Four days in a fantasy world

I fondly remember my trip to Disneyland Paris. I was only 8 years old when my parents decided to go as my communion gift. The news that my uncles and my cousin Martín were also coming was what made this experience unforgettable for me.

The first thing I did when I arrived was go buy an autograph book that I still have today with the signature of all my favorite characters.

         

From this moment we began our tour of the amusement park. It was very exciting to see there everything that I had always seen on television since my age kept me from differentiating the real from the imaginary.

Rather than saying that there were many attractions in Disney, I would say that everything was an attraction in itself, full of performances and unexpected surprises that always made me smile.

Everything went as we had expected. The weather conditions were spectacular and the food in the park was very tasty, especially in one of the restaurants where we ate the best croque monsieur we had ever tried.

However, there were some drawbacks. The first of these was the long lines that you had to wait to get on the attractions. Second and not least, the fear that I felt on various occasions. I have always considered myself a very scary person which prevented me from fully enjoying the experience.

It is for all this that I have been wanting to relive the trip. In my opinion, this adventure is worth seeing from two perspectives: that of the illusion and fantasy of a child's mind and from the adrenaline and adventure of an older person.

Good Food, Good Mood

Me

In my twenty-one years of life, I had the opportunity to travel to so many countries: France, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Portugal… All these places have great monuments, churches and museums, but there was really only one thing which was the highlight of each day: food.

I’ve always been a food lover, somehow, food is always there in our daily routines. This is why, as well as learning to cook, I enjoy trying the traditional food of each country or city that I visit.

In this post I’m going to be talking about the best foods I’ve tried on my latest trips.

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

As this could not be any other way, I would like to start with the Dominican Republic, the beach paradise. I visited this country 3 years ago. The thing I remember the most is the markets. There were thousands of people coming and going, arguing, selling and buying. I remember the aroma of strange foods, too. Everywhere there were stalls with items and food for sale.

In this country I tried so many types of food: salty, spicy, sweet… but more than a specific dish, I’m going to talk about the most popular drink there: coffee. This is probably the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Caribbean. There the coffee is different, its flavour is more sour and you can find mountains full of coffee trees. It was an amazing country to visit!

Coconut and piña colada stands were everywhere too. They both are sweet and refreshing drinks which are always welcome in such a hot country like this.

 

UNITED KINGDOM

I visited the UK when I was 13 years old. This country is well known for its traditional food called fish & chips, which is a hot dish consisting of fried fish in batter, served with chips.

        I’d never heard about this plate before, but when the waiter brought me the dish, I remember that I liked it. In my opinion it is a delicious food, but too oily for my liking. 

Furthermore, locals seem to enjoy this dish so much that you can find it everywhere: specialised restaurants, street stalls or mobile stands, among others.

 

FRANCE

All of us have heard about Eiffel Tour, the Louvre Museum and the Notre Dame Church. However, when I think of France, I think about the delicious food that I tried when I was there.

 

It was in this country where the most appetizing crêpe came to my table. There were a lot of restaurants and cafes which offered a huge variety of crêpes: sweet, salty, stuffed… I ordered one of them with chocolate and strawberries. It was delicious!

 

PORTUGAL

Last but not least… Portugal. This country is known for its excellent food. In my opinion, the most delicious and traditional one is the codfish. It is perhaps one of the most famous parts of Portuguese cuisine. You can find a lot of varieties: fried, baked, with chips, salted, and even with mayonnaise.

It is typically dried and salted and people usually eat it with fried chips. The Portuguese often serve it with other typical dishes like, codfish puffs, crab salad and white rice.

This is one of my favourite cuisines in the world!