Malena loves candy. And travel. And both together. And thus, this site was born.
In Turkey, I spent a lot of time eating Turkish Delight, talking about Turkish Delight, trying to find Turkish Delight factories, and watching people make Turkish Delight. Prior to my first visit to Turkey, I actually had no idea what this substance even was - except that the White Witch used it to lure Edmund into her clutches in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe! In Turkey in its most common form, it’s simply a gummy substance formed of starch, sugar or honey, and flavoring (typically pistachio, rose, or walnut.) However, recently lokum (as it is known in Turkish) has also been made with cream, giving it a whitish, opaque look and a milkier feel. (more…)
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The old facade of a golden citadel towers over Afyon, a typically Turkish city where carbon-copy apartment buildings vie with older houses and mosques for space on the crowded streets. Horses carting mattresses wait for their owners near shops selling gold jewelry, while an entire street is full of men sharpening knives and selling cutlery and pots and pans. Tables on corners are piled high with pomegranates and greenish oranges with leaves still attached. From everywhere in town you can see a large rock hill poking into the sky, circled by the walls of the old Afyon Kaseli. Seven hundred steps to climb to the top, to have the opportunity to overlook the city, sitting on the graffiti-marked fortress. I decided to go for it - up to that point, all I’d done in Afyon was eat Turkish Delight, so some exercise might be good. For the record, seven hundred is an awful lot of steps. (more…)
Want to win a small box of exciting Middle Eastern candy? Guess the different Turkish Delight flavors, get the most correct, and I’ll mail you a little something from the road. Match up flavors to numbers in the picture by this Sunday at 12 noon (my time), but it isn’t as easy as it sounds! The flavors aren’t really normal US ones and some of them are repeated with only small variations, so good luck! Don’t be afraid to get a little creative. (more…)
I spent a few days in Munich for Oktoberfest. I’m not entirely sure I would recommend it - especially to someone traveling alone on a budget - but I did enjoy walking around the fairground at night taking pictures and dodging all the drunken people. The grounds containing the large brewing tents (where beer and traditional German food are served) is also filled with rides, games, stands selling sausages and souvenirs, and gingerbread stands! The gingerbread looked delicious, thick and brown with cute German sayings frosted on (my favorite was “My Frog.”) (more…)
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This is one of my favorite candies ever! I first discovered it at the base gas station when I was stationed in Albuquerque. After moving to Boston, I was absolutely unable to find it again, and went into a small period of mourning. One of the main reasons I was excited to visit Spain was to retry this candy.
It’s absolutely addictive. A soft, sweet, cremey center - a bit chewy and fruity tasting, but the actual flavor of fruit will be forever indistinguishable to me. A harder, licorice like exterior. Lots of fun to peel the outer shell off and then enjoy the center. I am totally unable to stop at half a bag of these - they’re extremely dangerous in that regard. I ate loads of them in Spain and miss them terribly already.
This sort of licorice candy is very popular in Spain - the candy stores and grocery stalls are full of long strips of creme-filled licorice of all colors and flavors. The Pico Balla is very representative of modern Spanish candy. Yum! I think surprisingly, Spain is going to win out as my favorite European candy country.
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You can buy Pico Balla here. If you’ve never tried it before, I highly recommend it!
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