The Longest Day

zd

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Our tour guide joked that the local cows all wear sunglasses, because of the patterns around their eyes.

zzf

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Back to town - needing a pick me up, I grabbed a fruit tartelette that had a wonderfully crunchy crust, with a layer of soft cake that was so moist ... ooh ...

zzg

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This storefront was causing quite a bit of excitement around town - from what I can gather, the balcony on the second floor suddenly collapsed, crashing to the street below.

zzh

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Nice white wine from Burgundy to start, along with some good bread and butter - Normandy is famous in France for having the best milk, and therefore the best butter. It's probably because the cows are too cool and wear sunglasses.

zzi

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After sitting down at the restaurant, I realized that I had missed three calls on my cell, and the number had a Spanish area code!!! Could my dreams finally have come true? Has a Spanish senorita finally responded to the "For a good time, call ..." ads that I've posted in bathroom stalls all over Spain? They called one more time, and answered "Hola, this is Gabriela ..." ... ooh ... Gabriela ... but then ... I realized it was an institutional type of number, and it was just Movistar trying to get a hold of me to sell me some additional cellular services :( It was funny, because I think only in Spain would you get a telemarketer calling you at 10 PM! And ... if this was Spain, I'd probably eat that little plant against the wall. Desperation for leafy greens is very common in Spain.

zzj

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Started with a Charlotte, expecting a type of stuffed pastry shell, but it wasn't that - it was a tuna or fish salad encased in zucchini, and topped with a slice of cured salmon. Very nice, despite being different than expected. The dill cream sauce went perfectly with the Charlotte, and there was what appeared to be a fried won ton wrapper that was more garnish than anything else, though it offered a nice crunch to the dish. Great start to the meal!

zzk

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The main course - hake, with a prawn sauce. I've never had hake before, and it's got some strange, gelatinous bones. The flesh can be a bit stringy in certain spots, almost like the stringy bits of flesh found at the top of a lobster's legs, but otherwise nice. The cream sauce was good, despite the prawn misnomer - they're more like tiny little shrimps. The fish may have been a tad overdone, but I couldn't say for certain, since I've never had it before. I wish the sauce would've instead been served with salmon, because I think that would've been incredible. Of course, salmon probably isn't a fish native to this region, otherwise it would've appeared on the menu! Accompaniments were some very nice, rich, creamy mashed potatoes. Mushy, tiny diced up carrot and zucchini - the fine dice maybe wasn't the best idea, as made it seem mushier than it was; last night's veggies were definitely better. There was also this great steamed spinach egg cake, a lot like a Chinese egg dish. There was a little piece of pastry shell that tasted a little bit burnt, despite not exhibiting any signs of being burnt.

zzl

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Skipped an actual dessert tonight, instead opting for a cheese platter. Pungent, smelly yellow cheese - better when skipping the rind. The Camembert was quite salty. I was disappointed with the cheese selection, as there were no contrasting textures, they were all soft, creamy-type cheeses.

r

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Night shot of the cathedral - beautiful.

zzm

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I'm sorry, but for a tattoo/piercing joint, is it really necessary to advertise that you perform sterile procedures? Is it not a given? Can I not trust that you won't be dipping the tools in the toilet, or spitting on them before you stab me with them?