Quesadillas

Quesadillas is the first Mexican food I have ever tasted. It is also the top of my favourite Mexican food. The ingredients of Quesadillas are chicken, potatoes, refried beans, sausage, ham, scrambled eggs, black pepper, salt, butter and mushroom. In some part of the Mexico, cheese is also added. Quesadillas is also a part of Mexican culture and tradition. If you live in Mexico or go to Mexico, you can easily find Quesadillas in every restaurants, stadiums and theaters.

Tortilla

Tortilla is made from finely ground maize or wheat flour. It is one of the symbols of Mexican kitchen. Tortilla is a kind of omelette which is made with layers of eggs and sliced potatoes. Tortilla is made not only in Mexico but also in Panama, USA, South America and Central America. Eggs and potatoes are main ingredients of Tortilla.

Gaspatcho

Gaspatcho is one of the popular Mexican soup. Unlike Quesadillas and Tortilla, Gaspatcho is served cold. The ingredients of Gaspatcho soup are tomatoes, green pepper, red pepper, cucumber, olive oil, bread, salt and vinegar.

Tacos

Tacos is one of the traditional Mexican food. Tacos is made from corn flour, meat, chicken and mince. All these ingredients are mixed in a special pot called Taco. Most of the time, Tacos is mixed with spice.

In the mid to late thirties the pinnacle of gracious travel was to take a trip in one of the brand new luxury flying-boats. Air travel was only just beginning to grow up, and with the lack of proper airfields and tarmac surfaces to land on, the flying-boat was a very popular form of air transport, able to land almost anywhere and allowing large, heavily-laden aircraft to use as much take-off space as they needed.

The popularity of the newships in the sky, and the resultant shrinking of the world gave birth to a variety of new airlines with such diverse names as Servico Aereo Condor, Pacific Marine Airways, Kohler Aviation's Milwaukee Detroit Airline, and of course Pan American Airways.

In England Imperial Airways launched their fleet of Empire Line Flying-boats boasting the very last word in elegant and modern travel. These innovative aircraft from Short Brothers of Rochester, the world's first ever aircraft manufacturing company and builders of the Wright Flyer in England, were the first aircraft built with two decks. They offered spacious accommodation for their twenty-four passengers, and a gross five ton payload of passengers, freight and mail, although their eighteen ton fully loaded un-braced monoplane hulls would need all the space of an open sea-way to operate from. Passenger comfort was so important on board the big boats that Imperial Airways even researched and patented their own passenger seat which they named the Imperial Airways Adjustable Chair, manufactured by Accles and Pollock and weighing in at only 18 lbs (just over 8 kilos).

The whole trip with Imperial Airways had the air of the de-luxe, with the passengers being taken in comfort from Waterloo station in a special pullman parlour car right to the docks at Southampton, where they were conveyed by motor launch to the Empire Line Flying-boat gently riding the waves in Southampton Water. The ground-breaking design of the Short Brothers' Empire Boat was born out of plans to launch a flat-rate air mail service throughout the Empire, and the new plane was so good that twenty-eight were ordered straight from the drawing-board.

By the end of 1937 all twenty-eight of the big Boats with their 800 mile range, powered by four Bristol Pegasus 920hp engines, were in service and several of them regularly ran on the England-Australia route in a series of easy stages, flying by day and covering the journey in a little over a week. This was fast travel indeed in those days, with the planes sometimes achieving 200mph, but the air of luxurious relaxation was still maintained, with passenger comfort, quality of cuisine and level of steward service still of paramount importance; Imperial Airways regularly served six and seven course dinners in the air!

There was a midships cabin for six passengers behind the kitchen, and a promenade cabin housed a further eight passengers below a loft for bedding stowage. Cocktails were always available and the well-heeled passengers could expect personal service from their cabin stewards. No detail was overlooked in providing the very best for the new air travellers, whether on board the aircraft in the form of food and comfort, or in the special support services used to ensure the smooth running of the whole experience. Imperial Airways even provided a fleet of 60 sea-going motor launches powered by twin 100 hp engines with a respectable 35 knots top speed as mobile control vessels.

In America Pan American Airways launched their famous Clipper service using the huge Boeing 314 flying boats, but to the American speed of travel was of prime importance, and Pan American never quite matched Imperial Airways for luxury and opulence. There was no telling how far the Empire service might have gone or how big the Flying-boats would become, there were already plans for bigger and faster Flying-boats projected for 1940, when the Second World War intervened.

Suddenly the world was a different place. Imperial Airways' demise in 1940 and its replacement by BOAC saw the end of the special Empire Style of luxury air travel. Seventeen of the S23 Empire flying-boats were used by BOAC on the East Africa - Australia route with all their luxury fittings removed for extra seating, while the rest of the Empire flying-boats were used as troop carriers and formed the nucleus of the Royal Australian Air Force. A mere thirteen of the entire Imperial fleet of S.23, S.30 & S.33 flying-boats survived the war, only to be sent straight to the breakers yard, although when BOAC later replaced their remaining converted military Sunderlands they sold them to Aquila Airways for regular services to the Mediterranean.

The last ever flying-boat operated out of Britain in 1958, for the rapid advances in facilities for land-based aircraft necessitated by the war; the building of proper long tarmac runways for the heavy bombers, coupled with the high running costs of operating a sea-based service which had a relatively low return per operating mile, meant that the days of the big flying-boats were numbered. The necessary speed of evolution of technology demanded by the war, and the changed world in which Britons found themselves in those post war years - the years of austerity and the continuation of rationing - all meant that the rich leisured sky traveller had become a thing of the past and the big luxury flying-boat had become redundant.

Whether you enjoyed flying Clipper Cruises as advertised by Pan American Airways or flew in perfect comfort as an Imperial Airways brochure of the period promised, you were certainly experiencing a very special type of travel, very much of its own time. A world encapsulated in that particular between-the-wars era that would never be seen again, where the romance of travelling by luxury flying-boat would be looked back on with nostalgia even by those too young to have known them. The world of Jeeves and Wooster, bright young things and the Orient Express.

Texas Caviar (Texas)

The food starts to make its debut in menus in the late 1950 after a New Year party. Black-eyed peas and black beans are marinated in a fiery for a flavorful mixture. Rich in protein, Texas Caviar taste great with bread or tortilla chips. For dressing, vinegar, veggies and spices are used. One thing for sure, this caviar is definitely much cheaper and affordable for all Americans.

Half-Smoke (Washington D.C)

Half-smoke is a type of sausage found in Washington D.C and its surrounding states. A half-smoke hotdog is slightly larger, coarser and much spicier than a normal hotdog. It's easy to find a half-smoke as it is sold by street vendors and local restaurant. It's called half-smoke because the pork sausage is usually cut into half when it is grilled.

Date Shakes (California)

A healthy drink, date shakes are blended dates which re mixed with milk and ice-cream. Sometimes, coffee is used to replace milk. This beverage originated from Southern California farms where many dates tree are planted. The name behind this drink is still uncertain as there isn't any shaking involved in preparation. Date shakes is a good way to taste dates than eating them raw.

Spam Mushibi (Hawaii)

This popular snack or luncheon food meaning tied together is made in Japanese onigiri style. A slice of spam is place on a block of rice which is wrapped across by dried seaweed. Hawaii is also the number one eating spam state in America. It taste delicious and can be kept easily. This snack can be purchase anywhere in Hawaii including 7-Eleven stores. Just remember, those aren't computer spam.

Fry Sauce (Utah)

Invented around 1948 in Utah, fry sauce is a combination of thick ketchup with mayonnaise. Fast food joints offer this sauce to be added as a condiment for French fries. However, Americans do use this sauce for barbecue too. Different fast-food joints offer different types of fry sauce. Make this sauce yourself, they might taste better.

Valid 10 Year Passport

American tourists visiting the UK will need to hold a valid American passport that will not expire during their trip. A passport with a 6 month validity still left is usually required when visiting the UK. The UK has an agreement with the United States that allows visitors to enter the UK on a visa waiver programme for a visit up to 3 months in duration. If you intend to stay for a longer period of time, you will need to obtain the correct visa prior to your arrival in the UK, not after you get there.

The Weather

The British weather is very temperamental and hard to predict. It is possible that a bright, sunny day will soon turn cloudy and then rainy. Or a rainy day may quickly brighten up. The best way to tackle the British weather is to dress in layers. When packing, do not just keep up to date with what the weather is like two weeks or even a week prior to travel. Pack appropriately for every eventuality so that you can be prepared for quick changes in weather. Do not assume that the summer will be sunny everyday. The summer of 2007 saw torrential floods and very little sunshine across parts of the UK.

British English

The British and Americans share a basic common language, but there will be times that you will encounter some awkward situations if you are not conversant in a few words and phrases in British English. Pick up a good British travel guide for extra advice on British English, watch BBC America or visit British English websites that are designed to help prepare Americans for their trip across The Pond.

Travel Insurance

Are you prepared for every eventuality? Have you planned on what to do if your luggage is lost or stolen or you are seriously injured in the UK? It is wise to consider taking out travel insurance prior to your trip to the UK. While hospitals will not turn anyone away who has been seriously injured, hospitals will not treat you for free as they would if you were a British resident.

American Airlines on almost any domestic flight now either makes you pay for your meal or if they do give you one, it's absolutely awful. I've even been on three plus hour flights that have had nothing more than general beverage service. Not even peanuts or pretzels! Air Tran though, even though it was just pretzels, was very consistent in their service. Better still was that if you asked for more to drink or more pretzels, you got them. Everything was always done with a smile.

Another nice little touch is that every seat has XM Satellite radio in it's seat arm. It's a minor point really, but in an age in which airlines seem to only care about cramming as many people into a metal tube to shoot across the sky, it's nice to see that there's still an airline out there that is willing to offer an extra comfort (no matter how small it may seem) to it's passengers. As if that wasn't enough, if you didn't already have headphones with you, they gave you a pair to use. No rental charges, no need to return them, just enjoy.

Even more than food and creature comfort, is the importance of having clothes upon arrival at your final destination. I was very pleased that not only did all of my luggage arrive with me, but it was all intact as well. In prior travels with American and United airlines I have had my luggage lost approximately 50% of the time. Fortunately it was almost always lost on the return trip, but it was still a major inconvenience. Air Tran on the other hand, lost nothing. Maybe it was careful handling and paying attention to detail on the part of the ground crews, or maybe it was the bright pink tags marked TRANSFER that helped things. Either way, not having your luggage lost is a good thing.

Then there's the icing on the cake, the arrival time. Of the four flights I took, every single one of them was on time or early. Two of the flights arrived thirty minutes ahead of schedule! It was quite a luxury to be able to arrive early for once. On prior trips, United hasn't fared too poorly, but American has caused me to almost miss connections due to unexplainable delayed arrival times. Worse still have been the numerous times in which American has arrived close to on time only to end up sitting on the tarmac for upwards of forty-five minutes before finally arriving at the gate.

Would I fly Air Tran again? You bet I would. It was a pleasure flying on an airline that didn't treat me like another head of cattle. It's been a long time since I've felt like a real traveler again and I look forward to it again.