Backpacking Across Europe (Spain)

John and I set out backpacking across Europe at the beginning of March, 2010. Okay I am exaggerating a bit as we only traveled through 3 countries in 2 weeks and even though we did have backpacks, it wasn't like we were roughing it by camping - no we stayed in hotels and traveled by train.

As it was our first time overseas, it was quite an experience. We flew from Saskatoon to Chicago (3 hours), Chicago to London (8 hours) and from London to Madrid (2 hours). It was a long flight and we literally had to run to each of our connecting flights as we definitely would have missed them had we walked to our gates considering how huge the airports were. The weirdest thing about our flight was on one of them, they served milk in a plastic tube that was approx. 2 tablespoons worth - odd. Just for your reference, Madrid is 7 hours ahead of Saskatoon.

Once we arrived in Madrid, it was literally the first time I felt like a true foreigner as I made the mistake of thinking everyone could speak English. Our backpacks, that literally had everything in it minus our credit cards and passport, missed the connecting flight from London to Madrid so after some discussion, we made a claim for our bags and tried to find our hotel (I was a bit more worried about my backpack as I had borrowed it from a good friend after finding out how much a new one costs).

The weather wasn't that great, probably around 0 the entire time we were there but we later found out we missed a major storm that was an anomaly so I was thankful for the 0 degree weather and it was still nicer than home (usually it is hot out around this time). As we didn't have our backpacks we decided to walk and explore the city. It should be noted that Madrid streets are NOT set up on a grid system, at least their main city area isn't, so finding our hotel was hard. We had a map but every street started with Casa. It was made even harder after realizing I wrote the address down wrong, oh well, at least I tried. We ended up going to a different hotel who was nice enough to phone the correct one to confirm they still had our room booked. Even after learning where the hotel was, it was still hard to find it. I even resorted in asking a local where it was and she spoke to me in Spanish and pointed the way.

We finally checked into our room where I had my first run in with a bidet :P The hotel staff were super nice and spoke a bit of English. They were nice enough to call on our behalf (in Spanish) to inquire about our bags which were delivered the next day at 10:00. The food in Madrid was awesome, Spanish people love their tapas, jambon (ham) and socializing. The city had numerous squares as a reference point when locating certain locations and the architecture was unbelievable (it makes Saskatoon look a bit dull) . I made John go to the zoo which was surprisingly huge and fun. We also went to the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia where it was the first time I discovered you can take photos of certain paintings.

We stayed in Madrid for 3 nights and then took a train to Barcelona. The difference between Madrid and Barcelona was almost night and day. Madrid was much more conservative where people were fairly dressed up and Barcelona was more modern. We stayed in a hotel that was 5 minutes away from the beach but again the weather was not cooperating and rained off and on. We spent a lot of time walking around, exploring the Rambla street and huge seafood market. I had my first experience touring a castle and seeing the Segrada Familia which completely blew me away with all the details that went into constructing such an enormous church as well as Antoni Gaudi's other creation, La Pedrera. Photos of both Madrid and Barcelona can be found here.

In general, these are some of the differences I experienced about Spain:

1. More conservative overall in general
2. Bidets - do I need to say more
3. Half glass shower partitions (no doors)
4. Hotels are small
5. Spanish people love their tapas and eating late; certain meals comes in a certain way without providing you other alternatives (ie eggs are cooked sunny side up)
6. Naps are a necessity as shops open late in the morning and close for a portion of the afternoon
7. Street are very narrow; people love their scooters and there are no trucks; there are numerous squares where street performers perform at
8. A lot of people smoke
9. Alcohol is cheap but they don't have pints or schooners of beer; Usually the selection of alcohol is limited as they just serve the best wines to begin with
10. Metros are very easy to figure out and cheap to get around
11. Tipping is low and not really done
12. Pop still comes in bottles (no fountain pop) and people love to drink sparkling water

Stay tuned for a review of France and Italy.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Every Halloween the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon shows "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. Having never gone to experience theshow but wanting to each year, I jumped at the chance to go when the company I went with had never seen it either.

Arriving at the theatre I was in for a shock as I had no clue what the movie was about and wasexpecting the normal Halloween scary costumes. Instead I found myself surrounded by male cross dressers scantily clad like the main character of the movie along with young females wearing nothing but bustiers, skimpy panties and fishnet stockings, again like the main character of the movie. It was crazy to see, especially the guys, how far they went to look like the main character (shudder).

We sat down and I highly enjoyed people watching as people meandered in, wearing various costumes mimicking characters from the show. The company with me had a little bit more background of the show and brought the necessary items to throw at the appropriate times during the movie - toast, toilet paper and newspapers. I had no idea what I was in for.

The director of the theatre came on stage and said we were fairly tame versus the crowd the night before as no one was able to hear what he was saying due to the noise level. He then started off the movie with a quick contest for the best costume. Naturally there were the few that were dressed up as something other than the characters of the movie and it was apparent they were not in the running. Once the winners were chosen, the director got off stage and the movie started.

It must be made known this movie was produced in 1975 and you can definitely tell with the opening scene. Without spoiling what the movie is about, it is definitely not a thriller but a musical with Meatloaf making an appearance in it. The audience participation, however is what made the movie. From the opening lines, "Asshole" was yelled out whenever the character Brad spoke and "Slut" was yelled out when the character Janet spoke. It wasn't apparent at first why the audience was saying this but it became obvious near the middle of the film. Other highlights of the experience included the audience interaction - taking out newspapers and covering their heads as water pistols were brought out to re-enact the storm scene. Toast was thrown in the theatre naturally during a supper scene and toilet paper was tossed with the character Dr. Scott came on screen. Either way, I thought it was a good and entertaining experience for the $15 that I paid to get in but I probably won't go to see it again. It is just one of those things you should experience once in a lifetime.

In order to understand my point of views is to know me

I've been following a number of blogs for a while and I read all kinds of posts along with their comments, mostly good, some mind provoking, some critical. With the critical ones, I understand the tendency for people to want to tell the truth, provide constructive criticism, be a devil's advocate, provoke a debate but the odd instances I feel the reader should take the time to learn more about their author, to understand where they are coming from and what their personality is like to know why they wrote what they did before they attack them. We all go through experiences differently and even if we did go through the exact same experience I bet you we would each tell a different story.

For that reason, this post is about me. Selfish as that is, I want you to get to know me and understand the personality behind the posts (far between as they are) and why I chose to write them. Yes I realize at this point I probably lost a lot of readers but those that continue to read the rest I thank you.

I am first and foremost Asian. What does that have to do with anything? Nothing really except that I am proud of my background (though I wished I knew more about my family history and could speak the language - it also makes me short), have the chubbiest face known to mankind and am frugal. We like to eat out lots and because of that, I watch my spending in other areas and rarely go out any other times.

I am fiercely competitive for as long as I recall. We would have math tests in elementary school and I recall thinking to myself I had to beat the boys in my class and that there was no coming in second place. I recall participating in track and field and thinking the blue ribbons didn't even compare to the red ribbons. I am also most competitive when it comes to anything where I have to face off against guys as I hate the mentality that guys are better than girls - that just irks me. I hate losing and I hate giving up. This is not to say if I lost I wouldn't congratulate the winner, it just meant I had to try that much harder the next time. I will try anything and keep at it until I become good at it (unless I get absolutely bored of it).

I am also extremely stubborn. This often gets me into a lot of debates, some which I know from the moment I start I know I will lose but I cannot back down. I am most stubborn when I want those around me to enjoy things, but because they know I love it as well they will not take it. At times I am so stubborn I act like a two year old. Thanks mom and dad for giving me this trait.

I am also a positive person, I look on the bright side of things even when things are down. When things are down, I look for the good as there is ALWAYS something good in everything, you might just have to search harder for it. I like to remain upbeat and positive as the times that I am down, I didn't care for it and I truly am the only person that can control my destiny. Being down puts me in a victim mentality when I know for a fact that I can change my situation and that the world really does not revolve around me.

I am also a hard worker - boredom drives me to play silly games where my competitiveness doesn't allow me to be second best. This drives me crazy. I love to work and if I won a million dollars, I would probably still work, maybe just not as hard and travel more (feel free to give me a million dollars so I can prove this point). I like working as a team, regardless of hierarchy as you are only as rich as the company you work for or own is and it is rare to become rich on your own. I don't understand people who walk around with a chip on their shoulder or act better than you - what does this prove? Bottom line is, the busier I am, the more productive I feel, the happier I am.

I also love to eat - I will eat almost anything that is not found in the fruits and vegetable group. Give me a medium rare steak any day of the week and I will be a happy camper. What more is there to say?

This is me in a nut shell. I could go on but I'm afraid I probably lost all my readers or put everyone to sleep. However if anyone wants me to go on just say the word.

The Keg disappointed me like I had just broken up with my boyfriend

Okay so I am exaggerating slightly, it wasn't that traumatic but it was close. (Disclaimer you should know: I absolutely love a medium rare steak with red wine and the Keg had yet to disappoint me... until now [yes I know, melodramatic, cue the music, dum dum dum]). We frequent the Keg quite often, more often than the normal human being should and yes, there were the odd times (like once in a blue moon)the steak wasn't cooked quite to perfection but they've always been excellent at making up for it so I can't hold it against them for it (never mind the fact we had a server who was absolutely awesome when we sat down at a table in the lounge only to have an irate woman tell us we butted in line when we honestly didn't know there was a line to begin with and thought people were just milling around the entrance after being fulfilled from a massive supper and enjoyable company - that is another story for a different time [if she had been nicer we would have no problem giving up the table to her but the server said not to bother]).

However, at a time where I was craving a medium rare blue cheese fillet, I chose to go to the Key instead of the opening of Folkfest where a variety of food was offered up for the taking, never mind it holds fond memories. My husband and I like to sit at the bar which probably was our first mistake but we've never run into a problem before doing so and like to reserve larger tables for bigger groups instead of just the two of us. We chose seating at the bar that was on the other end close to the transaction machine. After settling in, we were greeted by one of the 3 bartenders who asked us what we would like and if we would like a beverage. After ordering a martini that contained basil, he left promptly only to come back to state they were out of basil. No big deal. We then ordered vodka martinis and off he went to make them. While he was off making our concoctions, another bartender came up and asked if we had been served. We proceeded to say yes but asked for menus which he promptly gave us. Our martinis came shortly after and that was the last we received any service.

At the time, we thought nothing of it and decided what delectable meal we wanted out of the vast selection. We closed our menus and enjoyed our delicious martinis and wonderful company. It was soon after we realized that we weren't going to be served as numerous drinks were served (and don't get us wrong, we realize we were sitting at the bar). However after seeing a bartender open a box of new wine glasses and polish them while another one glanced at our closed menus and checked his phone in front of us, it was obvious we were not going to be served. Normally this wouldn't bother us but let's face it, we arrived shortly after 7 and after 40 minutes I was starving. I could understand that the bar was busy serving drinks but in the end, not a single drink ticket came in for a good 5 minutes and I am fully aware of how long of a wait it is to be served a succulent steak once ordered. I was heartbroken.

Finally after much discussion, as I hate to give up on my favorite restaurant that serves my #1 meal and my husband hates conflict, I asked for the bill for our martinis. I stated that since we weren't getting served, I would like our bill and that we were going elsewhere. Without hesitation and NO effort to try to save us as customers we got our bill with a minute apology and left to a place that served a very delicious meal, one I would almost consider to be a competitor of theirs with a smaller steak selection (but seeing as it's not about the competitor I won't say where we went). I would like to blame this on new bartenders or even a busy restaurant but seriously, if the first reason is the issue, train your staff better and it definitely can't be the second as they were polishing new wine glasses and checking their phones. Overall I am truly disappointed in the Keg and may have to reconsider my choices when craving a steak even though I was once a loyal Keg fan.

Joey's Only Seafood Restaurant

I am a big fan of seafood, especially lobster and King/Snow crab.  A BIG fan.  So big I like seafood as much as I love steaks, that is how much I love seafood.

Anyway, I think I am a pretty adventurous person when it comes to trying out restaurants and after listening to the numerous radio ads for 'Joey's Only Seafood' and seeing their 'All you can eat King crab' everytime I drove down 8th street, I decided to try it out.  So goes the adventure...

We arrived at the restaurant shortly after 7 to be greeted by the only waitress on staff serving approximately 15-ish tables.  The restaurant was quite busy and after having the waitress tell us she would clean a table right away, we waited for a good 30 minutes before being seated (good thing I had my itouch).  The food had better be good.

The restaurant itself reminded me of a toned down Red Lobster with lobster traps and fake fish hanging off the walls.  The most impressive thing about the restaurant decor was the chalk drawings depicting an octopus and a fish.  The seating are is nothing to write home about.

After being seated, we found out they did not have any beer on tap which wasn't surprising as it had a family atmosphere.  Their menu did have a wide selection of items, where each day was all you can eat shrimp for $19 and all you can eat king crab for $35 on Wednesdays.  Unfortunately the day we went was not Wednesday.

Having selected the 1 pound Snow Crab with my 2 side dishes of garlic toast and ceasar salad, John went with their salmon and rice pilaf and the vegetable of the day (peas - gross).  We proceeded to play checkers on my itouch while we waited and just as I was about to make a game winning move, our food came.

The food itself was medicore.  The crab was definitely boiled and if their goal was to boil the flavor out of the crab they definitely succeeded.  I accommodated this by drenching my snow crab in butter which my stomach later told me was not a good idea.  The garlic toast was the standard garlic toast you could find in other restaurants while the ceasar salad was overly creamy.  John's salmon was well-cooked which probably suited the majority of clientele that ate there but it definitely could have been cooked less.  He did manage to eat all of his rice pilaf and vegetables, mainly because he had to wait for me to finish my meal.  When asked what he would rate the restaurant/meal he said 7 only to retract it when I said I would have rated it a 6.  All in all, if you are craving seafood, I would not recommend Joey's Only Seafood Restaurant.

For all new riders out there

So apparently I wanted my next post to be about my experience thus far in learning how to drive a motorbike and I couldn't post about anything else until I did so. I thought about blogging as soon as our license expired in September but as luck would have it, it was still nice enough to drive a motorbike until late October and I didn't want to think about all I was missing out on by blogging about it. However that was back in Oct 2008 and it is now Jan 2009 where the temp. is -29. What can I say, I just procrastinated.

So back to the subject of what I wanted to blog about, learning how to drive a motorbike is quite the experience. It is both thrilling, exciting and scary, all rolled into one "hang-onto-the-handle-bars-for-dear-life" experience. I've wanted to drive a motorbike for as long as I can remember and it definitely is a dream come true. The bike I learned how to drive on is a 2008 Ducati Monster and it is a beauty. Some of the things I wished I had known when I first got my bike are:

1. Have the patience to wait until I took the motorcycle course first so I would know how to handle a bike properly and what to expect.
2. Have 2 different types of gear to accommodate for the weather (I have the full leather jacket with padding but it completely distracted me when it was really hot out to the point where I drove less)
3. Definitely find a location where you can practice your driving skills without having to worry about traffic. I found driving around the neighborhood I concentrated too much on the traffic and not enough on my technique. The exhibition grounds was awesome to practice on until we got kicked out due to it being a private area
   

Things that I can improve on for next season are:

1. I would probably lower the bike seat somewhat; currently I can sit flat footed when not in motion but I lose some distance when I am driving as I sit closer to the gas tank. Lowering the bike would help in both parking the bike as well as boost my confidence.
   
2. Practice gearing both up and down so it is smoother. Gearing up is not that much of an issue. When I first started driving, I practiced around the University area on a Sunday which was awesome as there were few cars but I still had to make it to the University grounds. Gearing down is trickier and I would like to get to the point where it is second nature for me and I don't even have to think about it.
   
3. Practice hard stops. I never put myself in a situation where I had to do a hard stop but I can definitely see the benefits of doing so.

There is definitely lots to learn still as it is a never ending process but I thought I would only list the most significant ones I ran across in my experience. I am sure as the years goes on, the list will grow.

The Hole in the Wall Restaurant Review

So last weekend (Aug. 29, 2008) we were in the mood to celebrate so we decided to venture out and try The Hole in the Wall restaurant. We had heard from a couple of people that the food was great and worth the drive. Now to get to this restaurant you have to drive out to Blackstrap as the restaurant was situated in the townsite of Shields.

Upon arriving you are greeted by the original gas station sign in front of the Mexican style restaurant. After being greeted by a middle aged waiter with a ponytail, we were seated in a secluded 2 seater table. He went through his spiel of how the restaurant was converted from the gas station that it originally was and to expect a 3-4 hour meal as everything is prepared from scratch. We were told from others of the long meal time so that came as no shock to us. However looking at the menu prices you would think they would have spent a bit more money fixing up the place as the walls were missing paint in a few areas, our table was squeaky and the lighting kept on flickering (this was a bit of an annoyance). Oh well, here's to a first in trying out this restaurant.

After reviewing their scrumptious sounding menu, we decided to go for the combo meal that was priced at $60/person. It included 3 appetizers, soup, salad, 3 entrees, coffee/tea, and dessert. We ended up choosing scallops, mussels and oysters for our appetizers and lamb, duck and ribs for the entrees. To drink we ordered sangrias which was very tasty due to the tiny morsels of apples, pears, lime and oranges they place in it.

The service started out quite well, having spent 20ish minutes pouring over the menu and placing our order shortly after. Our reservations were for 6:30 and we received our sangrias and appetizers shortly after 7. The appetizers were fairly tasty - the raw scallops were definitely the highlight, complimented by a tomato sauce (which surprisingly tasted like a hot sauce that I've made in the past). After finishing off the appetizers we had an hour wait until we received their house salad. It consisted of fresh greens and an orange vinaigrette dressing - definitely a nice, light salad that I loved and will try to reproduce. Shortly after came a chilled Buttermilk Apple puree soup that had tomatoes, corn and cucumbers in it. I am not one for chilled soup but this one was definitely tasty.

After a short wait our entrees came. The duck was slightly under cooked but still tasty, the lamb was slightly over cooked and the ribs were good. I was a tad disappointed in the lamb as I love lamb and was looking forward to this dish and it definitely did not meet up to my standards. All in all, it was a lot of food topped off with a pudding type dessert and coffee.

Overall I would have to say the explanation of the 3-4 hour waiting time for the entire dining experience due to everything prepared fresh was over exaggerated as it seemed like it was just an excuse to only have one server for the entire place with one cook (or so it seemed). Usually I like to give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt but when there is an hour wait between appetizers and chilled soup and salad, I cannot justify that by saying everything is prepared fresh so it'll be a longer wait. Also the decor was under par for the prices of the meals they served. However the food was pretty tasty and I am always up for trying new things. The restaurant is the type you should try at least once even if you don't go back.