Apex Gotcha. I think I'll stick with the America's before hitting up Europe. I don't want to go alone and the logistics of planning a trip that expensive and that far in advance are a nightmare. There's plenty of good places Stateside, like the French Laundry, although that is outside the realm of this conversation. I am curious about molecular gastronomy in particular.
Ophir - Thanks for your insight. I am having a hard time figuring out where you're coming from. I took some risk posting this here because from previous threads, it's pretty obvious the majority of users here are not into the finer things (watches, food, wine, etc) and MG is even extreme for many foodies. I can't tell if you are interested in MG from a purely science aspect and have no real understanding or appreciation of food or you are a foodie whose interest naturally progressed to MG. I would be the latter and admittedly I don't hold a BS in chemistry nor a degree from the CIA. I guess you would consider me a poser, though from your rants, I think anyone sort of Herve would be a poser.
Admittedly, I am using the term molecular gatronomy in a wide sweeping fashion. I don't have the patience or knowledge, quite frankly, to use more "proper" technical terms for various techniques.
I am looking into it because I like food and I am interested in seeing new techniques for presenting it and tasting it. I mean, what new ideas in cooking have been created in the last 50-100 years? Baking, roasting, marinating, tenderizing, smoking, souffles, foams, meringues, are all very very old techniques.