Yeah, I
know. Long time, no write. I’ve been away. I’ve been busy. I’ve had writer’s
block. Let’s see…what else? I’ve been protesting Iranian elections. I’ve been
seeing a million faces and rocking them all.
I just
returned from an 11 day trip to the UK and Europe and any real blogger worth
their salt would’ve have been posting daily updates and photos. I, however, am
not worth my salt. I’m even on a low sodium diet too.
But it was a
fun and exhausting trip, nevertheless. Getting in touch with Katie proved to be more
difficult than I’d imagined, though, for a few reasons. One, Sprint doesn’t exist in
Europe (nor does CMDA cell phone technology. Nerd alert.), so it was pointless
to turn on my phone. Two, using calling cards was only possible at hotels and
after the fourth day, we were on a tour bus and didn’t go to hotels. Skype
worked when we had a good (as in, really fast and constant) wireless
connection—which was surprisingly difficult to find. I guess that’s one benefit
of Al Gore inventing the internet. It’s better in America.
Here's a few pics of Edinburgh and Ireland.
1) Old buildings and a park in Edinburgh.
2) A view looking up to Edinburgh Castle.
3) More old buildings and an old cathedral in Edinburgh (on our way up to the castle).
4) The oldest building in Scotland. A chapel inside the Edinburgh Castle grounds.
5) The Union Jack flying above the castle. William Wallace is still turning in his grave.
6) Galgorm Resort and Spa, where we stayed for three nights in Ireland. Sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings. We looked for wizards, found none.
7) The Underground at Heathrow.
Whenever
I’ve been to Europe in the past, I’ve always come back with a few funky candy
bars, breads, or other sundries. They make incredible gifts—way better than
some touristy t-shirt or mug. Plus, it turns any grocery store into a gift
shop. While in Scotland, one of the first places I went was a grocery store and
headed straight to the jellies aisle. The UK always has oddball jams (maybe
because they have tea and bread so often) so I thought it would be cool to get
Katie a funky jar of strawberry goodness. I searched up and down the aisle, found
a really great-looking jar of Wild Strawberry Conserve (preserves) from France
that I thought looked cool but would also taste great on toast. You know, a way to
remember the trip whenever I bit down into my crunchy morning treat.
I carried
that jar with me for 12 days, always making sure it was safely packed in my
suitcase as we traveled from Scotland to Ireland to Germany to Holland to
Tennessee. I was thrilled when I opened my suitcase to find it still intact
(although the honey I picked up in Holland was all over everything) and with
excitement and pride I presented it to Katie.
“Hey love,
check out this awesome French jelly I got in Scotland,” I beamed.
She took
note of it, went back to unloading the dishwasher and said, “I have some of that in the fridge.”
Haha. Silly
girl. She was probably mistaking it for Smuckers. “You’re probably thinking of Smuckers. They have a similar lid.”
Katie,
choosing not to argue, opened the fridge, took out a jar of jam, and set it on
the counter. Here it is next to the unopened jar of jam I brought home from
Europe, being oh-so-careful not to harm it because it was such a rare treat.
The differences are obvious. I really hate proving Katie wrong, but when she's wrong, she needs to be aware of it. I don't want her living life oblivious to...the fact that...uhm...she doesn't know...uh...where'd you get that jelly?
Hmmm. She
must have bought it at some gourmet shop that specializes in imported foods,
right? Nope. Kroger. In fact, I was in there yesterday and their selection of
this French jelly was more varied than the store in Scotland. In essence, I
went to a whole lotta trouble to bring back something that was available 1.1
miles from my front door.
BUT…I have another
little treat for her up my sleeve. I discovered an incredible new band in
Ireland. They’re called U2 and I think they’re gonna be big.
(rw)
