Food in Argyll

Our boiler was due for its annual maintenance, but when the man came to service it he said it was unsafe, and stuck a sticker on it saying it should not be used.  Unfortunately, the only people who can fix it are those from the company who built it, and they seem to be so busy that we could only book an appointment with them ten days hence.  Ten days without hot water or heating.  So there was little else we could do but head for a hotel with a spa, and I decided that Argyll would be a good location.  Very nice it was, as well, but after wallowing in the pool, steam room and sauna for a couple of days we realised we couldn’t afford to live there indefinitely, and so resorted to pitching the campervan at some very attractive sites, also in Argyll.

Another reason for leaving the hotel was that the evening meals there were a bit meagre.  Tasty, but short on substance.  Above is a photo of the first course, which was shared between the two of us.  The breakfasts were very substantial, so we didn’t go hungry.

Argyll is a very attractive part of Scotland, and a region we don’t know too well, so it was a delight to cruise the backroads, walk in the hills, and investigate the villages.

We ended up at Tayvallich for one night, where we enjoyed an excellent and satisfying meal at the Tayvallich Inn.  It’s the only pub and restaurant in the village, but the food is glorious.

Lindsey’s main was scallops in a garlic sauce, with fries on the side.  Mine was scallops in a creamy sauce, with peas and mashed potato on black pudding.  I asked Lindsey if I could taste hers, but she would not part with even a morsel, so good was it.

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Spice and tea trails of Kerala, part 7, To Periyar National Park

The drive from Madurai to Thekkady took a while, so the journey was broken with short stops at a brick-making factory (shown above), and then a vineyard (shown below) where several people wanted their photos taken with our ladies.

Santhosh was good enough to give us cricket updates on his mobile phone

Everyone very much enjoyed the visit to Abraham’s Spice Garden, a short drive down the road from where we were staying.  We were given an informed guided tour of the garden, where all sorts of spices, herbs and flowers grew, and then given the opportunity to stock up on spices in the shop.

Jackfruit

Cardamom

In the evening, there was a Kalaripayattu display.

The next day involved a walk in the Periyar National Park.  We were ferried over the river on a raft made from bamboo, and then followed our guide for the morning along various tracks.

The highlight was finding a tiger pugmark.

The next event was a boat trip on the lake, during which we spotted a surprisingly (given the time of day and the noise that everyone was making) large number of animals, including two groups of elephants.

The day wasn’t over, though.  In the evening we had a hoot at Bar-B-Que Thekkady, where the group prepared its own dinner.

Food in Saalbach

We stayed in the Berger’s Sporthotel in Saalbach, for a week on half-board, mid-January.  I must say that the food was very good, and very substantial and tasty, though there was a bit of a preponderance of pork.  One evening it was a choice of pork or lamb, and although I chose the pork, when I saw the lamb on someone else’s plate, I wished I’d made that choice instead – it looked delicious, not that I didn’t enjoy my schnitzel.  The service was absolutely fantastic, and the waitresses and waiters were very attentive.  Here are photos of my main courses throughout the week.

The sweets were definitely enough to fill you up after hours on the piste.  Below is an example.

In addition, there was a large choice of dishes for breakfast.

The Austrians definitely like their pork!

On the Thursday evening, Elvis Presley played in the bar!  I’ll post about that experience soon.

Food in the Anti-Atlas

I wrote a couple of years ago about food in Morocco, which on a previous trip we had found tasty, and exotic, though I have to say that after a week we’d become ever so slightly ‘tagined-out’.

On our more recent trip, we were in the country for a month, so how did we find the food this time?

On the Exodus walking trip, the food was very healthy yet tasty and attractively presented.  Not bad when the support team didn’t even have a kitchen in which to prepare ingredients.  There were lots of interesting salads for lunch, tinned fish, rice or pasta, fresh bread, sometimes eggs, fruit and mint tea.

It was nearly all fresh, and locally sourced.  The snacks, a mixture of nuts and dates, were nutritious as well as really good to eat.

During the two weeks between Exodus trips, we sometimes bought bread and bananas for lunch. I love Moroccan bread!

Meals at Dar Tourkia were superb, the highlight being Fatima’s lemon tart.

The food at Les Terrasses De L’atlas was also fantastic, and served in a gorgeous setting.

My favourite was Kefta Mkaouara.

The food in Agadir was more varied, and sometimes we simply reverted to pizza.

On the cycling trip the food was also very good, with a lot of attention paid to hygiene.