Over the years both passions/obsessions have grown and after another trip to the US and Disney when I was 22, I realised that I needed to explore the our globe. So at the ripe age of 23 I packed my backpack and headed to the UK for 12 months. That was the plan. To travel around Europe and the UK, work and live and explore the UK for 12 months and then head home back to my life in Sydney.
I was uncertain what the future would bring, uneasy about my life and where I was heading but that was reality. How wrong was I?
Meeting a random stranger on a plane, who I now call my best friend, changed my life. What was two random strangers on a plane meeting up, that were both doing a Contiki tour and both staying on in London, turned out to be fate. After a few months of friendship and random travel discussion over a few glasses of wine, we realised that there had been ticket mix up on both sides and that they were for each of us. Yes both of us had received each others tickets (we have the same last name). Fate.
We ended travelling the UK and Ireland for nearly 4 years together, taking advantage of the working holiday visa. Always a thirst for exploring the globe and the next adventure. Sure I came home for a few months here, 18 months there, before moving onto the next adventure. The thirst never being quenched.
When I turned 30 and the holiday visa option was no more, I moved from Canada back to Sydney (with a side trip to Disney to celebrate my 30th) and managed to stay grounded for three years. I tried to settle but it just wasn’t working for me. I was a lost soul. It didn’t take long before my feet were itching again and I found myself moving to Dubai for a job and the opportunity to travel some more in that region. Little did I know that some 15 years later I was still living overseas and travelling. So much for the 12 months hey?
During these travels, I not only really found myself (and that has been a long journey of self discovery that continues and perhaps for another time) my journey took me on a path of discovering my palate. My love affair with food and culture and all that it entails was born from travel. Sure I have always loved to eat but that was about it.
The more I travelled and enjoyed local eats the more it became an interest. I started taking note of cookbooks and wanting to learn to cook certain dishes from my travels. Early in the peace I wasn’t taking photos of my food nor really noting much about it, just enjoying eating it. I started to discover cooking classes and markets. I love to explore local markets whereever I am. It brings an essence and buzz, how other cultures live and and go about their day. Plus there is usually amazing goodies and nibbles on offer.
I realise now that I have been food blogging that I have missed out on so many food opportunities but I do remember many a fine meal from different parts of the world.
So a mini project that I am going to focus on is to blog from travels past, to relish in past meals and food experiences. Markets and cooking classes, food tours and just some bloody amazing tastes. I am going to dig into the coffers of old negatives and travel photos to see what I can find. I am sure there is an odd photo or two. Here is the first one. My first night on my Contiki tour way back in 1998, at a campground on the outskirts of Paris eating snails. That was probably my first adventurous eating experience, which looking back is not so adventurous anymore. But alas, it was the beginning of a food affair.
French snails in Paris
Stay tuned for Roo Travels…
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