I've fallen in love!

I know it might seem a little sudden, but I've known him for years and years and all of you know him too. He is seen to some as a succulent taste of heaven, but to others he is the kiss of death. He is always just around the corner at the nearest grocery store or a short bike ride away at the local market. His name is: FOOD. And I have fallen hard. I've never appreciated him as much as I do these days. Yes, I know this seems strange to be writing about food but "normal" food is taken away, you start to crave it and savor every sweet or sour morsel that enters your mouth and slides down your throat only to warm your belly and make you smile.

That is how I feel about food in Thailand. I was talking about it with Kel and we're thinking it has something to do with missing home and finding something that takes its place. The sweetest concoction of: honey, bananas, apples, cinnamon and raisins make me think of a cinnamon roll from Bellevue Square. Sometimes it surprises me when I put a forkful of salad filled with lettuce, sweet potato, cucumber, lentils, carrots, pumpkin, corn and spicy mustard into my mouth and the combination drives my taste buds to a faraway land called Ecstasy. You have never tasted anything from a bakery until you've been to one in Thailand.

On Saturday night I had another meeting with my hot flame at an Italian restaurant where I scooped and savored Pistachio Gelato. I could have sat there for hours with my frosted spoon and crystal-like bowl of gelato but the bed was calling my name. I woke up nine hours later to another date with my new man at 'The Nice Kitchen,' we wandered on down the street right into this place called, "Da Bakery." My nose was led by the smell of freshly baked pastries called, 'Almond Delight,' and 'Da Best Cookies." Kel and I bought an Almond Delight and only talked in "Yumm's and Ohhhh's." Georgie bought a banana pound cake and it had us staring and drooling as she took her first bite into a thick and chewy banana oasis. She was even kind enough to give us a bite. As long as the walking continues and the water chugging doesn't come to a screeching halt my guilt for these indulgences lies far in the distance and I'm hoping that we don't meet any time soon. :)