Food and Drink to try when travelling S-Z South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK Scotland

 South Africa

Food - savoury

Ostrich meat, ostrich eggs

South America

the two big wine producing countries are Argentina and Chile.

Spain

Food - savoury

Paella

Sweet

Turron

Drink

Cava wine

Rioja wine

Sweden

Food - savoury

Gravad lax is the national dish of Norway and Sweden.

Switzerland

Food - savoury

Emmentaler cheese, cheese fondu 

Food - sweet

chocolate fondu

Toblerone

Alprose chocolate.

UK

England

Food - Savoury

Cheese, cheddar, stilton

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

Fish and chips (plaice, cod)

Snack - beans on toast

Food - Sweet

crumpets (hot with melted butter and jam)

scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream

Maids of honour egg tarts

Cadbury's chocolate

Fox's biscuits

Rowntrees chocolates

McVities biscuits

Walkers crisps

Smith's crisps

Christmas pudding with Custard

Mince tarts (Xmas)

Drinks

tea - Twinings

beer

cider

mead

wine

Scotland

Savoury food

breakfast porridge with salt

Seet food

Shortbread biscuits

Drink

whiskey

USA

Savoury

t-bone steak

Idaho potatoes

KFC chicken

McDonalds hamburgers

Sweet

Chicago Cheesecake, New York cheesecake

Key lime pie

Pecan pie (especially in the south)

Pepperidge Farm cookies

Hersheys chocolate.

Drinks

Coca Cola, Diet coke, Pepsi Cola

Useful Websites

https://www.thewinewiki.com/

Happy Christmas and Happy Hannukah - worldwide

This year for the first time I can remember Hanukah and Christmas are coinciding.

Christmas and Hanukah lights seems to be bigger and better and more widespread every year.

Here's just a glimpse of what's going on around the world.

UK Christmas
Christmas Eve is important to children because Santa is delivering his gifts. In the UK we have Santas and carol singing. The big meal is Christmas Day, December 25th.

Prague
Over in Europe Christmas has started already. At 5 pm in Prague fireworks were set off in the city, viewed from the wide pedestrianised Charles Bridge.
Photo of Fireworks in Prague, Czech Republic, New Year's Eve 2016, photo courtesy of Trevor Sharot.

Christmas Tree in Prague. (Photo by Angela Lansbury.)

Tonight in Prague the Czechs, plus of course restaurant and hotel guests, will be enjoying the traditional Czech meal of carp, followed by breads with sweet flavours and fillings - like fruit bread in England but plaited.

I tried the Czech traditional dishes: fish (carp) soup has a delicious and distinctive taste, not quite as good as the juice of fresh salmon, but very good. I love trying new foods and learning about new tastes.

Check potato salad is different from the British version. the Czech version has smaller potato cubes, sliced carrot, onion, Green pickled cucumber, ham, and more.

The strange thing about Czech food is that the Christmas meal my family tasted on one of the coldest days of the year had hot fish but cold potato salad, followed by hot strudel with cold ice cream.

UK Hot Christmas
In England the we opt for hot food which is designed for cold weather. For example, the road meat such as Christmas turkey is served with hot roast potatoes, and hot gravy. The hot Christmas pudding is served with hot pouring custard. You can even set light to the brandy on the Xmas pudding (in a five star restaurant. Don't try this at home.)

Tonight there will be midnight mass. In Prague, the service is not in Latin, because the churches are not Roman Catholic but Eastern Orthodox.

Hanukah
Tomorrow in Jewish areas hanukah starts. Each of the eight days of hanukah one of the candles is lit. Note that the menorah has seven candles for seven days or nights of the week, but the hanukkah has eight candles for the eight days 9plus the on for lighting the others, making nine, four each side of the central candle.

For the children eight small presents, including often chocolate money in gold foil.

Happy Christmas and happy hanukah, everybody.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

(Christmas and Hanukah photos coming later today or tomorrow.)

Thanksgiving in the USA; Christmas in Europe: Passover

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving in the USA, not observed in the UK, except at events run by Americans, is giving thanks for landing safely in the USA after the perilous sea crossing from the UK and Europe. (Remembering the Titanic, you can see why. You would also feel the same on a ferry from the west coast of England to Ireland or in the old days on a ship across the choppy Bay of Biscay.)

Thanksgiving is the major holiday when offices shut so that families can get together for a festive meal.

The meal may start with a prayer, followed by festive food, turkey.

Christmas
In the UK, the equivalent festival is Christmas. Christmas day is a national holiday. Most attractions and shops close. Increasingly restaurants serve Christmas Day lunch at very high prices, usually served by staff who do not have children and are glad of the money. Families at home get together with special foods is Christmas day lunch. Hospitals and emergency services are provided by others of other religions or none, by singles, or on a rota system so that everybody gets free time every other year.

UK Christmas dinner is turkey, followed by Xmas pudding (US plum pudding). You will find this offered for lunch and dinner as an option in most restaurants in London, England and throughout the UK in December.

Scotland
In Scotland New Year's eve is celebrated rather than Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated on different days in Scandinavian and Latin countries in Europe, eg Jan 6th.

Seder or Passover
The Jewish equivalent is the Seder night or passover, a thanksgiving for surviving the great plagues inflicted on Pharaoh and the long, dangerous journey through the sea and parting of the waves. You see this thanksgiving meal depicted in medieval paintings in national galleries of Europe, showing Jesus and the Last Supper. In paintings you see wine in silver goblets (before wine glasses became both affordable and classy and became the way to drink celebratory drinks).This festival takes place around the time of Easter.

BBC report on Black, Mexican and other thanksgiving.
Seemed a bit thin to me, but I liked the picture of trying not to tread on others' shoes around the doorway. I have never understood why the Chinese, Singaporeans and Asians who are so disciplined and fussy about rules and religion do not put their shoes neatly in pairs, parallel to the wall or door, or facing outwards for exit.

Useful Websites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-34922821

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada)

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/what-is-thanksgiving-when-and-why-americans-celebrate-turkey-day-a3118576.html

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Ruby's Restaurant, Bushey Heath, Xmas Dinner Party or New Year lunch

The Place

The Decor

The Food
I chose pate.

I chose turkey. The sea bass was also good.

I chose Xmas pudding, but the bread and butter pudding was even better.

Toilets are ground floor and the Ladies is nicely decorated.

Ruby's Restaurant

Bushey Heath