Challenge #02 - This Little Piggy Went to the Market...and got lost

Yo yo yo!

This is, in fact, yo' girl Philippa.  I'm posting this...post... on Ale's behalf because he is ALLEGEDLY on a 12 hour bus journey to Uruguay where he will have zero internet access for the next six days. So we're all up to speed and here's the dish:

My (this is Ale now) last 4 weeks have been so chaotic, I barely had time to eat. That was a lie, I ate loads, probably more than usual, but it's been chaotic nonetheless between each meal (I usually have 6 or 7 a day). I was doing my last days in both of my jobs, our landlord had strongly suggested that we vacated the apartment as soon as possible due to the massive leaking in the roof (we've been living with inside rain for a few weeks now- fun) and I had to do shit loads of Christmas shopping, because the first thing my sisters asked when I got home were less along the lines of "how was your flight?" and more like "where's my present?".

I did have time, though, to visit the Christmas Market in Dublin and I was fortunate enough to have been to the one in Paris, a few weeks prior. So, logically this post was supposed to be all about that and I was planning to do a comparison between a dish in both markets and it was going to be great. I must declare, however, that I'm not a big fan of Christmas Market food. There, I said it. I don't see the appeal of mulled wine, or even the point of it. I wouldn't choose anything that's sold in any of the stalls as part of my last meal. Hence, there was nothing much to choose from and I ended up having waffles in both places. Don't get me wrong, waffles are delicious and ALWAYS  the right choice, but there was not much I could say about my love for Nutella and sugary stuff (spoiler alert: I will be talking loads about my love for nutella and sugary stuff in the future). Instead, I would much prefer to use my space here to tell you all about the past 4 weeks and my plans, both food and travel related for next year. 

A few months ago I decided I was going to spend Christmas at home. In addition to that, one of my best friends from home was turning 30 around the same time and my sister will be graduating the end of january. In order to do all of that, I was going to need to spend a lot of time in Brazil and not the kind of time you can get off from your job, specially if you have two. Apart from that, my boyfriend James and I were talking about moving to Spain in the new year. After a bit of deliberation (or the amount of time it takes from one's brain to decide between yes or yes), I decided I was going to leave both my jobs and spend a lot of time home and then move to Spain with James. Not entirely satisfied we decided to add a little stoppover in New York City AND  a backpacking trip around Southeast Asia to top it all off. More on that later.

Jump to 10 days ago when I was boarding my plane in Dublin heading towards Rio de Janeiro, with a 8h hour layover in New York City. Philippa and I had already decided that she was going to pick me up (physically and emotionally) at the airport and we were going to spend a few hours together (most likely eating) before I headed to Brazil. To my surprise, though, Philippa was not there when I landed and my phone was flooded with messages from her saying she was in work and that she thought I was only arriving the next day (because I had told her I was.) Tragedy. I remebered that she had once posted in our instagram a picture of her work place, so I decided to come to her. I found it, but two results came up, one in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan. Easy, Philippa lives in Brooklyn so it must be the one there. I ran to the subway to catch the next train and 1h later I was in the shop. For the second time in that day, Philippa was not there. F%$K! I got another message from Philippa saying that she worked in the Mnahattan shop, which was 3 stops away from where I was. At that point it was already 6 and my flight was leaving at 8. I couldn't just give up and go back to the airport frustated. So, I ran back to the subway and three stops later I found myself wifiless, lost in the middle of Manhattan's Christmas Market in Union Square. It took me 5 minutes and the help of two cops and the wifi in Starbucks (see, you can always count on food and food related things) to locate Philippa's shop. And this time, there she was in all her wondrous glory. We hugged for 2 minutes, laughed at how ridiculous it all was, bought some olives from her in a sheer panic and jumped on the next train back to the airport. We didn't spend all the hours we had planned to spend together, but we made those 3 minutes count. And lo ans behold, I managed to arrive at the airport in time. A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE. 
  

With our next addition to the blog being published in the New Year we would like to take a brief moment to thank all of you beautiful folk for the time you've taken to read this. Although it is in it's early days, this blog excites us, inspires us and encourages us. It is our baby. And we intend to raise it in 2015 with integrity,  a light heart and a compass pointing due north to our next meal. 

From the bottom of our hearts...and stomachs (or something that sounds more poetic)... we hope you have a fulfilling, delightful, successful and truly WILD 2015. Although we won't be together promise us this: when the clock chimes midnight on the 31st, raise a glass of your chosen beverage, be it bubbly or buckfast, take a gulp and remember that we are all only ever...A Mouthful Apart.

Your pals,

Philippa,  Emma and Ale.