Hot or Cold Christmas?

The fluffy members of our family get into the Christmas Spirit

Growing up in South Africa I was only used to having Christmas in Summer. Since then, I've been lucky enough to have celebrated the holidays in white/winter destinations like France (Avranches, Normandie), London and Colorado, USA, and I must say that the whole experience of a white and chilly Christmas was thoroughly enjoyable, but not more so than a summery Christmas. I always hear Europeans and Americans saying  "Christmas won't be Christmas if it is summer", but to me, it was/is just normal. 

South Africans tend to keep the festive season as traditional as possible, with Christmas trees (mostly fake), presents, Santa Claus/Christmas Father and reindeer pulling the sleigh. (how else would the old man be able to deliver all the presents to good little children all over the world???). The only difference is that our Santa sometimes wears a bathing suit and Hawaii-style shirt in advertisements and a lot of people dine outside on Christmas day (at home or at a restaurant), so not everyone slaves away in a too-hot kitchen cooking a huge traditional meal. (and the town where I grew up gets REALLY hot - 90-100+ degrees Fahrenheit, so even though I love cooking, this is not the time of year when I want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on time-consuming meals).

We usually try to travel back to South Africa for Christmas, to share it with our families, but that isn't always possible. Luckily for us, this year it will be and in 2 days time, we will be taking the extremely long trek down to Cape Town. Door to door, takes about 36 hours, but once you get there and the worst of the jet-lag wears off, it is so worth it.

As usual, Christmas Eve will be spent with my in-laws and Christmas Day with my parents. I'm not sure how that happened, but somehow, we've just created this tradition over the past few years. I'm so looking forward to spending some time with our families and friends during this magical time. After all, isn't that what the Festive Season is all about, spending time with the special people in your life, whether it be your husband/wife, family and/or friends. Hot or cold weather, to me it doesn't matter, as long as I can be with loved ones, I'm happy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!  

Red or Green - take 3

 Another skew sign...(or rather, the photo is skew, not the sign)

Del Charro, located in Inn of the Governors, was our last lunch in Santa Fe. As mentioned on the previous post, 2 different locals suggested that we go there for lunch and the local score was 2 out of 2. (1. Tia Sophia, 2. Del Charro).

Del Charro is a saloon with a great big welcoming bar and an outside patio with a fireplace. We walked past the place (before we got the recommendations) and I thought, "This would be a cool place to come to for a drink", and the idea of having a meal there didn't cross my mind, but luckily those lovely locals told us how yummy the food was (and how extremely well-priced the menu was - nothing was over $9 or $10.)

The Bar at Del Charro

I love me some buffalo wings. This is not something that is very big in South Africa, people enjoy it, and you can find it at a few places, but my true love affair with buffalo wings and blue cheese dressing started when I worked at a ski resort in Winter Park, CO, just after I finished university. The staff all went to a dive bar on Wednesday-Wing-nights (if I remember correctly), where they served wings at 10cents each. That was so cheap, even us sorry underpaid hotel folks could go and pig out on the yummy wings. (off course they more than made up that money with the copious amounts of alcohol that we consumed with the wings, so it was a win-win deal).

Del Charro from the outside

Now the whole reason for my "trip-down-buffalo-wing-memory-lane" is the following: I had the BEST wings EVER!!! at Del Charro. They were not Buffalo Wings. Instead, they were Chipotle Wings - Yum yum. (Chipotle is a smoke-dried jalapeno chili). The wings were served with ranch dressing (very American) and even though I usually prefer to eat my wings with blue cheese, I didn't miss the blue cheese at all on this occasion, because the wings were awesome. In fact, they were so awesome that I asked the chef for the recipe, which he gave to me and no, I will not share it with anyone - I made a promise. (if you want the recipe, you'll just have to go eat there and earn the right to ask them yourself).

The rest of the food, was also great. I had the salmon wrap served with a red pepper coulis, creme fraiche and cucumber relish and my hubby had the chef's burger with guacamole and bacon . Both excellent dishes and extremely well priced.

We will go back to Santa Fe, NM one day, and when we do, we will definitely go back to Del Charro, Cafe Pasqual and Tia Sophia!

Red or Green - Take 2

We saw the sign...okay - in real life it is upright, but you get the idea...

 

The best dining tip I can give anyone in a new city is to ask the locals. They usually know where you can get the best food at great prices and that way you can stay away from the typical tourist traps. I will admit, there are times, that I don't mind dining in touristy areas, because the view might be stunning or it might be a great vibe, but very often, I find mediocre food at tourist hangouts, because the restaurants know that they don't have to rely on returning business.

As we were walking around in a great little shop called The Chile Shop, we started chatting to the guy who worked there. He was very friendly and eager to help us by answering any questions we might have had without being pushy to get a sale. We asked him for some restaurant suggestions in town and he immediately said "Tia Sophia" and "Del Charro". That night, we had drinks in the hotel bar and as we were chatting with the bartender, she told us that if we were looking for great food at excellent prices, we should go to "Tia Sophia" and "Del Charro", and that is exactly what we decided to do. After all, 2 locals suggested the exact same places...it was a sign.

That night I googled both restaurants and I'm very happy that I did, because I realized that Tia Sophia was not open on Sundays and they only served breakfast and lunch. That helped us plan our second day in Santa Fe. (yes, I am that girl who will plan my day around the restaurant that I'll be visiting.)

The door to yum-ness

We arrived at 12 noon sharp. The reviews for the restaurant were very positive for the most part and all of them said that you had to be prepared to wait if you arrived a bit later, so we got there early and got a table within 10 minutes. Now let me tell you about the decor...I wish I could, but I don't really know what to say about it. It looks like that is the way the restaurant looked when it first opened up and nothing has changed. There are no frills, no fancy things, just basically tables and chairs or booths and a few odd things hanging on the walls. Someone called it “homey”, I don’t know what to call it. Even though I usually like a bit of a nicer ambience, the unpretentiousness of the place just really appealed to me. They don't really care about faffing the place up, or over-friendly service - their goal is to serve excellent New Mexican cuisine, at fantastic prices – and that is exactly what we got. The clientele was a great mixture of visitors and locals and that, mixed with the “let-it-be décor”, the fact that they are not open on Sundays, the fact that people are willing to wait for a table and the great food, are all the clues you need to know that this place has a winning recipe. (or a few, from what we tasted)

The sopapilla was fab - just a bit of honey and I was in doughy-goodness-heaven. In fact, right about now, I'm seriously craving one. The rest of our meal was great too. We both ordered combo’s, the chili rellenos and enchilada combo and the enchilada and chicken taco combo (both come with sopapillas – a type of fried pastry served with food or as a dessert). Both combos were great, both super tasty and both well priced. In fact, I don’t think I saw anything on their menu over $10. Bargain!

In my opinion, every visitor who comes to Santa Fe and would like some honest traditional New Mexican food, should come to Tia Sophia – they won’t be disappointed.

Red or Green?

 When hearing the question "Red or Green?", my answer is "Both!".

Santa Fe is famous for their Green and Red Chile and usually people like one of them, but I love both. On the same place. Right next to each other, on the plate.  (Chile is a sauce made from either red or green chillies). In New Mexico, they serve chile on everything from enchiladas, burritos and rellenos to pizza, burgers and chips.

South Western cuisine is very similar to Mexican food, but have many differences, and since moving to America, I've come to love both. Similarities would be: the use of beans, tortillas and spices but Southwest Cuisine also includes Native American, Spanish Colonial and cowboy food. (and they don't use much tripe and brains)

During our trip to Santa Fe, we had some awesome food. We were starving after our 6 hour drive and started looking for a restaurant as soon as we arrived. We were walking around and I saw an entrance that just called me, but we decided to walk around for a little bit longer before committing to this establishment for our first meal (plus they looked really full) and after a bit of walk around the block, I insisted that we go back. Luckily for us, we arrived at a good time - the first few lunch tables had already left, so there was a table available for us. The first thing we noticed about Cafe Pasqual, was its fabulously colorful and somewhat over-the-top decor, then our attention was gripped by the menu. It was not an easy decision to make, especially after waiter told us what the specials of the day were.

Cafe Pasqual is one of those places where the same waiters work for years, which usually means, the place, food and service is great (the servers are not overly-friendly, so don't expect to make a friend for life, but they were very efficient and knowledgeable about the menu and the service was well-timed). The James Beard awards and cookbooks in the window might give you the idea that there is something special inside the doors, and that is what what we found, so I was thrilled with our selection for our first meal in Santa Fe.

We decided on the salmon burrito and chicken mole. I love mole! It is a sauce made from 36+ spices and chocolate and takes forever to make, so whenever a restaurant serves it, I usually order it and the mole at Cafe Pasqual did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend that anyone visiting Santa Fe, should go eat at Cafe Pasqual, which by the way is named after the Patron Saint of the kitchen - great name for a great place!

Now...I have to admit something shocking...I am one of those food obsessed people who take photos of my plate if I'm feeling particularly inspired, and even though I felt inspired by most of the plates that I received in Santa Fe, the hunger overpowered the desire the take a photo, so I didn't really take any food photos. Shocking - I know! Next time...

Santa Fe in photos

Below are just a few of the photo opportunities in Santa Fe:

Red or Green in Santa Fe

 

I was planning on writing about Mexican food on my next blog - perhaps make some food, take a few photos, post it with some recipes - but things have been so crazy that I didn't get around to doing it and now I'm going to have to put it off for a few more weeks.

The reason for pushing back my blogs on Mexican food is due to our little mini-road-trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico this past weekend.

We have never been but have heard some great things about the place. The first "review" I got about Santa Fe was from an ex-colleague who went to the Opera festival that takes place each year. She explained that the town was full of art galleries and because she was a bit pretentious, I had an image about what to expect from the place and thought "Yes, I will go there one day, but I'm in no hurry". Luckily my husband had also heard some great things about the place and decided that we had to take the 6 hour drive down south form my birthday weekend.

I'm so glad he got this flash of inspiration and booked the hotel before I could throw a spanner in the works, because we had an awesome time.

Santa Fe is not pretentious at all, the town is great with interesting architecture, art galore (any kind that you can think of, paintings, jewellery, sculptures, etc), friendly locals, fabulous food and copious picture snapping opportunities. The town truly caters for everyone: the rich, the budget traveller and everyone in between.

Shuttles, ferries and mopeds

Hola Cozumel

 

After spending a few days by the pool, we decided to take another little excursion. We had heard many good things about the tiny island of Cozumel and decided to take the ferry from Playa del Carmen for a quick day trip. The ride over is quite pleasant and only takes about 45 minutes. We decided to get to Playa del Carmen early so that we could catch an early ferry and spend the whole day in Cozumel.

The ferry - ready and waiting

 

It is a beautiful little island and just such a cute place to visit with great hotels, restaurants and shopping. You can rent mopeds/scooters or jeeps and travel around the island while stopping at all the little beaches and restaurants/bars along the way. We thought it would be fun to take a scooter and drive around the island (which takes only about 4 hours if you don't take many breaks). Driving is a bit of a nightmare though, the road rules in town are quite bizarre. There are no stop signs, so it is important to know who has right of way. There were also loads of bumps in the road, so if you have a dodgy back or if you are just not too on a scooter, get a jeep instead, you could feel a bit shaky driving on such a little thing. I know next time, we will definitely take the jeep instead of the scooter, but it was fun all the same.

Great view from our lunch table

While driving around the island, we stopped at a little restaurant for lunch where we had some amazing seafood, 2 steps away from the beach with a stunning view of the ocean. There just isn't a better place to eat seafood, then by the sea or at least close enough so you could hear or smell the ocean. After lunch, we chose two sunloungers, stripped off our shorts and t-shirts (you should have your swimsuit on under your clothes every day) and ran into the sea. What a refreshing way to end a meal!

Cozumel seen from the ferry

On our trip back to Playa, we couldn't help but reflect on what a great experience the day had been. We enjoyed each moment, even the bumpy, bug-swatting moped ride around the island.

Ruins on Cozumel

I would defintely recommend a visit to Cozumel...this is a place where you can REALLY relax.

Welcome back to Playa!

Pretty Playa...del Carmen

  

On one of our pool-bar-less days, we took a shuttle from the hotel to the nearby town of Playa del Carmen. I highly recommend that you try to tear yourself away from your sun-lounger and visit this great little town with its fabulous buzz, picture-beautiful Tropical Ocean , great restaurants and 5th Avenue (a vacation shopper’s paradise).

The beach in Playa is just beautiful and if you are willing to pay a few Pesos, you can "rent" a beach lounger at one of the many establishments on the ocean front, chill out in the sun, catch a bit of a tan while staring at the beautiful azur blue sea in front of you (while sipping on a drink off course).

The beach in Playa del Carmen

5th Avenue is a great place to buy a few local souvenirs - you can get almost anything there, but just know that you might get stopped a bit too often in the street by people trying to sell you things or inviting/calling you into their shops (the same thing happens in the airport and at resorts where people try to sell you some time-share or excursions). The difference here though, is that the locals are very friendly and don't continue bugging you if you say "no thanks".

5th Avenue

There are many cute and colorful boutique hotels in Playa del Carmen, all a short walk from the beach, so if you are not a fan of a big resort, you would love the smaller intimate hotels that you find in Playa. Most of them have their own unique vibe and charm, with welcoming courtyards and a romantic feel.



One of the colorful boutique hotels.



We really enjoyed our day in Playa and will definitely go back there next time. Who knows, we might even stay in one of the quaint boutique hotels

Lovin' the Yucatan!

During our trip to the Yucatan, I just fell in love with the place. I mean...what's not to love, beautiful ocean, friendly locals, vibrant colors and great food!

Our resort was part of a strip of hotels on the ocean-front between Cancun and Playa del Carmen – a really great venue. Far enough from the buzz of Cancun to relax, but close enough to shop and hang out or go for dinner. Even though we were tempted to go to inspect the nightlife of Cancun - we’ve heard of all the famous clubs and places to go to - we decided not to, because we wanted a more chilled vacation this time.

Cancun (behind the shopping mall - okay - not the best photo I've ever seen of Cancun)

And chilled it was.  We spent a day in each of the cool places nearby: Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the island of Cozumel. We had every intention of visiting Chitchen Itza and Tulum, but for some bizarre reason, we spent many hours, (the rest of our holiday) lying in the sun, sipping on cocktails and eating copious amounts of chips and guacamole. Mmmm...what I life.

 

Bad, bad poolbar (okay, perhaps I shouldn't blame the poolbar)

Now I know that it might sound like I'm a total cultural ignoramus, but honestly, I love history, I love culture, I love old buildings and the romance of it all, but in the battle between ruins and the poolbar, the poolbar won. I'm sure it is because it is so relaxing in that part of Mexico, that even my slightly work-aholic husband, could switch off and just relax within 2 days instead of the usual 4-5.

 

The good thing about not going to the ruins: I guess we'll just have to come back - yay!

Viva Mexico!

With Mexico celebrating its Bicentennial Independence Day and news of Hurricane Karl looming, I couldn't help but feel like its finally time for me to write a post about Mexico.

I’ve always had these preconceived ideas of Mexico. I’m not even entirely sure what my ideas were or where they came from, but I never thought I would like it, in fact I thought I would pretty much dislike visiting the country all together.

Last October, I/we finally decided to go check the place out for myself/ourselves, since my hubby has been wanting to go for a while and I received very good vacation critiques from very 2 trusted sources. I did my research, bought a little travel book about the Yucatan, booked a place by the ocean with a great pool great restaurants and fab reviews, packed my bikinis and a few other items of clothing and boarded the plane.

Actually, it was not that simple…we were planning on going to Mexico in May 2009, but thanks to the outbreak of H1N1, all hell broke loose, people started to freak out and our flight to Cancun was cancelled. Thanks to a great blog that I had discovered just after the outbreak of the flu, http://www.cancuncanuck.com/, I soon realised that things weren't quite as bad in Mexico as were first reported in the media. This blog gave me the perspective of some locals who were affected by everything that went on and I realized that cancelling the whole trip would just be a ridiculous thing to do. Not only would I miss out on a lazy beach vacation, but the people of Mexico needed the tourists to go back.

We finally managed to rebook our vacation and 5 months later, we were on our way…I hoped all the hassle was worth it.

Yes...yes it was - it WAS all worth it. What an arse I had been – the place was great!! It was more than worth it. I loved the Yucatan - friendly locals, vibrant colors, beautiful ocean and great food!

Thanks Canuck, your blog convinced us to not listen to the hype and I am very grateful for that, because our "discovery" of Mexico was unforgettable...in fact, we are already planning on going back to Mexico in the next year or so!

THE Atelier...Las Vegas & Paris

I thought about stepping away from Las Vegas for a few months (on the blogging front). Not really sure why, but I thought it was time to move on, and I know that I will be going to Sin City next year (maybe twice), so I'll just pick up then.

That all changed when I watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations".  The whole show was about Paris and how the cuisine is changing from the old traditional classic French way to a more fashionable modern bistrot style. Food-god Eric Ripert (yes, it is my dream to eat at Le Bernardin...one day), accompanied him on the tour and the most shocking thing was to see him defend the Michelin system and his 3 stars to the new up-and-coming chefs. Quelle horreur!

The show ended with Anthony and Eric dining at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon - the modern style restaurant of the man voted/known as "Chef of the century"...the master: Monsieur Joel Robuchon. What a man, what a visionary, what a talent. I say this with 100% certainty, not because I've heard a bunch pompous know-it-all's said so, but because one perfect day, 3 years ago, I had the pleasure of dining at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the MGM hotel in Las Vegas. I think it must have been the best meal of my life and well worth the extremely large bill that waived us goodbye at the end of our meal. Every plate was a masterpiece, every bite was perfection. (we ordered 6 small tasting portion plates and the one was better than the other).

The only thing that I regret now, is that I didn't write down the full descriptions of the menu. Oh...there is another regret...I only took pictures of 5 of the dishes - the champagne and general food/flavour/fabulousness-induced high that I was on caused a small short-circuit in the brain.

With this photo trip down memory lane, I present: joy/beauty/love on a plate:

Now I have a new goal...another place that has been added huge list of places to visit/eat at...L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon in Paris. (good thing I love Paris)

PS: Yes, Anthony, I agree...the pomme puree was to-die-for!!!

A girl has to eat...

During my week-long trip in London, I did the unthinkable...instead of going all out and dining at fancy, fancier and Michelin starred restaurants, I wanted to go to a few "regular" establishments to eat some of my favourite dishes. I had a long list of places that I wanted to go to, but with so many places and so little time, I had to pick and choose the most convenient ones to get to.

We went to:

Wagamamas: a girl needs to get her number 42 fix every few years...and no, there is no equavalent here. I miss those thick just-made noodles with all the super fresh ingredients - mmmm I'm imagining the taste...divine!

Number 42 - mmmmmm

Nando's: (a South African Portuguese-style chicken take-out chain that has a few branches in the UK). I actually think that Nando's in England is better than in SA. Its more of a restaurant set-up instead of take-aways, you can order wine (mmm...Spier Sauvignon Blanc), and there is nothing about this food that makes you think that you can/want to/should compare it to McDonalds/Burger King/KFC.

Nandos

Spur: (another South African restaurant group) I had to get my Spur Burger fix, okay. The sauces were exactly the same, but unfortunatley the meat is ground very fine, so the burger pattie is pressed together too tightly. I miss a good SA-style Cheddamelt Spur burger (a burger with cheese and a creamy mushroom sauce - mmmm yum)

Cafe Rouge: Oh how I've missed Confit duck and pomme dauphinoise. You do get duck served in a few restaurants in Colorado, but it can be very few and far between.

Braai: Off course, thanks to our friends, I did have a good few braais during my visit in London. (Braai is a BBQ in Australia or Grilling in America - you can braai with wood, coals or gas)

Nando's lemon and herb chicken and chips

Yes everyone, stop the sniggering and put away the shocked expressions...even a self-proclaimed foodie, goes to the odd restaurant chain every now and then. Afterall...not all chains are created equal. (plus I'm no milionaire)

We didn't only visit chains, but this blog is in honour of my trip down "food-memories" lane. There were quite a few more restaurants that I wanted to visit and some of my top picks that I missed out on are: L'Escargot (and a few of my other favourtie Soho eateries), Criterion, Carluccios, Ask, Pizza Express and Tapanco's in Wimbledon...next time. (there are a few more that I can't think of right now.)

Biggest food shock...I didn't visit any Marco Pierre White restaurants (my ex-employer and food god)

Even bigger food shock...I didn't eat a single Curry! Not exactly sure how that happened, but oh well...next time. (In the meantime, Patak's cooking sauces will have to do)

The good, the bad and the fabulous - London

I went to London a few weeks ago and before I left, I made a list of everything that I missed about London (The Good):

- My friends

- Borrough Market

- Harrods

- Oxford Circus

- The Tube - you have to drive everywhere in Colorado so you always need a designated driver

- Being so close to France - I love France!

- Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus

- Fab restaurants

- Good Indian Food (mmmm Korma...)

- Shopping with my fab friend Drama Princess etc.

- Marks & Spencer and Boots (there is no equavelent to either one of them)

When I came back, I made another list - of things I don't miss (The Bad):

- Grey Skies (Colorado has 300 days of sunshine)

- Traffic (we sat still - yes, dead-still, for 2 hours on the highway)

- The Tube (when its peak time, over-full and smelly)

- Oxford Circus (it gets too busy some times)

- Tiny parking spots

- Paying for parking everywhere (even at some supermarkets)

- A few more things...that I can't remember now (so they couldn't be that bad)

(The Fabulous): I had a fantastic time in London - I did some shopping and spent some time visiting a few of my favourite places in the city. The best thing about this short little trip, was seeing my friends. Oh how I miss you all! The years that I lived in London was amazing...mostly because I got to share it with all of you. I hope to be back for a visit soon!

Day 7-10 - Sin (sick) city and the long winding road...

On day 7, after a quick stop in Los Angeles at the South African Embassy to apply for a new passport, we headed to Viva Las Vegas. Getting out of Los Angeles was quite the mission, because as we have all been informed, the traffic in LA is very very crazy and I couldn't wait to get out of the hecticness on to the nice big road on our way to Vegas!

The Strip at night

 

I've been to Vegas 4 times, and I've loved every moment. Most people might not believe that I, food-culture-and-fashion-loving moi, could love the drunken debauchery of Las Vegas, but that is just because most of those people have never been to Vegas. The place has turned into a foodie and shoppers paradise. All the hotels on the strip have numerous restaurants and most of them are owned by celebrity chefs. Eating in one of the celebrity owned joints can break the bank, but the culinary experiences will more than likely stay with you forever. 

 

To finish off our culinary expedition/road trip, we wanted to go to the annual Vegas Uncorked festival. It is an amazing food festival with fantastic food opportunities, such as dinner with Joel Robuchon (named chef of the century) and a few very well known chefs, wine tastings and a grand tasting where you can taste small plates from about 150 different restaurants and sip wines from all over the world.

Just before the Grand Tasting, everyone is adding the finishing touches

We enjoyed the Grand Tasting immensely and even though it is very pricey and a bit over-crowded at times, I highly recommend any food-fanatic to attend.

Some of the celebrity chefs

Unfortunately, the towards the end of the Grand Tasting, our trip turned slightly sour because the old hubster started getting very sick. For the next day and a half he could barely leave the room, except to join me for lunch, dinner and a quick spot of post-dinner gambling. How disappointing! I had a whole list of things that I wanted to do and places that I wanted to visit, but spending a whole day on my own didn't sound so great, so I didn't wander off too far. Afterall, we are just an hour away (by plane), so we can come again. 

The Mirage Water Feature

I have so much to say about Las Vegas - I'll have to write a few posts about it to cover most of it. In fact, I wrote an article for an English magazine called SA Promo about Las Vegas, and it featured in their July 2010 issue. (I was very chuffed!) I still have no idea how I managed to squeeze my love, feelings, thoughts and more about this great place into 1 tiny article. It took some hard work and edit, edit edit. You can read my article "Las Vegas - desert city of lights and water" on the SA Promo magazine link http://www.sapromo.com/magazine/book/38-sa-promo-magazine-issue-38/1-sa-promo-magazine

Bye-bye, Las Vegas!

Our drive back on day 10 was pretty uneventful - excruciatingly long, and just very blah. My husband was still ill and I sat there with my mind full of happy thoughts, joyous images and just a great feeling about our road trip. I thought I'd start blogging about the trip immediately - right inside the car - afterall I had around 10 hours, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It just felt like that would be as if I'm admitting to myself that our trip was over and I didn't want it to end. I guess that is also why I'm dragging my blog posts out. The longer I write about it, the more connected I still am with it. I absolutely love travelling. If I could travel every month or two, I'd be beside myself, but unfortunately the daily grind and lack of funds won't allow it. So for now, I'll just have to relive it by blogging about past and future trips and the meals that I enjoyed on them.