FOODIE, BUT A GOODIE #HogsAbroad in Europe #FoodieFriday

What three better words to hear together than the above statement? Did I stutter. FOOD IS READY. COME AND GET IT. SOOOOOOOOIE. TINA COME GET SOME HAM.

Food is universal. It is something that is needed for survival and in some countries each meal is seen as a time to relax and enjoy the deliciousness of what you are eating. London and Paris were no exception.

In May I was lucky enough to travel to Europe with other students in the Apparel Merchandising and Product Development major at the University of Arkansas. Along with all the amazing sight-seeing and apparel tours in London and Paris, I also had the chance to discover the wonderful world of crepes, gelato, macaroons, and tea time!

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LONDON

We first started our journey in London.  This trip – with it being my first time on a plane, on a train, and out of the country – I thought I was in for quite the culture shock. Surprisingly enough, the difference between the United States and London was mild on a scale of taco bell sauces. While the U.S. revolves around fast food businesses, London focused more on sandwich, panini, and fresh food shops.

Afternoon tea time was flawless. It is hard to explain the feeling of  the relaxation your body endures during tea time, but I’ll try to put it in everyday terms: It is much like coming home from work, changing into your PJ’s, turning on Netflix, and cracking a cold one open. It is priceless and the feeling of relaxation never gets old. In London they put creamer/milk in their tea and if you are an avid tea drinker I highly suggest giving it a try.

Myself looking chill as ever enjoying my nice cup of brew.

These little goodies are some of the tea time snacks! I am not even sure what exactly I ate, but I would eat them again. We had a macaroon, a lemon tart, a cucumber cake, a roll up, and some sort of roasted salmon finger sandwich.

And of course you couldn’t go to the UK without enjoying a nice platter of fish and chips! (Disclosure: There is no ranch in London or Paris so pack accordingly.)

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PARIS

As Aladdin and Jasmine would say, Paris was “A WHOLE NEW WOOOOOORRRLLLLDD” of food and culture.  Paris has a small grocery store called Franprix (fran-pree). At Franprix, which was conveniently located right across the Boutique Hotel we were staying at, is where we would grab our snacks and drinks, and $1.99 bottles of wine. When dining out the food always had a fancy twist, or something out of the ordinary. Relaying our orders to the waiters was more difficult in Paris and there is definitely no such thing as a “special request” for a meal. You order it as it is on the menu.

Once again, fast food restaurants were rare to be seen. When a McDonald’s was found, the ordering process was done on a large stand up screen and then you waited in line for the staff to hand you your food. After one ketchup packet, each sauce was an extra charge. And if you are a dipper (one who dips everything they eat into a dipping sauce) like me, it is costly. All drinks, including water were around $4 each.

My proud purchase of a baguette, a coke, and goat cheese from Franprix. Pro tip: do not try the goat cheese. It is not worth it and the taste is forever burned into your taste buds and mind.

Another unique thing about Paris is that their dinner time is roughly from 8 to 11 p.m.  The French take time at each dinner to enjoy their company that surrounds them, the delicious food they are eating, and  the sweet wine they are drinking.  Due to the fact that we had less than a week in Paris and were restricted to a strict schedule, I feel like I did not get to fully engulf myself in this aspect of the French culture.

In our last night in Paris, we did have a dinner with everyone that was in my group during which we went to a more expensive restaurant where our courses were chosen for us. It started out with a cheesy rice risotto for an appetizer, braised beef with carrot puree for the main course, and creme brulee for desert. Now, would I have picked this dinner for myself? Probably not. But I am thankful that I got to experience the culture of a regular French meal. Each course was brought out separately after everyone was finished with their last. Like I said above, dinner is supposed to be an experience designed to enjoy and take your time. This meal probably took two and a half hours to get through, but it was very enjoyable.

Throughout the week we were given a few hours here and there to  experience Paris on our own. I know this may be hard to believe but much of that time was spent exercising eating.

This is a cucumber chicken flatbread with an avocado spread. With the lemon drizzled over it, it was delicious! This was one of the first restaurants we ate at in Paris and just like in London you must pay for water. BUT a fun little tip for the for the future travelers is to ask for a Carafe of water because it is free.

A few days later some of my friends and I went out to eat on our break for lunch. We ordered entrees from salads, steaks, burgers, and pasta. I got the burger pictured in  the lower left corner with the egg on it. Surprising enough, the only burger that came with a bun at our table was called  “The American”.

This is me having my first macaroon ever. Laduree is known for its exquisite macaroons and I had been waiting for this moment for months. Sadly, I think everyone hyped them up so much and my expectations became so high that the macaroon eating experience was just short of mediocrity. It wasn’t terrible, but I much  prefer my mom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies.

This picture below on the right is known as crepe street. Lined along all the street are nearly 15 different places that specialize in the art of making crepes. If you don’t know much about crepes, I’ll give you the basic run down: you can either get a crepe sweet or savory. Both are delicious and both are a good decision to eat. The below picture is of a savory crepe with salami, mozzarella cheese, and sun dried tomatoes, but you can order them as simple as butter and brown sugar and they are still scrumptious.

Side note: One very nice thing in Paris is that it is acceptable to drink wine at every meal. No one frowns upon you and there are so many wines to choose from at nearly every restaurant.

Lastly, but most importantly, in Paris I fell in love. It was a short lived love, but it was real and true. There was a place called Antalya. It was just a small hole in the wall place down a sketchy little street, but that could not keep me away. Antalya had this burrito that was from the heavens. The burrito was packed full of chicken, some sort of cheesy alfredo sauce, and you will never guess what else was in that bad boy! FRIES. You heard me right, fries. Fries, chicken and alfredo sauce wrapped up tightly in a blanket of love. I had this burrito 3 times out of my 6 night stay.  If there was ever a suggestion I could make to anyone reading this it would be to go to Paris, find ANTALYA AND HUNT DOWN THIS BURRITO.  I believe it is a #6 with chicken instead of lamb, but the lamb was also very appetizing. Go there, eat the burrito. Everyone deserves love.

Before I left for the trip my lovely boyfriend told me that I need to come back to the US weighing at least 6 more pounds from eating all the delicious food. I would like to say that I took that statement to heart and am proud I did not disappoint.

Eat well my friends,
Alyssa
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Bumpers College offers faculty-led programs to Belgium, England, China, India and Mozambique; courses and exchanges in France and Austria; internships in Greece and Scotland; and research in Brazil, the Philippines and Greece. Make your plans to study, research or intern abroad today!

For information about Bumpers College study abroad programs, take a look at Bumpers' international page.