On Food and Circuses among other things
Well then. Let’s see. First I’ll start with last night, then go to the fascinating things that happened to me this morning, a.k.a. my shower didn’t work.
Last night (Sunday)
“Oh, the night was clear, and the stars were shining, and the moon came up so quiet in the sky” - Bill Staines… uh, that was random. Hmm... Ah yes. I know what I was supposed to be talking about!
Last night my parents took me, my brother, and my paternal grandparents to the circus. Only it was a French circus which means no lions, no tent, and no clowns (all of which could be considered to be a good thing), just incredible acrobatics. The whole plot (sort of) surrounded this one person Giselle. See, the roof of the stage (or floor depending on the scene), kept “leaking” water and every time it did they’d call out “Giselle!” It was awesome. And I tell you, if there’s one thing French people are good at it’s acrobatics. Cirque du Soleil goes without saying, but this (Cirque Plume) was almost as good at least. They did some amazing things with a seesaw (one person would stand on one end of the seesaw and then people would jump on the higher end sending the other person propelling into the air where they’d do cartwheels and what-not). I’m officially a fan.
Afterwards we bought some Pasteis de Belem, even though it was almost midnight. Heehee. I tell you, Pasteis de Belem are heaven on earth…literally. They’re this pastry, flaky dough on the outside with a creamy, sweet inside made out of eggs and cream and with a sprinkle of cinnamon on the top… *sighs* They’re bliss, especially when still hot… Mmmm…
Today, Monday
Well, I got up at 11am again… It’s so nice to be able to sleep a decent amount. *sighs contentedly* My shower head isn’t working so instead I took a wonderful bath in my parent’s bathtub (they still don’t know this). Then I went online, were hotmail was testy and I managed to read a bunch of people’s xangas. Joy! I went over my hour, and am now online (obviously) but no one will ever know until my parents receive the phone bill. I also only went about 10 minutes over, so it’s ok.
Just so everyone knows, they don’t make decent sausage in the US. No, you have to come to Europe to get good sausage. My personal favorite is alheiras (not sure of the spelling there). It’s one of those things that as long as you don’t think about what you’re eating, it tastes amazing. (If you do think about what you’re eating you get sick. I know from experience.) Just to save you all, I’ll refrain from telling you the content. Lol. Suffice to say that they are heaven on earth. Not that I’d know, having never been to heaven. But still, they are beyond words. The crunchiness of the outer skin, the salty, slightly spicy taste of the inside, *stops typing and starts drooling*
Yes. Well, anyway, after lunch my brother went with my grandparents to go to Viseu early so he could meet up with my cousin Diogo (the third oldest - it goes my 17 year old cousin, me, Diogo, my brother, and then everyone else. 7 boys, one girl). The house feels empty without him. On the other hand, my grandmother relieved us of her exalted presence. Nothing bad happened this time round, though I got the impression that she thinks that we’re having seia (midnight dinner on Christmas Eve; see, on Christmas we eat, go to midnight mass, come back to find the presents mysteriously arrived and therefore open them, eat again, go to sleep, wake up, and then (just for kicks), have another large meal for lunch) at her house when we’re not. That could get messy, so I hope I’m mistaken. Wow, a lot of this entry was about food. Hm…
Yes, well, anyway. I must go off. We’re eating pizza for dinner! And tomorrow one of my friends is coming over for lunch and I’m trying to convince my mom to let her stay the night. It’s exciting. I’ll update you all if anything remotely exciting happens. I miss everyone a lot! Hope you’re all having a wonderful Christmas break and that for those of you who are bored (Matt) my really long entries relieve such a dreadful crisis.
Last night (Sunday)
“Oh, the night was clear, and the stars were shining, and the moon came up so quiet in the sky” - Bill Staines… uh, that was random. Hmm... Ah yes. I know what I was supposed to be talking about!
Last night my parents took me, my brother, and my paternal grandparents to the circus. Only it was a French circus which means no lions, no tent, and no clowns (all of which could be considered to be a good thing), just incredible acrobatics. The whole plot (sort of) surrounded this one person Giselle. See, the roof of the stage (or floor depending on the scene), kept “leaking” water and every time it did they’d call out “Giselle!” It was awesome. And I tell you, if there’s one thing French people are good at it’s acrobatics. Cirque du Soleil goes without saying, but this (Cirque Plume) was almost as good at least. They did some amazing things with a seesaw (one person would stand on one end of the seesaw and then people would jump on the higher end sending the other person propelling into the air where they’d do cartwheels and what-not). I’m officially a fan.
Afterwards we bought some Pasteis de Belem, even though it was almost midnight. Heehee. I tell you, Pasteis de Belem are heaven on earth…literally. They’re this pastry, flaky dough on the outside with a creamy, sweet inside made out of eggs and cream and with a sprinkle of cinnamon on the top… *sighs* They’re bliss, especially when still hot… Mmmm…
Today, Monday
Well, I got up at 11am again… It’s so nice to be able to sleep a decent amount. *sighs contentedly* My shower head isn’t working so instead I took a wonderful bath in my parent’s bathtub (they still don’t know this). Then I went online, were hotmail was testy and I managed to read a bunch of people’s xangas. Joy! I went over my hour, and am now online (obviously) but no one will ever know until my parents receive the phone bill. I also only went about 10 minutes over, so it’s ok.
Just so everyone knows, they don’t make decent sausage in the US. No, you have to come to Europe to get good sausage. My personal favorite is alheiras (not sure of the spelling there). It’s one of those things that as long as you don’t think about what you’re eating, it tastes amazing. (If you do think about what you’re eating you get sick. I know from experience.) Just to save you all, I’ll refrain from telling you the content. Lol. Suffice to say that they are heaven on earth. Not that I’d know, having never been to heaven. But still, they are beyond words. The crunchiness of the outer skin, the salty, slightly spicy taste of the inside, *stops typing and starts drooling*
Yes. Well, anyway, after lunch my brother went with my grandparents to go to Viseu early so he could meet up with my cousin Diogo (the third oldest - it goes my 17 year old cousin, me, Diogo, my brother, and then everyone else. 7 boys, one girl). The house feels empty without him. On the other hand, my grandmother relieved us of her exalted presence. Nothing bad happened this time round, though I got the impression that she thinks that we’re having seia (midnight dinner on Christmas Eve; see, on Christmas we eat, go to midnight mass, come back to find the presents mysteriously arrived and therefore open them, eat again, go to sleep, wake up, and then (just for kicks), have another large meal for lunch) at her house when we’re not. That could get messy, so I hope I’m mistaken. Wow, a lot of this entry was about food. Hm…
Yes, well, anyway. I must go off. We’re eating pizza for dinner! And tomorrow one of my friends is coming over for lunch and I’m trying to convince my mom to let her stay the night. It’s exciting. I’ll update you all if anything remotely exciting happens. I miss everyone a lot! Hope you’re all having a wonderful Christmas break and that for those of you who are bored (Matt) my really long entries relieve such a dreadful crisis.