Dunkin' Donuts: Berlin

I don't know whether to be apologetic about deserting my blog for several weeks while I'm on vacation or to be embarrassed for actually bothering to post an entry when I should be exploring the sites of Berlin. In fact, I'm in Dunkin Donuts of all places, checking my email before we head off to other parts of Germany. But, given that I had a few extra minutes on my Donut internet card, I thought I'd check in with my own tiny part of the blogosphere. So far, our trip has been fantastic and I'll be sure to post pictures later. We spent about a week taking in the sites of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands: we basked in the sun at Porte Naos and I managed to avoid sunburning by slathering on the spf 50 sunblock, visited volcanic craters, hiked through mountainous caves, and ate smoked Spanish goat cheese, papas arrugadas--tasty little "wrinkly" salt potatoes--and red and green mojo, a garlic, cilantro, and pepper sauce eaten with fish and meat. What a wonderful place. Aviva and I are determined to return again and complete some of the many extremely challenging hikes the island has to offer the adventurous traveler.

We're now about to leave Berlin, where we've visited various attractions, eaten more tasty food, done some shopping, and watched a rather crazy pantomime theatre production (no mimes, thank god! just people wearing rather large, big-nosed masks). Now we're off to spend some time with Aviva's grandmother in a small town outside of Cologne. The intrepid travelers will return on June 26th, at which time I'll post photos and return to my boring life of dissertation writing.