Food has always been one of the great joys of travel for me.

A perfectly baked croissant in Paris early in the morning. Seafood served beside the harbour in Crete while fishing boats drift gently in the distance. Fresh pasta in Bologna accompanied by a carafe of local wine and absolutely no sense of hurry whatsoever.

Food tells you far more about a place than a guidebook ever could.

Across Europe, culinary travel remains one of the great pleasures of slow journeys. In San Sebastián, evenings revolve around small plates shared between bars tucked along narrow streets. In Provence, market stalls overflow with lavender, olives and sun-warmed fruit. Along the Amalfi Coast, lemons appear in everything from pastries to evening spritzes.

Good food encourages people to linger.

That is part of the reason culinary holidays feel so restorative. Meals become occasions rather than interruptions between sightseeing. Long lunches overlooking vineyards in Tuscany. Coffee and cake in elegant Viennese cafés. Fresh oysters served along the coast in Brittany where the sea is never very far away.

The best culinary experiences are rarely complicated.

A bowl of seafood chowder beside the harbour in Whitby. Warm bread arriving at the table in rural France. Tapas shared slowly in Seville as the evening streets begin to fill with conversation and music.

At Alexandra Brooks, we believe food should feel connected to the journey itself. Scenic rail routes through wine regions. Coastal hotels known for local seafood. River cruises where dinner changes subtly as the landscape outside the window changes too.

Some travellers collect souvenirs. Others remember flavours.

And often, years later, it is those small culinary moments that return most vividly — the tiny restaurant discovered by accident, the pastry bought from a station café, or the meal so good that conversation simply stopped for a while.