We quite often remember or link places to a special meal or drink we had during our stay. It is also the moment where we sit down and take in what we just saw at a museum or after half a day of walking around. Let's face it: there's nothing better than a conforting pause and the simple pleasure of trying something new. That's why I'll write down for you the most memorable food-related experiences I've had during my last trips.

1. Hot chocolate in El Café de la Plaza, Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca, Colombia
 After a day spent 180 meters underground at the Salt Cathedral, we headed towards the town of Zipaquirá. My best friend Giuseppina, her mother Lucy and I were tired because we had just arrived earlier that morning and we didn't exactly eat anything for lunch. So, at around 4 o'clock we entered the Café de la Plaza for a snack before the 48 km back to Bogotá. Typical to this region is the hot chocolate with white cheese, which goes in the chocolate and melts so deliciously! We had almojabanas (colombian cheese rolls), pan de yuca (yucca bread) and other small snacks! The Café was gorgeous, plus the view of Zipaquirá's main square made it an amazing moment to recover from the flight! Loved it!

Café de la Plaza on Zipaquirá's Main Square

Hot chocolate in Colombia: a new dimension of enjoyment!

2. Candies in La Puerta Falsa, Bogotá, Colombia
In business since 1816, La Puerta Falsa is probably Bogotá's most famous snack shop. Located in La Candelaria (Bogotá Centro) a few steps away of the Primary Cathedral, La Puerta Falsa is a tiny restaurant that offers multicolored candies and chocolate completo (Hot chocolate with cheese, bread and a biscuit) a snack of lore in Bogotá. For us, it was but a quick stop before heading to Monserrate, the mountain that offers some of the most breathtaking views of the city.

Multicolored candies on display at La Puerta Falsa's show-window

3. Ajiaco and Tamal tolimense at the Caterina's in Bogotá, Colombia
My best friend Giuseppina's brother Luigi lives in Bogotá with his lovely family, who were our hosts during our time in the city. With such great hosts we had tons of fun and I must quite say, that it was at the Caterina's home where I ate the best food during my Colombia trip. Our busy plan wasn't a problem for us to sit at the table and enjoy a nice meal together!

Luigi and Giuseppina. Ajiaco is a hearty soup made with three different kinds of potato, chicken and a herb commonly referred to in Colombia as guasca.

Tamales tolimenses were moist and delicious! A must have!

4. Espumilla and other snack pauses in Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca is  the colonial gem of Ecuador. And even if we visited the city for just one day, Giuseppina, her mother and I had a great impression of the city's gastronomy. We tried street food, ate lunch at a restaurant and stopped at one candy shop and a bakery before returning to Guayaquil. For an instance, I ate a potato locro (quichua word for soup), espumilla (a popular ecuadorian street food) and obleas con arequipe.

We first thought that it was ice cream, but this street vendor explained us that Espumilla is a guava meringue cream dessert served in ice cream cones.

Obleas con arequipe. Arequipe (also called manjar de leche, manjar blanco or dulce de leche, depends on the region) is prepared with milk, sugar and vanilla.

A bakery in Cuenca, Ecuador

5. Choclo at the Middle of the World, Ecuador
My research on ecuadorian food was pretty poor before the trip, but what I wanted to try was the choclo. Choclo is a large corn cob eaten in countries like Ecuador and Peru. In some places it is served with a slice of cheese, as in a restaurant at The Middle of the World City outside Quito.

Finally having a choclo. Happy face!

I'm telling you, this is THE serious corn cob!

6. Las Quesadillas de San Juan, Quito, Ecuador
I've already mentioned this restaurant on a previous post about Quito, but had to write about it again. Four generations of the Cobo family have been offering their Quesadillas for Quiteños as well as for travelers. Try the hot chocolate with cheese (also typical in this region) with the quesadillas! I guarantee you won't eat just one...

Quesadillas, sooooo delicious!

Hot chocolate is a must in South America!

7. Guanabana ice pop on García Moreno Street, Historic Center of Quito
This wasn't exactly a gourmet snack, but it was one of my favorite moments of the trip. Giuseppina, her mother, her sister and I stopped at a small store on García Moreno street to call Santiago, our friend in Quito. It was about midday and the sun was shining so intensely, that we decided to buy ice pops. We sat down in front of La Iglesia de la Compañía, one of Quito's gems and considered to be one of the most important barroque structures in America and the world! Amazing!

In front of La Compañía, Historic Center Quito

8. Stopping for breakfast somewhere in Imbabura Province, Ecuador
 Our ecuadorian friends made plans for our Sunday in Quito, and what great plans! We visited the San Pablo Lake, the towns Otavalo, Cotacachi and Atuntaqui and we stopped somewhere on the road to photograph the Cayambe Volcano. But before all this took place, we stopped for breakfast somewhere in the province Imbabura. Turns out to be that the area around Cayambe is noted for its dairy products. We tried the queso de hoja (leaf cheese), yucca bread, bizcochos and our trip favorite, hot chocolate!!

Bizcocho and queso de hoja (leaf cheese)

This man was playing traditional ecuadorian folk songs during breakfast. Love how he looked near the poster of one of Guayasamín's (one of the greatest ecuadorian painters of all time) paintings

9.Mariscos in Guayaquil's Malecón, Ecuador
Quito and Cuenca are stunning cities influenced mostly by the fact that they are located in the Andes Mountain range. So, getting to Guayaquil was a dramatic change, as this city has warmer temperatures and it is Ecuador's largest port. We ate great seafood during our stay, and I must quite say, the promenades in Guayaquil's Malecón have a charm to them.

Fresh seafood in Guayaquil

Guayaquil's Malecón 2000 has museums, gardens, restaurants, bars and the first IMAX theater in South America.

10. Lunch at La casa de los Azulejos, Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City is simply great. On our first day in Mexico City, my best friend Danilo and I walked the Centro Histórico del DF, which offers breathtaking architecture, as you see both modern and colonial buildings and Aztec ruins! A real feast for the eye! To take all this in, we ate a nice mexican lunch at La Casa de los Azulejos, a lovely structure covered with tiles and the perfect place to  recharge batteries.

Handsome! During our lunch in the Casa de los Azulejos

11. Micheladas everywhere in Mexico City, Mexico
If there is a drink that I'll never forget for being unusually weird, that is a michelada. Micheladas are  common in Mexico and consist of beer, lime juice, hot sauces and chile slices. It is served chilled and it is believed to be a good remedy for a hangover. Nevermind, we enjoyed drinking one on a warm day. Well, I must be honest about it, I couldn't finish my michelada...

Michelada vendors on a corner in the Centro Histórico

12. Tequila and mezcal before climbing the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun in Teotihuacán, Mexico
On our pyramids day, we visited an obsidian workshop, where we also tried local tequila, mezcal and pulque, better known as the aztec wine. The man in charge of the workshop told us that drinking pulque was probably the only way we could get to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun. We followed his advice.

Tequila and Mezcal. The guy explained us that tequila and mezcal are not quite the same. Mezcal follows an artisanal preparation and is 100% agave plant, whereas tequila is more an industrial beverage which accepts up to 49% chemical additives.

The second part of this post comes tomorrow!