Crepes - both sweet and savory are simply delicious. I must say, breakfast is easily my favorite meal of the day. The variety of fillings for your crepes can be endless. On this particular Saturday morning, my mom made a beautiful crepe meal along with cut melon and papaya, fresh whipped cream, sliced strawberries, a latte, and freshly squeezed orange juice. My family sat outside under the gazebo overlooking the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea while eating this lovely meal. Perfect start to my day. My mom has been making me amazing crepe meals for as long as I can remember. What I love about my mother’s crepes is that she will always make the meal slightly different. The crepes never taste exactly the same, but they are always so good. Crepes are my favorite food.

Crepes with whipped cream, sliced strawberries, freshly cut papaya and melon and freshly squeezed orange juice

When I have crepes for breakfast, they give me this instant happiness and a nostalgic feeling. A few memories that come to mind:
- In the eighth grade, my class went on a boat cruise in Montreal. The next day we went out for breakfast and I ordered pancakes but got crepes drizzled in chocolate and strawberry sauce instead (no complaining there).
-When my aunt, one of my favorite people in this whole world, took me out to breakfast and I had a banana and chocolate crepe.
-All the times in Paris, when I ate crepes from the street vendors.
-In Hawaii, I had my crepes with all the local tropical fruits.
-When in Canada, my mom makes gluten free crepes in our kitchen with whipped cream and maple syrup.

Gluten free crepes

Crepes give me a happy nostalgic feeling. They are a simple food, but if you have the right setting, good company, and yummy toppings, then that simple crepe can turn into a very decadent meal, a great memory, and a reliable source of joy.

Enjoying my crepes in Spain

Something that doesn’t make me feel happy or bring back good memories is the fish meal I had in the South of France. We spent two miserable, rainy, and cold weeks at a beach house. My family and I had dinner one night with the people we were renting the beach house from. The couple lived right on the first floor of the beach house, and my family was on the second. So we made our way downstairs for dinner.

The beach on a rare sunny day!

The couple had set up a table-sized platter of fish and shrimp. I am not even exaggerating. The platter of fish was literally the size of a coffee table. I really tried to hide my disgust. I don’t hate that many foods, but I cannot stand eating fish when the whole thing is still there. It looked like they had been plucked from the ocean and drenched with orange sauce. In fact, they were just plucked out of the ocean, because the husband was a fisherman. “Bon Appetit!” he said, as he put at least 4 massive fish and a giant shrimp on to my plate. The way the fisherman was just slurping up the fish made my stomach do somersaults. My parents kept giving me sympathetic looks throughout the whole meal, because they knew how much I dislike seafood. I took small bites of the fish. It was scaly, bones were everywhere, and the eyeballs were really creeping me out. It made me want to vomit, just looking at it. But I ate every single bit of that fish even though it was the most disgusting meal, ever. I brushed my teeth at least ten times when I got home, and lay around feeling sick for the rest of the night.

So, a recipe for instant happiness? A beautiful place that makes you happy, enjoying a mouthwatering crepe meal with amazing people. A recipe if you plan to spend the night seeing your dinner in the toilet? For your appetizer: fish scales and tiny bones. Main course: fish eyeballs (fish head and tail included), and to top it off a giant shrimp for dessert. Bon appetit!

Becca Tran is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

All photos courtesy and copyright Becca Tran