The Sad State of Mexican Food

One of the things we miss most about the states is good Mexican food. It makes sense… the best Mexican restaurants in the States are typically run by Mexicans, and there are not many Mexicans in the UK. Unfortunately the lack of Mexicans in England doesn’t stop the English from trying.

Wednesday is quesadilla day in one of our cafeterias. You pick up a plate with a quesadilla and then add some guacamole and refried beans. Actually, I should say that you then add some “guacamole” and “refried beans.” The guac was very light green and had the consistency of mayonnaise. The beans were chunky and light gray. I bravely took some guac (which might have made a nice salad dressing), but decided the beans were better left to my imagination.

One of my American coworkers from Texas was more cheeky than me. Without trying to be mean, she specifically asked the chefs why the sides did not look like they ought to. The chefs explained that the guacamole was made from avocados, sour cream, and mayonnaise. I don’t think she had the heart to ask about how they made the refried beans.

On a lighter note, the chefs did say that she should come back the next week to show them how to make the food properly.

The Schrockinator

Houston – Brother Lowell

Along with Margie, and John I got to see my brother, Lowell, who was on his university spring break.

He is a proud uncle.  He also says babies are ‘chick magnets’ so he held John as much as possible when we were out.

Lowell goes to Webb Institute, a shipbuilding school, and he has been spending his internships working in oil and gas shipping.  Lowell has done two internships in Houston, and will be doing a third this summer. He took me to one of the places he worked in Galveston on Saturday afternoon. His employer in Galveston was a business that repairs offshore oil rigs like this one.

There was also a lot of other cool stuff in the yard, like this reel for laying sea floor cables.

He was really excited about this ship – for a lot of design features that he was rambling on and on about.  I just think it is a cool looking boat – and he asked me to take a picture of it.

It was good to see you Lowell – I hope to visit you in New York next year before you graduate!

Krakow – Day 4

Our fourth day in Krakow had no real sightseeing agenda – just a day to explore.  We had a FOURTH day of beautiful weather, and abeautiful old city in lovely weather is a joy. 

First we stopped at a small art exhibit on the works of Jacek Malczewski.  I really liked his style, the colors and shapes were beautiful.  I am a fan of art nouveau and he is considered to be the best Polish art nouveau artist.  But, let me tell you, this guy sure was a narcissist.  Within 60 seconds of the exhibit, about the time I figured out that it was his face staring back at me from nearly every painting, I decided as much as I liked the style and technique of his work, that I wouldn’t have liked him as a person and I wouldn’t want a picture of his beady eyes staring back at me in my house.

The real piece of work was his version of ‘the last supper’ – guess who played Jesus, yep.  And to top it off, although in real life he had a receding hairline, as Jesus he gave himself a full head of flowing hair.

OK, sorry for the diversion about narcissistic painters, back to our tour.  Steve, the good traveller he is, had a waking tour from the Rick Steves guidebook to follow.

We took a leisurely pace, stopping at anything that struck our fancy. 

• We had a morning snack at a fabulous art nouveau cafe – with the best booths made for reclining – I could have stayed there all day. 

• We stopped at St Mary’s church, to see the altar piece. 

• We visited St. Francis’ Basilica – a beautifully simple art nouveau interior, a copy of the shroud of Turin (very interesting) and beautiful stained glass by one of Alek’s favourite artists, Stanislaw Wyspianski.  This church is where Pope John Paul II was archbishop of Krakow.  This picture was taken from the bench where he liked to pray in the back of the church.

• We stopped at an ancient, tiny church where nuns were singing prayers.  Very beautiful sounds. 

• There was lots of meandering, beautiful buildings and taking photographs - followed by a return to the same cafe for more coffee.

Just a wonderful day, taking it easy.