Wednesday, March 28, 2012

comida y cultura: londres

one of the highlights of my trip to london was without a doubt the food. my plan was to try to find the right balance between serious ethnic food and native english food. i think that i succeeded.

the first morning i had the pleasure of stumbling upon a visually stunning outdoor food market along the river. it was there that i was faced with the daunting task of deciding what to get.

after enjoying a shockingly good piece of aubergine stuffed kibbeh, i decided to indulge and procure a small piece of baklava. the guys making it were actually syrian, after all (the unibrows confirmed). although it was only the first of 3 pieces that i tried that day (i was on vacation, shush!), it was definitely the best of them all. i am currently drooling over the recipes on their website. it is worth a glance.






from there, i was deposited into the capable hands of my friend´s friend, who as it turns out is from chicago, and just as big of a foodie as i am. por eso, he took me to borough market, and i think that i just about died. 




i had heard it described as a foodie heaven before, but alas, my skepticism prevailed right up until we walked up to the first stand. from there, it was destiny.

everything was delicious.

the fact that anthony goes almost every week and knows all of the stands by heart undoubtedly augmented my experience. guided by a voice of foodie reason, i tried everything under the sun. spicy curry, fragrant olive oils, chewy sausages,  tart jams, intriguing compotes, roasted nuts and stinky cheese abounded. and then there was the goat milk ice cream. what? yes, goat milk ice cream. i honestly do not know what i was more happy about, the fact that i was able to thwart my lactose aversion while enjoying one of my favorite foods, or the fact that it was absurdly good and PISTACHIO flavored. (in my opinion pistachio and chocolate are by far the most complex flavors to master in ice cream form. now imagine executing either one of them superbly, in GOATS MILK). i am trying to exercise restraint with the use of capitalization here, but want you to know that i am really struggling.    

after an afternoon of absolute bliss then, i felt as though there was nowhere to go but up. oh london, though. unfortunately, the beer there is terrible! after meeting up with my friend craig, the three of us went to a pub in an attempt to recreate what i had envisioned as the quintessential london experience - drinking in a pub. well, that we did, just not happily. 

leaving the liquid dissatisfaction behind though, let us return to the focus at hand - comida y cultura.

the next day i went on a whirlwind tour of the city. i took on the:
  • tate modern
  • london eye (the big ferris wheel)
  • churchill war rooms museum
  • westminster
  • parliament
  • big ben
  • the national gallery
  • trafalgar square
  • buckingham palace
  • hyde park
and more. but phew, right! along the way i managed to pick up more surprisingly well done middle eastern food, and then FISH AND CHIPS. i was resolved to eat it, and damnit, it was actually quite good. the batter on the fish was light, the chips were good and crispy, and i was happy.


though i have much more to report on españa, i am off to morocco in a few days and need to get my ducks in a row before i go. hasta luego!




Wednesday, March 14, 2012

londres

londres era interesante. la verdad es que tengo sentimientos mezclados. había muchas cosas que me gustaban mucho, pero otros que no. 

those mixed feelings about london aside, the culture there was absolutely amazing. little did i know that i would visit a foodie paradise one day and see breathtaking works of art the next. 












i will have to post more about the art and food later. for now, suffice it to say that the historical significance of what i saw helped me get past the culture shock/massive departure from mediterranean life that greeted me upon arrival. 









in my defense, the first day a rather miserable tone of gray insisted on coloring my mood. coming from a country and a way of life that both literally and figuratively bask in the sun, the prospect of marching out into the gloomiest day that i had seen in weeks necessitated a serious gulp. (every picture posted here is from the second day.) miraculously though, my palette remained entirely unscathed thanks to the wonders of a beautiful place called borough market and the proliferation of delicious mediterranean food.





















for more fotos, pinchar aquí:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1771772131526.2044049.1155930919&type=1



voy a escribir más sobre la comida y el arte pronto. i hope that you all are doing well!




Tuesday, March 13, 2012

toledO







porque me hace preocupada un poquito el montón de tarea que tengo que hacer, voy a sólo cargar unas fotos. es obvio que también quiero mejorar mi español más rápidamente ahora que he vuelto a españa de nuevo? tengo que parar a usar tanto inglés!



un convento muy bonito


en el puente saliendo toledo


el techo del convento


el catedral de toledo, una antigua mezquita