Jenny's travel break: food and nature favourites

Food and nature highlights of my 2 month break across parts of Europe and Asia

I’m going to let you in on a secret. I’ve been back for almost a month.

I’m going to tell you another secret. I have been shamefully doom-scrolling away for the first 2 weeks since I came back home. Hours of staying in bed, mindlessly watching one Chinese drama after another.

My wake-up call (literally) was when I heard my younger brother making lunch in the kitchen at 2pm. At this very moment, I knew I fucked up.

Why am I telling you this? For two reasons:

1. To disprove my so-called “organised”, “got-her-shit-together” reputation I sometimes have.

2. To blame ridiculously addictive Chinese drama for why I haven't written anything til now

Where the hell have I been?

If you have been a long-time subscriber, you may know that I’ve been away for 2 months, travelling with my husband across Europe and Asia:

Without going to too much detail, our 56-day trip broke down to something like this:

Singapore (5 days) → London (5 days) → Paris (3 days) → Bern (4 days) → Venice (3 days) → Florence (6 days) → Cinque Terre (3 days) → Rome (4 days) → Athens (4 days) → Santorini (4 days) → Osaka (4 days) → Kyoto (3 days) → Hakone (3 days) → Tokyo (5 days)

As someone who focused most of my life on work, this trip felt so wonderfully indulgent. I had no job before and after this trip. I had no plans on recuperating all of the 6€ coffees that I was forced to consume (yes, because that’s how Australians measure how expensive a country is).

But most of all, the most indulgent thing was being away to set free from all responsibilities: being a good daughter, wife, friend and working professional. For two whole months. Now that is true vacation. 🏝️

Travel highlights (aka The Golden Globetrotter Awards) 🏆

Trying to summarise my holiday in detail will go beyond the Substack word count limit. Instead, I decided to award first place and runner-ups for different categories of travel. I hereby present you… ✨ the inaugural Golden Globetrotter Awards ✨!

Most memorable meals

🥇 FIRST PLACE: ATHENS FOOD TOUR

Fruit market, lukumades, olive heaven, koulori, cured meats and spanakopita

Whenever my husband and I go travelling, we tend to gravitate towards street or casual food instead of fine dining. We love immersing ourselves with what the locals eat on a daily basis. And… it’s also cheaper. 🫣

Greek food, in general, blew me away. The variety of food, the use of in-season, fresh produce and the affordability made it one of my favourite food destinations. In particular, this Athens Food Tour was the highlight of my whole trip. We learnt about Greek culture (in relation to eating and cooking), recipes, took home so many delicacies and traversed through the streets of Athens with our tour guide. Here, I tried cured camel meat, the best pistachios and lukumades of my life, crazy varieties of olives — including one that had the texture of a grape.

🥈 RUNNER UPS

Don’t be alarmed if this is the longest part of my post, but I just couldn’t choose.

Amasake Tea House and Godaime Udon (Japan)

• Eating fresh, warm mochi at Amasake Tea House in Hakone right after a hike through beautiful Japanese forests.

• Award-winning THICC udon at Godaime Udon in Nihonbashi (Tokyo). It challenges every understanding you have about udon.

Steak at Trattoria Mario and meatballs at Nannarella in Rome

• Florentine steak (and beautiful pastas) at Trattoria Mario in Florence. Italy completely redefined what I associate with “al dente” pasta. The steak was high quality and affordable as well.

• Meatballs at Nannarella in Rome. Some of the juiciest and tastiest meatballs I’ve had. The pastas are OK (although super generous and affordable) here, but the meatballs are a must-try!

Sunday Roast at Blacklock Soho and croissants in Paris

• Trying a Sunday Roast in London. I am sure there’s better Sunday Roasts out there, but I just loved the experience of being part of one. Bread pudding and gravy is a killer combo.

• Pastries in Paris are no joke. Go into any boulangerie and you’re likely to meet the best croissant of your life at a fraction of the cost.

1-2: food and views from Taverna Vakhos | 3-4: small plates from Το Κυκλάμινο | 5-6: pork chop and Lucy at Misteli

• Goat and wild greens at Taverna Vakhos in Delphi, Greece. This restaurants serves brilliant Greek pies / pastries, varieties of meat and overlooks the beautiful mountains and lakes of Delphi.

• Small plates (dolmades, lamb, greek salad and sausages) at Το Κυκλάμινο. We got 4 small plates including drinks and dessert for 36€ total. What a meal!

Breath-taking nature spots

Sadly, this will be a much shorter spiel than the food category as our trip was mostly centred around eating, history and architecture.

🥇 FIRST PLACE: SWITZERLAND

This one is no surprise — Switzerland is a stunning country. The emerald blue lakes, the rolling hills, dramatic mountains and tranquil forests — it really has it all. What I loved most is how there’s picturesque towns like Gruyeres and Bern situated right in the middle of all of this nature. If I had more time, I would have loved to explore but alas, we only had 3 days in Switzerland and spent most of our time around Interlaken.

🥈 RUNNER UP: JAPAN

Maybe this one is a bit of a surprise to others. But I personally love the nature in Japan. The bamboo forests, the dense, moss-filled hikes and the calm lakes. Perhaps it’s biased, but it evokes a very peaceful, “zen” feeling that I don’t often feel anywhere else. Hakone was definitely the nature highlight of Japan. 💜

Part 2 coming soon 🔜

Two huge categories are left in the Golden Globetrotter Awards:

• Best historical sites

• Best architecture

I’ll be posting these just in 2 weeks, so make sure to subscribe to get it directly into your inbox. 💜

What are the top 3 places you’ve travelled to?

After this trip, I decided I will dedicate my next 3 years to prioritise flexibility (when I do go back to work) and explore more of the world. That’s why, I’m keen to learn more about what your top 3 countries (or cities) you’ve ever been to! I’ll make sure to add them to my bucket list and visit them very soon!

I’ll start… in no particular order:

• Japan: the country that has something for everyone — nature, unique culture, amazing food, hospitable people, relaxation and city life. And it’s so incredibly convenient to travel around!

• New Zealand: the most beautiful country I have ever been to. I love how even something as simple as a road-trip across the country is so breath-taking. Some of my most memorable travel experiences (such as glow-worm cave tubing and flying over Milford Sounds) were made in New Zealand.

• Taiwan: the most underrated country. Taiwan’s night markets gives me so much dopamine. Taiwan also has some gorgeous national parks — my favourite being the Taroko Gorge National Park.

Leave a comment to share your top 3! 💜