fly that ocean in a silver plane.

It hit me today that I will be in on vacation in a little over one week -- Barcelona, Madrid, Seville & Lisbon, followed by Fez, Tangier and Casablanca. I've never been to Spain or Portugal, though I've dreamt of visiting them both since the last time I traveled abroad. Africa, however, is the place I'm most excited to visit and to check off my list of visited places; truth be told, I get giddy at the prospect of adding another continent to my travel log! One of my good friends will be in Africa as well, studying abroad at a university in Algeria, and I wish we could visit her while we're in that region but there won't be enough time. I can't wait for the food (the falafel! and tabbouleh! be still my heart). And the beautiful scenery, the palaces and the plazas. And the experience, seeing all of those amazing cities with my mother as my sidekick. It's going to be an amazing two weeks and I am pee-my-pants happy in anticipation.

As I sat at work today, filling out work orders and invoices, the duprees' 'you belong to me' came over the radio and I couldn't help but think about this upcoming trip and how much I am going to miss everyone. . . especially Josh. It's such a lovely song and the lyrics were totally speaking about how I felt: the singer croons about the faraway places he's seen and explored, and all the while, he keeps his loved ones in his heart no matter the distance. I always get frustratingly lonely when I travel, from the couple-hour road trips in the car when I visit my boyfriend to the few months I spent studying abroad -- I always need someone I care about close by because traveling doesn't mean quite as much unless you're sharing the sights and the sounds and the memories with someone you love (and someone to hold my hand and pukebag during in-flight turbulence. . . that, too). I wish I could share this experience with everyone I love and I wish I could take everyone I love with me!

Let's all take a trip somewhere, together. Revel in the sights, feel the heartbeat of the cities, pack our gullets with the foreign cuisine. Where do you want to go?


(and that part about the pukebag? totally an exaggeration. . .)

a love post.

My wonderful boyfriend drove to see me on Valentine's Day! To be honest, v-day has never been at the top of my favorite holiday list (it's just not my favorite unless there's marathon eating involved!), and I wasn't sure what we were going to do to celebrate. J completely surprised me and a few days before the 14th told me he was coming for a visit. . . and had a bouquet of tulips, a bottle of wine and plans for a home-cooked dinner in tow.

I love cooking with wine. What did I do before I was 21 and couldn't buy the stuff?

And! Another surprise! Not only was he making me dinner, but J was making me duck -- which I had never in my life tasted. Added bonus: the duck traveled all the way here from J's Dad, who had hunted it last fall at their farm.

Adding a pinch of flavor to the duck boobs.

J tackled the duck and pomegranate sauce (also something I had never tried. . .blame my stubborn  childhood palate!) and I made little red potatoes in garlic butter. Had I not been rushing around earlier in the day getting ready for J's visit, I totally would have made some crusty bread. Bane of my existence, I tell you.

 

We sat down to dinner a bit late, around 9 o'clock, and lemme tell you -- it was absolutely amazing. I wasn't surprised at all that I loved the pomegranate duck, as I'm a huge fan of anything salty and sweet together (brilliant combination), but I could not get over how game-y it didn't taste. I've only tried deer once and I think pheasant when I was really young, both of which I remember as being intensely heavy. The duck wasn't like that at all. My garlic butter potatoes were totally put to shame.