Travelling for food
We have decided not to travel to Bosnia for 1st of May holidays.
I don’t remember when was the last time we didn’t spend our 1st of May holidays there. Probably, it’s been at least 10 years. So, this is a big change for us :) (or at least a change for me – I think it may be a huge relief for my husband ;))
When we were picking the potential destination to spend one week of our free time, I realized my way of picking the destinations was very (if not totally) influenced by the image of local cuisine.
Our first idea, of course, was travelling to Turkey. Ohhhhh, I want to eat tastey Turkish tomatoes, delicious ekemek (bread), youghurt and aubergines that almost melt in your mouth. And it’s been so long since I’ve had a decent kebab… And think about soups…
The biggest decision of the day.
What are we having for lunch?
But than I got struck by an image of a Mediterranean open-air market packed with zucchini, green onions, loads of fresh fish, deliciously smelly olives… How about Adriatic coast, for example Split, it’s south enough to have all these and many more goodies in the end of April already…
Oh my, oh my, I’d also love to eat some delicious Italian cured meats, great cheese and enjoy a proper capucchino. Why not travel to Italy?
Hmmmmm. The more I thought about it the clearer it became. My travelling preferences are determined by images of food.
Let’s go Serbia! Sure – I’d love to eat proper pleskavica and grilled red peppers! How about Macedonia? Yes, yes! But are their tomatoes already ripe in May? You know Greece also sounds inviting in this time of the year.Well, yes, but I think I prefer Turkihs food. What are we going to do this weekend? Let’s visit my mum. She’ll cook bosnian beans and it’s been ages since we’ve had those.
Somebody would think I don’t get to eat at all :)
What do you think about when deciding for holiday destination? Are beautiful scenery and cobbled streets of medivial town just a proper setting for a nicely laid out dining table? ;) In our family this, obviously, is the case – here’s some of my husband’s related thoughts.
P.S. I received a lovely blog award from Bensedin Art – the blog which I regularly read, so I am very happy about this! Thanks! And I’d like to give it to: Cloopco and Misha’s crochet another two of my favourite crafters blogs.
Cashmere Cafe 
Prvi maj, rodbina, Bosna i pečeno prase. Nekada ovo nisam mogla da smislim, a danas… Na žalost, ostala su samo sećanja. Lepo je otputovati, destinacija je manje važna!
I almost always pick a place based on the food. I never realised how critical this was until the one time I deviated from this, didn’t do my homework, and picked a place solely based on the weather/surroundings/landscape.
I am reticent to post the location lest I upset anyone (which is not my intention, and I don’t want to derail this thread – suffice to say it’s not Slovenia but it is in your general neck of the woods).
The physical location was spectacular, beautiful and relaxing. The weather was wonderful and there was a lot to recommend the place.
But the food was a such huge disappointment that we ended up being depressed the whole time.
In fact it was not actively bad – that would have been funny, something to talk about and commiserate about – it was just plain mediocre, which is far, far worse.
The place had all the right ‘ingredients’ – excellent access to the sea for fish, healthy-looking vegetation for fruit and vegetables which were growing everywhere, and a position next to countries with excellent cuisine that might have rubbed off.
The problem was that none of the nice produce was available in food shops, though it might have been available in restaurants, the chefs were either uninterested or uninitiated about what to do with the great stuff they had access to. It’s not true that a great piece of fish, served plain, steamed or fried with no herbs, spices or anything – is a wonder. Especially if you have it night after night. All the restaurants had the same menu, there was no variety, no interesting spicing, no love or passion. I think nthe latter is probably the saddest part.
I will never make that mistake again.
Nešto me danas neće engleski! :))))
Ti si moj tip- najbolje je otputovati na otvorenu pijacu! :)))) Ja patim za turskom a najveća mi je žela otići na otvoreni bazar začina u Damasku, U siriji.
Šta da ti kažem ja s jadrana nego….idite u tursku! :)))))
Inače, kako su moji takođe iz Bosne, i moji su praznici bili vezani za Bosnu. Uglavnom obilaženja rodbine, sarme, kisele vode :))))) Sad, kako odmiču godine a i rodbine za obilaženje je, nažalost, sve manje, sve me više vuče da osmislim sama jedno putovanje po Bosni (pa i nekoliko putovanja) i obiđem stare gradiće i planine. To je, ustvari, jedna božanstvena zemlja u koju smo išli samo kod rodbine i propustili najbistrije vode u Evropi, kafane u kojima su carevi kafu plaćali dukatima, najčudesnije mostove na zemaljskoj kugli….
U BiH je se čak nalazi jedina živa evropska prašuma. Malo li je! :))))
Hvala za nagradu, evo baš ja krenuh da i vas iznagrađivam :)))) al’ mi slađe bilo da čitam nego da pišem! :))))
well.. what about an awesome medivial town, just after may 1st, with food ranging from adriatic till persian?
say YES pretty please! :)
Well, Natalia, OF COURSE we are coming. I am just not sure about the dates yet. And you know… You should really send me an e-mail, since I’ve dreamed about reading your mail twice! :)
Hvala na nagradi! A što se tiče hrane… Reći ću samo da sam na dijeti tako da su me tvoje slike bacile u očajanje :) Toliko od mene na temu hrane, više od ovoga bilo bi opasno :)
You could always come to Athens ;)
Actually I don’t pick places because of food, but once I go anywhere I want to indulge. Even in places not really known for great food (think UK) there are gems to be found. Wherever I go, I want to eat with the locals, not the tourists.
Let’s face it – beautiful scenery or medieval castles are great but when it comes to travelling I’d always choose the place with good fresh local food! Go for it, girl! *^v^*
Here in Australia, Bosnia is still seen as a dangerous and strange place to visit by many (uninformed) people. As you know, my wife and I will be in Europe later this year and we will be visiting Bosnia. At first we weren’t going to go to Bosnia but after reading a few Slovenian blogs I kept reading how great Bosnia is. Now Bosnia is one of the places I’m really looking forward to visiting.
So there you go! You and a couple of other Slovenes have influence right around to the other side of the world.