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Washing my Mouth out with Pork

Oh, hey, I skipped April in Blogland.  Some of you know I spent about half the month wandering Spain and putting things in my mouth.  In Barcelona it was almost the soap.  Go ahead with the potty mouth jokes, but check it out.  After 20 something hours of traveling by way of Montreal & Geneva on Air Canada (don't ask, although PROPS to Air Canada for being one of the least ghetto economy transatlantic flights - pleasant, actually - I've ever flown!) I was in a catatonic state of drooling on myself by the time I oozed into the hotel room.

First mission:  Wash off the airplane juice. 

Now, for those of you that don't know this - I'm obsessed with languages.  I've proudly accomplished a conversational level of Italian (albeit that of a 3-year old) & enough French to be dangerous (particularly in the kitchen).  So how freaking hard can Spanish really be?  Hell, some people can't even tell the difference between Spanish & Italian, so I figured I'd brush up on some basics of the habla part & rely on my Italian to do the rest.  And French - which brings me back to the bathroom incident in Barcelona.

Let's review.  I'm in La-La Land. I just want to shower & nap before heading out for Tapas and (duh) vino.  I go to unwrap a bar of soap.  At least I think it's soap, but the letters say, "Jabon."

I instantly default to my French & think I'm reading "Jambon" (ham) and know the Spanish word for ham is "Jamon" (I only studied the important words, and apparently soap was not high enough on my priority list) so my first reaction is, "Hey! I think I'm going to like Spain!  There's ham pre-positioned in the shower next to the bath sponge!" Not so much. Jabon is soap pretending to be ham & I'm an international moron, so I did not, in fact, shower with ham nor eat the soap. 

It could only get better from there, right?  Of course.  Let's start with some of my favorite shots of Barcelona, beginning with the important stuff:  Jamon

Note: There are far less piggies now in Spain now. I believe to have eaten much of the population.

What's better with Jamon than eggs?
More ham, of course.

And Vino...


Yep.

Mas Vino por favor.

And that would sum up lunch number 1 in Barcelona.

Perhaps she ate the Jabon instead of the Jamon.

Jabon bubbles. 
Living the dream...of more Jamon & vino to come...

Peace, love, and all things delicious.
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Comments

  1. trininistaMay 1, 2012 at 5:41 PM

    Your photos are evil, woman. I am so jealous, ham woman!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val May 2, 2012 at 9:44 AM

      Chorizo, Serrano, Iberico - Oh My! What's not to love about pork & vino? xo

      Delete
  2. Kalei's Best FriendMay 1, 2012 at 5:56 PM

    LOL, love your photos,.somehow u manage to always have photos to go along w/whateva u is sayin'..lol... Would love a bottle of Les Cousins.. man, oh, man...As far as Spanish/Italian.. My oldest who had 4 years of h.s. Spanish then took x amt. of years of Italian decided to take a killing time semester at our j.c. .. Spanish teacher told her that she spoke Spanish w/an Italian accent.. Needless to say she was embarassed..lol... then again, she was so fluent in Italian my middle kid was impressed... Glad u r having a blast!. Have a bottle for me...:-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val May 2, 2012 at 9:46 AM

      Hi Chrissy - I think I had several bottles for you. Hugs!

      Delete
  3. Sara LouiseMay 3, 2012 at 12:54 AM

    If I don't make it to Barcelona this summer, I'm going to be really really angry! And I wish I could have gone when you were there to have a bottle(s) together... but maybe next time :)
    And yes, Air Canada is always a treat.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Val May 3, 2012 at 6:18 AM

    Oh that would have been cool! It's a lovely city, and thought to myself, "I could totally live here for a while." I hope you get to see it! We are going to hook up one of these days, Sara - I'm not done with France (or Spain) yet!

    ReplyDelete
  5. the fly in the webMay 3, 2012 at 9:33 AM

    Next time back to Europe - via Madrid to avoid American airports - I'll treat myself to a week in Spain.
    The language should be fun...here in Costa Rica they tell me I speak Spanish with a French accent. Goodness only knows what the Spanish will make of someone speaking the despised colonial Spanish with a French accent....
    Perhaps I should just learn Catalan and stick to Barcelona....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val May 3, 2012 at 12:57 PM

      Fly - the Spanish actually changes depending on the region. Apparently accents don't matter. My Spanish is nearly non-existent so with whatever accent mine has, it makes people think they can throw Catalan (Catalunya/Cataluna) & Euksara (Basque) at me & I'll know what the heck they are saying. You will be fine & no one will bat an eye. Agree - Catalan seems the easiest of them... Cheers ~

      Delete
  6. Samantha DuganMay 3, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    Jealous.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Val May 3, 2012 at 12:58 PM

      I was thinking of you the whole time. We will drink some bangin' bottles together in the near future - I'm sure of it.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousMay 5, 2012 at 5:40 PM

      I hope I get an invite to that shindig!

      I think you could have titled this one "Pork Porn"... very apt.

      Glad you had a lovely time, and even gladder (more glad?) you're back to blogging, even if it's just every few months!

      Delete
    3. Val May 5, 2012 at 8:59 PM

      Hellz to the yes! We'll make it a 3-way. I'm working on some other posts too - still have half a dozen Spanish cities to get through. Glad you are still here too - I know I owe you all a drive by! Much love ~

      Delete
  7. Samantha DuganMay 3, 2012 at 10:17 PM

    As am I....and I can't wait.

    ReplyDelete

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All entries are strictly observations from my point of view. This blog is not intended as professional commentary on travel, wine, food, or any other subjects I discuss - it is for entertainment, an online journal, for my friends, family, and anyone interested in my stories or journey in general.

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