Cause I'm Hungry

I've decided to post our holiday under different themes.  Dinner time is just around the corner and my tummy is rumbling (it's either hungry or protesting the 1/2 a jar of pickled onions I just ate) so I'm starting with food.  Glorious food.

Now, to get the confessions out of the way I have to admit that we ate hot dogs.  Flexing our entrepreneurial muscles on Queen's Day we had bought 96 hot dogs (they come in cans over here) to sell before finding out that you can't sell meat products (although I'm not sure that they really qualify as a 'meat' product).  We've slowly been chugging through them and our first dinner, by the river in Vernon France, was hot dogs, sliced potatoes and onions and a dash of rocket to make it at least appear healthy.  (Linny, this meal reminded me of the Saturday mornings that you used to cook breakfast for the two of us!)  Ok, confessions over, for now.

Growing up hearing Mrs Youldon's stories about stealing oranges on their road trip around Europe in the mini I felt that I had to follow in her illustrious footsteps and join the fruit theives.  We camped under a plum tree the first night in France and we filled our little pot before we left in the morning, me on Andrew's shoulders getting the goods-sneaky, I know.  A little tart in the skin department but they were free!

Andrew also snapped this shot of me stealing figs in Brie.  And these figs, these were GOOD.  There was also some more plum thievery from behind the library.  The only other food we stole was some rosemary from the gardens by the beach in Biarritz, no photos only memories of herby pasta for dinner.

Whilst I'm on the subject of Brie, we ate brie in Brie!

Although this truck is not actually food, I loved the sign on the back 'You say tomato, I say Spanish sunshine on a plate'.  Yup, I loved it.  And still do.

Lunch in the nicest spot found by my wonderful husberando.  There was lots of foot-photo shots, and more hotdogs (I think, that's the only reason I can think of for the sauce bottle being out!).

This is what breakfast looked like most mornings, although the cereal is missing in this shot because we had pain au chocolat.  Oh yeah, I'd become French for them.

We stayed just below where Kati Mac studied in Spain (Valladolid) for a few days.  The girl in the bakery figured that we wanted something typical from the region so we ended up with macaroons.  We ate pretty much the whole packet while we were waiting for dinner.  They eat LATE in Spain.

Then, for dinner, we ordered one of every tapas on the menu.  The girl thought we were bonkers.  But I've always wanted to order one of everything and this was my chance.  To be perfectly honest, it's the worst tapas I've had (especially seeing as Andrew convinced me that one of the dishes contained sliced penis, eeew), but it was fun!

The next night Andrew surprised me and pre-ordered paella at our campsite to celebrate me getting my uni results.  It was soooo good.  Especially seeing as it came at the end of a 10 kilometre hike in the hot Spanish sun.  Mmm, paella, I hope to dream of you tonight.

Bored yet?  I'm not, I'm just more hungry than when I started.

After Spain we had a few days in Portugal.  We ended up in Porto, and we went to the port making cellars (although they're technically not in Porto but across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia but who would buy a drink with such a long name?).  The tour was fantastic, through a beautiful old building filled with giant port barrels.  The tasting wasn't so hot (for me).  Alcohol will forever and always remind me of cough mixture.  Ugh.  It looked pretty though!  Outside this truck was pumping port from the vineyards in to the cellars, it was so bizarre that it was just snaking across the footpath in a big hose.

And then, the reason I wanted to go to Portugal: Portuguese custard tarts (natas in Portuguese).  The lady at the tourist information centre sent us to her favourite place and we bought two which the little old man stapled into a little packet for us.  And then we tasted.  Mmm-mmm-mmmm.  I so have to try and re-invent these little suckers.  So, so good.

We were rained out of our campsite the next morning so to heat our morning up we bought a chocolate and a coffee caliente.  They're portable hot drinks.  You press the bottom and then shake for 40 seconds.  A chemical reaction in the liquid around the drinks heats the drink up and hey presto, hot drinks!

Then there was another drink, this one was in celebration of you Trinny, kind of!

Our last day was full of treats, breakfast bacon sandwiches done in an unusual cooking set up because of the rain.  And for dinner, Andrew's awesome sardines.  Mmmm.

There was other fun food and lots of holiday treats, but these were the ones we remembered to snap.  And now my boy is home and dinner will be on it's way.  Aaaah, how I love to eat!