I'm still in the process of organizing all those travel photos, but I just wanted to plug a delicious product real quick -- and go off a little on something that has bothered me for a while. Let's start with the good stuff -- Mariani HoneyBars! I had the opportunity to sample a Trail Mix HoneyBar not long ago and I was blown away by the taste. The Trail Mix bar consists of nuts, seeds, and raisins held together by just a touch of honey -- and that's it. The sweet honey flavor dances on your tongue and complements the slightly salty -- but all natural -- tang of the other ingredients perfectly. I can't wait to try more varieties of these. Some places you can purchase include Giant, Wegmans, Safeway, Shoppers, Kroger, and Ukrops. You can read more about Mariani and their varieties of snack bars (and delicious fruit snacks) here: http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgmenbr=1279011&cgrfnbr=1647230.
Now for the less-than-good stuff. One thing that bugs me about travel (other than not having enough leave to travel as much as I would like) is the "travel snob." I am finding out more and more about this phenomenon the more I travel and the more I talk about my travels with other people. People ask me all about where I've been and what I saw, but then they start to wrinkle their noses when I answer their questions. They hear that I was only in Paris for three days (because it was in the middle of another trip) and they act like that is insane. Never mind that I went there in the middle of a larger trip and found it a fun opportunity to explore a different city. They say, "Oh -- well, that's too bad" when they ask how long I was in Ireland and I say, "Oh, about a week." They act like my fabulous, but brief, road trip through Brussels, Luxembourg, and Koln (Cologne) that I took from a friend's Netherlands home was ridiculous and that I couldn't have possibly seen anything worth mentioning. (Guess again!) They go on and on about all of the good stuff I SHOULD have seen and done in Las Vegas and imply that I didn't "do it right." Gee, thanks! My response to this is usually, "Oh, how long were you there?" and their response is, with two exceptions so far, "Oh, I haven't gone there." No, not at all? 10 days in Amsterdam is much better than no days in Amsterdam! Thanks for letting me know how inferior you feel my trip was! Talk to me when you get there yourself, for what I presume will be a full month since you apparently have endless amounts of leave and cash! But seriously -- does anyone else ever encounter this? I'm curious. I've just never been inclined to inform someone their vacation wasn't long enough while they're telling me about all the great things they have seen -- I'd rather shush and listen to what I can learn!
