What's your personal Bourdain like moment?

[CuseFaninVT]

Just curious if anyone has traveled and ended up going outside their comfort zones and how it turned out.

I'll start.

I worked consulting for a military contractor doing some Air Force work one time on the island of Terciera, one of the Azores that is part of Portugal. It was my first international gig, so I had some trepidation I guess, but mostly, I was pretty excited about it. We were doing a solid waste assessment (literally picking up garbage bags from around the base and sorting and weighing the contents - glamorous stuff). Luckily, I was traveling with guys who weren't afraid to head off post for dinner. It's a fairly small island with many small towns. I was there a week and a half, so we had the weekend free, and me and one other guy enjoyed ourselves including hitting a festival which included some fantastic street food and a 'bullfight' which was really just 8 really big dudes on the ends of rope around a bulls neck making sure the bull didn't actually kill someone.

The one night I'm thinking of though was spent in a small restaurant in one of the towns away from the main town near the base. We got in the car and drove, and just liked the looks of the place because it had a great view. Three of us went in, not knowing a single word of Portugese. Turns out the staff there (waiter, chef, and helper I believe) didn't know much English either. So we just waved our arms indicating he should bring us whatever he thought appropriate. And pointed to a wine that looked good. Three bottles later we finished one of the best meals I've ever had. And I'm fairly sure I spent somewhere around 20 bucks that night. I can't remember each dish, but none were anything less than great. Man that was fun.

I love moments like that. Unexpected and memorable.

 

[bevosu]

Back in the day a friend and myself decided to take a trip from Syracuse to Monterrey, Mexico. We were looking for a source for a particular type of vegetation that was popular among us younger people..still is.

The drive from the Texas/Mexico border (Laredo) to Monterrey was mostly barren desert with a few isolated small towns and scattered cantinas. Halfway to our destination we decided to stop at a roadside restaurant and test the local cuisine.

I forget what I ordered, but it turned out to be three enchilada looking things covered in various kinds of sauces, Looked great. Tasted great. Believe me it was authentic. Far enough away from the border to not be compromised by yankee influence. At the time Mexican food in most of the US was packaged processed grocery store offerings.

Oh yeah we found a source for the exotic plant that we were looking for. My partner wanted to make a reasonable sized purchase. I was more interested in finding a source for future reference, getting it back across the border was something I didn't think we were prepared to do.

On the return trip we reentered the states at Nuevo Laredo. Nobody checked the car. We were waved right through, My friend started ragging me about what a dummy I was for not doing business.

We got on Interstate 35 north out of Laredo and drove about 30 miles. All this time my buddy is on my case. Lo and behold a police traffic stop on an interstate. Never saw that before. They were pulling everyone over and checking cars. Gave our car an exhaustive search. Nothing. All the way back to Syracuse I reminded my friend which one of us had made the right decision.

 

[chugg21]

Rented a small guest house in the barrio part of Cozumel for new years a few years ago. Got invited to spend new years eve at dinner with the family we were renting from and then to partake in their traditional festivities. Every family puts out a plastic chair with a dummy in it with a head that is a sky lantern. Around midnight everyone lights their dummy on fire and releases the burning lantern into the sky. It was pretty bonkers to see in the sky. As we walked around the streets later on we started getting some looks that us gringos probably didn't belong and returned to our place. The fireworks going off sounded like bunker busters until about 5am.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Rented a small guest house in the barrio part of Cozumel for new years a few years ago. Got invited to spend new years eve at dinner with the family we were renting from and then to partake in their traditional festivities. Every family puts out a plastic chair with a dummy in it with a head that is a sky lantern. Around midnight everyone lights their dummy on fire and releases the burning lantern into the sky. It was pretty bonkers to see in the sky. As we walked around the streets later on we started getting some looks that us gringos probably didn't belong and returned to our place. The fireworks going off sounded like bunker busters until about 5am.

We were in Cozumel two years ago and on New Years Day, we had a driver take us to a beach on the other side of the island. We got there early so we had a good spot to watch all of the activities (and we were the only gringos). These people from Cozumel set up all of these picnics but it was more like the most amazing tailgaiting that you have ever seen. They set up all of these elaborate pop ups, and there were a lot of them, and they cooked the most amazing food. It was crazy to watch them set up.

 

[chugg21]

We were in Cozumel two years ago and on New Years Day, we had a driver take us to a beach on the other side of the island. We got there early so we had a good spot to watch all of the activities (and we were the only gringos). These people from Cozumel set up all of these picnics but it was more like the most amazing tailgaiting that you have ever seen. They set up all of these elaborate pop ups, and there were a lot of them, and they cooked the most amazing food. It was crazy to watch them set up.

Were you there for nye too and get to see the lanterns?

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Were you there for nye too and get to see the lanterns?

We were but we went fishing that day. I caught a big barracuda and we took it to a restaurant and they cooked it up with rice, beans and salad for $10. But they closed early so we had to go back to where we were staying to eat it. Turned on the bowl games and my wife crashed so we didn't move.

 

[chugg21]

Found a picture of one of the dummies on my phone.

 

[chugg21]

We were but we went fishing that day. I caught a big barracuda and we took it to a restaurant and they cooked it up with rice, beans and salad for $10. But they closed early so we had to go back to where we were staying to eat it. Turned on the bowl games and my wife crashed so we didn't move.

Think we might have been there at the exact same time. Looks like it was '16 into '17.

 

[Jeepers]

Oh, man. When I was backpacking Europe, I met this Australian guy in Spain. Worked out well, ‘cause he was a typical friendly, care-free Australian type.

Anyway, we were in Bilbao for my birthday, and he started talking to a local in a bar. We all talked for a couple of hours. When the local was ready to leave, we asked him if he had any suggestions for a special place to have dinner for my birthday. Told us he had the perfect spot, walked us there, and we said goodbye.

When we walked in, it was the kind of restaurant you’d see in The Godfather or something. Dark, ooooolllld wood. Smokey. Pretty empty. Nobody there spoke English, but my Spanish is “good enough.” We thought “Ff it” and went crazy. We ordered everything! We had been eating nothing but cheap traveler stuff, so thought we’d splurge. I mainly remember the giant prawns and verrrrrry rare salt covered steak. Everything was amazingly delicious and probably the single best meal I’ve ever had.

Every few years I try to Google the place, but I have no clue the name of it, so I always give up. Some day, maybe.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Two things:

First, I've never really had a Bourdain-like travel moment. The "adventures" i had when i was younger were too "bro-ish" to qualify. I like to travel in comfort, and with two young kids, can't be too adventurous. As a kid though, i did work in the backstretch of a horse racing track. There was a greasy-spoon food truck that would come through and I'd order egg-and-cheese sandwiches with a cold Bud, and would sit in the shade or on buckets with the hot walkers and grooms eating and chatting (most of who were Mexican or Central American). That was pretty neat for a kid from typical suburbia.

Second, I have no clue where to post this but there are a few tie-ins here. Next summer we are doing the "little loop" of National Parks, and i hear both Bryce and the North Rim get pretty cool at night the end of August. So i began looking into light weight, warm layers. I was reading that Bourdain always traveled with a light Pantagonia down hoddie, because he could scrunch it up and use it as a pillow if need be. I'm kinda an LL Bean person for the limited outdoors stuff i do, but i found this.

Bean Parka
It's packable, which i though is perfect for basketball games at the Dome. Always walking that fine line in the winter between freezing your ass on the walk to the game, and then not having a place to stick your coat once you sit down.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I have two, but only one is 'food-related.'

In San Jose, Costa Rica, after a few days on the Pacific coast. I enjoy 'travel portraiture.' I had three expensive cameras—a high-end Canon digital SLR, a medium format film camera, and a Leica 35mm film camera. I ventured off downtown, alone, to find some interesting faces to photograph. My spanish at that time was no muy bueno, and i was having trouble asking random people if i could take their picture. I started offering a few dollars, but i got constant rejections—i believe they thought i was asking them to pay me...

Eventually, about to give up, i wandered into a more industrial, rough neighborhood. I found one guy who i was desperate to photograph. Amazing face, with one 'glassy' eye. I managed to convince him that i would be paying him the five bucks or whatever it was, and he accepted. So, i've got him posed against a wall, and i'm getting a few nice images, with two different cameras. Well, this became a bit of a scene, and when i paid the guy, a bunch of people began to form a line. Since i had gotten nothing from the previous three hours, i was happy to keep going, and more and more amazing faces kept presenting themselves. I shot four or five more guys, and then i noticed an 80s Mercedes sedan pull up. Three 'heavies' sat in that car for maybe ten minutes, observing. They looked like mobsters. I was a bit concerned, but hey, i've been places—i don't scare that easy. Kept going.

The big guy got out of the front seat. Two more guys got out of the passenger side and back seat. They walked up to me. The big guy leaned in and said, "you know, it's very dangerous to be doing this. Guys around here will kill you for just one of these cameras."

I told him i (really, really) appreciated the advice, and sort of assured him i thought i'd be okay. They went back to their car. They kept watching (over me?). And i kept going. Until i ran out of money, and there were still five or so more guys, expecting to have their turn. I tried to make my excuses in my piddling Espanol, but it wasn't going so well. And then, of course, the most photogenic person walked up. Shirltess dude with tats all over his chest, and incredible character in his face. He would have been the best subject, but i had no money left. And feeling the threat from the Merc Crew, I had to tell them all i would be back the next day with more money. Same bat time, same bat channel. I didn't go back, though, concerned that more nefarious persons might now know what i was doing and that i had valuable equipment.

Second story:
I had been going to Rio about four times a year, for 2-3 weeks each time. At some point, friends i would see/meet there decided Rio was getting boring (ha! never), and we needed to try another city. We took a two hour flight to a smaller city called Vitoria, Brazil. Hired some drivers upon arrival, to shuttle us around and such. They suggested we party on the beach with their sisters. I guess they figured they could all get some money out of us. But, it was fantastic. The drivers cooked for us on the beach—some kind of fish that looked like piranha. Somehow i lost the photo of that damned fish [Ooh, found it]... And then they took us back to one of their family's homes. We met his father, who instantly reminded me of Picasso. And a bunch of the most amazingly adorable little girls.

Later, they took us to a massive empty warehouse, where different factions in the city were preparing their floats and routines for Rio's Carnival parade.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

That fish:

What could that be? Those are TEETH.
Actually, it looks as much like a piranha as a fried baby Alien.

 

[NKR1978]

India 2004. I've mentioned here in the past that my father is Indian. This was a chance I had to tour the country and get to see family largely with my dad.

My Air India flight from JFK-LHR-DEL was delayed in London for 3 hours because someone died on the plane but no one realized until everyone deboarded. That seems a very Air India thing to happen. Was supposed to have someone pick me up at the airport but assumed that they didn't wait because of the massive delay. Didn't realize it was India so all he had to do was wait and was there. Gave him $10 tip and felt bad because it was all I had. Dad laughed and said that was probably what he made in a week.

None of my family thought I would like it. I wasn't a picky water except with Indian food. Stuck to Tandoori chicken and samosas and a few other things. But when I got there I tried everything put in front of me and loved it all.

Got to see so much. The Red Fort in Delhi. The Taj Mahal in Agra. Indore and my grandfather's desk. (He died around my 1st birthday) Jodhpur (the blue city) and Udaipur and it's amazing Lake Palace. And of course Bombay.

I'm currently in Bali and am experiencing a little but of a similar situation in that I'm alone. Though Qatar Airways business class is a bit nicer than Air India economy. And my Villa at the W Seminyak is nicer than any thing I've stayed in, so not an entire 1:1 comparison. I'll do a trip report eventually, hopefully with pictures. Because Bali is amazing

As an aside, wearing a script Cuse t-shirt at one of the bars at the W and just got a Go Orange. We're even in Bali.

 

[chugg21]

Two things:

First, I've never really had a Bourdain-like travel moment. The "adventures" i had when i was younger were too "bro-ish" to qualify. I like to travel in comfort, and with two young kids, can't be too adventurous. As a kid though, i did work in the backstretch of a horse racing track. There was a greasy-spoon food truck that would come through and I'd order egg-and-cheese sandwiches with a cold Bud, and would sit in the shade or on buckets with the hot walkers and grooms eating and chatting (most of who were Mexican or Central American). That was pretty neat for a kid from typical suburbia.

Second, I have no clue where to post this but there are a few tie-ins here. Next summer we are doing the "little loop" of National Parks, and i hear both Bryce and the North Rim get pretty cool at night the end of August. So i began looking into light weight, warm layers. I was reading that Bourdain always traveled with a light Pantagonia down hoddie, because he could scrunch it up and use it as a pillow if need be. I'm kinda an LL Bean person for the limited outdoors stuff i do, but i found this.

Bean Parka
It's packable, which i though is perfect for basketball games at the Dome. Always walking that fine line in the winter between freezing your ass on the walk to the game, and then not having a place to stick your coat once you sit down.

Just seeing this now but yeah the Patagonia nano puff jackets are spectacular and are guaranteed for life. If 5 years down the line something starts to come apart with it, you can send it back to them to repair or replace. All of the gear that my wife and I travel with is from them and have nothing but great things to say about it. The black hole bags especially. They cost a good bit up front but you can use them for almost all situations. That's what we hiked through Utah with.

 

[ssbriefcase]

That fish:
View attachment 141377

What could that be? Those are TEETH.
Actually, it looks as much like a piranha as a fried baby Alien.

I'm guessing that's a Pacu, cousin of the Piranha and as big as they get (way bigger than Piranha), pretty much eat vegetables and nuts.

 

[Melancer46]

I was always a really picky eater growing up. For example, I didn't eat pasta with sauce until I was in college. Likewise with barbeque. Pizza had to simply be pepperoni and cheese and no other toppings. You get the idea.

I started to get into travelling when I met my girlfriend, who at this point has been to seemingly every country at this point and as I started to branch out with travelling, I began to use that as motivation to try new foods while in new places. I want to immerse myself in the culture at least a little bit.

It's really changed everything for me. 5 or so years ago, I had never eaten any Asian cuisines at all, and I've now learned that I love Chinese food, Thai food, Indian food, etc.

After graduating from Syracuse back in 2014, my family went to Belize to celebrate and spent one week exploring Mayan ruins while sleeping in a little (thankfully air-conditioned) hut where the owners prepared Belizean meals each day. I unfortunately only have one picture of the food that I had there, mostly just pictures of the ruins and whatnot, but I remember wandering into a city called San Ignacio one night and stumbling upon a restaurant that was selling something like 4 tacos for $1 and they were absolutely to die for.

Most recently, we traveled to England and Spain, and I had the absolute best food I've ever had in Barcelona and San Sebastian. In Barcelona, we found a restaurant close to the apartment that we were staying in and thought we'd give it a try, but they unfortunately were booked at the time. We came back the next day at 6:00 (that's when they open) and asked for a table and they said they could sit us down but we'd have to be out of there by 10:00. We thought, "Surely we'll be out of here in 4 hours..." so obviously we took the table. It was hands down the best meal I've ever had. Even my extremely well-traveled and food-obsessed girlfriend said it was at least a top 3 meal for her. We ended up staying there for all 4 hours, ate 2 appetizers, 2 main courses, and I think 3 or 4 desserts. I seriously want to go back to Barcelona just to go back to this restaurant again.

Below is a picture of my favorite main course that I had there; some kind of sausage with these incredible peppers and legumes of some sort.

In San Sebastian, it's basically all about tapas (called pintxos there), but the two things that really stood out were desserts I had there. One place is apparently famous for their cheesecake, and when you walk in, you literally see cheesecakes EVERYWHERE. I mean just from opening the door I could see at least 200 cheesecakes lining the walls and shelves; every nook and cranny of this place had a cheesecake. These cheesecakes were nearly burned on the outside but were nearly liquid on the inside. It was like no cheesecake I've ever had before and it was phenomenal.

There was another place that made a dessert called torrija, which was basically like a french toast but I believe it had alcohol or some sort of fermentation going on with it. It came with cinnamon ice cream and little rolled up stick of chocolate.

 

[reedny]

I was always a really picky eater growing up. For example, I didn't eat pasta with sauce until I was in college. Likewise with barbeque. Pizza had to simply be pepperoni and cheese and no other toppings. You get the idea.

I started to get into travelling when I met my girlfriend, who at this point has been to seemingly every country at this point and as I started to branch out with travelling, I began to use that as motivation to try new foods while in new places. I want to immerse myself in the culture at least a little bit.

It's really changed everything for me. 5 or so years ago, I had never eaten any Asian cuisines at all, and I've now learned that I love Chinese food, Thai food, Indian food, etc.

After graduating from Syracuse back in 2014, my family went to Belize to celebrate and spent one week exploring Mayan ruins while sleeping in a little (thankfully air-conditioned) hut where the owners prepared Belizean meals each day. I unfortunately only have one picture of the food that I had there, mostly just pictures of the ruins and whatnot, but I remember wandering into a city called San Ignacio one night and stumbling upon a restaurant that was selling something like 4 tacos for $1 and they were absolutely to die for.

Most recently, we traveled to England and Spain, and I had the absolute best food I've ever had in Barcelona and San Sebastian. In Barcelona, we found a restaurant close to the apartment that we were staying in and thought we'd give it a try, but they unfortunately were booked at the time. We came back the next day at 6:00 (that's when they open) and asked for a table and they said they could sit us down but we'd have to be out of there by 10:00. We thought, "Surely we'll be out of here in 4 hours..." so obviously we took the table. It was hands down the best meal I've ever had. Even my extremely well-traveled and food-obsessed girlfriend said it was at least a top 3 meal for her. We ended up staying there for all 4 hours, ate 2 appetizers, 2 main courses, and I think 3 or 4 desserts. I seriously want to go back to Barcelona just to go back to this restaurant again.

Below is a picture of my favorite main course that I had there; some kind of sausage with these incredible peppers and legumes of some sort.

In San Sebastian, it's basically all about tapas (called pintxos there), but the two things that really stood out were desserts I had there. One place is apparently famous for their cheesecake, and when you walk in, you literally see cheesecakes EVERYWHERE. I mean just from opening the door I could see at least 200 cheesecakes lining the walls and shelves; every nook and cranny of this place had a cheesecake. These cheesecakes were nearly burned on the outside but were nearly liquid on the inside. It was like no cheesecake I've ever had before and it was phenomenal.

There was another place that made a dessert called torrija, which was basically like a french toast but I believe it had alcohol or some sort of fermentation going on with it. It came with cinnamon ice cream and little rolled up stick of chocolate.

Really enjoyed this post. I'm not big on asian, but the rest sounds yummy. I was a huge fan of Bourdain before he passed away. So little programming of that quality on TV ... kudos to CNN for identifying his talent and carving out broadcast time on a news network.

 

[reedny]

Just curious if anyone has traveled and ended up going outside their comfort zones and how it turned out.

I'll start.

I worked consulting for a military contractor doing some Air Force work one time on the island of Terciera, one of the Azores that is part of Portugal. It was my first international gig, so I had some trepidation I guess, but mostly, I was pretty excited about it. We were doing a solid waste assessment (literally picking up garbage bags from around the base and sorting and weighing the contents - glamorous stuff). Luckily, I was traveling with guys who weren't afraid to head off post for dinner. It's a fairly small island with many small towns. I was there a week and a half, so we had the weekend free, and me and one other guy enjoyed ourselves including hitting a festival which included some fantastic street food and a 'bullfight' which was really just 8 really big dudes on the ends of rope around a bulls neck making sure the bull didn't actually kill someone.

The one night I'm thinking of though was spent in a small restaurant in one of the towns away from the main town near the base. We got in the car and drove, and just liked the looks of the place because it had a great view. Three of us went in, not knowing a single word of Portugese. Turns out the staff there (waiter, chef, and helper I believe) didn't know much English either. So we just waved our arms indicating he should bring us whatever he thought appropriate. And pointed to a wine that looked good. Three bottles later we finished one of the best meals I've ever had. And I'm fairly sure I spent somewhere around 20 bucks that night. I can't remember each dish, but none were anything less than great. Man that was fun.

I love moments like that. Unexpected and memorable.

We should talk sometime when we're at an SU function. I have a half dozen friends doing work for the military ... L3, Excellus, Harris .. my cousin works for Boeing. And I'm a Navy buff (hobby, never served).

 

[chugg21]

I was always a really picky eater growing up. For example, I didn't eat pasta with sauce until I was in college. Likewise with barbeque. Pizza had to simply be pepperoni and cheese and no other toppings. You get the idea.

I started to get into travelling when I met my girlfriend, who at this point has been to seemingly every country at this point and as I started to branch out with travelling, I began to use that as motivation to try new foods while in new places. I want to immerse myself in the culture at least a little bit.

It's really changed everything for me. 5 or so years ago, I had never eaten any Asian cuisines at all, and I've now learned that I love Chinese food, Thai food, Indian food, etc.

After graduating from Syracuse back in 2014, my family went to Belize to celebrate and spent one week exploring Mayan ruins while sleeping in a little (thankfully air-conditioned) hut where the owners prepared Belizean meals each day. I unfortunately only have one picture of the food that I had there, mostly just pictures of the ruins and whatnot, but I remember wandering into a city called San Ignacio one night and stumbling upon a restaurant that was selling something like 4 tacos for $1 and they were absolutely to die for.

Most recently, we traveled to England and Spain, and I had the absolute best food I've ever had in Barcelona and San Sebastian. In Barcelona, we found a restaurant close to the apartment that we were staying in and thought we'd give it a try, but they unfortunately were booked at the time. We came back the next day at 6:00 (that's when they open) and asked for a table and they said they could sit us down but we'd have to be out of there by 10:00. We thought, "Surely we'll be out of here in 4 hours..." so obviously we took the table. It was hands down the best meal I've ever had. Even my extremely well-traveled and food-obsessed girlfriend said it was at least a top 3 meal for her. We ended up staying there for all 4 hours, ate 2 appetizers, 2 main courses, and I think 3 or 4 desserts. I seriously want to go back to Barcelona just to go back to this restaurant again.

Below is a picture of my favorite main course that I had there; some kind of sausage with these incredible peppers and legumes of some sort.

In San Sebastian, it's basically all about tapas (called pintxos there), but the two things that really stood out were desserts I had there. One place is apparently famous for their cheesecake, and when you walk in, you literally see cheesecakes EVERYWHERE. I mean just from opening the door I could see at least 200 cheesecakes lining the walls and shelves; every nook and cranny of this place had a cheesecake. These cheesecakes were nearly burned on the outside but were nearly liquid on the inside. It was like no cheesecake I've ever had before and it was phenomenal.

There was another place that made a dessert called torrija, which was basically like a french toast but I believe it had alcohol or some sort of fermentation going on with it. It came with cinnamon ice cream and little rolled up stick of chocolate.

What's the name of the place in Barcelona? Heading there in a few weeks to meet up with my Wife. She's doing a graduate semester in Morocco and we're meeting in Barcelona before heading to Prague and Vienna and then down to Marrakesh and Tangier.

 

[Melancer46]

What's the name of the place in Barcelona? Heading there in a few weeks to meet up with my Wife. She's doing a graduate semester in Morocco and we're meeting in Barcelona before heading to Prague and Vienna and then down to Marrakesh and Tangier.

Casa Dorita. I highly recommend making a reservation. Literally the only reason we got a table is because we were waiting at the door when they opened lol.

Enjoy! Our trip to Spain was easily one of the highlights of my life so far.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Reviving this thread because, 1) it’s awesome! And 2) we‘re finally going to pull the trigger this year. Any recent travelers to Spain want to jump in?

 

[DMDMD]

Reviving this thread because, 1) it’s awesome! And 2) we‘re finally going to pull the trigger this year. Any recent travelers to Spain want to jump in?

My brother lives in Spain, where you planning to go?

As to the point of the thread, two sailing stories.

First, was sailing in the San Juan islands off Washington a number of years ago. We were trying to get to a harbor on the other side of an island, but conditions were not favorable, so we anchored in a random bay. There just so happened to be a big, old farm house there. I took the dingy in to see if there was anything close by to eat. Guy comes out to meet me at the water and tells me there is nothing close by, you have to drive. Then he offers to let me borrow his pickup truck. Just says, “the keys are on the dash, don’t hit any deer, leave it where you found it” So we put 5 people on the bench seat of an old ford pickup and drove across the island. Found the one open restaurant and had an incredible crab dinner and, bar none, the best soufflé desert I have ever had. I got the recipe for the soufflé, but have not been able to recreate it. Returned the guys’ truck, left him 30 bucks for gas on the seat.

Second, was sailing in the British Virgin Islands and pulled into harbor. Restaurants in this place and clientele were all kinda “margaritaville esque.” I got kinda drunk at a bar and as we walked around, I asked a local woman if she knew any decent restaurants. She says, “my husband and I just opened one, why don’t you come this evening.” Sure, why not. We show up at the time she gave us and its a cinder block structure with 2 walls, a central bar and tables set up on the beach. She sets us up at a table on the beach and her husband comes out, turns out he’s an award winning chef from Scotland who burned out working at top restaurants in London, where he met his now wife, they moved back to her home and opened a tiny place where we they could live the good life. Most amazing Conch I’ve ever had. That poor guy was sooooo sunburned.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

My brother lives in Spain, where you planning to go?

As to the point of the thread, two sailing stories.

First, was sailing in the San Juan islands off Washington a number of years ago. We were trying to get to a harbor on the other side of an island, but conditions were not favorable, so we anchored in a random bay. There just so happened to be a big, old farm house there. I took the dingy in to see if there was anything close by to eat. Guy comes out to meet me at the water and tells me there is nothing close by, you have to drive. Then he offers to let me borrow his pickup truck. Just says, “the keys are on the dash, don’t hit any deer, leave it where you found it” So we put 5 people on the bench seat of an old ford pickup and drove across the island. Found the one open restaurant and had an incredible crab dinner and, bar none, the best soufflé desert I have ever had. I got the recipe for the soufflé, but have not been able to recreate it. Returned the guys’ truck, left him 30 bucks for gas on the seat.

Second, was sailing in the British Virgin Islands and pulled into harbor. Restaurants in this place and clientele were all kinda “margaritaville esque.” I got kinda drunk at a bar and as we walked around, I asked a local woman if she knew any decent restaurants. She says, “my husband and I just opened one, why don’t you come this evening.” Sure, why not. We show up at the time she gave us and its a cinder block structure with 2 walls, a central bar and tables set up on the beach. She sets us up at a table on the beach and her husband comes out, turns out he’s an award winning chef from Scotland who burned out working at top restaurants in London, where he met his now wife, they moved back to her home and opened a tiny place where we they could live the good life. Most amazing Conch I’ve ever had. That poor guy was sooooo sunburned.

Awesome stories.

 

[cusefan88]

Reviving this thread because, 1) it’s awesome! And 2) we‘re finally going to pull the trigger this year. Any recent travelers to Spain want to jump in?

Madrid was fantastic. Can't recommend enough. The holy grail of Spanish travel for me will be a summer tbd in Bilbao and San Sebastian.