TRAVELING TOWARDS MOUTHWATERING FLAVORS…
Passions are a driving force for not only any discoveries, but also a personal growth. Thanks to them we can gain much more, since we create visions which we desire to implement in our lives. Dreams of the world don’t have to be so distant, the ones we need to wait for, especially for many years. It’s enough to plan them well and determine the place, which we want to visit.
Knowing languages we can not only communicate in practical situations, but also ask after the things we are particularly interested in. What other kind of passion could be combined with traveling? The love for cuisine is what connects people all over the world, that’s why visiting even the furthest world destinations, we can discover traditions and typical culinary trends applicable for a country we are visiting.
Does everyone have a flair for combining traveling with enjoying culinary delights? If not, my today’s interviewee – Verena Filieri will come to your rescue. An experienced traveler with a flair for being a true gourmet, who will share a few tricks and tips related to exploring the world and enjoying the local food.
Passion Piece: Could you tell my readers a few words about yourself?
Rena: Sure thing. Hello and thanks for having me. I’m Rena, a 40-something globetrotting foodie who has lived in three countries and travelled about 30. In my everyday life, I juggle a full-time corporate career, a household, a dog and a significant other. In my ‘free’ time I travel and explore the world as much as possible, be that local, national or international. When that’s not possible, I simply recreate holiday vibes at home by cooking food we enjoyed all over the globe.
Passion Piece: You’re half German and half Italian. How has this shaped you as a person?
Rena: Whenever people tell me I’m weird, I tell them ‘I’m half German half Italian, what do you expect?’ as an excuse.
But on a more serious note, let’s look at the stereotypes and what’s behind them:
Germans are rumored to be very organized, punctual, cold / rude, precise and direct (also apparently we lack any sense of humor and cannot cook, which are two statements I will dispute forever) whereas Italians are said to be unorganized, always late, warm, fashionable, obsessed with food as well as friendly and effusive.
Imagine growing up in such a controversial setting, because both my Italian and German families tick quite a few boxes of their respective stereotypes.
As an adult however, I can say I have benefited greatly from both influences and consider myself successful blend: I’m very efficient and organized, hopefully fashionable, predominantly friendly and definitely obsessed with food (and, yes, I am also very punctual, always!).
Another benefit was growing up in a bilingual household – it laid the foundation for my future linguistic education (I speak five languages) that helped me both professionally but also during my travels.
Passion Piece: What do you like most about these two countries? Have they anything in common?
Rena: It was not until I emigrated from Germany years ago that I realized how beautiful and diverse the country actually is. Luckily, after a decade abroad, I repatriated, so I get to experience the beauty and attraction of Germany anew.
I admire the natural beauty of our mountains, hills, rivers and lakes and appreciate the clean, safe and modern cities. Most of all, however, I absolutely love the quaint ancient villages with centuries old yet super well preserved half-timber houses and our breathtaking monuments such as castles, palaces, cathedrals and churches. Did you know Germany has the most castles in the world (some 25’000)?
As for Italy – it has been voted the most beautiful country in the world and I am not here to dispute that.
Much of what I already said about Germany is also true for Italy. The landscapes, architecture and rich history are a siren song I cannot resist. And then there is the food. Oh, don’t even get me started on all the many things I love about Italian cuisine.
Regarding the similarities between these two countries, I think some have already been mentioned.
The German in me wants to also answer this question in a very dry and fact driven way. On a macro level, they do have important similarities: both are industrialised European first world countries with shared societal bedrocks such as being parliamentary democratic republics, the main religion being Christianity and both being founding nations of the European Union. They also have a very similar cost-of-living index and both count among the 10 wealthiest countries in the world.
Passion Piece: You’re a woman who is passionate about food and traveling. Was being brought up as a bilingual child the first factor which planted a seed of a globetrotting gourmet in you?
Rena: The language, maybe. The fact I had two places to call home, definitely. From a very young age I have been ‘shuttling’ between Germany and Italy. I believe that is one of the reasons I can never stay in one location for a long time, settle easily in new places and feel comfortable leaving. This lifestyle also had an impact on my culinary exposure, as I was brought up with and exposed to different cuisines and cooking styles. Some of my favourite childhood memories are of me cooking with my grandmas and aunts.
Passion Piece: You decided to run your own blog titled „Rena’s travels and tastes”. What can your readers find on your blog?
Rena: My blog is my creative outlet centered around my biggest passions, namely traveling and cooking. I share my travel experiences including destination write-ups, reviews, tips and tricks so that anyone looking to travel there can use them as a handy guide.
On my cooking pages I have curated a repository of my favourite recipes, some of them handed down from my great-grandmothers, others acquired abroad (I tend to do at least one cooking class on each vacation, but I also have no shame at all asking the chefs in restaurants for their recipe when I like what I ordered), and of course some classic family favourites. All of my recipes are easy to follow and cook, because I myself am no chef but simply someone with a huge passion for good, honest food.
So if any of your readers ever caught themselves thinking about ‘where to travel next?’ or ‘what to cook tomorrow?’, they will find relatable posts and answers to their questions on my page.
Passion Piece: How do you choose your travel destinations? What’s your favorite one? Why?
Rena: My preferred method of vacationing is doing round tours, and some of the criteria, my ‘must visit’ places have to meet, are stunning landscapes, interesting architecture (think churches / temples / monuments rather than city scapes), fascinating history and culture and good food. My bucket list is huge, and the more I tick it off, the longer it becomes – isn’t that weird and wonderful?
I admire the people who can confidently answer a question about their favourite anything. My reply would be ‘My favourite destination is the one I have not yet been to’ – because if I had a true ‘fave place’, I might feel compelled to return there all the time rather than venture further and explore different destinations.
Passion Piece: Does cuisine of given countries ever influence your travel choices?
Rena: It absolutely does! Eating and traveling go hand in hand, as I think you can only really experience a country and gain a true understanding of the people if you eat their food. Big hotels and their food buffets are something I try to steer clear of, because the meals are most often tailored to a touristy palate (plus I find the concept of e.g. ‘Italian / Thai / Mexican night’ in a hotel in Greece rather bizarre).
Recently I fell in love with the cuisine of Laos, so guess what country that was previously not on my radar has now made it onto my must-visit-list?
Passion Piece: What’s the recipe you could prepare with your eyes closed? What’s special about it?
Rena: This question made me smile a lot, thank you for asking it! The answer can only be a recipe that truly comes from the heart, and that’s my famous Bolognese sauce. You will notice it is not a recipe that I have shared (yet?) on my blog, and that’s because I cook it without ever concerning myself with a list of ingredients or their precise measurement. My ‘sugo al ragú’ as the Italians call it, is a labour of love and the ingredients and method can vary depending on the season (for instance, fresh sun ripe tomatoes in summer have a much higher sugar content than canned greenhouse tomatoes, so you have to add a bit of sugar when cooking with the latter). There are some more variables, but one thing remains consistent: the outcome is always outstanding (so much actually that I always cook double the portion size we need, because we inevitably end up eating half of it in the process of cooking, all under the guise of ‘tasting if it needs something else’).
Passion Piece: How can people enjoy traveling and trying new food on a limited budget?
Rena: A good question! I believe we have to let go of a few misconceptions. First, traveling and exploring the world does not necessarily have to mean you have to jet set halfway around the globe. Some of my best travel experiences were to places I took a weekend road trip to. Quite often an international flight is what cranks up the cost of your trip, so as and when you book a mid- or long haul flight, try to make the most out of it by staying for as long as you can. That will bring the ‘cost per day’ down (this is of course only applicable if you are traveling to a country that is comparatively cheap. If you are staying in a luxury resort in, say, the Maldives or Tahiti, the price of the plane ticket might be the least of your worries).
Always remember, ‘experiencing luxury’ and ‘experiencing a place’ are not the same. It is a valid desire to want both, but maybe not at the same time? Where a full blown deluxe trip would break the bank, maybe choose some more budget friendly options and then treat yourself to a more high-end experience on e.g. the last few days. I always try to be more cautious with spending money at the beginning of a trip (because you never know what’s next) but am quite willing to splurge towards the end.
Trying new food should be accessible to all regardless of their budget. If you are traveling, food will usually be much cheaper outside of your hotel or the tourist traps. Street food and the restaurants the locals frequent are both budget friendly and also an excellent way of experiencing the true heart and soul of the place you are visiting.
If you want to try new food at home, the limiting obstacle may be the fact that you don’t have the spices and condiments required for a specific cuisine, and having to purchase them all for one dish makes it disproportionately expensive. So make sure you plan for several dishes with similar ingredients (pretty much all of my Asian recipes use about 80% of the same ingredients). Also instead of purchasing e.g. Asian staples in the deli aisle of your supermarket at a premium price, try an Asian grocery store.
Passion Piece: What do you love doing in your free time? Is there a hobby you like in particular?
Rena: Outside of my already mentioned passions, which take up a lot of my time, I also enjoy photography (I used to work as a pro for a short while but lost my mojo years ago, so I am very glad I recently got back into the hobby and look at it in a much more relaxed way). Luckily, photography is also very beneficial for my blog, because capturing the essence of a great meal or a stunning place in a visually appealing way truly helps delivering the message.
I am also a scuba diver (in tropical waters only), and have had some great experiences diving with manta rays in Hawaii and with sharks in the Red Sea.
Outside of all that, I am just a normal gal happy to meet friends, go shopping, decorate the home, walk my dog and watch series on Netflix.
Passion Piece: Where do you see yourself in the nearest future? Which projects would you like to work on?
Rena: In the very near future, as in next month, I am going on another trip: this time to Tanzania and Zanzibar. I cannot wait to be back on safari, which is one of my favourite things to do in the world. I just love wildlife.
My short-term goal is to get up to date with publishing my articles from previous trips so I can concentrate on the recent ones.
I would also love to collaborate more with other food and travel enthusiasts out there.
Passion Piece: Which motto would you like to share with my readers?
Rena: Life begins where your comfort zone ends! Seriously, if you never push or challenge yourself a little bit, you will be trapped in the same repetitive loop forever. As they say, you cannot repeat the same things and expect different outcomes.
I understand that some people might be scared of pushing out of their comfort zone, but always ask yourself ‘What would you do if you were not afraid?’ – and then do it (scared, if you have to).
Passion Piece: Thank you very much for this truly inspiring conversation and I wish you more such great travels in the future!
See you around!
Yours,
Passion Piece
Photos by: Verena Filieri
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