Get In The Car

Day 6 A Day in Orvieto -pm

2010-11-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

We walked down the main street, Casa Cavour, looking for a restaurant we had eaten in this past March. It had been a great meal and we hoped to repeat it or at least come close. Walking down the hill we found the restaurant and while it did not have the same €12 menu, we decided to eat there. I saw POLENTA and FUNGHI together and that was enough for me. Oh yes, cinghale…the wild boar too.

Inside it looked the same, and I do believe our waitress was the same on we'd had before. No photo of her though. Two men went in just ahead of us but otherwise it was very quiet. I do wonder how the restaurants make a go of it with so few customers.

He had the roast sausage and potatoes, and I did share that cinghale with him tho I ate a good bit too with my polenta.

A very good meal, but not the great bargain we'd had before. Still….nice to find a place we had in our memory bank. Taverna Cavour 222.

Now a bit of exploring another church, St. Martin. Seeing the statue of the Blessed Mother, we noticed the holes for carrying the statue in a procession. Shades of Malta and the Good Friday processions.

Down all the way to the park at the 'bottom of the upper town'. Ah, this time a baby girl was being announced.

An apron I passed on…too pricey and I splash myself above the waist as well in cooking. A menu to suggest to my son. A mannequin we laughed at each time we passed and apparently a brilliant blue is one of THE colors for fall/winter.

Finally time to settle back into our apartment and watch the sun set on the hills.

Day 6 A Day in Orvieto-morning

2010-11-11T11:23:00.000-05:00

A lot of time we plan on taking a day to drive off somewhere, and then take a day to explore where we are. Orvieto was an ideal place for this kind of 'staycation' even though the place was far from our real home! A sunny day and market day was a good day to just explore.

Some morning fruit in the apartment and then down to the church of the Apostles Andrew and Bartholomew in the Piazza Republica.

The flower stalls were all open and it's amazing to see such delicate flowers out on window sills or pots by the door. Obviously, the local people know what they're doing!

Down into the market at Piazza del Populi. A good market with fruit and vegetables, lots of cheese, as well as two porchetta vendors. I liked the man cutting from the whole pig as opposed to the man whose pig was ready chopped.

After buying some cheese, we felt the need to sit with an espresso and pastry. Off the main street, this was a 80 cent espresso. I'm laughing cause I have to really stretch my arm to take these self portraits.

Back towards home we still passed more goodies and kept looking at things we didn't need but found interesting.

While taking our purchases back to the apartment we met our landlady. In true Italian style, we stopped for a chat, and found out where to buy a 'dossacaffe', a container that doles out exact measures of ground coffee for espressso. You know you need one of these!

Now it was time to think about lunch. What else after all that time looking at food in the market??

Day 5 Assisi and back

2010-11-11T03:37:00.000-05:00

The arrival in Assisi was interesting to say the least. Petunia had taken us to the last exit on the road to Spello and so we sort of back tracked in our attempt to actually enter the city. Another city on a hill! We climbed through a bunch of vineyards, olive groves and houses, and suddenly saw a parking lot. Quick as a hare we popped in, found a space immediately, and then looked at the climb UP.

We saw a bunch of other people parking, and then crossing the road to enter a building. Aha. We had parked at a hospital parking lot. Sigh. Back into the car. We continued up the road, and eventually came to a parking garage, under the city. Why does he always doubt me when I say…Park here!!! (Why? because I make immediate decisions and he has to p r o c e s s. On Italian roads, there is not always process time.)

We entered a beautiful garage, which must be crowded in the summer, but was mostly empty this time of year. Up through the garage to the city level we went, stopping for a 50cent toilet break - pricey but a good idea. Exiting back into the sunlight, we saw that there was still a lot more to climb.

Guess who was already hungry? The first thing we did was stop to eat. He had a salami pizza and I had a pasta piccante.

Once the boy was fed, it was time to walk around. We knew we wouldn't be doing a lot of sightseeing since we had made that slow road decision. The weather was beautiful and the town had recovered remarkably from the '97 earthquake. After looking at the spacious, and empty piazza, we entered the church.

Himself and a monk in contemplation. It was nice to actually see a Franciscan here in Assisi, and in a church.

Down into the crypt was a wonderful display of Saint Clare's relics. It was all beautifully displayed and a nice treat to have time and space to study the articles.

But all too soon it was time to have a bit more of a walk, look at the door of the home of the new baby boy, and head back down to the garage.

Looking back and UP into town, we thought it would be a good place to come back to espcially if we were staying in the eastern part of Umbria.

We decided on the quick road home but that ended shortly with a major traffic jam. Off we went back to one of the slower but still direct roads. There were a lot of others who made that decision but it was still a nice afternoon drive. A stop for gelato and an espresso and a drive past Lake Corbara.

It was good to get back to the apartment…and plan our next excursion.

Day 5 Slow road to Assisi

2010-11-07T03:54:00.000-05:00

In thinking about some of the nearby towns we were interested in visiting, it was always a choice of the fast road with manic drivers or the slow road with curves, switchbacks but scenery galore for the passenger. I always tell the driver "Don't look!". Trying to stick with 'the joy is in the journey' for the most part we concluded that going to Assisi was as important as seeing Assisi. The slow road over the mountains won out.

We planned to come back via Todi if possible. One thing to always remember is that there are windows for everything. We 'could' get up early and make it into a town by 9am or so but that's not the point of a vacation. If one wanted to park in town, it's always necessary to get there early though. We often found that parking was either at the base of a hill town with a bus up into town or in town at small lots usually for 1.5-2 hours. That could be enough unless we wanted to have lunch in town. Lunch of course has its own window of about 2.5 hours. Do we sightsee or do we eat? If you know us, you know where we place our priority.

So off to Assisi we went, leaving Orivieto to climb over the hills to the east. It was a gloriously sunny day and we climbed and climbed. We saw very few cars which made it easier to try and pull off for a view and not having another car tailgating furiously.

While we were facing west there were some trees with brilliant colors, not New England bright but definitely autumn colors. It was a great ride.

Finally there was Assisi across the remains of sunflower fields. We have a good GPS which he calls Petunia, but she does have this way of finding unusual ways into towns. We passed several turnoffs, and as we were now on a divided highway, it was increasingly clear that she was taking us in on one of the last entrances on the east. OK, Petunia, have it your way.

Time for a bit of a Catch Up

2010-11-07T03:29:00.000-05:00

Several days have passed with lots of enjoyable drives and sights. As one guide to Umbria said, it's easier to point out the towns that aren't beautiful or worth seeing.

Some things I've noticed, in no particular order -

there are no ads on the escalators in Milan's Metro (unlike London but like Washington DC)
there was virtually no graffiti either at least at the two stops we used
people do not walk with gelato, or coffee/espresso, but do walk with slices of pizza
clothing styles are world wide, and what I see in the US, I see here and vice versa
at night in Orvieto we can smell the wood fire - from homes? from wood burning ovens in restaurants? whatever, it smells great
the sky is clear enough to see stars
where there is espresso, there is almost always a toilette
toilettes are often unisex but with a door for privacy
many toilets have no seat so strong leg muscles are a good idea!
only twice in over a week have I heard a car with loud music
too many restaurants imho though have pop music playing
many good dishes are off the menu
there are many fewer people about than there were 2 years ago in November - the economy?
Life is still good in Italy

Day 4 Orvieto Dinner

2010-11-06T08:23:00.001-04:00

Ah yes, what is life without more food. We had several recommendations from our landlady and unfortunately did not find two of the three open either at lunch time or dinner. Finally we decided on the one she called 'rustic' which WAS open and it did have that look with lots of wood. Mezza Luna via Ripa Serancia, 3, Orvieto, Italy. This was literally around the corner from our apartment.

We were preceded in the restaurant by a table of American women, Southerners, a bit loud and very into their CocaCola. Oh well...

We started with the local crostini including from top right, tomato, artichoke spread, sliced 'lard' (very good!), and tuna.

He had pasta with a meat ragu while I had veal scallopini in lemon sauce and potatoes and chicory greens.

He also had this grilled sausage which me mixed with his pasta.

Our waiter helped some Japanese tourists by giving them a menu IN Japanese. I was impressed by that but then again there are a lot of Japanese tourists - just not here at this time of year.

After all that good food, someone seems to be contemplating ...chocolate. At least that's what I thought, and after a walk 'into' town, guess where we stopped.

There may be excellent chocolate in other parts of the world but oh can the Italians make beautiful displays.

Day 4 Orvieto pm

2010-11-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

After a lot of pasta and pizza in our first few days, I realized I was really missing salad and vegetables. I had seen a supermarket just to the side of the autrostrada as we were arriving in Orvieto and so we drove off to find it. We also wanted to make sure we remembered how to get down to our car, and get out of the garage using the parking pass. We did.

Back down on 'ground' level, we did find a supermarket and while not the one I'd seen, it worked. Some items did sound funny.

We got a few staples including some pears and some tortellini - tortellini with carciofi (artichokes!).

Now we headed back around Orvieto, through Orvieto Scalo, and south to see where the road would take us. Still no sign of the supermarket I'd seen and I was beginning to wonder if I had seen it. However we saw a sign for Castiglione in Taverina, not that there are any shortages of these little towns, and climbed up a nice road through lovely country. I was reminded of years in England where one could be out all morning, drive only a few miles and yet see so much.

We both wondered about these fields that seemed to be growing rocks, and joked that there was snow 3km ahead. Actually the signs warned of slick roads in heavy rain or snow.

The castle didn't seem to want visitors, so we headed back to Orvieto. Time to think about dinner.

Day 4 Orvieto am

2010-11-05T01:02:00.005-04:00

What a nice morning it was to wake up settled in Orvieto. In the early hours there was still mist in the nooks and crannies of the hills...the hills we could see so well from our windows.

We'd bought some pastries at our pizza spot the night before - yes, they sold fresh pizzas as well as some decidedly homemade pastries, wine, soft drinks and packaged candies. Coffee and tea with the pastries and we were good to go.

btw, Himself is making the tea and coffee before I get up, as he does at home. I'm glad that hasn't changed! There is a great wi-fi connection in the apartment and we both can be on at the same time and all the time.

We finally got ourselves organized for exploring and down our lane we went. Believe it or not, we actually drove through this lane (and worse) on the prior night. Our car gets parked 2 levels below the level we stay at. We take two free city elevators to get there, but that's another story.

We walked to the Duomo to get our bearings again. We have been to Orvieto twice before but only one day each time. Now we had time to go down or up any lane and know that eventually we would hit the city walls and cliffs. No danger of getting totally lost.

After this bit of wandering, we headed back to our apartment to check on the clothes I'd hung out. Please note himself showing where I hang out the bedroom window to hang clothes. Lunch? the extra pizza we'd bought the night before then computer and nap time.

Day 3 Milan to Orvieto

2010-11-04T22:18:00.001-04:00

Not the most interesting day but a necessary one. We had our breakfast at the hotel, and did the final packing that was not done the previous night. It was pouring buckets outside but at least the metro stop was only about two blocks away. Negotiating the steps down into the Metro is always a challenge but we made it. Then it was the reversal of our arrival at Malpensa - two metros and an airport train to get to our rental car. It always seems to be a joke, but true, that getting out of the rental car lot is harder than most of the drive.

It's a very direct drive from Milan to Orvieto, pretty much Autostrada all the way…27.30€ in all…but oh the weather. I have not seen such rain since…well, seriously, I don't recall ever seeing it so heavy so long. Our drive was a full 5 hours and the downpour was tremendous the entire time. No photos on this day!

We had two short stops at Auto grills, but it was a tense drive, tho the drivers were mostly very very good. It was just looong with that weather, and when we thought it couldn't go on much longer, it did.

When we came close to Bologna, the scenery changed and the rain lightened so that we could see the mountains at least. There had been times earlier in the day when we thought it would get as dark as sunset. Coming into Orvieto we saw some light, and managed to make it into the city before dark. That was a big goal as finding an address in a medieval city is a challenge. But with asking anyone we saw we finally found our apartment and the owner who let us in and gave us all our info. Driving in the narrow, narrow, and I do mean narrow lanes was something I could not have done. Bless you Dick for your driving skills!

We took a quick walk, not being really hungry after the exhausting drive, but knowing we needed something. Yet again, we were too early for the 7:30 dinner time but eventually found a pizza spot that was already cooking. I had a square of zucchini, Dick had a corn and sausage slick as well as a tuna and tomato one that was quite good. We picked up a few pastries and headed home to our very own apartment. With night views over the hills and cool air coming in the windows, we were ready to sleep with no agenda ahead.

Day 2 Milan LaScala

2010-11-04T08:01:00.000-04:00

Still raining, and raining hard, we metro'd to the Duomo and walked the short distance to LaScala.

First was a stop in the gift shop where someone got a Carmen mug as his souvenir. Why not, I said, knowing I was not going to be the one to have to pack it! Then we got in line in the lovely gold and white lobby and found our seats. There are a lot of ushers wearing large medallions but they seemed to be milling about with librettos/histories whatever, and no use whatsoever in finding our seats.

Fortunately, that was a easy matter. One letter, and one number.

The house is gorgeous and even I could see how the size and shape would make for great acoustics.

My arms aren't quite long enough to get us at better angles, but I suppose this is about as good as we can look. We made it and that's what counts. "Carmen" at LaScala...it doesn't get much better than this.

Day 2 Sunday lunch in Milan

2010-11-03T17:04:00.000-04:00

Lunch was at alla Collina Pistoiese.

We shared some bruschetta Toscana, a tuna topping. I could not pass up the carciofi - artichokes - served as a salad with parmesan slivers, with pasta or with scallopini. I chose the scallopini and oh yes, it was good.

He had the pesce spada tagliatelle Mediteraneo which was thin slices of swordfish.

We each- yes one each! - had a creme brulee/flan and they were very good. We decided to pass on a coffee as someone wanted to take a nap and someone else wanted to start her packing.

btw, the restaurant was certainly family run and full of families. Of course they were well behaved Italian children who are used to sitting in a restaurant for quite a few hours and either being entertained by their parents or amusing themselves as the adults talk. I wished I could have taken a photo of Mama/Nonna who sat in the center of the restaurant in a little booth, checking every bill submitted by the waiter and taking every credit card or cash payment from the customers. Ah, no doubt who ran the show there.

Next on the agenda ...the Opera.

Day 2 Sunday am in Milan

2010-11-03T15:55:00.000-04:00

Day 2 started with breakfast in our hotel. I gladly missed the end of daylight savings and let him go down to get caffe-d up first. When I joined him, I had a cappuccino before a pot of English Breakfast so that was quite a jolt of caffeine for me. There were eggs, scrambled and cold hard boiled, meats and cheese, lots of cereals and fruits with yoghurt or milk to moisten. Croissants, toasts, hard rolls, and the dry toasts. Butters and jams, and of course cake and tarts for that Italian morning sugar.

Since it was going to be a long night at the Opera, we decided to make Sunday an easy day and go to the high mass. Ok, we decided along with a zillion other people. I had forgotten it was also a day with - I think- a visit from the Papal delegate. Security was tight but we got in and eventually got to the sides with a view of the procession around the church. There was a lot of very upbeat, modern singing and tv monitors all around. Amazing.

After our time in church we decided to look for LaScala in the daylight and avoid a possible panic trying to read street signs in the dark. And yes, it was still raining. We walked through the Galleries again thinking maybe we'd have a coffee or lunch but decided to pass on the pricey ones as well as McDonalds.

We took the shortcut I thought would get us towards LaScala but only found a small coffee shop open. Too early for lunch of course but with a view of toy buying families that was fun to see.

Finally we made it to LaScala and knew we would be able to get back there in a much easier fashion in the pm. Just walk through the V.E.Galleria, But the boy was happy...though I'm not sure about the redhead standing near him.

Well now it was time for lunch and I knew just where we'd go unless we drowned on the way. How that rain went on...

Day 1 Milan pm

2010-11-02T23:21:00.000-04:00

After our delicious lunch, he wanted to find the Vodafone store to see if we could get a 'dongle' or internet key as they call them here. The weather was a bit overcast but not raining yet. With a map in hand we followed this turn, that turn and a lot more turns and eventually arrived at the Vodafone store on Via Torino. After some discussion, we ascertained that the internet key would work in Italy but to use it in the UK, we would have to get a new SIM card. The Italian key is not locked so switching the SIM card should be easy. Should was the operative word. We decided to think about it even tho the price seemed quite good.

At this point, it was time to see the true heart of Milan. But his feet were tired, and so instead of walking with a gelato we sat inside and had gelato and espresso. btw, I saw very few people walking with gelato. Perhaps it's not the thing this far north as it is in Rome. I said I'd have a gelato a day but while this was good it wasn't great, or am I getting jaded with gelato??? btw, we passed on the spooky cookies but I thought the marzipan teeth were something I'd eat.

After our pricey gelato break...sitting costs money...it was straight to the Duomo. It is quite a site to behold, and I had never seen it cleaned. Back in the 70s it was either under renovation or still quite dark. My memory doesn't tell me which. We had a walk inside and saw all the Saint Charles Borromeo hoopla/information as this is the 400th anniversary of his canonization.

After this spate of holiness, it was time for as short nap. Jet lag hadn't bothered us but with an 10mg Ambien instead of my usual 5mg airplane dosage, I was a bit loopy and decidedly not all there mentally. On our way back to the hotel, we had to go to the Italian Touring Club bookstore. OMG. Maps, maps, and more maps and so we came away with a large map book of Italy. (That calls for future trips!)

In the evening we decided we didn't want a full dinner but just another walk with a snack. Back towards the Duomo, another Vodafone visit to be sure we understood what we thought we understood, and a sandwich and espresso from a 'bar' near the Vittorio Emmanuel Galleries. We were fortunate to see some tables outside not put away yet for the night and so we sat and watched the passing parade go by. I also found a full bag of roasted chestnuts on the table behind me and yes, I took them and ate them. I don't suggest you do the same but I'm willing to risk things like that on occasion.

Not a bad day for a first day.

Day 1 Milan am

2010-11-02T12:13:00.001-04:00

After seeing those mountains, and getting off the plane, we took a train and a subway to get to our hotel in Milan. First of all was getting ourselves centered and having an espresso. While I am usually a tea drinker, I find that in Italy the espresso suits me just fine.

When we travel, we often say that together we make up almost one whole brain. What one doesn't know, the other does, and together we can usually figure something out. That was finding the train, paying the 11 euros each and getting ourselves to the Metro. We decided to get a two day travel card for 5.50 Euro each. (Some day I will figure out how to find a euro keystroke on the keyboard. However, today is not the day.)

We ended up finding our hotel, despite taking the most distant Metro exit. We settled in and by then decided it was time for lunch. We had a rec from our hotel for a restaurant not too far away, and set out to eat. Eat we did. The restaurant was "Manhattan" near the Missori Metro stop. Lots of modern art on all the walls.

I had a salad of 'just born' fish with greens and it was delicious. The wee fish reminded me of fish I had in the Italian Lakes way back in the 70s. I'd say this was the same fish but marinated not fried. He had a 'pizza' that was called a foccacio with salami and ricotta. I had ravioli with shrimp as my secondi. Ah the food, the food. This is why we come to Italy. Yes, there is culture, beautiful scenery but first of all there is the food.

Being non drinkers we passed on all the lovely bottles of wine siting by us, as well as the frozen grappa and limoncello that our waiter thought we might like.

Thus ended our first morning in Italy on this trip.

Beautiful Start

2010-10-31T10:44:00.001-04:00

Is this not a view to start a day? It made sleeping on an airplane worthwhile to awake and see the sun coming up like this. Now that's what I consider a mountain. I'd say it was either the French or Italian alps. Whichever...gorgeous.

My Return

2010-10-28T09:02:00.000-04:00

Well it isn't a return if you haven't gone yet, but I hope to do some more recording of trips on this blog. It certainly helps in making scrapbooks - printed Shutterfly books - afterwards. At least my memories will be a bit clearer, and if I don't have a great net connection, I can at least get the text done in Texteditor and do a quick save. We shall see.

Now I just need to think of what to wear here. Elegant black no doubt, but with sensible shoes fit for walking I'm afraid. ciao ciao

Has it been a year?

2010-05-30T07:57:00.006-04:00

Having just received a comment yesterday about a post, I realized it had been almost a year since I added to this blog. Wow. That certainly doesn't mean we have not been traveling...far from it. The man keeps me going!

As I have a few more PSE skills under my belt, I have done more scrapping of the trips. That has taken the time in the p.m. that was often devoted to this blog. It became easier to do that then to try to get an upload in some places.

However, after a lot of mumbling on my part about sharing dh's laptop, I finally agreed to get my own - a sweet little Macbook. It wasn't spending the money, tho I can be tight with my $$s, as much as it was knowing I'd have to lug my own paraphernalia. I also knew the web, if available, would sing its siren song to me...

Oh by the way, I just installed PSE8 this week, which I got for $34 frickin' dollars after the rebates. Now I just have to learn the differences.... Ain't it always sumthin!

June 11 Kiel

2009-06-11T10:19:00.006-04:00

Rain, rain, go away...come again another day. But it didn't, so I ventured out on my own, getting pretty darn wet despite a slicker to wear and an umbrella. Now I can say I've been in Germany on this trip!

Sadly this is the last post of this trip. It's been fun teaching myself PSE 7. Hopefully my brain is growing somewhat in keeping with my waistline on this trip. I only wish.

June 10 Ronne, Bornholm

2009-06-11T06:33:00.004-04:00

Ronne is on Bornholm, a small Danish island off the Swedish coast. The day started out beautifully sunny and warm, became overcast with threatening thunderstorms (never materialized) and ended with warm sun. It's good to be prepared for all weather! Ronne was a tantalizing taste of Denmark with friendly (blond) people and compact tidy homes. There is also a small Thai community and I happily traded some memories in a Thai-English mixture. I know I started the shopkeeper with a Sawadee Kha! The fun of travel.

June 8 and 9 Stockholm

2009-06-10T04:15:00.002-04:00

Stockholm was advertised as two days but in effect it really wasn't with the over two hours it took to get people unloaded via tenders. Paid tours always go first and there were also a lot of people visiting family. I think there were over 40 tenders going from ship to shore the first day. Nonetheless, Stockholm is a lovely city and we used our 24hr transit passes a lot! While we didn't see the midnight sun, we did stay up to see the 11pm sun butI can imagine how long the winters must seem with the very short days.

June 7 Gdansk

2009-06-07T10:13:00.001-04:00

June 5 Gothenburg

2009-06-07T10:12:00.000-04:00

Both of us were pretty tired, so we passed on this port. I'll write more later explaining this day.

June 4 Oslo

2009-06-07T10:11:00.000-04:00

June 3 Day at Sea

2009-06-07T10:09:00.002-04:00

June 2 Edinburgh

2009-06-05T04:36:00.004-04:00

btw in case you wonder how we got from the ship to Queensferry from whence there was a bus into Edinburgh, here are the tenders.

June 1 Newcastle

2009-06-05T04:33:00.001-04:00

Our day in Newcastle was another brilliantly sunny day with temps that promised to be warm - into the 70s. Arrival from Rotterdam was scheduled to be around noon with a mid-day departure from the ship. We never knew the exact time for tenders or a shuttle bus for sure each day until a few hours before and the times still changed after arrival in a port. Those people taking a tour with HAL always had priority in leaving the ship so it could be hard and frustrating to plan much of a trip outside of strolling around the main part of a city. Fortunately this suited us most of the time but it was hard for dh to wait till 11am or later to leave the ship when he is such an early bird in the a.m.

I had seen Newcastle years and years ago, and despite the boast that the city had been cleaned up and modernized, I decided Newcastle would be a r&r day aboard ship for me. Reading, computer time with the pictures and just a relaxing day before Edinburgh, which I DID want to see. DH decided that he would be adventurous and explore on his own. I saw the looong line waiting for the shuttle bus into the city and wondered how his patience was holding out.

From what he tells me the city still has the look of an industrial city - which it was - and thus had no 'old' buildings with most being either modern architecture or Victorian era still needing some clean up. Sandblasting makes the limestone look lovely again but it is costly.

Where once a city might be full of scaffolding with ancient buildings etc being restored, it seems that today more construction and replacement or repair of infrastructure might be happening. Newcastle was a place dh said had some of that and some of the 'normal' occurrence of a metro stop being closed for x,y, or z and the trains rerouted.

All in all, he can say he has visited Newcastle and I can say I had a good leisurely day with no pressure to walk or see something new. A daily diet of anything can get old.

Still loving Delft

2009-06-04T14:04:00.000-04:00

May 31 Rotterdam and Delft

2009-06-03T06:02:00.000-04:00

May 30 Dover

2009-06-02T13:56:00.000-04:00

May 29 Le Harve

2009-06-01T05:59:00.003-04:00

Oh the food we saw, oh the views from the Haute Ville! So far one of my favorite 'new' cities and so so beautiful on a perfect sunny day.

May 28 Plymouth

2009-05-31T14:48:00.003-04:00

Some of this day was very much like the 'Gilligan Island' 3 hour tour. Dick went into Plymouth before I did, and when I attempted to board a tender about two hours later, there was a lot of going round in circles out in the bay. Every day a new experience! but isn't that what travel is all about.

I am so sorry not to be writing more but even writing off line and posting has taken a great deal of time that is usually spent out and about. I hope the pictures give you a good taste of this trip and I will say that they have given me a lot of Photoshop (Elements 7) practice which has been great fun.

May 27 Waterford Ireland

2009-05-31T14:47:00.002-04:00

May 27 Leaving Ireland

2009-05-28T05:45:00.002-04:00

May 26 Liverpool

2009-05-28T05:43:00.003-04:00

May 25 Belfast

2009-05-28T05:41:00.001-04:00

Celebration

2009-05-24T16:52:00.002-04:00

My anniversary card to my dear husband. Celebrating a day early!

May 20 St. John’s Newfoundland

2009-05-24T15:48:00.000-04:00

We anticipated some of our worst weather in St. John’s, so we planned to leave the ship with layers of clothing, topped by the ubiquitous slickers. It was overcast but windless when I texted dh to find out where he was in town. He had already started climbing up the hill to the Basilica so I trudged up those steps getting warmer by the step! So much for that cold weather! When I caught up with him, breathless and warm, we climbed the remaining bit to find out that there was a mass going on in the basilica so we headed around to the far side hoping to see a glimpse of land beyond the crest of that hill. Nothing visible but more houses but we did notice the painted mailboxes on some of them. We asked a young woman where the nearest café was. She recommended The Hungry Heart which, in addition to being downhill, gave its profits to the homeless. We were glad to sit again and have coffee, a good pot of tea and an apple scone. A very good stop.

Back to the Cathedral we went where we learned that Basilica is an honorary title bestowed by the Pope. I don’t know what percentage of the population is Roman Catholic but the church looks very well supported. Just beyond the church, I had noted a very large sign for The Rooms. (I hadn’t taken time to talk to the Tourist Information people on the dock as I was dashing to catch up with dh.) When we walked over past the church we saw that The Rooms were the archives and museum. The gift shop wasn’t open yet as they are still on Winter Hours (!) but I left dh on a comfortable bench while I went off to Scobeys, a huge supermarket to look for some tea. With a packet of local decaf tea in hand, I came back to The Rooms and looked around the really lovely gift shop but didn’t buy. We were considering eating at the top floor restaurant/café but after taking some wonderful pictures from the observation deck in Full Sun, we decided to go back to Hungry Heart.

We had seen the staff setting up for a large group in the morning, and when we got back the tables were full. With all the chatter, I whispered to dh “I hope they’re leaving soon.”
Rather than leaving, the group was about to hear a talk by the folklorist of Newfoundland which turned out to be absolutely fascinating. We had a marvelous lunch of quiche for me and soup and sandwich for dh AND a wonderful chance to hear all about the work to preserve heritage crafts and stories in NFL. It was pure serendipity.

With our slickers in our bag, we headed back down towards the harbor and the main shopping areas. We walked from shop to shop and while the woolens were wonderful and hand made, we really had no need for that kind of good for our normally mild winters. DH and I then parted ways as he went back to the ship for a nap and I forged on to see the rest of Water Street. By mid afternoon, the clouds had come in and the temperature was dropping. A shop keeper said the previous Victoria Day weekend had been the nicest in 30 years. I ended up contributing a bit to the NFL economy with a fleece pullover and a wool hat. (The hat I had planned to buy turned out to have raw fleece inside and as the clerk said, was the warmest hat they had. Hmmm, not what I needed I’m afraid.)

Finally I said goodbye to NFL, and after dinner on board we time to see Slumdog Millionaire, and a welcome climb into bed. A sunny day in NFL was a real treat so much so that dh is willing to come back, By Car!!

May 20 St. Johns

2009-05-23T11:03:00.002-04:00

May 19 St. Pierre & Miquelon photo

2009-05-23T11:01:00.000-04:00

Monday May 18, 2009 Halifax Photo

2009-05-22T08:24:00.004-04:00

Monday May 18, 2009

2009-05-22T08:20:00.001-04:00

Today was our first port day – Halifax Nova Scotia. While the day was overcast, with rain on and off all day, it was still mild and the wind wasn’t fierce. A ‘soft day’ as those who have ever been to Ireland well know. The other phrase used was ‘liquid sunshine’!

After a lie in for me with a cabin bit of breakfast and a much earlier start to the day for dh who prepared himself with a full breakfast, we headed down the gangplank and decided on the Gray line On and Off bus. It didn’t seem like a good idea to try to hike up to The Citadel with dh’s feet not up to par. There are three routes the buses take and they truly take in all the sites to see in downtown Halifax. There was only one fly in the ointment. It was Victoria Day so many things were closed and the downtown seemed almost deserted for a Monday morning.

We rode thru town and got off the bus at the entrance to The Citadel. We paid to go into the site and while touring it, the rain really came down at times, but that’s why we pack good slickers. We cut the tour a bit short and walked down the hill to the main part of town. Again, it felt so strange to be one of the few people walking about near noon. I did regret that we missed the 21 gun salute given to Queen Victoria (!) but figured we’d hear some of it down below in town. Walking towards Spring Garden Street, we wanted to get back to a bookstore we’d spotted on the bust trip up to the Citadel. But low and behold, I spied with my little eye another book store, so we veered off onto Doyle Street. Alas the shop was closed but the little Italian coffee shop was open. Instead of coffee, we ended up sharing a bowl of seafood chowder and a cheese scone. Hot, tasty and with small fish quenelles in it, it was just the thing to take the edge off of our hunger and the chill of the rain.

We then went back on the main drag of Spring Garden and did a lot of window shopping and a stroll through Jenners which had a lot of handcrafted items from Nova Scotia. There is a lot of beautiful silver and pewter jewelry here but as I wear gold, I saved my money. Dick is always happy to support a local independent bookstore but I had to pass since I am seriously working at reducing the stockpile of books I have at home.

We continued up Spring Garden to the actual city gardens which were gorgeous but then the rains came down again. Fortunately there is a refreshment building where we shared a hot and luscious hot chocolate. I never think about hot chocolate but dh has suggested it at times and it’s really a nice change from tea. Then back on our On-Off bus to the ship and lunch aboard. DH decided it was time for a nap but I headed back into town on another of the bus’s routes which took me back to the Old Burying Grounds and a walk thru the once again rain to a tea merchant. I had an ok cuppa Lapsong Souchong but got dear gd a packet of Lady Hannah tea. I think it will be a thrill to get tea with her own name on it.

Now it was time to start heading back to the ship lest it sail without me but I did dash into a huge SuperStore to check on powdered laundry detergent. What caught my eye as I entered were whole cooked lobsters at under $6. Canadian. Oh I was tempted but we have access to so much food I couldn’t justify it. I wanted to. DH met me but there really wasn’t time for more walking so Water Street would wait for another trip.

Some computer time, and then I was off to my massage, facial and pedicure. Oh how nice that was…a real treat and of course it left me absolutely ready for bed with one more time change.

Sunday May 17, 2009 At Sea Photo

2009-05-21T08:36:00.000-04:00

Sunday May 17, 2009 At Sea

2009-05-20T17:25:00.004-04:00

@ 6am a knock on the cabin door slightly woke me as my tea and fruit platter were delivered to the cabin. Fortunately dh was already awake as I knew he’d be and back to a sound sound sleep I went as he left me to do more of an exploration venture round the ship. No light, no one moving about and no cat crying…ah, I could sleep in! By 8am, I was up, he was back and we went on up to the Lido again for some more tea and coffee and my usual if it’s available gravlax. With 11 decks and a few twists of floors that could only be accessed in one way, we had a lot of exploring to do. The sea was not terribly smooth and both of us walked like drunken sailors. Fortunately neither word applies to us.

Mid morning we met up with the Cruise Critic group and were grateful that Fran – our serendipitous meeting at the train station – had told us where and when the group was meeting. Amazingly enough there was another couple named Maureen and Richard, and they were on the same deck. Talking to the assorted other members about 40 people in all, we found many interests shared and many had many enjoyable conversations. Because the online group has been in existence since last year, a lot of work has been done on booking tours and setting up plans at prices much more reasonable than HAL’s prices. That was a real blessing.

Suddenly – it seemed – it was lunchtime and back to the Lido we went. We each had our laptops and uploaded our photos and enjoyed talking to the couple at the next table who are on baby call…waiting to hear about a new grandchild in San Diego. While dh went back to the cabin for a nap, I went to a talk about Belfast. We had a quick dash to High Tea with tea, coffee and pastries and tablemates from Tennessee. I think I will have to pass on the High Tea if I want to have any hopes of continuing to wear the clothes I brought with me. Morning walks become harder and harder to get up for as we continue to lose an hour hear and there each night sailing east. I had forgotten about that.

A bit more exploring, some computer time off line and then we had a 12 step meeting. It’s always nice to make that connection with Friends of Bill at sea. Amazingly, it was time for dinner again! Neither of us was terribly hungry but we made a valiant effort and of course managed to eat!

After dinner, there was some computer time and then a movie. We saw Nixon/Frost which both of us really enjoyed and I highly recommend it to people of all political persuasions. I found it very poignant and even if you feel you know that history you may get some insights into the personalities of both men.

May 16 NYC

2009-05-18T15:52:00.005-04:00

A morning departure from BWI train station to Newark led to a serendipitous meeting with a fellow cruise member. She spotted our luggage and came over to talk to us, rightly guessing that we were on our way to the Holland America cruise. We learned about the Cruise Critic on line group, and we said we would find each other on the ship. The train left, and after a Whole Foods pre-purchased lunch aboard the train, we hopped aboard the airport train and met out HAL connection at the airport. We shared a van with two other couples – one from Ottawa Canada and the other from Ocala Florida. As the drive into Manhattan was thru heavy traffic we had time to do a lot of chatting with them. Hank, the FL man, turned out to be a USNA grad so there were some memories traded of Annapolis.

Upon arrival at the ship, we turned over our luggage and then went thru the security and health checks. Finally, we boarded the ship, and went to our cabin. My suitcase was already in there and dh’s arrived while we went out exploring the internet site. Then came the requisite lifeboat drill which always involves a lot of ‘stooging around’ but then we were done. Time to use the net a bit while we still had free access thru the WAN on dh’s Mac, then farewell to NYC, the Statue of Liberty and our first dinner.

We decided to stick to the casual Lido buffet which had the same menu as the main dining room for the first night especially as I was really feeling the movement of the ship. I was glad to have the Dramamine from a prior cruise and after a walk about outside – just one lap to be sure dh’s feet didn’t get blistered up again – we were ready for an early night. We did go back to the Lido for an ice cream cone tho – chocolate and cinnamon scoops for me and vanilla and orange sherbet for dh.

A Dramamine for me and about 5 pages of reading and I was out like a light while being rocked to sleep by the ship.

Counting Down Once Again

2009-05-12T07:41:00.003-04:00

This week is the week to plan the suitcase. What does one take for 28 days with 18 different cities, and who knows how many changes of weather? That should be a clue that this trip involves a BIG ship but not the ship below.

At least I am going with a laptop of my own this time (well at least a hand-me-down from dh) and a chance to do some of my own computer work, and not have to share on line time with dh. DH's computer time makes $$ so it was always hard to compete with that!

Ok, I have to get back to some serious planning of the packing! See me back here on Saturday.

Adieu adieu

2009-04-14T15:19:00.004-04:00

"Oh my bags are packed and I'm ready to go..."

Goodbye Kenisngton Marriott, you are a great location. I'll be back.

Finally, we had one more fry-up at Heathrow. Good stodgy sendoff for our last meal. btw, note that there is a tangerine in both the pictures. Marriott had bowls of these each day and I did eat my share. No scurvy for this woman! However...I forgot to eat the last one I had in my carry on bag, and the drug dogs sniffed it out at Newark airport. Guess which two people had to have their bags searched by the food police?!?!? I shrugged it off but dh was NOT amused by the waste of his precious time. They confiscated the tangerine of course...and sent me off with a warning not to do this again. Bah humbug.

Now for a break from travel blogging for a bit again. See you next trip!

Time Running Out...

2009-04-12T19:14:00.009-04:00

We were reaching the final days of our trip and so it was time to think...was there anything we both wanted to do. A good start had been made on the 'pack it all up' part, so we had mostly a day free. I had seen a nice little 'French' cafe while we were walking back from Kensington Palace the day before. Petit Delice.

He had a quiche and I had a sandwich. Both of us had tea after our early morning coffees and pot of tea in the room. Having an electric kettle AND a coffee maker was just perfect.)

Believe it or not after some walking and a bus ride, we actually were ready for a stop for lunch at The Three Tuns just off Oxford Street. Best to have a full stomach when museum hopping, I say!

Bangers and mash for the gentleman and pea soup for the lady with dry gingerale for both of us.

We had decided to try the Wallace Collection which neither of us had ever seen. So much of my time in my earlier years in England involved travel with short children, so a few of the more adult museums never got onto the lists. I had just read a few books about WWII and Polish Jews so this exhibit Treasures of the Black Death had caught my eye. I have no photographs of that exhibit but it was exquisite and moving. We did wander into some of the other rooms, including a hands on amour room. So back to the 16th century and the big kids played too!

After a tea break in the gorgeous cafe at the Wallace, we decided to part company for the rest of the day. I seriously wanted to get back to the British Museum and dh seriously wanted to Just Rest. We each got our wish. Much of the British Museum has been discussed over at Cooking My Life, but before I got there, I hustled with a bus ride and some suddenly lost and trying to relocate via the map time. I had also nearly exhauste my oyster card and needed to top it up to get back to the hotel. Fortunately, a pharmacy was able to add my money to it. Amazing! Lots of fun stuff to see along the way tho.. a soccer shop for my dear grandson

a rubber stamp shop (pricier than the US I think)

a book store of course

a fossil shop for dear son

and a Scottish shop that I browsed but didn't buy, this time. I thought that this would be a shop dh would like to see and pick out what helikes himself. Then, there was a sign telling me there was some reason I was getting lost and not just because I was getting tired. Bloomsbury was being improved!

But finally I saw the familiar building and in some way it jogged that memory from the mid 1960s.

So many things to see in this Museum and I had less than an hour, and it was also getting dark, and rush hour was coming. However, I mushed on. It nearly broke my heart to pass on this exhibit. But at least I saw the items in the gift shop. :(

My real goal was the Elgin Marbles as they were called in 1965 on my first visit. The Parthenon Marbles in all their glory 44years later.

Well, there they were, no longer proudly displayed as loot, but still just amazing. I then dashed to the Rosetta stone, the mummies, the gift shop to see what I had missed from the exhibits I couldn't see. The minutes ticked off, and the Museum was closing and I was beat. All I wanted was a cuppa tea, and the little cafe was already closed. London was staring to look like this. I guess I was really done. ;-)

It was time to get on the bus or tube and get 'home' to my dear husband, make a pot of tea and realize it was a damn good trip. Full of so much and yet home was really beckoning.

Sunday at the Palace part II

2009-04-10T20:13:00.007-04:00

Ok, so we dewatered as FEMA was wont to say during the Katrina fiasco. i.e we used the park facilities.

Now to walk through the park to the Palace. Ah Sunday in this park was Sunday in every big park - dog walkers, children on scooters and skates, babies in prams, couples canoodling, joggers jogging and people sitting on benches reading the papers. Yes, it was gray and cloudy but it was mild. Mild enough for a nice day out. Sun is just icing on the cake at the end of winter.

You did know that this was Princess Diana's home, didn't you? We didn't take the tour not just for price, but because it gets to be a bit much for us to stand and look and look.

One thing we saw, and I then seriously regretted those pastries at Paul's, was the Orangery. So so pretty but we weren't hungry or thirsty by then. If you go to Kensington Palace, you really should Continue Your Day in Style as the sign says.

Well goodbye to William of Orange (how about those clouds?),

and a husband playing in the guard box. I bet those gardens are breathtaking this month as the buds were just starting to appear in February.

We did spend a good bit of time in the gift shop, which was free and just lovely inside. Fortunately there wasn't a lot of geegaws and schmaltzy stuff. This is a royal abode so respectful, stiff upper lift items were about. Tastefully done. Had I been 20 or 30 years younger, and still buying things, I would have been sorely tempted by a lot of the lovelies. I did get my daughter a small lavender sachet and that was it. (Himself is the silhouette in the center of the pic.)

Ok, time to head home and walk down more closed shops. I really liked these pinhole ceramics.

And oh this book...I so love maps, and this wasn't too big, but not this trip. Lots of shops were also closed Monday so that settled the idea of coming back for it.

Finally a little section of houses that must have been built at the same time by the same builder. Spec houses of the day but what day?

Well we were thinking about dinner, and trying to think about packing too when we saw this restaurant. Sadly after googling and checking some reviews we decided to pass. Shame, I think I would consider it for a lunch sometime but not the more pricey dinner.

Maybe just a night to finish up the food we have in the hotel fridge, or maybe finally try the little Chinese place.

Sunday at the Palace

2009-04-10T19:15:00.006-04:00

We both loved Kensington Gardens for a walkabout so when Sunday morning dawned, I said pastries at Pauls and then we trot the calories off (I only wish) by taking ourselves up to Kensington Palace. Paul's is always crowded and dh started muttering about no seats, but I can shift myself into a seat before the last person on it is standing upright! It wasn't really early but it was overcast as we walked there. Here's one of those lovely old brick buildings where I can 'see' myself living in a flat. Dreaming I'm living in that flat...

We arrived at Paul's, it was crowded, we stood in line and debated this or that, I snagged two seats, and dh did the ordering. It all worked out tho I know he really wanted a more substantial, but less carb ridden, breakfast. Too bad, this was my choice and if I got to hell in a handbasket it will be happily. His food, then my food, and then more for me! And oh that berry tart was luscious.

Just look at all these goodies I didn't eat. I was tempted to try a macaroon but made the better choice by passing ...I think. Plus I don't really like meringue so it wasn't too hard to pass up.

Up Gloucester Road we walked, & the sky went from gorgeous to ominous all within a few minutes.

Shops to look at but no buying on a Sunday a.m. Signs to note.

Once we arrived at Kensington Park, we enjoyed these signs AND the facilities.

Women and twins? ;-)

At this break, we'll take a break and be back with more and we really are coming to an end with this trip. Truly!

We Go to Chelsea

2009-04-10T15:10:00.006-04:00

The vacillation in the weather was no surprise to us by now, but boy when the gorgeous days came, we relished them. I had wanted to go to Del Aziz and while they did have breakfast, neither of us wanted to rush any more than we ever had to. As dh said...this is a vacation. There are no musts, or gottas. So we managed a late breakfast/early lunch.

Chelsea wasn't that far by bus, tho we weren't sure of the final route of the bus we hopped on. Getting off when I saw a road I wanted led to a serendipitous find for my grandson. He and I are both Liverpool supporters but...hey, football icons are worth noting.

Oh well, with prices of tickets as high as they are today, it was just as well that the only game we could have seen was sold out. On to food. DH had this concoction that could have been called every bit of meat including the kitchen sink. He loved it.

I went with this salad that had the Israeli couscous and yummy it was. Darn, that picture is making me hungry now!

Back to the heart of Chelsea to meet up with some people, and a good day it was. Finally it was time for dinner, and that was one of the great things about our location. We had most every nationality of food to choose from. The choosing was the hardest part. That night it was Thai with soup first

His dinner

and hers.

Finally, a short walk back to the hotel in a gorgeous London night.

Oh Yes, there was dessert - two items we bought at Del Aziz earlier in the day. The cake was his despite me and my fork. The apricot tart was mine....oh heaven.

(If you're wondering, yes, I do bring a good set of cutlery with us...and a sharp knife, and usually a can-opener. I prepare for food - don't you???)

Different Directions

2009-04-09T14:51:00.000-04:00

Ok, by this time in a trip, we...well ok "I"... need time alone. DH never says he does, but he knows "I" do and is fine with that now. It took a year or two of marriage to work that one out. He stays in to do some work and I go to Buckingham Palace to see..no not the queen...but an exhibit that includes Bruegel paintings. If I recall it was 8 pounds and dh had no interest in that.

This time I get on the bus, and get off at Victoria and walk down Buckingham Palace Road to the ...palace.

I see this sign which is rather obvious but one must be sure these days. I don't plan to trespass and 'help the police with their enquiries' as they say.

Seeing the entrance and no crowds, I decide that lunch 1st might be a good idea.

There's nothing quite as good as breakfast for lunch esp when someone makes it for you.

With a happy tummy, I now have energy to walk the marble halls again. I never do see that much of the palace but my point was the Bruegels.

That part of the exhibit was small but enough to satisfy me. I continued walking round the rooms with a portion of the gazillion gifts the royal family has been given over the years. It was numbing. btw, the gift shop in the palace and the similar one across the street on Bucks Palace Road have very nice souvenirs but nothing I 'needed'. I did want one thing for my grandson that I finally found in one of those cheesy shops - an underground 'bar' towel that he can use in his sport kit.

I have no recollection of the rest of the day and neither of us had pictures so I will presume it was a rest and recuperation day with Sainsburys or Waitrose for dinner. That kind of break is good too, with a book or a football match on the telly.

Ok, lets talk about food

2009-03-27T16:25:00.011-04:00

Don't we look happy? It's because we are well fed.

We like food, not as one of life's necessities, but as one of life's joys. Our location, between Earls Court and Gloucester Road tube stations, had a bundle of restaurants just right for a tired twosome. We had Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Italian dinners. One night we made it to a gastropub in Fulham and another day we had a midday meal back at Del Aziz. Until I go back to our receipts I'm sorry I can't name most of these yet. But enjoy, and drool...we did.

From the Italian thru the pastries at Paul's to my steak at the pub.

Rain and Sun

2009-03-27T09:15:00.005-04:00

The weather seemed to change in London as fast as you can say...Jack Rabbit or some such phrase. Fortunately, in a city you can always duck into a cafe or shop if it gets really awful and what a good excuse for another cuppa. The whole saga was blogged over here which tells about our walk in Kensington Park.

But have a look at this little 'class' of young skaterats. One woman was commenting that she had no idea you could find a class for this till her child asked about it. It was certainly fun to watch and hopefully some of them will get a chance to skate in Venice CA where the weather is more conducive to this sport.

Back in London, and post Saatchi

2009-03-26T07:27:00.002-04:00

It was truly tempting to take another trip outside London...Stonehenge...or even go back to Oxford, since the prior day HAD been forecast to be sunny. Oh well. However, there is so so much to see in London itself, we realized that we really just wanted a bit of a quiet city day.

Our day at the Saatchi was blogged over on my regular blog, and here's that post at Cooking My Life. There is only so much I can blog when I am sharing a laptop with dh so not too much of the trip was posted over there. Just some things to say hello to friends and let them know what's was going on.

After this gallery visit, we had a bit to eat in a little cafe just off the Kings Road, and then dh decided it was a nap afternoon for him, and I decided to take a bus down the Kings Road thru Chelsea to Fulham. No shopping for me, which is truly a sign of my age, and realization that I need so so little, if anything. Eye candy is fun to look at but the temptation is mostly gone. Now food shops are another story.

Some of the sights.

Finally down in Fulham I wanted to see the market, and find a specific restaurant. The market had a lot of clothes etc in addition to food, but then again it was getting late in the day and a lot of the food was gone.

Cod flaps? are these cod cheeks?

Finally after a walk back and a lot of walking round Fulham, I find the restaurant I was looking for - Del Aziz. This WILL be a return trip.

Near the tube stop, I saw this sad reminder of what was happening on the other side of the world.

A full day all around and we had tickets for the National Theater that night too for Mrs. Affleck. 10 pound tickets cannot be beat, and we both love the small theaters. Yes, a darn good day.

Oxford Part 2

2009-03-25T13:11:00.005-04:00

We'd had lunch, and now had circled back to a more modern part of the city.

Even this, however, had 'that look'. Along this street we saw an old Medieval tower at St. Michael at the North Gate (1040), and we decided that dh would go up. I had one vertigo tower experience in Ulm, Germany years ago and didn't want to chance this one.

There were gorgeous views of the city and I was glad dh's pictures were able to capture that gray, foggy, day so well.

I stayed down in the shop outside the church and talked to the two people staffing the desk. We had a good time also, and it was a lot warmer.

The stalwart climber and photographer.

Back outside we saw this marvelous post box outside the post office.

But now it was getting time to find our way to Evensong. We could see our destination from outside the Christ Church gate but...there was no going in at this time. The entrance to the Cathedral was also on the other side of the quad. We'd find it.

We managed a stop in the Oxford University Press shop as we never want to leave a bookstore unvisited and then a pot of tea at The Bear Inn. This was the slowest cuppa tea we ever had, tho good, and by the time we got back down to Christ Church college, it was dark and we wondered how we would get in. Fortunately, a student came up and we all waited for the gatekeeper to return. It was a mad dash thru the night rain and while not as professionally sung as the Evensong in Canterbury, the singing of the students and guests made it a wonderful topping to our day.

Now there was only dinner. Sadly, Jamie's Italian was jammed and we didn't want to wait 45 minutes. Ok, not Jamie's but we did have Italian. My calzone and his pasta, both very good and nicer than the pictures show.

In the dark night, we waited for out bus, left around 8pm and on 'home' to London. I highly recommend this bus method for those who visit London and want to visit Oxford as well. If you actually want to see more of our Oxford pics, check out the Flickr set.

Oxford Express

2009-03-25T12:11:00.007-04:00

A sweet woman who works with dh, came over for dinner before our trip and told us all about her years in Oxford as a student. She gave us a lot of good ideas, and so we booked the Oxford Express, and went as daytrippers to Oxford. The fares for over 60 were especially sweet @ 8 pounds each return.

Upon a rainy arrival, it seemed a good thing to have a cuppa tea for fortification. Patisserie Valerie hit the spot, and had my favorite teapot - Again!

We walked and walked, with both a guidebook and the college recommendations.

But most of the day it was a case of being a few minutes late, or on the wrong day or just not clicking with the colleges we had hoped to visit. But seeing the truly medieval look of Oxford was just about enough.

But we considered visiting the Bodleian Library but decided that a lot of these very special places would take most of our day, so we passed. Had we been spending a week in Oxford it would have been a different story. But just look at this architecture!

Lunch was a quick one in a bookstore right outside the Bodleian and I enjoyed watching this student(?) talking with her family (?).

Back outside, it was still raining and yet another site was closed.

We had spent a good time in the gorgeous Bodleian giftshop (no photos please!) and the Ashmolean had a great number of wants for me, that I wisely didn't buy, but appreciated. So now a walk down to the market, which was also about to close. More dry goods and stuff at this time of day but still enough food to remind one that it was a market.

We saw Jamie's Italian but it was too soon for dinner tho Italian sounded quite tempting on the chilly drizzly day.

So, what do we do for the rest of the day before trying to hear Evensong at one of the colleges???

Our Day at Tate Modern

2009-03-23T14:37:00.008-04:00

After fresh air and lunch at the Victoria and Albert, dh decided to take the bus back to the hotel, and I needed the walk. Nothing like fresh air and sunshine to revive the spirits.

So revived we were that the next day we decided to go to a museum that hadn't existed when I lived in England - Tate Modern. I had first 'seen' this Tate in a movie starring Judi Dench. I also wanted to see how the old power station actually looked as a gallery. So out we went...but no sun this day.

The reassuring sight of St. Paul's as we approach the South Bank.

Finally inside, it's time to try and capture the vastness of this building.

However...after a brisk walk from the tube station, I wanted a cuppa tea and to see the 7th floor restaurant with its knockout views. Yes, I am feeling peckish.

Just having a drink usually means standing at the windows, but there are a few seats available and we snag them as soon as we can. I seriously lust after these teapots and enjoy the display and the tea I'm served equally.

Oh yes, that view...

We decide to come back for lunch and debate a reservation. We decide we don't need one so onto some art. First, we see Red Star over Russia which had great posters.

I believe this one is Ukrainians and Russians have a Common Cry - We Must Not Let the Landowners Rule Over the Workers 1920. There are even portable seats you can cart around so you can sit and ponder the exhibits.

There are a great many schoolchildren in this museum also, but they seem to have a good knowledge of art and often are with parents who encourage them a good bit and who know their own stuff.

Well lunchtime rolled around, and yes, we would go back to the Tate Restaurant - w/o a reservation. There was a good line, but we went to the restrooms to wash up and by the time we were done, our beeper went off. We saw lots of people after us wait a long time, so when in doubt, make a reservation.

His fish pie

my roast chicken, and no I am not used to cutting it off the bone with a knife and fork!

Our shared dessert - well, his but he shared - an apple crumble.

And once again, that quintessential view - that iconic view.

A good day, and a museum tiring day, at the Tate, and then a walk back through London. We headed up towards Covent Garden, taking it slowly and looking about, and enjoying saying...Oh we had coffee there, and Do you remember that place? While Bella Italia is a chain, we also have a restaurant with the same name in Annapolis. Yes, the world is small.

We also saw this chocolate decadence. Wouldn't you like that as a gift!

Now the sun was doing its late afternoon setting and we still wanted to go to Waterstones on Picadilly. After a coffee and tea, we set out again. No pastries I'm afraid tho I think this toddler got one!

Down on the embankment we were told by the bobbies to walk thru St. James Park to get to the nearest tube for our line. Look for the blue bridge they said.It was lovely walking as the sun truly set and the commuters were starting to go home. We asked one man to take our picture and I suspect he had a pint too many already.

That's dh with the Palace behind him

and moi with the London Eye behind me. Both of us on 'the blue bridge'.

Twas another full day in London and we have a lot of the week left. Time to crash for the night.

Meltdown and Lunch at the V&A

2009-03-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

Despite exhaustion at the Museum of Natural History, I knew I needed more than fresh air. I needed lunch. Next door was the Victoria and Albert, a museum "I" liked and I was pretty sure they had a restaurant/cafe/something. By the time we found it, I was a cranky child ready to burst into tears, and dh was losing patience with me. There was a line but it was the kind of line situation where you get hot drinks here, cold drinks there, food there, and I didn't KNOW what I wanted. I kind of just despaired and told dh to get me anything...anything...because the tears were on the brink, and I could have flung myself down on the cold floor and wailed. Some level of maturity prevented this and I said "I'll find seats..." and ran away to get myself back into calm adult mode.

I was feeling myself get collected and centered when a mother and adult son and daughter appeared at the table next to ours. The tables were fairly small and certainly designed for two. Mum and son dashed off and 30ish (?) daughter was left. I quickly realized daughter was not quite 'all there' as she asked me questions and proffered her own blunt, unhappy responses to my brief comments. It was rather ironic that she had the same complaints...too many people, too noisy, too ..too. I longed for dh to return and get me out of this conversation that was not going well. If I didn't talk, she glared. If I made a remark or asked a question she didn't like, she glared and pretty much told me I should have known better.

DH arrived with tea for me and coffee for him and some hot meal. It fades in my mind. Once the table was 'covered' by dh's presence, I was able to get up and get some cold water also. I was finally back on level ground. While we ate, mum and son came back, and I realized Mum truly had her hands full with both her 'children'. Both of these adult/children had issues, and bickered back and forth repetitively about minute details of their food all the while we were there. Mum was unphased and I give her a lot of credit for raising these two for obviously a long time.

On our way out, we walked thru here and a few other galleries.

original by canmark

I did a bit of walk around on my own while dh had a slight nap in one of he galleries. I loved so many things in the shop but even then, I had reached my own limit. DH got on the bus and I took the walk home, and by evening, I was no longer out of sorts. I think this happens about once a trip and then I'm back to normal. How about you? What causes your meltdown on a trip?

Lovin' London

2009-03-18T17:27:00.009-04:00

For once, we were now in a European city we had been in together. I was glad to see dh had had his appetite whetted from the visit in 2007. We'd hit a lot of the major sites then and now it was time to go back to what we liked and explore new places. Oh, and find good food. That was easier in some ways this time and the dollar was a lot stronger and we didn't gasp each time we had to spend money.

We got our Oyster cards out again, topped them up and arrived at our Marriott on Gloucester Road. This was close to the Gloucester Rd tube station as well as the Earl's Court one. Good spot, plus there was a Sainsbury's across the street, and a Waitrose down by the GR station. No shortage of food, except we arrived on Sunday night and walked across the street about 10 min after Sainsburys closed. Lesson learned.

Monday we decided to do museums. They weren't too far of a walk from the hotel, and they were free. I voted for V&A but dh wanted Natural History. Deciding to be gracious for a change, we went to Natural History. Don' t you love that stone?

and a gargoyle here and there

How did we manage, again, to coincide with British school holidays?? Ah yes, February in Europe!

Fortunately, they were (mostly) going to the Darwin exhibit, we weren't, so right past we went. Still, there were families and children everywhere along with dead animals in glass cases. (Well, Natural History so it was really no surprise...)

Eventually after seeing many stuffed animals, I could no longer take the decibel level and sat down and prayed to heaven for quiet. Looking UP was better. Heaven was in the ceiling

DH pointed this out to me! Click to see what startled me so much.

Even after letting dh wander about by himself for a while, I was done. Stick a fork in me done and seriously needed fresh air. But there were some lovely things to see on the way. Beautiful walls.

A fun gift shop with quiet children

Detailed floors

but it takes younger knees than mine to kneel and that tile work for one, and to even consider getting back up for two!

It was serious time for fresh air. So Adios, Museum, I'll see you another year.

09 Driving up to London

2009-03-18T06:33:00.000-04:00

Packing up wasn't a lot of fun, but we did it without the gnashing of teeth that it could have been. We had eaten up almost all our food, and the clothes were washed and dried so we were set for our next week in London.

While we were back in the US, we had grand ideas of what to do on the day that was between our departure from Kent and our stay in London. As the week wore on, it was pretty clear that we didn't have to go very far to see a lot so we extended our week at Broome Park for one day and that was a really good move. But we had to check out by 10am and so what to see on the way to Gatwick where we'd leave the car.

Chartwell! seemed perfect for the history buff and appealed to me too. Our map reading was getting darn good and in combo with our GPS we found it pretty easily as we made our way thru toney homes and parks. Lots of signs guiding us along also. But oh... the house at Chartwell was closed for more of the winter. Somehow we missed that.

But we found ourselves among a lot of people and it turned out that there was a car rally that day. It was fun to watch them talk it thru and then all head out together.

We had brought sandwiches and the bits and pieces(that clean out the fridge bit) so we sat in the car and had 'lunch at Chartwell'! Back on the road to London I really wanted a cup of tea or something and dh had recalled a pub that was ancient.

It turned out that there was a gathering of the Bentley Car Club and I do think dh wears this car well!

Despite this menu of desserts, I took a deep breath and passed. But oh that sticky toffee pudding still haunts me.

A cozy lounge outside the dining room was where we stayed, watching the people go in for a good Sunday lunch.

Finally, it was time to head to Gatwick, drop the car off, and get on the train into London. A chapter of the vacation closed.

09 Afternoon in Whitstable

2009-03-16T14:58:00.004-04:00

After such a lovely morning, it was time to seriously think of lunch and Whitstable came to MY mind. Oysters! However, I had priced the little gems at various places and while the $ was stronger, it wasn't that strong yet to be at parity with the pound. We would see what prices were like in Whitstable.

As soon as we got into Whitstable, we saw this charity car park at the Primary School. What a gift!

Lunch was calling but yes, once I saw the price at Pruniers' it was- Ok let's find a pub or just something quick. Ah, but what came first was the Farmers' Market in a hall.

While so much of this was tempting, we were leaving our villa the next day and would have no cooking facilities in London. This Cheese Serpent did tempt me...a lot...tho.

We finally filled our tummies with fish and chips which were darn good. As tempting as the fishmongers' was, I passed on the oysters.

Continuing along the main roads we headed to the sea. But oh, we had to stop for a dessert - which we shared, honest!

We shared the day with a lot of people shopping or just being daytrippers.

Seafood was sold in this building right on the water but it was crowded and we were full.

Here in Whitstable the sea seemed to be even calmer than it was at Reculver. At times looking out it was hard to see the break between sea and sky.

Down along the sea, The Neptune is a landmark pub which is out on the beach and what a day to sit in the sun there.

But the sun was getting lower on the horizon and it was getting time to head back south and get packing for the next day.

But suddenly on our way out of town, dh pulled over and as I was sputtering "What are you doing?!?!?" and he said..."Look!" A windmill."

A perfect topping to a perfect day.

Now the North Sea

2009-03-16T12:22:00.005-04:00

I wanted dh to see the North Sea, a body of water that was usually rough and cold when I saw it up off the Yorkshire coast. There is no doubt that those winds coming are coming down from Scandinavia when you stand on the cliffs at Filey or Scarborough . But we planned to bundle up, and get in the car.

Surprise! We had a sunny day again! Canterbury was on our way north, and dh had spotted some used bookstores and charity shops we wanted to try. Fortunately, I had noted a parking lot behind Sainsbury's main lot earlier and we had many spots to choose from. Isn't this a funny parking meter? and such an unusual color for a government item.

Outside of Canterbury, I saw the the first oasthouse that we could stop near enough to take a picture. We'd seen a lot but never with a photo-op site close enough. If you see oasthouse, you can probably find some good beer nearby, at least if the independent brewers survive in England.

Another house caught my eye, and heart. Actually it looked a lot like the old manor houses on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

It didn't take long, driving thru this increasingly flat country, to know that the sea was getting close. I love how you can just sense it by a difference in the light and the air. Then I saw it! and the towers of Reculver Castle in the distance.

We stopped in a convenient churchyard - St. Mary the Virgin - which was good as the road was down to a lane now but still a few other cars taking advantage of the glorious sun. Some bicyclers were out also.

That violent North Sea I remembered? Not down here in Kent where the sea was like a tranquil lake. Still it was fascinating to think of the Romans here at the original site, considering Reculver is still the end of the line today even tho Margate and the other beach resorts are so nearby.

It was all better than I expected and even tho there were other people visiting, the site still had a remoteness and quietness that made it perfect for reflecting on the past , and all those who stood and looked out to sea here.

First Sun, then Snow, then Rain

2009-03-11T17:49:00.001-04:00

We had sun all day in Dover but the next day, it was overcast, with snow still on the ground.

Not to be stopped, we intrepid travellers headed out to a farm shop that had been recommended to us. We took the back roads and once again found ourselves facing another vehicle - this time a farm tractor. He backed up, bless his heart.

I had wanted a farm shop to get some things for a 'home cooked' dinner for a change. Eating out can get old quickly and we wanted options. I really was looking for some lamb by this point. They had winter vegetables galore. We'd had a stalk of Brussels sprouts the other evening from The Goods Shed in Canterbury and I still had some, so no veggies.

I got some bangers and some bacon. I'd really been looking forward to back bacon again.

No marmalade making for me but lovely to see. We certainly need the orange in winter! We still had some grapes and apples and pears back at the villa. Fruit and cheese? Perfect.

We could use the services of a Moleman on our Maryland yard but suspected it was pretty far out of his range. Lots of cards to read and think of what one might need if one lived in this part of Kent.

While the fish lady was in her van, she didn't have scallops which was something I was tasting for.

With a few purchases, we headed out to make a circuit to the coast, to reach the North Sea, but as we entered a village, and caught a glimpse of what was there, we made the decision just to stop and explore. Isn't that the fun part of vacations? Enjoying the serendipitous finds? Who could resist, even if the rain was coming down in a chilly drizzle? Wingham had it all.

1286 AD, almost not imaginable to us.

The Dog Inn called out to us after getting our bones chilled, but managing to buy some marmalade in the empty church. What a treat to have a coffee and tea and read the papers by the fire. We were a bit early for lunch but it really would have been nice.

Quite a few decades since I had seen hops hanging from the rafters. Nice to see that some things are the same.

This remained outside of a pub that had been closed. Taxes have raised the price of drinks so high, it has changed the face of a lot of villages that once had several pubs.

Back in the car, we decided to head up to Canterbury and find the Abbey. the clouds were opening and some blue appeared.

We parked the car (!), went into a huge pub and had a quick lunch - sandwich for him, and a fry-up for me.

Ah that was good after the cold rain. As it happens, the weather had changed and we decided to move the car closer to the Abbey and the way out of town.

Every church is fascinating, either by looks or just the odd bits.

We started in a gateway when we saw the Abbey but some nice young ladies called us to say we were walking through a girls' boarding school and they would get into A Lot of Trouble if the headmistress knew they had let us pass. So off around we went, saw the Abbey thru the playing field fences, and decided to pass on the visit and entrance fee. Sometimes a look is enough.

Finally, we made it to Sainsburys which I prefer to Tesco and got some meat pies and some lamb chops, albeit NZ lamb.

Time to head home and wonder just how few miles we actually drove this day! yet saw so much.

Dover Castle - the ancient years

2009-03-10T20:12:00.006-04:00

I won't begin to go into the actual history of Dover Castle , but if you see the picture on the previous post, you will certainly understand why the site was chosen. Today in real estate, it is location, location, location. That had a slightly different meaning 'back in the day' and in visiting castles around the world, you can almost be sure that the site will be a marvelous hill/mountain top which could be readily protected.

The War Tunnels gave a good glimpse of the view towards the south across the Channel and one could imagine keeping a lookout for those wicked old Normans. (Tho we know how that story turned out...) The actual castle is up northward behind the cliffs, and is in amazingly good condition. It's what a castle should be!

We trudged up the hill, past the officers mess, and up beyond where our car was parked. Castles on the hill? Somehow it seemed more uphill.

We met our tour leader and group just over the drawbridge.

The Keep was closed for some renovation but it looked rather magnificent even now.

We toured the various battlements and with the wind whistling, one could imagine being a soldier assigned to that tower long long ago...cold and waiting to spot The Enemy.

Because the Keep was closed, we were allowed to go into the Tower you saw in the earlier photo.

Despite the cold, spring was certainly coming to Kent, the Garden of England.

It was warm and toasty in the Gift Shop and we had a good look round.

A quick visit to the Church and the Roman Tower

Finally, back at Broome Park, we decided to check the land across the highway where we had hear a lot of shooting. This pheasant seemed to know we weren't hunters.

Dover Castle - the war years

2009-03-09T21:05:00.006-04:00

We managed to actually find the castle with no problem, and drove up the long, winding hill. Dover Castle is located on an amazing promontory overlooking the English Channel. Oh those castle builders always knew...location, location, location.

We started off our visit by touring the Secret War Tunnels built many, many years and wars before WWII - started in the Middle Ages in fact. Because no photography is allowed, you will have to take my word (and those in the link) that it was fascinating to see the rooms and tunnels furnished with antiques - some actually from those rooms and others pieces of the same vintage. It was like stepping back in time, esp with the soundtrack of bombings and doctors and medics shouting to each other in the hospital theaters. If you like modern history, this is a wonderful stop.

Back outside, we strolled around and then went to lunch at the NAAFI restaurant. It was really good to sit down again!

Admiral Ramsay was responsible for the amazing rescue efforts at Dunkirk and is truly an unsung hero. This can be read by clicking and looking at original size.

Fortunately, the plane is the sky is now a friendly one.

France was just visible thru the haze, but I SAW it!

We Drive To Dover

2009-03-09T16:24:00.003-04:00

What a day we had for it! You never know in Britain if it will be nice for some of the day or part of the day or none of the day, but we really lucked out and had sun for the whole day. Dover Castle was our goal and after the easy drive through Folkestone we figured we were good to go.

Heading south we found ourselves in Temple Ewell, and put the brakes on. So pretty it deserved a walk in the am sunshine.

While it seemed that no one but us was out, we heard lots of children at play tho we couldn't quite see the school. A bit of a glimpse into a lovely little village. It was tempting to stay and look for a tea or coffee, but the goal was Dover, so we...got back in the car.

We drive to Dymchurch

2009-03-06T16:43:00.007-05:00

Now that we finally had our car back and dh had done a bit of driving to 'get back on the horse' so to speak, we determined that it would be a fairly easy drive to the Channel, but we would avoid Folkestone and Dover. Dh wanted to take secondary roads but not thru teeny villages with oh so narrow room to pass each other. That had been the source of blip #1.

Since we had GPS, I told the British "Joan" (the name of our petulant US GPS voice) the coordinates we wanted to visit. Off we went, South, on the highway right outside Broome Park. So good so far.

But then Joan wanted us to turn off onto an unmarked road up a steep hill!! We listened to her and found ourselves as I said a lot In The Country! I tried to be as peaceful as these sheep but...

We found ourselves on very very narrow lanes, and fortunately, a few lorries knew how to back up into places we didn't even see. I suspect they saw panic in our eyes as they came around a bend. I jumped out here to get a snap and nearly went down on the ice. Not quite black ice, but mighty slick.

We finally decided to use our (my) sense of direction and just head the way it seeemed rather than stay on the backroads. Dh understood how I could go for a whole day years ago when I lived in England and never really travel even 20 miles. (Do it with a small boy who wants to stop at every church and hedgerow and you get it.) We found a lovely village, stopped for tea and coffee, and as we headed south I SAW It!! The sea! I'm like a child when I see oceans or seas. (click and you'll see the Channel just above the lorry.)

There is a massive seawall at Dymchurch which wasn't what I expected. I wondered what the people who lived below thought but I suspect flooding had been an issue so they must look at it with mixed feelings.

I had to wonder why there were all of these oranges outside this composte heap. DH tells me that varmits don't like oranges???

And finally....what else but Fish and Chips for lunch and a fairly confident drive back to our villa, even going thru Folkestone. All in all it was less than 20 miles in each direction but it was a big step in feeling comfotable driving in England.

Yeah! it's warm inside

2009-03-04T16:30:00.003-05:00

And they have food!! We ate at Karl's which we had seen the earlier day.

I had the pate and dh had a baguette and a filter coffee.

He said that coffee was excellent, and those that know him, know how picky he is about his coffee. He had planned to buy some ground coffee but they didn't have enough beans that day and we had plans to Go Out Into the Countryside next.

With food still on the mind (my mind!) I wanted to see The Goods Shed , a farmers' market on the east side of town. So out into the chill we trudged again. Should you make it to Canterbury, this is right next to the North train station. It even stays open late which must be a boon to workers who want to get something good for dinner that night. (n.b. all photos are clickable to see the food details...)

Frollinos, and yes were they good! We only had one each...sigh.

It was tempting to take something back for the next day but we passed. Seriously, it all looked yummo-good. (sorry about that Rachel bit...just for a laugh)

A selection of cheeses did go back to the villa with us for our dessert that night.

What is winter without cabbages?

I've never cooked Jerusalem Artichokes and didn't feel like doing that much peeling.

Back into town for the last trek to make the bus and then home to a full moon night.

On to Canterbury Castle

2009-03-04T15:57:00.004-05:00

We just continued round the northern edge of the Dane John, and there was dh's first castle. (Yes, to other readers in the EU, we did see castles in Spain but somehow a castle in England is special!)

It really became dark and chilly as we explored this site.

brrrrr!!

Just outside the castle on Gas Street, the site of the old gasworks, we saw this home - obviously the home of a collector. btw, I love house with small #s like this 3. I hope never to live in a house with more than two digits. Is that weird???

A bit more of a brisk walk to stay warm, and on down a street filled with estate agents showing many many more house to let rather than for sale. Same as the US. :-( But there was this one pop of color... not a color I'd wear but it gave me a smile. I should have changed the angle of the shot so I would be in that dress... And look at that hat!

Suddenly, it seemed like it was time to seriously think about food!!

Dane John Mound & Gardens Canterbury

2009-03-04T15:21:00.006-05:00

Our next day in England was spent with us going into Canterbury by bus as the car had not yet been repaired. It was really rainy but hey...it was England. One really nice thing about Canterbury was how contained and walkable the actual city was. We were bundled up and ready to See Things!

Near the bus stop was the entrance to the Dane John Gardens and Mound

Regarding Canterbury Castle - A wooden motte and bailey castle was erected in 1066 - its motte may be the mound which is still visible in the Dane John gardens near the stone castle (which may in turn be a Roman burial mound), with Dane John deriving from donjon.

I loved these bench ends.

click to see the windmill on the hill in background

holding on in strong wind

glad to be back down tho the views were wonderful

Ok, one 'sight' seen, now onto the Castle!

excuse the angle

2009-03-03T14:40:00.001-05:00

excuse the angle
Originally uploaded by redazadi

The Chimes at Canterbury Cathedral along with some wind

Inside Canterbury Cathedral

2009-02-20T03:44:00.012-05:00

We entered Canterbury Cathedral to hear the boys choir sing Evensong. btw, there is no charge to attend a service so this is a good way to experience what a church really means w/o wandering with a lot of other tourists. It was truly a beautiful service. The photo below shows where the shrine of St.Thomas Beckett was until Henry VIII decided otherwise. The candle marks the spot.

The knight is the Black Prince and there is a couple pondering his tomb.

The site of Thomas' martrydom is marked with the chilling swords.

No, you don't get to stay in the Cathedral House but the modern accomodations are right inside the Cathedral walls.

Canterbury

2009-02-18T03:28:00.010-05:00

Pictures, Pictures

2009-02-17T15:09:00.014-05:00

Our first trip into Canterbury from BroomePark was made by bus while we waited for the car to be repaired. The bus left from just outside the estate grounds so it was very convenient. 2.50pounds per person each way. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday, the kind of day you learn to appreciate in England.

Lovely bits of fabric work just in time for Valentine's Day.

Sad sign of the economic times. Even more shocking was seeing how many pubs are closed and up for sale.

Our first stop for tea and cornish pastries. We'd eaten at this chain on a prior trip and it was good to also sit down. This becomes a major priority with a lot of walking. Most cafes were very crowded and I cannot fathom what it must be like in the summer.

This one is especially for my sons who used to love the flakes in the ice cream cones.

Much much more to come!!

Back in the...no not USSR

2009-02-16T04:02:00.011-05:00

Happily back in the YouKay (UK) with a week outside of Canterbury and a week in London. The first half of the trip has already been enjoyed but without a net connection I couldn't tell you 'bout it. So for a bit, this will be catch up and yes, already I've asked dh ...Was it yesterday we went to...? Fortunately, the date stamp on the photos is working. ;-)

Some of you may wonder why we would choose to go off somewhere in the depth of winter. Well, MD often has a bad snowstorm near Valentine's day and we have been fortunate to take some lovely short trips (thru dh's work) to warm weather spots in February. So last year, we went off to Spain and Portugal in February and last summer I decided to make plans for a UK trip, again in Febraury. How quickly I forget how heavey winter clothes (and shoes) are but the upside is relatively uncrowded locations. Ah but the short days are one of the biggest drawbacks and neither of us has much interest in driving on unknown roads in the dark.

We planned a week at Broome Park which is 7 miles outside of Canterbury and about 7 miles from both Dover and Folkestone. It was Lord Kitchner's home in byegone days and now there are timeshare villas on the property as well as suites in the manor house. So close to the Channel Tunnel, it would have been easy to cross the Channel to Paris but we decided that it would not be this trip.

A nice 2bed villa, with some features I hadn't seen since my England days in the 70s

Non mixing taps...nothing like waiting for the hot to get to scalding.

Interesting separators in the wardrobe. Quite useful I think.

But the raison d'etre for this part of the trip was to show dh The Countryside. Well, not quite country but not London. Canterbury.

Helloooo

2009-02-04T14:45:00.002-05:00

Yes it's been a long time and yes we have taken other trips. I'll try to keep up with this blog but gosh...what has happened to my life since I retired!! And no, I don't want to go back to work...

Hope to see you here soon!

Time for Adios

2008-10-23T09:04:00.003-04:00

To Chicago that is..

It was a good walk to and from the opera last night, and only a cleanup of our leftovers for dinner. Manon was good but the seats got to our legs so we headed out, as did many others, at the 2nd intermission. The best arias were over so it was out into the refreshing night air. Nothing like a slow walk along the river and back to bed before midnight. Yes, our age shows.

Then it was pack up time, and off to Kalamazoo via South Haven and a rec from bricolagelife about a ...what else?...bookstore. Sadly it was closed on M,T, and Weds but a bakery was open. Who can resist that mid morning? A bit of a walkabout then back into the car to Kalamazoo and dinner with some good buddies from GardenWeb.

Time to head off again...today Toledo.

Chicago=Books

2008-10-21T20:44:00.000-04:00

Sunny Tuesday in Chicago so it was bookstore time. We only really had time for going south to the Univ of Chicago area or north up to the Lincoln Park area. Well we could have done both but hey...this is a vacation.

Politics (and food) won out and we headed down to Powells on 57th Street. They were just putting free books out on the sidewalk and I hesitated but decided to check out the interior first. I got two paperbacks by the same author - dice if you don't know the author - but at $3.95 each it was an acceptable bargain. DH was finding a good batch for the boys at Washington Jesuit Academy so I went outside. I scored a couple of good ones for collage cut up. Cutting up a book is sooo hard for me to do so at $0.00 I hope I can use the scissors on them.

Suddenly it got colder, the sun disappeared and a slight drizzle started. Whoosh...all the free books went back inside, and we decided it was lunch time. Down to Salonika where I'd bought some olives before. DH had the Greek sausage/rice meal while I had their special omelet -gyro meat, tomatoes,spinach, feta and 4 eggs, so I only managed half. Yummy. And this time 2 jars of their olives went in the car.

After we collected our car, the the box of books we set out to see Obama's house. Well, fortunately I had seen a photo in the paper because, as expected, the Secret Service weren't open to anyone going down his street. And no, I didn't feel I needed to get on more lists by asking if I could have a photo op with Secret Service people or ATF ones. But it was still nice to be almost there.

Time to head on back to 57th Street books which is one of my all time favorites. I only got one book on Italy but took some pics of cookbooks I'd like to test via the library. The WJA boys got another big bag's worth so all in all a nice visit. Standing and looking at books always calls for a coffee break so we went off to Medici where I was happy to see the Impeach Bush and Cheney cutting boards and Obama eats here on the back of the tshirts of the waitstaff. I may have read that somewhere but forgot so it was nice of the universe to lead us there. We also got there Just Before the mamas and the school kids bustled in for afternoon pizza.

So a good Chicago day...then time for a rest up before the opera.

Armenian Encore

2008-10-21T10:07:00.003-04:00

After some catch our breath, and get settled, shower the traildust off the driver, we headed out in the drizzle to get our legs moving and get in the mood for dinner. We had gained 2 hrs on the drive and needed to get the body clocks adjusted.

Walking east til we hit Michigan Avenue, the ambiance of Chicago all came back. Some people already had their little ski caps on, and I was reminded that The Cold can be a 6-month season round here.

I wasn't in the want or need mode to shop but it certainly is nice to see it all on display. Crate and Barrel did call out to me withe their Halloween spatulas on sale for $4.50

We then decided to ask at the tourist info place by the Water Tower...dh was remembering a Middle Eastern restaurant and I was remembering a super food store (Fox and Obel). We decided to walk down to the Sayat Nova since I had decided I could just be happy with an appetizer while he had an entree. So off we walked.

Sayat Nova was, however, waxing their floors when we arrived so we said we'd be back in 30min, and headed on down to Fox & Obel where I lusted over the goodies while he had a cup of soup. I did manage to force down a cuppa -peach-ginger- and a biscotti, and wisely but somewhat reluctantly decided against getting some of F&O's treasures.

Off to our return visit to a friendly little Armenian restaurant which was over half full when we returned. I guess they wax quickly! Photos on our return east.

Chicago in the rain

2008-10-20T16:10:00.003-04:00

Well it did mention rain but we arrived in Chicago in a foggy mist. Haven't seen that back in MD for a good bit.

Nice new Residence Inn, down in the Loop area, in walking distance of the opera. That's the point of this trip.

A.M back in Cleveland saw us visiting the Westside Market. Despite posted hours of 7a.m., there weren't many stalls open in the main building at about 8:30. One vendor said it's mostly a weekend market, so we do hope to get back for a boatload of sausages and pierogis on Thursday. The fruit/vegetable sellers are in another building and to answer my question about any Arab/Lebanese etc remaining in the area (Uncle Tanoos from the Danny Thomas Show?), well by looking at the faces and names of the green grocers, I'd say it's yes. Hopefully the Middle Eastern cafe will also be open later in the week. My taste buds were going into overdrive just at the thought of the food we could buy.

Midway on today's drive was a slight detour to South Bend IN. DH's father spent a couple of years in the seminary at Notre Dame till he was called home to help support the family after his father died in the early 1900s flu outbreak. His misfortune led to my dh's birth eventually so all's well that end's well. I got my first look at the great gold dome of Notre Dame, and we ate our food from home outside a MickeyD's savoring one of their milkshakes (his) and iced caramel coffee (hers).

The rest of Indiana is the depressed, dull stretch getting you into Chicago, but praise be...Indiana and Illinois now accept EZ-Pass, tho you have to slow down to 5mph and they have attendants in the booths. Job security I guess was a condition of switching to I-Zoom as they call it.

Now to look for dinner options.

Long time no write

2008-10-19T20:32:00.003-04:00

But now it's hello from downtown Cleveland. Yes, Cleveland.

I was definitely one of those people who had contempt prior to investigation re this city, the mistake on the lake. Oh no, not now. This is our second trip to Cleveland and it's def winning me over.

Clean, wide streets...nice museums and a big enough lake so you can semi-fool me into thinking ocean. Ok, I'm not fooled but if I can't see the other side, that's good water for me.

Oh, and the food. Last time here we ate in a...Cambodian?..restaurant. (I'll have to research that one.) Tonight, a walk around the University area, and my god how beautiful even if there wasn't a student to be seen. What's that about? The walk mitigated the fanny fatigue from the drive from Annapolis, and so off we went to Little Italy. Again, who knew? Obviously lots of people knew there was Little Italy here, but not me.

We ate at La Dolce Vita . We shared a prosciutto topped caprese salad with some Sicilian olives. Goooood. He had a twisted pasta with veal and beef and I had frugali(?) with roasted chicken,zucchini and corn - the pasta that looks like Israeli couscous. We have the leftovers in the fridge here in the hotel along with some leftover pignoli cookies and other pastries we got BEFORE dinner at a bakery. I think that was a wise move, don't you? I barely got pictures of the food as we (I) dove into dinner, and then thought...camera! Sigh. I did get some including the bonus Tiramisu we were given since our original waiter forgot us. Sometimes mistakes have nice endings.

Well, himself plans to be up at 6am tomorrow, and I promised to be ready to hit the Westside Market by 7am. Oh did I mention there is a fireplace in the hotel (Residence Inn...not bad eh>)

Pictures? Uhm ...yet again we have multiple cords for Iphones, Ipods, digital recorders, etc etc with us...but no cord to connect the digital cameras to the laptop. Once again, our two brains didn't think of this one thing. Mea culpa. No pictures till we're back with those two camera cords.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Just Rest Between Meals

2008-05-17T19:43:00.006-04:00

Well, it wasn't just resting for either of us really. Dick went to work while I went back to The Bookworm - one more time. Yes, it was open so I wandered the aisles and tried to resist temptation. I did get the Te of Piglet and a cookbook from the Gilroy Garlic Festival. I'll have to make it back to Gilroy CA for that festival. The town smelled of garlic even on a regular day. Delictious.

On to the camera store for rechargeable batteries and a different card, and then TY Lee for a heads up on a great new food store, Sunflower. It's like Trader Jo's or Whole Foods but with much better prices. Again, it was really hard to resist buying when I thought of the reality of airline regulations. The ginormous artichokes were a real hard buy to have to leave, but they would have taken about 1/3 of my suitcase.

We had set a 5:45pm date with Lee and Max at Radda with the understanding that we would ALL try to make that time. And we did! Both couples arrived at almost exactly the same time which made our getting a table pretty easy. Then came the hard part..the menu.

This is a fairly new restaurant that Lee and Max had tried, but from the winter menu. Now we had a spring one and looked long and hard.

Lee and Max shared a Caesar salad but it didn't get a photo op. I had the Radda salad which was lemony but in a different way from their Caesar.

Dick went with a small order of pasta with olive oil and garlic and a good sprinkle of red pepper. It was truly heady with garlic, and we were sure there would be no vampires round us that night.

On to our entrees...Dick chose the veal meatballs with lentils - lentils with bits of pork cheeks in them. This is the 2nd time he's had pork cheeks!

Lee had the pork chop with plums and ricotta salata. It was quite a piece of meat and the plums certainly added a good sweet/tartness.

Max had a dish we were curious about..a pasta that is a bit larger than penne with a wild boar ragu. He said it was perfect, and the dish was empty pretty quickly!

And finally I had the Radda Tortellini which were just wonderful. I actually didn't ask what the stuffing was but I really liked them with the greens and broth.

Oh yes...the happy diners. Sometimes with the food and the nattering, we almost forget to get a picture of the happy eaters.

While there were take-home boxes of lentils and some porkchop, that didn't stop us from thinking about dessert. Thinking about it and then ordering it! Then, what a surprise.. Lee's business partner Charlotte was spotted across the room. In fact it was Charlotte's hubby who took the above picture.

Back to our food and talk..

I had to have a taste of my berry panna cotta before I took a picture. It was sliding down my happy throat as I took this.

Dick's expresso ice cream sandwich was messy but delicious. We all tried to get a taste without covering ourselves in the caramel.

Lee had a double dose of plums that night...a strawberry plum tart with an expresso chaser.

Happily full, we said our goodnights and good byes and planned to meet again on another trip to Boulder. Thank you so much Lee and Max for finding time to meet up with us, and pick such a great location. HUGS !!!

Thursday in Boulder

2008-05-17T10:05:00.003-04:00

One of the high points of our trip out to Boulder was to meet up again with friends we met thru the internet in a Cooking Forum. But there was a lot of the day to enjoy first.

The day started off overcast with potential of thunderstorms.

We got our reorientation of Boulder thru one of the funky tourist maps but saw there was something VERY good nearby.

We figured we would spend a good part of the morning at a used bookstore, The Bookworm. Alas, it was not to be as the store was locked up, customers waiting but no sign of a key person.

Well, our gps led us to several other bookstores that turned out to be private sellers (i.e. in their home). We don't look for rare books, just used books. But we did spot something just about as good...a bakery, Breadworks.

What else does mid-morning call for other than coffee and a pastry. Sadly, my camera battery died after this shot so there was no view of Dick's to-die-for peach tart. I had one of those scones in the glass case-almond and raspberry.

Well..Dick had to go to work in the afternoon, so I was off to get a new battery. More later.

Airport to Airport

2008-05-15T13:32:00.004-04:00

Most trips involving airplanes seem to take at least one day going simply from airport to airport. We are lucky that BWI, our closest airport, is so very near Washington DC (government...), and thus is often a test airport for pilot projects. We kind of laughed when we read about the new tranquil security check-ins. But it worked! The area has all signs in pale blue, the lighting is not as bright as usual, but there is a whole body scan you walk thru. We had almost no line and I was thru in about 2 minutes. Dick, however, had a wheel chair get in front of him and that went a lot slower. But we then had over an hour to kill at the airport before takeoff.

I saw these police dogs as we did a survey of all the food sites, and asked if I could photograph them. These dogs are on loan to the State police thru the TSA and are Belgian Malamuts. Good solid dogs and he said Jacqui just had her vet checkup and is healthy, with good bones at I think 12y.o.

The police also have bicycles to ride around the airport terminal. It gives most everyone a smile, and they also ride Segways.

Yes, next stop is Denver. This is the train that takes you from the actual arrival terminal to the one where you collect your luggage. The sounds and music they make really made us laugh but at least you are told which terminal you are at and to HOLD ON. No Mind the gap. as there are no gaps.

Onward and upward. For all you mobile makers, these were very attractive.

We have arrived.

Luggage retrieved (it got to the carousel before we did!) and just need to ...Get in the Car.

A few years ago in Colorado

2008-05-14T19:33:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking this was 2000, which would have made it at least our 2nd trip to Boulder, Colorado. I had first been to the Rockies on an work related Air Force trip. It was late September and yes, we had snow. I also fell in love with the Rockies. Mountains to me had mostly been the nice, fairly tame ones we have on the east coast of the US. If I had been given a choice between east coast mountains and the ocean, the ocean would will every time. Then I saw the Rockies.

I have never been east of Denver to see this exact shot but it is truly amazing that there is this incredibly flat part of the US...the plains...and then rising up are these massive mountains. There is snow on the 14ers today as we drove west but the clouds were coming in too much to get a good shot. It was also rush hour out of Denver so we hightailed it into Boulder and an early night.

The Residence Inn had a light dinner so barbecued pulled pork over green salad, and we're ready to read and hit the sack. In addition to the time change, we're about 1 mile higher than our sea level home. It's good to acclimatise.;-)

May...so where shall we go??

2008-05-04T17:16:00.006-04:00

Since going somewhere every month seems to be turning into a habit - a pretty nice habit! - where shall we go next? April was an unusual stay at home months ince I had a Jin Shin Jytsu class and dh had a retreat. 5 days of intense 'learning' for me was almost a trip away, in fact I felt as if my mind was in a different dimension.

But May takes us to an old favorite thanks to some work for Dick. See you in ....the place we got our marriage license 7 years ago. The lovely old building was not where we actually got the license tho. Can you guess where I mean???

Cheeseland then home

2008-03-27T15:05:00.005-04:00

It was fortunate that we were planning to be in Chicago when the idea of a meeting for dh in Madison, Wisconsin came up. We both really like that city and a quick trip sounded great. I wish we had taken a pic of our usual valet at the Residence Inn. He was a cutie, from Bosnia, and we saw a lot of him with the amount of driving we did in Chicago.

But a relatively early start to Tuesday got us to Madison in time to meet dh's workmates for a working lunch at one of the hotels being considered for a conference, The Madison Concourse. Pics would have been nice but not too appropriate. I had a grilled flatbread with sliced steak, roasted onions and a cheese I had never heard of...carambazola, a German blue that is very creamy. (Googling it tells me it is very popular...who knew?) DH had a meatloaf sandwich which was great and all 5 of us shared chocolate tarts along with in house made chocolates. Boy what a good use for all that Wisconsin cream!! I highly recommend the food at the Concourse.

Madison is on an ithmus between two lakes and yes, there was still snow here and there. Winter records were broken in 2008 with over 100" of snow!! MD weather sounded pretty good when we heard that. Dinner? We finally decided on Restaurant Muramoto. omoigod kinda good! No pictures but fantastic food, and great atmosphere. (I suggest you read the dinner menu.)

I started with an Oyster Shot: Sunset Beach oyster in ponzu sauce garnished with chili daikon relish and quail egg. Yummy. Dh had a lamb curry with a roti type bread. We had both thought about the scallops but I ended up with them.. Pan Seared Scallop: over garlic mashed Satsuma potatoes, with mushroom ragout in a garlic butter soy sauce. The portions, while called small plates by our server, were really normal sized portions. Remember normal sized??!?! Of course this left us with room for dessert... heheh. We had the dessert sampler which included portions of each of the 4 nightly desserts which included Strawberry Spring Roll: with honey ginger ice cream, a gingerspiked chocolate brownie, a sponge roll with a filling I can't recall (sorry!!), and a peanutbutter chocolate mousse. I really fell for the strawberry spring roll.

We decided that this was the best meal of the trip. Madison and Portland ME rank way way up there in number of great restaurants, esp for cities of their size. I can see a cheese trip in my future (perhaps with a stop for Michigan cherries). That sounds like a 2 ice chest trip, so I better start planning.

A short walk round the Capitol before dinner, and a stop at a shop that wasn't there on our last visit. This one I would have remembered.! fromagInation . We left with 4 different Wisconsin cheeses - Chalet Swiss, Smoky Bear (goats' milk gouda) and two from Marieka Penterman's Goudas, one with cumin and one with fenugreek. I also got lots of ideas re fig jams and preserves. I'm thinking ahead to this year's (hopeful) bounty. Fig and balsamic sounded the best to me.

DH usually manages to earn some $$s before a good night sleep, and then to Cranberry PA (outside of Pittsburgh) for one night and then finally home...to unpack, do laundry and plan the next trip!

Bye from me...

See you on the road next time when we ....Get In The Car!

Get to the Point

2008-03-27T14:35:00.005-04:00

Well, the point of this whole trip was The Opera. But before the opera we had to do some more book buying - if we could. We ran into the city issue of minimal parking when we tried to hit a couple of stores on Saturday. We hoped Monday would be better with people back at work, tho Easter Monday is often an extension of the holiday. No we weren't looking for mysteries in Lincoln Park.

However the store that claimed on their answering machine to be open EVERY day was closed. I think we may cross that one off our list for future visits.

You know it's Chicago when you see this...

We headed north to Andersonville, and that was a delightful area to explore.

Scandinavian shops, Persian shops and both a good bookstore Women and Children First and some enticing restaurants.

I had to get this one for my granddaughter. You know how much fun it is to say this kind of thing at age 5.

There were several good looking options when the lunch pangs hit but we headed to A Taste of Heaven since it had that sense of ambiance that oozes out onto the sidewalk. Worth it??? Oh my yes.

Greek Salad

Meatloaf Sandwich

Raspberry Tart (shortbread base)

Peppermint Ice Cream

And we got a raspberry crumble bar for the road (the next day road tho I could have eaten it right then!)

Back downtown to nap a bit and do some packing. Then eat up some of our goodies from the supermarket blitz we had with Peppi and off to the Opera. Eugene Onegin, with balcony seats this time. As I was in dead center with no one in the seat in front of me, I had a perfect line of sight. The Chicago Lyric has comfortable seats and a good audience. All in all a fine night, and the opera lover seemed content.

Quiet Easter

2008-03-24T18:56:00.004-04:00

Easter Sunday was fairly quiet after the full meal of the previous night. We mostly lazed around and read, did computer work and fun and then walked about on Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile.

Some store were open but we passed on any shopping tho there were certainly a lot of folks hitting sales it seemed. The weather was gorgeous and it was good to be out in the crisp cold but sunny air. And since we didn't even need lunch...we just strolled.

Down at the Tribune bldg, we stopped to see the Vote4Me! exhibit at the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum. We both enjoyed the interactive bits, and I was glad to see that my education and government work left me pretty knowledgeable about our personal rights.

When we hit Wacker Drive and the Chicago River, it was time to turn around and head back north. We stopped for a to die for hot chocolate at Ethel's Chocolate Lounge. One cup was good enough and rich enough for both of us. It really hit the spot. Back to walking and some more Sunday lazing.

We had heard from a local about a steak place that is not one 'to see and be seen' but then who in Chicago has been waiting to see us!??!? However, dh read some bad reviews and I had my doubts. But we had a great meal at Select Cut and it was everything our friend said. No camera but just in case you wonder, dh had a great burger, I had a 14oz NY strip which came just as rare as I like, and we shared a caramel cheesecake.

Happily, only sleep was next for a good Easter Sunday.

Saturday at The Jolly Inn

2008-03-24T09:35:00.002-04:00

Easter Eggs
Originally uploaded by redazadi

This basket was at the start of the high carb buffet at The Jolly Inn. Peppi and her dad Augie took us here and thank you both for a special meal and for treating us!! Can you believe we didn't get a picture of the four of us?? Any of us??? Shame on me.

But get a plate and we'll start...

Here is part of the buffet. There were two sides and I only too pictures of part of the hot side.

DH and I started with soup to test out the borscht. He had white.borscht which was pretty good I thought.

I had the red borscht, which I didn't care for - kidney beans in it might be Polish but it wasn't to my taste.

I only took pictures of MY plates, as not to embarrass the other diners. ;-) I had more than enough. Plate 1 and Plate 2 and then the final plate of desserts. You note that I say final, not Plate 3. I was already in carbo heaven. And yes, you are seeing correctly; most all the food was white or tan. I also had some pickled herrings which were silver of course, but almost nothing was green.

I really wished I could have eaten more blintzes but I didn't. ;-(

Pretty isn't it?

So with full bellies, we shared goodbyes and hugs, and left the Jolly Inn. It's certainly one to keep in mind for a future - just not too soon!!!

Frontera Brunch-Saturday

2008-03-22T17:46:00.007-04:00

Mid morning was sunny and clear and a perfect time for heading back to Frontera Grill for brunch. It's pretty popular so it's best to hit it at opening...10:30a.m. which we did.

There was a little bowl of sunflower seeds and pine nuts with I'd say a light chile powder on the table when we arrived. As you can see, I ate first, thought later.

We each had an appetizer, dh with chip and salsas, me with mahi mahi ceviche. I could eat ceviche as an entree Any Time but it wasn't available that way for brunch. Another time.

There are many choices which tempt and it was hard not to go back to old faves or even try their version of posole - with red chile and the option of a poached egg also. I've gotta try that at home.

In the end, dh had Huevos Mexicana with chorizo and a small side of black beans.

He gave me all the hunks of avacado which I added to my salad.

I had chilaquiles with a very mild habanero flavored sauce and a poached egg on top, and a side salad. The chilaquiles were pretty filling and less interesting than many other dishes. I'd never had them before; now I have. The real downside was I didn't feel I could handle ...mango bread pudding with sour cream and a sprinklng of pistachios on top. Rats!!

While dh had coffee, I had a glass of blood orange juice. I figure I'm never going to have enough blood oranges myself to squeeze a full glass so I didn't begrudge the $3. for the glass. Good fiber and pretty too.

The rest of the afternoon (after changing rooms at the hotel due to lack of hot water) was spent at used book stores. Fortunately, the boys got more than we did tho I have a Maryanne Esposito bread book with a couple of fascinating recipes.

Tonight is pierogi shopping with internet friend Peppi, followed by a Polish buffet with her and her dad. There's good eating -in Chicago! Good thing thing there's also some walking. ;-)

I smell brunch

2008-03-22T07:54:00.000-04:00

I smell brunch
Originally uploaded by redazadi

Saturday am at Frontera....the snow is mostly melting away and the sun is out. A good start to the day imho.

Chicago has Snow!

2008-03-22T07:20:00.000-04:00

People who live here are so over the snow of winter; I was told it hasn't really stopped since January. That's great for a ski resort but not for a person who has to get to work each day. Those black down coats are feeling mighty tiresome by now I hear. It was ok for us till we were walking back to our hotel last night and the wind from the lake . REALLY came full force. A reminder to avoid the street north of our hotel! Great retail eye candy but oh those winds.

But for me it was still a wow! experience again. It turns to slushy mess on the streets and sidewalks pretty fast with the volume of people traipsing about but just seeing a cloud of snowflakes swirling around was fun. We managed to hit one of our fave bookstores down by the University of Chicago as we drove into the city...Powells, where we got some for the boys and a couple for us. I bought a Chicago based one - Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures. Speaking of Rick...lol..we are off to Frontera Grill for brunch this am. Back later.

Cambodian in Cleveland

2008-03-20T20:39:00.004-04:00

No, not a joke.

We had Cambodian food for dinner - at Phnom Penh in the Ohio City district of Cleveland. This was our first foray into this cuisine and it was good...spicy hot and plentiful. (Sorry no camera at dinner. )

We started with a Rice Paper Roll for me which came with a very tart thin peanut sauce. DH had Fish cakes (Brorhet Trey Jim) which came with a hot red sauce. Both were yummy. Then for entrees I had Taprom with shrimp - a sweet and sour dish but imho not sweet nor very sour. Still it was good with lots of the standard veggies over rice. DH had Mee Khmer, rice noodles with the chicken, beef, shrimp combo. He ordered his very hot and that it was. Very tasty too when I took small bit of noodles. We both had hot french coffee with condensed milk. The sweet balanced a good bit of the heat.

Did I mention it was 35 degrees in Cleveland? That's farenheit and Lake Eire is still frozen. I bet the people here are really sick of winter. Seeing the piles of snow in heaps was interesting to me, but not for someone who has seen its likes since probably late October.

Full moon tonight also...crisp and cold. I wonder how cold it will get?!?!??

to Cleveland!!

2008-03-20T08:56:00.001-04:00

Cleveland?!?!?

Well Chicago is a loong drive, and so we are going to stop in beautiful downtown Cleveland.

We'll see. And they are predicting 4" of snow for Chicago. Interesting.

Yes, same blog, different template

2008-03-17T13:32:00.006-04:00

I got sick of the old lime green pretty quickly. But this is STILL US!!!

Since we are off to Chicago, here is what we looked like last time...We think of this one as A Day Out From The Home. I hope the home is far into our future!

We really do look like dorks. sigh.

Suitcase Time Again

2008-03-15T16:10:00.006-04:00

Eeeek!! I can't believe I am getting ready to pack the suitcases again. However, I was given the advice by a wise monk to travel more. He said I relax when I do that. I wonder...However, dh and I have agreed that if opportunity arises, we will go...wherever.

We missed the worst of winter here in MD during our trip to Spain and Portugal. It got my system a little bit discombobulated to come back and be all set to go 'into the cave' for the winter only to find that winter was really virtually over. Then came daylight savings and one of the earliest Easters ever. It isn't that I love the cold, tho I do like 30 and 40ish days (Fahrenheit i.e.!) but it's that I like making the heavy stews, and the smells of something simmering all day. The fireplaces lit and the time to reflect in the short dark days. I didn't like the intensity of the 90 days of RUSH in the winter that my former job entailed these past years. It may have been reasonable when our elected officials were farmers and had free time in the dark days, but I wanted to honor the seasons with complimentary emotional seasons. Some of this definitely came when I entered my 60s also. Oh well, I did have some quiet time in January this year, at least I think I did. It seemed short tho. This is a first world, upscale griping I'm doing and I know it. Still so whiney, aren't I?!?!?

In any case, the suitcases will be packed and the cat sitter will arrive and we will Get in the Car! and I'll bet there will still be some winter left in the Windy City! More later.