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Read More: The Secret History

Kaye's friend Ellen recommended Donna Tartt's The Secret History, and I'm so glad she did. It was a really fun book--hard to put down. It's a thriller set in the classics department of an idyllic northeastern liberal arts school. It really brought me back to my college days, although of course I did not experience the murder and intrigue. It made me want to break out my old Greek flashcards.

I read some reviews that faulted this book because they thought it was unrealistic. A bunch of undergrads who are so obsessed with the classics that it leads to ruin... who think they're brilliant but seem to drink and do drugs all day... who squander lots of money and spend unreasonable amounts of time cultivating personas that seem out of place in this century. To those people, I say, "You, my friend, have never spent time at Reed College." Or probably any other small liberal arts college peopled with impressionable young classics dorks. How many times did we sit in the commons room of the dorm talking about how fun it would be to reenact the Bacchae? Well, what I learned from this book is that it is probably a good thing we did not.

Anyway, I would recommend this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has studied the classics, because I'm sure they will get a kick out of it. I think Megan would dislike it because none of the characters are particularly likable. But her standards for behavior are much higher than mine, in real life and in books, so all of the characters' personality flaws were A-OK with me. They kind of made the book.

-Kristin

Must See: The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

Not feeling like watching anything in particular, I decided to peruse the selections stagnating in our Netflix instant queue and stumbled upon The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. The description: "This sardonic sitcom focuses on Todd Margaret, a clueless American manager sent to London to promote sales of an energy drink called Thunder Muscle." I thought "Well this could be bad," remembering that awful show about the guy who gets sent to India to manage a telemarketing center. But I decided to try it anyway. After watching an episode of Babar where his mother is killed and he loses his way from the herd, anything would do.

The first actor to pop on screen was someone who looked exactly like David Cross (Tobias). Then Will Arnett (G.O.B) appeared and I knew David Cross was really David Cross, but how in the world had I not heard about a show with these two powerhouses? Maybe it was a flop?

Nope. It was a win. The perfect mixture of slap stick and wit! We've only watched one and a half episodes, but there were laughs enough for days. Poppy laughed so hard we were unsure at first whether she was crying or laughing.

- Megan Leigh

The Great Churro Hunt: La Churreria

I've been thinking about churros non-stop since I got back from Spain. I've tried quieting the craving by stuffing cupcakes down my gullet, but to no avail. I'm a churro addict. Kristin also became addicted by reading our blog posts. We couldn't sit idly by hoping our churro desire would dissipate on its own, we had to do something about it. So today we began the Great Churro Hunt.

Luckily Cat didn't have to work today so we all got to take part in the hunt together. We met down in SoHo at a place called La Churreria. We figured a place named after churros would be our best bet and it got good Yelp reviews. While waiting for a tardy Cat we witnessed three young boys skipping school to get churros. "This is it! This is it!" They yelled, smiling, pointing at the churros in the window. Had they been a bit older I might just have fallen in love today.

First we ordered food. Me and Kristin shared a mediocre sandwich, in true Spanish fashion. Cat got a few tapas, which were no extravaganza for the taste buds, but okay. Then for the churros. The excitement! The expectations! The dipping chocolate was good, no pudding, but that was quite an exceptional treat. The churros, however, were not so good. They were too chewy and dense.

The churro hunt continues...

- Megan Leigh

The churros made my mouth feel funny. They were so chewy. They made my mouth feel itchy in a not-so-itchy kind of way. I was not very impressed! Also, the place did not have a bathroom. And it is a sit-down-restaurant. C'mon now. And the place was only rated B, which we realized AFTER we ordered our food. Not to be a gloomy gus, but I was not super impressed! I did like the dipping chocolate though.

-Kristin

Update on my street-gardens

Everybody has been asking me, "Kristin! How are those bulbs doing--the ones you planted last winter? I'm just dying to know!" So I'm giving you an update on my little gardens.

OK, nobody has actually asked me about my bulbs. But I'm still doing an update. Because these flowers make me happy every time I walk by them!

Here are photos of my two little flowerbeds. What do you think?

Apparently we have gotten a flower donation for the street, and we are going to try planting perennials. That should be exciting!

-Kristin

Read More: Nim Chimpsky

Last summer a few of my friends and I instituted a yearly book giving holiday. Josh's gift book for me was Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human by Elizabeth Hess. A few years before this, for one reason or another, I made a vow to make Josh cry. I'm assuming he secretly decided to reciprocate the challenge and that's why he sent me this book. We had previously discussed the heart wrenching This American Life episode with chimp island, so he knew exactly what gets this shriveled old heart aching. Although he didn't succeed in making me cry on the outside, my insides were shuddering in paroxysms of anguish.

Nim Chimpsky is the story of a chimp who is raised by humans and taught sign language for research purposes. He continually bonds with his human families, teachers and handlers who all abandon him at some point or another. After a few years the research project ends abruptly and sends poor little Nim back to the chimp farm where he was born. Having grown up in houses with furniture, brushing his teeth in the morning and wearing clothes, he is thrown into a bare, concrete floored cage and forced to figure out how to act like a chimp. At his new home he is again used for ASL research, until they run out of money and Nim is sent to a medical research facility. Eventually he is rescued (he is luckily a famous chimp by now) and sent to a sanctuary where he faces more troubles. His ending is better than I thought it would be, but still a far from desirable life.

Had Jane Goodall not already convinced me that monkeys and apes are not supposed to be pets, this book would have convinced me. Not even a little spider monkey for me, no matter how much I yearn for one.

All of this took place in the 60's and 70's, I believe. I figured biomedical research on apes had been illegal for some time, but I decided to go to the PETA website to check on that. And there on the homepage was a link to a video stating that the US and one other teeny country in Africa are the only countries in the world that still conduct invasive experiments on chimps.  Of course.

- Megan Leigh

Day Eleven: Barcelona

I'm sad that this is our last day in Spain. Although I'm getting tuckered out, I'm still not quite ready to go back to the real world.

We had a few things to do left on our list, so we woke up early and got them done. First we headed out to the Sagrada Familia. Now I understand why it's taken so long to complete. It's huge and incredibly intricate. It'll be amazing when all the windows have their stained glass in.

After that we crossed the street for our last churros con chocolate. Barcelona, or at least this place, does it different. Instead of hot chocolate we got hot pudding. We thought they couldn't get any better and then they did.

Next we headed up Montjuic. For a bit of the trip up we got to ride in an aerial tram and see some nice views of the city. It looks huge from above. Then we headed down on foot, exploring castles and gardens and playing gin rummy on the way. We happened along these big slides, which take home the prize for best slide ever. And I believe I saw my first Eurasian Magpie up there, which was exciting because I've been a bit sad seeing all of the same birds as in the US.

We ate at an Italian place that was the best meal we've had. Super pizza and cheesy noodle surprise.

We ended our night people-watching on La Rambla and having a mug of sangria. Unfortunately it was American style, so not quite a perfect end, but pretty good!

I decided every year Cat and I will take a long trip. I'm not sure if she agreed to this or not. Any protestations were ignored. Today I said 'One day we'll be old married ladies taking trips together'. She responded 'Maybe it will be enjoyable then'. I just spent two weeks with a jerk and only found out her true nature today!

- Megan Leigh

Pretty good end to a wonderful trip! I look forward to my own bed,but hate the thought of no longer waking to Megan's creepy/longing gaze. Maybe she'll spend the night at my place tomorrow- just to ease back into reality. Back to life...

- Cat

Read More: Seven Gothic Tales

I picked up Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dineson when we were in Ithaca. There is a big, wonderful used bookstore downtown, just like every college town should have. I have always thought that Isak Dineson is a pretty fascinating woman. I loved Out of Africa (I know Megan probably thinks it's just another dumb memoir of a white person in Africa), and Isak Dineson/Karen Blixon seemed to have such a fascinating and tragic life.

This book was completely different than Out of Africa, but it did not disappoint. The seven short stories in the collection are haunting, the language and images are beautiful... it's really a masterpiece. I guess in Blixon's native Denmark, this is a pretty famous work of literature, but I'd never heard of it before. Now I think it is a shame that it's not better known here. I don't think I can really do justice to the writing, so I won't say too much. However, I will warn that the first story is probably the hardest to get into, so I would just encourage any curious reader to keep going. It's worth it! I know that I'll be thinking about these stories for a while.

One of the stories reminded me of another eerie, gothic tale I heard recently on Radiolab (one of my favorite podcasts). It's definitely worth a listen, and it's not long at all.

-Kristin

Special Report: Where's the Filth?

The night we ate Pringles on the sidewalk we carefully looked down and around before we sat down on the curb looking for glass, roaches, gum, rats... The sidewalk was immaculate. At one point I dropped a chip in the street and almost popped it right back into my mouth because it looked so clean. It was then we realized just how clean this country is.

In the states at night roaches and rats come out to play - not just in overcrowded New York, but in Florida and St. Louis as well. Here we haven't seen one. We rarely see bugs at all.

The trash cans are always empty instead of overflowing with rubbish The subways look as if they've been freshly swept instead of coated with a trash filled ooze. It's amazing.

- Megan Leigh

Day Ten: Barcelona

We left Mallorca and headed back to Barcelona today. Just as you would expect the weather turned nice just after I left. I don't know what I did to deserve this. I'd say it was because of those couple times I ate muffies in front of Kristin, neglecting to get her one of her own, but this bad luck began even before that! Why???

We dropped our stuff off at the hostel and headed out to Pull & Bear in search of these pants I've been pining for since Sevilla (like the hippie pants, but more refined). They had my size. I tried them on. They were awful. Tarnations.

We headed over to Parc Ciutadella and walked around. Cat made me take stalking pictures of a man on a bench. It felt like old times. The park had an amazing fountain that wasn't working. The park also had an amazing smell because it housed a zoo. There were a lot of Quaker Parrots hanging around so I did the creep and got up close for some pictures and noticed that they all had big circular tags around their necks. Poor little guys - let's tag Conrad!

Hunger rumbling our bellies, we went in search of a tapas restaurant. We found one and were again not impressed, but the waiters were joking men so that was a slight redeeming factor.

- Megan Leigh

1. At least today was our first day of rain, and it was just a light drizzle
2. The man I wanted to stalk seemed very familiar, and was talking about hanging with directors and producers, so it was for work purposes- I just got too nervous to bug him.
3. So many joking men in this country- how could you not love it!

- Cat

Day Nine: Palma

Today we had a relaxed day. Sick of riding the bus, we decided to stay close to home. We woke up with a craving for churros and crepes after passing a restaurant frequently on the bus that advertised both. We walked and walked and walked and finally got there to be told we were thirty minutes late for churro time. Crepes, however, were still available. Because we like to order the same things we both got chocolate banana ones. Ohhhh my. These things oozed chocolate. For a chocoholic to say 'too much' you can imagine how gushy they were.

We walked and walked and walked back to the hostel area where we decided to play gin rummy on the beach. I taught Cat the game and she's very into it. She's been getting very daring. Since the beach was so windy cat constructed us a special gin rummy arena that worked out quite well. She said she couldn't do anything about making the weather warmer, so we played all bundled up.

I am not going to admit what we did for dinner, but afterwords we had a pitcher of sangria and watched Barcelona vs Chelsea and felt like real Spaniards.

- Megan Leigh

My gin rummy arena was inspired by the Hunger Games arena, in the first book that is. Even had the mountain range to the north, where Peta camouflaged himself oh so well.

Our tour guide in Sevilla kept saying that Spaniards are very lazy, and after today, I finally feel like one. But that feeling wont last long- shortly we'll be back to the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps. What a drastic change it'll be!

- Cat

Day Eight: Palma

Today we headed out on a bus to the other side of the island to the Caves of Drach. Unfortunately no picture taking in the caves was allowed, so you'll have to google them if you're curious. However, if you've been to Meremac Caverns, you've got the gist of this cave.

They let in about three hundred people at once. It was crazy - tour bus after tour bus kept arriving. We let all of them go in first and waited to hop in at the end of the line, which made for a much nicer experience I am sure.

At the end of the tour we sat in an auditorium type place where they put on concerts. The lights went down and three lit up boats came out onto the water. One had a couple violinists, a cellist and an organ player who played us a few appropriate cave tunes. It was like Phantom of the Opera with better music. Then to finish the tour we got to take our own mega quick boat ride to the exit.

We took a short walk down to Porto Cristo. More expensive, crappy food, but the water was beautiful - exactly what I was expecting from Mallorca. There were some crazies sun bathing and playing in the water while Cat and I were bundled up in our coats.

For dinner we went back to the place we usually do that has the most decent food. We tried to get tapas off the beaten path, but everything closed early tonight.

After dinner and drinks we went to a bar closer to home where we finally had a good night out that included dancing. One bartender decided his mission was to make Cat blush. I won't say more because she'll blush. "What a weird, weird place" I just heard her mumble as she gets ready for bed.

- Megan Leigh

I tried to scrub it off- but I still smell like men's cologne. One blushing attempt was to spray me with the lovely pungent spray. Made me gag more than anything. At least my dreams will be filled with bizarro bartenders rather than Michael Meyers type hostel workers- like Megan's dreams.

- Cat

Day Seven: Palma

Today we headed up the mountains to a little town called Valldemossa, Mallorca's highest town. The bus ride was pretty and the town was so cute. I wonder what the residents do up there for work. Maybe they commute or just go there in the summer? Our bus journeys have tainted our feelings towards Germans. Although I've never quite felt that Germans were an okay bunch because of the whole Hitler thing, I now actively (insert a less strong word than hate here, but only slightly less) them. Getting on the bus they refuse to wait their turns and smash their enormous bosoms into you trying to knock you aside. It's an awful experience, so I was a little satisfied to see German after German trip over a step on the way off the bus. Little karma.

We got off the bus in Old Town Palma and wandered around there for a bit. We got another sad lunch, which at least we expected this time. Then we stumbled upon the beautiful cathedral and waterfront.

Cat keeps getting her hand caught in the Pringles cans (There's been a lot of chowing down on Pringles) and we've decided to call it Pooh Bearing. I'd really like her to Pooh Bear while Porky Pigging (or maybe just go full Pooh Bear?), but she needs to do that on her own time.

After a nice little nap we went out for more awful food and more good sangria. I'm thinking we give up on food and just survive on sangria from here on out.

- Megan Leigh

I'm pretty sure Megan has pooh beared once or twice- its time to admit it, lady. Another thing she's left out is when we've made friends! We've gone out of our comfort zones and talked to other people. Why, today we went back to the same restaurant as yesterday to get sangria. Everyone remembered us and chatted us up. They even look forward to seeing us tomorrow. Look at us now! Socializing!

- Cat

Special Report: The Dogs of Spain

The dogs of Spain are amazing. They are the most well behaved dogs I've ever encountered. On leash, off leash, in Barcelona, Sevilla or Mallorca. The few who did bark did so because it was the only outlet for their extreme joy. What is their secret??

- Megan Leigh

Day Six: Sevilla and Palma

This morning we went in search of churros con chocolate again. This time we found a lighter, fluffier churro that looked more like the NYC style. They were much easier to chow down on.

We wandered the streets of Sevilla one last time. Cat went up on top of the mushroom. I was too terrified. She is very brave! Then we hopped on the bus to catch a plane bound for beautiful Mallorca.

It's so nice to be by the water again and to smell the stink of the debris washed ashore! Our hostel room is for just two people with a private bathroom ,so it's just like a hotel. We're on the fourth floor so have a nice little peekaboo view of the ocean.

Being by the beach I really wanted a fish sandwich so we went a looking. This is evidently a big German destination so all of the restaurants along the beachfront had menus in German, which were even harder to decipher than Spanish. I ended up with ehhhh fish and Cat got pizza. Going with the beach theme I got a piña colada, which was a disgrace to piña coladas around the world. Then to bed to recharge for a day of exploring tomorrow.

- Megan Leigh

We also dined on churros y chocolate with our hostel roommate- Jason from California. It was fun getting to know him beyond his sleeping habits.

- Cat

Day Five: Sevilla

We skipped the cornflakes and went out for churros con chocolate this morning. Soooo rich. The churros were just like big tubes of funnel cake - very greasy and heavy. The chocolate was a lot thicker than ours, but not quite as sugary. My taste buds enjoyed the meal, but my stomach told me I better stop eating soon... or else.

After our healthy breakfast we went shopping. There are tons of cheap (and cheaply made) clothing stores here. We checked out an H&M to make sure it wasn't any different - same exact stuff. At a little boutique Cat got a sailor sundress that I am so envious of. Later I got a polka dot jumpsuit that I was happy to get - but it doesn't compare to that dress. I found a little golden spoon for Popperton since she is obsessed with having the right spoon.

We went to a cafe that advertised rice and veggies for lunch. Since we had such good rice before we were excited to have more. This rice was more like paella and the rice was undercooked. Another food disappointment!

We stayed at the hostel for dinner and finally had our frozen pizza accompanied with our free sangria. Then we went out again in search of nightlife. It's very confusing to figure out what is a bar or cafe and what is closing soon or not. We ended up at a place with the best sangria yet - they added a thick layer of sugar to the bottom of the cup. Amazing! The ice cream shops stay open super late here. It's so sweet to see groups of boys walking around with their ice cream cones. Kristin would love this city!

- Megan Leigh

The sailor jumpsuit is lovely! I am envious of it- and wish I had thought to try it on. Alas, I think our matching days are over- best leave that to the young children of Spain. We also stopped in a little toy shop and got a flamenco Barbie dress for Lucy. It is so lovely, I secretly want to keep it for myself, but I guess I should leave it to the young to play with Barbies as well.

- Cat

Day Four: Sevilla

We got up at the crack of dawn today - 9:30 - and had our first free breakfast. I think the cereal was cornflakes. Cat made a kinda barfy noise after her first spoonful, which was very unappetizing. I was very hungry after Pringle dinner so I gave my spoonful a try anyway. It wasn't anything a lot of sugar couldn't fix.

Around 11 we went on a walking tour where we saw many a landmark led by a small, easy on the eyes Italian. Afterwords we ate at our first decent restaurant. Their chicken and rice was very tasty. We also got these weird hard boiled eggs topped with tuna and drenched in mayonnaise. They were a little terrifying to look at, but very delightful.

After lunch we headed back to Maria Luisa Park, one of our sites on the tour, to reflect on our Spanish days. We returned to the hostel where Cat discovered her debit account had been hijacked. Just like when Josh's checkbook was stolen, Cat's nogoodnick also had a pizza party... and dropped $1600 at Nieman Marcus. Way classier than my Walmart shopping hijacker.

We stayed in at the hostel for the evening and drank free sangria (pretty sure it was just juice) and had little hamburger tapas and couscous. The couscous had giant, wonderful raisins, which were unfortunately surrounded by the couscous. Then we sadly played cards by ourselves until the common areas shut down and then went to bed.

- Megan Leigh

The small, easy on the eyes Italian also served us our drinks and food at the hostel. He was very attentive and chatty with all guests- such things you look for in a young man, or an excellent employee. Well done boy. I'd like the young man who hacked my debit account to meet this young Italian, the thief sure could learn a thing or two from him. 1. Don't take a girl out to pizza hut- unless you're trying to woo Megan.

- Cat

Day Three: Sevilla

We left Barcelona bright and early and flew down to Sevilla where warmer weather was rumored to await us. But since cold weather haunts me wherever I go, Sevilla was much chillier than expected. It looks like it will warm up when we leave.

The bus ride into Sevilla was very frightening. Our worst projects put their apartment complexes to shame. They're what I imagined only to exist in eastern Europe. The ugliest part of a city I've ever seen. Then we entered the historic district, and it was exactly how I imagined Spain would be.

Our hostel is very cute with lots of outdoor space and the staff is super nice. We went exploring and had lunch first (again nothing to write home about), then came home and got ready to see a flamenco show.

The flamenco show had very pretty dresses but was a little boring otherwise. Cat and I make a good pair because we both expect much more from everything we see and do.

Then we went in search of food and nightlife and couldn't find it. We went back to the hostel and were told our only option was a 2am grocery store. So we walked all the way there and got a pizza. Then we walked all the way back to make the pizza and found our common area was off limits after 12. We had a sleeping roommate so couldn't eat in the room. We were forced to eat Pringles and candy bars on the curb outside. Every time a car came by we had to jump up and back. Then it got worse - we spied a band of drunk German boys coming down the street. 'Oh no! They'll harass us' we thought. But it was even worse than that. They walked by without a second glance. What's wrong with them that they don't feel the need to harass beautiful girls. I miss New York!


Trying to go to bed and end this sad night, Cat refused to let me sleep. First she practiced her fancy flamenco footwork in bed until I begged her to stop. Then she started peeking down the crack between the bed and the wall, lighting me up with her phone. I put my head under my blanket and fell asleep.

- Megan Leigh


I was straightening my sheets!! I may have tapped my feet a few times, I swear it wasn't intentional- just inspired!

- Cat

Day Two: Barcelona

Today we allowed ourselves to sleep in late until 12. Refreshed we headed out to Park Guell, designed by Gaudi. To get there we took the subway - our first Spain subway experience. What a difference from New York! It didn't smell like human excrement, they arrived in a very timely manner and the ride was very smooth. I probably didn't need to hold on to the pole, but I did. Just in case.

After the train, we got quite lost. My new sandals ripped up my feet terribly. When we got home I banished them in anger to the bottom of my backpack. The park was nice, but there's not much to say about it.

After that we headed out to La Rambla again. I'm in search of these stupid hippie pants they have everywhere. I didn't find the right pair, but I did buy another pair of stupid hippie pants that I'll never wear. We also found a chocolate muffin (yum) and bunyols?, little sugar donuts that ended up having an anise flavor (ewww).

Then on to Sinatra's, a New York themed restaurant (very sad of us). We ordered sangria and a number of mediocre tapas. I was adventurous and got a crispy duck roll. It was one of the better dishes.

And to end our night we headed back to the main street to drink more sangria and people watch. Our favorite to watch was a promoter guy who didn't just glance at girls' butts, but turned his head sideways to get a really good view. Cat said, "He's checking out dogs too. He has no shame."

- Megan Leigh

Its true, no shame at all. You should have seen him. The park was neat, but after seeing the City Museum, it's hard to compete. True it's much older, and the grand plan was to make it a private lil town of beauty, but only two houses ended up being built, so the museum wins. Who knew St Louis could win a competition against Barcelona!

- Cat

Day One: Barcelona

Our adventure started out at JFK a.k.a The Saddest Airport in America. Instead of fixing the leaks in the ceiling they put tarps underneath to catch the water and connected hoses for draining, giving the airport a baby alien feeding chamber feel. (Although the end destination for the roof water was not posted for the curious visitor, I am fairly certain it got recycled into the water fountains. I did not drink the water.) Instead of fixing the air conditioning they opened a few doors. There were birds nesting and begging for food. The fast food joints were undermanned, turning them into sad, slow food. Burger King made me order 10 chicken tenders when I only wanted 6. They said to do otherwise was impossible. Because I hear starving kids in Africa appreciate our gluttony I downed every last one of them. I hope I don't get Sevened for it - this particular incident was no fault of mine. Then we sat on the runway for hours just as you would expect in New York. But eventually we took off and made it to Barcelona.

We made it from the airport to the hostel without incident and haven't been pickpocketed yet. Eavesdropping on a plane conversation we were convinced it would happen in a matter of minutes. We have plenty of time left so I won't brag of our good fortune just yet.

Since we were too early for Check-In at the hostel we walked around. We walked down Las Ramblas, which every guidebook recommended. It ended up being a street of tourist stores and stands. Lame. Then we headed over to the Barri Gotic, which was much better. Lots of old buildings and churches. There's also a Roman temple that has alluded us so far.

After going back to the hostel and taking a little nap we went to get some dinner and sangria. The dinner was pathetic. We are beginning to think Spanish food is just not so great. BUT the sangria was quite tasty.

- Megan Leigh

And now I lay me down to sleep... Can't remember the rest. Just too tired and delirious to figure it out, much less go out with our hostel-mates at 12:30am. One of these nights we'll pretend to be young again, one of these nights...

Cat

Read More: A Voyage Long and Strange

A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz is a random read I picked up months ago at the library. I thought it looked interesting, but I had so many other things to read first... so I kept renewing it again and again. Finally, I got the chance to read it a few weeks ago, and I'm so glad I did!

On a trip to see Plymouth Rock, Horwitz got interested in what happened before the Pilgrims arrived. Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue in 1492... but long before he was born, the Vikings were exploring the New Foundland area.  And between 1492 and the time when the Mayflower arrived, more than a century had elapsed. Columbus had planted the seeds for European settlements in Hispaniola. Spanish marauders had traipsed all over South America, and the American South, leaving untold numbers of dead Native Americans in their wake. All of this I knew, I guess. But there was lots I didn't know. Did you know that there was a French settlement in Florida that pre-dated Saint Augustine? Guess what happened to them? They were wiped out by the Spaniards who landed next door and set up their own colony! Did you know there is a big controversy over where the bones of Columbus are? Given all the bickering in the southwestern states about English being the "official" language, isn't it funny that Spanish was spoken there long before English?

Part history, part travelogue, this book was a lot of fun to read. It's full of colorful characters, and it's fun to learn about lots of your country's history that you never knew! It made me want to go and visit a lot of places I previously didn't have much interest in, to see where all these historical events unfolded. It's so hard to imagine Spanish conquistadors struggling through the tropical heat of the south in all of their armor. We had so much fun visiting Roanoke Island a few years ago. When Ben and I are old and driving our RV around the country, I will definitely put early-European-in-American points of interest on our itinerary.

-Kristin

Read More: Death Comes to Pemberley

I read about Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James in the newspaper (where it got a pretty glowing review), and instantly I knew I had to read it. Then I told Megan about it, and she was equally excited.

Here's the deal: It's supposed to be a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. And, as if that isn't enough, it's also a murder mystery! I guess James is a well-known mystery writer. Let the fun begin!

So I signed up for the library's waitlist, and I was probably #1,037. But eventually my turn came, and I dived into the book with great relish. How could I go wrong with a book like this? But in the end, I'm afraid I was sorely disappointed. I got through it, but it was not a pleasure. First, James writes nothing like Austen. I was expecting an homage that copied Austen's breezy, graceful style. James's words are like leaden weights. Second, the characters seem barely recognizable. The names and situations are taken from the original book, sure. But in this sequel, the characters you love seem to have no internal lives. It's as if between Pride and Prejudice and Death Comes to Pemberley a great plague broke out in the English countryside and killed the spark of life in each resident. If the creators of Thomas the Train were to write a murder mystery, I imagine it would be something akin to this. Finally, the murder mystery itself was not particularly compelling.

Poor PD James. From the ratings on Amazon.com, it looks like pretty much everybody was disappointed in this book. The mystery lovers felt it was a crappy mystery, and the Austen lovers were bitter about how un-Austen-like the prose and characters were. To be fair, I think expectations were so high it was probably really hard to make readers happy. But I bet she sold a lot of books, so that probably makes her happy!

-Kristin

Read More: Look Me in the Eye

Update:

This was a good read, whether you're interested in Asperger's or not. It's amazing that he and his brother were able to have such good senses of humor after their tough childhoods. I liked all of his practical jokes. And I like that he calls his lies 'tricks'. Growing up with him must be a lot like growing up with dad, in that respect. Never knowing whether what you're being told is a truth or a 'trick'.

It made me a little sad that when he got older and acquired better social skills he lost his savant like ability to design circuits and the like. Better for him I guess, but why can't he have both!?

- Megan Leigh

I have been wanting to read Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison for a long time. Megan and I have been on a quest to learn more about Asperger's, but a lot of the books about this disorder are so boring, and I'm not sure a lot of what they say is particularly helpful or true. So it was interesting to read the biography of a person who actually has Asperger's.

Robison talks about how difficult his early life was because of Asperger's. Honestly, given his home life, his life would have been difficult no matter what--as his younger brother Augusten Borroughs described in his memoir, Running with Scissors. But the Asperger's almost certainly made it a lot harder! He grew up with this disorder during a time when it wasn't widely recognized, and it was decades away from being added to the DSM, the bible for psychiatric disorders. In fact, he didn't realize that this disorder described all of the problems he'd been suffering with--as well as his amazing strengths--until he was 40, and a psychiatrist friend pointed it out!

Luckily, Robison was a very smart kid. He was able to figure out most of the social rules people follow on his own. And although he never made it through high school, he was able to make friends, get married and have a son, and figure out how his talents could be put to great use. He ended up making crazy special effects for KISS, designing electronic games for Milton Bradley (like my beloved Speak & Spell), and running a very successful fancy car-repair business. Also, you can tell that Robison has a pretty good sense of humor throughout. This wasn't one of those earnest, difficult to read memoirs about overcoming adversity.

This book was pretty inspiring! I decided to try and expose my little Aspie to engineering fun. I am signing him up for robot summer camp! This book also inspired me to try and buy a Speak & Spell on ebay. But I lost the auction. Booo. It is interesting to note that after reading this book, I am pretty sure that Robison would have told the authors of many of the Asperger's books we've read to go to hell. Hmmm.

-Kristin

One New Thing: Jin Ramen

For Funday Monday Kristin and I traveled down a stop to Jin Ramen, the new ramen noodle joint. I've never noticed it before since I'm usually very (very) focused on the chocolatería next door. So the plan was ramen then chocolate. Not one, but two new things. This was going to be a day to remember!

We pushed our way through the wind, tears streaming down our face - caused partly because of the stinging wind and partly because we were just so sad about the stinging wind. But it was worth it. Not only was Jin Ramen very cute inside, but the noodles were also delicious. Cat talks about her love for ramen til she's blue in the face, so I was very curious what it would be like, having only eaten the 'cup o' noodles' version. We both got the Tonkotsu Ramen, the richest, creamiest ramen available. I was scared, imagining fettuccine like ramen - yuck? (Now that I think of it, can you go wrong with fettuccine style anything??) But this was still what you'd imagine ramen to be. Very tasty. I battled the bowl with chopsticks and I won! I thought it was going to be a miserable failure, but my skills were amazing!

Walking past the chocolate store we looked in the window and were sorely disappointed. The display case was depleted to the point where you should ask 'Why bother being open?'. Not only were the offerings meager, but they didn't seem to be chocolatey! What the what??? So only one new thing - Damn you chocolate store!

- Megan Leigh

Look at that squinty Recupero eye I have! Darn squinty eyes.

But yes, I agree with Meg, the Ramen restaurant was very good. I would like to go back and try each of the four types of broth. Also, I thought the waiters and staff were super nice, which is always a plus. The pork in the Ramen was one of the best parts. I have never had pork like that. It was rich and smoky, hard to describe. Megan chickened out and wouldn't eat it though.

-Kristin