Fear Factor: Adventures in eating....

Eating in Girona has been an adventure, (at least for me) as most of you know I am a little squeamish when it comes to eating new things. Jonathan has been a great balance for me and has actually gotten me to try quite a few things that I probably would never have touched if it weren't for him. I am big into how how something looks... if it looks gross to me it is a definite appetite killer, smells weird? appettite killer. I could never have been on Fear Factor because during the part of the show where they eat weird things I would have had to quit. Needless to say (thanks to Jonathan) I am more open to trying new things.... so on to the story for the day. While I was out running errands yesterday doing things like getting our NIE numbers (something like a social security number) and registering for school (I start on Monday and yes even after 6 years of Spanish in Jr. High and High School I am starting in Level 1 which is a little saddening, Sorry Mom and Dad :)
I digress, so while I was out walking the city I kept walking by pastry shops and seeing this bread I had never seen before, it was oval shaped, sprinkled with sugar, pine nuts and something else that looked either like sausage or brown sugar.
I couldn't tell which. Next thing ya know I am a little hungry so I decide to get some. I asked the lady what it was (Que es esto? ) she responded back to me and with my level 1 Spanish vocabulary, I just didn't understand. So I smiled said "Ok" and paid for the bread. I was SOOOOOO proud of myself! I had gone out on a limb and got something that I didn't know what it was.... looked good, smelled ok so I dove in.
It was interesting, even after tasting it I still couldn't figure out what the "brown" stuff was on top... so I just ate around it. I didn't eat the whole thing and at the end of the day I was telling Jonathan about the bread and I got it out, he tasted it and he couldn't figure out what the brown stuff was either. So when our current roommate Yvette got home (we are all still looking for apartments and think we have found one but we will tell you about that later) and I asked her what kind of bread it was....... She told me she had almost ordered some this morning at the bakery but then she asked the lady behind the counter what it was and she told her it was bread with Pig Skin on it. The brown stuff was Pig Skin, yeah just say it again, Pig Skin. This may have an effect on my eating going forward......

The potbelly pig

And then there was a pig.......
So just another ordinary day in Girona and Jonathan and I are off to find a new place to have dinner..... we are adventuresome aren't we?
And there you have it.... walking down the street towards us is a man walking what looked like a dog at first, but turned out to be a pig. I have to say that pig looked as happy as a clam just trotting down the street on his leash... just out for a walk with his owner. THE END

Fer Shure!

Fer Shure Dude! Just another crazy adventure here in Spain. Jonathan and I went out to dinner at a place we have been trying to go to for a week. It is called Draps and it is one of the best restaurants in the city.

It was a great date night...... romantic table for two in the non smoking part of the restaurant (yes they still allow smoking in public places here) a great waitress who was teaching us a little catalan, good bread an amazing bottle of wine ........ we ordered a Mediterranean Salad and a chicken dish to share...... they were playing American music. We got to hear some songs from Grease and the Bee Gee's....... and then came the FER SHURE!!! and an explosion of laughter! A group of French speaking Belgians sat down next to us and they were having a great time. They were laughing and talking and they just kept saying Fer Shure! So one of them would make a comment and the other would say Fer Shure! It was hard not to laugh with them as it has been years since Jonathan or I had heard someone say Fer Shure! in a total valley girl way. So after about 15 minutes of this I had to ask why they kept saying Fer Shure! (now mind you this is a group of business men in suits with european glasses, very proper looking) They told us that there is a comedian in Belgium that has a show where all he says is Fer Shure! So apparently he brings English speaking people on the show and has them talk (he can't speak any english ) and all he says to them is Fer Shure! We have yet to find this comedian on the internet but you can bet that when we do we will share him with you! FER SHURE!
Here is a pic with me and the Belgians........

Why babies cry.....

Jonathan really should be the one writing this entry as it was his insight the other day while we were walking around Girona.

We now understand why babies cry. No this wasn't some big scientific discovery, it has just come personal experience, and no we are not recalling our earliest memories of our childhood or did we get a baby upon arrival to Girona.

Not being able to speak to someone and tell them what you want, what you need or just have a polite conversation is hard. Better yet it is exhausting, and quite frustrating. So it's no wonder babies cry. THEY CAN'T TALK! I know it may seem like this is really not that big of a finding, but until you are living somewhere and realize you can't really talk to other people it seems like a huge insight and alas crying babies become perfectly logical.

Now I have to admit that I thought I was starting to get some Spanish into my vocabulary. I can ask for stuff at the bakery and read menu's and such. I can understand for the most part what people are saying, but got crushed the other day when I went to a wedding shop to try on some dresses.



I walked in confident (I had been studying how to ask to try something on... and how to say my size....) The wonderful sales woman started to talk to me...... Nothing...... Nothing happened. My brain did not comprehend it. I would hear one word I thought I knew and then I would be translating that in my head and would lose the rest. In the meantime I am (again) frantically looking through my phrasebook trying to figure out what to say. It actually turned out to be hysterical, the woman Marisa was so patient with me and so sweet. I was finally able to get an appointment for the following day to try on some dresses..... and in her last comment to me she said.... You go study Spanish tonight and I will study English and tomorrow..... it will be much better! and it was! But not because I had studied..I took a friend with me that speaks Spanish. I know cheap way out... but it really helped!

The Taste Test

Well we ventured out to the grocery store for the first time yesterday.
Quite a fun experience. Along with Frosted Flakes (my idea) fresh fruit, spaghetti,
and some other goodies we purchased 3 wines for tasting, price ranging from 4.75 Euro to 1.30 Euro and we are going to tell you all about them! So our blog will get updated over the next few days (or as long as it take for us to drink 3 bottles of wine) and we will give you our impressions.

Date Drank: January 23, 2008
Wine Number 1: Torres Coronas Tempranillo 2005
Price: 4.75 Euro, and I found it online at The Basque Market for $9.49, so a little bit of a markup in the states but not much.
Where is it Made? It is made here in the Catalonia area and is Tempranillo (86%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (14%).
Our vote? Thumbs up! Great taste, very rich and a beautiful color.
What did you eat it with? We had it with spagetti and an arugula or "rocket" salad

Stay tuned for more cheap, I mean inexpensive wine tasting!!!
Ciao for now!


Date Drank: January 25, 2008
Wine Number 2: Borsao: Garancha Mitica 2006
Price: 1.30 Euro,
Where is it Made? D.O. Campo de Borja
Our vote? hmmmmm not perfect, not bad, little alcoholy but not bad for a 2 euro bottle of wine (do you think they are going to ask me to start writing for the Wine Spectator?)
What did you eat it with? We had it with spagetti and an arugula or "rocket" salad (and yes we really did have the same meal 2 days later)


By the way in between these bottles of wine we have been out having dinner and drinking then as well so we will try to bring those bottles onto the tasting blog.
Here is one we had last night at one of our favorite new restaurants: DRAPS

Date Drank: January 28, 2008
Wine Number 3 : Vina Sastre, Roble 2006
Price: 15.50 Euro at the restaurant, I found it online for $17.99 at WineZap. Not a bad price for a really great wine.
Where is it Made? Ribera del Duero
Our vote? Brilliant! Beautiful color, dark, rich, somewhat fruity, big wine
What did you eat it with? We had it with a Mediterranean salad at the restaurant that had cheese, lettuce, nuts, fruit, apples, carrots, string beans. It was amazing!

Here is the link to Vina Sastre

When was the last time you had a $50 bill?

Just how often do you have a $50 bill in your pocket? Hmmmmmmm maybe when you go on vacation? Or if you actually walk into a bank and ask for one?

What about when you wanted to spend it? You have to think twice about where you can use it cause sometimes there is that sign that says "We don't take bills larger than $20." Then what do you do? Well, I had a $50 bill recently and I felt like such a high roller!!!! Wow! $50 bucks in my pocket, I AM RICH!!!!

Well for some reason the whole concept of "I'm Rich!" just doesn't translate over here in Spain for me..... I went to the ATM the other day to get out 300 Euro and they give me 20o Euro in 50's and 100 Euro in 20's and 10's. You would think I would have the same reaction to Euros as I did to the $50... but NO! It is the weirdest thing. Euros are like Monopoly money to Jonathan and I. We shove the bills in pockets, leave them on the counter, toss them in my purse... and this doesn't make any sense because 50 Euro is like $75 dollars! You would think I would even feel more RICH! But it just isn't the case. I actually apologized to a woman yesterday when I bought something for 1 Euro and I only had a 50 Euro bill to pay with......


Could this phenomenon be the reason why we spend so much money on vacation in other countries? Cause the money doesn't seem "real"? It just feels like we are laying down some cash to purchase Park Place or Baltic Avenue? Anyway, it just astounds me.... to fix the problem I might just have to buy a monopoly game to start to change my reaction to Euros. :)

Where's Jonathan?

You all maybe wondering where Jonathan is.... why hasn't he written on the blog.... has Jill sold him off? Well he is alive and working his rear end off! It just so happens that I am working from 2pm to 10pm Spain time which means I have lots of time in the morning to sit around and blog.... Jonathan on the other hand is out working with the team by 7:30 and isn't done until late evening. So yes, he is still alive, and will be showing up on the blog soon!

Always Learning: Language, Bread and Candy

The other night we went out to dinner at a restaurant not far from the hotel. We were hoping to have a quick dinner and go to sleep at a decent time (11pm). This is hoping for a lot as we have found that you need to plan triple the time in Spain for anything we go out and do. It is a wonderful aspect of the culture but does not always work for every situation. Anyway, we got to the Restaurant and sat down, the waitress politely asks if we would like an English Menu and we say "no, aprendamos Espanol" which means we are learning Spanish and then of course we continued on with "menu en Espanol por favor" ( I am sure you can figure that one out). The menus arrive and we start to read them.... but nothing seems to be clicking. We can usually figure things out but this was just impossible. We keep asking each other questions like "What do you think "amb" is? Lamb? Wow if that that is true they only serve Lamb. Maybe it means "and", that seems to fit..." After about 10 minutes of this we figure out the menu was in Catalan which is a version of Spanish only spoken in this region. We then asked our waitress "humbly" for the English menu and decide we had better just try to tackle Spanish before learning Catalan.

After ordering they bring a bread tray by list off our choices of bread, we choose and lo and behold along with our choice comes this piece of candy. My first reaction is "Wow that is cool! Candy with my bread!" I pick it up squish the candy (it gives a little) Jonathan does the same and we both put it aside and dive into the bread. We talk about how interesting it is to get candy this early in the meal and what an interesting aspect of the culture. Both really trying to understand what kind of candy it is while never opening the wrapper. I think it is a soft "fig" candy, Jonathan thinks it is something else. So we finish dinner and are getting ready to leave when Jonathan decides to eat his candy......he gently opens the wrapper and is about to pop the contents into his mouth when he realizes it's not candy it is a tiny baby salami! Ah, now it all makes sense.... salami / bread ...... bread and salami....we get it. Oh the lessons we continue to learn......

Hostess Chocolate Donettes

Ok, so we all remember the little chocolate hostess donettes... admit it you used to (or still) eat these little babies on a regular basis. Well I have found their equivalent in Girona...the chocolate croissant. The only differences between the 2 are that my croissant is made fresh every day, doesn't have any preservatives and the chocolate doesn't taste like wax. However my addiction to them is the same.... two days in a row I have gone down to the bakery at the bottom of the hill to pick up my 5 minutes of ectasy...so flaky and light with just the right amount of chocolate inside and the ends also dipped in chocolate. Oooooh I get hungry just thinking about it. I figure with all of the stairs I am walking I will burn the calories off no problem right? Anyway, I am starting to crave one now....... gotta run!

My first Run......

I got up this morning.....yeah it was about 9am as we seem to keep staying up until Midnight.
Things just happen so much later here. So I am off running through the small corridors of the city down to the river. I think I am going to start counting the stairs we walk everyday just to see how many we walk up and down. Anyway I get down to the river and across the bridge. The city is just waking up and they are a few people out and about. It is cold and damp this morning.
I stumble upon a large park and decide to explore. To my amazement I have found the local market that runs every Tuesday and Saturday. Anything and everything you could want is here.
From clothes to jackets, shoes to bras, oranges to artichokes and more. Everyone has their rolling shopping bag and is getting their goodies for the week.

The Bells and the Beacon

We are right next to the biggest Cathedral in town and the bells ring every 15 min. and count the time on every hour.... and yes this happens 24hrs a day.
It is a beautiful church that sits on the hill so to get there and to the hotel you have to walk up a lot of stairs. My backside is really going to be in shape after a couple of weeks.

The Church has also become my beacon. You can see it from most anywhere in the city and it has been a great way to get oriented.
There is a plaza and a museum just to the right of the church where you can see some of the city from.

Espana: The first 24 hours..........

HOLA! We are here and we are having a great time! My first few hours in Girona were welcoming. Jonathan and I checked into the hotel, and then went out for some tapas. We went to this tiny bar where they just lay out the tapas (sausage, crab meat, cheese and prosciutto, soft cheese and bread) on the bar and each piece has a toothpick. So you eat as much as you want and then tell the bartender how many toothpicks you have and how many glasses of wine and they charge you the appropriate amount. Talk about the honor system.

We met a brilliant couple at the bar who we started to talk with.... well you know we were basically playing charades and speaking like 4yr olds in Spainish. We soon learned there we other languages to add to the mix.... so Jonathan started listing off other languages and found out the husband knew Italian, so while he was speaking to the husband I was trying to communicate with Maria his wife in my form of Spanglish. 2 words in Spanish and they one word in English. We could understand most of what they were saying, and they were quite patient with us as we flipped through our Lonely Planet phrase book. It turns out they are both hairdressers and proceeded to point out my hair and give me their card. It was hysterical.