Thanksgiving: Cake, Lust, Caution
Just landed in Chicago a couple days ago, and while it’s wonderful to be back in the US there are already things I miss about Spain…
Such as Lujuria Vegana‘s cake! Lujuria is the Spanish word for lust, you know. Mmmm I feel like such a dirty girl.
Molten Chocolate Cake
Barcelona Brief
Well… Did Andy and I go to Berlin, as we had originally planned last summer?
Nope, we went to Barcelona instead.
We rented an apartment in the suburbs via AirBnB, and have been here for almost two months. Though we didn’t do a whole lot of touristy stuff (WTF, no Parc Güell?!?) I have fallen in love with the place and hope to return. The weather has been poopy (rainy season!), the food has been mostly so-so compared to other places we’ve been to, but the people have been (mostly) wonderful. Barcelona is undoubtedly a beautiful city but its beauty isn’t as in-your-face as that of, say, Paris. In that way, I felt as though it was more…accessible. Does that make sense? I didn’t find it to be an overly flashy and glittery city, just a very pleasant one.
If we can get work visas, we’d like to try living here for a while. My guy and I are very sick of moving around and though we do want to continue to travel, we desperately need a “home base.” So…who knows?
Anyway, what did we do here?
We ate, duh…
I was pleasantly surprised to find so many vegan options! If you’re checking out La Rambla, you must go to Gopal!
Gopal (crowded of course!) C/ dels Escudellers, 42 08002 Barcelona
Gopal's menu--look at all the choices!
It’s a cute little 100% vegan deli with delicious, affordable hamburguesas. And if you need a vegan dessert, you’re in luck–their cakes and brownies come from Lujuria Vegana. Mmmm… it’s best to go in the early afternoon because it’s a small place that fills up quickly! Or, get some sammiches “para llevar” (to go, or literally “for to take”) and go back to La Rambla. Have a seat next to the statue at Plaça del Teatre and have a picnic!
Other stuff I enjoyed:
Pimientos de Padrón! Available at most tapas bars...just padrón peppers pan-fried in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt--yum.
Vegan Paella @ Organic, C/ Junta de Comerç, 11 08001 Barcelona
Vegetable Couscous @ Venus Delicatessen, C/ Avinyó, 25, 08002 Barcelona
Also available at many places... Hummus, BEER, and pan con tomate, a Catalan favorite
Because we stayed in a non-touristy suburb (Cornellá de Llobregat) and are on a tight budget, sadly we didn’t visit as many “veg” establishments as I would have liked. You’ll have to visit them for me and tell me how they are. :)
Places that I didn’t visit and am looking forward to visiting next time include:
- Veggie Garden, C/ dels Angels, 3, 08001, Barcelona (I hear they have vegan lasagna…)
- The Dog is Hot, C/ Joaquin Costa, 47 08001 Barcelona (Veggie dogs! Loads of toppings! Yesss)
- Cat Bar, C/ Bòria, 17 08003 Barcelona, Spain (quarrygirl said it had the best veggieburgers in BCN… is that true??)
One place that’s within walking distance of our place, Café Bambu (C/Vicenç Bou 12, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona), which had tasty burgers and hummus, is being sold and may be an Irish pub or something by the time we return. :( If you get a chance to go before it closes, the owner, Stephanie, is very nice!
Oh yeah, what else did Andy and I do recently?
WE GOT ENGAGED!!!!
Yaaay!!
Where’s My Mojo? (Experiments in Weight Loss, Part 1)
There was a brief period between 2007-2008 when you couldn’t tell me shit.
It was a post-breakup slutty phase. I was slingin’ and flingin’ my hair extensions all over the place. I lived right upstairs from a personal trainer and worked my way down to a size 2 (on a good day). I wore contacts exclusively and wouldn’t be caught dead with my scratched-up glasses in public unless it was part of a “look” I was going for. I had a TON of clothes and wore cute little outfits with high heels all the time. I lived in a darling little apartment with high ceilings and a great view in dangerous-but-cool (well, cool by Cincinnati standards anyway) Over-the-Rhine. I never merely walked down the street. I flirted, I switched, I strutted.
I had, for lack of a better word, MOJO.
(Super-secret information for flight crewmembers ONLY!!)
Vegan Snacks and Meals for the Regional Flight Attendant
(Okay, Okay…
OR
For Anyone Who Travels a Lot)
By Alecia A. Lott
***PART THREE***
(Super-secret information for flight crewmembers ONLY!!)
Vegan Snacks and Meals for the Regional Flight Attendant
(Okay, Okay…
OR
For Anyone Who Travels a Lot)
By Alecia A. Lott
***PART TWO*** Read more…
(Super-secret information for flight crewmembers ONLY!!)
Vegan Snacks and Meals for the Regional Flight Attendant
(Okay, Okay…
OR
For Anyone Who Travels a Lot)
By Alecia A. Lott
***PART ONE***
This is a post that I’d been working on for a while. I recently quit my job as a flight attendant, but ahhh I have fond memories…
People seem to think it’s so difficult to be a vegan and a flight attendant at the same time. Eh, it was and it wasn’t. I just dealt with it.
Sometimes my job would me away from home for up to 4 days at a time, and eating at Subway because there were no other veg-friendly options available got tiresome quickly. Sometimes there’s not even a Subway or ANYTHING within walking distance of the hotel and nothing vegetarian on the hotel’s ridiculously-expensive dining menu.
Thus, my food bag was extremely important to me. After a 12-hour day, all I wanted to do was take off my uniform, wash my hands very, very well with the Lush soap I brought (I saved the hotel soaps for my mother) and unpack all my goodies. Food is love, indeed.
In this three-part series, I’ll discuss my ideas for keeping fed while on the go!
My Best Seitan Yet!!
Remember Seitan Tuesdays? Probably not, but I do. I decided to bring it back. Never mind that by the time you read this it’ll probably be Wednesday… it’s the thought that counts, right?
Of all the things that a vegan is “supposed” to know how to make, such as tofu scramble, kale chips (yeah right) or hummus, seitan is one of those things I never quite got the hang of. Wrapping the gluten dough up tightly in aluminum foil and baking it usually turns out well for me, but that method gives the seitan a very firm, dry texture that I don’t always want. When I do the traditional method of simmering the dough in broth, usually it goes terribly wrong.
But tonight, I got it just right. Purely by accident, of course.
How I’m Learning German.
Can’t wait to go to Berlin! While I was in the shower this morning, I counted to 100 in German! Wooo hooo!!
Even though I spent A MONTH in Paris and A MONTH in Morocco (where the unofficial second language is French), I feel as though I already know WAY more German than I do French, and I’ve never been to Germany or any German-speaking country.
As I mentioned last week, I’m kind of obsessed with the blog Fluent in 3 Months, which features unconventional language-learning tips from Benny Lewis, an Irish guy who speaks 8 languages and is on his way to learning two more. Well, a few weeks ago I purchased the Language Hacking Guide. This guide has so many ideas for surrounding yourself with your target language and truly immersing yourself in it as much as possible, so that you can learn very quickly.
Although I’m still too scared to follow Benny’s #1 piece of advice (see below), I’ll show you all the things I’m doing right now and hope you’ll share what works for you!
First, I dare you to watch this and not have the song in your head all day…
Toll, ich nehme es!! hahahahaaaaa
Anyway…
HOW INCREDIBLY SLOW OF ME! Since I am an, ahem, “unpaid” user of WordPress, I didn’t know until today that I could embed YouTube videos into my blog.
They charge almost $60 per year for what’s called a “Video Upgrade,” which is what I thought I needed. But that’s only necessary if you upload videos directly onto WordPress’s servers and stuff.
Learn something new every day. The internets stump me sometimes. What happened to books and card catalogs? ;)
Anyway, my first embedded video is of…
Nene Leakes, from The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Celebrity Apprentice?? Huh? I mean, she is hilarious to watch on TV, but I don’t respect her (or at least her TV persona) or consider her to be an intelligent, caring individual.
Today I found out that she is now a spokesperson for Sickle Cell Disease. Does she inspire you to want to donate money? Does she make you think of Sickle Cell awareness in a positive way? (Well, er, as positive as one could be when talking about diseases, I mean?)
Where I Will Go.
(Broke my camera and I haven’t done anything lately that was photo-worthy enough to borrow Andy’s camera so I think this may be the first blog post I’ve done without pictures! Oh dear!)
A few days ago I wrote a post explaining why I haven’t blogged in a long time. I took it down because I was feeling very negative toward myself when I wrote it, which is not the way I wish to be. I didn’t want that attitude floating around in cyberspace. Yes, I have personal struggles with maintaining focus and truly identifying and following my passion(s), but I’m getting better as time goes on. I started this blog to chronicle the search for whatever it is I’m looking for, so that is what I need to continue doing.
Anyway, just to get you up to speed…
