Brick Lane never disappoints...and apparently neither does the weather

I have some brilliant news for you! I bet you are guessing it is about a delicious meal I have eaten or something that you can try cooking yourself (this is meant to be a food blog right!?), well sorry to burst your bubble but it is not related to food.  I am currently sitting outside in the sunshine wearing shorts and t-shirt....wait for it....IN ENGLAND! That’s right, the brilliant news is that it is still warm enough to be wearing summer clothes in England in September!   You can pick yourselves back up off the floor now and I will stop bragging about the weather and instead brag about the food that we have eaten in the last week or so.

I will begin where all good days should and that is with breakfast on our first day in Dubrovnik.  Perhaps not the healthiest of choices as we wandered down the promenade full of cafes and restaurants but when we saw ham and cheese pancakes on the menu at a little stand we decided to give them a whirl.  I was surprised when something that looked like a chikko roll turned up on my plate but after removing the odd look from my face I took the plunge and cut it in half.  It was in fact a pancake with cheese and ham rolled up and then deep fried served with lemon and mayonnaise.  Not my favourite breakfast for the trip but I enjoyed it non the less, probably something that is more suited for a lunch meal rather than a breakfast I must admit.  Lacking enthusiasm to check out the local sights we decided to spend the day sitting by the beach and enjoying some of the sun before it leaves us.  It still amazes me after months of travelling when I see people stripping down to their togs (sometimes even less!) miles from the beach and sunbaking in parks or cement walkways or anywhere they can.  After a tough day we trudged back up the 241 steps to our apartment with an armload of groceries to cook our first meal in literally months.  I was so excited to be eating something fresh but to find any ingredients that we knew or could read turned out to be much harder than anticipated so we settled for a chicken pasta.

The following day we decided to get off our lazy butts and wander into the old town to discover what Dubrovnik has to offer.  We had heard so many positive reviews about the town that we were expecting it to be amazing and it did not disappoint.  The main achievement and most spectacular thing we did was walk the castle walls giving an amazing view of the city and the coast.  Well worth all of those stairs that we climbed that is for sure.  It was rather exhausting so we did what we have become very good at and choose somewhere to eat a delicious meal.  I was still on the search for an amazing risotto so I opted for prawn and basil.  It was nice but still was not the creamy, silky texture that you expect with a risotto.  I have now given up on finding another amazing risotto!

Our third and final full day we decided to again make the most of our final beach destination and spent most of the day soaking up the rays followed by a delicious home cooked meal for dinner.  This time I cooked chilli & lime chicken with some fresh vegies and rice noodles served with salad.  It was super delicious and went down very well while overlooking the city from our balcony sipping on a glass of wine.  After dinner we decided to head back down to the promenade to check out a cave bar we had heard about.  It was really spectacular and well worth the visit for a cocktail on our final night before heading off to the capital of Croatia, Zagreb.

The main purpose for visiting Zagreb was to see the Red Hot Chilli Peppers perform at their first ever Croatian concert.  It certainly was worth the trip and probably the cheapest concert I have ever been to (around $50 AU) with an amazing supporting act of 2 cellos. On arrival to the airport, where we coincidently arrived at the same time as the band and were mobbed by media which was kinda fun, we discovered that we were staying out in the sticks and not at all in the main centre of town, however the one thing that we did have within a 2 minute walk was a massive shopping centre.   Over the next three days we spent A LOT of time in that shopping centre preparing for a freezing Scottish winter.  Luckily there was a bar and grill where we could get some dinner and wow it was so amazing that we ate three times there, luckily it was amazing as we had nowhere else to eat!  My travel buddy said it was the best steak she has ever eaten in her life..so I had to do it and taste some.  For someone that does not eat steak, it was pretty good and I can see myself trying a steak in the not too distant future.  The best meal I had was a grilled lamb burger and vegetables but was closely followed by a mousakka type dish with grilled eggplants and mince meat topped with tomato sauce and cheese, yum!

 The time had come to return to the UK and to be honest with you I was so very much looking forward to getting back to an English speaking country where I understood what people were asking me, could read labels on products or even read something as simple as a newspaper or watch the tv. Since arriving back we have done a few more touristy things in London including the London Eye which was spectacular to overlook the city, but most importantly we returned back to the world famous Brick Lane for some Indian tucker.  It was a super fun experience where we again ate more than our tummies needed with the three courses of food we got for £10.  I opted for a chicken dish with tomatoes and it was one of the milder choices, one I probably wouldn't choose again as I am a spice lover.  We are however already planning another trip when we are back in London next week!  We also tried to attend the paralympic games but had the most horrible time trying to buy tickets as we did not have a London address so we have given up on that idea for the time being (hopefully we can go to the marathon on Sunday) and headed to Nottingham to catch up with a friend for a few days and have some much needed time in a house.   
Before signing off to go and cook for ourselves in a kitchen for the third day in a row, yippee, I have to quickly tell you about our visit to the animal park where you drive your own car through the park and the most amazing animals can come up to your car, some sticking their head in the window.  It was so much fun, maybe I can become a zoo keeper while I am over here!  This goes above and beyond the Werribee open park zoo that is for sure with animals including giraffes, elephants, camels, lions, tigers and many more are just roaming around near you, if only I could afford a trip to Africa while I am over here!  Oh well, time to put that kitchen to use xx