The shallow bay drained even further to become a still collection of tide pools actively explored by a troop of quiet wading birds.

... for Haggis. That's right, everybody loves diced intestines boiled in a goat stomach with barley and spices, prefaced with a steamed mussel appetizer and a washed down with a glass of cool merlot. The night before leaving Scotland I realized that I had completely overlooked this fine regional delicacy and, despite a lurking fear that it would be absolutely disgusting, I sought to conquer my culinary fears in the belly of the beast. So to speak. So I commanded an incomprehensible Scottish taxi driver to lead me to authentic Scottish fare, and I was dropped off at... some place with a fancy name I cannot recall. Anyway, I must admit, the haggis was really fantastic. A bit spicy, with an earthy texture (from the barley, presumably). The meat had a gamy taste and a composition like ground beef. Though boiled in the stomach, it was removed from the lining and served over whipped potatoes, covered with a rich gravy. All in all, it was excellent, and I look forward to having it again.

In... [more]

Just moments after I took this picture I realized that my goal for this trip, to physically circumnavigate the globe, was doomed for failure. Why you ask? Because instead of flying from London to New Zealand going east, I went west (and thus, through LA). This means that at the end of the day, I'll have missed perhaps ninety degrees of longitude in my trip. Dang. That is, unless I spring for an incredibly long flight back from Japan...

Oh, the picture is of this strange restaurant outside the Los Angeles airport that I always visit whenever I stopover in LA. It's a funky sci-fi retro themed restaurant, complete with singing alien hostess. I can't remember if it actually spins or not, but it's a great place anyway.