Well, we're going to the States to see the family, and right now, I couldn't be more excited. So I am changing gears for a moment to mention my top 5 most beloved US chains that I have not visited for nine months (and lately, miss daily).
Number 5 Favorite US Chain:
DSW Discount Shoe Warehouse - shoes, handbags, belts, boots, socks....aisles and aisles full of them....
Number 4 Favorite US Chain:
Olive Garden - Italian food and home of my all-time favorite soup: Zuppa Toscana (Tuscan Soup) to the sounds of Sinatra, Martin and Bocelli.
Number 3 Favorite US Chain:
Whole Foods - Shopping at this market every week spoiled me for life. Organic, all-natural, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dye-free, peanut-free, dye-free, fragrance-free, no animal testing, laurel/laureth sulfate free, paraben free, MSG free.....you name it, they have it. From produce, meats and seafood to bath, personal care products and vitamins. I LOVE how this place smells. The bakery makes you want to cry by the beautiful presentation of desserts and pasteries and the full hot/cold bar offers incredible dishes. It's the health nut's paradise.
Now, I'm torn right now. My top 2 favorite US chains actually have become integrated in the last several years. I could consider them one in the same or I could sit here arguing with myself over which one is number one. So instead of wasting time, I will just say that my top two favorite chains are really both my number 1 favorite chains:
So coming in at Number 2 AND Number 1:
Starbucks and Barnes & Noble Booksellers - I really don't think that I need to explain my long list of reasons why I have missed these two chains every single day for nine months....
But....I'll try to make it brief.
I'll start with Starbucks. Dark roast, medium roast, light roast, COFFEE. Biscotti, chocolate madelines, black & white cookies. Non-fat, decaf, no foam, soy... tall, grande, venti mocha frapp. That gorgeous, almost seductive-sounding drink: carmel macchiato. With room, no room, whipped cream. Several varieties of hot chocolates (my specialty). New music featured constantly at the check-out counter. Super comfortable sofas, little nooks and crannies in which to hide with a laptop.
It almost bugs me to feel obligated to explain why I would be so attached to Barnes & Noble. But, here I go:
As many as three full floors of books on every conceivable subject under the sun. The discount book aisles. The magazines. The smell of new pages and ink (family custom is to crack open a new book in the middle, stick your schnoz between the pages and smell it for all it's worth). Bookshelf after bookshelf of gorgeous empty journals and sketchbooks. Calligraphy sets. (Empty journals and calligraphy sets are a huge weakness of mine.) The foreign language section...the bigger the city, the bigger that section always tends to be. If you can't find me, I'm almost certain to be in the foreign language section talking myself out of a grammar book for a language I will never need to speak (but you never know when you might get deported and need to get a job in downtown Athens).
Greeting cards, bookends, music and DVD sections...
 |
| Is this not the most breath-taking sight in the world? |
But the key to the attachment is actually that my Dad and I always make what we call, "Barnes & Noble dates". It is an evening when we go there and just spend a few hours wandering the store paging through books that catch our attention. Sometimes we sit at the (here's the beauty) Starbucks cafe with our new books, flipping through and discussing them while sipping on a drink or sharing a scone.
The advent of the Nook and the Kindle (of which I have both on my laptop) will have little affect on this place in my mind. I will always prefer the feel of wearing out a paperback.
So don't worry B&N. As long as you're out there, I'll be coming.
Thanks for maintaining this blog. My boyfriend is supposed to move to Panama for work in April and I'm going to join him after that. I appreciate getting another poet's perspective. I wonder if you find the language challenging?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you find the blog helpful. It's good to know someone is reading it and getting something out of it.
ReplyDeleteI have already been speaking Spanish for nearly six years. However, it can be hard to adapt to the different accents from zone to zone. In the capitol, the majority speak incredibly fast and moosh their words together so it can be difficult. But in the country, they "eat" certain sounds and turn four or five words into one, so it leaves me stunned sometimes.
We've been here for nearly two years now, so it is much easier than it was in the beginning. Now I'm trying to learn all the expressions and slang. Also the superstitions can be rough to get a handle on for a while. But time and practice and a willingness to learn are the keys.
Hope your move is successful and thanks for commenting.