Medellin, Colombia

The diversity of Medellin was striking to me. There were modern buildings and ancient preserved structures. There were areas of nature in the middle of the city as well as bustling crowded streets.

One night, I went to an outdoor market. There were food stalls lining the streets. 

I watched as giant banuelos were being fried and walked by a stall nearby with empanadas being cooked. There were people everywhere! It felt like a festival.

One unfamiliar thing that I tried was a cart with fried cow intestines, but there were many sights and sounds and new foods that I saw that night.

Another day, I had a traditional morning treat of plantains spread with guava paste and melted cheese. It is such a decadent combination to have sweet and salty flavors on the slightly crispy plantains. 

A fruit unfamiliar ot me, tomate de arbol, became one of my favorite treats while in the city. Here I am having some tomato de arbol juice at an outdoor cafe with my tour guide and friend.

COFFEE FARM!

One of my primary wishes while in Columbia was to visit a coffee farm. I was intrigued to see what the plants looked like and to see the processing of the coffee. 

Above, I am picking my first ripe coffee cherries and below is a view of the coffee plants on the landscape.

The landscape of the coffee farm was quite steep and wild with some narrow paths cleared for the farm workers to navigate between the foliage.

After walking all around the farm, I went to a nearby facility where the coffee beans are evaluated, as pictured above, as well as being sorted by size, as shown in the picture below.

Above is pictured the green coffee beans ready to be shipped! 

Another memorable experience was having a genuine homemade lunch provided by the owner of the coffee farm before I departed. It was overflowing with homey warmth and authenticity. 

Cocoa beans are also found in Columbia and I got to see them growing on a tree on another farm. In a little cafe, I tasted the richly thick, but slightly bitter, hot chocolate.

One of my favorite memories was learning how to make Sancocho. This is a soup typically made of yucca, corn, plantain, potato, cilantro, green onion, and a variety of meats, often chicken. Because I am allergic to chicken, my hostess made this without any chicken, carefully demonstrating all the steps to prepare the soup as she cooked.

Finally, she also taught me to make patacones, which is made from a smashed plantain that is then fried. It is a really delicious treat with simple ingredients. 

Medellin was a beautiful and diverse city! I was so fortunate to visit northern Colombia and fulfill my desire to visit a coffee farm. I will always appreciate coffee more than I did before this trip. It is a work intensive crop and important to the economy. 

Bogota, Colombia

Bogota is a bustling large metropolitan area, but I find there are always many little gems hidden within a large city.

As usual, I found my way to the farmers market. It was an expansive covered area. I strolled around slowly and was most intrigued by the many fruits that would be uncommon or quite expensive in the United States, but seemed unremarkable to these vendors. I also spotted several varieties of fruits that I either had never seen, like the lulo (a small type of citrus fruit), or had not seen various types of the same fruit. For example, it seemed that they had multiple types of mangos and passionfruit. 

Driving outside of the urban area, I saw a large open oven with fish affixed on upright skewers receiving an open air smoking.

I pulled over to the side of the road to take a closer look. After smelling the alluring scent of the smoke close at hand, I purchased a fish to taste if for myself. It was delicious and a site I did not expect to see! 

An authentic meal that I experienced in a family home was the highly popular and frequently eaten dish of potato soup. I learned that Colombia has a wide array of potato varieties unfamiliar to me and they create this soup using a combination of different potatoes, boiled in water.

One very memorable stop for food was watching a fresh arepa being made, cooked, and immediately served to me. I watched and waited for a fresh arepa to come out of the oven that is pictured above. This is most definitely the best one I have ever eaten. It had a thin firm crust on the outside and a creamy soft interior. It was addicting and whenever someone refers to an arepa, this is now what I picture!

The final food experience that I will share was at a highly popular seafood restaurant, La Poche Pescadaria, known to be one of the best in the city. I was told that even famous individuals are known for stopping to eat here. I tried a seafood soup with crab and lobster that was served in a deeply flavorful spicy broth! I also tried Bagre, a popular local fish. 

Memories of Bogota are filled with seeing and trying a variety of foods that were unknown to me, which is one of my favorite things to do! I enjoyed learning the variety of foods typical of Colombia, finding out that it was so much more than I anticipated.

 

Brisbane, Australia

Brisbane was a guided city exploration for me. I was beyond fortunate to have met a lovely couple, Joan and Kerry, while in Italy and they offered to host me if I ever made it to Australia. I took them up on that offer and they gave me irreplaceable memories! 

One memorable thing about the city was the "beach" that had been created right in the midst of the bustling downtown! It was  really stark contrast to see it right in the middle of the concrete jungle! 

My hosts were the underpinning of every memory in Brisbane. They were selfless and took such care in coordinating anything they imagined that I would like to do. One key experience that they wanted for me was introducing me to the Aussie meat pie. These could be found in a wide variety of fillings and could be encased in crust or have a slightly toasty mashed potato as a cover.

I was beginning to enjoy the wide variety of cheese that can be experienced from different regions, a passion that has grown exponentially since then. I had the opportunity to find this lovely stop off in a tiny touristy street where I browsed the local cheese to my heart's content. 

My hosts also took me to Eat Street, a foodie marketplace that utilizes shipping containers for the various vendors. It had isles of shipping container stalls with a wide variety of foods, reminiscent of a county fair.

I also learned about and tasted Moreton Bay Bugs, a local crustacean with sweet lobster like meat. I saw someone eating them at a restaurant and we decided to stop on the way home and pick some up from a seafood shop and we cooked them ourselves! 

While in Brisbane, I also learned much about the history of the country, saw the amazing and diverse landscape while hearing folklore about the topography, and I also began to learn about the indigenous peoples and the disadvantages that they continue to face in current society. I was humbled by my kind and generous hosts and I will never forget them.

 

Melbourne, Australia

Memories from Melbourne are pervaded by the plethora of coffee shops. Living in Los Angeles, I thought that I was accustomed to seeing third wave coffee shops as a familiar sight, but this did not compare to the number awaiting my adventures in Melbourne. I stopped at so many! Some that I remember were: 

Higher Ground Melbourne 

Dukes

Gold Drops Coffee

Vacation Coffee

Market Lane Coffee

Much of the fun had when stopping into the coffee shops were the opportunities to meet the welcoming and chatty baristas. They were all willing to share suggestions to add to my list of coffee shops, too!

PRAHRAN MARKET

The city has multiple markets, the most popular of which is the Victoria Market, but this is another with a well established clientele. I enjoyed the various shops while wandering around, but found that I found more distinctive goods at the other markets. I did stop into RIPE the organic grocer and purchase some wine as well as tarts from a vendor at Prahran. 

RIPE the organic grocer

SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET

Emerald Dell Cheese Room 

This market had many many vendors in the indoor space. I particularly enjoyed finding this cheese room. 

Atypic Bean to Bar Chocolate

At this time that I visited in 2018, this was as of yet a young chocolate company. At the time of this writing, the company is known internationally for exceptional chocolate. I met the young chocolate maker, an entrepreneuring young woman clearly passionate about her business. 

SMS Oyster Bar

There was a constant stream of people lining up to get food from South Melbourne Seafoods, serving casual, but quality, seafood. I decided on some ceviche for a snack! They served it in this bag with a spoon.

VICTORIA MARKET

Hugely popular and ever busy, this market is one that nearly everyone visits while in the city. 

The market is a very large covered area with cement floors with a significant space dedicated to none food wares as well as a very large area with street foods being cooked. The variety of foods on offer is fantastic, ranging from paella to french pastries, as well as places to purchase meats more unusual to the country. There is something for everyone!  

PURE SOUTH

This restaurant felt more of upscale contemporary dining with large windows lining the exterior walls allowing a view of the light making up the city skyline at night. 

I happend to mention that I had eaten Wallaby to some people from Australia and they were surprised I was able to locate this meat on a menu! This restaurant was lovely, but mostly worth the visit for me because of this singular opportunity. 

Flinder's Island pasture fed Wallaby, parsnip, and native pepper berry sauce 

THE ORGANIC FOOD AND WINE DELI

I made a stop here mostly because I was curious if I could find a healthier version of the varies popular pies. I did! A hole in the wall stop off, but boasting a nice variety of quality ingredients! 

Spring Street Grocer

This was one of my favorite unexpectedly enjoyable finds in the city. I knew that they had a variety of cheese and local goods, but did not realize the extent of the cheese varieties! They had an entire cold "cave" under the main storefront that was on street level. I carefully selected local cheese that I really wanted to try and the staff patiently answered all of my questions. It felt particularly special to get to enter the lower area specifically dedicated to careful storage of their cheese. The upstairs also provided beautifully curated goods, both from local and international sources. There were eggs, chocolates, wines, cookies sauces, meats, and all types of dried goods. At the front entrance, there was an outdoor coffee bar that was beneath an overhang, allowing walk up service in all types of weather. 

CHARCOAL LANE

This restaurant was still in the city, but away from the most central area. The restaurant was open and airy and with staff passionate about providing native ingredients incorporated into the menu. The intention is to include Aboriginal people at the restaurant, providing employment and inclusion of their culture.

Roasted emu filet with sandalwood nut salad, quandog, and witlof 

If you can identify which foods align with those words, then anyone would be impressed! I was so thrilled to find a menu from which I certainly was not familiar with the foods! Absolutely one of my favorite thrills when I travel is uncovering a food as of yet unknown to me. As the list becomes shorter with time, I am even more excited when I have this experience! This was a nicely balanced salad with a dance of different textures and flavors, but without any being overwhelming. Delicious and light! 

There were other restaurants and drinks, wine tasting and coffee drinking filling my every moment in the city, but I tried to give some of the most memorable highlights above. Melbourne was an easy and yet invigorating exploration!