Sardegna

Laos

Vietnam

Brick Lane

Nothing beats a beatiful summer afternoon wandering the streets around Brick Lane in London's east. Sitting in the grass eating a a salted beef bagel with pickles and hot mustard from Beigal Shop just about tops it off. The bagel dough is sweet and a little charred and the mustard cleanses you with the first bite. A soy banana smoothie from Coffee @157, next door, is the cherry on top.

Beigel Shop

155 Brick Lane

Coffee @157

157 Brick Lane

London

Since moving to London, I’ve been amazed by the number of bicycles seen parading through the crowded city streets… quite literally.

Boris Johnson would be proud of the number of Londoners abandoning their four-wheeled machines in place of the fuel-free, planet friendly, two-wheeled variety. Then again, I’m not sure how pleased he’d be at the sight of hundreds of bare bottoms upon his blue seats.

The Tweed Run is a “leisurely jaunt” through the metropolis of London. Cyclists are encouraged to wear traditional British cycling attire and the more classically vintage the bike, the better.

www.tweedrun.com

The World Naked Bike Ride through London is supposed to be a peaceful and imaginative protest against the dependence on oil and cars. In order to promote cycling, protestors bare it all to a giggling crowd… whilst straddling a bicycle. This year, the cycle in London happened to be on the same day as the Queen’s birthday. Stripping down to their birthday suits on the Queen’s special day… Coincidence? I think not.  

http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/ 

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”

~ Saint Augustine

 

Oaxaca, Mexico

In Oaxaca, Mexico, these dried, chillied critters are just about everywhere, particularly around  the markets where they sit in charred, crispy piles, waiting to be eaten by the handful. Considered a good source of protein, these grasshoppers or chapulines, are collected at dusk, using lamps to tempt them into nets. Have them as you wish, boiled, raw, sun-dried, fried, flavoured with spices, drenched in lime or thrown in a soup. How about a little guacamole on the side?