We Could Do Better. . . .

We could do better. That's all I kept on hearing from Rollie as we circled the city center of Vienna along with Sam looking for a place to have breakfast at. Luckily, Rollie's cheap-ass tendencies allowed us to get a better view of what Vienna has to offer. A simple stroll around these Viennese streets achieve one simple thing. . . . ENVY. This is by far the cleanest city I have EVER visited. What's best of all is that Viennese people take pride in it and they show it in how they treat their city. Other beautiful cities like Paris and Brussels are the complete opposite of that! I remember the piles of shit along Republique in Paris and then people tossing their empty bottles of beer after finishing them in the streets of Brussels. No sir, these people take so much pride in their city, that I'm sure I can easily eat a schnitzel off their street. . . okay may be not that far but it is pretty damn clean.

Did I mention that people here are VERY COURTEOUS. Two mornings in a row we came across this random girl that saw three idiot Americans trying to figure out their heads from their asses as they kept on turning this large map around and around as if it was going to help determine where South and North were located. She was so kind as to help guide us on both occasions to where we needed to get. In fact, one one of those occasions, she went out of her way to escort us to the metro station. Vielen Dank Fremden!

And to answer your question, yes we did finally find a place to have breakfast. In the end, we ended up at this small cafe that I'm pretty sure we passed by and brought it up but Rollie thought that "we could do better". Well, the food was damn good! This was a simple yet PERFECT breakfast to start off our day. This is what breakfast should really consist of here in the states when going out to eat to a restaurant, a lite and healthy breakfast that won't put you in a coma. I mean, honestly people, do we need that humongous whopper of an omelet and that heaping stack of oily hash browns to start off our morning knowing that we are just going to end up passing out? Okay, may be we do, but seriously, this was equally as satisfying, if not, better!

Noche de Tapas en Madrid

A perfect evening in Madrid! Josep and I decided to go out to this Tapas bar by La Puerta del Sol in Madrid, not too far from the hostel/hotel we were staying at. This is where I was introduced to what would soon become one of my favorite seafood creatures, Angulas, better known in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries as Baby Eels. That's right, that delicious fresh baguette slice is topped with hundreds of exquisite baby eels soaked in Olive Oil straight from the country with some of the best purveyors of this liquid gold in the world. At first, I have to admit, I was a bit mortified by the sight of what looked like nothing more than a bunch of worms. After my first bite, I realized it wasn't too bad. After a few more bites of it, I fell in love with it. Unfortunately though, in these come with a big price tag. Not too long ago I tried to order a can of real Angulas but then decided not to when I realized that I was about to pay over $70 for one friggin can. That's right folks, say hello to the new caviar. Of course, they have these other Angulas impostors that are made from god-knows-what type of cheap fish. Think of imitation crab meat versus Alaskan King Crab. . . . yeah, NO comparison if you're a true fan. These can run you anywhere from $20-$30.

And now to remove the spotlight from the Angulas, we move on to the rest which is just your typical Pulpo(octopus), Croquetas, Boquerones(anchovies), some sort of fish that I forget, Calamares(must I really?), Chorizo(spicy spanish sausage), Gambas(shrimp wrapped in some sort of wonton wrap), and Embutido(sausage). It was all delicious, and the company couldn't be any better

Comida de Catalonia i Espana

When Rollie and I went to Barcelona the first time, this was the first restaurant we stepped foot in. This is located in Port Vell in the Barceloneta Neighborhood of Barcelona, right on the water. As you're walking through this boardwalk, you are BOMBARDED with salesman trying to convince you to visit their restaurant. Well, this restaurant didn't have anyone outside. I can see why though, the food was AMAZING. We had the Arroz Negro which is a Paella dish made with squid ink, the Cordero de Ternera which is a steak dish, and of course Pa amb Tomaquet which is just bread smeared with ripened tomatoes, olive oil and a bit of garlic. DELICIOUS!



One of my favorite restaurants of Catatonia's Cuisine. Situated in the Plaza Reial, Rollie and I came across this jewel by accident back on our first trip in 2007. Ever since, we have made it a point to come here for dinner anytime we are in Barcelona. Beware though, you have to get there early (18:00h) or so in order to avoid the LOOOOOOOOOONG wait in line.





El Manu is literally a hole in the wall. The wait gets a bit crazy here, especially during the summer. It wasn't so much of a problem during the winter, but then again all of the English and Germans SWARM Barcelona during the summer to catch up on their so-called "tan". Once again, this is traditional cuisine of Catalonia, more of a homemade comfort food type of restaurant. Reasonably priced and another must visit when in Barcelona. This is located in the Barceloneta neighborhood of Barcelona.



Pa amb Tomaquet, which translates to Bread and Tomato, one of the simplest yet most DELICIOUS appetizers the Catalonians have brought forth. This here is served with some slices of delicious Manchego Cheese.

Great nights in Vienna Austria

Pork with Potatoes, Onions and some other stuff. . . it was alright.

City center of Vienna, look at the how beautiful a corner is in Vienna.

It would be a dream to wake up to this scenery every day.

Amazing cathedrals

Boys in Vienna, Austria

The Mexican....

The Turkaitian.....

and the Aussie.....

Bratislava, Slovakia

View from our hostel room....

View of the bridge over the Danube River.....meh.

Some church as we were waiting for our rescue to Vienna.....

Trying to drink the pain of Bratislava away......unamused.

And we love BIER in Frankfurt

Frankfurt!

Is beautiful!

And my favorite thing.......THE CLEANEST TOILETS!!!!

Chicago sucks!

But Sam and I know how to alleviate the pain of being in a state that's behind about 10 years.

Patriotism

Paris is such a photogenic city. I took these back in January on my first trip to Europe. This is when it all started for me, the day that I saw the world in a whole different way.

Agaetis Byrjum

With only nearly a week away before my departure to Europe again, I can't help but feel like a 5 year old anticipating his first trip to Disneyland, even though this is really my third trip. I do have to admit, I’m a bit stressed out about it since this trip was such short notice. Originally we were all suppose to go to Cuba, but for one thing or another, the embargo has convinced us to stay away from the island. It’s not the political side of it all, rather the outcome it has on the cost of getting there. . . . . .Oh well, some other time I hope.

Visiting Europe is more of a religious experience, one that puts me in a blissful state of ecstasy. Being in a foreign country does cause me to be engrossed in my new surroundings, and that's conceivably the sensation that I tend to value further. Not automatically an escapists approach, but instead one where I can in fact say that my visual senses and imagination are stimulated by what I can truly submit to as genuine historical remnants of our past. The issue here is that it forces me to set such high expectations for my own locale, one that gives me this sense of sullenness towards our cosmopolitan way of thinking where chic and luxury are the fundamentals of this nation’s view on what is referred to as "art".

M83-Running Into Flowers

I went for a walk around my neighborhood to unwind a bit today. During my stroll, I came across this BEAUTIFUL flower in one of my neighbor’s garden. Everything about it is just amazing, starting from the very heart of the flower, to the vibrant glow of its petals.

I have NOT been this busy in a VERY, VERY, VERY long time. It’s good to see that business is finally starting to pick up after 6 of the longest and most painful months. I’ve had the most hectic schedule lately though. It’s not so much only work…..well 90% of it is, but I’m also in the process of enrolling for school too, AND still doing the final planning on this abrupt trip to Europe. On the bright side, I’m excited to say that we found a place in Vienna where a couch surfer will be hosting us in his house. That means that not only are we staying in a place for free, but we get to make new friends out on the other side of the world. In Barcelona it seems it will be a similar scenario. I’m proud to say that this is going to be one of the most inexpensive trips we have taken, and at the same time, we get to enjoy the scenery of 7 countries.

California Livin'

Here are some shots I took during sunset along Belmont Shores. What I like about the first one is that I captured a lady trying to call what appears to be nothing's attention. . . FAIL. Sunset was beautiful to watch from the ocean, especially when you get a glimpse of the blanket of smog that's keeping us all snuggled. . . FAIL. Do I even have to say anything about the last picture. . . . 10 points on the scoreboard for major. . FAILURE (notice that rapid intensification in font size)...Sorry buddy, by the look of her face, you don't get Sorry Try Again :-(.

Peek-a-boo

FREEDOM!!!!

Happy 4th of July Long Beach! On this great day of freedon and independence, I shall do what every other American does when celebrating their freedom; drink beer, barbecue, eat terrible, and drink more beer, I love my "freedom".

By the way, here's an image of one of the man-made islands that sit out in the middle of our harbor. I'm not too sure what exactly they are, but I'm pretty sure that our harbor bleeds dark blood or what we refer to as oil because of those "islands".