Almost vegan comes home

We left Amsterdam and drove back into France, boarding the ferry at Calais. On board the ferry, I splurged on some good British Indian food for lunch—vegetables tikka masala with basmati rice and pappadum, and a sliver of apple pie for dessert.



We were dropped off at the same hotel we’d stayed at upon our arrival in England. On the bus on the way there, we said most of our real goodbyes. A few of us, after cleaning up, went to the hotel bar for some final drinks together. I was so sad it was my last time to see all these great people, but I told everyone I wasn’t going to say goodbye, just "See you later." Because hopefully, someday, I will!

On my own for the evening, I walked just around the corner from the hotel to eat dinner at Hell Pizza.



I’d scoped this place out ahead of time, and was so excited to eat there. I love the dark, evilish theme—the interior is all black with red lighting, lava lamps, flaming seats, and wicked chandeliers. Seven of the pizzas are named after the deadly sins, and they have coffin-shaped to-go boxes. They had stacks of magazines about metal and industrial music, paranormal activity, the occult, tattoo and body modifications, etc. on the counter that I paged through as I waited for my order—a small pizza, no cheese, with green peppers, asparagus, garlic, and oregano, plus corn and olives on one half. I also got a small loaf of garlic bread on the side.



It was great! I loved the crispy-outside, tender-inside crust. On a whim, I ordered a mini dessert pizza to end my meal (hey, it was the last night of my trip!). The guy who was serving me recommended the Unearthly Ambrosia pie—berries (all my favorites: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries), sliced bananas (awesomely caramelized from the oven), and melted chocolate (three types!), topped with a mouthwateringly rich custard. Wow! I’ve never tasted anything like it.



I spent the rest of the evening packing, and retired early, because I had to wake up before dawn the next day. I ate breakfast with Greg (for the last time!) and he helped me gather all my luggage to bring out to the shuttle. I packed myself a peanut-butter-and-jam (half raspberry, half boysenberry) sandwich for the road (er, air).



I was dropped off at the airport, where I bought some grapes and a banana to snack on and bummed around for awhile till I could board my plane to Dallas. Two meals (check them out here) were served during the 10-hour flight, and again, American Airlines impressed me with the quality of their veg food.

After a brief layover in Dallas, I flew home to Kansas City. How surreal it was to be back!

Picture to come

Although I was more than happy to gorge on bread and pastries for 35 days, I was inordinately stoked for my first meal upon getting home—a grocery store salad bar haul of chickpeas, kidney beans, artichoke hearts, peas, shredded carrot, red pepper, green pepper, green onion, and who knows what else I threw in there. In the end, I truly do love healthful, wholesome, nutritious food.