I booked a ticket to go to London next month! And I'll be going to Russell James' dinner party training. It should be fun. I would highly recommend checking out his recipes and even signing up for his news (he sends another recipe every couple weeks): . He just has the most beautiful food, and everything I've tried so far has been tasty as well. Just perfect!
Since I've been in a hole these days and not doing much traveling with all of my work, I hope to have some travel news to report from my trip!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Timişoara, Romania: Found a skate park and curiosity
A couple weekends ago I took the train to Timişoara, Romania. It was a different experience for me, even starting with the train ride. Apparently a USA American riding from Budapest to Timişoara is not your everyday occurrence. The border guards did not have the proper stamp for me and had to go find it.
And, note to travelers: MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR PASSPORT STAMPED when you enter a country! Apparently, the border patrol when I arrived in Amsterdam did not stamp my passport, so this caused a delay on this trip while they checked on why it appeared that my most recent international travel was to arrive INTO New York City! Whoops. I ended up lucky, but for about 15 minutes there, I thought they were going to send me back to NYC or something. And I'm not sure that I want to be anywhere near NYC or Wall Street these days. Not a pretty picture.
On the train, there was friendly curiosity about me, being American and traveling there. I was surprised at that. The ride itself was so peaceful. I even saw two separate people riding horses on dirt roads and plenty of old-school farming.
I had looked on trip advisor and done a few searches online to find an inexpensive hotel, but I didn't have any luck. I decided to wing it when I arrived. Good thing I packed light! I walked for THREE HOURS before finding a hotel. In the meantime, I had not yet changed out any money or found an ATM, so I was stuck being essentially penniless as well. That means no bus rides!
They spoke English at the hotel, and it was OK, but the room smelled like old smoke and I could tell they had cleaned with chemically cleaners. I usually have a nose like a dog, but on that day, it was more like a wolf! The smell knocked me out, and I was nauseated and unable sleep or to get out of bed until the following morning at about 6 am. I actually asked to have another hotel room that was smoke free, just to get a few zzz's.
And, note to travelers: MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR PASSPORT STAMPED when you enter a country! Apparently, the border patrol when I arrived in Amsterdam did not stamp my passport, so this caused a delay on this trip while they checked on why it appeared that my most recent international travel was to arrive INTO New York City! Whoops. I ended up lucky, but for about 15 minutes there, I thought they were going to send me back to NYC or something. And I'm not sure that I want to be anywhere near NYC or Wall Street these days. Not a pretty picture.
On the train, there was friendly curiosity about me, being American and traveling there. I was surprised at that. The ride itself was so peaceful. I even saw two separate people riding horses on dirt roads and plenty of old-school farming.
I had looked on trip advisor and done a few searches online to find an inexpensive hotel, but I didn't have any luck. I decided to wing it when I arrived. Good thing I packed light! I walked for THREE HOURS before finding a hotel. In the meantime, I had not yet changed out any money or found an ATM, so I was stuck being essentially penniless as well. That means no bus rides!
They spoke English at the hotel, and it was OK, but the room smelled like old smoke and I could tell they had cleaned with chemically cleaners. I usually have a nose like a dog, but on that day, it was more like a wolf! The smell knocked me out, and I was nauseated and unable sleep or to get out of bed until the following morning at about 6 am. I actually asked to have another hotel room that was smoke free, just to get a few zzz's.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
All over Europe: Garden Sorrel
Yesterday, I made the choice to buy most of my food organic. I may have to make some exceptions since organic food supply is not so easy to come by, but I'm not sure about that just yet.
In any case, yesterday, I bought a green that looked familiar, but it is most definitely new to my taste buds. I looked up the Hungarian translation to see what it is in English = garden sorrel?! Um, OK. I never heard of that. So I looked it up, and here is what I found: A Botanical Website
Some interesting info on that site about the plant itself and cultivation. Makes me really wish I had land and a garden!
Anyways, it's not just this sorrel that has me pumped. I also got some tomatoes yesterday that were the best I have ever had. I'm loving the organic food, and I didn't realize just how much of a difference it would make.
So, as for the garden sorrel, it's remarkably sweet and tart at the same time, and I found it to digest well. At the above gardening site, I found the following intriguing info:
Of the two kinds of Sorrel cultivated for use as vegetables or salads, Rumex acetosa, the Garden Sorrel, is an indigenous English plant, common, too in the greater part of Europe, in almost all soils and situations. It grows abundantly in meadows, a slender plant about 2 feet high, with juicy stems and leaves, and whorled spikes of reddish-green flowers, which give colour, during the months of June and July, to the grassy spots in which it grows.
It is generally found in pastures where the soil contains iron.
I wonder if it is not grown in the US because "we" have the same small number of plants produced on large scales, and so few remaining small farms? Or if it is because the lack of organic farming has left the soil without enough iron? In any case, I will be happy to eat this for awhile!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Budapest, Hungary: Vitamins are locked up here.
Between living in Boston and Martha's Vineyard, visiting Brazil, visiting family here in Hungary, I thought it might be funny to start a blog called "Where is Éva?" that is all about my travels and getting settled in to different places and cultures.
Today, I went to a raw food potluck. I was the only "all raw" person there. At least they have one of those here! Buuuut, there were only three of us! The last potluck had about 15 people, so this was surprising for me. We talked about how many people here are unhealthy and how crazy others seem to think raw food is.
We talked about vitamins and probiotics. I don't take supplements, but I do like to have some probiotics and fermented food to keep the intestinal flora active in my stomach. When I was in the USA, I had no problem finding these things. Here? Vitamins are locked up! Seriously. I was in a pharmacy the other day because my pinkie toe was so bruised it turned purple. I thought maybe I should tape it up or something. They suggested a cream, and I noticed the cream and Vitamin C were both in the locked case.
Crazy.
The women I met with today were asking me about where I got my probiotics. I still have some from the USA. They sighed, suggesting it might not be so easy to find them here. This started a whole conversation about the vitamin situation.
Since I don't supplement and don't really find supplements necessary, I shrug my shoulders at this. But it reminds me how easy some things are in the USA. I guess! (Not being unpatriotic here, just not decided if supplements maybe SHOULD be at the recommendation of a pharmacist now that I'm thinking of this...)
Today, I went to a raw food potluck. I was the only "all raw" person there. At least they have one of those here! Buuuut, there were only three of us! The last potluck had about 15 people, so this was surprising for me. We talked about how many people here are unhealthy and how crazy others seem to think raw food is.
We talked about vitamins and probiotics. I don't take supplements, but I do like to have some probiotics and fermented food to keep the intestinal flora active in my stomach. When I was in the USA, I had no problem finding these things. Here? Vitamins are locked up! Seriously. I was in a pharmacy the other day because my pinkie toe was so bruised it turned purple. I thought maybe I should tape it up or something. They suggested a cream, and I noticed the cream and Vitamin C were both in the locked case.
Crazy.
The women I met with today were asking me about where I got my probiotics. I still have some from the USA. They sighed, suggesting it might not be so easy to find them here. This started a whole conversation about the vitamin situation.
Since I don't supplement and don't really find supplements necessary, I shrug my shoulders at this. But it reminds me how easy some things are in the USA. I guess! (Not being unpatriotic here, just not decided if supplements maybe SHOULD be at the recommendation of a pharmacist now that I'm thinking of this...)
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