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in italy in spain

walking on history, XIII: roman roads

over 400,000 kms of roads connected the roman empire and it’s amazing that many of them still survive to this day. famously straight and featuring big slabs of polished rock, they were used for centuries to move troops around, trade goods, spread messages quickly… and even transport the animals that would fight humans and each other in the colosseum.

it’s fun to spot them throughout europe. the ones above are in rome, while the one below is in italica (near seville)… and yet, they look remarkably similar, despite being over 2000km apart.

it’s quite a feat of engineering!

Categories
foooood in morocco

pain de sucre

everyone has seen the famous sugarloaf mountain in brasil, but do you know where its name comes from? here’s a clue…

it’s sugarloaf, or pão de açucar! we found them in carrefour in morocco, and i had never seen one in my life. apparently, this is how sugar used to be sold in most places up until the 20th century, and they still sell it there. the cones are big (around 2kg each) and can be grated or chiseled, breaking off small pieces to use.

we probably had it on the numerous cups of mint tea we consumed there!

Categories
analogue wednesdays roll4roll

analogue wednesday #134

probably my favourite photo from R4R-24 is this portuguese seagull, perched on a light above the australian succulents that kathryn shot.

Categories
in spain in the uk

gibraltar!

the last stop on our andalusian roadtrip wasn’t really in spain, but in the uk… sort of. on our way back home, we detoured through gibraltar, to celebrate my birthday and the 30th country/territory we’ve ever been in.

we crossed the airport’s runway, got a sunday roast on a local pub and even had time to write a postcard home, before heading back. 30 countries down, 180 or so to go! :)

Categories
foooood in spain

fried aubergine

ok, so one thing we noticed on our incursions into andalusia (and córdoba specifically) is the deliciousness that is fried aubergine (or eggplant)! what a way to turn an otherwise boring vegetable into something amazing. we loved it so much, we practically spent our short time in córdoba trying it in different restaurants. proof:

it’s usually served with honey for dipping, or with bits of salt. it’s crunchy and smooth at the same time… like mozarella sticks but less cheesy and more… auberginey.

this last one was my favourite though. turns out, deep fried aubergine with honey and goat cheese is the bomb. if you pass by córdoba, give it a go!