Recently, I was in the bus station in Granada, Spain, ready to catch a bus to Malaga, and I needed a bottle of water and a candy bar, so I went to the convenience store in the station.
Foreign Foods
The purpose of travel is to expand your horizons. Whether you travel to the museum in your hometown or whether you wake up dry beneath the African sky, just you and your Swiss Army knife, you’re stepping outside of your normal life and learning a little more. Maybe you learn about a new culture, a new political perspective, a new life philosophy, or maybe you just learn something new about food in a new country.
Los Chinos in Buñol, Spain
The day that we got to Buñol, Spain for La Tomatina, the forecast called for rain. It held off for a while, but eventually it started to drizzle. Fortunately I had packed an umbrella, but Karen had not, so we went to the nearest grocery store (and the only one in town) to get her one.
Córdoba, Spain
I found myself in Córdoba purely by laziness. I was supposed to go from Valencia to Granada, but it turned out that the trip is at least 8 hours. Rather than spend a full day on the train, I opted to split the trip into two days, stopping in Córdoba for a bit in between. And I’m glad that I did.
La Tomatina
Every year in late August, the small town of Buñol, Spain, home to roughly 9,000 residents, swells to close to 50K people to celebrate the tomato festival, La Tomatina. What started in 1945 as one small kid’s temper tantrum (he fell off of a parade float, got angry, and started throwing tomatoes from a nearby produce stand) has turned into what is considered the biggest annual food fight and the worst ketchup-making process in history.
The 99¢ Store
You never really think twice about the 99¢ Store when you’re home, do you? If you need something, and you happen to be near one, and what you need happens to be the kind of thing that they’d carry, and you happen to have time to kill, and you happen to find parking, and the stars are lined up, then you may go to the 99¢ Store. Otherwise, it’s not really something that you consider in the real world, and something you probably consider even less when you’re on vacation. But you’re wrong, and I’ll tell you why.
Dining In Florence (some more)
Let’s face it; you’re in Florence. You’re going to eat. A lot. Since you’re not finished eating, why would I be done writing about the food?
10 Day Silent Meditation Retreat- My Experience
Hopefully you’ve already read my post about the retreat, here. As I said, I think it’s a very worthwhile program and it provides a valuable set of tools to attendees. So you may be asking why I only lasted 4 days. This post is unlikely to be as entertaining to read as (I hope) some of my other posts are, but here’s the unvarnished truth about my experience at the retreat, at least as I see it now.
10 Day Silent Meditation Retreat
Einstein said that time is relative, and I’m inclined to agree. Sitting in your fourth meeting of the day discussing the new cover sheets for TPS reports, each minute drags on without end. If you’re spending an evening with someone special, hours can pass in the blink of an eye. Einstein also said that, as you move faster and approach the speed of light, time slows down exponentially. Based on that theory, the meditation retreat that I just attended must be moving faster than anything else in the known universe.
Dining In Florence
When you think of Florence, you think of Tuscany. When you think of Tuscany, you immediately remember that it’s the heart and soul of Italian cuisine, from seafood that’s so fresh that it’s practically still blinking to steaks so tender that they melt before they hit your tongue. Pastas cooked perfectly al dente, gnocchi so light that they feel like little pillows of air, and sauces so simple yet so deep in flavor that you remember that this is what food is supposed to taste like; good ingredients cooked by people who actually care about food.