Monday 16JUL07

This morning we rode the "bullet train" or TGV back to Paris.  From the train station, we went directly to the Louvre Museum. 

                       
  

From Ruben Montiel:
On this, the tenth or so day of the trip, after a few days in Spain, we are being hurtled through the French countryside in a TGV train on our way back to Paris from San Sebastian, Spain. It seems that a lot of people in the band have made personal connections during our time in Europe. My family name came from the Basque region which we visited. Ryan Pascual has found that a Spanish juice bears his name (for more on Pascual juice, see below). Melinda “discovered” a beach, which already had people, kayaks, and umbrellas on it. And so, while all of these connections have been made, I thought it appropriate to focus on one of the highlights of our trip in Spain. The beaches were pristine, yes, just as the people were wonderful, just as the city was gorgeous, just as the sun was hot and the skin was burnt. But there is a special meal which I think won’t soon leave the memories of those who enjoyed it. Think of the finest steakhouse you’ve ever visited. Now, dose it with a Barry Bonds amount of steroids, get it in a bar fight, and teach it Spanish. This is fairly close to what we all had for dinner two nights ago. To begin, right upon our entrance, the administrators of the fine establishment handed us happy glasses and led us into a room where the cider, quite literally, flowed…well…like cider. Seriously, it shot from the walls, out of these huge metal tanks, like milk from a massive steel cow. Except it was cider. Then we sat on these wood benches where the waitresses brought these huge plates of food: first a lovely Spanish tortilla, then salted cod, until finally, the piece de resistance, a hunk of meat so brazen, so primitive, so delicious, was placed on the table before the diners. Some were awed, some intimidated, some ready for the challenge. And yet, all, in the true Etiwanda spirit, tackled the steak like Vikings on a mission.

Things I’ve Learned:
1. The Spanish sunbathe topless….the men, too.
2. A piece of tape can totally control you like a Jedi mind trick.
3. Chaperones cannot –CANNOT- be bought. See No. 2.
4. Europeans love ham and cheese, especially in a sandwich, at breakfast, at lunch, perhaps even dinner, in a croissant, in a parisienne, in a box with a fox, jambon et fromage, jamon y queso, so on….
5. Scalpers, on the other hand, can be bought. Embrace them, they are your friends. Really. I mean, where else can you pay the EXACT same price for a ticket sitting while your other friends, who bought from the box office (the Man) stood while Pat Metheny melted faces for two hours?
6. Ryan Pascual has his own juice. Drink it. It is delicious. Almost painfully so.