Good Eats

Today was a very interesting day, with a touch of the south intermingled..

Last week Ursula mentioned to me this lady named Donna from Dallas, Texas who was arranging a trip to Spain for the chef that she works for, and other foodies from around their area to go on a culinary tour of Spain. We are not doing the entire tour, but they contacted us to do a Catalan cooking class. Ursula is friends with the cousin of one of three brothers that own this REALLY unbelievable restaurant here. It has two Michelin stars which is the grading scale of restaurants, and there are only like 3 Michelin starred restaurants in the entire country. It is called Cellar de can Roca if you would like to google...I will post pics later.

Anyway, I asked who the American chef was because I was interested..she said, yeah, I think he was on some tv show or something..So of course then I am VERY interested. Well, ends up his name is Kent Rathbun, and he owns two different restaurants in Dallas, with 5 locations in total. AND, he was on Iron Chef AND BEAT BOBBY FLAY.

So, I of course try to explain this Ursula because she has NO idea what it is, what it means, etc. So I tell her that she needs to get this guy on the tour--it could bring press, and get her company started off on the right foot. So Donna emails the beginning of the week last week and says that she is coming this weekend to check things out, etc. So we frantically contacted Cellar de can Roca to see (they are closed on Sundays) if 1 of the 3 brothers could give us a tour.

They agreed, and Jordi, the pastry chef, and youngest brother, met us there at 11:30 today along with the infamous Donna and suprisingly, Kent's wife. We got a complete tour of the kitchen, the lab basically where they distill things for their dishes, the HOLY SHIT wine cellar, and the seating area.

Jordi is 30 and became pastry chef at 21. And his oldest brother Joan is head chef and 14 years older, and then the middle brother is Jossep, and he is the sommelier. If you are interested at all in this kind of thing, these guys are unbelievable. They are wildy creative with the foods they serve and have 45 waitstaff for 50 guests per night. For example, Jordi is famous for doing perfume dishes. They are named after famous perfumes, such as Miracle by Lancome, or Ralph Lauren, or whatever. He distinguishes the scents found in the perfumes, and creates desserts around them. And then, to prove his talent, they serve the dishes with a piece of paper (in a side dish) that has been sprayed with the scent, so each guest can realize what he has done.

I know..absolutely insane. We were going to have lunch with them today there if it were open, but it was not. Damn...anyway, they obviously loved it and we totally sold them. Then we took them on a walking our quickly through Girona and then had lunch at a really nice restaurant--another $300 lunch. Oh, I didn't post yesterday, but we had lunch overlooking the Mediterranean at another REALLY nice place--bottle of wine, champagne, and $300.

And of course, Kent's wife, Tracy totally loved me. We talked the whole time and laughed and she was hysterical. Very down to earth and nice. Then she tells me that she owns a restaurant as well. She was the manager of a Porsche dealership in Dallas for 13 years, quit, and asked a friend if she would open a restaurant with her so they could each spend more time with their children and take vacations when they wanted to. (I know...doesn't make sense to me either, but whatever)

So, that was 3 years ago, and they have just expanded. Her restaurant business is booming--it is called Shinsei (I think) and is obviously japanese. Then, Tracy mentions Top Chef, and I am like, OMG I love that show!!! And she says....Taylor, are you ready???? Drumroll please!!!!!!!!

TRE WAS HER CHEF WHEN HE WAS ASKED TO BE ON TOP CHEF!!!! I was like, NO WAY!!! He was my favorite!!! My friend Taylor is going to die! So of course I asked her all about him--and then Carly (I think that was her name..she came in 3rd) also worked for her, but they both got fired!!!! She said that they just got too big for their britches...I don't think Ursula understood. HAHA

Anyway, I almost didn't write all this because I know everyone is like, oh my god! That is so cool, you should stay! Well, no. Ursula, as well as her lack of parenting skills are driving me mad and I can't even take it. And she is totally one of those people that wants to put on a front instead of being honest. In the car on our way to meet them at the restaurant, I said...you know they are going to ask how I got here. What would you say? And she said...oh, I don't know...a website would sound so tacky. I don't think we should say that...and I said, well they would ask ME, not YOU, and I am not lying. I said, we can change it to Monster instead of AuPair.com, but I am telling them the truth. And then she said what about if we said we met through friends?? And I said..ummm.. NO.

And of course, they were like, oh Lauren, where are you from? Where did you go to school? So nice, adn could have cared less how Ursula found me..

And sidenote of the evening--anytime Albert does anything he shouldn't, she thinks it's cute. And giggles. He was refusing to eat what she had made for him and kept shoving it away and only would eat cheese. And then grabbed the glass olive oil container off of the table and starts putting his cheese into it--she laughs. I am thinking...olive oil is SO expensive, as is the GLASS container he is holding...Aww he wants to be so grown up...she says.

CRASH!!!! It breaks into a million pieces on the floor. And I said, chuckling, that is why you don't let 2 year olds play with olive oil! I can hear a faint scream in the distance as I type...

Ursula is sweet but will take, take, take, until you tell her no. She is trying to take advantage of me in so many ways. And it's as if the nice house and nice lunches should make up for it. It doesn't. For example, me working today...she never once asked me, and then joked about how she never asked me...haha...not funny. It was fun, but I finally said, so what do I get for working on a Sunday??? And she said real quick--well, we ARE going to Barcelona on Thursday! So, I said..fine...you're right. I hope they do drop me off on a corner so I can be by myself!!! There are so many idiosynch (I have no idea how to spell it..) that I cannot explain through a computer, but I have been practicing imitations. WOW.

I know that many people don't understand why i am leaving, but I do...and that is what matters. I do not see it as a failure....life is a learning process.

Enjoy these pics of the restaurant and the wine celler. They honestly don't do it justice, but here ya go!

Cellar de can Roca wine cellar--they had all these different little areas where each type of wine was represented and studied by Jossep, etc. This was the champagne area..with the flat screen in each area and things that represent the type in the middle--so hard to explain, but this glass box has silver little pebbles in it representing the bubbles of the champagne. Jordi said that vineyard owners come in and see what they are doing with their wines, and how much they understand it, and the vineyard owners leave crying they are so touched.

This is looking from the lounge (pictured below) across a courtyard to the outside of the wine cellar. Those are ALL old crates of wine, built to make the walls.

This is where they experiment distilling things and analyzing the molecular structure of ingredients. I know...weirdest thing ever. They have a recipe online that I found that calls for 10 oz. of distilled earth from moist soil...not even kidding. HAHAHAH

This is the Cabernet area..

Can't remember--something with earthy tones
It's like a museum for Hellen Keller or something, isn't it????

One tiny area of the cellar, turned around from the picture above.

The lounge area for before dinner or after dinner cocktails and smoking are permitted.
Like an IDIOT I didn't take any of the actual restaurant, but it's online.

The kitchen

Hope you all enjoy! And yep, still wanna come home! :)

can you tell my mood has changed now that I have made a decision and there is a light at the end of the tunnel??!!!! YAY!!!

love

Confusion

Well, I thought I had it all figured out..I thought that I was for SURE coming home. Until tonight. I told Ursula that I just couldn't do it and that I needed to leave. She basically tried to talk me into staying for the next 20 minutes.

I explained to her my frustration with working in the same environment that I am living and my lack of transportation issue. She said she would work out my work schedule and that they would be willing to buy me a bike to get around.

Then she left and Joan said he wanted to talk to me--he (via Ursula) said he feel so comfortable with me around and that he feels like I am part of the family. He is really so sweet. I actually like him the best..too bad we can't even talk.

There was much more than this said, but I just wanted everyone to be informed of the situation. I am trying not to be hasty either way, and I think I do owe it another week or two. In two days I may feel differently. In two hours, I may feel differently. Who the hell knows. I just wish time would speed up and it would be warm. It is so damn cold here. I know it is there too, but I mean, moving to Spain you think it would at least be 60--NO...it is not.

Another day, another day...the roller caoster of my life.

Anne Frank...

So, I was lying on my bed earlier with like 15 blankets on me because the house is so cold, and I started giggling to myself and thought...I AM LIKE ANNE FRANK!!! Holed up in her room, reading instead of writing, but you get the gist...

I have nothing of eloquence to say this evening. I had a wonderful first conversation with my mom tonight on Skype and it was so good to see her sweet face!!! We were laughing at how it only been 9 days since I left!!! I feel like I have been gone an eternity!! It is so strange.

I need to get to bed, but I think I have come to the conclusion that this is just not for me. I don't know why God led me here and why this all fell into place, other than to show me what I DO have. I miss my friends tremendously and I miss my life. And with the circumstances as they are, I don't see anything getting any better. So, I am beginning to look at flights...not tonight, but soon--haha

I can't even think..I am exhausted and need to get some shut eye...

LOVE

The Washer

So, totally random poast but I meant to put this in the one last night and forgot. I got home from going out with Maria and decided I needed to do some laundry.

So I gathered all my dirty clothes and walked them downstairs to the laundry room. I couldn't find the detergent and I also had no idea how to run the thing. So I tapped on Albert's door because she was in there reading him a story. I said..."do you mind coming down after you put him down and showing me how to use the washing machine?" She said, Oh no problem.

So I patiently sat in the hard white wicker chair at the hard white kitchen table that sits on the hard white marble floor surrounded by hard white walls (you get the point...total hospital) and waited for her. She came down about 10 minutes later and we went into the laundry room and she shows me the detergent. And then puts it in, and then says, "You know, actually, I am not exactly sure how to do this. Maybe we should wait on Gloria in the morning?!"

I said...okay, sure, not a problem.

WHAT? What woman on earth doesn't know how to work her own washing machine? And with a 2 year old? SO STRANGE. A very telling incident I might add... :)

okay, devotional, breakfast, and work.

love

My Mariiiiiiiiaaaaa!!!!

That is supposed to sound like Brooks and Dunn...haha--

To sum up today, well it has been one of lots of.....thinking. I am sitting at my desk listening to George Winston's album December. It reminds me of my mom's at Christmas. It is soothing...there are no sounds in the house and I still have a twinge of a headache.

The day was fine--basically sat at a computer from 9:30 this morning until 6:30 tonight, ran upstairs and wrote my mom an email, and then changed clothes with tears in my eyes and re-did my makeup. Maria came at 7 and we drove to the center of town and parked and walked to a cafe. We each got a cup of coffee and I basically told her everything I was feeling in the simplest words possible with lots of hand gestures. She is SO sweet and I am so glad we got to spend time together.

I explained to her how I felt like I didn't know if I made the right decision by coming, and that I felt trapped and was not sure how I would make things better. To fill you all in, Ursula is very strict. She is very generous and always wants to make me comfortable in the house, etc. but is also very clear about how I am supposed to clean up and do the dishes, whatever. Which is fineand I totally understand. The "work" part is the issue. The other girls that came here worked many less hours than me. They would work maybe 20 hours a week, while I am working 40.

I work everyday from 9:30 to 6:30 with an hour lunch break. The buses of Girona run every 15 minutes from very near the house, down to the center of town, or to the train station to Barcelona. I have yet to take it, but it is supposedly very safe and clean, and I have seen them--they are like nice buses...not what you are picturing I am sure. The problem is that they stop their service at 9:30 PM. Also, this time of year it gets dark at 5:30. Anyway, I could leave and take the bus to the town center when I got off work, but there would be no way for me to get home. And Maria basically said to me that for me to have a social life, I need to work less hours. So that maybe I would get off at 2pm and get to walk around, go read in a park, look at the buildings, shops, etc. while it is daylight and there are people out.

You also need to understand that the nightlife doesn't start here until at least 10PM. So, I don't know what to do. I have credit card bills to pay and am not afforded the luxury of only working 20 hours a week as the "college" girls did. It is so difficult to be first off living in someone else's home when you have had so much. I have had my own home and am older and need my space. And then to add the lack of transportation into the mix, it just makes for a precarious situation. She said that Ursula has a lack of empathy in that regard because she basically does whatever she wants to do, whenever she wants to do it.

It is so confusing because you have this picture painted in your mind about how something is going to be, and when it is not what you expected, you feel disappointed. I do think that attitude can make or break situations too, but I just don't know how I can make this one better. I don't know where my place is and I am feeling like I am being taken advantage of a bit. Or that she is going to try and take advantage of me. Maria said she was very surprised I was feeling this way...already...

They are supposed to have friends over this weekend for a barbecue, which would be fun, but I am like...GOD....get me out of this house!!!!! It would be so different living in a city where there was public transportation near by and I could come and go as I pleased. However that is FAR from the case. Maria thinks I need to talk with Ursula about everything--but I just need to figure out what it is I even want!!! haha

Thank you for all my emails and thoughts and prayers. I have learned, if anything, through all of this, that I love my friends. I love my social life and I love going places I know people. I thought I wanted anonymity, but I do not. It is so strange to be so removed from my own comfort zone. I did this because I felt stangnant in my life. I felt that I wasn't progressing and that there was "more to see". And maybe there is...maybe there is more for me here in this country. Only time will tell.

Each morning I get up and do my best to start the day as a new one. As a new beginning, and to not approach it with the burdens that I had yesterday. I know that not many people get to experience what I have experienced and live where I am living, so I try to be grateful for that. I was thinking today about if I moved back...what would happen. My mom emailed me and asked me where I would go. I said...Nashville for sure...I miss Nashville right now more than anything in the world, and if anything, this "jaunt" has definitely confirmed that. I have such wonderful friends and people that would do anything for me. The amount of emails I get a day from friends is amazing....now just 'cause I said that does NOT mean they should stop...haha--but I am so BLESSED to have the amount of friends that I do!!! I know I bitch about how I have LITERALLY been in 17 weddings (I will name them if you need me to), but I am so fortunate to have that!!!

So, that is where I am today. TODAY. Tomorrow I will probably be crying my eyes out again, but right NOW I am feeling fortunate. And like I want to go out downtown in cowboy boots, with a Bud Light in my hand and scream at the top of my lungs "you and me going fishin in the park!" HAHAHAHA

I love you all

Right Now, I Hate Europe

Well, just finished up dinner when Albert was screaming the whole time, and any time I tried to help him, etc. he scowled at me. Then I came upstairs and was going to watch The Bachelor that I never got to watch last night because of trying to upload the pictures, and I click play, and it reads

"This option only available to those viewers that are in the U.S."


I just burst into tears and am literally crying as I write this. I just want to watch tv!!!!! I just want noise besides ALBERT!!!! And this house is like a freakin hospital!!!!! Everything is marble, and there is LITERALLY no carpet, and no fabric anywhere besides on the beds. I am not even exaggerating. Think about that for a minute...no toile, no monograms, nothing.

Orange. Orange. Orange. (I'm really not trying to be funny.)

And tile and more tile, and marble and more marble. Yeah, now do you understand about the echoing of Albert's screams? I have had a headache all day and I just wanted tv. I feel like I am so trapped right now. I guess I'll watch Love Actually again.

I really don't know if I can do this. I don't even know what to say. I just want to go home.

LQS

Address!

Here is my address for all the packages I know that everyone is just DYING to send me! :)

I would sure appreciate them!!!


Lauren Staley
c/o Joan y Ursula Capdeville
c/ Osca 4
17003 Girona
Spain

I have no idea if that is the way to write my name and theirs, but I am sure it would be fine.

Love to you all--devotional time and off to work.

lauren