Stayin' Alive

Needless to say, it has been an extremely long time since I've posted on this blog (or blogs in general). Since the last post, quite a bit has happened!

To sum up, Paw and I went on a European adventure (of which food was one of the main themes), I worked on (and am still working on) my thesis, I played a bunch of drum shows and went to no concerts (as there were none of interest), started going to Balkan Beats at Divan Orange and naturally, changed my hair again.

Paw and I went to Spain, France and Italy and definitely came back with an expanded repertoire of recipes and food knowledge, as well as generally great experiences. We took two cooking classes - one in Barcelona (thanks to Paw) and one in Rome (as we were so inspired by the awesomeness of Barcelona's, we looked for one in Rome).

If you're ever in either city, check out Cook and Taste (for Barcelona) and Cooking Classes in Rome. Both are 50 euros for the preparation and degustation of a wonderful four course meal.

The highlights for me were Spanish Tortilla and home made gnocchi. But, everything was great overall.

Taste Florence is an amazing food tour. For 70 euros, you galavant around Florence for four hours with a tour guide tasting all kinds of food at different establishments. I can now say I had the 2nd best ice cream in the world at Gelateria Perche non (apparently the first is in PEI, say what?). The day after we went on a tour of Chianti by bike, which was also wonderful and quite epic (not to mention terrifying going down that steep hill).

In France, we had no cooking classes or food tours, so I bought a little cook book on Provencale cooking and we ate pretty well in Paris as well.

My favorite experiences in France were making my own perfume (which in passing smells great and I actually do wear it), sitting by the sea on any given day and getting to eat at some fancy places (Chez Clement and La Duree).

Overall, I guess to no one's surprise, my favorite country was Spain, with Barcelona being my favorite city. Why? It is filled with a long, rich and often tumultuous history, rented palm trees and imported sand, quirky and seemingly carefree vibe and a wide variety of food stuffs. I guess you could say it's like Montreal + + + (more history, nicer weather and a beach), haha. If you are ever in Barcelona, it's totally worth it to take one of the free tours through the Gothic quarter and also, if you're looking for a hostel - Backpackers BCN Disputacio was a total win. Great staff and quiet and friendly people (advertised as a non party hostel).

So yea, after getting back, the rest of the summer was spent thesis writing and partaking in general chillage with friends. I had the great opportunity to partake in the closing Mardi Gras style parade for the Montreal International Jazz Festival (my dad did, too, with his choir - haha, it was family day!), as well as Les Weekends du Monde, Nuits d'Afrique and Just for Laughs. We experienced some of the hottest weather (42 degrees C + humidity) and crazy torrential jungle rain (when did Montreal become a tropical climate?!). I also finally got to partake in a Newmindspace activity ! - the light saber battle in Toronto.

So now, I prepare for another show and continue writing with the hopes of finishing in the fall semester and never returning to school again (but hey, you never know. Maybe I'll be inspired to do a PhD one day...).

Once the school year restarts, we can always expect lots of shows to pop up. So far, I have three tickets!

1) Vampire Weekend w/ Dum Dum girls and Beach house (I've been wanting to see VW and Beach house for a while and Beach house was sold out earlier this year!)

2) Gorillaz - Say what? Gorillaz and the boss dogg, planet of the apes, they be going on a world tour and stopping in Montreal October 2010 (first world tour eva)

3) Massive Attack w/ Thievery Corporation. Again, dude man! I've been wanting to see Massive Attack for ages. Last time they were here, they played at Metropolis, but I was unable to go. They also played in Toronto earlier this year, but I was overseas. So, this is alltogether quite amazing.

Potentials:

Broken Social Scene in December. Yea, I've seen them before. But, they're really amazing live. Screaming during Ibi dreams of pavement is an experience I will never forget and one can only imagine that their next show will only be more epic (as the new record is quite epic itself).

Emilie Autumn. I have never seen her, but Paw has and says her shows are quite cool, with many props and theatrical elements.

So we shall see indeed. So, I bid yee good night on this early august morning. Njosnavelin is indeed, stayin' alive.