Tag Archives: fast food

Europe, Switzerland

Zurich: The Layover

Strawberry Ice Cream
Strawberry Ice Cream snack

If you ever have the option to fly SwissAir, I highly recommend taking the opportunity.  SwissAir has to be one of the most hospitable airlines we have ever used.  AND, the airplane food wasn’t like cardboard covered with vomit.  Even more impressive — meals were served with REAL cutlery and glassware.  Christmas miracle!

Squatzi MadridBoth of us were rather excited to have a layover in Switzerland, rather than Frankfurt again as we have on previous trips.

On our way home from Madrid we ended up in Zurich for the better part of 6 hours.

The ubiquity of Burger King was a running joke for us while we were in Spain.  So, the irony of eating at Burger King while in Switzerland is not lost on me.  Yes, Burger King, at ZRH was the most economical option at 15CHF or approx. $19CDN for a small combo.   A $40 lunch at Burger King for 2 people would not fly here. (Although it would probably help reduce a lot of health issues! The Swiss could be onto something.)

We scouted out some vending machines too!  A 200ml bottle of coke was 5CHF, so roughly $6.40CAD for 200ml.  Our vending machine size is typically 600ml.  So, you’re looking at almost $20 for a bottle of coke, folks!

Even accounting for airport pricing which is usually quite high to begin with…ZRH HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE AIRPORT IN THE WORLD!

Happy (cost-effective!) Travels,
~j

(NB: I know, I’m flying somewhere, going on vacation, get some perspective and realize how lucky that is in itself!  I do realize that, and appreciate how extraordinarily lucky I am to be able to explore beyond my hometown.  I get it, but for a budget traveler, Zurich was nuts!)

North America, USA, Yellowstone

Yellowstone to Cody

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Yellowstone SunsetEarly evening on day 3 of the trip we left Yellowstone through the East Entrance. We drove through the Shoshone National Forrest and ended up in Cody, WY for the night.

Cody is a small place just under 10 square miles (25km²) with a population of almost 9000. AND, the Walmart is open 24/7. How is this physically possible? We have more than 10 times the population and Walmart still closes at 10pm. I guess the demand just isn’t happening here!

How is this even necessary?!
How is this even necessary?!

And, the other difference, try not to vomit, you read that correctly. FIFTY! Who needs 50 McNuggets?!? (FYI: I’m willing to bet a 10 piece meal here is almost that much.)

Walmart and Nuggets aside, I really enjoyed Cody. It was an immaculate little town–so clean and beautifully landscaped. Before we shipped off to our next destination we went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre. (Not the “It rubs the lotion on its skin” Buffalo Bill, just so we’re clear!)

Cody is actually named after William Frederick Cody aka Buffalo Bill. Wild West history isn’t really something I’m into or very well informed of, but Buffalo Bill seems like a hip dude for his day. He worked for the Pony Express. He was against slavery, he was for women’s suffrage, he fought for the rights of American Indians. He also wanted equal pay for equal work. He fought in the Civil War. And though he hunted buffalo, (that’s how he got his famous nickname) he also supported conservation. That’s pretty forward thinking for the times I’d say.

I for one say let us give our women absolute freedom and then it will do for us to talk about freeing other nations…I believe in Women Suffrage…I’m not one of the kind that think that God made woman to do nothing but sit at home in the ashes and tend to babies…if a woman can do the same work that a man can do and do it just as well she should have the same pay.
                                                                                                    —W.F. Cody

Buffalo Bill Historical Centre Cody WyomingThe Historical Centre is actually 5 museums in one. In addition to Yellowstone history, Plains Indians history, Western Art and Buffalo Bill history, there is a huge fire arms exhibit. I’ve never seen so many guns in my entire life.

Stay tuned for Devil’s Tower…
Happy Travels,
~j
ps: Cody has a Dug Up Gun Museum. That’s just crazy. No, we didn’t visit.
Peru, South America

El Sabor del Peru

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zucaritasSince we’ve been home, I’ve been asked a lot if we tried any interesting foods in Peru. Well, what do you consider interesting? I like to go to outdoor markets, supermarkets, vending machines, snack stores etc and look at the stuff they’ve got vs the stuff we’ve got. For example, the chicken halves with no packaging, actual chicken colour (not bleached like here), all stacked on top of each other in the meat display counter. Or, the different but same cereals and snacks. Like the Zucaritas to the left. Look familiar? Too bad the name to me looks like “Sugaries” or “The Sugareds”. I don’t know how well a cereal called “Sugaries” would sell in Canada, but at least Kellogg’s is being honest!

inca kolaAnd then we also like to try stuff that is the same everywhere–like McDonalds and Coca Cola. Now, before you go all cuckoo and say, “You go to McDonald’s when you’re in another country, why bother?” It is kind of interesting. There are always different menu items and soft drinks. In Paris they had Peach Iced Tea and in Peru they had Inca Kola.

They also had the McBacon, and the McNifico, and they don’t serve hash browns with breakfast. You could also get a ton of different sauces. Mayonnaise and Ketchup are available in the little pumps at the condiment counter, and so are a several kinds of hot sauces, salsas and in Mexico City, even chopped up jalapeño peppers.
 Colca SourWe did try other things besides McDonalds! We had 3 meals on our Colca Canyon trip. There were all sorts of potato dishes, Alpaca, Lima Beans, Rice, Soups, Chicken, Plantains, etc. We tried everything. (Little tidbit for you–the potato is from Peru; it was the primary food source of the Incans.) At one restaurant we had Colca Sours which is a Peruvian drink made from Cactus Fruit, Lemon/Lime juice, egg whites and some other stuff. They were quite tasty. We had trout from Lake Titicaca on Taquile Island. And, we went to a fast food place in Lima called Bembos. It was sweet because they used REAL ingredients on the chicken burger I got. REAL Edam cheese and a whole wheat bun. Amazing!

NB: Not my photo, and I can't remember where I got it from to give credit.
NB: Not my photo, and I can’t remember where I got it from to give credit.

We didn’t try Cuy. I just couldn’t. Maybe if it was served in a way that didn’t look like a dead rat it would be a little easier to stomach. I didn’t see anyone eating Cuy anywhere we went. But, we did run into some people who had wanted to try it but ended up choosing Alpaca instead as the Cuy was ridiculously expensive. FYI: Many families in the Andean highlands still raise Guinea Pigs for food; they’re also part of the folk lore and medicine of the region.

We also didn’t try this dish that we found in a tented market in Cusco. Do you cook cow snout with or without the teeth?
cow snout
England, Europe, United Kingdom

No one speaks English…

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No one speaks English, but everyone speaks Coca-Cola!

Apparently in England NO ONE speaks English. I’d say about 80% of the people are tourists and the other 20% are non-English or broken-English speaking. And that isn’t only at typical touristy destinations!

Coke logoTo make things even more bizarre, we’ve noticed that Coke has become more multi-cultural as well. Jon had a can with a logo in what we’re guessing is Hebrew (we couldn’t read it to find out the actual country), a can from Poland, and one from England. And, I had 2 from Canada (in the UK of all places) and one from Northern Ireland. The highest price we saw for a Coke was 4€ , so about $6 for a 500ml bottle..not even 600ml. At that price we were not buying!

Peach Iced TeaIn France, where our cola addiction was cheapest to feed, Diet Coke became Coca-Cola Light. I sure wasn’t drinking coke the whole while because EVERYWHERE had Lipton Peach Iced Tea as the Iced Tea of choice–vending machines, fast food places, street vendors. It was an Iced Tea drinker’s paradise! That 1.5L bottle was my last little souvenir from Paris. Delicious.  Peach=my favourite!

While we’re on the topic of beverages…water, normal, non-fizzy water was SUPER cheap at the grocery stores. We got a 1.5L bottle for 0.58€. That is barely over a dollar. Here it would have been easily $3. Ridiculous!

ps: I was brave and drank tap water in almost every city.