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Things taste better in Spain.

Normally, I do not like brussels sprouts. But at lunch one day they served brussel sprouts, and I tried them. They tasted like little clumps of spinach – I wouldn’t choose them over other items, but they were not bad. Definitely better than my memories of them from when I was a child.

Normally, I dislike olives, especially on pizza. Their putrid flavor overwhelms everything else in that bite of food. But at every dinner, the appetizer-type plate included olives. I tried one and it was not as strong or nasty-tasting as the olives one finds in the USA. I had another one the next night, but again would not choose them over other items.

Here in the USA, we normally expect Mexican food to be spicier than the typical American food, whatever American food may be. Spanish food did not have much spice to it. It was good, but not spicy.

Most of the items would seem normal to an American. The most interesting item I saw on a menu was black rice. “How do they make the rice black?” you may be wondering. They color it with squid ink.

Take a travel alarm clock with you. I took my battery-powered one this time, and it was quite handy. It is common for hotel rooms in Europe not to have alarm clocks. In Germany and Spain at least, it seems that they expect you to rely on the hotel wake-up-call service. Having a battery-powered clock meant that I did not have to worry about electrical adapters.

Take a direct flight whenever possible. I had a couple of connections each way on my last trip, and they caused problems. On the way there, the middle flight was late, so we missed our flight for the final leg of the trip. We got booked on the next flight, but that an extra two hours of sitting in the airport. On the way back, the flight for the final leg of the trip was canceled, so we got booked on the next flight. That meant an extra three hours of sitting in the airport.

I recommend against using US Airways (and those surveyed by Zagat agree). See above post for background information. For some humor, see the survey outtakes. And on the last flight, the one that was three hours after the original flight should have been, someone decided to wait for another plane that had passengers connecting to our flight. So we sat for another 30 minutes for this other plane’s passengers. After that time, the pilot announced that the other plane had not yet landed, so we were going to take off. But since we were just sitting and waiting, the ground crew for our plane had been pulled off in order to assist another plane, so we had to wait for them. It was a long day of waiting. But the flight itself went smoothly and safely. However, I have not had the logistics problems on other airlines that I had on this trip with US Airways.

Take plenty of cash, in Euros probably. Many places in Europe don’t like credit cards. Even a restaurant in the Barcelona airport would take Visa but not Mastercard. If the card reader prompts the cashier for a PIN and you don’t have one because it is a credit card not a debit card, then just press Enter without entering a PIN. This one threw me off for a few tries, which is why you need to have cash on hand, in case something is not right with the credit card transaction.

Tomato soup in Spain may be served cold, so if you don’t like V-8 juice, then ask about the temperature of the soup beforehand.

I normally like for old records to stand. For instance, Walter Payton‘s rushing yardage record should not have been broken. Also, Hank Aaron‘s record should be the record. For that matter, I wouldn’t mind if Babe Ruth still had the home run record. I’m sentimental, so the longer a record has lasted, the more I like to see it stay unbroken.

But in the case of the 1972 Miami Dolphins and their undefeatedness, I wouldn’t mind if another football team also went undefeated. The 2007 New England Patriots were so close this year, and I was hoping they would make it to 19-0. I suppose the reason is that the league has changed since 1972, so the Dolphins’ record will forever last as the only NFL team to go undefeated in the 14-game season. Now the season lasts 16 games, so new records have to be viewed in a different manner. Just like how even though Wayne Gretzky might hold some statistical records in the NHL, he can’t match Gordie Howe because the numbers of teams and games in the NHL changed.

“Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you.”
– Deuteronomy 32:7

Last night, my wife made an observation which turned out to be a very good, albeit unintentional, pun.

We were driving through town when she noticed the local spa was offering over-priced eyebrow waxing.

“Eyebrow wax for $10? What a rip-off!” she exclaimed.

If I need to add any explanation, then it is not going to be as funny.

As a blogger, I am required to post an entry about the recent Super Bowl. I was disappointed that the New England Patriots lost. I was rooting for them because Tom Brady went to the University of Michigan. Plus Eli Manning is Peyton’s brother, so he automatically ranks high on the annoying list. The game was too close for my comfort – I would rather the Patriots kept a decent lead instead of letting the lead change sides so much. I couldn’t watch the last few plays.

After the game, I heard Mitch Albom ask this question: “Would a neutral third-party be more likely to cheer for the underdog or for the perfect season?”

A lot of people like to go for the underdogs, which were the New York Giants in this case. Even though I am not a neutral party, I chose to answer the question for myself. I would choose to cheer for the perfect season, 19-0, for the reason that there will always be underdogs, always be a team that shouldn’t win, but there will rarely be a perfect team.

I opine that the Patriots lost because they were arrogant and the Giants won because they were confident. The difference between arrogance and confidence is, in this case, that confidence thinks it can win the game but arrogance thinks it has already won the game. The Giants knew they were capable of winning the game and so they played extra hard in order to do so. The Patriots knew they were favored to win the game and so they played with their standard effort.

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
– Luke 14:11