The Salted Caramel ice cream from bi-rite creamery. Words… cannot… describe… You know on the Simpsons when Homer just starts drooling? Yeah, that’s pretty much this ice cream. It’s just… gah… I don’t know how… what… blargh. You just have to try it yourself. Bi-rite, I’m happy you’re far away.

Yum… a big old giant bottle of beer that’s the cost of like a case of beer… Look at it, it has a date bottle and they only made 600 cases… and it’s aged in oak barrels…

J kept on going on and on about this cabbage slaw from bi-rite, the market part. I can see why he likes it so much. The crunch, the zest, the technicolor beauty. It’s awesome. When it was nearly gone, there was still dressing left so we threw in some raw shredded cabbage in there to extend its life.

Before my flight out to SFO, I hung out in the US Airways lounge. You can’t bring outside food in, so I had to buy something or otherwise starve. I got the tuna salad. Oh the whole thing was just bad. The cucumbers were old, the tuna fish was blah, the croutons were old, and the greens were wilted. But the dressing was good! But overall, terrible and overpriced. I was very disappointed. The food on the airplanes is a thousand times better.
And here is some evidence of the food on the flights that I actually enjoy. My flight home was horrifically delayed. They did not even offer us a free cocktail or anything. But I had to eat so I got the cheese and fruit snack pack. I really like this thing. The grapes were sweet and fresh, and so were the strawberries. There were three different types of cheese cut into cubes and a few crackers. Plus, there were some juicy dried apricots. All in all, it’s not a bad deal!

Oh the flight back was a doozy. My first leg from Milan to Frankfurt didn’t go too well. We took off late, and then once we got near Frankfurt, we had to stay in a holding pattern because excessive winds in Frankfurt limited the approaches of incoming planes. Eventually we landed, with negative time to spare. You know when you watch movies and people are running in the airports? Yep, that was me. And once I got to the gate, it was absolute madness. I’d never seen as many airport employees working at an actual gate than for this flight. I also had someone in front of me show up with a red X next to their name when they swiped his name through. Not exactly do-not-fly, but not exactly all green like me either. Wonder what his deal was?

Anyhoo, it was a long ass flight, and they didn’t waste time feeding us lunch. It was the usual choice of pasta or chicken and I went with pasta this time. It was lasagna! Look at it. Doesn’t it look like a square of gross? Other than the noodles being overcooked to mush, it was quite fine. The broccoli was awesome. My body was craving some green vegetables something fierce! The pesto pasta salad was also nice. My favorite part was the apple cake dessert!

The return flight was much longer than the one there, so we got a much heartier second treat (first time we got a little teeny danish). It was a warmed up foccaccia sandwich with turkey and cheese. It was really good! And I was finishing up some of the Tuc crackers I’d gotten at the train station. They’re like ritz, but better and butterier!

One interesting service note I observed. When they gave me my drink on the plane, they asked me if I wanted ice. Which of course I did. When they served the german woman next to me, they automatically did not give her ice. And you know, the cans of soda you get on the plane are not cold. What is it about americans who love their sodas cold and europeans who like it room temperature?

I’m in Italy! Yeah, it wasn’t something I planned, but just something that popped up for work. So here I am. So strange. My original flight on saturday night was cancelled. And that really f’d up everything. Like seriously. My plans weren’t exactly flexible, I mean, I had to at work on Monday morning, but my new flight wasn’t going to get into Milan until Monday morning. With tons of effort, stuff got rearranged. I probably lost a few years of life. But it goes on.

My flight to europe was long, and I contemplated sleeping most of the way, but it was hard because it was so early. But they fed us some dinner before I didn’t even attempt any shut eye. Sorry, but I didn’t see the point of trying to go to sleep at 7PM. It just wasn’t going to work. I picked the chicken dish, and it was some sort of odd bbq chicken with rice pilaf and mexican corn. It came with an iceberg and carrot salad, whole grain roll with shedds spread, and carrot cake. Really, I’m not like most people. I kind of dig airplane food! Right before we landed, we got a little heated up fruit danish.

I landed in Frankfurt very early in the morning, before the sun was up, and had barely any time before my flight to Milan. I had a nice power breakfast of fanta and mixed tropical fruit. How come fanta in europe tastes so much better? It actually tastes more like juice, instead of just orange sugar water.

Frankfurt airport is nice. And it’s kind of shiny and glittery, literally, because there’s a freakin swarovski crystal store in it. Seriously, what’s the point? I find the little smoking pods very amusing and demeaning. At frankfurt, it’s sponsored by Camel.

I don’t know if they have this at every Lufthansa gate, but at mine, there was a secret little coffee corner and tea station. It wasn’t exactly advertised, but it wasn’t a secret either. It’s like if you find it, then good for you, and if you don’t, then too bad. And it was totally free!

While on my super short flight, they gave us drinks and a little half sandwich. I wasn’t hungry so I didn’t eat it. But after I eventually got to the hotel, after a long delay due to a bad accident, I was really hungry. And I wanted to eat it. But knowing how long it had been in my purse, and knowing it was cheese, I passed. It said discover the flavour, but I was afraid it’d make me discover the toilet.

Somehow, I got in the emergency exit row and had no seat in front of me. I had beyond tons of leg room. I felt bad because as a stubby legged girl, I didn’t need it. And I could see all the tall germans around me who would have probably enjoyed it. Well, I’ve made it to europe. And at this rate, I call that an accomplishment!