By interesting you mean generic?

In my search to find inspiration for today's blog, I did a search of fascinating places. The search engines all pulled up the same old same old. I agree that yes, Rome, Paris, and New York are all wonderful places that everyone should visit, but interesting thinking outside the box travel locations... No not really. It's like going somewhere and looking for the best kept secret of burgers in the big apple and being referred to Corner Bistro. It's a magnificent restaurant with some of the most mouth watering burgers ever created, but cutting edge? the newest thing?.... No.

 I want to challenge my clients I want to show them a whole new world of excitement they didn't realize existed, not send them somewhere they saw in a romantic comedy. Instead of doing the usual trek around Rome, why not go to Puglia? Puglia is this gorgeous part of Italy filled with olive trees, houses called Trulli's you'll never see anywhere else, and cliffs that are strikingly breathe taking. But I worry that rather than experience something so exotic, people would fixate on the fact that Rome is their comfort zone and never step outside the box. Cruises are the same way. The huge ocean liners that only troll a certain set of ports is far more popular than the Orion that takes you on an adventure around South Pacific.

There is so much to see in the world, I'm going to set a challenge. For your next vacation, step away from what you usually do and seek out an adventure. Don't go do something dumb and dangerous, but try something new, go somewhere you have never been before. If you need an idea, I know some pretty excellent people who can help you.

More like wide bottom'd traveler.

I have a confession, I'm not happy with how wide my stomach is. I am one of those sad american's who didn't get the right talking to, when it came to portion control. With me studying all about the world's most scrumptious food and wine's, it's hard to think about dialing down the "I can eat this amazing meal and consider it research". I will one day be traveling with groups on beer tours of Prague and if I'm wheezing and panting after a mile because I am so out of shape then I doubt my clients will want to book with me again.... Unless I find a place for us to stop and give them life changing beer each time. Plus what about if I take a group to some exotic sexy island. No one is going to want an Experience Director to lay out next to them if I look like their great aunt who thinks spandex is a privileged.

No, they want the super model to come lay next to them and tell them about the tantalizing cuisine the cabana boy is about to bring them, and sip some fruity drink with an umbrella! They want this chick! Who wouldn't want to have drinks with her and learn about Caribbean cuisine. I don't even know who she is and I would book any trip she tossed my way.

I want to be the best Travel consultant I can, At first I thought that meant just knowing a lot and being able to explain the world's treasures to those who are so happy to listen. But as I keep learning, I realize (like I have about a lot when it comes to my new job) my assumptions are wrong. I can't just know, I have to show. I have to be able to walk for days teaching and opening the eyes of my clients to worlds and cultures they never knew about. Which means I can't be out of shape any longer, I have to whip my wide bottom into shape and be ready to walk all over the world. Because the day is coming when I get to take a group to Prague, and show them the Augustine that I dream about. And when I do, I will be ready to walk all over the city not worrying if I'm sweaty and winded... Plus I'll look good doing it. Perhaps I will move it, I'll go from being the Wide Eyed Traveler, to the Chic Styled Hot Traveler.

Food so good, you need to ask for forgiveness.

Well it's Tuesday, just a few days to get all my ingredients for my delicious dish of Ropa Vieja for my Cuban dish party. I cannot wait. Every time I think about how wonderful it's going to be my mouth starts watering. All those slow cooked dishes... It's sinful. Cuban's have mastered the art of making food divine in two very spectacular methods. The first (I'm making it first because this is how the dish I'm making... is made) is slow cooking. It is this art of putting all the most savory ingredients in a pot (or crock pot) and letting them do the cooking nasty all day till it's like tasty velvet. It's WONDERFUL! You can't go wrong, and unless you cook it for days you can't burn it, it just gets smoother and yummier. It looks a little scary I will admit but you quickly forgive the appearance once you taste it. Just pour over some rice and devour, I mean it! If it wasn't frowned upon to shove food in your face with your bare hands I would with Ropa Vieja... Oh how I would.

Now the second method is a very true and very Cuban method of making sure whatever it is you are cooking has the utmost delicious factor. It's the thought that if you smoosh something as flat as it can go the taste will reach it's most delicious potential. I was always amazed at how wide my Abuelita's dinner plates were. Now I realize that it wasn't because it was due to us receiving so much food, we got the same size dinner as anyone else was getting served by there families, but rather our food was so wide and so flat. The flatness seemed to bring out the rich garlic flavors and Caribbean feel to all our favorite dishes. It's the kind of food that makes you moan in happiness when you can smell it coming from the kitchen.

I figured something fun for my favorite readers would be to give you a couple great recipes to try out at home. Of course this is assuming I have readers...

First comes to you from my Abuelita's cook book.

Congri

• 1 16oz can black beans
• 1 small onion (my grandmother used white, I like sweet yellow)
• 1/2 green pepper (I also like to add yellow and red peppers) seeded and cut into strips or chunks.
• 2 garlic BULBS browned in olive oil.
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups rice

Blend everything together when the water begins to boil. Cover and cook for 30minutes.
On a side note, I like to add bacon too, it gives it a good extra "umph".

Tostones by Hector Rodriguez 

• 2 green plantains
• oil for frying
• salt

1. Heat oil to 350
2. While the oil is heating up, peel the green plantains and cut into 3/4' slices.
3. Fry the slices in the hot oil for 3 mins. They should be a light golden color and semi-soft.
4. Remove the plantain slices with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
5. When the plantain slices are cool enough to handle (about 1 minute), smash them into flat rounds.
6. Fry the rounds in the hot oil for 3 minutes. They will turn crisp and golden brown.
7. Remove tostones with the slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel. Salt to taste.

ENJOY!

Is Cuba too taboo?

I feel like I should start out by giving you a little history lesson about your favorite 'eyed traveler. I keep trying to come up with a great means of telling you about my family and the gorgeous culture I come from, but I thought a quick story from my grandmother's journal (that my aunt translated for me) would be much more fascinating.

In1925 the Spanish government wrote to Don Berriz Negrini  telling him they planned to auction his ancestral home in Spain but before doing so they wanted to offer him the chance to take back the Title of Marquis, the land, and home because he was the direct descendant. He turned it down, and decided to stay in Havana. Havana is were he had his wine store called "La Vina" (the vineyard). He ran it with his sons and later opened another location which his son ran for him


So there you have it, I'm Cuban, I come from a rich and exciting back ground with thousands of stories about incredible men and women, some brave, some just brilliant. So imagine my total joy when word of of mouth reached my waiting ears and I was told that we might be able to plan a tour there. The excitement made me explode. I started doing research, I watched so many documentaries that my boyfriend had to ground me from them. I was so, excited! There's just no other word for the feeling I had. 


But, unfortunately I found that the red tape one had to cross to take a tour group to this gorgeous place was just too much. I felt deflated and just sad. There is a lot about this country that is wonderful and hypnotizing. The whole island is like being taken to a beautiful time capsule, the cars are these amazing cruisers like you see in car shows. The architecture is brilliantly preserved true art deco from the 40's and 50's. And the food... Oh my god the food is so dynamic it is pure decadence. It's all this passionately cooked, slow roasted so the flavors come together in beautiful melody. There's nothing like it. And what is interesting about food cooked in Cuba is none of it is imported, it's ALL organic and all locally grown. It's just savory and delicious, for those of you who haven't tried a real Cuban dish (I'm not talking about something called a Cuban dish in a multi cultural ritzy cafe, I'm talking about a hole in the wall where the men play domino's on the patio) then you are missing out on one of the greatest pleasures in life.


I huffed and puffed about how sad I was that I wasn't going to be able to share my love for my families culture. And as stubborn as I am I decided NAY, I will not sit back and let a little set back like not being able to book tours to this gorgeous island hold me back. If I can't take the masses to Cuba, I will take them to my kitchen! I broke out some good old fashion Cuban recipes and come next Friday, I'm going to have people come to my home for a wonderful night of dining. Just like the Paladares in Havana I'm opening up my home for people to come and taste some of the most exquisite  food Cuba has to offer.  From Ropa Vieja, to fried yuca, and hopefully some Tres Leches.  It's been ages since I've smelled the sweet and garlic-y food that reminds me of my Aubelita's kitchen. I made this dinner a covered dish party so I'm interested to see what my friends bring over.  

Before I go, I'll let you in on a secret when it comes to the deliciousness of Cuban cooking, it's slow, it's all about bringing wonderful rich ingredient s together and letting them just fuse slowly. There isn't anything as powerful as the great meals you'll taste when you dine on some divine Cuban cuisine.

I think I'm a bad travel agent...

When I book a vacation, I try to find the best way to stretch my buck; leave on an early day to have cheaper airfare, get cheaper room and board so I can afford to eat at the best restaraunts and see the best locations. But when I book for my clients I treat them like I treat my own travels. I really make the dollar stretch as far as it can reach. I do my best to make sure they can do all they want and then some within their budget. See, that makes me a bad travel agent.

So I am not a bad travel agent, I'm a great travel consultant. I really seek out the value of the trip. I learned that if you have a range of one hundred dollars a day to three thousand, I can find you the best way to spend that budget no matter where you go or what you do. I can make a trip custom fitted to everything you like and nullifying all the little things that irk you about travel (except for TSA security checks, I can't make them not make you take off your shoes. I know I hate it too). But when I was a green little fledgling in this office looking around like an awestruck child, diving into the books on destinations like they were the first fairy-tails I ever read, I thought our job was to make you give US your budget. I didn't know I'd be so helpful. That by helping someone take their dream vacation to New York, I too would feel some since of over whelming joy knowing I made that happen. So damn, I guess this isn't all about being a money monger, more concerned about raking in the dough, it's about loving what I do and making sure I have clients who are so happy they don't want another consultant other than me.


Did I mention that I'm working on a fabulous trip to Tasmania....