How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Author: Franklin Foer
Who knew you could learn so much about globalization, economics and politics from soccer? Great read.
Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Author: Julia Cameron
One possible path to re-discovering the creativity you never knew you had.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
Author: Jared Diamond
An admirable crack at explaining why the world is the way it is by way of an anthropological macro-history. This book probably comes up the most in conversation as we travel.
The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
Author: Bill Shore
Inspiring profiles of social entrepreneurs and projects we all can learn from and hopefully replicate to give back to community.
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
Author: John Carlin
Although the storyline is built around the South African rugby team and the 1995 World Cup, this book is more about Nelson Mandela and how he was able to unite a divided country. Inspiring.
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Author: Paul Theroux
The author re-visits Africa and re-assesses the place he once knew... and judges it once and for all. Well written, poignant observations of the thumbprints left by career politicians, aid workers, and everyday people.
Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
A look at the internal and external factors of how extraordinary people got to be, well, extraordinary. One of those books that challenges assumptions and makes you think differently.
Shantaram: A Novel
Author: Gregory David Roberts
Administering first aid in a Bombay slum, selling fake passports and running guns to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Technically a novel, but closely linked to the Author's own experiences. Fantastic read.
This is a story about making peace with a squishy edible ball of sheep innards, and a song I rewrote to help me through the process.
I have a confession to make. I was afraid of haggis, almost deathly so. You could say I harbored an irrational fear of the stuff. Yes, haggis. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Europe, Food, Humor, Scotland, Travel by: Daniel Noll
21 Comments | 18 January 2013
Japanese food, where clean eating meets culinary artistry. Where raw fish and pickled vegetables sit astride seaweed strands and tempura sculptures. Japan, the place where you can eat blowfish sashimi, octopus balls and cow rectum one evening, then follow it all up the next day with a 15-course meal that might qualify as one of the truly greatest eating experiences of your life. Japan, the home of some of the world’s most exquisite beef, certainly its most exquisite fish.
Japan, where the dining experience is not only about the actual food consumed, but also the presentation, the design, the sheer beauty of what you’re eating. Japanese cuisine, where the food canvas employs color, where form truly follows function.
From the traditional to the modern, from the quick to the drawn-out, and from the haute to the street — with a few unusual (and necessary) ideas for limited budgets to help your yen go a bit further — this is our take on Japanese food. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: East Asia, Food, Japan by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
34 Comments | 24 September 2012
Two bones. Two bucks. Gimme two dollars and I can eat like a king. I can eat like a queen. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look.
For all the great food that we eat and food porn we post across Facebook, Twitter, and our website, the prevailing wisdom might be that we’re rolling in the big bucks. Alas, no. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned while traveling the world: culinary delight need not be achieved on the back of an empty wallet. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
35 Comments | 16 August 2012
In time for the ITB Berlin travel conference this week, we share some of our favorite Berlin restaurants and dishes that fall into the category of high value. The goal isn’t just to eat well and inexpensively, but to use Berlin food exploration as a compass to get out and enjoy the city’s fabulous neighborhoods along the way.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Europe, Food, Germany by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
26 Comments | 5 March 2012
You smell the stink, but you hear the scent!
– Viki, one of our guides on the Greek island of Crete, captures the philosophical essence of Cretan cuisine.
While I appreciate that the traditional Cretan diet is known as being one of the healthiest in the world, every time I look at our food photos from Crete I think back to our experience: “Damn. That was just awesome food.”
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Europe, Food, Greece by: Audrey Scott
43 Comments | 20 February 2012
We can learn from our food.
Really.
As I assembled photos and descriptions for our recent 2011 travel round-up post, I kept getting distracted. Perhaps unsurprisingly for those who know me, food was the culprit. I was continually drawn back to memories of unforgettable meals from each country — memories not only of the taste, but to the time, the place, the people.
When I considered these experiences, a few instructive themes emerged.
So what were some of those great meals in 2011? And perhaps more importantly, what can we learn from them to take with us into 2012?
Let’s dig in! Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Travel by: Audrey Scott
10 Comments | 4 January 2012
A quick visit to a hot sauce store in Berlin turns into an unplanned three-hour hot sauce sampling that made us feel like we just dropped acid.
Have you ever planned a hot sauce tasting? Ever even imagined one? Well, maybe you should.
A few hot sauce favorites from a tasting at Pfefferhaus, Berlin
Filed Under: Europe, Food, Germany by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
24 Comments | 14 October 2011
A view of Berlin — its cycles of destruction and renewal and the evolution of its food scene — through the lens of a one-night gastro tour.
If you wish to learn about a place, eat your way to the answer. This maxim resonates no less so than in Berlin, a city whose history tells of a rise from the ashes and from oppression and whose present-day witnesses a continual carving out of its own identity.
For as much as we’ve learned and eaten during our time in Berlin, there was apparently still more to eat, still more to learn.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Europe, Food, Germany by: Audrey Scott
17 Comments | 30 September 2011
Bangladeshi food in a home is the best – it’s cooked with the care and love of a woman’s hands. In restaurants, food is cooked by men for quantity.
– A Bangladeshi friend captures the crux of Bangladeshi food.
Sabzi. You know you want some!
Although you may not have realized it, it’s quite possible you’ve eaten Bangaldeshi food. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Bangladesh, Food, South Asia by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
54 Comments | 15 September 2011
We would like to eat American food. You know, you are American, so it would be great if we could try American food with you.
- A dinner request from our Iranian CouchSurfing guests a few weeks ago in Berlin.
Dan and I looked at each other, deer in headlights. American food? What’s that? Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Humor by: Audrey Scott
56 Comments | 9 September 2011
