Start your adventures;
Countries, area's or continents to discover;
- Morocco; The Flavours of the souks
- China; It's all about food!
- Mediterranean; olive oil, herbs & fresh produce.
As I do the research, the recipe development, the cooking, the photography and the tasting all myself. It takes quiet a while before one country post (with recipes) is fully finished. So please be patient to see this new series grow. And feel free to leave comments in the posts, so you can all become part of the development of this travel series.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
How it all started...
'Travels of taste' all started with a book. A book by Joris-Karl Huysmans 'Against Nature' (A rebours), published in 1884.
In which the aristocratic and misanthropic hero, Duc des Esseintes anticipated a journey to London. After reading some Dickens, he felt the intense wish to travel to London. He ordered his servants to pack his bags, and started his travel to Paris. While waiting in Paris he bought a 'Guide to London' and moved on into a wine bar with mainly English clientele. He enjoyed the English atmosphere, which seemed straight out of Dickens.
When he became hungry he moved on to an English tavern. He ate some typical English style dishes, and enjoyed a few pints of Ale. Soon it was time to head to the station to catch the train to London. All of a sudden Des Esseintes felt a great apathy come over him. Did he really want to run to the station, fight with a porter, stand in queues, endure a long travel and sleeping in unfamiliar beds. What was the good of moving when a person could travel so wonderfully sitting in a chair?
Travels in 2020
While I am writting this post it is April 2020. We live in different times than Des Esseintes did. Many of us have travelled to other countries and experienced different cultures. Unfortunately travel is one of the aspects of our modern lives which adds hugely to our Carbon emissions. So we can simply lower our individual carbon footprint by reducing our long distance travels.
On top of that most countries are currently in 'lockdown' because of the covis-19 virus. Its positive effects on our planet have been clearly shown in less pollution and less carbon emissions in our atmosphere. So would this be the time to change our travel habits for good?
Using our senses to travel
Going back to the story of Des Esseintes. He took the first train back to his villa, to never leave his home again. He indulges in decadence and uses his senses to retrieve exceptional experiences.
Of course most of us are not living the luxury life of abundance like Des Esseintes did. But why should we exclude cultural experiences simply because we do not displace our self physically?
I believe with the full use of our senses and our imagination we can discover a new way of travel. Together with the digital tools we have now a days, we can also share these experiences worldwide.
As a foodie I am a great believer of retrieving enjoyment from food and beverages. Therefore I created 'Travels of taste', a series in which you can choose your recipes by country. And create your own travel experiences through food. I hope you ENJOY!
BON VOYAGE!!