TheGrubDaily Goes Abroad

It’s been about two months since my last blog post (sorry!), but don’t worry, I haven’t given up on the site or lost my passion for food (I don’t foresee either happening anytime soon!). I just needed some time to take a break—aka a couple of weeks where I wasn’t jotting down notes in between forkfuls of food or feverishly scouring magazines for new restaurants to try. I decided that my 8-week backpacking trip through Europe and Africa was probably an appropriate time to take such a break. However, given my type A personality and OCD tendencies, it was still a rather difficult detachment for me to make. You see, I knew I was going to be traveling to different cities and trying some of the most delicious and authentic cuisines that I’ve ever tasted, so the temptation to blog was stronger than ever. In fact, were it not for the reality of AT&T data roaming charges and the limited wifi access in countries like Africa, I probably would have blogged. But my goal going into the trip was really to just enjoy each and every moment, without being concerned about capturing it on camera or writing about it online. In today’s society we have become so obsessed with sharing our experiences with the rest of the world via our blogs, twitter pages, facebook statuses, and muploads (“mobile uploads”), that we often neglect to enjoy the experience at the particular moment of occurrence. I didn’t want to be concerned with photographing every plate of food placed before me or be burdened with the task of choosing just the right adjective for every meal. I wanted to leave my computer behind and enjoy each experience for what it was. And so I did…but this isn’t to say that I didn’t bring my I-pad and keep track of meals and restaurants in a memo at a more informal level! I couldn’t help myself.

Thus, TheGrubDaily has been taken to the next level—it has left the borders of the US and gone international!

Meaning that I now have the opportunity to brag about my international experience, which I believe to be so unique (although the reality is that it is just like everyone else’s little Euro-trip…including, but not limited to: meeting a group of crazy Australians who party too hard (always from Sydney, not Melbourne), the short-lived relationship you have with someone exotic who speaks a different language, the acquired taste for something new (a local beer, perhaps), which is regrettably unavailable back home, and/or the infamous bar crawls—“the greatest night you’ll never remember.” Luckily for you, I do recognize that my experience boils down to just this (except I was brave enough to dabble in Africa, which puts me in a slightly braver category of backpacker), and I will not attempt to write a novel out of my experience now that I am back in North America. Instead, I will show you all of the incredible foods (grouped by country) that I was privileged to eat on my trip, as well as suggest my favorite restaurants for each city. Obviously this is going to take me a while to compile, so please be patient over the next few days as they are posted country by country, city by city—there are 18 cities in all!