Annie Clements Music

Sugarland eats their way across Europe

Posted on 30. Mar, 2009 by annie in Notebook

Well we went to Europe and it was totally awesome. Only problem was that we couldn’t stop eating. Like, everything we did seemed to revolve around food. We’d get up early to have breakfast, get on a plane where we were given a snack, land in another country and get on a bus to drive to a luncheon, have a few minutes to relax in a hotel room, and before you know it it’s dinner time, then show time followed by after-show-second-dinner time. My highlights of the European trip largely revolve around all of the delicious food I enjoyed.

For instance… Day 3: Sicilly, Italy. This day ruled for several reasons, all having to do with eating. This awesome dude took the band to a wine tasting which lasted from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. We ate and drank insane amounts and were then told to get back on the bus to go to dinner. Our host took us into the city of Catania to have a five-course dinner with more wine. I overindulged.

Observe:

Or how about Day 8: Paris, France? This was a girls-only day and Jen and I wandered the streets of Paris, window shopping in boutiques and eating any chocolate we came across. We found this amazing chocolate shop where we promptly purchased and consumed a quarter pound of chocolate – Jen prefers dark and I’m milk chocolate all the way – and took pictures of us doing so.We walked to the Eiffel Tower where we stood in line eating chocolate and banana crepes. After riding the elevator to the top of the tower, we made the mistake of thinking we could easily just walk back down. About 15 minutes into the brutal downhill trek we started composing haikus to distract us from the pain. Mine was:

Jennifer and Clem
Walked down the Eiffel Tower
Their calves have jello-ed

Even our haikus mentioned food. Mmmm… Jello…

Check it out:

Day 11 in London, England was pretty sweet. Me and the fella’s had the afternoon off so we found our way to a local pub where I had a delicious steak and ale pot-pie complete with mash potatoes and what was described on the menu as “tasty mashy peas.” I don’t much care for peas, or “mashy peas” for that matter but I ate 10 or so just to be a good sport. I also attempted to drink a beer but this too was more about the gesture and tradition of it all than anything else. I’m not a beer drinker. At least I wasn’t until I got to Dublin….

Pot-pie!

Ok… Dublin, Ireland. We hit Dublin at the end of our trip before heading homeward. Dublin is in fact the home of Guinness beer and the Guinness beer factory and museum. Thad and I hopped off the double-decker tour bus in front of the museum just as it’s doors were closing. The lady at the ticket counter kindly informed us that tours were closed but we could have a look around the gift shop if we’d like. One look around the gift shop clearly demonstrated that no one was paying much attention to the entrance to the factory tour portion of the building so Thad and I casually strolled on in and proceeded to give ourselves our own self-guided tour – free of charge! We rambled around the first 6 floors past the flowing waterfalls, nibbling on samples of dry-roasted barley (gross. I don’t recommend it.) We even got free samples of Guinness complete with instructions on how to officially enjoy it. It was here that I learned that if you’re a sissy girl like me who can’t stand the taste of beer, there’s a tradition in Ireland amongst folks who serve Guinness to pour a shot of pomegranate juice into one’s beer, exponentially improving it’s palatability to the inexperienced Guinness consumer. Game on! Everything was going swimmingly until Thad and I attempted to enter the bar on the seventh floor of the factory where the tour culminates with a free pint of Guinness. The room was packed full of happy people, all with a generous-sized mug of Guinness in hand. We approached the bar to get our reward for our free tour:

Thad: Hello Sir; how does one go about acquiring one of your fine beers?

Irish Bar Tender: Well ya don’t purchase ‘em. You just hand me yur ticket.

Thad: And what if I don’t have my ticket on me?

Irish Bar Tender: Well why wouldn’t ya be havin’ yur ticket on ya? Ya mean you don’t have a ticket ‘cause ya never bought one dontcha? Ya mean ya snuck up in here, now isn’t that right? You best be leavin’ right now, the both of ya.

Completely mortified and humiliated, we slunk out of the bar and back down seven flights to the gift shop and out the door to our double decker bus. We drowned our embarrassment in a couple pints of Guinness at a pub later on, mine complete with a shot of pomegranate juice. Delectable!

All in all it was a phenomenal trip and I hope to return to what we jet-setters call the “Old Country” very soon!