So, what I learned from Spain is that our biggest challenge was that we were not alone.  Being part of the group (and not making time to go to the markets, etc.) were some of the biggest hindrances to our staying happily fed during our time in Spain.  However, it was a choice we made, and I don't think either of us would have given up the time with our friends in order to have more spinach and apples for those ten days.  But perhaps had we been a bit more prepared, planned ahead a tiny bit more...

Looking back, there were definitely times when we could have popped into a grocery store for a few minutes.  I am sure the rest would have been happy come along or wait, had we just asked.  We were just sooooooo aware (as many vegans are, I think) of not making our lifestyle choice into their problem.  Maybe a little too aware.  Five minutes in a grocery wouldn't have had any major repercussions on our plans.  Of course, without kitchens, or knives, bowls, plates, etc, we were limited in what we could do, but that is the beauty of raw - it can be complicated, or it can be as simple as wash'n'eat.

We did go to an awesome market in Barcelona, a huge fresh market called the "Boqueria" right off Las Ramblas.  We found spinach there.  We bought two bunches, and ate the first one right away, though it was REALLY covered in dirt and the only sinks we had for washing them were in the hotel bathrooms, so that was a little problematic.  Without refrigeration, the second bunch didn't last long.  We could have made more time to prep and enjoy the spinach, but, again, there was a schedule to keep, so much of the second bunch ended up *sigh* in the trash.  (We did make spinach and lentil sprout sandwiches one afternoon, with hot sauce and mustard, and they were pretty amazing.)

Bringing the dried fruit and greens bars and nuts and protein powder was heavy (literally, it all weighed a lot) but definitely worth it, and helped a lot, especially for Mac and his desire to "beet up."  There was a lot of what they called dried fruit in Spain, but it was usually a sort of candied fruit, covered in crystallized sugar, candied pears and kiwi and such.  Having unsulfured, unsweetened, dried fruit was great.  Greens bars and nuts, too.  We may have gone overboard with two full packages of the protein powder (and greens powder), but we drank it every day, and the little glass shaker thing worked really well.

I had planned to bring sprouting bags and get some sproutable seeds once we landed, but I did neither.  I think that if we'd made a few more trips to the store, brought the sprouting bags, and taken a little (just a little!) more time to prepare a few meals, we would have been much better off.  All good lessons for next time...

If you have any tips for vegan travel, please share!  We'd love to get more ideas for how to do better next time...

So, we went to Spain. It was lovely. Other than the fact that Spain is basically the Land of Meats and Cheeses (and Cigarettes!). I mean, one of their major sports is bullfighting, in which a drugged-up bull is brought into a ring, surrounded by cheering fans,to be confused and stabbed repeatedly until it is spared, just before death, because of the supreme mercy of the bullfighter.  Yeah.  In my pre-vegan days, when I felt no connection to the animals I ate, I went to a bullfight in Spain, and thought it was pretty awful.  This trip, I didn't even set foot inside the arena.

So you can imagine us, Mac and I, and our wonderful non-vegan friends, sitting around at dinner one night, marveling (or something like that...) at the eight enormous stuffed bull heads on the walls around us, when our waiter brought the gazpacho we had ordered.  Mac and I looked at it, then at each other, then back at the dish.  I asked the waiter, pointing to the chunks of meat (chorizo? bacon?  pork belly?), "?Que es eso?  ?Carne?"  "Yes, meat, that is bacon!"  he replied proudly.  Our companions were kind enough to de-bacon the traditionally vegan dish for us, but we still couldn't quite bring ourselves to eat it.

That was not atypical of our experiences.  There were, of course, a few veg-friendly places we found, and our friends were good sports, coming along and trying Spanish tofu and such.  (Actually, the veg places we found were very good, and everyone was happy.)  But for the most part, when you are in a new place, when you want to experience a culture, the local cuisine is one of the most obvious ways to do that.  So, here's the question:  where do you draw the line between eating well (and vegan) and experiencing your surroundings?

I had been to Spain (lived there for a while, actually), eaten all the meats and cheeses and fishes and octopi.  I didn't feel the need to do it again, but I did want to be part of the group I came with.  Mac and I came prepared, with greens bars and dried fruit, protein powders (and shakers to make them in) and mixed nuts.  But it was really hard to find time to go to the market and prepare snacks (much less whole meals) and still be part of the group we came with, which resulted in eating a lot of tapas (fried peppers and potatoes, olives, and more bread -and almost all of it plaster-white - than I had eaten in the last five years combined, I think).  Fresh vegetables, especially dark leafy greens, were hard to come by.  One day in Barcelona, on the way to the gorgeous Palau de Musica, we stopped at a local shop for some lunch.

Me: Do you have any sandwiches with no meat?  Just vegetables?

Shop Girl: Sure, we have that.  (I followed her finger, excitedly, to see she was pointing to a Tortilla Espanola (egg) sandwich.)

Me: Yeah...  Um, also no egg.

Shop Girl: Yes, there.  (Pointing to a tuna sandwich.)

Me: Right.  Also no fish.  (She's looking confused now.)

Shop Girl: We have a cheese sandwich with vegetables and mayonnaise.

Me: Excellent!  But can we get it with no cheese and no mayonnaise, please?

Shop Girl: So, bread and tomato and lettuce?

Me: Yes!  Perfect.  Thank you!

Shop Girl: (Staring, still confused, for a moment, then walking away.)

After that I was more clear with what I wanted from the beginning.  ("Hi, I'm a crazy American and I don't eat anything that comes from an animal.  I'm what you call a "vegana."  Now I want you to try to feed me - good luck!  Remember, no meat, poultry, fish, cheese, dairy, squid or eggs.  That includes mayonnaise!  By the way, is there any chance that you could find me some spinach?  I'd kill for spinach if I wasn't ethically against killing...")

So, as Mac and I look to the future, and to more travels, I wonder, how can we travel, absorb the local culture, and still stay true to our vegan way of life?

Stay tuned, I have some ideas, I will share them next time...