Location: It's about time, Mr. Bourdain. Tony makes a culinary pilgrimage to one of Europe's, and arguably the world's, most famous culinary destinations of the moment: Spain. It is a country that is thoroughly grounded in the cuisine of tradition yet remarkably forward-thinking in its gastronomic outlook.

Episode Rating: Four and a half bloody meat cleavers (out of five). I'm sorry, perhaps I'm biased, but it's hard to characterize an episode that features such fascinating, delicious, forward-thinking food as anything but awesome. If you've seen any episodes of Bourdain's previous show, A Cook's Tour, then you'll know why this works so well. It's enjoyable without trying too hard.

Summary: Spain is a country with a cooking style that is thoroughly traditional - we are talking after all about an area of culture that dates all the way back to the ancient Romans, Greeks and beyond. Yet recent years have seen the rise of a very different and highly original brand of cuisine that defies easy convention. Famous chefs like Ferran Adria have pushed what was once one of Europe's best-kept culinary secrets into the pantheon of global "foodie hotspots." in much the same way that people have long romanticized France or Italy, Spain is now arguably just as well-known for its local and delcious food culture. Tony comes to Spain expecting to be wowed and rediscovers a country that does not disappoint.

If you've tried to buy a train ticket in a place like Morocco or Indonesia, you know that this seemingly simple task is actually a full-contact sport. Rather than forming an orderly, single-file line, people are forced to scratch, claw, elbow, and gouge their way to the ticket window, in a process that even an Ultimate Fighting champion would describe as unnecessarily painful and violent.

So why does this happen? Why can't people in certain, usually less-developed countries form neat, single-file lines? Here are a couple possible explanations:

1. There's no incentive for the first person to stand in line. Though forming an orderly queue might be more efficient for everyone, it's not beneficial enough to one particular person for him or her to go through the trouble of starting a line. This is a classic example of what economists call a "collective action problem," in which a group of people are given a choice and, if following their individual self-interests, will choose an action that is suboptimal for the group overall. Merging on the highway is another example: It might be in your interest to cut in line at the last second, but if everyone chooses that same thing, the results will be worse than if everyone simply waited their turn.

2. The absence of orderly lines is not that big of a deal to people in these countries. Though seemingly chaotic and unnecessary to those of us in the "West", the truth might be that these "mobs" actually work. Their structure-- or lack of it-- rewards those who want the ticket or item the most, and only displeases those who weren't industrious (or ruthless) enough to work their way up to the front. This is a form of price discrimination in which those who were willing to "pay" the most, in this case with time and effort, are rewarded, while those who weren't, aren't.

When Meredith Vieria from the Today Show was given a tour of the Olympic Village, specifically the housing of the Americans, trap shooter bronze medalist Corey Cogdell showed Vieria a painting in her room that was created by a child in China.

A framed picture of a child's artwork was given to each Olympic athlete as a room decoration. It's theirs to keep whether they medal or not.

Vieira was quite moved by the gesture of a child-produced gift. I thought about the excitement that the children must have felt when they were making their paintings knowing their creations would be going to athletes from around the world and how they were contributing to their country's mega, unforgetable, international event.

It can make a heart feel warm and fuzzy for sure.

Seeing the painting reminded me of the items to buy when traveling that offer more meaning than a production piece souvenir. Any work made by a child has been favorably received whenever I have given them as gifts.

I once bought three drawings by children that were sold in a fundraiser art show for a refugee center that houses families in India who were displaced by strife. I have forgotten the specifics of who received the funding, but I I can see the art clearly. I was touched by its hope and sweetness. The show was at the India International Center in New Delhi, a place that hosts high quality events, mostly centered on the arts. This is where I saw the writer Pico Iyer at a symposium of Indian authors who write in English.

Granted, framed paintings are cumbersome. Another option is handmade greeting cards that can be framed once you get home. Often these cards are used to make money for organizations that are searching for dollars.

Keep your eyes open. Thailand, Vietnam and India are wonderful places to look for such items. I still have cards I bought to give away. Even if the cards aren't made by kids, or go to charity. handmade cards are helping to support someone.

Finding real massage parlors in much of Asia can be a Herculean effort (as massage unfortunately means something completely different across the pond). But this tale from one Australian businesswoman shows us all that it can be done! Even in Thailand!

Before a conference in Bangkok, our group spent a few days in Chiang Mai. There were 20 of us on the trip, and we were all encouraged to sign up for the famous Thai massage of Chiang Mai.

...

Once we all gathered in the lobby, we were told to hop on a rickety smoke-spewing bus that was going to take us to the best Thai massage parlor in the city.

I remember thinking that you can't judge a massage parlor by a bus. And I also remember thinking that the place must be absolutely huge to accommodate 20 people in private rooms.

Monopoly, the beloved real estate game that's been played by an estimated 750 million people in 50 languages worldwide, is about to go truly global.

Hasbro, Inc., which owns Monopoly, says "Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition" will debut early next month.

You might recall Gadling's Aaron blogging early this year about the company's online fan survey to find the 22 cities that will be featured in the new game.

Well, the wait is over: The two most expensive properties on the new Monopoly board will be Montreal and Riga, Latvia, which will occupy the blue property group, replacing Boardwalk and Park Place.

Riga? You're saying. Indeed, Riga.

In the new version it appears that gamers will vie to own whole cities, rather than specific streets. The other 20 cities that will appear on the new board are:

Cape Town, Belgrade, Paris, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, New York, Sydney, Vancouver, Shanghai, Rome, Toronto, Kiev, Istanbul, Athens, Barcelona, Tokyo, Taipei, Gydnia (Poland).

Wow, that must have been one hell of a Polish campaign to get Gydnia on the board.

Oddly enough, Atlantic City apparently couldn't muster enough votes.

More than 5.7 million votes were cast for 70 cities worldwide to come up with the final list, according to Reuters.

We've written here before about people traveling to undergo plastic surgery, but moving to another country then getting plastic surgery to look more like the people whose country/continent you are living in, is a whole new (not to mention depressing) concept.

An increasing number of immigrants in Europe are opting to change their facial features in order to look more "western", or less conspicuous on the street. Apparently, the nose is most characteristic of where we come from which is why rhinoplasty is the most popular surgery amongst these immigrants. In Spain, the surgery costs Euro 5000 and takes 20 minutes.

In one of my previous posts I wrote how although Spain can be culturally insensitive, I didn't find Spain racist at all. But after reading that about 2,500 South Americans (mainly Ecuadorians and Colombians) have nose jobs every year (many of those live in Madrid), it made me think again: Why do these Latinos want to go to such an extent to fit in? What sort of discrimination are they suffering?

How have we let social stigmas in our so-called "multi-cultural-multinational-society" go so far as to warrant reactions like this?

In the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, Texas, is a curious sight: a house being sucked into a wormhole. It's the handiwork of two artists, Dan Havel and Dean Ruck. From their press release:

Havel and Ruck will create a large funnel-like vortex beginning from the west wall adjacent to Montrose Blvd. The exterior skin of the houses will be peeled off and used to create the narrowing spiral as it progresses eastward through the small central hallway connecting the two buildings and exiting through a small hole into an adjacent courtyard.

More photos here.

Now this is a fun game. Developed by the Language Trainers Group, this ten-question quiz tests your ability to identify different English accents, including those from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, and dozens of other countries.

In the game, speakers from all around the world recite parts of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If," then you're asked to name their home countries.

I only scored a meager 31 points (that probably puts me in the bottom part of the curve), but the test is pretty hard. I mean, am I really supposed to know how Latvian English differs from Lithuanian English?

So head over there, get higher than 31 points, then come back here and brag about it in the Comments.

[Hat tip: World Hum]

This fountain in Madeira, Portugal says summer. How great would it be to run through this on a hot day?

I'm reminded of the other fountains where water arcs upwards from the ground. There's the fountain that Matt Harding of "Where the Hell is Matt?" dances in along with other dancing folks in Atlanta, Georgia, the one at the playground in Knights of Columbus Park in St. Cloud, Minnesota and the pop jet fountain at the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado.

This fountain shot by Donner00 looks almost animated. I can hear the sounds of the water--almost.

If you have a shot that has captured your fancy, capture ours at Gadling's Flickr photo pool. It could be chosen as a Photo of the Day.

Manhattan is a great place to find the best of something. Best theater, best food, best art -- and definitely best shopping, as long as you've got some padding in your bank account. One of the greatest places for a girl to shop in Manhattan is on 47th St between 5th and 6th Avenues, also known as the Diamond District.

New York's Diamond District is a full city block of sparkly goodness, and whether you want to buy or just gawk, this is the place to come for fine jewelry. With over 2,600 independent businesses in the Diamond District (seriously!), you have no excuse not to shop around. If you get a bad vibe from someone, stay away -- you have plenty of other options. Some jewelers have shops of their own, but most operate booths in large jewelry exchanges, which can have hundreds of different vendors all under one roof.

If you want to have a good experience and not get ripped off, start by dressing the part. The more money it looks like you've got, the more attention you'll get. And the more knowledgeable you appear, the less likely you'll be ripped off. Don't just throw around buzz words, though. Diamond vendors can tell when you're just regurgitating some pamphlet on the four C's. If you want to really know your stuff, take a good look at the Personal Gemologist series at AisleDash. Learn how to tell quality from crap. If a vendor describes something in terms you don't understand, don't buy it. While you may be looking at a very pretty ring, you may be buying a synthetic stone, or artificially enhanced piece of jewelry. Find more helpful shopping tips on the Diamond District website here.

Lastly, it's not in the Diamond District, but your Manhattan jewelry experience isn't complete until you visit Tiffany & Co, located at 57th St & 5th Ave.