"No one really knows how the game is played The art of the trade, how the sausage gets made." Lin Manuel Miranda may have been right about the first two, but now I can confidently say that I know exactly how the sausage gets made! Last Sunday, my host family celebrated Matança, an event held …
Tag: food
City Break: Santiago de Compostela
One of the best things about being in Europe is convenient, weekend travel. Or, as they're known here, "city breaks." Want to get away for a few days? Jump on a train or book a 30 Euro flight to a neighboring country or city. Without the plethora of budget airlines that Europe boasts (though they …
All about the food
As I write this, it's 8pm and it's the first time all day I've been able to sit up. Last night I inexplicably (or explicably, if you count the 48 hour exposure to 15 children and pouring rain) came down with a fever. And jeez, there's nothing like a fever to make you cry for …
Thailand
Surprisingly, I had more than two weeks off for Chinese New Year, so a friend and I decided, pretty much on a whim, to go to Thailand! We flew into Bangkok (a roughly 4 hour flight from Taipei) in the evening and took an incredibly cheap taxi to our Air BnB apartment. It was too …
Estonia
The first travel book I ever had was a guide to the Baltics. It was a gift from my mother in my early teens, no doubt given genuinely, but likely purchased on sale or part of a set, because let's be real, who decides they're going to inspire their child to pack up and head off …
So Long, Taiwan
I've started to write this post several times, first while sitting in my room in Taipei, during one of my last few days there. The next time I tried was in the Tokyo airport on my layover during my long trip back to the US. And here I am, back in my first home, ready …
Hello Kitty Cafe
Taipei is home to numerous themed establishments, including Hello Kitty and (until recently) Barbie cafes, and Modern Toilet, a restaurant where your meals are served in toilets and urinals. Fun, right? I'd always heard that the Hello Kitty and Barbie cafes are overpriced and have bad food, and frankly, I have no desire to eat out of a …
Trip #6: Shifen and Pingxi
Most of what I'd heard about Pingxi while living in Taiwan centered on the lantern festival. The small town of Pingxi annually hosts an incredible lantern festival where people travel en masse every year to release their own sky lanterns. I've actually heard that it's pretty awful because of how many people attend. A quick google image …
Dragon Boat Festival
Celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu, is said to commemorate the death of poet Qu Yuan. Originally a supporter of the Chu royal house, Qu was banished for opposing a new alliance. When the new allies took over the Chu capital, Qu …
Street Food Part 2
I promised there would be more! Steamed Buns, or Mantou (饅頭) They sure love steaming things here. Steamed buns are common, with seemingly endless varieties: white, wheat, taro, brown sugar, chocolate, cereal (as in the picture), and many others. And that's before you even begin adding fillings! Fillings include pork, cabbage, and red bean, while …