Built In Flash Cards

We walked in to the downtown area this afternoon to get a little something to eat and a coffee for me. (Remember, Brian hates the stuff so it was quite magnanimous of me :) to marry him anyway.) All of the waitstaff we have encountered have been very kind, patient and helpful in regard to our seriously lacking Spanish. I learned the word for olives (aceitunas) and the way to order my espresso. I like espresso but with a bit of milk. To say, "espresso con leche" is possibly incorrect, not colloquial or just plain lame. It's hard to tell which category it falls in, as the subtleties of the language are WAY beyond me. Anyway, I should say, "espresso cortado" or at least that's how it sounded to me. I repeated it back and he nodded so I'm going with it, a very valuable phrase to learn in my book.

Even our walk around the central district in Merida gives us a Spanish lesson. As I understand, the story goes that pictographs were used to mark intersections. This was useful for both citizens and visitors, in days gone by, who could not read. In this way, they could know where they were and could arrange to meet at a certain intersection, like the intersection of "La Palma." Then, they didn't have to know the street numbers or have to read them.

Our Spanish "lesson" as we walk ranges from the basic to a bit more advanced. For example, the basics:

The Tortoise

The Lemon

The Palm

The Lion

The Ball

These are pictures and concepts that any age can recognize and understand. Then there are the ones that could challenge a bit more. For the intermediate level we have:

The Theater

The People (says Google)
I would say - The Village

The Hawk

The Vineyard

For the following ones, it's a good thing we have a camera so we can check google translator when we get back to our B&B. These are for the advanced. One of these, perhaps two, I think verge on the obscure. Can you pick which one(s)?

Prosperity

The Muscovites or
The Residents of Moscow

The Cane (says Google)
I presume - The Sugar Cane

The Duchess

In my opinion, the Muscovites is a bit obscure. Although they did a great job showing the typical cold weather clothing for Moscow. The Duchess is also a bit difficult to get from the picture. However, in those days it might very well have been extremely easy to understand. At any rate, my Spanish is improving! Of course it's at such a level it could only get better.

A Foodie?!

I am not a connoisseur, plain and simple. (The closest I come, perhaps, is that I'm coffee snob!) Although I may not have a refined taste, nor am I able to isolate flavors to improve a sauce, for example, I do enjoy food. I can recognize an inspired meal and revel in it!

We have started a another journey and it began with a YUM! Our departure was early out of San Francisco so we decided to go up the night before. Some wonderful friends took us up and we enjoyed the evening together. Of course dinner time came around and looking at our options around the hotel we settled on Italian cuisine. This restaurant had one of those classic Italian names - West Coast Cafe! :) Honestly with a name like that I expected standard fare and "nothing to write home about." Certainly nothing to blog about!! However, I was in heaven from beginning to end. The bruschetta was perfect and perfectly messy with diced tomatoes piled high and olive oil running onto my fingers. The basil and garlic tantalized my taste buds, waking them up and they hungered for more! They and I were not disappointed! The marsala sauce for the main course was exquisite and had to be sopped up with delicious bread to get every drop. I could go on and on, continuing with the vegetables, polenta and on through dessert. Naturally dessert was accompanied with espresso done to perfection - rich, dark and smokey. An awesome, over the top experience along with the company!

The next day we were off to Mexico, a direct flight to Cancun. We made our way to downtown, found our hotel and settled in. Tired but needing food, we opted for the easy route - the hotel restaurant. Again, would the hotel restaurant across from the bus station be inspiring? I didn't hold any high hopes. Silly Me!!

Brian and I split two meals. One of them was "chicken fillet mignon" and the other was flank steak fajitas. I figured the name of the first meal was just some sort of translation mix up. We made our orders were asked how we wanted the steak cooked and then the waiter was off to make it all happen. A minute or two later he comes back to ask how we wanted the chicken cooked - medium or well. Confused having never ever been asked how I wanted my chicken cooked, I thought maybe it was supposed to be "beef fillet mignon." No, he was asking about the chicken so I definitely said, "Well!" The mystery was partly solved when the meal came. Yes, we had chicken for one meal and beef for the other. The chicken steak was wrapped around the edge with bacon! Often I have seen fillet mignon served that way so I think that is where the confusion in translation stemmed. In any case, both meals were wonderful and a delight. I know I was really hungry, however, the flavors were amazing. We topped it off with flan, the classic Mexican dessert!

As noted earlier in my blog, a big part of traveling for me is the food! I love trying new things. The notable exceptions have been octopus and beef tongue. There are a few items I just can't get past. Although, by and large over the years and the many places I've traveled, I've let my prejudices go, having enjoyed some delicious food adventures! It's been quite a beginning to this trip.

We are now in Merida, Mexico!

Different Kinds of Signs

I'm back in Poland - the first leg of our trip. Polish is returning to me fairly easily when it comes to every day little things but deeper conversations are a bit out of my league now. I'm doing a bit of translation for Brian in various situations. This brought back to mind some hilarious signs that people have made note of from their travels.

Direct translations don't always work!! One I saw here in Poland (my favorite one) is posted on a door that you pass while in line for a gondola ride up a mountain. It reads: "Exit 10 minutes before departure. Please wait." Not sure what I'm suppose to do! :-/

Others signs I've heard about - on a menu in Switzerland: "Our wines leave you nothing to hope for." So, here's to a depressing night out!! Another one, not sure of the country, also on a menu: "The manager has personally passed all of the water served here." In that case, I'll pass!! :)

Languages can be a tricky thing! I also remember one of my faux pas when talking to a guy who was about 15 to 20 years younger than I. At one point in the conversation, I told him that I thought he had great potential. (All in Polish, of course.) Well I find out later that I used the word for sexual potency rather than communicating he has a promising future!! Boy, was I embarrassed after the fact!! :-o  Ooops! I do remember he was all smiles after my comment!