Everyone has those signature dishes they’ve tried in a new country – whether it’s a local delicacy or just bizarre street eat. But what about those fun snacks and new flavors on old favorites?
Delicious Snacks and Treats from Around the World
Some of these are sweets, some salty. But all are portable and can make a great treat on a long bus ride…interestingly, most of my favorites from my travels are centered in Asia!
NEPAL: Lapsi

Topping the list is this sweet jellied candy. I don’t even like chewy candies but this …

Travel Memories:
Traditional Bosnian Coffee and Turkish Delight

I winced as I took my first sip of the jet-black Bosnian coffee – it was certainly not your average American brew! My couch surfing hosts in Sarajevo, Furkan and his roommates Anida and Sidak decided that I couldn’t leave Sarajevo without stopping in the Turkish quarter for a traditional Bosnian coffee complete with Turkish Delight.
After that first wince from the thick unsweetened coffee, Sidak got a kick out of watching me attempt to sip the battery acid…I mean coffee, from a delicate …

It’s eight months into this trip around the world and I am falling apart at the seams. Two main things have happened:
1)      My computer is, quite literally, falling apart.
2)      I have an allergic reaction to a tick bite from my frolic in Plitvice Lakes National Park.
My computer has been showing signs of being ill for sometime now but I always just refused to accept that it might not make it back home with me in a few months. Finally, though it boycotted and the screen has no tension …

The first glimpse of baklava over here sent me into waves of joy –I love the Greek baklava that was always a special treat in the states! My theory was that it had to be so much better over here, right?!Well…not so much. The baklava here was decidedly different from what you find in the United States. I happened upon a small dessert café in Sarajevo with three different types of baklava beckoning to me through the desert case and begging for me to wrap my taste …

Emerging from the train station in Mostar is a pretty humbling experience as the sun shines down on the glossy newly painted buildings standing right alongside buildings that are still bombed out and vacant even ten years later.
Sarajevo has some spectacularly pretty areas of town and much of the war damage has been repaired. Mostar is different though; the rebuilding process has taken longer. The stark differences between the war-torn past and the peaceful present is visible in the jux ta position between the pristine modern buildings and the …

A gentle summer breeze, a cool, water-misting fan and one creamy ice cream cone or ice-cold beer is all it takes to fit in throughout the Balkan States. The sidewalk café culture is alive and rampant in Bosnia and many hours are spent people-watching or being watched. This activity is a surprisingly huge part of the Balkan culture; even in Croatia the café culture is prominent and the whole town seems to come alive around 6pm as couples, friends, and even singletons stroll through the streets and sip …

I love Bosnia. Completely and with the whole of my heart this country is just a gem. With the help of my couch surfing host it didn’t take long to see the charm of Sarajevo. I’m rarely a fan of capital cities…not often my style. But, after reaching Furkan’s flat he offered up some refreshing home-made Turkish tea (he brings it back from his visits home because he loves it so much!) and then his roomies and whole gang of us headed to the city center to explore.
A sticky …

The whirring sounds and motion of the overnight train to Bosnia did little to cover the noise of constant intrusions into my train compartment; I was doing a late night border crossing into Bosnia from Croatia and the customs officers have absolutely no mercy. The officer who came through the train on the Croatia side to check my passports and issue an exit stamp was as unsmiling and humorless as so many of the other Croats I’ve met. I hate to make a generalization about the Croats, but while …