Not like at home

Words can’t really do justice to the experience. Deep, blood-red color. Thick, plump, juicy. They were the most arresting tomatoes I’ve ever seen in my life. And they smelled strong, fragrant, earthy. And the taste…

Our hostess, Pelmina, explained that she’d bought the tomatoes at a local market on the island of Krk, at the market in Baška. That’s just how they grow there. She served them with a little olive oil (made from her own olives) and some herbs from her garden. Simple. Delicious.

We bought some more on the island of Cres at a local market. These were also amazing, although not quite as deep a red or as amazing a taste. There must be something in the Krk soil…

That’s one of the beauties of traveling: of tasting (and seeing, smelling, hearing…) things that are so different from what you’re used to. It reminds you that other people’s experiences are quite different from your own. And that yours can be different, too, if you take the time and go.