Traveling is all about experiencing new and different things, from food to local and mass-produced merchandise marketed to the tourist crowds.

As you explore new places, you will no doubt stumble upon endless tourist shops selling anything you can imagine. You will also encounter shops selling local food, street vendors cooking up local specialties and other stores selling traditional handmade items.

Just like everyone else, we buy touristy items such as the mass-produced cuckoo clocks that are found all over Germany, especially in the Black Forrest area. For something different and more unique, you could visit the German town of Trieburg in the Black Forrest where you will find shops that hand make their clocks.

While you are strolling around, stop at a street vendor for lunch or a snack. The crepes in Paris are absolutely delicious, grab a hot pretzel, pick up a French baguette, stop in the local chocolate shop, enjoy a pastry and coffee form the local shop in the morning before you head out for the day. You will run into markets where local artisans are busy making unique gifts. You will also find shops to sample local wine, cheese and even mustard in Dijon France. Several areas are known for specific things such as the leather market in Florence Italy and the metal workers in Prague in the Czech Replublic.

If you stumble into something unusual, give it a try, such as coffee with an egg yolk as shown in the Vienna Cafe photo below…it was good, and we now occasionally add a yolk to our coffee at home (If you do it, separate as much of the white part away as you can, otherwise you will be drinking egg drop coffee). On the other hand, we have limits.  We decided to pass on skewered insects, pig ears and scorpions (shown on our Food page) from a roadside vendor while we were in Beijing China.  No idea how to eat a skewered scorpion.  We also avoided most the roadside food carts in India but do not have a problem giving them a try throughout Europe.

  You will get more out of your travels by taking time to stop in shops to sample local food and browse through handmade items that are unique to the area. Stroll through outdoor markets and visit city center shopping halls where local vendors display their work and you can enjoy all sorts of different cuisine. Some of the best food can be found at the best price in the city center shopping halls.

Below are just a few of the many places we have encountered during our travels

Banana & Nutella Crepes Paris France	Gelato Venice Italy	Neal's Yard Dairy - Cheese Monger Borough Market London England
Mustard Dijon France	Chocolate Interlaken Switzerland	Outdoor Market Lyon France
Crepe Stand Paris France	Sausage Strasbourg France	Cloth Hall Market Krakow Poland
Olives - Outdoor Market Lyon France	Borough Market London England	Matryoshka Prague Czech Republic
Viktualien Market Munich Germany	Fish Market Dubai UAE	Outdoor Market Florence Italy
Metal Workers Prague Czech Republic	Cuckoo Clocks Black Forrest Germany	Carnival Masks Venice Italy
Medieval Shop Rothenburg Germany	Pretzels Krakow Poland	Cafe Vienna Austria
Sausage Rothenburg Germany