La Comida

This is more of a rant than anything. I talk to myself enough as it is and I've realized it's getting a tad worse, as I now speak out loud to myself in public places. LOL. I catch myself for the most part, but still. So my question is, are shrimp shells edible? I mean if you cook them enough do the shells become soft enough to eat? I would say never, but it seems in Europe, if you order anything with shrimp, it's still in its shell, legs, feelers and all. Now maybe in the US we're spoiled, but I don't think so. It's not like I am ordering peel and eat shrimp either. Today was seafood rice, meaning it was in a sauce; peeling the shrimp with my fingers is out, and using a fork and knife to do it is next to impossible. They also left the crab leg in tact. What am I supposed to do with that? I tried to break it open and ended up spraying the table with the sauce. Not pretty. What's odd, the restaurant de-shelled the clams and mussels, two shellfish that are totally do-it-yourself compatible. So maybe that's it, the chef is lazy. Who knows. It makes me not want to order anything with shrimp and I love shrimp. I'm bummed because I was so looking forward to paella in Spain and I can't remember if they de-shell them or not. The begining of my dinner will provide entertainment for some of you....I sat down and shortly after getting settled in, I noticed there was an 8-legged "A" thing on the wall, which my table was next to. You would all be proud, as I did not scream, but rather moved the table away from the wall. I then contemplated taking my shoe off and smushing it, but there were other people present and I didn't think I'd get a good angle and I might lose it. Given the language barrier my waiter moved the oil and vinegar first, then the flower vase, (all the while I'm trying to get around him to crawl out of my chair for fear the thing goes the wrong way), and finally when I was pointing frantically to the wall and a safe distance away, he picked it up (it was very similar to a daddy-long-leg), handed it to another guy and out the door it went. They saved it, I'm sure that makes some of you (Andy) very happy. I'm probably going to have nightmares now and never get to sleep tonight. I need therapy, I know.