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.