The mother of all food markets, London’s 13th century Borough Market is appropriately located near Borough High Street station delivering the world’s food to ancient Southwark Cathedral’s door.
Borough Market & Southwark Cathedral
Moving patiently with the crowds through narrow aisles, the experience is both exotic yet modern.
The Market is an international food court
Organic, unpasteurized, artesian, locally sourced, urban honey are all terms that have certified clout in England’s regulated farming and food industry and are the norm at the Market.
“Welcome to my home. Good to see you. May the Creator be with you,”
Ginger Songbird Martin, Cultural Concierge at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, explains that the Pima and Maricopa people have no words for “hello” and “goodbye.” Rather the greeting is, “Welcome to my home. Good to see you. May the Creator be with you,” and the salutation, “Hope to see you soon.”
Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa is a luxurious adobe-like structure set amidst a lush desert landscape on the banks of the Gila River. It’s as perfect a classic southwest setting as it gets.
table at Kai, Yukon Gold Potato hor’s doeuvre
Kai is the Resort’s award winning restaurant and an innovator of Native American cuisine. The menu is a fusion of traditional native foods, locally sourced, time honored classic preparations and stunningly imaginative reductions, pairings of grains, vegetables and use of herbs.
Kai Grilled Buffalo Steak and assorted local cheeses, dried fruits, nuts and seeds
View from, and interior of, Tamarind Cafe, Luang Prabang, Laos
Long the ancient royal capital of Laos’ many national permutations, Luang Prabang was a favorite of the French during their century of domination with their architecture, but not their cuisine, influencing and complimenting the Laotians own superb sensibilities. The city is stunning, serene and a foodie mecca.
Ban Phousy Morning Market, Luang Prabang, Laos
Laos and its food is fascinating, relaxed, less spicy and refined.
Ban Phousy Market, Luang Prabang, Laos
In a city known for its cooking classes, Tamarind offers unique full day experiences starting with a shopping expedition to the morning market.
spices, herbs and rice: Luang Prabang, Laos
Read more at Suite101 – my latest Featured Article on the Food & Drink page’s Culinary Tourism section, including the recipe.
Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
A beautiful exhibit of Nativity Scenes is on display through the holidays at Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort. The creche have been collected from around the world and represent both a heartwarming, and light hearted in a few examples, international devotion to the Christian aspect of the season. The designs are eclectic and include materials as diverse as carved mother-of-pearl, paper and chocolate/marshmallow s’mores. (Please click the link below for a sound slideshow of the creche.)
Visitors may leave a donation for All Hands Volunteers, a non profit organization that provides funding for rebuilding after natural disasters. Peter Kirkwood, nephew of the collector and son of Shawnee’s owners Charles and Virginia Kirkwood, co-founded All Hands Volunteers in 2005 after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 that devastated large parts of Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations. Living in Thailand at the time, Peter was an eye witness to the disaster. All Hands Volunteers provides both material and volunteer labor. It’s fitting at this time of year that a collection box be a part of an exhibit celebrating an event that knows no borders.
Eating wild Georgia White Shrimp within minutes of being caught, while on the Lady Jane off St. Simons Island, is a culinary experience not to be missed.
The Lady Jane
It’s a brilliant sunny day off the southern Georgia coast as the Lady Jane moves slowly through the channel. The islands of St. Simons and Jekyll rise above a sea of salt grass. Laughing seagulls – their actual name – swoop through the air behind the ship. “That’s a good sign,” comments Cliff Credle, “They know where the food is.”
The shallow waters of the Atlantic around southern Georgia’s islands exclude any possible invasion of the shrimp beds by large factory ships. Shrimping remains a bastion of small boat fishing operated by individual entrepreneurs.
Crew of the Lady Jane: (clockwise) Capt. Larry Credle, mate Cliff Credle, First Mate John Tyre
These waters are home to the endangered Green Sea Turtle.
When you eat plump wild shrimp you’ll smell and taste the briny difference the moment you peel the shell off a freshly steamed or grilled wild Georgia, preferably, White or Red crustacean.
At Antelope Park, Gweru, Zimbabwe, a dozen journalists take two cats for a walk, actually two lions. Laili and Lewa, barely one year old cubs but already weighing nearly 200 pounds each, play like kittens as they roll around on the ground, licking and nipping each other.
The African Lion and Environmental Research Trust (ALERT), a non-profit founded at Antelope Park, actively pursues a four-stage method to stem the rapid decline of these roaming majestic cats. In less than 30 years, the population of wild African lions has decreased an estimated 85% from 200,000 to 30,000.
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The mission incurs tremendous costs and funding is dependent on donations, volunteers and the income generated by guests at Antelope Park Lodge.
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