Dubrovnik & Montenegro: Cliff-Jumping, Kayaking, & Beachingby Randi / August 31, 2013
Bagan, Burma
Before I went to Myanmar, better known as Burma, last year, my knowledge of the military-ruled country came courtesy of J. Peterman on Seinfeld. I assumed that when I arrived, I’d be able to buy melons off of boys’ motorbikes. While this was essentially true, I also learned so much about this very problematic yet alluring country, and had the time of my life.
First off: My boyfriend and I consider ourselves intrepid travelers and we like to plan everything ourselves in the most authentic way possible. However, all of our initial research about traveling in Burma recommended having a private company book everything in advance in order to avoid common problems with corruption and bribery. Considering how difficult the decision to actually go to Burma was, since we’d be supporting the horrible government with at least some of our dollars, we had the great people at Santa Maria Travels & Tours book our hotels, internal flights, and activities. Using a company like Santa Maria helps ensure that you stay in privately owned hotels, rather than state-owned, so a small percentage of your money would go to the government, rather than all of it. Having contacts in the country to help us should problems arise (and arise they did) definitely helped make this challenging trip a bit more manageable. (Also, what finally convinced me to take this trip? That President Obama had decided to go there, arriving just when we were leaving. Also, Anthony Bourdain came around then too.)
Immediately upon landing in Yangon (Rangoon), our first guide met us and took us to Shwedagon Paya, the most famous pagoda in Myanmar. (Ok, you are correct that I keep switching between Myanmar and Burma. Myanmar is the official name, changed by the military government in 1989, but many people we met were not happy about that. So I’m going to go with whatever sounds best in each sentence.) The most sacred pagoda for the Burmese Buddhist people, Shwedagon Paya is also the grandest and most famous.
First off: My boyfriend and I consider ourselves intrepid travelers and we like to plan everything ourselves in the most authentic way possible. However, all of our initial research about traveling in Burma recommended having a private company book everything in advance in order to avoid common problems with corruption and bribery. Considering how difficult the decision to actually go to Burma was, since we’d be supporting the horrible government with at least some of our dollars, we had the great people at Santa Maria Travels & Tours book our hotels, internal flights, and activities. Using a company like Santa Maria helps ensure that you stay in privately owned hotels, rather than state-owned, so a small percentage of your money would go to the government, rather than all of it. Having contacts in the country to help us should problems arise (and arise they did) definitely helped make this challenging trip a bit more manageable. (Also, what finally convinced me to take this trip? That President Obama had decided to go there, arriving just when we were leaving. Also, Anthony Bourdain came around then too.)
Immediately upon landing in Yangon (Rangoon), our first guide met us and took us to Shwedagon Paya, the most famous pagoda in Myanmar. (Ok, you are correct that I keep switching between Myanmar and Burma. Myanmar is the official name, changed by the military government in 1989, but many people we met were not happy about that. So I’m going to go with whatever sounds best in each sentence.) The most sacred pagoda for the Burmese Buddhist people, Shwedagon Paya is also the grandest and most famous.
The main stupa of Shwedagon Paya
The grounds of the sacred Shwedagon Paya were crowded even in the early morning.
 Burmese people praying to the Buddhas at Shwedagon Paya |
 My favorite – a Burmese man meditating under a bell |
The exterior of Sule Pagoda
Next, we went to Sule Pagoda, located in downtown Yangon. It was suspposedly built before Shwedagon Paya, and is 2500 years old. To reach it, no matter your mode of transport, you have to risk your life and cross the most insane intersection in the eastern hemisphere. So scary!
A stall in one of the food markets of Yangon.
We visited a few other pagodas in Yangon, and then we finally ate! I didn’t have much trouble finding vegan options in this Buddhist country: The main way of eating is a varied spread of curries, and you can just request the vegetarian curries. There are also salads served, but don’t eat raw vegetables or fruit here that you can’t peel! Danger! (Take it from me and my few days wasted from what I thought was cholera. I knowwww.) Our first meal was soupy noodle bowls made in 2 minutes on the street. Street food is the best, right? It was so good.
 First meal in Burma, noodles on the streets of Yangon. |
 The noodle bowl stand on the street. I think the food came to like 40 cents in USD. And it was delicious. They were really nice, and while they didn’t speak much English, we figured out the vegetarian thing. |
Most of the streets are covered with vendors of all sorts, but mainly food. We tried as much as we could, and most of it was good (all of it was interesting!).
 Part of the food market  A stand selling sugarcane juice. It was good! A little warm though (haha, it was like 100 degrees out everyday, everything was warm)  This was gross |
 A man selling jackfruit; I wish I could have tried this!  Ohhh the bananas in this part of the world. The best About that red food to the left, oh my. It’s some kind of very popular candied fruit we tried at the behest of our guide, who ate a ton of it. I thought it was tomato, my boyfriend thought it was plum. Our guide didn’t know the English word for what it was. There probably is no English word for what this was. There will never be an answer, and you could not pay me to try it again. Well, maybe you could, I’ve had grosser things in my life. |
The Colonial-Era Strand Hotel, where most of the fancy people stay. If you really need a salad or something raw (like I did after several days), this place would probably be safe – probably. The lobby is also a gorgeous place to sit and cool off (AC!).
The busy, overcrowded streets of Yangon. This view is more representative of the city than the shiny gold pagodas. The cities, the everyday lives of the Burmese people, are gritty, and so much money (so much) goes to beautifying the pagoda sites, covering them with gold leaf while most people live in poverty.
We stayed at the decent Panorama Hotel in Yangon. It was pretty comfortable and clean, and it had wifi! I sent my first tweet ever from this hotel! This is the view from our window. You can see Shwedagon Paya in the background. Not bad! Such a lush expanse.
Our time in Yangon/Rangoon was eye-opening and really special. It was a great introduction to and preparation for the rest of the country. However, nothing could prepare us for our second stop of our journey – one of the most beautiful places in the entire world, Bagan, Burma.
This is Bagan, Burma. It is stunning, with vast fields covered in thousands of ancient red brick pagodas. The beauty is astounding. My favorite part of the trip by far.
The Bagan airport
Bagan is an unbelievably special place. If you are coming to this part of the world, you need to go to Bagan. Oh, about traveling within the country: You can get around by train and bus, but flying is the way to go. Trains and buses can sometimes take days, seriously, because of frequent delays, so air travel is the most common form. The flights are short from town to town (our longest was probably an hour), and they are usually on time. However…they are frightening. I was white-knuckling it during each of four or five flights we took. Luckily, we safely arrived each time. I don’t want to dissuade you from flying (you do not want to miss so much time with ground travel), but you should be prepared for these bucket-jumpers.
The main thing to do in Bagan is visit some of the beautiful red brick pagodas pictured above. (I won’t be sharing many pictures of the insides and the Buddhas – it’s possibly sacrilege.) We went in so many, by the end of the first day I was begging to never see another pagoda in my life. However, the next morning changed everything…
The main thing to do in Bagan is visit some of the beautiful red brick pagodas pictured above. (I won’t be sharing many pictures of the insides and the Buddhas – it’s possibly sacrilege.) We went in so many, by the end of the first day I was begging to never see another pagoda in my life. However, the next morning changed everything…
The view of Bagan from a hot-air balloon. Best experience ever. (Taken with an iPhone too; pretty impressive if I may say so!)
Taking off in the balloons at dawn
If you are going to Burma, you MUST go to Bagan, and you MUST take a hot-air balloon ride with Balloons Over Bagan, a company run by an Englishman named Lee. This was the most incredible experience, and you will not find any better view that this! This is the #1 reason I want to return to Burma. (It didn’t hurt that I was in the balloon with Lee! Such luck!) I’m going to share a crap load of pictures with you, because I can’t do justice to this experience with words.
 Beginning to fill the balloons |
 This operation was so fun to watch! |
You don’t really appreciate fog until you are in a hot-air balloon
Can’t take credit for this picture; I know for sure boyfriend took it. The others though are fair game 🙂
Hot damn, am I right?
The markets all throughout Burma were also incredible. In Bagan, we saw the most varied types of produce, nuts, and even tofu for sale. The main thing they sell to tourists are the longyis, the type of garment most people wear (like kilts, or sarongs).
 We also had some great food in Bagan. I enjoyed the family-style spread of vegetable curries available. Burmese curries that I had were very different from, say, Indian curries, in that there’s little of the familiar spice blend. The curries are more akin to just ‘dishes’ of different varieties, from root vegetable soups and noodles to stir-fried green vegetables, all served with white rice (and salad; don’t eat it!).
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 At left, women in the market sell thanaka, or cosmetic paste made from tree bark. Women all over Burma paint this paste on their faces, usually in circles. Use of thanaka is a cultural, cosmetic thing, but it also provides a bit of sun protection.
Above, bowls of betel nuts and betel leaves are for sale in all markets. Burmese people chew on the nuts wrapped in the leaves like it’s their job. You’ll see many people with the telltale red-stained teeth.  These are the traditional Burmese end-of-meal (can’t really call it dessert!) plates. You’re given a bowl of jaggery, or palm sugar candy, the sweetest motherf-ing tooth decayer on the planet. I know some people love it, but yeesh. On the right is the traditional combination of ginger, fried beans, and fermented tea leaves. Very interesting! |
Bagan is a convenient jumping off point for visiting Mount Popa, a beautiful volcano (inactive, I hope) with a monastery atop it. It’s a few hours drive from Bagan, and then a really long climb to the top. Bear it mind that the climb is done barefoot, as you cannot enter any pagoda or sacred space in shoes. The walk was covered with monkey poop thanks to the guys at left and their friends. It was worth the trouble though! Cutes! But don’t touch them! Diseases!
On the walk up, there are also people (mostly children) selling all kinds of things, from longyis and food to the same old tourist souvenirs being sold outside every pagoda. (It takes something away from the experience, to encounter the throngs of impoverished children everywhere you go and not be able to really help them.)
On the walk up, there are also people (mostly children) selling all kinds of things, from longyis and food to the same old tourist souvenirs being sold outside every pagoda. (It takes something away from the experience, to encounter the throngs of impoverished children everywhere you go and not be able to really help them.)
Mount Popa
One of the coolest things about Mount Popa? At the top, they have little plaques commemorating all of the donors to the pagoda. Imagine my delight when I saw one for Burma Super Star, the great Burmese restaurant in San Francisco! So fun!
All in all, Bagan was just an incredible experience. We stayed in a bungaloo at the Kumudara Hotel, which as far as I can remember was the best we stayed in in all of Burma. I definitely recommend it – it had a pool! And, check out the view beyond the pool below. It’s amazing. Stay tuned for posts on the rest of my journey through Burma!
From the hotel pool, you can see (and freely go towards) some of the red brick pagodas in the fields. Amazing!
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Zagreb, Croatia: Great Food, Museums, Babies in Baskets
The first thing I felt when I landed, alone, in Zagreb, Croatia was excitement. The second was idiocy, as I was still dressed in my airplane outfit – black pants and a long-sleeved black hooded shirt – and it was hot. Luckily, the excitement won over and I began an incredible journey through the Balkans.
Zagreb is a pretty easy city for a newcomer to maneuver. After getting my luggage (one of these days I’ll do a long trip with just carry-ons, but until then…), I quickly found an ATM and a cab to take me to my hotel. I usually like to rely on public transit in foreign cities, but my Rick Steves guidebook said a taxi was the best way. After nearly 24 hours of traveling, I welcomed the opportunity to be lazy. To go from the airport to the city center costs 180-220 kuna if you aren’t getting ripped off, about $30-$40 USD.
Zagreb is a pretty easy city for a newcomer to maneuver. After getting my luggage (one of these days I’ll do a long trip with just carry-ons, but until then…), I quickly found an ATM and a cab to take me to my hotel. I usually like to rely on public transit in foreign cities, but my Rick Steves guidebook said a taxi was the best way. After nearly 24 hours of traveling, I welcomed the opportunity to be lazy. To go from the airport to the city center costs 180-220 kuna if you aren’t getting ripped off, about $30-$40 USD.
Jelacic Square
As is the case with most European cities, the first (and usually best) thing I did was stroll through the busy downtown. Once you get your bearings with the main piazza, Ban Jelačić Square, and a few main streets like Ilica and Vlaska Ulica, you’ll see how manageable the center is. Of course, if you’re me, you’ll still get turned around every 15 minutes, but still. Better than usual.
Jelačić Square is marked by a large statue of its namesake, Josip Jelačić, riding a horse. Jelačić was governor in the 1800s, and decided that Austria > Hungary and united with the Habsburg Empire against the Hungarians’ attempts to control Croatia.
Jelačić Square is marked by a large statue of its namesake, Josip Jelačić, riding a horse. Jelačić was governor in the 1800s, and decided that Austria > Hungary and united with the Habsburg Empire against the Hungarians’ attempts to control Croatia.
Look, princess, there’s a baby in a basket!
The bustling square acts as a showcase for vendors, people watching, and random things like this amazing children’s ride as part of what seemed like a makeshift Renaissance Faire, as well as the hilarious dunk tank below.
A few blocks from Jelačić Square, you’ll see a funicular that takes you a very short way up the hill to an old village. It’s actually billed as the shortest cable car ride in the world. I’ll leave it to one of you to verify that. I love funiculars almost as much as I love the word funicular, but we just missed our chance to ride it.
A few blocks from Jelačić Square, you’ll see a funicular that takes you a very short way up the hill to an old village. It’s actually billed as the shortest cable car ride in the world. I’ll leave it to one of you to verify that. I love funiculars almost as much as I love the word funicular, but we just missed our chance to ride it.
Dunk tank!
Zagreb Cathedral, Glagolitic alphabet
A visit to the Zagreb Cathedral, considered the most important Catholic church in Croatia, is necessary. Without knowing what to look for, it’s similar to the thousands (millions?) of cathedrals in Europe. But this one houses something remarkable: a wall covered in text written in the Glagolitic alphabet. Invented in the 9th century by the saints Cyril and Methodius, this alphabet was mainly used in Croatia and was the precursor to the modern Cyrillic alphabet.
Zagreb is really trying to draw in tourists!
Widely considered the most important museum in Zagreb, the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art is a lovely little gallery right up the hill from the main square (in the Gradec area). And one the way you might pass some fun natives!
Tickets cost 20 kuna ($3-4), and you can definitely take a leisurely pass through in less than 45 minutes. It comprises six small rooms of peasant art.
Tickets cost 20 kuna ($3-4), and you can definitely take a leisurely pass through in less than 45 minutes. It comprises six small rooms of peasant art.
My favorite painting from the Naive Art Museum
It’s called ‘naïve’ because the artists are technically untrained, but it doesn’t seem like it. My favorite painting featured pink cows. I bought a mouse pad of it. I don’t even use a mouse. But it’s more durable than a postcard of it and was only a few dollars. Isn’t it so cheerful?
My real favorite museum in Zagreb, however, was the Museum of Broken Relationships. You may have heard of it, as the museum has toured around the world. All of the pieces come from people whose relationships have ended, and the donors write a little explanation of the role the object played in the relationship. It can be quite sad (as the numerous wedding albums and gowns attest) but also really funny (consider the baseball bat one donor used to smash an ex’s car (I think)). I wish the funny stuff was positioned later in the exhibit instead of the sad, because I left feeling a bit down, but overall it was a great time. I highly recommend going.
The Museum of Broken Relationships is right across from the Naïve Art Museum and costs the same (20 kuna), but has much better hours, open past 10pm in the summer. I have to mention the woman who sold us our tickets. She was so friendly and excited to meet native English speakers because she had been learning English. She asked if she could test out her skills with us, and she told us a really funny joke, in great English, and was so happy! So nice.
Just up the street from the two museums is St. Mark’s church, covered with a beautiful tiled roof depicting the coat of arms of Croatia, Slovenia, and the seal of Zagreb.
One of the best things about Zagreb, especially in nice weather, is how much green space there is. There are many lovely parks where I suggest you play and picnic, especially in the Green Horseshoe, where more museums also await.
IMPORTANT TIP: Everything has bonkers hours in Croatia. Make sure you find out the correct opening and closing times for EVERYTHING. Check with the Tourist Information Center (right in the Square) to be sure. Here are some things I learned the hard way:
IMPORTANT TIP: Everything has bonkers hours in Croatia. Make sure you find out the correct opening and closing times for EVERYTHING. Check with the Tourist Information Center (right in the Square) to be sure. Here are some things I learned the hard way:
- Even on Saturday nights (maybe especially?) restaurants will close very early. If you have my luck, the restaurants you are dying to try will be closed before 7:30pm and will REJECT YOU when you arrive at 7pm unaware that shit is crazy. Most others will close by 8pm.
- Museums are usually closed on Sundays.
- The Croatian Museum of Naïve Art – the #1 museum to see in this city – is only open on Saturdays from 10am-1pm. That’s the only day I had open, but you can easily get through it in 30 minutes while still appreciating it, so do like I did and hit it when it opens so you don’t miss it.
- In July, it can be really warm and sunny and then BOOM THUNDERSTORM. I lucked out and the rain moved quickly (and I was inside), but it was really heavy.
The restaurants closing so early on Saturday nights is still making me angry, because I was turned away from Zrno, which my friend raved about, and I had no other chance to go. Luckily, Green Point, the fast food vegetarian burger joint, was still open.
READ ABOUT GREEN POINT!
READ ABOUT THE ART OF RAW, THE MOST AMAZING RAW VEGAN RESTAURANT!
READ ABOUT VEGEHOP, AN ALL VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT!
Also luckily, the street food vendors were still selling their corn on the cob. Yup, this is the most common street food we saw. Love it!
The hotel I stayed at, the Hotel President Pantovcak, was very nice. It’s at the top of a hill just northeast of the city center, a great location but a beast to walk up if you are not in great shape and/or if it’s too hot. Just fyi. The rooms were clean, and the receptionist was friendly and helpful.
The most important thing about Zagreb left to say:
Buy as much Bajadera chocolate as you can carry in the extra suitcase you packed just for this purpose. You’re welcome.
Buy as much Bajadera chocolate as you can carry in the extra suitcase you packed just for this purpose. You’re welcome.
…While you’re at it, get some Griotte cherry-filled chocolates, and a box or five of Napolitanke. Get it all. Bring me some.
Enjoy!
Austin Withdrawal Is Rough, Y’all, So I Made ‘Burritos’
A week ago, I was in Austin, Texas, for the third and supposedly-final-but-I don’t-believe-it Vida Vegan Con. Well, actually, a week ago I was landing at Heathrow but that eastbound overnight flight is like two days long and there’s a time change and I don’t even know what day it is today so let’s just say a week ago. Anyway, Vida Vegan Con was amazing. I was a speaker (see the badge on the homepage like rightthere?), sharing all my important knowledge about the law that bloggers need to know. (If you have questions about legal issues you can ask me but remember I’m not your lawyer unless you pay me and sign shit but we can work that out.) I will be writing about this incredible experience and the supportive community it assembles and strengthens more in upcoming posts. Today, we gotta talk about the food. Well, one kind of food: stuff stuffed into tortillas.
That’s actually on a plate; the plate just happened to be exactly tortilla-sized.
Austin is the taco capital of America, possibly the world because a) it’s a mecca for vegan taco establishments and b) the Taco Cleanse was created there. I ate a lot of tacos. One night, I asked my friend what I should eat for dinner, x or tacos, and she was like, “Get x because you’ve had a lot of tacos”, and I was horrified at the thought of having something besides tacos. So that is a good way to make a decision: have someone suggest not having tacos and you’ll realize you want tacos. Phoebe should add that to the ‘North route or South route’ game, x or tacos. Ball of twine or beard of bees.*
Anyway, it’s been over a week (#honesty) since I had tacos in Texas, and that’s enough time for withdrawal symptoms, y’all, I’m saying in my southern drawl obviously. So today I thought, I’m gonna make spicy beans and other crap and put it in a tortilla and feel like I’m in Austin again, even though today I wore a SWEATER and a JACKET outside and was still very chilly and it’s June ffs. I was so windswept and ready to call my outside time that I bought giant burrito-sized tortillas instead of taco-sized tortillas, and they weren’t even corn. Hey, I live in the City, I have limited options given how far I am willing/able to wander before getting lost. (Hint: not very far.) But the giant tortillas I found happened to be Ezekiel’s sprouted grain shebangs, which I love, so that’s good.
Still, we know right off the bat that my taco plan wasn’t going to end up as tacos. Hey, you fail to plan, you know what they say, you make an ass of us. I figured with the giant tortillas, I could make a burrito, even though I’m awful/awesome at wrapping such things because I overstuff them beyond what you thought was possible. And I’m not an authentic cooker of this cuisine in the least: to quote Lucy, “I not a Mexican!”* But it was still going to be delicious, and doggonit, it was.
Anyway, it’s been over a week (#honesty) since I had tacos in Texas, and that’s enough time for withdrawal symptoms, y’all, I’m saying in my southern drawl obviously. So today I thought, I’m gonna make spicy beans and other crap and put it in a tortilla and feel like I’m in Austin again, even though today I wore a SWEATER and a JACKET outside and was still very chilly and it’s June ffs. I was so windswept and ready to call my outside time that I bought giant burrito-sized tortillas instead of taco-sized tortillas, and they weren’t even corn. Hey, I live in the City, I have limited options given how far I am willing/able to wander before getting lost. (Hint: not very far.) But the giant tortillas I found happened to be Ezekiel’s sprouted grain shebangs, which I love, so that’s good.
Still, we know right off the bat that my taco plan wasn’t going to end up as tacos. Hey, you fail to plan, you know what they say, you make an ass of us. I figured with the giant tortillas, I could make a burrito, even though I’m awful/awesome at wrapping such things because I overstuff them beyond what you thought was possible. And I’m not an authentic cooker of this cuisine in the least: to quote Lucy, “I not a Mexican!”* But it was still going to be delicious, and doggonit, it was.
SPICY LENTIL AND MISO TEMPEH TACO/BURRITO/NONSENSE POCKET
For overstuffing into this wondrous crackerpocket, we have an awesome spicy green lentil and vegetable mix, miso baked tempeh, a grain, a lettuce, and spiralized zucchini. Make it all or whatever. We don’t have avocado because eating what’s sold as avocado in England so soon after eating the most incredible avocados in south Texas sounds like a terrible thing to do for one’s mental stability.
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FIRST: Miso Baked Tempeh Ingredients:
Directions:
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I used jarred minced ginger and garlic for this because I got better shit to do, y’all. Also my knives are dull. 
Glamour shot 
The light in my kitchen is above my head so no matter where I stand I cast a shadow. It’s a cruel thing. Also how cute is my Qatari oven mitt? |
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SECOND: Spicy Green Lentils
Ingredients:
Directions:
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This big zucchini fucker rolled off the counter, before I had the good sense to put it on a towel, and rolled right onto my foot, building up momentum on that long fall and it hurt so freaking much. Damn you zucchini. I ate you. 
Stir it upppp 
I am so good at this |
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THIRD: Make a grain
Ingredients:
Directions:
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It’s so good with vegan butter even though it’s not Earth Balance. |
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FOURTH: Spiralize Zucchini
God I love this machine. I must give thanks to Jojo for giving me her unused spiralizer, even though she supported my eventual move to Britain for years and years and then the day THE DAY I finally moved here, she decided to “travel professionally” i.e. leave me on this island without her. THANKS DUDE. (No but really thanks.) |
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ASSEMBLE! Get your giant tortilla or normal sized ones if you are making tacos, and layer all the components like so:
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That’s the coolest photographic thing I’ve ever done. Yay. It’s like the Brady Bunch but for Mexican food. Anyway build it up, add too much of each filling like I do, add avocado if you live in the right place, add cilantro if you remember to buy it, add a cheese sauce maybe. I added some leftover hummus dressing (hummus dressing = watery hummus, btw) and a bit of the Parma! vegan parmesan that came in the Vida Vegan Con Swag Bag O’ Wonder (pictured)! That was such a great little kick.
So then came the best part, when I tried to wrap it up. Um. Because they are imported, Ezekiel wraps and breads are only available frozen in the UK, so I had to heat it in the oven. Do you know what happens to an Ezekiel sprouted grain wrap 15 seconds after it is out of the oven? It hardens. Into a cracker. Oops. No wrapping up for you, mister! The only thing I could do was just fold it over into a giant hard taco sort of thing and you know what, I think I like it better that way. More chance of things falling out, like some sort of game!
So then came the best part, when I tried to wrap it up. Um. Because they are imported, Ezekiel wraps and breads are only available frozen in the UK, so I had to heat it in the oven. Do you know what happens to an Ezekiel sprouted grain wrap 15 seconds after it is out of the oven? It hardens. Into a cracker. Oops. No wrapping up for you, mister! The only thing I could do was just fold it over into a giant hard taco sort of thing and you know what, I think I like it better that way. More chance of things falling out, like some sort of game!
I don’t even know what that metal spike is. I didn’t have a toothpick, not that that would have been strong enough to hold this monster together. But seriously, what is that piece of metal from…
If you follow me on Instagram (link at top), you saw that when I finished this monster, the end fell apart and I dropped it onto the plate AND IT WAS THE BAT SIGNAL! APPARENTLY I AM A VEGAN SUPERHERO. Prettayyyy cool.
*as usual with things that are asterisked in my posts: if you understand a reference or a joke or a quote and you comment that you get it, you get bonus points for any giveaways I do. If you attended my VVC talk, you know that the type of giveaway I always choose to run is a ‘contest’, because I like judging and winning on merit, not chance.
