I will admit, it’s been a while since my last post. However, I wanted everyone to know that I’m busy traveling, gathering recipe ideas and “locals-only/foodie”-themed city guides for the curious traveler (notice I didn’t say “tourist”). As a doctoral student and amidst the madness, the bulk of my free time has been dedicated to writing my dissertation.

The point of this post is to provide my followers with a quick glimpse into what’s coming to The Traveling Cook Abroad over the next few weeks and months. Of course, there will be food, fun, recipes, adventure, and antics. But what will they revolve around?

Well, between May 2017 and July 2017, I will be traveling for over 60 days. The list of cities, countries, and activities so far have included:

-A visit from my parents all around Italy and Slovakia.

-Slovakia (Martin, the mountains, Bratislava): I want to go on record that I did this trip in a boot and with crutches. I somehow managed to get to the top of the highest mountain in Slovakia as a full fledge gimp. Thanks to our amazing friends for being the best tour guides EVER (Patrik and Andrea).

-Wine tasting (multiple) – never gets old. One day I will do a post with my favorite regional wineries.

-My childhood BFF and her boyfriend who is also a wonderful friend, came to visit Ryan and me. Our highlight was boating Lake Garda and eating all of the food. We had such a great time!

-A trip to Florence for a Memorial Day ceremony.

-A Folkin As’ show at a local brewery on Italy’s famous June 2^nd holiday (P.S. The Folkin’ As’ is a band I play in if you didn’t know)

*photo courtesy of Andrea Amadei*

-My other BFFs and former work friends came to visit Ryan and me. We did all sorts of things, most of them involving food and/or hiking. We visited Sirmione, Verona, Manerba, Cinque Terre, Florence (I want to share that we went to Calcio Storico – google it), Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, and Naples. Other (very) notable activities included an authentic Southern Italian cooking class with our B&B mama, biking through the Tuscan hills surrounding Florence, singing karaoke at a bar where everyone else was much younger than us, and boating around the Amalfi Coast on our private boat).

Cinque Terre:

Sorrento

Calcio Storico in Florence:

Boating the Amalfi Coast:

Hiking Mount Vesuvius

-Went to London to visit our friends, drink some craft beer, eat delicious ethnic food (which essentially doesn’t exist in Italy), and pretty much do nothing touristy at all. Please and thanks. – If you haven’t already seen it, check out my city guide to London HERE.

What’s Still to Come??

-Attending the Palio di Siena with our very good friends. Again, google this. It’s a very old, unique, and famous horse race that happens each year in Siena – once in July and once in August. We will also attend a contrada dinner the night preceding the races.

-My friend Kate will be coming to visit with her friend Quelsa. We’ll keep it simple and awesome. We’ll likely do some cheese and wine tasting, boating, and exploring of the areas around where we live.

-A cruise to multiple Northern countries including: Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Russia. It’ll be my first cruise and Ryan’s third.

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SO – things have been a bit (awesomely) crazy in our world. I promise I’ll be posting a plethora of THE BEST authentic and healthy recipes in the near future. City guides, too!

OH, last but not least – in the next few months, I’ll be beginning to compile, edit, and organize The Traveling Cook Abroad recipes into a handy, dandy, delicious COOK BOOK!! I will 100% have it available electronically, but may make hard copies, too – depending on interest.

SO, many exciting things are happening. For now, keep it real my blog friends. Happy cooking and traveling!! Talk to you soon!

-Cammy