A Celebration for Nell

[mylandmyrules]

Nell had tried something a little different for dinner tonight. She'd made a large, and hopefully tasty, vegetable stir fry and had stir-fried some beef in a different pan so those wanting meat could have some. She also had homemade sourdough bread, salad, and a vegetable broth based soup to start the meal.

The apartment was spic and span, the cats were happily curled up on their cat trees, for however long that would last, and she thought she was prepared as she could be for her first ever birthday celebration. Now to wait somewhat anxiously for her guests.



[For those who know who they are.]

Comments

[unusual_sith]

"What is it like?" Lana asked. "It's on Europe, isn't it?"

[pocketpretzels]

"It is," Watts nodded. "You went on the school trip to France, yes? Portugal is fairly nearby, the country of Spain separates the two. It's- the architecture is stunning, much of it centuries old." Which probably wasn't all that impressive to Lana, but from someone who'd grown up in Canada...

[unusual_sith]

"Some of the buildings in France were lovely, so I can imagine," Lana said. "Not to mention the wine and cheeses."

[pocketpretzels]

"Oh the wine," Watts said enthusiastically. "Portugal is known for wine as well- different varieties than you'll find in France, but still amazing quality. We participated in a wine-tasting tour in Porto, one of the cities we stayed in." Well, Watts had participated, really. Steven had mostly just listened to Watts be a giant nerd about the wine.

[unusual_sith]

"I confess I'm more knowledgeable about whisky," Lana said. "How is the wine different as compared to France's?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Oh, well..." Watts said, and for a moment was briefly disappointed he wasn't at his or Steven's apartment, where there would be several varieties of each that he could have Lana try for comparison. "There's a number of factors, you see- the two countries are close by, but the climate is different enough that it makes a difference. Portugal's also got far more varieties of actual grapes..." oh, you've gotten him started, Lana. Going to be hard to get him to stop now.

[unusual_sith]

Honestly, Lana would probably have enjoyed comparing them.

"It always astonishes me how many climates Earth has in such a small area," she said. "How many types of grapes are there?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Around the world, in total?" Watts said. "Around ten thousand. France is home to about two hundred of those, and Portugal close to three hundred."

[unusual_sith]

"How many?" Lana blinked. "They're all the same fruit, how many differences can there be?"

[pocketpretzels]

Watts shrugged. "A lot of them are man-made," he said. "Via breeding for desirable traits until they're far enough removed from the original that they're declared an entirely new variety."

[unusual_sith]

"What sorts of traits do they breed for?" Lana asked. "Juiciness or sweetness?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Also things like resistance to disease, or ability to thrive in different climates," Watts said.

[unusual_sith]

"Ah, that makes sense." Lana nodded. "Still, that's so many varieties! Do they all taste different in wine?"