Thursday, July 2, 2009
First overnight train
naturally, after partying with the aussies and norwegians we were a little tipsy. but mandy and i had already mapped out our route to the train station so we got there in record timing and hopped on board. obviously trying to save on dinero, we paid only 5 euros each and sat our butts in seats, mentally preparing for a 6 hour train ride...oh wait! no we didnt! there were two yahoos in our seats and it tooke me about 20 minutes to muster up the courage to ask them to move. this is where we truly got a glimpse, or rather...we truly got a FAT WHIFF of how europeans smell...in case you were wondering, absolutely awful! the man sitting between mandy and i and the other couple lifted his arms to help us put our bags above, and we both wanted to shout...dont help us! put your arms down! now! unfortunately, he was on our train for the next three hours...noooooo bueno! mandy and i nearly passed out from the heat and smell, but finally he got off and we pushed down our seats to make something almost equivalent to a twin bed and snuggled up. the couple next to us gave us a true, and very typical, display of overwhelming PDA, again so unacceptable! but at the same time, they pretty much only took up two seats, leaving mandy and i with 4 :) finally, we arrived in vienna, stashed our bags in a locker, and began to explore...
Monday, June 29, 2009
Germany and Prague
okay, so it has been quite an adventure thus far. last you all read we were just arriving in berlin...
berlin was a very interesting city with a lot of history. first thing to note, how so many of the tourist attractions revolve around one of the saddest points in history. it was almost depressing to wake up and say, oh, i cant wait to see the holocaust memorial and the berlin wall! so much tragedy is tied to this city, and the weather and buildings suited it. many of the buildings are concrete and very plain. the city itself looks harsh and i couldnt help but sense a haunting feeling. regardless, as tourists we definitely gave in and explored all the attractions. starting with parliament...we waited in a very very long line and took the elevator to the top. the dome is fantastic and here, we enjoyed a panoramic view of all of berlin. the glass and mirrored structure inside were phenomenal and several pictures were taken. continuing with our budget plan, we decided to walk the city. we walked through the main square and gazed in awe of the brandenberg gate. mandy thoroughly enjoyed petting every horse we walked by. next, we saw checkpoint charlie and the berlin wall. okay, why dont people ever talk about the second berlin wall? maybe mandy and i are alone in our ignorance, but i think most americans are not aware of the fact that two walls were built parallel to one anther. in between the two walls is where most people were shot and left to die. hence the great struggle people had in climbing the wall. you cross one only to realize you need to scale another. :( we also made our way to the holocaust memorial, well stumbled upon it actually. quite interesting for a memorial. it is made up of large tomb-like structures, varying in sizes. the museum was closed the day we were there, so i am not sure if this is accurate...but it reminded me of caskets stacked on top of one another, varying in length and height. next we saw the university and museum island. none of the museums were of particular interest to us, but germany did not fail us. the architecture and attention to detail on the buildings was incredible. i am sure, it would not seize to amaze my father. ;)
okay, so now for the fun part. berlin was not all tears and sadness...but actually quite fun too! we by chance arrived on the day of a huge cycling race, sooooo we enjoyed our first brat and german beer amongst the locals. the lange weiner was long indeed and quite delicious! we grabbed another beer, headed for the park, and then satisfied our sweet tooth with a banana and nutella crepe. yummmm yummmm! we also had our first encounter with a very rude german who refused to speak english or be helpful. we needed to make a train reservation and made our way back to our second home: the central train station. here, we met a woman who should have been helpful and instead laughed and snickered with her friend. No bueno for mandy and i. she finally booked our train ticket, but mandy was definitely put off by her attitude and lack of respect. i couldnt help but feel a tad guilty, since we, as americans, dont know another language and just assume everyone will be accommodating. oh well. hmm what else, happened in berlin? oh yes! okay so we discovered, yet again, that nothing is served cold! BUT we managed to find 1 euro beers at a supermarket, awesome! bought a bottle opener, realized europeans dont bag groceries or give you bags, had our first death by battery for our camera, shared 2 currywursts, and hopped on a train to prague...
by now, we knew how the train worked sooooo we bought a bottle of wine, poured it into our handy dandy nordstrom eco friendly bottles and were off! (green really is the new gorgeous..or at least a way for us to save 2 euro every time we want cold water) on the train, we met Dominic. an elder english man, living in berlin, and working as an english teacher. at first, he was not too friendly but then we all had a beer together and the lively older gentleman was a real treat. he gave us some friendly tips and after about 3 hours into our ride, stanley showed up. stanley was a young czech who worked at a hotel in prague. he commuted to work and dominic was determined to set us up with him. too precious. needless, to say after a bottle of wine and a beer, plus a day in the sun and little food, we were a bit tipsy getting off the train. but dominic was quick to guide us and we arrived at our stop: namasti republicky. awesome name! it has followed us all the way to italy :) once arriving at namasti republicky (go on say it out loud, so fun hahaha) we found a nice (did i mention very gooooood looking?) italian to show us the very looooooooong way to our hostel. we made it and sadly said farewell and quickly got dressed to go out. yes, we did not pass out immediately (maybe we are getting better at the whole travel, drink, eat little, walk way to much in one day, and still have energy to party!) we left the hostel to go visit stanley and he was so cute and awkward. but he was friendly enough and pointed us in a direction for a jazz club. too bad it was closed! soooo mandy and i were left to find a party on our own. no worries, we did. we joined in on a pub crawl that had already started, and being the only two girls we were definitely welcomed! we danced, drank some frugal, 2 beers, and didnt pay for a thing! success! we also met devin and kenneth, by day aka k-dolla by night! hahaha goooooood times. but after our very long day and night, we got walked to our door and said adios! little did we know, our night was not over...back at our room we met our 2 canadian roommates whom we chatted with for some time before passing out...significant because they enter our amazing story the next night...
the second day in prague was no bueno, weather wise. it was over cast and foggy and wet. but that did not hold me and mandy back! we ventured all over the city, took some horrible pictures of one another and attempted to take pictures of the historic spots: including, the charles bridge, castle, and old town. we enjoyed our first hot meal in a while, which was also a traditional czech dish: duck, pork, biscuits, gravy, goulash, and something that reminded us of polenta hahaha oh! and the best part! the two appetizers: asparagus with ham and cheese and spinach on top of a potatoe cake...scumptiously delicious! so with full tummies, we zig zagged our way back to the hostel. but along the way we found the infamous coo coo clock, in the city square...let me just tell you all, mandy and i waited for 20 minutes in the rain and this had to be the lamest coo coo clock we have ever seen!!!! the next day, we happen to pass it at the top of an hour and ended up taking pictures of the tourists because we couldnt believe just how many people go to see it!!! unbelievable! okay, so back to night number 2 in prague...enter the aussies: (crazy) carl, ben, and the two norwegians: martha and martine. ben and carl were unbelievably hilarious and can drink more than anyone i know! (meghan, you would truly love these two characters, especially ben. i can only hope you two meet one day lol) story time! carl actually slept with a prostitute from the red light district in amsterdam for 30 euros! (he got a discount because he is young...pshhhhh!) crazy carl comes out when he is drunk and even carl doesnt like crazy carl. the night we met carl, he found himself a sugardaddy who paid for his drinks all night. luckily, for carl, crazy carl did not go home with him haha! there are a lot of stories these characters brought to our lives but you will just have to ask us when we get back. as for the norwegians, we are definitely planning on visiting them on a eurotrip number 2! most interesting things we learned about norwegians: they only eat out-at most-5 times a year, they dont eat breakfast, they only drink out of bottled water no matter where they travel, and they dont have any interest in visiting america.
the next day, mandy and i explored some more and i bought a jacket (because i unfortunately forgot one). the day passed quickly and we bought some drinks and partied with our roommates and hopped on our first overnight train...to vienna...
berlin was a very interesting city with a lot of history. first thing to note, how so many of the tourist attractions revolve around one of the saddest points in history. it was almost depressing to wake up and say, oh, i cant wait to see the holocaust memorial and the berlin wall! so much tragedy is tied to this city, and the weather and buildings suited it. many of the buildings are concrete and very plain. the city itself looks harsh and i couldnt help but sense a haunting feeling. regardless, as tourists we definitely gave in and explored all the attractions. starting with parliament...we waited in a very very long line and took the elevator to the top. the dome is fantastic and here, we enjoyed a panoramic view of all of berlin. the glass and mirrored structure inside were phenomenal and several pictures were taken. continuing with our budget plan, we decided to walk the city. we walked through the main square and gazed in awe of the brandenberg gate. mandy thoroughly enjoyed petting every horse we walked by. next, we saw checkpoint charlie and the berlin wall. okay, why dont people ever talk about the second berlin wall? maybe mandy and i are alone in our ignorance, but i think most americans are not aware of the fact that two walls were built parallel to one anther. in between the two walls is where most people were shot and left to die. hence the great struggle people had in climbing the wall. you cross one only to realize you need to scale another. :( we also made our way to the holocaust memorial, well stumbled upon it actually. quite interesting for a memorial. it is made up of large tomb-like structures, varying in sizes. the museum was closed the day we were there, so i am not sure if this is accurate...but it reminded me of caskets stacked on top of one another, varying in length and height. next we saw the university and museum island. none of the museums were of particular interest to us, but germany did not fail us. the architecture and attention to detail on the buildings was incredible. i am sure, it would not seize to amaze my father. ;)
okay, so now for the fun part. berlin was not all tears and sadness...but actually quite fun too! we by chance arrived on the day of a huge cycling race, sooooo we enjoyed our first brat and german beer amongst the locals. the lange weiner was long indeed and quite delicious! we grabbed another beer, headed for the park, and then satisfied our sweet tooth with a banana and nutella crepe. yummmm yummmm! we also had our first encounter with a very rude german who refused to speak english or be helpful. we needed to make a train reservation and made our way back to our second home: the central train station. here, we met a woman who should have been helpful and instead laughed and snickered with her friend. No bueno for mandy and i. she finally booked our train ticket, but mandy was definitely put off by her attitude and lack of respect. i couldnt help but feel a tad guilty, since we, as americans, dont know another language and just assume everyone will be accommodating. oh well. hmm what else, happened in berlin? oh yes! okay so we discovered, yet again, that nothing is served cold! BUT we managed to find 1 euro beers at a supermarket, awesome! bought a bottle opener, realized europeans dont bag groceries or give you bags, had our first death by battery for our camera, shared 2 currywursts, and hopped on a train to prague...
by now, we knew how the train worked sooooo we bought a bottle of wine, poured it into our handy dandy nordstrom eco friendly bottles and were off! (green really is the new gorgeous..or at least a way for us to save 2 euro every time we want cold water) on the train, we met Dominic. an elder english man, living in berlin, and working as an english teacher. at first, he was not too friendly but then we all had a beer together and the lively older gentleman was a real treat. he gave us some friendly tips and after about 3 hours into our ride, stanley showed up. stanley was a young czech who worked at a hotel in prague. he commuted to work and dominic was determined to set us up with him. too precious. needless, to say after a bottle of wine and a beer, plus a day in the sun and little food, we were a bit tipsy getting off the train. but dominic was quick to guide us and we arrived at our stop: namasti republicky. awesome name! it has followed us all the way to italy :) once arriving at namasti republicky (go on say it out loud, so fun hahaha) we found a nice (did i mention very gooooood looking?) italian to show us the very looooooooong way to our hostel. we made it and sadly said farewell and quickly got dressed to go out. yes, we did not pass out immediately (maybe we are getting better at the whole travel, drink, eat little, walk way to much in one day, and still have energy to party!) we left the hostel to go visit stanley and he was so cute and awkward. but he was friendly enough and pointed us in a direction for a jazz club. too bad it was closed! soooo mandy and i were left to find a party on our own. no worries, we did. we joined in on a pub crawl that had already started, and being the only two girls we were definitely welcomed! we danced, drank some frugal, 2 beers, and didnt pay for a thing! success! we also met devin and kenneth, by day aka k-dolla by night! hahaha goooooood times. but after our very long day and night, we got walked to our door and said adios! little did we know, our night was not over...back at our room we met our 2 canadian roommates whom we chatted with for some time before passing out...significant because they enter our amazing story the next night...
the second day in prague was no bueno, weather wise. it was over cast and foggy and wet. but that did not hold me and mandy back! we ventured all over the city, took some horrible pictures of one another and attempted to take pictures of the historic spots: including, the charles bridge, castle, and old town. we enjoyed our first hot meal in a while, which was also a traditional czech dish: duck, pork, biscuits, gravy, goulash, and something that reminded us of polenta hahaha oh! and the best part! the two appetizers: asparagus with ham and cheese and spinach on top of a potatoe cake...scumptiously delicious! so with full tummies, we zig zagged our way back to the hostel. but along the way we found the infamous coo coo clock, in the city square...let me just tell you all, mandy and i waited for 20 minutes in the rain and this had to be the lamest coo coo clock we have ever seen!!!! the next day, we happen to pass it at the top of an hour and ended up taking pictures of the tourists because we couldnt believe just how many people go to see it!!! unbelievable! okay, so back to night number 2 in prague...enter the aussies: (crazy) carl, ben, and the two norwegians: martha and martine. ben and carl were unbelievably hilarious and can drink more than anyone i know! (meghan, you would truly love these two characters, especially ben. i can only hope you two meet one day lol) story time! carl actually slept with a prostitute from the red light district in amsterdam for 30 euros! (he got a discount because he is young...pshhhhh!) crazy carl comes out when he is drunk and even carl doesnt like crazy carl. the night we met carl, he found himself a sugardaddy who paid for his drinks all night. luckily, for carl, crazy carl did not go home with him haha! there are a lot of stories these characters brought to our lives but you will just have to ask us when we get back. as for the norwegians, we are definitely planning on visiting them on a eurotrip number 2! most interesting things we learned about norwegians: they only eat out-at most-5 times a year, they dont eat breakfast, they only drink out of bottled water no matter where they travel, and they dont have any interest in visiting america.
the next day, mandy and i explored some more and i bought a jacket (because i unfortunately forgot one). the day passed quickly and we bought some drinks and partied with our roommates and hopped on our first overnight train...to vienna...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
amsterdam and germany
okay...the adventure has begun, and as promised mandy and i are going to blog our journey throughout europe. [and by mandy and i, i really mean just me]
it all began on june 16th after a sleepless night. we stayed up packing and chatting and double checking to make sure we had everything: including, way too many cosmetics. after all, we need to make sure we don't smell european ;) we arrived at the airport thanks to a lovely sister of mine, who selflessly woke up at 4am! upon waiting in line, we realized the first thing we forgot...a watch. this actually turned out not to be a problem because there are clocks everywhere in europe! okay so after a flight from san jose to atlanta, lay over, flight from atlanta to gatwick (london), layover, flight to amsterdam, we were ready to...sleeeeeeeep. lame, we know. but while in london we met 3 guys: leandro the bartender who doesn't serve cold beer (booooo) ian the scottishman who lives in cypress, and lionel the frenchman who lives in cypress and loves my accent. psh, i don't have an accent! hahaha oh and how can i forget the lovely flight attendant whose husband is a pilot for easyjet whom made us walk from the north terminal to the south terminal and then the south terminal to the north terminal in london all because she was a stubborn arse! Thanks to the wonderful information guy, we proved that beezy wrong! at this point, we came to our second conclusion...we definitely should have practiced walking with our backpacks. they are heavy!!!!!!
so now we have finally arrived in amsterdam! and we were in search of our hostel, the flying pig uptown. we cant remember how we got from the airport to the train station, but it's safe to say, we did. from the train station we thought it would be a good idea to walk to our hostel. bad idea. sooooo after walking aimlessly in circles, we went to the tourist information desk and bought bus tickets. no strangers to the bus, we hopped on board and made our way to the flying pig. this hostel was awesome! we passed out immediately, after we realized that we would be sharing our room with 6 guys. sweet. hahaha
we woke up and met texas, two aussies, and two guys who slept facing one another in the shape of a heart, precious. then we went back to sleep. waking up early on the 18th, we went and found a shower. freeeeeeezing cold water and very little pressure, it was awful. but the free breakfast-consisiting of orange juice, an apple and a croissant (and lunch, since we took an extra croissant and apple) were nice to have after having not eaten for over 20 hours. so our grand tour of amsterdam began with us trying to find coffee. note to anyone planning on traveling to amsterdam: the city does not wake up until 9am. including coffee shops- and no, i am not referring to hash houses, rather coffffeeeeeeeeeee shops that actually serve coffee. so after paying upwards of 10 dollars for one shot of espresso each we started exploring. we walked all over the city, through the park, went to the van gough museum and sent videos home to our parents (disappointed in not seeing starry night), and hit up the heinekin brewery: awesome!!! created some more videos there, totally embarrassing- they were music videos to a dutch song, need i say more? haha so after a very long day we retired for a siesta. texas thinks all california girls do is sleep. however, we did wake up, met our new roommates: the floridians- justin and jd. we rallied and went bar hopping. coincidentally, our first stop was our coffee stop from that morning and we made friends with 2 guys from denmark. 10 shots of jager for 10 euros: best deal to date. after some indecisiveness we made our way to paradiso, cut in line, and paid 8 euros each to experience our first discoteca: awesome. we danced, drank (but not much because drinks are expensive!) and finally left in the weeeee hours of the morning. again we woke up super early the next morning, packed and peaced out of the flying pig. awkwardness the night before with the flordians caused us to leave extra early! again we got on a bus and headed for the train station.
arriving 10 minutes before our train was to depart, we got our eurorail passes stamped only to discover we needlessly bought global passes when all we needed were select passes. lesson number 3. this particular train ride was jinxed. first, we had to deboard the train after only an hour in order to board another. then our new train was delayed. then the tracks ahead were on fire. mandy and i got off in Klön, completely impromptu. but really we got off because we saw an amazing gothic cathedral! carrying all of our stuff we explored this bustling city. after the cathedral, we found the shopping, but more importantly, the apple store. along our journey in amsterdam, we found an apple store and realized we could use the internet for freeeee! so, again we sent out a couple quick emails and pretended to be interested in the newest iphone. then it was off to the train station. again, we boarded the train and headed to frankfurt. summing up frankfurt: lame. aesthetically, it kind of reminded me of boston, but only when we were along the river. after walking nearly 2 miles to the hostel, we learned our most important lesson. always book hostels in advance. this one was full. the hotel the receptionist recommended was in sketchy town and 75 euros a night. as nightfall was rapidly approaching we bought bus tickets and headed to the next cheapest hotel recommended by our travel books. 60 euros plus breakfast plus it was called the memphis hotel. perfect. it was time to catch some zzzzz's.
the next morning we ate a wonderful breakfast, still no american styled breakfast but i did try my first soft boiled egg! we snagged an extra croissant and two packets of nutella, and did a quick tour of the main square and then hopped on a train to heidelberg. in heidelberg we walked to a castle! yes, our first castle!!! and our main conclusion: we want a castle. why did people ever stop building them? it was beautiful, amazing, picturesque and breathtaking. that took most of our day, so then we halled our butts back to the train station. on this train we met a group of germans (andres, johnny, time, and leno) celebrating a bachelor party, and they were so much fun! we made it back to frankfurt, picked up our bags, bought a bottle of wine, wine opener, and toothpaste and hopped on another train headed for berlin. we quickly fell asleep and arrived in berlin. again, we decided to walk to our hostel and again, passed out. we woke up early, ate breakfast, and are finally documenting our journey :)
quick stories thus far that you can ask us about when we get back: bubbled bikini, alexandra the flight attendant, opening the wine bottle, consistent diet of dutch cheese and bread, bachelor party, jd, justin, wrong adapter, failure of a calling card, toasted straightner, no cord for our camera. yes, that last one is correct. mandy didn't think we were going to upload any pictures until we got back. lame, i know. if we find one, i'll probably buy it but until then...no pictures to share with all of you. :( we miss and love you all and can't wait to continue our european expedition!
it all began on june 16th after a sleepless night. we stayed up packing and chatting and double checking to make sure we had everything: including, way too many cosmetics. after all, we need to make sure we don't smell european ;) we arrived at the airport thanks to a lovely sister of mine, who selflessly woke up at 4am! upon waiting in line, we realized the first thing we forgot...a watch. this actually turned out not to be a problem because there are clocks everywhere in europe! okay so after a flight from san jose to atlanta, lay over, flight from atlanta to gatwick (london), layover, flight to amsterdam, we were ready to...sleeeeeeeep. lame, we know. but while in london we met 3 guys: leandro the bartender who doesn't serve cold beer (booooo) ian the scottishman who lives in cypress, and lionel the frenchman who lives in cypress and loves my accent. psh, i don't have an accent! hahaha oh and how can i forget the lovely flight attendant whose husband is a pilot for easyjet whom made us walk from the north terminal to the south terminal and then the south terminal to the north terminal in london all because she was a stubborn arse! Thanks to the wonderful information guy, we proved that beezy wrong! at this point, we came to our second conclusion...we definitely should have practiced walking with our backpacks. they are heavy!!!!!!
so now we have finally arrived in amsterdam! and we were in search of our hostel, the flying pig uptown. we cant remember how we got from the airport to the train station, but it's safe to say, we did. from the train station we thought it would be a good idea to walk to our hostel. bad idea. sooooo after walking aimlessly in circles, we went to the tourist information desk and bought bus tickets. no strangers to the bus, we hopped on board and made our way to the flying pig. this hostel was awesome! we passed out immediately, after we realized that we would be sharing our room with 6 guys. sweet. hahaha
we woke up and met texas, two aussies, and two guys who slept facing one another in the shape of a heart, precious. then we went back to sleep. waking up early on the 18th, we went and found a shower. freeeeeeezing cold water and very little pressure, it was awful. but the free breakfast-consisiting of orange juice, an apple and a croissant (and lunch, since we took an extra croissant and apple) were nice to have after having not eaten for over 20 hours. so our grand tour of amsterdam began with us trying to find coffee. note to anyone planning on traveling to amsterdam: the city does not wake up until 9am. including coffee shops- and no, i am not referring to hash houses, rather coffffeeeeeeeeeee shops that actually serve coffee. so after paying upwards of 10 dollars for one shot of espresso each we started exploring. we walked all over the city, through the park, went to the van gough museum and sent videos home to our parents (disappointed in not seeing starry night), and hit up the heinekin brewery: awesome!!! created some more videos there, totally embarrassing- they were music videos to a dutch song, need i say more? haha so after a very long day we retired for a siesta. texas thinks all california girls do is sleep. however, we did wake up, met our new roommates: the floridians- justin and jd. we rallied and went bar hopping. coincidentally, our first stop was our coffee stop from that morning and we made friends with 2 guys from denmark. 10 shots of jager for 10 euros: best deal to date. after some indecisiveness we made our way to paradiso, cut in line, and paid 8 euros each to experience our first discoteca: awesome. we danced, drank (but not much because drinks are expensive!) and finally left in the weeeee hours of the morning. again we woke up super early the next morning, packed and peaced out of the flying pig. awkwardness the night before with the flordians caused us to leave extra early! again we got on a bus and headed for the train station.
arriving 10 minutes before our train was to depart, we got our eurorail passes stamped only to discover we needlessly bought global passes when all we needed were select passes. lesson number 3. this particular train ride was jinxed. first, we had to deboard the train after only an hour in order to board another. then our new train was delayed. then the tracks ahead were on fire. mandy and i got off in Klön, completely impromptu. but really we got off because we saw an amazing gothic cathedral! carrying all of our stuff we explored this bustling city. after the cathedral, we found the shopping, but more importantly, the apple store. along our journey in amsterdam, we found an apple store and realized we could use the internet for freeeee! so, again we sent out a couple quick emails and pretended to be interested in the newest iphone. then it was off to the train station. again, we boarded the train and headed to frankfurt. summing up frankfurt: lame. aesthetically, it kind of reminded me of boston, but only when we were along the river. after walking nearly 2 miles to the hostel, we learned our most important lesson. always book hostels in advance. this one was full. the hotel the receptionist recommended was in sketchy town and 75 euros a night. as nightfall was rapidly approaching we bought bus tickets and headed to the next cheapest hotel recommended by our travel books. 60 euros plus breakfast plus it was called the memphis hotel. perfect. it was time to catch some zzzzz's.
the next morning we ate a wonderful breakfast, still no american styled breakfast but i did try my first soft boiled egg! we snagged an extra croissant and two packets of nutella, and did a quick tour of the main square and then hopped on a train to heidelberg. in heidelberg we walked to a castle! yes, our first castle!!! and our main conclusion: we want a castle. why did people ever stop building them? it was beautiful, amazing, picturesque and breathtaking. that took most of our day, so then we halled our butts back to the train station. on this train we met a group of germans (andres, johnny, time, and leno) celebrating a bachelor party, and they were so much fun! we made it back to frankfurt, picked up our bags, bought a bottle of wine, wine opener, and toothpaste and hopped on another train headed for berlin. we quickly fell asleep and arrived in berlin. again, we decided to walk to our hostel and again, passed out. we woke up early, ate breakfast, and are finally documenting our journey :)
quick stories thus far that you can ask us about when we get back: bubbled bikini, alexandra the flight attendant, opening the wine bottle, consistent diet of dutch cheese and bread, bachelor party, jd, justin, wrong adapter, failure of a calling card, toasted straightner, no cord for our camera. yes, that last one is correct. mandy didn't think we were going to upload any pictures until we got back. lame, i know. if we find one, i'll probably buy it but until then...no pictures to share with all of you. :( we miss and love you all and can't wait to continue our european expedition!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Mickie D's vs. Zazie
Old McDonald had a farm, e-i! e-i! o! And on that farm he had a chicken! e-i! e-i! o! With a "cluck cluck" here and a "cluck cluck"-wait, are there actually chickens on the McDonald's farm? to answer the question, yes. but lets take a look at what those chickens actually look like, because something tells me they are not joyfully "clucking".
so, at this point, you may be asking yourself...why is ashton (and chris, yes it is my blog but this was a collaborative effort) showing a PETA video on her blog? and why is she bashing mcdonald's? well, even though i am showing a PETA video, i am not entirely bashing mcdonald's; i don't think. is it possible to enjoy and support mcdonald's, but at the same time agree with PETA and demand for change? i think so, or at least i hope so...
okay, maybe now is a good time to shift into...REVERSE REVERSE!
as part of the eating san francisco class at usf, our last journey included eating dinner at Zazie and having "dessert" at mcdonald's. oh, and not just any mcdonald's, haight street mcdonald's! notorious, for the large homeless population, high crime rate, and drug dealing depot.
just when my parents thought i would be having class in the new k-hall building at usf...don't worry, we had a very intimidating, newly tenured professor with us ;)
so, why would we eat dinner at a fabulous restaurant like Zazie-a restaurant that prides itself on using organic milk and free, range, antibiotic and hormone-free eggs from local farms-and then move on to mcdonald's-a restaurant that is increasingly becoming a target for negativity and unhealthy eating. **note: check out the documentary: super size me"** i don't know if there is a simple answer to that question, but i think our professor wanted the class to reflect on the current book we are reading/read: Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma".
while reading this book, i was instantly reminded of another: Skinny Bitch
(chris, unfortunately has not read this book yet but i think i may have him convinced into reading it while he relaxes on the beach this summer ;) ) the overall premise of both books causes the reader to think about where their food is coming from...think about that for a second. where does your food come from? i don't mean the grocery store or the cafeteria or your roommate's pantry, but where is it made? now, do i have you scratching your head? the simple (yet oh so very mind boggling) answer: corn. yup, it's that easy. actually, it's not easy at all. but for the technicalities i suggest you pick up a copy of the omnivore's dilemma and find out all the gory details for yourself. the idea that we don't know where our food comes from, how it is made, how it is distributed, and what nutrients we are actually receiving is very scary. food is essential for life. and i think people are really starting to take that fact for granted.
so, mickie d's vs. zazie (with no "s").
zazie: local restaurant, cage-free animals, hormone-free and local eggs, organic milk, expensive, single location, small seating area, approximately 25 employees-courtesy of Nick-friendly, impeccable service, an experience. below is a video of the chefs preparing our delicious dish. several employees watched as i filmed this (not to mention the great company i was sitting with jessie, ashley, michael, and marco), and no one asked me to stop.
mickie d's: 31,000 worldwide locations, 1.5 million employees, cheap, convenient, fast, questionable farming practices, unhealthy, feeds more than 47 million people per day, huge charity organization: RMHC
below are some pictures i collected while waiting for my oreo cookie mcflurry to be made; the manager, after an employee informed her of what i was doing, asked me to put my camera away and stop taking pictures while inside mcdonald's...witness=laura
it looks like they both have pros and cons. which one is sustainable? i think that could be argued either way. but right now, during the Go Green and Organic phenomenon, people may be leaning towards supporting restaurants like Zazie and continuing to dig deeper into big franchise chains like McDonald's. and i think there is nothing wrong with asking more questions.
overall, i would love to eat at Zazie everyday, but is that practical for my pocketbook and time? no. but if more restaurants and more people thought not just about the business but what the business stands for, more places like Zazie would become more convenient, cheaper, and healthier!
just think about it...where does your food come from?
**note: something to look into...Professor Melinda Stone, with help of other USF students, created a how-to-homestead blog to inform and encourage people to become more aware of what it means to homestead: (courtesy of dictionary.com) a house, especially a farmhouse, with adjoining buildings and land.**
so, at this point, you may be asking yourself...why is ashton (and chris, yes it is my blog but this was a collaborative effort) showing a PETA video on her blog? and why is she bashing mcdonald's? well, even though i am showing a PETA video, i am not entirely bashing mcdonald's; i don't think. is it possible to enjoy and support mcdonald's, but at the same time agree with PETA and demand for change? i think so, or at least i hope so...
okay, maybe now is a good time to shift into...REVERSE REVERSE!
as part of the eating san francisco class at usf, our last journey included eating dinner at Zazie and having "dessert" at mcdonald's. oh, and not just any mcdonald's, haight street mcdonald's! notorious, for the large homeless population, high crime rate, and drug dealing depot.
just when my parents thought i would be having class in the new k-hall building at usf...don't worry, we had a very intimidating, newly tenured professor with us ;)
so, why would we eat dinner at a fabulous restaurant like Zazie-a restaurant that prides itself on using organic milk and free, range, antibiotic and hormone-free eggs from local farms-and then move on to mcdonald's-a restaurant that is increasingly becoming a target for negativity and unhealthy eating. **note: check out the documentary: super size me"** i don't know if there is a simple answer to that question, but i think our professor wanted the class to reflect on the current book we are reading/read: Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma".
while reading this book, i was instantly reminded of another: Skinny Bitch(chris, unfortunately has not read this book yet but i think i may have him convinced into reading it while he relaxes on the beach this summer ;) ) the overall premise of both books causes the reader to think about where their food is coming from...think about that for a second. where does your food come from? i don't mean the grocery store or the cafeteria or your roommate's pantry, but where is it made? now, do i have you scratching your head? the simple (yet oh so very mind boggling) answer: corn. yup, it's that easy. actually, it's not easy at all. but for the technicalities i suggest you pick up a copy of the omnivore's dilemma and find out all the gory details for yourself. the idea that we don't know where our food comes from, how it is made, how it is distributed, and what nutrients we are actually receiving is very scary. food is essential for life. and i think people are really starting to take that fact for granted.
so, mickie d's vs. zazie (with no "s").
zazie: local restaurant, cage-free animals, hormone-free and local eggs, organic milk, expensive, single location, small seating area, approximately 25 employees-courtesy of Nick-friendly, impeccable service, an experience. below is a video of the chefs preparing our delicious dish. several employees watched as i filmed this (not to mention the great company i was sitting with jessie, ashley, michael, and marco), and no one asked me to stop.
mickie d's: 31,000 worldwide locations, 1.5 million employees, cheap, convenient, fast, questionable farming practices, unhealthy, feeds more than 47 million people per day, huge charity organization: RMHC
below are some pictures i collected while waiting for my oreo cookie mcflurry to be made; the manager, after an employee informed her of what i was doing, asked me to put my camera away and stop taking pictures while inside mcdonald's...witness=laura
it looks like they both have pros and cons. which one is sustainable? i think that could be argued either way. but right now, during the Go Green and Organic phenomenon, people may be leaning towards supporting restaurants like Zazie and continuing to dig deeper into big franchise chains like McDonald's. and i think there is nothing wrong with asking more questions.
overall, i would love to eat at Zazie everyday, but is that practical for my pocketbook and time? no. but if more restaurants and more people thought not just about the business but what the business stands for, more places like Zazie would become more convenient, cheaper, and healthier!
just think about it...where does your food come from?
**note: something to look into...Professor Melinda Stone, with help of other USF students, created a how-to-homestead blog to inform and encourage people to become more aware of what it means to homestead: (courtesy of dictionary.com) a house, especially a farmhouse, with adjoining buildings and land.**
Monday, May 11, 2009
Difficult to Address and Difficult to Digest: Rape in the Military
By: Ashton Bothman and Meghan Raab
Rape is not a word that slips off the tongue smoothly or enters the ear gracefully. Even more taboo is the sound of the words "rape" and "U.S. military" within the same sentence. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that a GAO report on July 31, 2008 found that as many as 50% of rape and sexual assault cases are not reported within the military. Rape and sexual assault are often used interchangeably, so, to clarify: sexual assault is an umbrella that encompasses rape.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sexual violence is any sexual act that is forced against someone's will, including: physical, verbal or psychological. There are four types of sexual violence...
1. A completed sex act is defined as contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus involving penetration, however slight, contact between the mouth and penis, vulva, or anus; or penetration of the anal or genital opening of another person by a hand, finger, or other object.
2. An attempted (but not completed) sex act.
3. Abusive sexual contact is defined as intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person.
4. Non-contact sexual abuse is defined as abuse that does not involve physical contact. Examples of non-contact sexual abuse include voyeurism; intentional exposure of an individual to exhibitionism; pornography; verbal or behavioral sexual harassment; threats of sexual violence; and taking nude photographs of a sexual nature of another person.
By definition rape is only a completed sex act. Whew, now that technicalities are out of the way, lets continue...
In the military rape happens, rape goes un-reported, and rape is common. Former Red Cross employee Ingrid Torres explains how she was raped by a military doctor.
Torres is not alone. While working within the actual institution meant to protect our country, all citizens alike, it is appalling to see the number of women who have become victims of such heinous acts--robbed of their most personal freedom. The following testimonies give just a glimpse of the devastation:
"The sexual harassment and abuse began in basic training."
"Maricela Guzman served in the Navy from 1998 to 2002 as a computer technician on the island of Diego Garcia, and later in Naples, Italy. She was raped while in boot camp, but was too scared to talk about the assault for the rest of her time in the military. "
"Like countless others, Guzman learned early that the culture of the military promoted silence about sexual assault. Her experience over the years has convinced her that sexual violence is a systemic problem in the military."
"I was raped. Just that simple."
"I was abducted by 3 local men while at Fleet landing waiting for our liberty boat to arrive, driven to the mountains, beaten and raped. I survived physically- but not emotionally."
"It's not bad enough rape was an accepted fact, but the psychological abuse that came with it was almost harder to handle. "
Let's be honest, being a woman in general has its challenges. While being a female is not nearly as problematic as it has been in the past, the feminist movement has not funneled through every aspect of society. The Military is undoubtedly an example of this. Women do not feel equal, whether they are "one of the boys," or not. From the view of one Vietnam War vet, "Women Can't Fight." His perspective is reiterated in an article by The Tribune-Star. “[Women’s] presence at institutions dedicated to the preparation of men for combat command is poisoning that preparation,” the Navy vet wrote in 1979. “By attempting to sexually sterilize the Naval Academy environment in the name of equality, this country has sterilized the whole process of combat and leadership training, and our military forces are doomed to suffer the consequences.” Almost 30 years later, the problem still exists. USF student, Caitlin Ryan, reports on what it is like to be "just a girl" in the university's ROTC program.
Sexual violence is emotionally overwhelming to begin with, and the challenges women face reporting these unspeakable crimes adds to this pain. The list seems endless: There is an abuse of power. Sadly, a lack of anonymity. And the fear of simply saying it aloud; some feminists call this the "second rape". The latter has been displayed through the stories of all rape victims, not just those within the Military. A quote included above displays this fear--Maricela Guzman had the burden of keeping her rape a secret until she dissociated from the Navy. In an article by IPS News, she describes the emotional turmoil she endured after leaving; her rape became all the more real back at home. It affected every aspect of her personal life because she had not dealt with it: "After undergoing a divorce, a failed suicide attempt and homelessness, she moved in with her parents." She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but after working through her issues, felt "compelled to talk about what happened". The reasons why Guzman felt she could not talk about what happened before leaving the Military are personal; however, it is important to note that there may be a connection to the legal structure of the armed forces. A bi-annual publication of The Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs entitled "Connections" details some of these problems in the issue, "Military Culture and Sexual Assault Victims". For example, there are no victim protection statutes. "As a result, what many of us understand as rape shield laws that serve to protect victims from unnecessary discrimination and victim blaming do not exist." Another problem lies in the hierarchical "chain of command" system that has been a staple of the Military since its creation. "Higher ranked persons [have] authority over lower ranked persons." This ladder of authority makes it difficult for victims to step up to the challenge of dealing with instances of sexual violence. Individuals in charge of an entire unit/base are given the responsibility of handling the assaults. This person may know both of the individuals involved, which leaves room for subjectivity. And because "command discretion empowers commanders to decide if the case goes forward to court martial," this is obviously a huge problem. In the New York National Guard a woman by the name of Jen Hogg helped a friend report a sexual assault. The friend was unable to identify the man who harmed her; therefore, once she reported the crime to her drill sergeant, he punished ALL the men and let them know the identity of the victim. “After this incident many of the males said harassing things to her as they passed her during training, so much so that she regretted having addressed the issue,” Hogg continued, “You can be ostracized as the woman who had dared to speak up. Women willing to speak up are trained to shut up, which results in an atmosphere of silence. After my experiences in basic and advanced individual training I never reported an incident again.”
Reporting rape that occurs within the Military is problematic, but what's more disturbing is the steady increase of occurences of sexual violence. During an interview with PBS, Dr. Patricia Resick from the Women's Division National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Department of Veterns Affairs sheds light as to why there has been such a surge in military rape.
This next video is a clip taken from a hearing regarding Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. The woman speaking is her mother Mary Lauterbach. Mary Lauterbach describes how her daughter accused a superior officer of rape, and the case did not go anywhere. More specifically, the military did not take Lauterbach's accusation seriously and dismissed it based on the fact that she was a "compulsive liar". By the time Maria was eleven months pregnant, she went missing; later her remains, along with her unborn child were found in Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean's backyard. Laurean was the same man Lauterbach had accused of sexual assault.
HOW THE MEDIA COVERS RAPE: DIFFICULTIES, INCONSISTENCIES, BIAS
With all of these complications surrounding the sensitive and difficult topic of rape and sexual assault, especially in the military, it comes as no surprise that news outlets are inconsistent with its coverage. Furthermore, while investigating rape allegations, media already shapes audience perceptions. The notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty is a far cry from how media depicts the characters of the story. Automatically, there is a victim and an offender, before a trial takes place.
The front page from the San Francisco Examiner on February 17th, 2009 used extremely large letters reading "USF HOSTS A PREDATOR". A story followed regarding the alleged rape of four USF students by a USF ROTC cadet, Ryan Caskey. This is a free newspaper distributed across the city. On that February morning all San Francisco residents woke to find a headline that caused them to immediately create a negative and guilty predisposition of Caskey, before a trial ever took place. The font was so obnoxiously large that even if a person were to only pick up the paper to dispose of it in his/her recycling bin, the message would not be lost. Of course, the news should report the story, but should they be sensitive to the possibility that Caskey might be innocent? Caskey is more than just an alleged rapist. He is a son, friend, boyfriend, student, cadet, and a human being. Does he not deserve the right to keep his innocence until proven guilty? Some would argue that simply being accused is enough to ruin his reputation. But because of those allegations his name will be forever tarnished, not to mention he received an immediate dismissal from USF: a place he made his home for three years, a place he bravely signed his life over to the army in order to serve and protect his country. But none of those facts were taken into consideration once he became an alleged rapist.
Another consideration news organizations make is whether to share the victims' names. A perfect example of this came from a story regarding two girls who went missing. An amber alert was put into effect and the two girls were found. So, what was the catch? Throughout the days the girls were missing, their names were publicized. However, once they were found, reports said the girls had been brutally raped. Now, news agencies were faced with a moral dilemma. Should the latest reports include the victims' names? Some media chose to print the names, and some did not. But what is the right thing to do? Or asked in another way: what is the ethical thing to do? There wasn't, and still isn't, a cookie cutter recipe for this type of storytelling. (A link to a journal article excerpt discussing whether or not it is appropriate to identify rape victims.)
Following the allegations of rape at USF's campus, immediate outcry came from students and faculty. Weekly forums were created to openly discuss rape. Groups of students formed to ignite change. One such group wrote a letter to Father Privett and the Board of Trustees, later printed in the campus newspaper The Foghorn, demanding for a curriculum change for all ROTC students.
USFtv covered forums and interviewed student activists. As a reporter for USFtv, it was easy to find students, faculty, and public safety representatives to interview. However, it was extremely difficult, and ultimately impossible, to interview a representative of ROTC. When asked for an interview, cadets said they were "not allowed to talk to the media in uniform". Since USF ROTC cadets are also students, reporters asked to conduct the interview while the members were in civilian clothing. The answer received every time was "we were told by our superiors not to discuss this topic with anyone". This is the same difficulty professional reporters face when writing stories about rape in the military. Military personnel are rarely allowed to be interviewed. Furthermore, only specific, very high-ranking officers can give "official" interviews. Consequently, stories are often more one-sided and skewed towards the defense of the victims. A national case that displayed this problem involved a court hearing demanding, through a subpoena, that Dr. Kaye Whitley, Director of the Department of Defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, be present during a congressional hearing addressing rape in the military did not show. Why wasn't she in attendance for the hearing? Because her superiors at the Pentagon commanded her not to go.
Back to USF media...The Foghorn wrote several articles about the alleged rape. The first article, written to announce the story, followed the same stigmas used by national news outlets in terms of language and the concealment of the victims identities. Of course, several opinion articles followed: defending Caskey and bashing him. In addition, the Foghorn continued to write stories surrounding the topic of rape in almost every issue that followed. The semester proceeded with weekly forums, group meetings, lectures, and open discussions about rape and the military.
Media fury ensued, not only at USF but throughout the bay area. As a result, a tabooo topic on USF's Jesuit campus became a part of several students' everyday conversation.
This case study demonstrates the power of media, especially on a college campus. An example on the national front came from an investigative piece produced by reporters at KPRC in Houston, Texas back in 2002. The story entitled "DNA Protects Men of Dishonor" won a coveted Peabody Award in 2003. DNA is collected from every person who joins the military. However, if someone within the military is accused of rape, DNA discovered during the investigation could not be cross examined with DNA on file. After the series of stories aired, federal law changed allowing for DNA to be used in criminal investigations. Again, this is another example of the power of media.
People have addressed rape stories for years and although only in the last few decades has it become a national topic, various groups (usually feminists) have formed to creatively discuss this uncomfortable issue. Three women interviewed by Media Watch demonstrate how they brought the discussion of rape to the UCSC campus by performing dramatic readings in a production of The Vagina Monologues. (This is a link where you can download the podcast of the interview which includes the readings.)
As previously mentioned, reporters face several difficulties when producing stories about rape, especially rape within the military. Although the uncomfortable topic of rape has finally reached a point where it is actually being reported in national news, the root of the topic still causes journalists to wade in uncharted waters. Inherently causing its audience to also feel seasick during the journey. We leave you with this personal encounter...While working on this post a male student walks into our office and asks "what are you doing?" We casually answer, "researching and writing a blog post about rape in the military." Quickly and anxiously the male student responds, "oh, then I'm leaving", and immediately escapes through the open door. Symbolically this story encompasses all that stems from mentioning the dreaded word, RAPE.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
chicken feet
as part of the eating san francisco class at usf, i joined my classmates and professor on an adventure through chinatown. always unsure of what to expect during our excursions, this one was no different. zigzagging our way through the streets we made our first stop at the tien hau temple located at 125 waverly place (joy luck club, anyone?). although i was absolutely fascinated with being there and learning what it stands for, watching nick receive and read his fortune in front of the class (lucky it was a GREAT one!) was definitley the best part. unfortunately i need to move on because obviously "tien hau" is not the title of this post...
chicken feet...lost in translation...phoenix talons
that's right folks, chicken feet. and i'm just going to spoil it and skip to the good stuff...I ATE THEM! now, to someone completely unaccustomed to the idea of eating chicken feet, this may seem surprising...but to someone who knows me, surprising doesn't even begin to describe the reaction i received upon sharing this news...
alyssa (lil' sister): "YOU ate WHAT??? no way! no way! you don't even like my feet or her feet or YOUR feet, but you can eat chicken feet? you're weird..."
mandy: "why would YOU do that? i don't believe you. you HATE feet! but you can eat chicken feet?"
katie: "how are you feeling? oh! i get it, you don't like to touch or look at feet, but eating them is acceptable. good to know"
is it obvious now? i hate feet. i don't know why but i just don't like them. toes most especially. but for whatever reason, when michael said it was by far his favorite dish i had to try 'em! and try 'em i did, proof thanks to ali
after much research and talking with a man who was brought up in a strict chinese household, here's what i learned. the direct translation usually is chicken feet, however more poetically known as phoenix talons. rich in cartilage, this delicacy is quite delicious! prepared in a variety of ways, but here is one simple recipe that he pointed me to. (simple, if you can get your hands on some quality feet)
chicken feet...lost in translation...phoenix talons
that's right folks, chicken feet. and i'm just going to spoil it and skip to the good stuff...I ATE THEM! now, to someone completely unaccustomed to the idea of eating chicken feet, this may seem surprising...but to someone who knows me, surprising doesn't even begin to describe the reaction i received upon sharing this news...
alyssa (lil' sister): "YOU ate WHAT??? no way! no way! you don't even like my feet or her feet or YOUR feet, but you can eat chicken feet? you're weird..."
mandy: "why would YOU do that? i don't believe you. you HATE feet! but you can eat chicken feet?"
katie: "how are you feeling? oh! i get it, you don't like to touch or look at feet, but eating them is acceptable. good to know"
is it obvious now? i hate feet. i don't know why but i just don't like them. toes most especially. but for whatever reason, when michael said it was by far his favorite dish i had to try 'em! and try 'em i did, proof thanks to ali
after much research and talking with a man who was brought up in a strict chinese household, here's what i learned. the direct translation usually is chicken feet, however more poetically known as phoenix talons. rich in cartilage, this delicacy is quite delicious! prepared in a variety of ways, but here is one simple recipe that he pointed me to. (simple, if you can get your hands on some quality feet)make sure to wash the chicken feet first and chop off toenails. cut the feet into quarters.
what you will need:
1 pound chicken feet
2 quarts oil
2 quarts water
1 ounce fresh ginger
3 pieces star anise
2 ounces Chinese parsley roots
2 ounces maltose sugar (see note)
marinade:
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
1 ounce chopped chile pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon black bean sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil
heat the oil and mix the chicken feet with maltose sugar. fry them until they are golden brown. it should take about 7 minutes. remove the feet and drain.
boil water and add ginger, star anise and parsley roots. add the chicken feet. bring the mixture to a boil again. then reduce the heat and simmer them for 90 minutes. drain.
combine marinade ingredients and marinate the feet for 24 hours. before serving, steam the feet and marinade for 15 minutes.
so, the next time you have a little dinner party, surprise them with some culture and sweetness! enjoy!
delicious dish
i am not a cook. i am a lot of things, but a creative chef is not one of them. nevertheless, i have one specialty in the kitchen...breakfast. something about waking up in the morning, the start of a new day, and smelling fresh coffee brewing makes the (very small) chef in me want to whip up a delicious dish. so for my esf project i surprised my roommates and cooked the perfect omelette. 6 eggs, diced onion, fresh spinach, mixed shredded cheese, sundried tomatoes, and honey turkey hmm hmmm delicioso!
so after i had all of my ingredients so nicely placed in bowls, i fired up the stove and prepared to cook with two pans a frying, ambitious, i know. my mom taught me to grease pans with a little bit of olive oil instead of butter, so after greasing both pans i began sizzling the onions. once they began to become translucent i added the spinach (it seems like a lot of spinach but once it cooks, boy do those leaves shrink!).
next i added the turkey and the sundried tomatoes to the spinach and onions. allowing the ingredients to blend, and creating quite a colorful arrangement!
now i turned to my second pan...pouring the soupy scrambled eggs in...after a minute or so, i sprinkled the cheese on top of the eggs *side note* it was awesome cooking with 6 eggs! i don't have a million different sizes and styles of pans so usually with a 2 egg omelette, the pan i use is too big and causes the eggs to be flatter and therefore, i have the tendency to turn it into a scramble. with 6 eggs it was much easier to create FLUFFY omelettes!
finally, combining the ingredients!
after a little more sizzle, it was time to flip! at this point, my roommates were completely enthralled and very impressed (it is extremely rare for them to see me in the kitchen!) moment of truth, with an audience and only one chance to make the perfect omelette, i twirled my spatula and slowly began to lift my creation...
VOILA!
slicing the omlette into 3's, and carefully moving them onto plate, i poured myself a glass of juice (and yes, that is a vodka bottle in the background...) and sat down to enjoy breakfast :)
apparently, it was good :) now time for dishes...who's on clean up?? ;)
so after i had all of my ingredients so nicely placed in bowls, i fired up the stove and prepared to cook with two pans a frying, ambitious, i know. my mom taught me to grease pans with a little bit of olive oil instead of butter, so after greasing both pans i began sizzling the onions. once they began to become translucent i added the spinach (it seems like a lot of spinach but once it cooks, boy do those leaves shrink!).
next i added the turkey and the sundried tomatoes to the spinach and onions. allowing the ingredients to blend, and creating quite a colorful arrangement!
now i turned to my second pan...pouring the soupy scrambled eggs in...after a minute or so, i sprinkled the cheese on top of the eggs *side note* it was awesome cooking with 6 eggs! i don't have a million different sizes and styles of pans so usually with a 2 egg omelette, the pan i use is too big and causes the eggs to be flatter and therefore, i have the tendency to turn it into a scramble. with 6 eggs it was much easier to create FLUFFY omelettes!finally, combining the ingredients!
after a little more sizzle, it was time to flip! at this point, my roommates were completely enthralled and very impressed (it is extremely rare for them to see me in the kitchen!) moment of truth, with an audience and only one chance to make the perfect omelette, i twirled my spatula and slowly began to lift my creation...VOILA!
slicing the omlette into 3's, and carefully moving them onto plate, i poured myself a glass of juice (and yes, that is a vodka bottle in the background...) and sat down to enjoy breakfast :)
apparently, it was good :) now time for dishes...who's on clean up?? ;)
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