture- tons of fresh foods, salads and veggies, everything we had was excellent. Check out the interview we did with a food blogger in Bulgaria and our Bulgarian Food Guide for more information.
Next up was Budapest, Hungary. We tried the goulash and fell in love with kürtős kalács- a delicious chimney shaped snack cooked over an open flame and then rolled in a topping of your choice (my favorite was walnuts!). We were also there for the start of the Goose Liver Festival and got to try the famous Foie Gras of Hungary- an expensive treat for sure!
We left Hungary for Romania. Brasov had a lot of Saxon influences and their influence was apparent in the Oktoberfest that was in full swing when we arrived. Not a lot of healthy food- but tons of delicious (and very reasonable priced!) food options! We saw Dracula’s Castle (aka Bran Castle) and visited the tiny, historic Saxon village of Sighosioara.
We took an overnight train to Slovakia where we stayed on a boat in Bratislava. On our free walking tour our guide recommended a restaurant that served the national dish, Bryndzové Halušky- potato dumplings covered in a creamy, tangy sheep’s cheese.
Krakow, Poland was our next stop. We found a food tour while we were there and were introduced to some of the traditional and newer foods of Krakow as well as the history behind the foods. My personal favorite were the pierogi.
From Kraków we flew to Malta for one last week of summer where we rented an apartment with a kitchen and recreated a few of our favorite dishes from the past few weeks. It was great to relax on the beach and cook our own meals again! Check out what we were up to here and here.
We flew into Istanbul where we met my mom. The food, the Spice Bazaar and the city itself were incredibly and I cannot even begin to come close to summing them up in a short sentence or two. We enjoyed a tour of the Spice Market and took a Turkish cooking class at Turkish Flavours. We loved the healthier snacks- fresh cut watermelon and pineapple, apples, grilled corn, and fresh pressed orange and pomegranate juice.
We left Istanbul and took a short flight to Athens, Greece and then to Santorini. We found an amazing gelato shop, Lolita’s who made all their gelato fresh, in house every day. We hiked down to the pier where we had a grilled sea bream at Katerina’s and went to wine tasting and cooking class at Nichteri on Kamari Beach. We enjoyed every sip and every bite!
After Greece, we went back to Bulgaria (Bansko, this time) and re-grouped there for a while before our crazy December. We flew from Bulgaria to Berlin for a few days where we had some delicious German beers, tried the best doners in the city and saw the Berlin Wall.
After a few days in Berlin we flew to Oslo, Norway where we visited their Christmas Market and tried smoked whale and a wild boar and moose sausage.
Next up, Helsinki, Finland where we had a deer, salami and pineapple pizza and a finally had tap water at a restaurant again!
From there we visited Tallinn, Estonia. We had beer in a pub beneath the town hall that dates back to the 1300’s. We tried Russian pancakes, warming sausage soups and a great vegetarian lentil sandwich.
We traveled south to Riga, Estonia and then Vilnius, Lithuania where we visited a traditional restaurant and on the (excellent) recommendation of our waiter tried the cabbage rolls and stuffed potato dumplings. So amazing.
After Vilnius we traveled back to Germany where we went on a whirlwind Christmas Market tour hitting up Dusseldorf, Aachen (with a quick day trip to Maastricht in the Netherlands), Frankfurt, Augsburg, and finally Nuremberg. We tried a bunch of great foods at the Christmas markets, from stollen to bratwurst to chocolate covered waffles. We kept the rest of our meals light, enjoying muesli and fruit for breakfast and veggies and beans for dinner.
From there we went to Vienna and then down to Budapest for New Year’s Eve. It has been such a great year, we have visited some really great places, met some wonderful people and tried some really tasty and unique foods. I am excited to see what 2015 has to offer but I am already dreading the end of the trip.
I have loved following along on your journey through all of these amazing places! How long is your trip going to be?
Thanks Jill, it’s been a great trip! We are heading back for a wedding in July but we are planning to continue after that!
I love the bacon with popcorn idea! I think I might try that. I’m not sure that I would try goose liver though!
Hi Megan,
Goose liver is not really my thing either, but we had to go for it since it was a festival!