
While we were on our trip, Maggie found out that she passed her boards!! Yay!! She can work now! Congratulations! And we caught it all on our camera. She was hysterically crying. I didn't know if something tragic happened or what...it might be tragic that she did pass and that now she is entering the working world! Go back Maggie...go back!!
For her celebratory dinner, we went to La Fonda, a restaurant in Valencia that Leslie's friend recommended us going to. It was probably on of the most memorable meals I have had (and it wasn't because of the story of the prawn that fell on the floor and magically reappeared on my plate). Just look at the beautiful array of scrumptious dishes.
Valencia is probably one of the nicest cities we went to in Spain. If I were to go back to Spain, then I would definitely go back to see Valencia. It's like being in Beverly Hills with the palm trees lining the streets and all the nice, high-end stores.
PS. We were on a quest to find the Holy Grail and by God, we found it! It's in Valencia!
Espana 08: Valencia and the Quest for the Holy Grail
10.17.2008
SPOILER ALERT: Auf Wiedersehen...
10.15.2008

photos from etsy.com
Leanne is in!! I'm so thrilled that Leanne won! I knew she would. Her clothes are just absolutely impeccable, innovative and wearable. If I only I knew about her before she became famous because she has her own clothing line on etsy.com but because of her fame and workload, she has stopped selling online...boo!!
Michael, she will NEVER be remembered as Petals Marshall!
Labels: design
Espana 08: Tapas, Wine and Gaudi...Oh MY!
10.14.2008

It's almost been two weeks since we've gotten back from Spain and it seems like my mind is still there. I had to actually make it a goal for this week to update you folks on my trip and I've seemed to change the look of my blog as well. Two for the price of one!
Tapas, Wine and Gaudi...OH MY! That definitely captures the trip in one sentence, but of course I will elaborate more for your entertainment. Spain was such a welcoming country. You could definitely get by with hand gestures (I want this...and you point..simple enough) and the little Spanish that everyone knows, which we've quickly added to our every day conversation back here in the states... ¡Hola Bebé! If you hadn't noticed on facebook and kodakgallery and just talking to me in general, it's like our trademark salutation! I told you I would come back speaking Spanish.
The tapas. We definitely were told twice that we were ordering way too much food: once at Can Cortada, a renovated 11th Century farmhouse and again on our last night in Barcelona. Anyways, they were right and we were full. Enough said. The food in Spain is simple, but tasty. They seem to use the food's natural flavors to carry the whole dish. There were lots of Patatas Bravas (your basic Spanish french fries), mussels and cheese eaten. It was deliciously heaven!
The vino. Cheaper than water. Many, many many bottles of wine were consumed on our two week trip, but just think we probably saved a lot of euros by ordering wine instead of water! Wine always seems to bring people together as well as help create good conversation between good friends. I miss drinking a bottle of wine for lunch and dinner.
The architecture. It was absolutely amazing. I kept thinking how do we live, work and breathe in those straight-angled buildings...so boring...while Spaniards are lucky enough to walk in and walk out of these beautiful buildings with intricate detail. We saw most of Gaudi's famous works of art, La Padrera (was once an apartment, but there are 2 families who live there now), Casa Batllo (a house built for the Batllo family and is one of my favorites because of the vibrant color) and the Sagrada Familia (it's actaually still being built and they say won't be done until later in our lifetime). If you saw his work in person, you would have definitely thought: There is something wrong with this guy. He seems delusional...really out there, but he got all of his inspiration from nature...bones, shells, plants, etc. In conclusion, we analyzed the crap out of Gaudi (poor Gaudi) just from his work...we assumed that he was actually a homosexual, but living in a Catholic country and having very religious values, he was oppressed with his secret feelings, so he took it out on his work. Done and done.
Our experience in Spain could probably best be told through our thousands of pictures, so if you've got time and a glass of wine just look at our pictures and you will see Spain.
Barcelona
Hasta Manana Amigos!
PS. I'll post more stories about our trip. Stay Tuned!
Espana bound!
9.19.2008
It's almost surreal that in about 36 hours I will be in Barcelona looking at Picasso paintings, strolling through the small streets of the city and drinking fabulous Spanish wine. You know sometimes when you are going somewhere you can imagine yourself actually there, but for some reason this time it's almost like a dream. I can't believe that our big trip to Spain is finally here!
I will be in Spain for about two weeks and I know that it will definitely fly by, but while you guys are sitting at your computers you can dream about me sitting at a Spanish cafe, drinking wine and listening to a Spanish guitarist (if any of you watched Vicky Christina, you will know exactly what I'm talking about). But don't worry, I will try and keep you guys updated while I'm there with lots of pictures, in depth descriptions of the awesome food and the adventures of me and 5 other girls.
Woo! Hoo!
I'm off to Spain!
No puedo esperar para ir a España
9.04.2008
okay okay, so I had to go to some English-Spanish website to look up what I wanted to say, which is "I can't wait to go to Spain!" but that doesn't mean my Spanish words of the day aren't helping me out. Just watch! I'll be the most fluent Spanish-speaking Filipino you will ever know.
Labels: Spain
Salud!
8.30.2008

As most of you know, I'm planning a trip to Spain with 5 girlfriends this September. My aunt is renting a villa in Denia, Spain for a month and invited people to come visit her, so we are making the trek to Denia! As a birthday gift, Maggie got us a Mediterranean cooking class at Whole Foods to prepare us for the Spanish cuisine.
The Menu:
Moroccan Phyllo Cups and Spanikopita with Almonds, Raisins, Carrots, & Chicken
Artichoke Salad with Roasted Red Peppers & Herbed Goat Cheese
Grilled Sea Bass (we actually used Grouper because Sea Bass wasn't in season) with Capers, Charred Tomatoes, & Saffron Rice
Lemon Panna Cotta & Macerated Berries
Maggie's famous rice!
Our Lemon Panna Cotta that never got to settle because it takes 6 hours! We still ate it and it was soupy and delish!
Artichoke Salad
My plate full of yummy food! Look at those caper berries...YUM-O!
Thanks Maggie for an awesome gift! Can't wait to eat in Espana and will of course post about our anticipated trip. We are arriving in Barcelona and will stay a couple of nights and then head down to Denia, in the Costa Blanca region. We will then explore the Costa Blanca region visiting Alicante and Valencia.
Where is Rocky now?
8.11.2008
We had to some research on squirrels for one of our clients at work and we came across this video...hilarious! Another sad episode of a child actor gone completely wrong...
Listen to the Music
8.01.2008
AAH!! Summer! A time for fun in the sun, hanging out with friends, playing drinking games...well that's really year round for me, BUT, I love summer because that's when all the artists tour and play their oh-so-awesome music!
Today, I bought my tickets to see Ray Lamontagne! I have never seen him in concert before and I'm pretty pumped about it. Although, it's in October, I still just have that summertime music feeling!
I have acquired some new music this year...The Bridges, Modern Skirts, Paolo Nutini, Amos Lee (who by the way is my obsession of the moment because of his song "Arms of a Woman" and I just got tickets to see him Aug. 5 at Variety Playhouse). I would really like to thank Richard for opening my eyes to other music besides Ben, Jack and Ray. I had no idea that there were other artists out there who could really capture me.
If you don't know who The Bridges are, then you are definitely missing out...think all-girl band (well except for one guy) from Alabama who wear boots!! My kind of girls! Some of us went to see them at Variety Playhouse a couple of months ago...
The Modern Skirts are a local band from Athens and I'm sad that I wasn't able to see them when they were here..it was actually the same weekend as The Bridges. That weekend was definitely a music-filled weekend because I saw Blue Traveler and Drivin n Cryin that Saturday night.
Oh and Paolo, when will I get to see him? Who knows...he is touring in Europe and apparently I missed him while he was touring here in the States. I guess I wasn't a big fan of him until after he left..sadness. Why didn't I become obsessed with him while he was here? Now, if I could just get tickets to see Jack Johnson!!
Labels: Sounds of Music