Food and Travel
There is an old adage that says, “You are what you eat”! If that’s the case, then Grandpa Scott and Grandpa Bobby are made up of many different types of foods that we have experienced through our travels. Trying different foods and stepping out of your comfort zone is a great way to connect with and experience different cultures, while creating memories that can last a lifetime.
New Experiences
Sometimes these experiences can be planned, like when Grandpa Scott determined that he was going to try Haggis during our trip to Scotland. We scoured many different restaurants and finally found one in Edinburgh that featured it on the menu. For the record, Grandpa Scott actually enjoyed it, Grandpa Bobby, not so much. But trying it gave us an appreciation for the local history and traditions.
However, many times the experience can be spur of the moment. Once while we were driving through some remote villages in Tuscany, we came upon a small family run restaurant and decided to give it a try. The welcoming family spoke very little English, and our Italian was limited, at best. The menu we were given was completely in Italian, without translations. While obvious words like “pasta” were immediately identifiable, most were new to us, so basically our ordering came down to pointing and smiling - and hoping that what we ordered was something we would like. Turns out that Grandpa Scott had ordered his pasta with “alici”. His pasta came with small fishes which turned out to be anchovies. Now, if we were back home, Grandpa Scott might never have ordered anchovies based on trying them canned when he was a child. Here in Italy, where they were fresh and artfully prepared, the taste was heavenly. The same was true while were visiting the Cinque Terra and Grandpa Scott accidentally ordered what turned out to be squid ink pasta. Imagine the look on his face when the waiter placed a bowl of black colored pasta in front of him. Grandpa Scott didn’t want to insult the waiter by turning the dish away, so he gamely tried a forkful - and instantly fell in love. So much so that we spent much of that trip seeking out squid ink pasta dishes and have since searched for it in specialty stores wherever we have lived (and yes, you can buy dried squid ink pasta online!)
Food Memories
Sometimes these experiences can be triggers that connect you back to your past. Grandpa Bobby’s heritage has links to the Italian coast. He grew up eating all types of fish and seafood. But like with all foods, how your family prepares a dish might be very different from another’s, even if using the exact same ingredients. When Grandpa Bobby’s grandmother passed away his family tried recreating her famous fried cod fish cakes that were a stapple of their traditional Christmas Eve dinner of the Seven Fishes. Unfortunately, try as they might, no one could quite replicate the exact same taste. It wasn’t until one day, far out on the edge of town in the little fishing village of Manarola, Italy that Grandpa Bobby ordered a seafood platter that featured a fried cake in the very center. With trepidation, Grandpa Bobby tasted the cake and was immediately transported back to his childhood. It tasted exactly the same as his grandmother’s, so much so that it brought tears to his eyes. Food is a great way to connect with your past and your heritage.
Go For It!
So, the moral of this story is to be brave and try something new, something unexpected. Travel allows us to be outside our comfort zone. opening ourselves up to new food experiences gives us the opportunity to connect with different cultures and traditions. Challenge yourself to try something new or specific to the place you are visiting on each adventure, and you may be rewarded with a wonderful and unexpected experience that gives you a greater connection to the place and the people you are visiting.