endorsement: jenngomez.blogspot.com

Yesterday, we met up with my sister early in the morining at Frankfurt Airport, which we came to know well, and drove to Munich later in the day.

Frankfurt was delicious, and much more endearing than I expected. Perhaps I'm just a closet europhile coming out, but thus far, the best part of the trip for me has been merely marveling at Europe's surface: trains, fashion, cured meats, etc. I had cream of goose soup my first night in Frankfurt, and in the south-of-the-river oldtownish area of Frankfurt, we ate the best pizza since the pizza I had in Paris sophomore year of high school. We came back that night and I had grunkohl (steamed kale) and very German sausage. Those were the events in Frankfurt.

After we got to our hotel in Munich, I took my sister out for dinner and her first (official) drink. She bought a Cosmo and tried my beer (white, delicious). To my surprise, she did not dislike the beer. She is taking drink suggestions for the rest of the trip.

Traveling with my family has been much harder than I expected. Speaking English is humiliating. It turns out I am:
1) not as saavy a traveller as I thought
2) full of a labyrinthine and despotic expectations
3a) obsessed with image
3b) implacably selfish.

Hopefully, we'll find some wireless soon and we can upload some pictures. My sister is much better at that sort of thing than me. Cheers.

the sake of fashion

Yesterday, my second and sadly last day in London, my parents and I split up, and I spent the whole day just walking, with no apparent purpose. I found the restaurant Daniel Cates had recommended to me, but at 60 bucks a person, I decided to pass. I walked up and down the busiest shopping districts of town, and marveled at people in long lines to enter stores, like rides at amusement parks. At night, I got propositioned by a prostitute because I have the habit of looking things in the eye before running away from them. Also, I felt underdressed, and not in the I'm-so-proud-to-be-a-scrubby-cheap-Californian kind of way. Just in the I-look-stupid sort of way. I can see how fashion is addicting-

My two favorite games to play in London were "what language are they speaking" and "try and figure out where the non-English speaking white people are from." To make the second game extra fun, I added, "just by looking at their noses."

Also, I finished From Beirut To Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman. I now understand why he is so loved and so hated. I'll leave it at that, so you can feel like I know something you don't. JK, its just because I'm hogging this posh hotel's ONE public computer, and I don't have time to explain. Grumbles.

i so want to move here

Highlights from first three days of travel:

1. Passing a shop that, in its most prominent display, offered "thesis binding." Haven't seen any of those in La Jolla.

2. Running in to Colombian student and her visiting mother (pictured below).

3. Running in to Paraguayan-French woman, hell-bent on getting fish and chips (she offered us a place in Paris!).