Hello friends,

Whether you’re new here or have been reading for a while, welcome! Last week I slipped away to enjoy my favourite rooftop pool in Toronto before the snow flies, while Javier headed to the countryside to harvest our garden’s bounty (aka mountain) of tomatoes. 🍅

It’s a pretty delicious problem to have! This month I’m sharing a subscriber-only Thick 'N' Chunky Salsa recipe (scroll ⬇️ ) to put summer tomatoes to good use plus some easy fall recipes.

🍲 Sopa de Albóndigas (Healthy Meatball Soup) – This popular Guatemalan classic is filled with tender meatballs and fresh vegetables. It’s a cozy meal perfect for fall evenings.

🍗 Spanish Chicken Stew with Chorizo and Olives – A one-pot dish inspired by the flavours of Spain, with smoky paprika, tomatoes, olives and chicken thighs. Easy enough for weeknights but special enough for company.

Plus, this month’s issue includes sunny travel news, an insider tip for Rome, and a look at where I stayed in Toronto for your next visit.

Let’s dive in!

Michele of A Taste for Travel

Travel Tips and Planning

Eat Where Solo Mio Was Filmed in Rome

Did you watch Solo Mio, the 2026 rom-com starring Kevin James?

Their first-date scene was filmed at Da Enzo al 29, where I had the best carciofi alla giudia of my life.

The catch? Getting in can be a small Roman miracle.

The workaround is Eating Europe’s 4-hour Twilight Trastevere Food Tour, which lets you skip the line.

And remember, A Taste for Travel subscribers get 10% off.

Our Top Food Tours

Da Enzo al 29, one of Trastevere’s toughest tables to snag.

Timely Travel

Winter Escape Planning

Dreaming of sunshine this winter? We’ve been researching warm-weather destinations from Mexico’s Pacific coast to affordable Caribbean escapes.

I’ll be sharing practical tips i n the coming months but for now, check out the boho beach town of Mazunte and the wild beauty of Agua Blanca Beach, Mexico.

They're long-time faves of ours.

Read our Agua Blanca Guide

The **Mazunte International Jazz Festival** takes place Nov 13-15, 2026 and it's free!

Find Your Perfect Toronto Stay

Rooftop pool or boutique hideaway? Luxury splurge, girls’ getaway or budget family weekend?

Our new guide to Toronto hotels covers them all plus my favourite Airbnb.

Browse our Toronto Hotel Guide

Rooftop pool at the Hyatt Regency Toronto.

Global Tasting Table

Thick ’N’ Chunky Salsa

This thick and chunky salsa has long been a hit in our family, especially among kids and teens.

It’s an Old El Paso style of salsa, with a texture perfect for scooping with tortilla chips. Ready in 10 minutes, too!

Ingredients

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
7 cups coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes
2 cups chopped onions
3 cloves garlic minced
1 cup coarsely chopped green pepper
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup white vinegar
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp chile powder
1 can (156 ml) tomato paste

Directions

Mix ingredients and boil for 10 minutes. Makes 8 cups. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

An easy Tex-Mex style salsa that requires no special equipment or techniques.

Beach & Foodie Buzz

Notable news, updates, and happenings

Pass the Paella! As if we needed another excuse to eat paella, September 20 is World Paella Day. Celebrate with our guide to the best places for paella in Valencia, then keep the Spanish feast going with this paella cooking class in Barcelona.

We learned how to make paella in Barcelona (and enjoyed lots of sangria!)

✈️ 30% Off an eSIM for Canadians Heading somewhere this fall and want to skip roaming charges? Canadian travellers can get 30% off their first Airalo eSIM with code CA-WELCOME30. The offer is for new customers in Canada and ends September 20, 2026.
🇬🇹🇲🇽 Double the Independence Day Celebrations Guatemala celebrates Independence Day on September 15, the same evening Mexico launches its festivities with El Grito ahead of its national holiday on September 16. Expect flags, fireworks, music and plenty of fabulous food. Explore our Mexico City Guide or get a taste of Guatemala’s national dish, pepián de pollo.

Got a minute? We'd love to hear what you're most interested in!

🇲🇽 Mexico Travel

🏖️ Caribbean Island Travel

🥑 Authentic Global Recipes

🌎 Money-saving travel tips

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our Subscriber Benefits page for exclusive deals and free ebooks—perfect for planning and sharing!

Disclosure: Links in this newsletter may be affiliate in nature. Get more details on our Disclosure page.

For the latest news, follow A Taste for Travel on social media!

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“I’m Doing the Friendship Work. Why am I Still Lonely?”

When effort hasn’t yet turned into the closeness you’re craving

Nina Badzin

Sep 10

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Preview

READ IN APP

My actual mahjong tiles and mat. Isn’t that the prettiest mat? I got it Fox & Willow in Wayzata, Minnesota. The winning hand was my friend Debra’s. (Though I’d like to note I’d already won a few times!)

In this month’s anonymous letter, I’m answering a letter from a 37-year-old woman who knows how to put herself out there and has already tried many of the things we often talk about when it comes to friendship. What she’s struggling with is the lonely middle—the stretch between losing old closeness and building new relationships that feel deep, mutual, and sustaining.

Dear Nina,

I am 37-year-old woman who loves your podcast, and I appreciate all the ways you've helped me evolve in my thinking on friendships.

I'm looking for advice about how to deal with the loneliness between friendship phases. For various reasons, I'm currently not very relationally wealthy. I'm single and childfree. I have two siblings across the country, both recently married and preparing for kids, and my parents are in another state.

I also have many very casual acquaintances, but most of my formerly close friendships have either faded due to life circumstances or ended due to values divergences. This happened in two waves: #1. after a religious deconstruction in my early 30s. #2. Over the course of the past 5-6 years as my other friends partnered and moved or started having kids (or both).

After having a wealth of 6-7 close friendships from my early 20s through my early 30s, I'm now quite lonely. I still have one of my oldest friends, but he no longer has the emotional capacity for me that he did prior to partnering and planning for children, and our friendship is much lighter touch these days. My other remaining long-time friend and I catch up every couple weeks and have great chats, but she's not available that often and it's far from enough for my personality.

I've tried many things in recent years: going to events and following up with people about getting together; asking people I already know and am friendly with if they'd like to go for a walk or do an activity together; getting to know a neighbor who also has a cat; and even reconnecting with a few college friends I haven't heard from in a while.

I'm slowly getting to know some people a little better, and have also been actively dating (though still single). In the meantime, I still crave the shared depth and emotional attunement of my former friendships. I know it can take 200+ hours to build a close friendship, and I feel anxious and a little panicky thinking of spending the next couple years in this lonely, empty relational state.

What advice would you give to me in this interim to deal with this low-grade, anxious panic? I already have a therapist, strike up conversations with strangers often, and have phone calls with my family a few times a month. I also get massages, hug my cat, and try to just generally take care of myself. It's still so so hard, especially as I watch so many cherished friends add depth to their own relational ecosystems through partners and children, leaving me on the outside.

Thanks for reading, Trying but still lonely

Dear “Trying but still lonely,”

This letter really moved me. You are already doing so much of what I would advise, which you know as someone who listens to Dear Nina.

On top of staying in touch with your family, taking care of yourself, slowly building new friendships at a realistic pace, reconnecting with a few college friends, and even talking to strangers, it sounds like you’ve taken in advice I’ve given about not waiting for invitations. You ask people to go for walks. You reach out to people you see at events. You’re doing so much important socializing work (and it IS work) and now you’re in that slow time of waiting for the emotional payoff. I do have some optimistic thoughts about that. We’ll get to that a bit later.

Before we get to the more practical ideas, I quickly want to mention something you’ve probably addressed with your therapist (which is out of my realm so I’m just throwing out this possibility). It sounds like you’re dealing with more than loneliness. From your letter, it seems you’re also mourning some of the old friendships that had no clear ending, and you’re still in that grieving process. Some of these friendships seem to have faded because of life circumstances, while others changed more directly after your religious deconstruction. Sometimes a “fading out” of a friendship is harder to grieve than a breakup. Even when you know intellectually it’s not personal and it’s more about availability, proximity, and circumstances, I wonder if what you’re feeling is grief as you’re mourning a version of your life where friendships felt fuller and easier.

Regarding the loneliness: yes, of course you feel lonely. You’re doing an excellent job putting yourself out there and doing the important work of taking care of yourself (massages, etc.), but none of that is the same as feeling deeply known, and that’s what you miss. I believe you will get there, and I wouldn’t take that 200-hours statistic too literally. (More on that in a moment too!)

There is one important thing you didn’t mention in your letter, and I do think it will help. I also want to mention a point about your siblings, parents, and a few long-distance friends you might still feel close to.