「第凡內早餐」, 演的是一心想嫁入豪門的奧黛莉赫本在紐約第五大道上的Tiffany（第凡內）外, 看著櫥窗中的高級飾品, 配著她手中的麵包來啃.

這是她的「第凡內早餐」.

以前在台灣工作的時候, 我最常買培根蛋加熱奶茶作為我一天的開始. 假日有閒情逸致, 才偶爾會去傳統的早餐店叫上一份燒餅油條配豆漿, 再把其中一半燒餅裡的油條沾著甜豆漿吃; 現在在美國, 我喜歡吃剛熱烤過的Bagel(貝果), 塗上厚厚一層的cream cheese, 那充滿嚼勁又香甜的口感, 再配上一大杯熱latte, 人生夫復何求?

這讓我想到, 這世界上每個不同地方的人們, 還真是用不太相同的方式來迎接自己晨起的第一餐阿!

記得我們去年去維也那和法國時, 早餐最常的吃法就是一個小croissant(可頌)外加一小杯cafe和一中杯新鮮現榨的柳橙汁. 這是很多歐洲國家咖啡店常見的special breakfast set. 但我卻是在維也那時才知道, 其實croissant並不是源於法國, 而是起源於奧地利. 牛角可頌看似一彎新月, 而新月正是土耳其國旗的式樣, 意指有吃掉土耳其的特別涵義在. 止不過厲害的法國就是懂得如何將外地傳來的美食再賦與它一個法式浪漫的名稱"Croi-ssant", 與更細緻的視覺與口感. 搞得現在大部分的人都還以為croissant是正統的法式麵包, 而非源於奧地利咧!

到了西班牙Barcelona(巴賽隆納), 還可以吃到當地很傳統的Chocolate con Churro(巧克力漿與甜油條). 之所以叫它巧克力漿是因為它加上了一些玉米粉, 口感真的很濃, 讓我第一次喝到的時候嚇了一跳, 因為跟平常喝的熱巧克力很不同. 但是其實它並不會太甜, 而那沾著巧克力的甜油條就跟美國的甜點"churro"口感差不多. 只是現炸的churro香酥, 再搭上巧克力的香濃甘甜, 對不常這樣吃早餐的我們來說, 是一個非常特別的體驗.

早餐很重要, 不只對健康而言, 對心情來說也是... Ally我一直都愛吃, 會開始喜歡做菜是因為到了美國生活後不用再像以前那樣忙碌, 美國外食也不比台灣的物美價廉, 而且美國相對來說比較乾燥與寒冷, 讓做菜的心情大好, 又有來自世界各地的辛香材料可供實驗, 以及書店網路電視上滿坑滿谷的DIT大全, 所以這裡真算的上是一個開始自學烹飪很棒的地方. 其實我也是開始熱衷在廚房耗上個大半天以後, 才慢慢開始了解一些以前平常常吃的東西, 其實自己做也很簡單; 另外當然也有很多看似簡單的料裡, 裡面卻大有學問在, 並不是那麼容易就可以複製的.

想到自己現在已經會做Muffin, 義大利Risotto(燉飯), 墨西哥Quasadilla(起士薄餅), 日本的可樂餅和中式餡餅..., 就還覺得滿開心的!

Ally不需要像奧黛莉赫本一樣癡心地望著我們公寓對面的Tiffany櫥窗, 就可以覺得很滿足!

This was the last trip we had before the end of 2007...

After surveying the web, I found a great deal to Barcelona and we decided this would be our last trip to Europe in 2007.

We thought it would be fun to stay there during Christmas and it was, and a lot more…

Of course, Paella and Tapas are the main reasons why we visited Barcelona, Spain. Certainly, I was anxious to see Gaudi’s architectures and Picasso’s masterpieces.

As always, we love to walk around the neighborhood and see what’s like living in the city of Barcelona. We rented an apartment for about two weeks in the center of the old town Barri Gotic near the Market de Santa Caterina and it’s 2 mins from the Barcelona Cathedral. The location was great and we were able to walk to many hot spots. We had a great experience in renting an apartment in our previous trip to Vienna and we thought it’s gonna be great here as well. Noooo…, it’s a blow and we were stunned by the apartment and it was nothing less than a disaster !! However, we had no idea there is more to come. Anyway, that’s not the point and we were able to survive through this.

I guess the meeting just before the trip took a toll on me and I got sick a little bit in Barcelona. Fortunately, I was still able to recover. The metro system in Barcelona is very great, probably the best we have ever been to. One thing is that it’s winter and it’s still cold if not chilly. Because of the jet lag, we got up early in the morning and it’s still dark outside. COLDDDDD…. Next time, we will definitely travel in Spring or Fall. Expensive, yes, everything in Barcelona is expensive. We thought maybe there were seasonal sale in Christmas but apparently it’s not the case. Thank god that we found a nice outlet and it’s fun shopping there.

We found a local restaurant near the beach of Barcelona and it was a wonderful experience. The waiter was so nice even though we can speak very little Spanish. The food was authentic and yummy. Following a great meal would be a walk along the beach of Barcelona and it’s beautiful. After moving to the east, we haven’t seen the beach for a while. It was a nice day and it’s warm and sunny, WONDERFUL !! We hoped to have our Christmas meal in that restaurant as well. Unfortunately, it’s reservation only. But it turned out that we end up in an even better restaurant. It’s more expensive but we had a great meal with fresh salad, paella and roasted lamb and, my Ally.

It’s amazing to see Gaudi’s famous architecture, the Sagrada Familia. Yes, it deserves the fame. When I came out the metro stop, look at it, it is shockingly stunning. It’s so different and so unique and you will not see it elsewhere. Gaudi IS THE BEST. La Pedrera is another wondering piece on Passeig de Gracia. It was a cloudy day but the roof is still amazing. Even the face of Darth Vader in the movie Starwar came from Gaudi. We went to a concert held in Palau de la Musica Catalana, one of the most beautiful music venue in Barcelona. That night was electric, the performance was great and it’s a lot of fun, full of Strauss and “Happy Christmas”.

It’s a wonderful trip and we experienced many unexpected, the good and the bad. While I have Ally, always, next to me.