San Jose, Costa Rica

The source

So nice to (for once) know exactly where the product is coming from. Fresh, quality coffee beans. Definitely one of the better cappuccinos I have had. (and I am picky)

in El Mercado Central in downtown San Jose. So yummy! I just wish they didn't serve fries with everything...

Such an incredibly good idea. I don't know why more places don't do this. I ordered and iced tea, and this is what I got. An iced tea slushy! Could not have been happier. (And I really miss their version of lemons.)

A traditional Costa Rican tamal, which my host my served for dinner one night

I'm fairly certain my host mom thought I was on a diet the whole time I was there. I can't complain though. Wonderful food every night. Maybe not incredibly traditional, but always fresh and always tasty.

I can't remember the name of this restaurant. I was in the heart of downtown San Jose. One of those cool bars/restaurants with 2 levels and a balcony. This was fried yuca call " " and SO delicious fried pork chunks which is their version of "chicharrones".

Fruit Festival at the school I was studying Spanish at. Yumm.

This is at a restaurant called El Balcón de los Mariscos. The seafood was amazing. Seafood and rice was my favorite thing there. The piña coladas were AMAZING. However, I ended with just a picture of what I was served when I ordered a "cuba libre." haha. We all got quite a kick out of it. (and no, it did not taste good.)

Bocas del Toro, Panama: Ad Hoc Dessert.

There wasn't much at the market on the island, so I whipped together a dessert with what i could find:
A baked crust made out of the local butter cookies
Bananas (hey, it's Panama. I had to.)
melted peanut butter
Vanilla ice cream
Chocolate ganache (from dark chocolate bars) drizzled all over the top

Mmmmmm. I must say, it turned out quite well

Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Boston, USA

New Year's Eve / La Noche Vieja in Madrid

New Year's Eve. Spanish Style. Unlike here in the US, New Year's Eve (or La Noche Vieja as they call it. The Old Night) is much more family oriented. Everyone gets together for a giant Thanksgiving-like feast with their families and celebrates at midnight. Then, around 1/1:30 am, everyone meets up with their friends and parties. The parties last until... I kid you not... 9 or 10 am. I do not exaggerate. The streets were dead at 7am when I decided I couldn't handle anymore and went to sleep. It was silent (odd for central Madrid). At around 9/10am the streets filled with drunk people heading home to their houses or to get churros and hot chocolate with friends.
This was delicious goat. I really think it tastes very similar to lamb actually. It was delicious. Too bad I ate so many awesome appetizers, that by the time the goat made it onto the table, I was stuffed!
In Spain, when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, everyone eats one grape for every chime of the clock (which they watch on TV much like we watch the ball drop in New York). The goal is to be able to eat all 12 grapes without missing a beat/chime. This sounds easy, right? Wrong. These grapes are HUGE and have seeds. I was a sticky mess afterward and only made it to 8.

Although the most mindblowing meals are about quality of ingredients, freshness and technique...

... the most memorable are the ones shared with those you love.

Stockholm, Sweden

Paris, France

Barcelona, Spain

Madrid, Spain

Bologna, Italy

So I guess I didn't take any pictures of my food in Bologna. (Maybe I was a bit... preoccupied? hehe) But the food here was amazing. Overall, just really good quality meat everywhere we went. This has got to be one of my favorite cities in Italy.

Firenze, Italy

Milano, Italy

Fanna, Italy

Roma, Italy

This restaurant was amazing. It was three doors down from my apartment. The owners were super nice. Really hope to go back there someday.
Side note: This picture makes me sad because I ADORED the sunglasses. I found them (and splurged for them) at a vintage shop in Florence, and had to have them repaired to fit properly. I was in love. I lost them getting out of a cab my last night in Rome. sigh.)

We went to a beach city right outside of Rome, called Ostia. We chose the restaurant because it was on the sand, but the pizza ended up being really good. Great atmosphere. A sorts of goodies on my pizza (including a fried egg!) Mmmm

This was from a little coffee shop a street down from my apartment. (It looks prettier than it tastes. oh well.)

This is the famous (and rightfully so) coffee shop right around the corner from the Pantheon. Their cappuccino was sublime. (and for any Eat Pray Love fans out there, one of the scenes from the film was shot here.)

I had an awesome apartment in the neighborhood right by the Colosseum. Every now and then I would walk down the street to have a cappuccino and just STARE.

London, England

Paris, France (for my birthday with mis tías!)