I left Paris armed with two giant macaroons, (novelty and taste!) one consumed before I even boarded my flight, the other just after take off an I honestly didn't think i'd ever eat again after a Dutch Christmas and Parisian New Year!
But sure enough after landing in Budapest and being taken by my travelling companions to a restaurant named 'Fatale' boasting the biggest schnitzel in the world, I was ready to give Eastern Europe my best! I passed over the schnitzel which really was the size of a family pizza and delved straight into the cabbage, dumpling, roast pork.
The top story was where we found street food, bars, bakeries, and after being moved on by a very angry hungarian cause we were in his section and buying our food from somewhere else, we found our goulash! After a morning that consisted of a walking tour in minus 2 I really understand why food here is so rich! The goulash slowly worked it's magic and brought feeling back to my toes!
Finally feeling human we took another wander around the food stalls and came across possibly the fattiest most delicious thing I have ever eaten! Now in the western world we love bad food, but i've got a feeling dietitians would actually recommend a big mac over this bad boy. It was basically a roti like deep fried pancake, smothered in Nutella. Chocolaty, Salty, Fatty, amazing! Needless to say we did some more walking that afternoon!
The markets in Krakow were the home of my next favorite eastern European treat. Little pieces of smoked cheese, grilled on a little kettle BBQ, topped with cranberry sauce..... incredible!! It started with a 'I've got to try one of those' and finished with the ladies laughing at us for returning so many times and a desperate dash for a bottle of water to wash down all the salt i'd just consumed! These little babies made the 3-4pm twilight that much more bearable.
That evening ended with a cup of mulled wine, purchased from a stall shaped like a wine barrel (I do love a bit of novelty) as I wandered through the magical streets of Krakow. And I must warn the Polish are very careful to not warm their mulled wine too much and cook off the alcohol! I had very rosy cheeks!
So although I absolutely loved the seven short days I had in eastern europe, I was very ready to move on to food that was less stodgy and sausage based!
Enter Milan.
Ok so Italian food is pasta and bread heavy but there was such a difference in the freshness of the food from my last couple of stops. It was lovely to be reunited with Katherine and James after 7 whole days apart (!) and see their new Milanese home. After dropping bags in their apartment it was off to the Duomo to..... well. eat.
It may have just been a proscuitto, mozzarella and rocket panini but my lord was it a proscuitto, mozzarella and rocket panini! We greedily soaked up a much needed patch of sun as we destroyed these sandwiches on the steps leading to the cathedral, watching the old lady's in their furs from head to toe (and I'm guessing they weren't fake either!) in their heels busting across those cobblestones! A walking tour with James' study mates led us to giant arancini (!!) and just life changing Gelati. Mandarin! I love that the Italians embrace mandarin as a flavour. It's so under used here!
You may think googling 'best pasta in Milan' is a rookie mistake, but that's just what we did. And the internet, this time, told us no lies. It made me insanely jealous to make this discovery, just 3 mins walk from Kat and James' apartment. A lovely old pasta place, and sure I didn't eat pasta in every shop in Milan, so empirically I can't claim it was the best, but this really was just the. shit. Perfectly al dente, perfect balance of sweetness, savoury, tomato and herbs in the sauce. Not to mention the (cheap!!) gorgeous bottle of Syrah and tiramisu. I could have eaten this forever.
My jealously of their location was only deepened by the discovery of an antipasto deli next door (!), and an antipasto bar full of the most impossibly cute young male waiters you've ever seen who gave us gifts of biscuits when we left! I'm moving in!
So four weeks into a European winter, we just needed some sun. Bring on an impromptu girls weekend in Barcelona! Cheap flights, cheap hostel, no sleep due to the loudest snorer you've ever met on the bunk below me! I've never been so close to physical violence and tears simultaneously!
We set off early the next morning, mainly cause we couldn't stand another minute of trying to sleep and made it 3 shops to the end of the street before stopping in a cafe. And thus began the world's longest breakfast! We began with Churros Con Chocolate, spanish doughnuts with a cup of thick thick hot chocolate on the side for dipping. I'm not entirely sure this was legitimate breakfast food but in the moment I was convinced this was the only thing that would make me be able to actually function that day, and i'm still pretty sure I was right.
Once feeling a little more human we headed off to the markets, Barcelona's famous Mercat de Sant Josep, to be greeted by 1 euro freshly squeezed juices! We had two each. I got a little bit excited by all the fresh produce and fruit in this market! I hadn't seen good fruit for weeks and it was the only real thing I was missing from home. This was paradise! We purchased massive fruit salads for 2 euros ea, a punnet of raspberries for 1 euro, massive sourdough, chorizo and cheese sandwiches and gorgeous almond biscuits the size of your forearm. The sandwiches we saved for lunch but the rest all consumed as a continuation of our breakfast!
Our time in Barcelona was studded with so many food delights! Cocktails by the beach IN THE SUN!! Fresh raspberries by the waterfront, violet and cassis macaroons as an appetizer before a meal of paella and sangria, more fresh juices at the markets, and we even braved an alfresco tapas adventure for our final dinner (with more sangria, I could drink that stuff for ever)!
Alas reality eventually kicks in and I said a very teary goodbye to the wonderful Katherine and James and headed back for a short stop in Sydney and Byron for some family time before finally heading home. I must say the transition was helped by lots of cafe breakfasts with my Dad, Picasso exhibition and PJ Harvey!
Planning has already begun to return!
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