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Last night, like I stated in my previous post regarding Subway vs. Panera, we went to Borders. I had a $15.00 coupon to use, so earlier in the day I looked around online. In their “Summer Reading” section I noticed this book titled “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” by Alison Weir. For the past couple of years, Chris and I have been watching the amazing Showtime show, The Tudors. If you haven’t seen it, or know nothing about it, I encourage you to find a way to watch the first season. It’s incredible. It is about the famous English King, Henry VIII. Because of that show, I’ve become highly interested in learning more, so I purchased the book about his wives.

For those of you who might not know, Henry VIII (obviously) went through six wives. Two were divorced (which was rare in those days), one died due to complications after giving birth to a child, two were beheaded because of adultery, and the last one outlived him. Lucky for her, eh? Sadly, if you were chosen to be a wife for the King, you couldn’t say no. It wasn’t up to you. As a child, your parents had all rights over you, and once you were married, the authority shifted over to your husband. Women back then were taught to obey, submit, and serve. What a shitty deal!

So far I’ve gotten through the introduction and am into the initial bits regarding the life of Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain (you know, the ones who sent over Christopher Columbus). It’s so fascinating how, by the age of 3, Katherine was already betrothed to Henry VII’s brother, Arthur. Could you imagine not even being old enough for preschool, but already having your future husband picked out for you? Marriages back then weren’t about love. They were about politics. It was common to have your son or daughter marry to another from a different country all for alliances. Since both Spain and England weren’t too keen on the French, it only made sense that the two of them solidify their “friendship” by having their children arranged in marriage.

What I’ve read so far is incredible. Katherine was the last of 10 children, although not all of them lived due to conditions back then, but Katherine was probably the most well known. I’m at the part where Katherine has just reached England and is about to meet Arthur for the very first time. A majority of the time, you didn’t see the person you were going to marry until the day of the wedding. You had to rely on others, and even paintings, to get an accurate description of your future significant other. Also, since you were having to leave your native country to be with your husband or wife, odds were that you’d never see your family again.

Marriages typically took place when the children were between the ages of 14-15, the age where it was deemed appropriate to consummate their union and start having babies. This was mainly due to the fact that, on average, women didn’t live too long into their 30′s, so they really had to get on it. Giving birth to children, one after the other, was considered normal as well. You can almost compare it to playing the odds. If you have more, more might survive, and having a son, a rightful heir to the throne, was imperative. To not give birth to a son back then was basically just as bad as not being able to conceive. Between Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife and the first to lose her head, and Katherine of Aragon, they had 10 children but only two survived – Mary and Elizabeth. Definitely not good odds if you ask me.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a massive read. The content itself tops off at 571 pages, and there are several pages with illustrations, paintings, letters between the wives and Henry, and at the end there is a massive bibliography along with family trees. I’ve only put a small dent into the book, but I am really looking forward to what is ahead of me. As I make it through, I will be posting updates to keep you all in the loop. If you are interested in reading the book yourself, then look in the Non-Fiction/History section at your local Borders bookstore. If you don’t have a Borders, then have whatever store you have search to see if they carry copies of this book, or you can simply order from Borders online (or Amazon). So far, I recommend it. It’s fascinating history, and to learn something new is always a gift in itself.

- Me

Yesterday I got an email from Subway informing me that they had come out with a new sandwich called Orchard Chicken Salad. I love chicken salad sandwiches. I love them so much that I had chicken salad sandwiches at the baby shower for my daughter several years ago, and they were delicious. Now, I was skeptical about Subway’s interpretation of a good chicken salad because Panera Bread already has one, and it’s fucking delicious!

The Napa Almond Chicken Salad sandwich at Panera is outstanding. It’s on this amazing sesame semolina bread, and it’s simple. There is the chicken salad mixture, some green leaf lettuce, and they normally put tomatoes on but I always ask for them off. Either way, for almost a year now, whenever I go to a Panera Bread, that is a sandwich I have to get. Last night Chris and I went to do a couple of errands (we desperately needed some weed killer FYI) so we went to the Target north of town at the River Park shopping center. After that I had to make a decision. Either go with something I already knew was outstanding, or try the new Subway sandwich and make it a true gamble. Since I had a $15.00 coupon for Borders, and Borders is right around the corner from Subway (whereas the Panera Bread location would warrant moving parking spaces), I decided on Subway.

I ordered their Orchard Chicken Salad sandwich as a footlong, since it’s one of their special $5.00 ones, and I had it on 9 grain wheat bread. Already the Subway version was inferior to Panera because they lacked the delish sesame semolina bread. Anyways, the guy behind the counter looked puzzled as I requested only the chicken salad and lettuce to be on the sandwich. That’s the way that I get it from Panera, so that is how I was going to have it at Subway. I didn’t think that black olives, cucumbers, oil, salt, pepper, and pickles would be appropriate for my sandwich.

Some of the main differences are ingredients. The Napa Almond Chicken Salad mixture has red grapes, celery, chicken, almonds, and their special dressing, which is actually a light olive oil base compared to the standard mayo. The Orchard Chicken Salad mixture has cranberries, golden raisins, diced red apples, celery, diced chicken, and the mayo dressing. While the golden raisins were nice, I really missed the grapes. To me, it made a big difference. Also, I found the apples in the Orchard Chicken Salad sandwich to be really blah, like they lacked the proper flavor, and had almost a softened water chestnut texture. Not appealing.

As I opened the wrapping to my sandwich, I noticed that there wasn’t a lot between the bread, which was sad because the bread to filling ratio at Panera is wonderful. When I got a few bites in, I knew right then that the Subway sandwich came nowhere close to the deliciousness I wanted. The chicken salad was a little bland. It lacked the proper salty and sweet. The lettuce was iceberg and shredded, giving no flavor and a strange texture, and the bread just didn’t fit. Next time I go to Subway, I will just stick to what I normally get – a turkey sandwich. There are just certain things a company shouldn’t try, and for Subway, it’s attempting to create a chicken salad. Just say no. You’ll thank me later.

And the winner (as if you should even have to ask) is:

- Me