WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Big news, everyone. I have been asked to allow my photography to appear in a print ad for a travel magazine!!! Now, I know that this isn't like the cover of National Geographic or anything, but I have to start somewhere!

I'm excited. Seriously.

Abroad!

So in May of 2010, "this moi" traveled abroad for the first time in her life (that was a 30 Rock reference for all you fellow fans out there). I traveled with my University's choir so I was sort of forced to visit touristy sites, do touristy things, and worst of all, eat some touristy dishes.

However!!!!!, My friends and I were able to sneak away every once in a while in order to wander down some random alley, lag behind in order to snap a picture of a weathered, blue door, or fake a "I forgot we were all supposed to eat at the American restaurant together!!! What?" Yea.

We began our trip in Paris. Saw the Eiffel Tower. Saw some churches. Went to the Louvre. Blah, blah, blah. The important thing here, is that I ate approximately 23 baguettes all slathered in Nutella, 47 blocks of assorted cheeses, and 52 croissants. I'm also not a sarcastic person. We also visited Munich and Salzburg. Aaaaand I ate another 285491046 calories. Each day.

But seriously, I had some amazing food abroad. Even tho we were in the city for only 3 days, I think I had a great experience and ate some amazing food as well. Can't wait to share it with you.

Paris

There is this thing called a "budget," and all of my college friends and myself were restricted by this thing called a "budget" during our travels. So to all you aged, old, wise, learned foodies out there who have visited every 5 star restaurant in all of Paris, sorry I couldn't live up to your expectations. Budget, people. It's called a budget.

So this is what is typical in Paris. A small place on the corner, filled with baguettes, cheese, croissants, and other goodness.

I think I bought something at every one we passed... so like every 5 minutes.

And here is me putting things in perspective.

I guess you could say that I've got my priorities in order.

Munich and Salzburg still to come!

Yes, yes. I'm an idiot. I forgot to upload picture of my fabulous, wonderful, delicioso dessert at Boston's Finale. So here you go...

Note the sugar stick.

Boston

In January I traveled to Boston for a school project. Naturally, I was more excited about eating food than anything else. I'm gonna feature a few restaurants here. Stay with me.

If you happen to be traveling in Boston and you love Italian food as much as I do, make sure you visit the North End of Boston. It's like a little Italy. Absolutely amazing. Great pastry shop, legit espresso, Italian guys, and soccer jerseys.

"Bella Vista"

Imagine - a trip with 5 college freshmen. Yea, we were on a reeeeeal strict budget. Bella Vista was a dream come true. They have a relatively simple yet delicious lunch menu. Everything - $4.99! This is the truth!

View from our table:

This place had some of the BEST food ever. I ordered a pasta dish: Chicken Broccoli Ziti. It was phenomenal. Our entire ticket was about $25 dollars, and that more than filled 5 college freshmen. We were very impressed!

"Ye Olde Union Oyster House"

The oldest established restaurant in the U.S. You NEED to make this place a priority if you are even passing through Boston. Yes, it is a little pricey, (if you order the lobster) but I must say, it is completely worth it.

And here, ladies and gents, we have Oysters Rockefeller. Now, it is more than understandable for all of you oh-i-would-never-be-able-to-eat-a-oyster-in-my-life-because-they-are-so-slimy-people to be a bit apprehensive to try such a dish. Confession time. This was my first oyster! And let me tell you it was seriously one of the most gratifying things I have ever eaten. Yes, I did just use the word gratifying. Deal with it. So don't worry. Trying an oyster isn't as bad as you may think. If it's the texture your scared of, don't try raw or fried oysters. Rockefeller/baked is the way to go.

"Finale"

After our dinner of lobster and oysters, the five of us hopped on a subway and headed to another side of Boston for dessert. If you don't wanna spend seventy dollars on dessert for 5 people than go somewhere else. I ordered the "Manjari Mousse." I'm posting a link to their menu. It will blow your mind. http://www.finaledesserts.com/pdfs/2010/MENU/FInale_Dinner_Menu_2010-PP.pdf

So there you have it. My favorite places to eat in Boston. I was not fortunate enough to stay as long as I would have liked, but I feel as if I attained some experience from the 5 day trip. Of course there were other restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops, but these were my faves. Hope you enjoyed this. I would love to hear some feedback so I could maybe apply to my next post. I'm traveling to France, Germany, and Austria over the summer so I will definitely have some new stuff to post relatively soon.

Happy flogging, everyone. Now if that doesn't sound politically correct I don't know what does.

Welcome!

Let's do this.

My hobbies/passions include:

1) Food

2) Music

3) Writing

4) Travel

5) Photography

So there you have it. Here is my attempt at, let's call it, "Flogging." Aka - food blogging. No I am not going to whip anyone in public. Swear.

I hope you enjoy this endeavor of mine. Here is my attempt to combine all of the things I love in life. Screw people telling me I need to follow the manual - "Go to this school, take this class, major in this, get this degree, work here, do this internship, and you should be happy and successful till the end of your days!"

Hey, here's an idea. Let me the hell alone. Kthanks.

Enjoy. Bon appetit!