Most of our thoughts are not original as someone put it, we read popular magazines or watch television and we think that that's how life is. There are a lot of people who live lives that are totally different, they march to the beat of their own drum. When we think of travel, we think of luxurious rooms, beaches or dancing on a cruise liner or fancy restaurants and fancy restaurant meals. The truth of the matter, most travel involves none of the above, the accommodation could be some flea infested room in some one's house or dirty Nile water. If I had a choice I would always opt for a cheap room. Most of the time, meals means something thrown together from a local Salumeria(Italy) or Choucuterie (France). I remember on my first trip to Italy, my sister and I bought some canned sardines, canned pickles, water from the tap and bread from the local store and that was our lunch while visiting Siena, Italy. Last year, Sophie and me bought a ham sandwich from a local bakery and that was our lunch when we visited Versailles. That was a good sandwich. It is not always easy to find a good and affordable restaurant on the road especially in the major tourist cities. I've never found such restaurants in Rome or Paris. There are restaurants but they're not the ones we could afford. It is easier to find good and affordable meals in smaller towns. My greatest delight in food are found in smaller towns. I remember staying at a cheap hotel, next to the train station in Bayonne, France. When the train goes by, the house shook. It, obviously was in a cheap part of town, an ethnic part of town. That was the great part, there was this Moroccan restaurant just steps away and I had the greatest meal I can remember of Couscous and Lamb Tagine. One reason I love Sicily is that it isn't that touristy and cheap and good restaurants are found at almost every corner. We never had a bad meal in Sicily except once, it was a new restaurant. We should have just followed the locals, they know where to eat. Don't believe what you see on TV or read in magazines. Life on the road is very different. When you read this, I'll be on my way to China, I intend to eat most of my meals at roadside stores. That's the beauty about Asia and the Far East, the fare on the roadside are so incredible. It is definitely something to write home about.
On our visit to Cairo, after completing the tour of the Pyramids, we begged our taxi driver to take us to eat. He took us to his friend's restaurant, of course. He probably gets a commission and I know he got a free meal. It's hard to imagine that this is Cairo, the lushness is disarming, it could be any part of the USA. The desert seems far away even though it's just steps away. This is a beautiful place. There were not set menu and it was 70Le per person, a hefty bill for a local but it was like US14, still expensive, we never pay US14 for lunch in the US. There was a lot of 'Sharwama" or grilled meat. It was OK. Sometimes when you depend on a local who gets a commission, you get bulldozed into this kind of situation. We should have waited to get back to Cairo and got some 'kushari' for 5Le.
Most of our thoughts are not original as someone put it, we read popular magazines or watch television and we think that that's how life is. There are a lot of people who live lives that are totally different, they march to the beat of their own drum. When we think of travel, we think of luxurious rooms, beaches or dancing on a cruise liner or fancy restaurants and fancy restaurant meals. The truth of the matter, most travel involves none of the above, the accommodation could be some flea infested room in some one's house or dirty Nile water. If I had a choice I would always opt for a cheap room. Most of the time, meals means something thrown together from a local Salumeria(Italy) or Choucuterie (France). I remember on my first trip to Italy, my sister and I bought some canned sardines, canned pickles, water from the tap and bread from the local store and that was our lunch while visiting Siena, Italy. Last year, Sophie and me bought a ham sandwich from a local bakery and that was our lunch when we visited Versailles. That was a good sandwich. It is not always easy to find a good and affordable restaurant on the road especially in the major tourist cities. I've never found such restaurants in Rome or Paris. There are restaurants but they're not the ones we could afford. It is easier to find good and affordable meals in smaller towns. My greatest delight in food are found in smaller towns. I remember staying at a cheap hotel, next to the train station in Bayonne, France. When the train goes by, the house shook. It, obviously was in a cheap part of town, an ethnic part of town. That was the great part, there was this Moroccan restaurant just steps away and I had the greatest meal I can remember of Couscous and Lamb Tagine. One reason I love Sicily is that it isn't that touristy and cheap and good restaurants are found at almost every corner. We never had a bad meal in Sicily except once, it was a new restaurant. We should have just followed the locals, they know where to eat. Don't believe what you see on TV or read in magazines. Life on the road is very different. When you read this, I'll be on my way to China, I intend to eat most of my meals at roadside stores. That's the beauty about Asia and the Far East, the fare on the roadside are so incredible. It is definitely something to write home about.
On our visit to Cairo, after completing the tour of the Pyramids, we begged our taxi driver to take us to eat. He took us to his friend's restaurant, of course. He probably gets a commission and I know he got a free meal. It's hard to imagine that this is Cairo, the lushness is disarming, it could be any part of the USA. The desert seems far away even though it's just steps away. This is a beautiful place. There were not set menu and it was 70Le per person, a hefty bill for a local but it was like US14, still expensive, we never pay US14 for lunch in the US. There was a lot of 'Sharwama" or grilled meat. It was OK. Sometimes when you depend on a local who gets a commission, you get bulldozed into this kind of situation. We should have waited to get back to Cairo and got some 'kushari' for 5Le.
Pickles, vegetable fritters and Baba Ganoush.
I remember staying at a hostel in Brussels where I ate at the cafeteria, the price couldn't be beat. I think it was 8 Euros for dinner. I remember having one of my nieces with me who refused to eat at the cafeteria. I remember eating at some nearby joint and paying 14 Euros for a hamburger. Kids, these days, have so good at home. Wait till they grow up and make their own money. I make 6 figures a year and I still munch on bread and canned sardines when I travel.
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