A Day at the Races – the Kangaroo Cup

During our year-long trip around Australia in 2008-09, we were fortunate to be on Kangaroo Island in South Australia for the social event of the year, the annual Kangaroo Island Cup race day. It was a party weekend for the island. On the Friday night before the race, in the town of Kingscote, there was …

Rob and Clare’s Around the World Trip 2005

Here is the daily diary entries for each country stopover of our trip around the world in 2005, in the order of travel. We started and finished in our home country of Australia, and visited 30 countries. Yee ha. The journey we took on our around the world trip in 2005 AustraliaCosta RicaNicaraguaHondurasGuatemalaBelizeMexicoUSAUKTurkey SpainEgyptFranceItalySloveniaHungaryAustriaPolandCzech RepublicAustria …

Stencil Art from the Mexican City of Oaxaca

We have been on a few trips to Mexico, the longest was four weeks that we spent travelling around in 2005. On the visit to the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca, we enjoyed a walk around town, and were captivated by the interesting architecture, and the quirky stencil art we found on the buildings. It …

The Food of Nicaragua

A common Nicaraguan meal that you will find throughout the country often includes a meat portion such as chicken or pork, deep-fried plantains (platanos), rice and beans (gallo pinto) and a cabbage salad. Many people may find that Nicaraguan food is very oily. However, do not let it scare you off from trying some of their delicious and …

The Food of Costa Rica

These food notes from Costa Rica were made during a week-long trip to the country in March 2005. These are just our food experiences and you may have a totally different experience depending on your budget, where you travel and where you eat. Some Costa Rican food (called ‘Comidas’) and drinks Casado – the word means …

The Food of Belize

The food of Belize is very different from the rest of Central America. Belize food culture has had been influenced by many sources, including the English colonial, the West Indian Caribbean and the Central American – resulting in a unique and very interesting blend. This is barbecue country too, chicken is mainly on the BBQ, but …

The Food of Honduras

A typical meal in Honduras, unlike the rest of Central America, often does not include rice, even at breakfast. A typical breakfast tended to be refried beans (instead of whole beans mixed with rice like further south in Central America), eggs as you like, very salty fetta-like cheese, and usually cream. There is more yoghurt …

The Food of Guatemala

Typical meals in Guatemala tend to be much saltier than anywhere else in Central America, and the food is already quite salty. Often restaurants have a `plato del dia´ or plate of the day, which can be quite a variety of things such as; rice, salad (not just cabbage) meat, eggs, refried beans, cheese and …

Vietnamese Food – Not Just Springs Rolls, But Lots of Spring Rolls

We were inspired to travel to Vietnam after watching a Vietnamese cooking show on TV, so it was obvious that we would sample as much of the food the country had to offer. We were familiar with the style of Vietnamese food from frequenting restaurants back home, but the local experience was very different. We …