Breakfast of Champions!

Breakfast time!

Apparently most people have an aversion to eating certain things at breakfast time that they would otherwise happily enjoy during other times of the day.  I did not inherit this trait, and have slowly realized over the years that many of my breakfasts are not considered to be "socially acceptable."

Examples:

1) Yogurt (fine on its own) + dark chocolate M&M's + Wild Cherry Pepsi (see previous post)

2) Sushi (especially leftover sushi from the night before, especially if it contains raw fish, and especially if it is covered with giant blobs of wasabi)

3) Banana (fine on its own) + a bag of baked jalapeño cheese crunchies from Trader Joe's

4) A bag of wild berry flavored gummy Lifesavers

5) Vietnamese sandwiches...with fish sauce! (I figure if the Vietnamese bakery will make me a sandwich at 8 am, then it is ok to eat the sandwich at 8 am)

6) Kraft macaroni and cheese (especially if it is leftover from the night before, and especially if it is cold)

7) Regular flavored baked cheese crunchies from Trader Joe's (no banana)

8) A can of "Ragin' Cajun" flavored Pringles

9) Enchiladas

10) Chicken tikka masala

11) A dark chocolate candy bar with Altoids peppermints sprinkled on top

I'm currently eating item #3.  Guess what time it is???  (Answer: 9:00 am)

Yay!

Pepsi, Yogurt, and M&M's

Proudly showing off the fruits of my labor.

Ok, that's enough with the travel letters.  We made it home safe and sound, and US Customs took away our jamón.  It was sad; we had purchased $50 worth of tasty, Spanish jamón.  But...it could have been infested with hoof and mouth disease, and we wouldn't want that.  It got tossed into an incineration bin, along with somebody's rotten banana.

On to important things!  I have a love/hate relationship with caffeine.  When I was a young and naive undergraduate chemistry major, I began working in a research lab.  I was constantly surrounded by jaded grad students and a crazy, substance-abusing French post-doc (if alcohol and cigarettes are to be considered substances).  Every day at 3:30 pm, the lab trudged over to the coffee cart.  I always went, but I realized there was a problem: I didn't drink caffeine.  I have the metabolism of a raging 13-year-old boy, but in the body of a very petite lady...I am overly sensitive to anything that can be ingested: medicine, sugar, caffeine, etc.  A can of soda would normally result in my heart beating so fast that I thought I might be dying for sure, and then I wouldn't sleep for two days.  It was what I imagined taking crack cocaine would be like.

In order to belong to the bonding moment that was coffee cart time, I would quietly order hot chocolate or a decaf latte and play along.  Eventually it was discovered that I didn't actually drink caffeine ever, and this became a subject of great concern and frivolity for the grad students.

"How do you stay awake ALL DAY?!?!"

"How will you survive in grad school?"

"How do you pull all-nighters??"

I politely informed them that I didn't need caffeine, and that I was naturally high on life.  I was a very efficient, homework-loving student, and had never had the need to pull an all-nighter with the other plebeians.  They laughed at me and assured me that this would all change in grad school.  They thought they knew better.  I thought they were wrong.

So, I decided that getting a Ph.D. in chemistry would be a great idea.  I'm going to change the world!  I'm so smart!

This was fine, until about half way through my second year of the five year program.  At this point in time, you had to prove that you were worthy of a Ph.D. by going through second year oral exams.  Apparently getting a Ph.D. in chemistry is hard.  This exam was built up to be one of the most terrifying experiences of my academic life.  I quickly learned that I could not stay awake all day like I had in my youth two years previous.  I needed a crutch: Wild Cherry Pepsi.  There was a vending machine in my lab building, which I visited once a day to imbibe in some sweet cherry-flavored satisfaction.  Eventually it became twice a day.  One day I caught the creepy Pepsi delivery man refilling the machines, and was scared at how excited I was when he offered me a free Wild Cherry Pepsi, while using a voice that I can only imagine is normally reserved for enticing children into a molester van with candy.  Only it was not a molester van and children, it was a Pepsi delivery truck and a chemistry Ph.D. student.

I decided that these vending machine visits were not financially viable (and possibly going to result in a kidnapping), so I purchased myself a twelve-pack of cans.  This was a bad idea, because now that cherry elixir was within arms' reach all day long.  The satisfaction of drinking this much soda was enhanced by the fact that I could collect points for every soda I drank.  I eventually collected so many points that I received a free Pepsi challenge vintage shirt...which I'm actually wearing as I type this, which was actually just a coincidence.

As the date of the exam drew closer, my crippling addiction to Wild Cherry Pepsi began affecting other areas of my dietary life.  I stopped cooking for myself, and went on a binge Lean Cuisine purchasing spree.  For breakfast, every day for about two months, I ate a cup of Yoplait yogurt, a small bag of dark chocolate M&M's, and a can of Wild Cherry Pepsi.  The small bag of M&M's soon turned into a large bag, and it soon became more than just for breakfast.  This dietary nonsense was punctuated by sporadic Lean Cuisine inhalations.  Luckily, this only lasted for two months, because I'm pretty sure my stomach almost dissolved as a result.

Anyway, I eventually weaned myself off of Wild Cherry Pepsi and dark chocolate M&M's, but it took about two years.

Since then, I've discovered better ways to ravage my intestinal tract, like coffee and tea!  Mostly tea.  LOTS OF TEA.  Oh god...  I usually binge on caffeine for a couple of months, and then get all high and mighty and decide that I can indeed quit caffeine if I want.  So I do, and sometimes I feel hasty and I end up with caffeine headaches which I refuse to treat because I'm tougher than suffering.  Then I start to get tired again and I go, "I'll just have one cup of tea today."  Before I know it, I'm falling prey to that devilish cup of tasty satisfaction with the regularity of a heroine addict.  Excellent.

French France

Taking a dip in the Mediterranean (Argelès-sur-Mer, France)

June 27, 2011

I forgot to write last night! We are still in France in the seaside town of Argelès-sur-Mer. Yesterday we went to the beach to take a dip in the Mediterranean. The sand is quite rocky and hard on the feet, but the water is slightly warmer and much cleaner than back home.

We've eaten many crepes, and somehow they are always perfect. Everywhere in France seems to sell crepes! Oddly, almost every restaurant is a pizza restaurant, and we have decided that French pizza is not good. 

American sandwich, found only in France (Argelès-sur-Mer, France)

They also have a lot of places trying to sell "American" food. We ordered a hot dog, which was set inside a hollowed out baguette. The baguettes here are awesome...can't say the same for their hot dogs. A very popular food item is the "American sandwich", which is a baguette filled with fries and meat (either steak or hamburger patties)...I don't know about you but I have never eaten nor seen this in America. It's very strange.

French hot dog, inside a hollow baguette (Argelès-sur-Mer, France)

Luckily, France is not as obsessed with jamón as Spain, and they have plentiful fruit markets and various vegetables and salads. Yesterday for breakfast I had a baguette with jam, which seems to be standard. Baguettes (and crepes!) are everywhere!

We are in wine country (though I'm not sure if any part of France is not wine country). As soon as we crossed the border into France, the hillsides were covered with grape vines. We are staying at a hotel that used to be a wine

The vineyards at Chateau Valmy (Argelès-sur-Mer, France)

cottage, and it's kind of in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by grapes. It's the nicest place we've stayed so far, but also one of the cheapest! This morning we are going to do a bit of wine tasting, and hope to bring back a bit of the Languedoc-Rousillon region.

Today we head back to Barcelona, and tomorrow we fly home. :-(

Hope to see you all soon!

K & S

Bonjour from France!

In front of the Teatro-Museo Dalí (Figueres, Spain)

June 25, 2011

Our last day or so in Barcelona was uneventful, since we were so busy relaxing. Barcelona is home to one Pablo Picasso, and there is a museum there just for him (Museu Picasso). We attempted to visit it, but it turns out that June 24th is a big holiday in Spain (the celebration of spring turning into summer, the Festival of Saint Joan) and is one of the five days all year that the museum is closed. Sad. The holiday also resulted in fireworks being shot off all night about a block away from our hotel room. This resulted in ear plugs.

Because the museum didn't work out, we strolled through a nearby park that led to a full size replica of the Arc de Triomphe. We also sought out a place to buy coral jewelry, as

Dalí's tomb (Figueres, Spain)

the Mediterranean area produces some of the best in the world! There are little carts everywhere selling crepes and waffles with ice cream and syrups...probably influenced by their proximity to France.

The following day we rented a car and began our side trip to France. On the way we stopped in the tiny Spanish city of Figueres, home to one Salvador Dalí and his self-designed museum, Teatro-Museo Dalí. This was quite exciting for me, as Dalí is likely my favorite artist. It housed many of his paintings, his stereoscopic works,

The small fishing town of Cerbère (France)

sculptures, and his jewels, among other things. It's also where he was buried.

We then traversed the countryside and made our way to France. We stopped about a mile or so past the border at our hotel in a small fishing town called Cerbère, that is very much like Avalon on Catalina Island. Last night they had a music festival, which featured several choirs singing by the sea (which we can see out our window). I also had my first bite of an authentic French crepe, filled with butter and sugar...yum.

A traditionally dressed men's folk choir (Cerbère, France)

So it would appear that not many people speak English here, and they don't speak Spanish at all, which makes things interesting. There is also no internet here, which is why your e-mail is delayed. Today we leave to go to another seaside town near the wine country, called Argelès-sur-Mer, where we will have internet once again! When you receive this e-mail, you will know that we have arrived.

Au Revoir,
K & S

Barcelona, Ole!

View of the cathedral from our hotel window (Barcelona, Spain)

June 23, 2011

Yesterday we arrived in Barcelona by plane and made our way to our hotel in the heart of the city. We are right next to an old cathedral (though not their famous one), which we can see out our window.

Barcelona is in the province of Catalonia, where locals speak a dialect of Spanish called Catalan. It sounds like a strange hybrid of Spanish and French, and we can't understand or even read it. They use a lot of x's and those c's with the squiggly bit underneath. Luckily, everything is also in normal Spanish (Castellano) and everyone seems to still speak it as well.

Castellano (top) vs. Catalan dialects (bottom)

We've done a lot of relaxing and a little shopping so far. Barcelona is large like Madrid, but where Madrid felt like New York, Barcelona feels like San Diego. We walked down the famous Las Ramblas, which is a major shopping street that dead ends at the port of Barcelona. One vendor was selling pets, including baby ducks, chickens, and chipmunks! The port was beautiful, and we sat at the end of a pier and watched all the boats moving about. We also got our first glimpse of the Mediterranean! To get to a sandy beach we have to take the subway, so we might try that tomorrow.

Port of Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)

We found a cheese shop today and bought a small wheel of manchego viejo for a very cheap price. We also got

some vacuum sealed jamón ibérico to bring home. The meat shop where we picked it up had the pig thighs out on a table, and when we accepted the butcher's offer to try some, he sliced that jamón right off in front of us. Que bueno!

Spanish artisan cheeses (Barcelona, Spain)

Shoe lovers will appreciate that Barcelona is home to the espadrille. We visited a famous espadrille shop, where they make the cords and the shoes in the shop. They had quite the variety for both men and women, and both Husband S and I now possess some very authentic Spanish footwear.

Espadrille soles at La Manual Alpargatera (Barcelona, Spain)

In other fashion news, harem pants are a must have in Spain for the ladies, and I may have obtained some during our shopping expeditions. I will be trend-setting when I get back to the states!

We will be in Barcelona for another day and a half, then we are driving to France for a brief stay before heading back home. We don't speak a word of French other than "oui", "no", and "fromage", so hopefully they speak English or Spanish there too. We don't have reliable internet here in Barcelona, so all of you skypers will just have to tough it out.

Con amor,
K & S

Buen Dia from Granada

The old silk market, now a bazaar (Granada, Spain)

June 21, 2011

Hola!

Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Granada, which used to be the greatest Moorish city in Spain until the Catholics conquered it. Last night we weaved our way through the old silk market, which is nowadays transformed into a labyrinth of bazaar shops featuring Moroccon-esque trinkets. We also found a few spice markets, where we bought some Granadan tea that we had to scoop out of a large bin. It smells like heaven. Apparently they are known for their saffron here, and it is much cheaper than back home. The North African feel of Granada made us a little less sad that we had to cancel our side trip to Morocco (due to a cafe bombing, Osama bin

Intricate tile work at the Alhambra (Granada, Spain)

Laden capturing type events, and the resulting anti-American sentiments).

Today we toured the Alhambra, which is the largest castle in Spain (I think?). It's Moorish in design, and features sprawling and meticulously manicured gardens that are watered by an elaborate irrigation system that boggled Husband S's mind. Later we went to San Sebastián's lookout point, which gave us an amazing view of the Alhambra in its entirety. The vista point was located in the Albayzín quarter, which is the world's best preserved Moorish district. Many gypsies live here,

A reflecting pool at the Alhambra (Granada, Spain)

and they were dancing and singing at the vista point. We were told that gypsy women will try to give you a "free" sprig of rosemary, and if you accept it then they will grab your hand and force you to pay five euros for a palm reading. We actually saw this in Sevilla, but not here in Granada.

It is HOT here. Every day is hotter than the last. It was 97 today...which isn't that bad unless you're walking up and down hills and streets all day every day like we are. We have taken a break on the Spanish food and recently enjoyed a barbecue chicken pizza and some cheeseburgers. Fruits and veggies are scarce in Spain, so we slurp down smoothies and snarf down iceberg lettuce salads drizzled with olive oil (salad dressing doesn't

View of the Alhambra from San Sebastian's point (Granada, Spain)

seem to exist here) as our only means of combating vast amounts of breads and meats.

Delicious looking gelato (Granada, Spain)

The best olive oil in the world supposedly comes from the Andalucía region of Spain, where both Sevilla and Granada lie. Spain is responsible for 1/5 of the world's olive oil production, and is the first country to ever produce olive oil in the first place. We sought out an olive oil shop, and the owner gave us samples of different types. At the same shop we also tried sherry (which is also world renowned in this region) and some sweet wines. We picked up a few goodies to bring home with us.

While we both decided that Sevilla was more picturesque, Granada definitely had more breathtaking views. Tomorrow we head to Barcelona, for beaches and a supposed 20 degree drop in the weather!

Buenas noches,
K & S