Best and Worst Cuisines Abroad

Throughout my travels, I've tasted some truly incredible dishes... and some pretty terrible ones as well. There've been countries that have stood out as gastronomic superstars, and others that have flopped horribly. From the divine to the downright disgusting, here's what I've found to be the most impressive and disappointing cuisines abroad:

Best Cuisine: Greece

How could I not choose Greek food as my favorite international cuisine? No other country has so effortlessly seduced my taste buds. Between the fresh vegetables, rich feta, mouthwatering dolmades and flavorful tzatziki, Greece exemplifies foodie heaven.

Cretan salad with mizithra cheese

Baked eggplant at Roka - my favorite restaurant in Santorini

Read more about my favorite gluten free Greek dishes here!

Second Runner Up: Mexico

Do I feel a little guilty for not saying Spain? Maybe. But I mean... Mexican food.

The best meal I've ever had was at a roadside taco stand in Ensenada in 2007. Every year back in junior high and high school I went on volunteer trips to Mexico with my church - so on every trip, we got to try the amazing street food. The tacos al pastor I had at this particular stand blew my taste buds out of the water. Needless to say, it redefined what real  Mexican food should taste like... and I've been addicted ever since. 

The only photo I took of "the best meal I've ever had"... foodie blasphemy. Judge if you must.

Worst Cuisine: The UK

I'm hoping this doesn't get me any hate mail. So let it be known: I absolutely love the UK. I would go back to London and Edinburgh in a heartbeat. 

That said, some of the most abominable meals I've tried abroad were in the UK. Haggis, deep fried Mars bars, bangers and mash, English breakfasts, mystery meat pub food... the list goes on. I know that there are some really great modern/international/fusion options to be found, but if we're specifically talking about "traditional" dishes, then everything I tried made my stomach churn.

Savoring the only good meal I had in Scotland at the Elephant House Café. My enjoyment of this meal may or may not have been heavily influenced by the fact that JK Rowling wrote parts of Harry Potter here.

In other words, pub food is not my jam. Coffee > tea. And who in their right mind eats beans and tomatoes for breakfast?!?

Dear lovely readers in the UK, please don't hate me. And if you passionately disagree with me, then I will gladly take your recommendations for the next time I visit! I'm willing to be proven wrong!

Second Runner Up: Germany

Unless beer is a food group, the gastronomy of Germany did nothing to impress me. (But who am I kidding, I didn't even get to try the beer in Germany because I couldn't find any gluten free options. So I'm just trusting everyone else who says that the beer is actually good there.) 

The sausages, sauerkraut, cold cuts and salads I tried were bland, uninspiring and often less-than-appetizing. I've never been less enthused about trying the local grub. While I truly adored Bavaria, I found German food to be nothing special.

What are your favorite and least favorite cuisines you've tried abroad? 
Is there a country whose gastronomy stands out as the best or the worst?

Welcome to this week's Travel Tuesday Linkup with A Compass Rose!

Every week Bonnie, Cynthia, Yalanda and I will choose one post from the previous week's linkup to be featured. Make sure to check out their blogs to see who they chose!

This week I am featuring Sara of A Different Piece of Sky and her post on Gouda, The Netherlands. As an avid cheeseaholic, I was sold on visiting Gouda almost immediately upon reading her post! Sara's recap has undoubtedly inspired me to take a day trip to this darling town next time I visit Amsterdam.

Ready to link up?

1. Share a post about travel! 

2. Grab the lovely button below. If you run into any trouble, just make sure to mention Bonnie, Cynthia, Yalanda or me in a link.

3. Linkup goes live every Tuesday at 0800 GMT. Make sure to comment here, on the co-hosts blogs, and visit around!

Tips:

1. Please only one linked up post per blogger. Save other posts for future linkups!

2. The last Tuesday of the month will be a themed prompt if you want to join in!

3. Hop around and meet new travel loving bloggers! Check back to visit some of the newer travel posts! 

Medieval Charm in Ávila

Spain just makes you feel a certain way. There's something particularly magical about the small towns that transport you back in time to a different era. In the quaint village of Ávila in Castilla y León, this sense of old world enchantment still holds strong.

Just an hour and a half outside of Madrid, this charming UNESCO World Heritage Site is most famous for its ancient medieval walls surrounding the town, also known as La Muralla de Ávila. From atop these walls you can admire spectacular views of the colorful town below, as well as the rolling hills of the Spanish countryside in the distance. 

Though the sights to see are limited, the old-fashioned squares and quiet alleys nestled within the fairytale-esque walls are perfect for wandering aimlessly. With nuns ambling down the street and abuelos  leisurely chatting in picturesque plazas, Ávila brings small town charm to a whole new level.

Since Ávila is well known for their beef, one of their most popular traditional dishes includes chuletón de Ávila - otherwise known as juicy T-bone steak. Strolling through Ávila you will also find many shops selling yemas de Santa Teresa, the town's famed dessert comprised of egg yolk, syrup and lemon juice. Just the right combination of savory and sweet, these treats were perfect to snack on as we explored the deserted streets during siesta  time.

La Muralla de Ávila

My Ávila Picks:

Favorite Restaurant: Soul Kitchen

Best Views: From atop the Muralla

Can't Miss Sights: The Muralla, the cathedral and Plaza de la Victoria

Must-Try Dishes: Chuletón and yemas

Best Thing to Do: Wander aimlessly!

One Year Expatversary

3 continents | 12 countries | 35 cities | 1 lifelong love affair with Spain

As hard as it is to believe, today marks 12 full months of living as an expat in Madrid.

*Technically speaking, I moved to Madrid on September 15th, 2013 - but I don't count the two months I lived at home in Seattle this past summer. 

Not only is it hard to fathom how fast the time has passed, but it's also surreal to look back on how quickly I built a life here in Spain. At this point, Madrid genuinely feels like home.

Here in Spain, I've developed what I never thought I would: roots.

I have an apartment that feels like home. A job that I look forward to going to everyday. A solid community that I can fall back on, filled with friends who are always up for spontaneous adventures and never fail to make me laugh. I know the streets like the back of my hand, and I can order off a menu without needing to double check my Spanish dictionary first.

I've developed a deeper appreciation and respect for the culture, and I finally have a better command of the language. (Though let's be real, that'll always be a work in progress.) I've even surprised myself by adopting curious Spanish customs, like always  wearing slippers inside the house, never eating lunch before 2 pm, sleeping in the middle of the day, and never leaving the house with wet hair and/or flip flops.

Coming home to this colorful plaza makes living in Madrid all the more enchanting.

The weirdest part is how natural it all feels now. Through the trials and tribulations of adjusting to a new country, a new culture and essentially a new life, I've reached a point where I finally feel settled. The culture shock and homesickness have subsided, and as each day passes I feel more and more integrated. 

That's not to say that I don't ever have moments that make me feel like a total foreigner, or never witness events that make me think "What is the DEAL with this place?!?" There are still plenty of frustrating moments (most of them dealing with Spanish bureaucracy - I'm looking at you, Aluche) and things that make my blood boil (ahem, racism and machismo...), but I've learned to not let the negatives outweigh the positives. As often as I just have to shake my head and think, "Oh, Spain...",  at the end of the day I still love living here - nonsensical Spanish quirks and all.

Moving to Spain has required me to challenge myself and face my biggest fears head on, and because of that I've grown tremendously this past year. It's pretty damn scary to move to a new country where you don't know anybody, build a new community from scratch, submit yourself to the misadventures of love and dating, and test out a new career for the first time - all while trying to communicate in a foreign language. (I guess I can't speak for everybody, but at least it was really, really  terrifying for me.) But I survived to tell the tale!

All that said, moving abroad is undoubtedly the best thing I could have done for myself, and I hope to continue to grow as an expat this next year (or maybe even in future years...?) to come.

We make a good team, Madrid. Here's to many more adventures together!