tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177908182024-03-13T13:01:20.661-05:00Melyssa-with-a-YMelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.comBlogger490125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-71166067412702164252022-06-12T20:01:00.001-05:002022-06-13T13:35:11.902-05:00Ciao, Italia!<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZ4uKi6DgsS4-6HNpGMTdfl3wF08m8qoeBV4Hmn1Lf5F58khQTQqQzZyADRGKtDTijn-qkmokvuXzH7RWsOqVjHj-gMHfcEaQxSGxFwlrkJ2fEQq2BsXSez1K0AHe7_5EvoVn94qBAHLctJRHJp0uFdiFmKye0KYMmGwPWSTI5qXWBFLMLg/s4032/20220522_142218.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZ4uKi6DgsS4-6HNpGMTdfl3wF08m8qoeBV4Hmn1Lf5F58khQTQqQzZyADRGKtDTijn-qkmokvuXzH7RWsOqVjHj-gMHfcEaQxSGxFwlrkJ2fEQq2BsXSez1K0AHe7_5EvoVn94qBAHLctJRHJp0uFdiFmKye0KYMmGwPWSTI5qXWBFLMLg/w400-h300/20220522_142218.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Eating our homemade pasta at the Villa</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span><p></p><p>Third time's the charm, right? After two failed attempts to get to Italy <i>(IXPUG Meeting in 2018, foiled by a Nor'easter, and May 2020 foiled by COVID)</i>, we finally made it! </p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Friday, May 20: </b>We were not the only ones in the airport with masks, but definitely in the minority. The flight to Dulles was uneventful, but the C and D gates at IAD were *packed*. Lots of school kids going to Europe. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We had the middle and window seats in the middle of the plane, but not in Premium Economy (which apparently didn't hold over from our tickets purchased 2 years ago). Ugh. The guy on the aisle was a fidgeter. And there were so many little kids on the plane! I felt bad - one of them cried for his mommy for about three straight hours. But I was also super grateful for my earplugs and eyeshades. The gluten-free food on the plane was HORRIBLE, btw. Do not recommend. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Saturday, May 21</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I will say, when we arrived, it was the fastest passport check ever - European airports use facial recognition scans, so they barely talked to us when they stamped passports, and we were out! </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NDBLXVk85AKbuGbXFTRG6ZW4wqPCBH4ngG6chDdHRYA6S1gm8Q34mOCrqoQl7sXCBucPyAxgobDe7-03gpPPdmUtVy3bSD3U0FEltOsHM1pf4AivI3NF-nJ5jb-EN0HWAGHOGHteIG7fZJSRkQvvc8rozoyFH8KZnKuvncs61ZE276ILRg/s4032/20220521_094932.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NDBLXVk85AKbuGbXFTRG6ZW4wqPCBH4ngG6chDdHRYA6S1gm8Q34mOCrqoQl7sXCBucPyAxgobDe7-03gpPPdmUtVy3bSD3U0FEltOsHM1pf4AivI3NF-nJ5jb-EN0HWAGHOGHteIG7fZJSRkQvvc8rozoyFH8KZnKuvncs61ZE276ILRg/w116-h154/20220521_094932.jpg" width="116" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The first person we met was Linda, our <a href="https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/italy-wine-cooking-vacation-tusancy-umbria-sun" target="_blank">Culture Discovery Vacations (CDV)</a> guide. She was a hoot! </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I started practicing my Italian immediately. <i>(Grazie, Duolingo!)</i> Linda was very impressed. That started a thing where any time she didn't know a word in English, she'd look at me and say it in Italian so I could translate -- all week long. I kinda felt like "teacher's pet" - but on the other hand, I loved it, because I was learning too!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am so grateful that I can eat like a human here <i>(aka "glutens, get in my belly!")</i> The first thing I did was get a sandwich at the airport, to make up for all of the horrible GF food on the plane. Lesson learned - bring your own. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsA0Y6gKd_tXmAaVXDzgsUcbMiQnJAZ7kpW_QmdIMgfDXD8CLeat9b1O7WVCIYl6AH_6c6wpyCZdhIgl-5PDEigXhxBjMY-wtJEa8J0FtaowjskpsVXwECCVg-bUETByzZhBjRqoV0a3rS8RoJHzJxZExJIHbOkRMU60HVtPVbPggPwpq82w/s972/Soriano-map.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="851" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsA0Y6gKd_tXmAaVXDzgsUcbMiQnJAZ7kpW_QmdIMgfDXD8CLeat9b1O7WVCIYl6AH_6c6wpyCZdhIgl-5PDEigXhxBjMY-wtJEa8J0FtaowjskpsVXwECCVg-bUETByzZhBjRqoV0a3rS8RoJHzJxZExJIHbOkRMU60HVtPVbPggPwpq82w/s320/Soriano-map.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>The bus from Rome to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soriano_nel_Cimino" target="_blank">Soriano nel Cimino</a> took about 90 minutes. Sergio, our driver, is like Mario Andretti, and the roads are small and curvy. Our bus had big plush seats, a card table in the back, and only 4 of us + Linda. The other couple, Sandy and Rod, were from Sun City in Arizona. The rest of the folks were coming in by train from other parts of Italy.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The town of Soriano is really cute - population around 10k. They walked us up the street to a pretty large apartment. Strange decor - modern art & nudes in the living room, and picture of two Popes and religious art in the bedroom. John found a bookcase of ancient medical textbooks. We rested, unpacked, showered -- in the tiniest box shower ever -- and went back to the plaza to meet up for orientation. We gathered at a pizza place and had aperitivos (snacks and drinks, like tapas). There were 14 of us total, mostly couples. One couple (Martin and Julie) just got engaged in Venice! I thought I was going to be the youngest on the trip, but there's a couple in their 20's (Kevlyn and JT) who came with her parents (John and Bonnie), from Boulder. Cathy lives in Alexandria and came solo, and John and Bonnie's friend Tamara also came alone. Tina was there with her mom, Diane - Tina is a documentary producer in LA. (I found her <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1089800/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IMDb page</a>.) Diane is from Rhode Island - she was quiet but once you got her going, she was hilarious.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB8gEBZUQf-MDdCnehShQHap1oQJtWfCSRWpjdXk280Z06D8GHCXAzLE2h0rpnNhHaHi9mNuLx9sySCoHZegb6WmnU-eWShTZU-EobzERWhW91hbFP0A5uJ2-bVjycoNoMwP4p55VvOedxVW0qvwddw2Q4L-8aYFKPAXyF2YpBywtDwuRZg/s4032/20220521_181156.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB8gEBZUQf-MDdCnehShQHap1oQJtWfCSRWpjdXk280Z06D8GHCXAzLE2h0rpnNhHaHi9mNuLx9sySCoHZegb6WmnU-eWShTZU-EobzERWhW91hbFP0A5uJ2-bVjycoNoMwP4p55VvOedxVW0qvwddw2Q4L-8aYFKPAXyF2YpBywtDwuRZg/w179-h239/20220521_181156.jpg" width="179" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We all introduced ourselves, and then we went up to the Castello Orsini at the top of the hill, through the old medieval part of the town. (<i>Linda kept saying "middle evil" which is pretty apt anyway.</i>) :) The Castello was built between the 13th and 16th centuries. Our tour guide was wonderful - he spoke English very well and answered all kinds of questions. We ventured into some of the solitary cells, and climbed a spiral staircase to the top of the tower. The castle was actually a prison up until 1989! We went down to the armory and checked out the swords and chain mail that had been there for hundreds of years.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVkQYbVI62FDHQnO36Jp7h5XkCpd55JmesAWeLjmHFutvP9rOxazbOzR-TOoakuGJ0RqY5bRYPvIUWAmzXsA1DS4FXJtjGFUFopdz7qxa3cbEp1ZTlEj_dTNF8F_u4YMxDEafEKB7rumOAdzNJ0PPnAhMWSL7syutX1NZTzkjYLCGnbXKLOg/s4032/20220521_190859.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVkQYbVI62FDHQnO36Jp7h5XkCpd55JmesAWeLjmHFutvP9rOxazbOzR-TOoakuGJ0RqY5bRYPvIUWAmzXsA1DS4FXJtjGFUFopdz7qxa3cbEp1ZTlEj_dTNF8F_u4YMxDEafEKB7rumOAdzNJ0PPnAhMWSL7syutX1NZTzkjYLCGnbXKLOg/w127-h170/20220521_190859.jpg" width="127" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The castle was also hosting a display of old-fashioned radios, record players, victrolas, etc. - complete with the old RCA ads with Nipper "his master's voice" - in Italian! "La voce del Padrone" </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Then we went down the hill to <a href="https://www.ilcarolino.it/menu/" target="_blank">Il Carolino</a> restaurant - we sat at a long table on a huge patio overlooking the valley. There was SO MUCH FOOD. Antipasti - artichokes, salad, cured meats, focaccia, etc. Then lasagna with a mushroom sauce, a meat course <i>(I don't remember!)</i>, and an amazing dessert. After dinner, we stumbled back to the apartment and crashed! </span></p><p><b style="font-family: helvetica;">Sunday, May 22</b></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dn0eRVnKPv7B5e8bS379EAadSB8p7qlHEtI3p6v4amV_SfRCtmQWOIr5Nikd07J3hcJ7Hb_ygb-EL4n1U_3BKnmhc1LZGc_ZgDXoXuCr23sto8SehH1SvrxtndkZoSkSN9bO80Jtty3nU8BDIyL1WfUGWWT5QLABczXHIFGjaDtGXoqJeA/s1080/FB_IMG_1653324385036.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1080" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dn0eRVnKPv7B5e8bS379EAadSB8p7qlHEtI3p6v4amV_SfRCtmQWOIr5Nikd07J3hcJ7Hb_ygb-EL4n1U_3BKnmhc1LZGc_ZgDXoXuCr23sto8SehH1SvrxtndkZoSkSN9bO80Jtty3nU8BDIyL1WfUGWWT5QLABczXHIFGjaDtGXoqJeA/w320-h230/FB_IMG_1653324385036.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Our group on the first day at the Villa</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Day 2 started off poorly - we forgot that the regular 7:30am alarm doesn't go off on Sundays! We got up at 8:30 and had to meet the group at 9:15! We scurried down to the Cafe for breakfast and then onto the bus to Villa Edarella for our first cooking class. Omg, I get to have decaf cappuccino every day! <i>(Good thing I brought so much lactaid...) </i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTujmvh3veLEm9oIV6nJAV3NPMaYJSxhLHTOqK2E3tcNGwNjWJWLIIL8yCxPSJ-M_-RZ7_svPtlIG_Ha8_AfSy9lnnFEaU-NwJL6lO2XUxfsyeg90kAbhDQ-syGPhuUBF2lbZViPvdYMnsp1MGEUUTXKzBkdSt0EcLy0uytQxbYYdKLLN4sw/s4032/20220522_094526.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTujmvh3veLEm9oIV6nJAV3NPMaYJSxhLHTOqK2E3tcNGwNjWJWLIIL8yCxPSJ-M_-RZ7_svPtlIG_Ha8_AfSy9lnnFEaU-NwJL6lO2XUxfsyeg90kAbhDQ-syGPhuUBF2lbZViPvdYMnsp1MGEUUTXKzBkdSt0EcLy0uytQxbYYdKLLN4sw/w150-h200/20220522_094526.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Prep food on the table</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /><br />At the Villa, they have built a beautiful outdoor covered patio, with a long table for prep work and dining, lots of lounge chairs for relaxing, and a giant wood-fired stone oven. For our first day, we peeled and chopped veggies for Farro salad, rolled and cut our own pasta, seasoned chickens for roasting, and made tiramisù - and then ate all of our work for lunch! Lunch on these Villa days lasted until 3pm! At the Villa, one member of the group is assigned to be our bartender for the week, and another is the barista. We were very well cared for!</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">While whipping the eggs and yolks separately to make the pasta, Carla told us that you always whip your eggs in the same direction (<i>clockwise or counterclockwise</i>) and never switch directions in the middle. Seems like an old wives' tale... and it was actually hard to do. I guess I must switch directions all the time.</span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwsx64ZYeDS0fZgC7sAZVnDA82QERhj8QJ68Q4l1QMxvqayo76jx9y1jYg5YoAg9iuAktC6otSNkdrf2XM8TVRtF_KW3S3kMCgk0vfNslKdsm6CdSrO-O8X8zjqBWxyiX5A1jY-1knytXZM1mOdth1DOpQJaXEQ6SXCJoEvkg6qD4Zntprg/s4032/20220522_165420.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwsx64ZYeDS0fZgC7sAZVnDA82QERhj8QJ68Q4l1QMxvqayo76jx9y1jYg5YoAg9iuAktC6otSNkdrf2XM8TVRtF_KW3S3kMCgk0vfNslKdsm6CdSrO-O8X8zjqBWxyiX5A1jY-1knytXZM1mOdth1DOpQJaXEQ6SXCJoEvkg6qD4Zntprg/s320/20220522_165420.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Then we took a bus ride to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orvieto" target="_blank">Orvieto</a>, a tiny town on top of a mountain (which requires a ride on the funicular, whee!). The Duomo there is amazing (see pic). Apparently, there was a sizeable Jewish community in Orvieto starting in the 13th century, but they were expelled later, so there's no trace of them now beyond the six-pointed stars in mosaics on the street in front of the Duomo. We took some photos, walked around, and did a little shopping <i>(I bought a magnet)</i>, and then we went back to Soriano. We got back to town just in time for dinner at a little place <a href="https://ristoranteaitrescalini.com/" target="_blank">right off the main piazza</a><span> <i>(though we still weren't that hungry!)</i>. They served lovely antipasti, pasta, a turkey and mushroom dish, and a cream-puff style dessert with fruit sauce. Phew! My watch said I was over 12,000 steps for the day. </span></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Monday, May 23</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">After our daily cappuccino and pastry breakfast (YUM), we headed to Pienza, a small medieval town with wonderful little shops. We tasted some pecorino cheeses -- 3 different ages -- and walked around. The town is full of narrow little streets - it feels like it can't be real. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There was also a mural that said Pienza was bombed in June of '44, and celebrated the rebuilding of the town in 1956. T</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">hen we got back on the bus to go to Montepulciano to visit a winery. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDKsSkn_JAuqUzfnqu4ZrT-Ho7PIg6lbfU9_Gw_R2FuE1VLbsiUKKmagjOu7aPHyPCRkCBm1BsOSX0UNWCqSwrDU2oS5XGVo0PL5PO9QQ1mtWAWuvU8oVEqHVmWja9ubnOtmZnWJZQAAIl1y0hbvblDWUyEr1E91GN5vw9aXOonRo8YeuEQ/s4032/20220523_151229.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDKsSkn_JAuqUzfnqu4ZrT-Ho7PIg6lbfU9_Gw_R2FuE1VLbsiUKKmagjOu7aPHyPCRkCBm1BsOSX0UNWCqSwrDU2oS5XGVo0PL5PO9QQ1mtWAWuvU8oVEqHVmWja9ubnOtmZnWJZQAAIl1y0hbvblDWUyEr1E91GN5vw9aXOonRo8YeuEQ/s320/20220523_151229.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We were doing fine until the bus broke down...and it was HOT. But, true to the "we're all family" ethos of CDV, the<a href="https://www.cantinadericci.it/" target="_blank"> DeRicci winery</a> owner and his family came to pick us up in their personal cars! They took us to their vineyard, where we tasted six wines (<i>yummy</i>) and ate a surprisingly light lunch with a tomato-bread soup, cheese, and pasta. Nicola - the son of the owner- asked if I spoke Italian, and when I said I was learning, he asked me "WHY?" Maggie (o<i>ur other CDV guide</i>) said that Italians don't expect people to learn their language because they are the only country that speaks it. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilo_DY6ZSdPiJsjYVac76MKeKpbweGvSe6h_AI7gGeRQ1CvFDqTXX7VvgDiVw_cZsJbKRGpjcqhl7yL6jSvPJoG_lp51itYRGwvH0qhI2lai4B51TwfRoOm2dPUNLFv8_zO14kRGItlMBZHetqelujvUbtlaMnP374mij4O1rO5EH9gO8Ebg/s3648/20220523_180426.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilo_DY6ZSdPiJsjYVac76MKeKpbweGvSe6h_AI7gGeRQ1CvFDqTXX7VvgDiVw_cZsJbKRGpjcqhl7yL6jSvPJoG_lp51itYRGwvH0qhI2lai4B51TwfRoOm2dPUNLFv8_zO14kRGItlMBZHetqelujvUbtlaMnP374mij4O1rO5EH9gO8Ebg/s320/20220523_180426.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In the DeRicci caves</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Then they ferried us into Montepulciano proper to their underground cave/wine cellars -- they call it "the Cathedral" -- which were built by the Etruscans in 1000 AD! Because of the bus problem, we had to walk down this giant hill to get to where the CDV folks were waiting for us in their own cars. Carla asked to have me in her car, I guess because I "speak" Italian better than others? We drove back to Soriano and had dinner in a long narrow cave in the old part of town - they told us that these caves are places where families have special gatherings. Carla made a turkey dish with lots of citrus in the sauce, and a filled pastry for dessert. Phew! What a day!</span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Tuesday, May 24</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsbVI2U1sA3s_ZpF75efjH76_tsSQ47tbySjDWi-k7pjLQhmjtyYadXh2WTTHi7lm0sxHZmywImR9C1HPTNs5TVJOd843ALJoEO5sUXX6YNUdwvzz_WzCBVaifaL4BstW84BJQ8a-dTUWTXt2s_aOyOvTqoOFKP20oLpdj1Iwpr2ZEufidg/s4032/20220524_110335.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsbVI2U1sA3s_ZpF75efjH76_tsSQ47tbySjDWi-k7pjLQhmjtyYadXh2WTTHi7lm0sxHZmywImR9C1HPTNs5TVJOd843ALJoEO5sUXX6YNUdwvzz_WzCBVaifaL4BstW84BJQ8a-dTUWTXt2s_aOyOvTqoOFKP20oLpdj1Iwpr2ZEufidg/s320/20220524_110335.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>More cooking classes! This time we made individual cups of eggplant parmesan -- Carla had already fried the eggplant slices, we just had to layer them into the cups with sauce and cheese. We also made meatballs (beef & pork) - each one had a little ball of mozzarella inside! We rolled dough and made small raisin custard tarts, and a local artisan came to teach us how to make pecorino and ricotta cheese. We got to eat the cheese that a previous group made. John helped out by sharpening knives, and he got to stir the curds and whey (see pic). We chopped up pancetta and guanciale that went into the sauce for the meatballs - Omg, it was sooo salty. But so seriously delicious. </div><div><br /></div><div>This time we got to go back to the apartments to rest. I conked out but only for about 10 minutes. But hurrah, the other bus is working now, and it has much better AC <i>(though no table for the Scoba card game that Linda taught us with Italian cards.)</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>In the afternoon, a few of us went to Viterbo, which is the largest town around here - it has ~70k people. John stayed in Soriano to do laundry and find us some TP. He ended up having an adventure of his own! </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchNgMD7krjQ9yr1vnTmaEknlaEaQ-2MlW6wEtDShsYYGUgy1p_jhTgNQn0Ia4hJL2gRitUzvRpkxuWsczT48r8XCWZ0GyFtpXYUlpgUAe1tByndzRt1ycZeMhuZqFdnA_HTtSr-TRCZlPhFiK80bvtHUUWVv6eoGsl4p5WbqpG_AssjfWwQ/s4032/20220524_184145.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchNgMD7krjQ9yr1vnTmaEknlaEaQ-2MlW6wEtDShsYYGUgy1p_jhTgNQn0Ia4hJL2gRitUzvRpkxuWsczT48r8XCWZ0GyFtpXYUlpgUAe1tByndzRt1ycZeMhuZqFdnA_HTtSr-TRCZlPhFiK80bvtHUUWVv6eoGsl4p5WbqpG_AssjfWwQ/w150-h200/20220524_184145.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>You can tell Viterbo is a bigger town, we saw a McDonald's and a BK. Sigh. There was even a Bennetton! The town is full of cobblestone streets, and lots of shopping. Sadly, because they're in a drought, all of the fountains in the city were turned off. Sophie (our third CDV guide) lives in Viterbo - she took us to a cute little shop and I finally had gelato. <i>(I mean, how do you come to Italy and make it through four days before you have gelato? We were too full from all of the other meals!) </i> I had stracciatella and dark chocolate. Omg, so good! </div><div><br /></div><div>Viterbo is famous for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchina_di_Santa_Rosa" target="_blank">festival for Santa Rosa</a> in September: 100 men carry a ~100ft tall sculpture "la macchina" (which weighs ~5.5 TONS!) through the streets of the town. The sculpture is redesigned every three years. Read the history at Wikipedia - the procession went from just a reliquary containing the heart of Santa Rosa to this enormous sculpture. </div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotj6WtIdxvtPgfJb6pvKzaL0eM3h4MKwGF1XvFgk547FjRUS_MaRkjB2dWShZ83_Z26OpPbV2A6zCeE7s351KKTZNIgvyJrck-arces39ti04gZum5RvgWEIRmZ336AmjCVMCOJalZx0KkFeeSHtpx0O0t9r-7WsigZLeNhkgbBkT-GfNRw/s1080/FB_IMG_1653722966085.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotj6WtIdxvtPgfJb6pvKzaL0eM3h4MKwGF1XvFgk547FjRUS_MaRkjB2dWShZ83_Z26OpPbV2A6zCeE7s351KKTZNIgvyJrck-arces39ti04gZum5RvgWEIRmZ336AmjCVMCOJalZx0KkFeeSHtpx0O0t9r-7WsigZLeNhkgbBkT-GfNRw/s320/FB_IMG_1653722966085.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Viterbo group - Palace of the Popes in the background</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Viterbo is also the home of the Palace of the Popes, where the first papal conclave was held. The cardinals were literally locked in "con clave" - with a key - and the people wouldn't let them out until they had chosen a Pope. It took almost three years! We couldn't go in, it was under renovation, but we stood in the courtyard and then went down to the park below. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqVRwud7qR5uwVUwg5-HfeCTcbj2fAhxOe7KGkVEctvUAGFYTyKZW6M9G0LllHjA1QUyF8L2TdvslTI7ZEjz4plEV6cVyuMtUx3IW1W7GaKmqwKn70b7ne-ZCt9MJTSCiYyF79VMZXau0YIpMwJtRu_AoCiqppermANLRsNnQ2aBLTtDFTw/s4032/20220524_194406.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqVRwud7qR5uwVUwg5-HfeCTcbj2fAhxOe7KGkVEctvUAGFYTyKZW6M9G0LllHjA1QUyF8L2TdvslTI7ZEjz4plEV6cVyuMtUx3IW1W7GaKmqwKn70b7ne-ZCt9MJTSCiYyF79VMZXau0YIpMwJtRu_AoCiqppermANLRsNnQ2aBLTtDFTw/w150-h200/20220524_194406.jpg" width="150" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>On the way back to the bus, in the park below the Palace, we came across an identical copy of 'The Awakening' sculpture (see pic) - the same as the one in DC. What a cool surprise! Sophie didn't know anything about it. (<i>But I've seen the photos from the next CDV trip in Soriano, and they took a group photo there.)</i> :) </div><div><br /></div><div>Then we went back to Soriano and had dinner outside near the waterfall - basically at a hot dog stand/ outdoor cafe. They served us lots of salads, grilled meats, and ice cream bars for dessert. <i>(...but not Magnum bars! We failed on that particular Fratkin family tradition on this trip.) </i>And of course, they broke out the limoncello and grappa. Thursday we're making limoncello cream. Yum! </div><div><br /></div><div>At dinner we learned a tongue-twister from Linda:</div><div><i><span style="color: #800180;">Sopra la panca la capra canta </span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #800180;">Sotto la panca la capra crepa </span></i></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Wednesday, May 25</b></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoaPXp-Xl-K8HlJ6MevtigZqEgMoHojwFuyN4gYyxU6GbuZ_lqUoHM2UyLC0qNBqztlSaLHlWHbQiTaqKQmpMbNEHFSt6BfD-Dbv49lIjfMZcKXMHH_i6gh3u0G5Z1OhiHgo38L9S5OfkbSssSy54rS_nRiwHoGfHU1Cz6uDnXd1MdMzNBQ/s1280/FB_IMG_1653722973127.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="936" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoaPXp-Xl-K8HlJ6MevtigZqEgMoHojwFuyN4gYyxU6GbuZ_lqUoHM2UyLC0qNBqztlSaLHlWHbQiTaqKQmpMbNEHFSt6BfD-Dbv49lIjfMZcKXMHH_i6gh3u0G5Z1OhiHgo38L9S5OfkbSssSy54rS_nRiwHoGfHU1Cz6uDnXd1MdMzNBQ/w146-h200/FB_IMG_1653722973127.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Under the Tuscan Sun :)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>I really didn't sleep well the whole trip -- the bed in our little apartment was really hard and uncomfortable, and I kept waking up with the sun at 5:20am. By Wednesday I was completely exhausted..</i>. But we were on our way to Tuscany! Because of the bus issues, for the rest of the trip, we were in two vans instead of the big bus, but this worked out better for some of those tiny little towns (or big tourist destinations) where the bus would've had to drop us off far from our destination. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPBV0sIzaHF0QuhoxYHnS2EHr1uCHQye8hmpjPCVHOe8E6o4q5iHaiRXSWR9p82_g8wKpYz4L_cpxtWy6v5x0ur4aKuk3Sf2Okz8287BeRrR4VR2-Kb9SHZPKI5Ejt2N8Jogw4ZS8pbL6hjzc7Kj_KSEcusubIODVMIXTclyLMWekrY8SFA/s4032/20220525_123325.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZPBV0sIzaHF0QuhoxYHnS2EHr1uCHQye8hmpjPCVHOe8E6o4q5iHaiRXSWR9p82_g8wKpYz4L_cpxtWy6v5x0ur4aKuk3Sf2Okz8287BeRrR4VR2-Kb9SHZPKI5Ejt2N8Jogw4ZS8pbL6hjzc7Kj_KSEcusubIODVMIXTclyLMWekrY8SFA/w150-h200/20220525_123325.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />We stopped just for a photo op (see above), to take in the Tuscan scenery. Supposedly we were near the villa where they filmed some scenes from 'Gladiator.' We went on to a little family-run winery, <a href="https://piombaia.com/en/" target="_blank">Piombaia,</a> where we met the father and son who run it, learned about their very eco-friendly practices, and, of course, tasted some wine. We had a picnic lunch at the vineyard with sandwiches, wine, and chocolate cake slices (all made by the owner's mom). It was really lovely. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXR-5YUGHWh12LHJxeZRmF-I1PbHWPRnNj3wSW75hOxtWuYwoR2NYxBRKgvOB6B4UFfof98VRp82jKbB3g5q2uIyvMRFQGPMxIV3mRewECUemUJTZd26bxqpjq0AHaa-ZjxPj0DEjlJl1L9FlVADRT5tcM6M_fgEbWvnBkZ0hoR2A5pVuFA/s1080/FB_IMG_1653722949047.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="1080" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXR-5YUGHWh12LHJxeZRmF-I1PbHWPRnNj3wSW75hOxtWuYwoR2NYxBRKgvOB6B4UFfof98VRp82jKbB3g5q2uIyvMRFQGPMxIV3mRewECUemUJTZd26bxqpjq0AHaa-ZjxPj0DEjlJl1L9FlVADRT5tcM6M_fgEbWvnBkZ0hoR2A5pVuFA/s320/FB_IMG_1653722949047.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">On the ramparts at the Rocca</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Then we went on to Montalcino, where we climbed the Rocca di Montalcino tower -- a fortress built in 1361. <i>(We climbed a lot of towers on this trip!) </i>Then we walked around the picturesque little town. More shopping <i>(I am apparently not a big shopper? I didn't even buy a magnet here) </i>and we stopped for a cold drink at an outdoor cafe, before heading on to the <a href="https://www.castellodiproceno.it/" target="_blank">Castello di Proceno </a>-- which is actually a hotel now, but it was built a thousand years ago. We were given a tour of the original family home by the Contessa herself! </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">She was adorable. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Cecilia said our tour was the second time she'd climbed the tower today - she once did it 23 times in one day! And this was no mean feat - each level had a high ceiling and a steep ladder. </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0U_tS6jUulmKz_JMe8omPcKvPUqslDkG0wJ2Hf4vDBwbepSEn2GCFz0MQg3y-FxT5-yC4u5c7xw4uDcRoC7_mLwS2OpKr99inMcDTrYxfbHFXzqR2U85hfN_dvGi8EXqUMenFB_H7qyHSpQOmq-pt2MkGZi8dGGgK3OeoggaqcwCB7Q12Q/s4032/20220525_201126.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0U_tS6jUulmKz_JMe8omPcKvPUqslDkG0wJ2Hf4vDBwbepSEn2GCFz0MQg3y-FxT5-yC4u5c7xw4uDcRoC7_mLwS2OpKr99inMcDTrYxfbHFXzqR2U85hfN_dvGi8EXqUMenFB_H7qyHSpQOmq-pt2MkGZi8dGGgK3OeoggaqcwCB7Q12Q/s320/20220525_201126.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When we climbed back down, we went for dinner at the Proceno restaurant, which was probably one of the best meals we had all week. Lovely individual "lasagnas" made by stacking crepes with sautéed vegetables in between. Then pasta and a turkey dish. There were other diners in the restaurant - the Contessa was there to take orders! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There was also a woman selling jewelry made with recycled Nespresso cups in a side room at the cafe -- I bought a cute pair of earrings. </span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Thursday, May 26</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNKpISQ5p2DXB0JbTfXhGh2JimPnUgWWR17nqmZkKt-Dl_42CdirIXIU3dVp09zGpDEiGLGekBiBJ9B-0iLuhLrHg1HHydLKkO7TQA2ivBrwYO_PC097xZnWJ2fSrWo4MjNKcc2LpqQ_WBcurq746vDP6678ZRat30UNraKlwEX3VTHpefg/s4032/20220526_123405.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNKpISQ5p2DXB0JbTfXhGh2JimPnUgWWR17nqmZkKt-Dl_42CdirIXIU3dVp09zGpDEiGLGekBiBJ9B-0iLuhLrHg1HHydLKkO7TQA2ivBrwYO_PC097xZnWJ2fSrWo4MjNKcc2LpqQ_WBcurq746vDP6678ZRat30UNraKlwEX3VTHpefg/s320/20220526_123405.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our pottery purchases</span></td></tr></tbody></table>This was by far the longest day. We loaded into the vans to go to <a href="https://www.terrecotte.info/deruta/" target="_blank">Deruta to a pottery studio</a> at 9:15am. Deruta pottery is famous and is absolutely beautiful. We watched a woman painting a platter - such a steady hand! </div><div><br /></div><div>I got to try throwing a pot on the wheel. <i>(I figured, I've been watching The Great Pottery Throwdown, I can do this!)</i> Wow, that's hard. I only got a pot at all in the end because the owner helped me shape it on the wheel. But this is where the shopping kicked in! We bought some beautiful stuff for the new kitchen - an olive oil server, a salt cellar, two espresso cups, and some drawer pulls - and we can order more handles when we get a count of how many we need. Fortunately, they ship to the USA. They will fire and ship my pot too! :)</div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib00BPkrAzi5yLIJU0PeZ1d--NsYuQX5BwpT7kQTP1vWHzQZ9ugGEOpFFJIl5dMC9_7six-_fR5Ay2YlfJ9UDwJDMLIo4BJDosGIhmwroVK3PtCMqpiK4ToftDKzuHkBoMcQfiQoWPZnTUiTcgDOQab_E--mHuvJJvoiDjNFptO6tt94dH0g/s4032/20220526_164848.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib00BPkrAzi5yLIJU0PeZ1d--NsYuQX5BwpT7kQTP1vWHzQZ9ugGEOpFFJIl5dMC9_7six-_fR5Ay2YlfJ9UDwJDMLIo4BJDosGIhmwroVK3PtCMqpiK4ToftDKzuHkBoMcQfiQoWPZnTUiTcgDOQab_E--mHuvJJvoiDjNFptO6tt94dH0g/s320/20220526_164848.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Basilica in Assisi - Stanley Tucci was here!</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Then we went to Assisi. We started there with lunch at a little cafe, off the beaten path. A surprisingly light lunch -- just some salad and pasta, and ice cream bars for dessert. Then we walked around the town with all the other tourists. Assisi is a Rick Steves favorite, so it was full of Americans. But John and I found a museum of Roman ruins under the town, which was empty, and much cooler than outside. The ruins were from the 1st Century AD! <i>(Stanley Tucci also goes to Assisi in his episode about Umbria, but we didn't see that until we got home.) </i></div><div><br /></div><div>We met up with the group and had gelato at a cafe, but John and I skipped going into the Basilica of Saint Frances... I mean, maybe you do it because you're there, but my feet were killing me, so we didn't bother. On the way out of town, we stopped at another giant church -- this one was built around Saint Frances' original home/church, so it's this gigantic basilica surrounding a tiny little house. There was a little too much Catholic dogma there, so we both got kinda cranky. :( </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYWl6_Jt1nNNzNPpXc6uVWGKbREckuykoYEK9iWALt4gh4hwf-Au_21VwVHgnKf1jlPzN8lmMFO0F6wkjswgbcKHaGvmfiZTG1JTCWDXY4lJFXoiuSOQ3S6OaVr1t9Pc8uLimfSYTyMWyqQJr7jqmvc8ny2j95Jv-cLF8BHphg-5o0Tsiew/s1080/FB_IMG_1653723045760.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYWl6_Jt1nNNzNPpXc6uVWGKbREckuykoYEK9iWALt4gh4hwf-Au_21VwVHgnKf1jlPzN8lmMFO0F6wkjswgbcKHaGvmfiZTG1JTCWDXY4lJFXoiuSOQ3S6OaVr1t9Pc8uLimfSYTyMWyqQJr7jqmvc8ny2j95Jv-cLF8BHphg-5o0Tsiew/s320/FB_IMG_1653723045760.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Dinner that night was a "party" at the Villa - while we were out all day, Carla and the other ladies cooked us this amazing meal - fried zucchini blossoms, mushroom puffs, tomatoes with rice and potatoes, green beans, ham and cheese croissants, and the most amazing caramelized baby onions ever. The dessert was this ice cream/meringue cake... And there was limoncello and shots and dancing! <i>(Salsa dancing, because Maggie is from Uruguay...)</i> So much fun!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Friday, May 27 </b></div><div><div>First order of business: covid tests. We were both negative, but Tamara <i>(who was in the van with us for two days</i>) tested positive! So she had to go back to her apartment and pack up - CDV moved her - and she has to stay and quarantine her a week! We couldn't believe the rest of us were negative since we'd all been in close contact for so many hours. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeCrSfE6VrCdfjNZHUbUqmGrd4QrecoTWfGDgPV_oQFD-3VvucHecpvv92ojECZgNF6zrvIxTw2CYI2R3PvauEUrtN50Dz9viKsWR82BucD1miByNX-PpCIfakD4nLkjIy_3aEHkSMMS0tTprhTi796ECbPr2iyfkTxNXwlOxfTBkGO_m9g/s4032/20220527_105144.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeCrSfE6VrCdfjNZHUbUqmGrd4QrecoTWfGDgPV_oQFD-3VvucHecpvv92ojECZgNF6zrvIxTw2CYI2R3PvauEUrtN50Dz9viKsWR82BucD1miByNX-PpCIfakD4nLkjIy_3aEHkSMMS0tTprhTi796ECbPr2iyfkTxNXwlOxfTBkGO_m9g/s320/20220527_105144.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div>We climbed on the bus and went to the <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-monsters-of-bomarzo-bomarzo-italy" target="_blank">Parco di Monstri (Monster park)</a> which was originally from the 1500s, and was rediscovered in the 1850s. It was REALLY hot and muggy. We walked a lot. The sculptures were amazing.... if only we hadn't been surrounded by school children. </div><div><br /></div><div>Then we went to <a href="http://www.madonnadellemacchie.com/eng/home/index.htm" target="_blank">Madonna della Macchie</a>, which produces wine and olive oil, for a tasting and tour and lunch. Their underground cellars were built by the Etruscans. We kept hearing that there were Etruscan tunnels under everything. It was so cold down there you could see your breath! Lots of yummy wine (<i>this time we bought some</i>) and olive oil (<i>we bought some of this too</i>) and a light lunch - but we ate outside and it was soooo hot.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBbQgyxUd9wlb3nREEontVuhFOpIELmMXRYJiw_AQPO7S2pjMuaa8-I4SLEahc2yIgjiZ7Idpxx2YkqRXBo3JrpgwCdrb4EzEJ4LRJjzNCWB0UHh12ddF9Oopda7Yk32X8vAycvXX5hFJc7F74eLtxiQuW-mYcp_YBF2n8jk7vIW2sm-KvA/s1280/FB_IMG_1653723054787.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBbQgyxUd9wlb3nREEontVuhFOpIELmMXRYJiw_AQPO7S2pjMuaa8-I4SLEahc2yIgjiZ7Idpxx2YkqRXBo3JrpgwCdrb4EzEJ4LRJjzNCWB0UHh12ddF9Oopda7Yk32X8vAycvXX5hFJc7F74eLtxiQuW-mYcp_YBF2n8jk7vIW2sm-KvA/w150-h200/FB_IMG_1653723054787.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>Then it was time to go back to the Villa and make pizza. They brought out fans, but it's hard to make pizza dough in front of the fans and not have the flour blow away. After we made our dough, we used some of Carla's existing (massive) bin full of prepared dough and spread it into big pans, and put on the toppings.</div><div> <br />Carla showed us that you grease the pans with lard instead of oil, it keeps the dough from springing back when you spread it into the pan. Ugh, I'll have to buy Crisco. She fired up the wood oven and cooked the pizzas. OMG, soooo good! I drank water all night and ate way too much pizza - including the Nutella& ricotta dessert one, which used the ricotta that we made the other day. And we took some pizza home because I wasn't sure what they'd give me on the plane. </div><div><br /></div></div><div><b>Saturday, May 28</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBEZPq6UsfZOVbTB0MOrgEO5tjMxk7J1O3U5VcTs9EWI1cBedleYvVDNCgFs8WLpz8MP0DVM0o7faB7Zeqm_frOtcbmr8_zO1r5lTzEFMxU5mQsDvGZQVIhzhNj9f_ZraiQyQbDxgxpEAs3oRZ96Z023nyzUeQPfHsuHWlLeff1S3uXuHoA/s4032/20220528_101120.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBEZPq6UsfZOVbTB0MOrgEO5tjMxk7J1O3U5VcTs9EWI1cBedleYvVDNCgFs8WLpz8MP0DVM0o7faB7Zeqm_frOtcbmr8_zO1r5lTzEFMxU5mQsDvGZQVIhzhNj9f_ZraiQyQbDxgxpEAs3oRZ96Z023nyzUeQPfHsuHWlLeff1S3uXuHoA/w150-h200/20220528_101120.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pillows & blankets from Saks</span>!</td></tr></tbody></table>Turns out I didn't need to worry about the airplane food... John upgraded us to Business class because of his back pain (caused by the squeezed space in Economy Plus on the way to Rome), and Polaris on United is ah-ma-zing. Best airline meal I've had in a long time. Lunch was chicken and potatoes and a real salad and cherry/amaretto ice cream. I mean... Come on! (<i>as Phil would say</i>). The pre-landing snack was like a tomato pizza (without cheese) and fresh fruit. No complaints. But now we're spoiled. But it was really nice to have our homemade pizza bites as a snack during the day and to tide us over before we could get dinner at home. </div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9S7NSWnCxoPK21_PaXenRjlH9xC-obqWaLzlz-C76iEFRhyvHLditf8Hd50Curblk1vVSSfHuZfK-arQT0lNNgznde1Rwusu7QLiZO1fQlMrmfSmGosoT-aWAgCheOLs8Cj9lxnLfNO1gL5eb1weqydIujoUhx89WWHiRUEZF2FMNW6D8PA/s4032/20220527_161730.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9S7NSWnCxoPK21_PaXenRjlH9xC-obqWaLzlz-C76iEFRhyvHLditf8Hd50Curblk1vVSSfHuZfK-arQT0lNNgznde1Rwusu7QLiZO1fQlMrmfSmGosoT-aWAgCheOLs8Cj9lxnLfNO1gL5eb1weqydIujoUhx89WWHiRUEZF2FMNW6D8PA/s320/20220527_161730.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Linda, Maggie, and Sophie</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, this was really an amazing experience... CDV totally makes you feel like part of the family - we met Michael and Paola who own the company (and the Villa) - and really bonded with the others on the trip as we cooked and ate (and drank) and with the wonderful guides. Yes, it was busy, and I might wish for a little more downtime, but we got to see so much and didn't feel like "ugly American tourists."</div><div><br /></div><div>We're definitely planning on doing another CDV trip in the next few years.<i> (Gotta pay off the kitchen renovations first!) </i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>See the rest of my photos on<a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/PhEbZDGCyexys8Gr5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Google Drive</a>.</div></span></div><div><br /></div></div>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-21066912680765820182017-06-30T14:15:00.000-05:002017-06-30T14:45:20.424-05:00I see London, I see France... <br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Saturday, June 3: </b>Landed in London on Saturday with only 2 hrs of sleep on the plane... which is what happens when you're seated right next to the restroom. Sigh. We dropped our stuff in the apartment and went to lunch with the parents, and then we went off to find the <a href="http://www.pism.co.uk/" target="_blank">Polish museum</a> - only open the first Saturday of the month. Of course, we went to the wrong tube stop and had to hike a million miles... The Polish gentleman who was the tour guide was a survivor of WWII, I think. He knew everything - and assumed that we knew nothing, especially about WWII, which is not a good assumption to make with our family. Anyway, John and I were totally exhausted after the museum, so we went back to the flat for a while. The 'rents had theater tickets, so John and I stumbled out to find dinner in the rain and ended up having burgers at <a href="https://www.gbk.co.uk/location/earls-court" target="_blank">GBK</a> in Earl's Court. I think the maitre'd was American. This was the start of my string of bunless burgers (gluten-free was hard to find) on this trip, but the salad that came with it was fantastic. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John's panorama of the central atrium at the British Museum.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Sunday, June 4: </b>The parents left early, so we went to the <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting.aspx" target="_blank">British Museum</a>. We saw the Greek and Egyptian artifacts, but we didn't go upstairs to see King Tut. My feet were already starting to hurt. We had lunch at a California Burrito place... sort of felt like cheating, but it was tasty. (Hey, it wasn't McDonald's!) Then we went back to the flat for a nap. We took mom with us for dinner with the London (McKinney) McCalpins, who had just come back from a week on a boat in Greece! We had pretty tasty tapas at the Spanish place near their house, and heard stories of kittens and rugs and all kinds of exciting Greek adventures. Riding back into town on the District line, we were almost the only ones on the train! It was one of the new modern tube trains - all one train with joints between cars, and A/C.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Monday, June 5: </b>This was the day we planned to go to Portsmouth, and already had tickets, but after only 4 hours of sleep, I wasn't about to make the 8:30 train with mom & dad. So I slept a little more, and we went at 10. We got to the <a href="http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/" target="_blank">Portsmouth Historic Dockyard</a> in time for lunch. It was raining and cold all day, bleh. We all went to see the <a href="http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/site-attractions/attractions/mary-rose" target="_blank">Mary Rose</a>, one of King Henry VIII's ships - it has been salvaged from the mud, with hundreds of artifacts. It's a multi-story museum, so you can see how the various levels of the ship's crew lived, and what artifacts were found in each area. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It reminded me of the Vasa in Stockholm. Mom said she heard one of the docents say that the two museums are working together, because the Vasa isn't as well preserved and the Swedes are having to catch up to keep it from disintegrating!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCpTQZF125XeZEZwgU6R_bFi4R5V2eZoMqi7MmtM5F6VEx2zV9dFsaUaHdheuqbIiPN5fo6i1iwANGX_1yBLKyr_8CoLeTfr6ekgweEIWzBDDTCP9ir9FQef3e2pZXfQc8fpd/s1600/John-wheel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCpTQZF125XeZEZwgU6R_bFi4R5V2eZoMqi7MmtM5F6VEx2zV9dFsaUaHdheuqbIiPN5fo6i1iwANGX_1yBLKyr_8CoLeTfr6ekgweEIWzBDDTCP9ir9FQef3e2pZXfQc8fpd/s320/John-wheel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain John at the wheel of the Victory</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then we went on Admiral Nelson's ship, the <a href="http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/site-attractions/attractions/hms-victory" target="_blank">HMS Victory.</a> All of the ceilings are really low -- I'm short, and I kept having to duck! After a brief tea and cookie break (my feet were killing me!) we went back to the Royal Navy Museum <a href="http://www.nmrn-portsmouth.org.uk/exhibits-and-collections/victory-gallery" target="_blank">Victory Gallery </a>to see the masthead collection. Really beautiful carvings of mermaids and Scotsmen, and all really well preserved. After that, I was so dead, and it was cold and gross, so there was no way we could have stayed in Portsmouth for dinner. We took the train back, and went to have Thai food at Earl's Court, near the flat. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hound of the Baskervilles</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Tuesday, June 6:</b> John and I decided to go to 221b Baker Street to see the <a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes museum</a>. Small and cramped, it's decorated as if Sherlock had actually lived there, with rooms for him, Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson. I can't imagine what it would be like on a hotter day... It was warm with just the 20 or so tourists who were moving through the house with us. They had a huge shop, but since I didn't want to carry too much around with me, I just bought a magnet and an "I am SHER locked" bag. We had lunch at the Sherlock Cafe across the street... It's a Lebanese restaurant. (We figured it's probably been a bunch of different types of restaurants over time, but under the same name.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tuesday afternoon, we went to see Wonder Woman! The screen was pretty small for a stadium-seated theater of that size, so I'm definitely going again in Austin. But WOW. I was so emotional during all of the battle scenes! It was awesome. The power of her climbing up to walk across No Man's Land was amazingly compelling. And the relief that after all these years of waiting, the movie was beyond my expectations. Then we walked over to dinner at Noor Jahan (can't go to London and not visit our favorite Indian place!) And a short walk back to the flat. That neighborhood is so lovely. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hive</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Wednesday, June 7:</b> The others left for the airport at 6am - mom even folded our laundry before she left! We gathered ourselves and went off to the McCalpins. I'm sad to say the recurring theme of the day was getting off the bus a stop too early... Oops! We took the bus from the Earlham tube to get closer to their house, and got off too early. Julie made tacos for lunch (Old El paso crispy shells! Yum!) and then we decided to go to Kew Gardens. But since nothing could go exactly right, Julie couldn't get on the bus because none of her Oyster cards had any money on them (doh!). She texted Eleanor, and we got off at the next stop and went back to find her. Once we had all topped up our cards, we got back on the bus to Kew. By the time we got off [a stop too early], went to Starbucks, and got to the gardens, my feet were already killing me. But we had to go see The Hive - an installation built of metal and lights that activate when bees are humming in their hive. The problem is, you never find out where the beehive is, so it's hard to know whether it's real or not. But, it was cool. Otherwise, Kew was just as I remembered it from ~20 years ago. We took a tea break at the Orangery and then went off to find the bus back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We ordered in - we had kebabs for dinner (Omg, Persian food! Yum!) and played a round of Carcassonne. I came from behind to tie Kenneth for 1st! :) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Thursday, June 8:</b> Sadly, because of the timing of the Eurostar trains, and how far we were going, we had to get up at 5:30am to make sure we got out of Ealing and got to St. Pancras. But we made it, got our tickets, and even had time to grab breakfast and coffee (which was much-needed by then...) before we got on the 8:30am train to Paris. I forgot that we were also getting "breakfast" on the train, but I couldn't eat it anyway... It was a croissant, a roll, and yogurt. Sigh. But hey, egg salad on gluten free crackers wasn't bad! The French countryside flew by (the time in the actual Chunnel is short) and there we were in Paris. John figured out how to get from Gare du Nord to Gare St. Lazare via the RER (local non-metro train), for €2 each, so it turns out we didn't need 3 hours between trains, but our tickets were non-refundable/no changes. So we wandered/sat in Gare St. Lazare until the next train. It was a warm day, so we were hot, both in the station and on the train. Wifi was spotty, as it would be wherever we went after that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then I had a total Meg Ryan moment ("<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113117/" target="_blank">French Kiss</a>", which I referenced a LOT on this trip!) Riding backwards on the train leaving Paris, I looked out the window and saw the Eiffel Tower for a split second! I tried to show John, but we were going by a bunch of apartment buildings, so he didn't see it. He caught sight of it eventually... it just felt like "proof" that we were actually in Paris. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yoKdT6gvP1UbfGylIRonnKcXIVGmnlSyh3OOOwvXw4QiYR-v_jqvNFBZFbhDm-Kay6t3brmkBSLpqY-9RPptdDn2mwdkUpBVdqS1NwjuAwCkGmRhfL1KOxN-l2lbHvQA8-iQ/s1600/cabin-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yoKdT6gvP1UbfGylIRonnKcXIVGmnlSyh3OOOwvXw4QiYR-v_jqvNFBZFbhDm-Kay6t3brmkBSLpqY-9RPptdDn2mwdkUpBVdqS1NwjuAwCkGmRhfL1KOxN-l2lbHvQA8-iQ/s200/cabin-sm.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our adorable little cottage in France</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We got to Caen a little bit late, so it's a good thing we took the earlier train, or the car rental place would've been closed. The Hertz office was a few blocks away. We got our Peugeot, and away we went! It took about an hour to get to the little cottage in Vire. We took smaller roads instead of big highways, to get more acquainted with the land. The rolling hills and farmland were beautiful, and the cottage was adorable! The owners are English... They've been there for 18 months. The markets were closed by the time we got there, so we went back into town (5km north) for dinner at a cafe, and tried the local cider. I thought it tasted funny, but John liked it... and all of it tasted like that, so I just got used to it. :) </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7rJxQnsMLkGiN3z3fN2ObfgfASVRzBO9RZiOOveMmZvVL4emwd2XHkyM_JgZNHEVZGrCerdimHuLKcwSfvSCac0qe0eC3oDF0KEn9FEQjiR91z77hMp-2p5Bv7aAGw_J2iMm/s1600/donjon+selfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7rJxQnsMLkGiN3z3fN2ObfgfASVRzBO9RZiOOveMmZvVL4emwd2XHkyM_JgZNHEVZGrCerdimHuLKcwSfvSCac0qe0eC3oDF0KEn9FEQjiR91z77hMp-2p5Bv7aAGw_J2iMm/s200/donjon+selfie.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of the mystery castle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Friday, June 9</b> was a lazy day. We had fresh eggs for breakfast (from the owner's little flock of chickens!) and then we went to explore Vire. They were setting up for a big music festival on Saturday, but we were able to wander around. We found the ruins of a castle... But no signage, and there's nothing about it on Google - literally, it's not even on the map! We took lots of pictures anyway. We found a supermarket, and I couldn't believe it, but they had lactose-free milk and gluten free baguette! We got bananas, peanuts, cheese and crackers and wine and cider. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The B&B owners made dinner for us on Saturday night. We were able to eat at the big table in the larger of their two properties because they didn't have anyone staying there. It was fantastic. It was a little weird to have the owners around all the time (living 50 yards from the cottage) -- at all of the other Airbnb's that we've done, they give us the keys and disappear. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Saturday, June 10</b> - first day of real Normandy sights. We went to the <a href="http://www.memorial-falaise.com/" target="_blank">Civilians in Wartime Memorial </a>in Falaise. It's a pretty new museum (or recently renovated?). Really fascinating depictions of what happened in the small towns all over Normandy with the bombings after D-day -- bombed by both the Allies and the Germans. It's so sad to see the level of destruction. Psychologically, it had to be hard for the people to welcome the Allies as liberators, after they had just bombed out the cities. But they did!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Museum is right next to William the Conqueror's castle, but we didn't have time to go in for a tour. But we couldn't leave without taking photos. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Hrm8OODMmmDg7BTBBF41l6Y59Vr_GxOr0FF6ymKITpk-Z8rEjOY5mw7X4BzEEDaH_pBi990a3zSaZ9H4y_P12O0Y6PYQ09iAhOGqp-1Cp_dTLk6Rq-LgGygRvO4yCslwoTkW/s1600/Wmconq_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="1600" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Hrm8OODMmmDg7BTBBF41l6Y59Vr_GxOr0FF6ymKITpk-Z8rEjOY5mw7X4BzEEDaH_pBi990a3zSaZ9H4y_P12O0Y6PYQ09iAhOGqp-1Cp_dTLk6Rq-LgGygRvO4yCslwoTkW/s400/Wmconq_sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama of the castle</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjgkFgQXkNzQHxE-7oIccyUL-5LmMA388nhkeUEoU4NsYpd6h-qWFRYzdAY6QluiP9cFIdyWXCEXDzyj_ioldBLUuS55kEkg7ONvq90qNdkpVRdXYtAYV_6gyEdriuplxngAN/s1600/montormel-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjgkFgQXkNzQHxE-7oIccyUL-5LmMA388nhkeUEoU4NsYpd6h-qWFRYzdAY6QluiP9cFIdyWXCEXDzyj_ioldBLUuS55kEkg7ONvq90qNdkpVRdXYtAYV_6gyEdriuplxngAN/s320/montormel-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memorial on top of the hill at Montormel</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While we were in the museum, a wedding was held in the square, and apparently it is a French tradition for the procession of cars to honk as they leave! We had lunch in a little cafe (with wedding guests honking as they went by), and then we went off to find the <a href="http://www.memorial-montormel.org/" target="_blank">Memorial at Montormel</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a big hill in the middle of the countryside - smack in the area where the Americans and the British were trying to close in around the Germans, with help from the Polish panzer divisions. (We recognized some of the information in the Montormel museum from the Polish museum in London - things we never would have known about before.) The strategic importance of the hill was obvious, and the number of deaths was just shocking. This is one of the few places where the signs were in French, English, and Polish. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JW2CaFH3YVddJxgbPkBO3oz5BzBHLucbClk0q7nieOws5XcmA4aycT0C6ktYUfCmEFQnndMuI6031cGclmcG74Wu7BtJ8uNrO_ikIrcoWXGpzGHVRAz2xzD_RwRMsowIZ-FW/s1600/mortainfalls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JW2CaFH3YVddJxgbPkBO3oz5BzBHLucbClk0q7nieOws5XcmA4aycT0C6ktYUfCmEFQnndMuI6031cGclmcG74Wu7BtJ8uNrO_ikIrcoWXGpzGHVRAz2xzD_RwRMsowIZ-FW/s320/mortainfalls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The falls at Mortain</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We drove back via Mortain, so we could go see the <a href="http://www.europeanwaterfalls.com/waterfalls/mortain-cascade-de/" target="_blank">waterfalls </a>there (we went to the Petite Cascade - we didn't hike to the big one). If you didn't know there was a deep chasm with a waterfall by the side of the road, you'd drive right by it. But we climbed down the hill and absorbed the beauty and the tranquility. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Sunday, June 11: </b>We went to see the <a href="http://www.memorial-pegasus.org/mmp/musee_debarquement/?lang=uk" target="_blank">Pegasus bridge Museum at Ranville</a>, which was the lynch pin of the D-day invasion - those bridges had to be held so the Allied forces could advance from the beaches towards Paris. Amazing what these soldiers did coming in on gliders in the middle of the night, to maintain the element of surprise. The museum has all kinds of artifacts from the soldiers who fought there. We had lunch at a touristy place by the museum, where there were two Frenchmen dressed as GI's, but they didn't speak English! While we were having lunch, the actual bridge (the original was replaced by a larger one) had to go up for a ship to go underneath. It was kinda fun to watch! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjACBnNYJCm-TYD5-W3kucMpdHkR4E4cS3c8TnrQtrL29SW_85jlR2eR77ZL92kBMNg5L80PpZS1GBNqaQo3xVYEgL4nMnOTvti3CJ34je7YWjJePlDjd_9BboVMPsL8o5kHP/s1600/pegasus-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjACBnNYJCm-TYD5-W3kucMpdHkR4E4cS3c8TnrQtrL29SW_85jlR2eR77ZL92kBMNg5L80PpZS1GBNqaQo3xVYEgL4nMnOTvti3CJ34je7YWjJePlDjd_9BboVMPsL8o5kHP/s320/pegasus-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Model of the Pegasus Bridge at the museum</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then went to Caen, to the<a href="http://normandy.memorial-caen.com/" target="_blank"> Memorial Museum</a> there. It is by far the most comprehensive museum in the area, starting with the end of WWI and how Hitler came to power, then moving through the war and the battles, with a separate section for the invasion of Normandy. For once I really couldn't handle the (surprisingly extensive) Holocaust section, it was too emotional. We didn't have time to see the underground bunker or the post-WWII section, either, so I guess we will have to go back someday. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTEnu4FLABziIABtcKt86jf0P0Nv2k6zvzWn7J3lMK-lPwX3xp7N_qOZUSygS97nB4kM8k_NBB12KWbfPpsmQbC031W3OMA5dhzSVMRHw3vr-D9G1Zm0ONcGyONUsKHfgvqjD/s1600/porthorlege.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="871" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTEnu4FLABziIABtcKt86jf0P0Nv2k6zvzWn7J3lMK-lPwX3xp7N_qOZUSygS97nB4kM8k_NBB12KWbfPpsmQbC031W3OMA5dhzSVMRHw3vr-D9G1Zm0ONcGyONUsKHfgvqjD/s200/porthorlege.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Porte Horloge in Vire</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The weather got much cooler, so we hightailed it back to Vire. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While we were wandering around looking for dinner, I found a sign inside the <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porte_Horloge_de_Vire" target="_blank">Porte Horloge</a> (the central clock tower) that explains the ruins and where the old walls were, including the ruins that we had seen on Friday. Huzzah! Turns out the ruins we saw were the "Donjon" (later the castle keep) and dated back to the 13th century. The belltower was added in the 15th C. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> found a kebab place that was still open, so we got take-out (using as much sign language as French, and even a little bit of Spanish to speak to the owner), and ate at the cottage. Clearly, kebabs are the go-to fast food over there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Monday, June 12:</b> It took a while to get going - poor John discovered the hard way that the fuse had blown on the hot water heater! I had taken a quick, lukewarm shower, but by the time he got in, it was gone. Fortunately, fuse boxes work the same way everywhere, so it was an easy fix. We eventually headed north to Bayeux and then Arromanches. We had lunch in Bayeux, and walked around a bit, but then we went up the road to see the beaches for the first time. Bayeux was beautiful but very touristy. I want to go back and see the famous tapestry, but not this trip. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNmA-X5o3veHOI1N8MxBlI_VEc8Q9JrHyWocciwtFymX1Lt99jt9U4MBFZGx6fZS0-oXhtK30y-yxnsm1J4yCC2l7I4kj-TOK5sSH-cPG0nSAd9tvxXLI5cYMQlv34IG_4JrV/s1600/longues-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNmA-X5o3veHOI1N8MxBlI_VEc8Q9JrHyWocciwtFymX1Lt99jt9U4MBFZGx6fZS0-oXhtK30y-yxnsm1J4yCC2l7I4kj-TOK5sSH-cPG0nSAd9tvxXLI5cYMQlv34IG_4JrV/s320/longues-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the gun bunkers at Longues Sur Mer</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The beach was powerful. We went to the 360-degree cinema in <a href="http://www.arromanches360.com/" target="_blank">Arromanches</a>, and then drove to the German battery at Longues Sur Mer, which has four of the big concrete bunkers that the Germans used to guard the coast. Two of them are almost intact, although the big guns have rusted out in place. Then we walked out to the forward observation post, another multi level concrete bunker. Today, it's hard to see just how much the Germans could see from that vantage point, because of the overgrown weeds. The gun batteries were 1/4 mile back from the coast, which left lots of flat, open ground for the Allies to cover.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We stopped at the supermarket and found some dinner that we could cook at the house (with our little mini-oven), along with some other vital supplies, like TP and red wine. :)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVShg4HzMSMDCwrZgLX8KuKk50ZVTK9zdYXQvtFTg_C2slXdrkY0lSH23ooKAQpZz3LCVRIGtooxgnGtiky5YE6_ZcNGjDn6lw92nphhxEN7Ahd8V3skKMmivhAANlIoNqoaJ/s1600/MSM-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVShg4HzMSMDCwrZgLX8KuKk50ZVTK9zdYXQvtFTg_C2slXdrkY0lSH23ooKAQpZz3LCVRIGtooxgnGtiky5YE6_ZcNGjDn6lw92nphhxEN7Ahd8V3skKMmivhAANlIoNqoaJ/s320/MSM-small.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Tuesday, June 13:</b> Probably the most touristy thing we did - we went to <a href="http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/index.htm?lang=en" target="_blank">Mont St Michel</a>. It's just staggering that the monks built an abbey and 3 levels of rooms on top of the giant rock on the coast. (Apparently the final filial on top of the spire was put in place with a helicopter... so it's not that ancient.) We climbed a lot of steps, and took a lot of pictures. There are only a small number of people who actually live in MSM - the shop owners and some monks, I gather - but it's a complete tourist trap. The parking area is set up to be very "inoffensive" to nature - no asphalt, just gravel and bushes - but there's space for thousands of cars, and from there you can either walk or ride a free shuttle (or a horse-drawn carriage!) to the base of the rock. Thank goodness it wasn't super crowded. We didn't even bother with souvenirs, although I did buy some real macarons in a bakery there. We heard a lot of English, but also noticed that a lot of the tourists were French. I guess it's like Mount Rushmore or the Smithsonian museums in DC... It's in your country, so everyone eventually makes a pilgrimage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The drawback to staying in Vire is that we had to drive at least an hour to get anywhere. We drove through a lot of small towns (and bigger towns) and we noticed that there were very few people out! Anywhere! Maybe it's because we were usually driving through at lunch or dinner time... But it was weird. Like Blairgowrie in Scotland -- nobody was out between ~6pm and 7:30pm. Plus, a lot of the older buildings are right on top of the road... They have probably been there for centuries, but the roads have had to be widened to accommodate bigger trucks. So maybe the people are just at the back of the houses, so they don't have to walk on the road (or hear the traffic)? The only time we saw more than one or two people was when we went past a school, and the parents were picking up their children. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VDIJX7yBwhfEtMFqpM5y03zdAc9PD8Z7VsbsgeAJ2xoPwpMtrC1awzAWh3vtaP_1DXi4ZiMJcMk1tMtPLpJMnkszKih1Di9V3E3v6QqYAY483vsAUV-fLJOEZIe6qTb0jK7D/s1600/platdujour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VDIJX7yBwhfEtMFqpM5y03zdAc9PD8Z7VsbsgeAJ2xoPwpMtrC1awzAWh3vtaP_1DXi4ZiMJcMk1tMtPLpJMnkszKih1Di9V3E3v6QqYAY483vsAUV-fLJOEZIe6qTb0jK7D/s200/platdujour.jpg" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Menu du jour at Chez Maman</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We rested a bit, and then we went out to dinner. I chose Chez Maman, slightly off the beaten path in Vire. It was wonderful! Best meal of the trip. We sat on the patio, drank cider, and enjoyed every minute. All of the ingredients are local and homemade. (I had to take a picture of the menu board.) :) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Weds June 14: </b>Laundry day! We were running out of clean clothes, so we had to take a break and do laundry. I think we will have to plan a "rest and laundry" day into any 2-week trip from now on - we did it in Scotland, in Spain, and now here. We thought it was going to rain, but instead it was just hot and muggy... Which is worse when you're hanging out in the laundromat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John started the day checking on the wireless setup for the cottage, and spent some time explaining it to Julie and Nigel, so they could call their IT guy. :) (It didn't improve our situation, but it may help the next person.) </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Laundry was quick and easy - especially with Google to translate the signs- but we still had to hang some shirts on the line out back. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEnCdMUr-5ulfDp121sTssjorL_Rl3F3bqvvG-fyU6ucGKDuwEpvUqcGNRte-YYErbqFBWg5hOrZhzLNjfLwlFIm8HX2jY3OFqxvxZbSVIUx1I_FSJv-2LjthV_6pWCjHZCnQ/s1600/crepes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="1022" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEnCdMUr-5ulfDp121sTssjorL_Rl3F3bqvvG-fyU6ucGKDuwEpvUqcGNRte-YYErbqFBWg5hOrZhzLNjfLwlFIm8HX2jY3OFqxvxZbSVIUx1I_FSJv-2LjthV_6pWCjHZCnQ/s200/crepes.jpg" width="149" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Afternoon nap, followed by dinner in Vire. The place that I chose wasn't serving food by the time we got there, so we picked the Creperie that we had driven by a million times on the main road - and it was wonderful! Savory crepes with chicken & mushrooms (John had his with sausage and an egg over-easy) and dessert crepe with caramel - yum! We sat on the patio, and we finally saw people! Turns out 7pm is when the businesses close, so there was traffic. And people going out to dinner... The restaurant filled up. Unfortunately, when we got back, it was really hot upstairs in the cabin, even with all of the windows open. It finally cooled down around 1am, so we slept until 9. This place needs a ceiling fan! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgK2DtWzQuf8eQK_QYwLiLijZMfZsk4uW6HRNVxCQQ_gpyk1FkUScH9AXPFkiqgvfirKx64sEqdvSxksKBnRnpAge3EUnI0QUrb-1RlyNL9plHQj5bROMHZquM_HHSS2zct4o/s1600/paratrooper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgK2DtWzQuf8eQK_QYwLiLijZMfZsk4uW6HRNVxCQQ_gpyk1FkUScH9AXPFkiqgvfirKx64sEqdvSxksKBnRnpAge3EUnI0QUrb-1RlyNL9plHQj5bROMHZquM_HHSS2zct4o/s320/paratrooper.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paratrooper (mannequin) on St Mere-Eglise<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Thursday, June 15:</b> We decided to go to the Western landing zone on our last day. We started at <a href="http://d-dayrevisited.co.uk/d-day/sainte-mere-eglise.html" target="_blank">St-Mere-Eglise</a>, which was the first town liberated by the American forces on D-day. The <a href="http://www.airborne-museum.org/" target="_blank">Airborne museum</a> is there. We had lunch in town, walked around and then went to the museum. They have a paratrooper hanging from the church by his parachute - which actually happened, and was featured in the movie, the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056197/" target="_blank">Longest Day</a>. The museum has a lot of artifacts, and two big planes that were brought in and then had buildings built around them. One of the buildings gives you the experience of being on a plane over the jump zone. Really cool! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From there we went to <a href="https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/pointe-du-hoc-ranger-monument#.WVaQM4Tyutw" target="_blank">Pointe du Hoc</a>, where there were more German batteries, as well as bunkers and other giant concrete constructions. It has been mostly left as it was in 1944, with grass growing in the craters formed by the Allied bombings. To see the heights of the cliffs that the soldiers had to climb, and feel the wind coming in off the water... Staggering. There was a monument, and a plaque in one of the bunkers for Rudders Rangers - a Texan led the charge. Lots of Aggies involved. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQe31VPNAdMwZi0PWfgEFy8Lw8OAps83sRVlrMfIjdtl_-3baMTsFDsuVLNls0Up9IGnOVtEy5N_ThH5tA18NI5fXhFVJXyY4OQ5uZz3OSQus-iAqpzBONgdwc6OUOdEjMFzGE/s1600/20170615_182952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQe31VPNAdMwZi0PWfgEFy8Lw8OAps83sRVlrMfIjdtl_-3baMTsFDsuVLNls0Up9IGnOVtEy5N_ThH5tA18NI5fXhFVJXyY4OQ5uZz3OSQus-iAqpzBONgdwc6OUOdEjMFzGE/s320/20170615_182952.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Les Braves monument - note tiny Texas flag in the center!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were too late to get into the American cemetery and museum, but we went down to the beach front at Omaha. It was more powerful than I expected. The 'Les Braves' monument rises out of the sand, signifying Hope, Freedom, and Fraternity. We took pictures and walked on the sand. Studies have shown that <a href="https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/d-days-legacy-remnants-invasion-linger-beach-sands" target="_blank">as much as 4% of the sand on Omaha beach</a> is made up of shrapnel - metal and glass from the WWII invasion. It made me so much more grateful that John's father came back!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We stopped in St Lô for dinner on the way home, since we weren't sure if we would find another restaurant to try in Vire. We went to a pizza place next to the Cathedral in the old quarter (google said it was "where the locals eat"). Not my favorite meal, but good enough. At least the cottage was cool enough to sleep in! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Friday, June 16: </b>We packed up and left the lovely cottage, and said goodbye to Julie and Nigel. I don't know if we would stay quite that far away from everything if we go back to Normandy, but it was perfect for us this time. Dropped off the car in Caen (after an adventure finding a gas station) and we were off to Paris for the night. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The train from Caen to Paris was uneventful, except for the screaming baby. But I learned something on this trip - I really don't like riding backwards on trains. I was motion sick more often on this trip than ever before. Bleh. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCp2o_Hh40EBrak7MVNLuDmDT6UsMnkOwbXmstIeOpWfBj4oca5JsUO7z7Tn_0uR1DH5Kh-x7Kb9DfKuzc6NEoMsnjp8wNzaTfs3G7R4FaxohiC4IYo6f3veEvG663uMVeZOP_/s1600/eiffel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1172" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCp2o_Hh40EBrak7MVNLuDmDT6UsMnkOwbXmstIeOpWfBj4oca5JsUO7z7Tn_0uR1DH5Kh-x7Kb9DfKuzc6NEoMsnjp8wNzaTfs3G7R4FaxohiC4IYo6f3veEvG663uMVeZOP_/s320/eiffel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John caught sight of the Tour Eiffel from the taxi.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We took a taxi from Gare St Lazare to our hotel near Orly. OMG. The traffic in Paris! Ridiculous! I would never drive there. The hotel didn't have A/C, but we did have a fan, so we sat in the cool air and made use of the working wifi. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and then tried to go to sleep early. But I was still way too hot. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Saturday, June 17:</b> I am not a morning person. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Getting up at 4:45 was NOT fun. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Did I mention that I'm not a morning person?</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">) </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the shuttle bus took us from the hotel to the airport, we passed a bunch of young people who were just going home from the nearby club! I don't even remember the last time I pulled an all-nighter. UGH. Fortunately, the lines were pretty short at Orly at that hour, and the cafe was open. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Lessons learned: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If I had to do it again, I'd learn more French for starters, although I think we did pretty well -- everyone was really nice, and we didn't feel like "ugly Americans." We quickly determined that we much preferred listening to the Hertz GPS lady giving us directions in French, rather than listening to the Google lady mispronounce the names of all of the towns and roads. We learned a little more French that way, too! ("Au rond-point, prendre la deuxième sortie" - there were a lot of traffic circles.) I also learned some neat tricks from <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1612382029/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Rick Steves' French phrasebook</a>. I might find somewhere closer to the sights to stay, but I think we did very well with the time of year -- not too hot yet, not as many people on vacation yet -- and just after D-Day, so everything was spiffied up, but the crowds were small. But we have so many other places on our list before we go back to France -- New Zealand, for one! Time to plan the next trip... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of the trip photos will be uploaded to Flickr... one of these days. Stay tuned. </span><br />
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MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-32201955466093613032015-08-24T10:51:00.004-05:002015-08-24T10:51:44.995-05:00Sixteen Days in the UK - Part 4<h3>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part 4: A little hiccup in our plans </span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVq1JTvXrPLxHCTNk-O_1ykgg74vox2cUeFuUK49r41LidrVD-YfjJnDdZ_8u-1ZlPG2uZip3XFqxBRdg_PXCAzWSlpGwYmisfzDJMDO-yJpCvtCptxB0E_Rmcv8X6u3BKhBP4/s1600/yarnshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVq1JTvXrPLxHCTNk-O_1ykgg74vox2cUeFuUK49r41LidrVD-YfjJnDdZ_8u-1ZlPG2uZip3XFqxBRdg_PXCAzWSlpGwYmisfzDJMDO-yJpCvtCptxB0E_Rmcv8X6u3BKhBP4/s200/yarnshop.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On <b>Wednesday</b>, we slept late. We were exhausted from all of the travel and moving around and driving, so we took a lazy day. After breakfast, we did a little bit of shopping (Boots, Oxfam, and even a yarn shop) and took more photos. <i><span style="color: blue;">In retrospect, we probably shouldn't have started talking about how we couldn't wait to go home. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had <i>one thing</i> on our calendar that had been scheduled since April - a tour of <a href="http://www.castlestalker.com/wp/">Castle Stalker</a>, which was the castle out in the lake at the very end of "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/">Monty Python and the Holy Grail</a>." The castle is a private residence, so they only do one tour a day, for 12 people. We had reservations for Wednesday afternoon. We decided to go see Dunstaffnage Castle on the way to Stalker, since both are near Oban. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Remember when we pissed off the faeries? Well, they were still mad. </i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were finally motivated enough to leave at 2:30pm, at which point we discovered a flat tire - the front driver's side tire was completely useless. <i><span style="color: blue;">[Unusual for tourists, usually it's the left side that gets run into curbs and such...]</span></i> Sigh. We went back inside and called Hertz. They sent a roadside repair guy, who changed the tire to the donut, and gave us a card for the closest tire repair place. Of course, since Oban is a tiny town full of one way streets, we had to drive an extra mile in a big circle to get there. And it was clear from some online reviews that Hertz UK was not going to pay for the tire. We debated for a while, but in the end John chose the nicer tire, because we didn't want Hertz to come back and charge us again if we bought one that wasn't good enough. Sigh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Castle Stalker tour was scheduled for 5pm. Unfortunately, having spent the afternoon at the tire place, we were just parking the car at the hotel (</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at 5:15pm) </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">w</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hen they called to see if we were still coming. Sigh. We went back to the hotel and had dinner, and went to bed early. We were glad to be done with that day!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKDBYlh1skW-AD2jKhrI4WP0z2yP_HuPOfd397Wl_1VoZIbJKDeqWJuxx2ArO6WG3CevhWH5bIxZn9u279yFyC_wVgJaCQhRJEX2u-Ce8rocCVM-r8qwRt1Z-up985SHwHTiz/s1600/Dunstaff-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKDBYlh1skW-AD2jKhrI4WP0z2yP_HuPOfd397Wl_1VoZIbJKDeqWJuxx2ArO6WG3CevhWH5bIxZn9u279yFyC_wVgJaCQhRJEX2u-Ce8rocCVM-r8qwRt1Z-up985SHwHTiz/s200/Dunstaff-sm.jpg" width="200" /></a><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, things were looking up. After breakfast, we decided to go to Dunstaffnage and to the Castle Stalker overlook. But when John went to get the car from the overflow lot, the </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>NEW TIRE</i></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was about half flat. ARGH! So, back to the tire shop for us. They were very nice, and basically admitted that it could've been human error in not filling it 100% the day before. They pumped up the new one, and checked all the others, and then we were off! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjcGa3FMNSSPD7h3ynqES34yZcziVvMukkCv0KfTvF3H1SYbMrA8sS7uncmx9cFzBqp_RMYwZWpmMtwxKkcgjcd81vuV_x1WBP-nJ6ubvECv-rlCAPkKbMEpA2koybKJbVyyV/s1600/dunstaff-chapel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjcGa3FMNSSPD7h3ynqES34yZcziVvMukkCv0KfTvF3H1SYbMrA8sS7uncmx9cFzBqp_RMYwZWpmMtwxKkcgjcd81vuV_x1WBP-nJ6ubvECv-rlCAPkKbMEpA2koybKJbVyyV/s200/dunstaff-chapel.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since we missed <a href="http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyoverview.htm?PropID=PL_111">Dunstaffnage</a> on Wednesday, it was our first stop on Thursday. Yet another amazing castle built on a large rock! </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We climbed a tall flight of stairs to enter a large open courtyard. This castle was besieged by Robert the Bruce (a McAlpin descendant) in the 1300s, and the newest building is the gatehouse, built in 1500. The chapel is a few hundred yards off in the woods, much more deteriorated than the main buildings. We couldn't get over how thick the walls were for the chapel, and how narrow the window openings. The path through the woods looked like something out of a fairy tale - vibrant green ferns, thick trees, and a hushed whisper through the leaves. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started singing songs from Sondheim's "Into the Woods" as we walked back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After lunch, we decided to take the long way around to Callander, our last stop before going home (<i><span style="color: blue;">ahem, or so we thought</span></i>). Driving through the Scottish Highlands was just breathtaking. We came around a bend and there was a pull-off for parking beside a mountain, and we could see a rocky outcropping with a waterfall about halfway up. Why not? The sun came out, and although it was windy, it was gorgeous. John took some amazing panoramas, and I started climbing the hill towards the waterfall. Here's a picture of me halfway up the hill. It was pretty steep, but it was so beautiful, I just kept climbing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><i>Even with the new tire, those faeries were still angry.</i></span> </b>As we were driving through the Highlands, marveling at the countryside, John's phone buzzed with a text message. There wasn't much cell signal out there, but there was just enough for a message to get through from British Airways that our flight home on Saturday was <b><i>CANCELLED</i></b>. Cue minor panic! But since we were in the middle of nowhere and there was nothing we could do, we forced ourselves to continue enjoying the scenery and just kept going. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found the <a href="http://www.theoldrectoryincallander.com/" target="_blank">Old Rectory</a> (right next to St. Andrew's Church, amusingly enough) and checked into our little room. Our bathroom was right over the front door! First order of business, call BA. After an hour on the phone, we determined that the first time they could get us across the pond was <i>Tuesday</i>. Whee! But since our tickets back to London were booked separately, they couldn't change those without another </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">£</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200+ fee, so we couldn't stay in Scotland for the weekend. ARGH. We went out to clear our heads and check out Callender, but by then it was close to 6pm, and things were closed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dinner at the tiny restaurant in the hotel was actually really tasty - or maybe that was the cider talking. I found us a good deal on a hotel in Kensington for the weekend, and we resigned ourselves to spending three extra days in London. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday - more castles!</span></div>
MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0Oban, Argyll and Bute, UK56.415157 -5.471046999999998756.3800185 -5.5517279999999989 56.4502955 -5.3903659999999984tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-15749124182654927932015-08-02T18:48:00.004-05:002015-08-09T17:35:08.526-05:00Sixteen Days in the UK - Part 3<h2>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On <b>Monday</b>, we were at the point where we HAD to do laundry. We looked online and found a place in Lochee, near Dundee -- an hour away. We found the place, and the ladies were happy to help us with soap and change for the machines. It was a small town, and the Scottish accents were so thick we could hardly understand sometimes, but we got the job done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We left the laundromat and headed for our next castle, <a href="http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/">Dunnottar.</a> This was the one day that we had "real" Scottish weather - chilly, drizzly, and grey. But we were also out on the east coast, looking out over the North Sea. To get to the castle, you walk down almost 200 steps, almost to sea level, and then you walk across a bridge and back up almost as many to get to the gates of the castle. It was exhausting! The site has been inhabited since the Picts, so that's thousands of years. There's a space in the hillside where it's reported that the Earl Marischal kept a pet lion in the 14th Century. Some of the buildings are falling down, others were built later so they're still standing. Each of the castle ruins that we visited had at least one room that had been recreated in period style. At Dunnottar, it was a sitting room, with a beautiful fireplace. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWa1oyG_0CBv2mcFaCyRSXqox_6XIGIQb-iOJgHyzDTe7HIFdUWNTCyZnCH7NO8qFJNE67PLPbYLQQfbj1Hparh2VQBz540fPkK_At_uEFzVB7EiNqgGYLJ-Qzr_xG0SGL3z8/s1600/Blairgowrie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWa1oyG_0CBv2mcFaCyRSXqox_6XIGIQb-iOJgHyzDTe7HIFdUWNTCyZnCH7NO8qFJNE67PLPbYLQQfbj1Hparh2VQBz540fPkK_At_uEFzVB7EiNqgGYLJ-Qzr_xG0SGL3z8/s200/Blairgowrie.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After we recovered from hiking back down and back up all those stairs to the car, we set off for the hotel. We had decided earlier not to have dinner at Kinloch, so we headed into the town of Blairgowrie. Driving around was a little bit eerie - everything was closed! <i><span style="color: blue;">Yet another place where the sidewalks roll up at 5pm</span></i>. We ended up eating in the restaurant at the Royal Hotel Blairgowrie... we were the only ones in the place. They were having a special, "pint and a pie for </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">£10</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">" so we took them up on it. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the time we left the restaurant, there were people on the streets again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will say that all that fresh air and hiking made for a good night's sleep. We had a lovely breakfast at the hotel on <b>Tuesday</b>, and then we were off driving west. We did want to take the scenic route, but the mapping software accidentally put us on a smaller, narrower road than we intended. <i><span style="color: blue;">[Scotland has M roads (big highways), A roads (2 lane wide roads) and B roads (1 1/2 lane narrow roads).]</span></i> John had a heck of a time with the twists and turns and oncoming trucks! Eek! We rerouted ourselves to an A road as soon as possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we went past Loch Tay, we took a wrong turn (another B road), but this time it was a </span><br />
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good thing - we ended up at the <a href="http://www.crannog.co.uk/">Scottish Crannog Centre</a>. We were just in time to catch the guided tour of the Crannog and try out the ancient tools. A crannog, we found out, is a dwelling that was built as far back as 2500 years ago, on wooden pilings out over the water of the Scottish Lochs. The crannogs were large enough to hold up to 20 people, and their animals! <i><span style="color: blue;">(Must have smelled great...) </span></i>The Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology has studied the remnants of a few of the hundreds of crannogs that may have existed, and rebuilt this one in the style of the originals. We also tried out the primitive lathes, rock drilling and knitting tools, and took a turn through the museum. What an incredible accidental "find!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we were back on our way to Oban, which was still about 2 hours away. We drove through some lovely countryside -- the sun started to come out as we made our way west -- and stopped to take pictures at least once. We also apparently drove through a rut that would cause a problem later... but we didn't know it at the time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found the lovely seaside town of Oban, checked into our hotel <i><span style="color: blue;">(dragging our luggage through a half-dozen fire doors and up two flights of stairs)</span></i>, and went for a walk. It was high season for tourists in Oban - there are boat trips to see otters, seals, and lots of nearby islands, advertised everywhere. After dinner, we wandered back through town and stopped at the <a href="http://www.obanmuseum.org.uk/">War and Peace Museum</a>. The museum started with a display for the 50th anniversary of WWII back in 1995, and grew from there. John spent a lot of time talking to some of the veterans who staff the museum. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sun didn't go down until almost 10pm, and we were in bed with our eye-shades on soon thereafter! We didn't know it yet, but <a href="http://melyssaf.blogspot.com/2015/08/sixteen-days-in-uk-part-4.html">Wednesday</a> would be the most sedentary day of the trip... and not just because we were exhausted. </span></div>
MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-19436597248875998492015-07-30T11:30:00.002-05:002015-08-03T09:12:51.311-05:00Sixteen Days in the UK - part 2 <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part 2: Edinburgh and Scone</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We flew into Edinburgh on <b>Friday</b> evening. The flight was relatively empty, but there were clearly some shenanigans in store - "Marilyn Monroe" and his buddies were on our flight, probably heading for a stag party. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMKBgPQyO7EDy1N6jR4NSi5_lLVclHWZO3nnQsiparKLw-mNJibTwhkIqhz0Y_IlAcYo8lpAlTFFAAwEKa-_9AYm6Lw6e6zgMe1DJd33IezhRTDIVCHmKmhDwDvuJi5Vvr66BB/s1600/Edinb+hotel+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMKBgPQyO7EDy1N6jR4NSi5_lLVclHWZO3nnQsiparKLw-mNJibTwhkIqhz0Y_IlAcYo8lpAlTFFAAwEKa-_9AYm6Lw6e6zgMe1DJd33IezhRTDIVCHmKmhDwDvuJi5Vvr66BB/s200/Edinb+hotel+view.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We figured out how to take the tram into town, picked the tram station that looked like it was the closest one to our hotel, and got off. Edinburgh is beautiful, but I wish someone had warned us in advance about the hills. The path we chose from the tram stop to the hotel, while shortest on the map, took us past the Royal Scottish Academy and the Scottish National Gallery and up a <i>GIANT</i> staircase, over the same hill that the castle is sitting on. Once we made it to the top of the hill, we </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">turned right and took a lovely curved little street (Victoria) back down the hill to the "Old Town" part of the city. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our hotel was on </span><a href="http://www.greatergrassmarket.co.uk/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Grassmarket</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, which is a lovely open space that had been a marketplace back to the 1300's. One side is lined with pubs and restaurants, and the other side has a couple of hotels. The view from our hotel room was worth all of the hiking. (<i><span style="color: blue;">Photo above: Edinburgh castle, left, and the giant stands that they built for the <a href="http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/" target="_blank">Military Tattoo</a>, which are really ugly.</span></i>) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After we recovered from the hike, we went across to the <a href="http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/beehive-inn-lothian/s9884/" target="_blank">Beehive Inn</a> for dinner. We ordered their "favorites" platter, so we got a little bit of fish 'n' chips, sliders, meat pies, and mushy peas. We were soon surrounded by a huge group of guys speaking .... Norwegian? Swedish? German? ... who each ordered the giant fish 'n' chips platter. We finished our tasty vittles and our beers (or cider, in my case - I became a big fan on Strongbow cider on this trip) and went back to the hotel to sleep. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On <b>Saturday</b>, we had breakfast in the room overlooking the castle, and then hopped on the sightseeing tour bus (love those hop-on, hop-off buses!) to go to the <a href="https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/palace-of-holyroodhouse" target="_blank">Palace of Holyroodhouse</a>. This is where the current Queen stays when she's in Edinburgh. This was also the first of many places we visited that had a connection to Mary Queen of Scots. We toured the palace and then the <span style="color: blue;">Holyrood Abbey (right)</span>, which was founded in 1128. The ruins were beautiful. We also went to the exhibit on <a href="https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/news/gold-exhibition-to-open-in-edinburgh" target="_blank">Gold</a> in the Queen's Gallery. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we started another tradition for the trip: we stopped for a bite to eat at the cafe in most of the castles we visited. (<i><span style="color: blue;">Usually because we ate a big breakfast and finally got hungry after all of our touristing!</span></i>) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After Holyrood, we got back on the big bus, and rode all the way around the city to Edinburgh Castle. We could have walked the Royal Mile, but this way we got to see more of the city (and sit for a while). The castle was incredible. So many buildings, with so much history! We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels, and got our first glimpse of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_of_Scone" target="_blank">Stone of Scone</a> in the case with the jewels. Of course, we couldn't take a photo, so we don't know if it was the real thing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the outer ring of the castle, we came upon <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mons_Meg" target="_blank">Mons Meg</a>, a massive cannon that has been there for almost 600 years (<i><span style="color: blue;">left - and those are the cannonballs, next to John's right foot</span></i>)! There was a military history museum, and the Scottish National War Memorial, which was overwhelming. Every regiment that sent fighters to WWI and WWII had a memorial wall carved in stone, and a book with names of soldiers lost. A new book was set out for soldiers lost in Iraq and Afghanistan. (<i><span style="color: blue;">There were quite a few McAlpines in the various books.)</span></i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Castle is so high on the hill, on this impregnable stone, it's easy to see why the location was ideal hundreds of years ago. We couldn't imagine how soldiers in any kind of battle gear would be able to climb the walls. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the time we had seen everything, the castle was closing for the evening, so we walked </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcb09b0F3qu5g0icDVb0jIe8CHewRE4ioJz517VkBUxw4T_IwX8mnFqT8JyO3GoLSeB3dZyKBDc1D1QsLWnwSANwfUj1GoAwm0c7wklFlw5sfR7w5wgTf1uZPtVO5T-4c4Z_k/s1600/WhiteHart+ceiling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcb09b0F3qu5g0icDVb0jIe8CHewRE4ioJz517VkBUxw4T_IwX8mnFqT8JyO3GoLSeB3dZyKBDc1D1QsLWnwSANwfUj1GoAwm0c7wklFlw5sfR7w5wgTf1uZPtVO5T-4c4Z_k/s320/WhiteHart+ceiling.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">down the stairs back to Grassmarket. <i><span style="color: blue;">(I was really glad we hadn't walked UP them...)</span></i> We had to have a little bit of a rest, and then we went back out to a different pub for dinner. The <a href="http://www.greatergrassmarket.co.uk/find/business/the-white-hart-inn" target="_blank">White Hart Inn </a>has a really interesting history - many famous patrons, including Robbie Burns and a clever pair of grave robbers broke bread there. The cellar is supposed to be haunted! </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The mugs hanging from the ceiling <i><span style="color: blue;">(see right) </span></i>apparently contain notes from previous staff members, to be taken down and read by the new staff. We watched a girl climb up and grab one of the notes during dinner. The American couple next to us tried some haggis for an appetizer - they had never heard of it before. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We opted not to have the haggis nachos, but more Guinness and Strongbow hit the spot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sunday</b> we got up and looked for a less hilly way to get to the tram. Turns out that going to the next stop, while it was a slightly longer walk, was mostly flat. So off we went, back to the airport to get our rental car. Yes, that's right, John was going to drive us around Scotland - with a manual transmission - on the wrong side of the road! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We made our way out of the airport and onto the highway, remembering to stay in the slow lane on the *left* side as much as possible. About an hour north of the airport, we followed signs to <a href="http://www.scone-palace.co.uk/" target="_blank">Scone Palace</a>. This is the home of the "Stone of Scone" - or at least, it was the original home. Turns out it's also an <i>actual </i>home - the family still uses the downstairs quarters when they are in the area. It's also the house where Dido lived, and where the painting still hangs. <a href="http://scone-palace.co.uk/dido-elizabeth-belle-her-story-1761-1804" target="_blank">Dido Elizabeth Belle </a>(her story was dramatized in a movie, called "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404181/" target="_blank">Belle</a>") was the daughter of Rear Admiral Sir John Lindsay and a slave woman. Lindsay brought her to live with his uncle, the 1st Earl of Mansfield, who later would be instrumental in ending slavery in England. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAnEoCN4EocrqJs8DvPSaJtDSBKxH_2DDlVr_XZPjstyTeX7TPpTG8kFV-OGW6rt65e8Ryh94t6JRB6Ws0ZoIWJ6awGE6BIaxCaqBSY-wXoL51OVEpCvmpa9dLvo6EVYo8jFB/s1600/vernismartinexample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAnEoCN4EocrqJs8DvPSaJtDSBKxH_2DDlVr_XZPjstyTeX7TPpTG8kFV-OGW6rt65e8Ryh94t6JRB6Ws0ZoIWJ6awGE6BIaxCaqBSY-wXoL51OVEpCvmpa9dLvo6EVYo8jFB/s200/vernismartinexample.jpg" width="184" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inside the palace we saw a couple of display cases with large brown serving pieces and bowls that looked like they were ceramic, but we'd never seen ceramics in such a rich brown color before. The guide told us that they were made of papier mache! <span style="color: blue;"><i>We weren't allowed to take pictures, but this image is in the guidebook</i></span>. There are </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">70+ Vernis Martin papier mache pieces in the collection. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVgYbjHE1MPQ114-pGQm4mROjAhUfYIXpLxyEE_g7mMX5RbDeduqGLd5h5XY-9GJZh0RytGsrclWbNveVVDAtu5Z3l5HQbLzWK6zE4tvT-TKldkDyxgtFppEiqmCkWJexWOw0/s1600/John+on+stone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVgYbjHE1MPQ114-pGQm4mROjAhUfYIXpLxyEE_g7mMX5RbDeduqGLd5h5XY-9GJZh0RytGsrclWbNveVVDAtu5Z3l5HQbLzWK6zE4tvT-TKldkDyxgtFppEiqmCkWJexWOw0/s320/John+on+stone.jpg" width="149" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Outside the Palace, next to the chapel, is the stone. Being a McCalpin, John decided it was high time that his family reclaim the crown of Scotland (Kenneth McAlpine was the first King of the Scots, in 841). <b>So he sat down on the stone and proclaimed himself king.</b> <span style="color: red;"><i>(Looking back on this now, I think he may have "angered the faeries" when he did this, and brought a little bit of bad luck upon us later in the trip.) </i> </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stopped for a sandwich and a scone (of course) in the cafe, and then went on our way to find <a href="http://www.kinlochhouse.com/" target="_blank">Kinloch House</a>, our next hotel. This is one of a few properties in the UK that are part of the Relais et Chateaux group - our honeymoon hotel in Santa Fe was also one of these. Needless to say, two nights in a country hunting lodge were a little bit different! </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8IlsycxzEL-s08-ehjw_3hojVZg7-mc7DYf-TfeP2YrHaNzRPCRlepeKEthfcrtskc8__ESR2bEbjncC9tkiQwxRFgBcyf_GYNz8cpyJJ_Tw9AwX_OtJMEIRG7ky-MOsmIHG/s1600/garden-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8IlsycxzEL-s08-ehjw_3hojVZg7-mc7DYf-TfeP2YrHaNzRPCRlepeKEthfcrtskc8__ESR2bEbjncC9tkiQwxRFgBcyf_GYNz8cpyJJ_Tw9AwX_OtJMEIRG7ky-MOsmIHG/s200/garden-sm.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were slightly disappointed that there was no air conditioning, and in fact no real way to move air in the room at all. We left the windows open as much as possible. But the room was lovely and the bathroom was huge - and strangely, covered in mirrors. The lodge has a beautiful walled garden up the hill in the woods, so we went exploring. We chatted with the gardener for a while, and took some pictures. Then it was time to go back and freshen up for dinner. They served an amazing three course meal (not inexpensive) - this is the kind of place where they reserve a table for you automatically, and you have to specify that you won't be there. We chose to have dinner elsewhere the next night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having exhausted ourselves from driving and castles and excellent food, we went to bed. Monday would bring a whole new kind of adventure: <a href="http://melyssaf.blogspot.com/2015/08/sixteen-days-in-uk-part-3.html">Laundry day!</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-77655338906920309132015-07-29T20:24:00.001-05:002015-08-03T09:12:41.125-05:00Sixteen Days in the UK <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I start writing about the amazing castles and wonderful places we visited across the pond, I have to talk about the pre-trip craziness. We almost didn't go! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In mid-June, I came down with a stomach bug... I thought it was something I ate, but I have since heard that others caught it from something in the water. This is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. But then, because I was eating what I thought was the right thing - the BRAT diet, mostly - for the better part of three weeks, my gall bladder got cranky. So then I was taking antibiotics for the stomach issue plus antispasmodics. And still feeling awful, and working from home. To add insult to illness, on the Thursday before we left, I went out to run some errands, and got rear-ended at the traffic light a mile from our house! Now, the kid was not moving fast - he was already stopped, but his foot slipped - so it didn't do much damage. I took his info, but really, he was so young and earnest (damn those puppy dog eyes) and the damage was so minimal, I'm really not going to bother. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now, on with the trip: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Part I: London & Oxford</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We left on July 4th. I was so excited to go back to London, I was willing to miss the fireworks and fun on my favorite holiday. And BA now has a direct flight from Austin! When we got in on <b>Sunday</b> morning, we met up with mom at the airport, and headed into town on the tube. It was warm in London, but we seem to have missed the "heat wave" they were having the week before. We were staying at a two bedroom apartment that I found on Airbnb, and the owner was nice enough to let us come in early, while she was still cleaning up from the last visitors. So far so good, right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well... at this point we discovered that this first floor apartment at the back of the building overlooked the tube tracks, about 40 feet below us. And since there was no air conditioning, we had to keep the windows open. And the trains run every 3-5 minutes. Sometimes it was so loud we couldn't hear the TV. [<i><span style="color: #444444;">Apparently I missed that part on the AirBnB reviews -- I definitely added it to mine!</span></i>] On the plus side, we were also right above the Sainsbury, so we could get groceries and supplies. By supplies, I mean, we bought a wine bottle opener because although the host left us a bottle of wine as a "welcome" gift, her kitchen didn't have an opener. No wonder the last guests didn't drink it!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV30O3CWYP-E8dkrKAiqTvT2d1jeCYWwqvVb7O-JGxLCCKEW0ZC9IwUC4Ejp8p_a0LiJW-lQ2fBrBOnK7XiWme1DG7Fa-AZzBrz7uG6LP8qJAsJlztNulVjGQVoCAK0Pvlh8bR/s1600/Mom-Vicki+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV30O3CWYP-E8dkrKAiqTvT2d1jeCYWwqvVb7O-JGxLCCKEW0ZC9IwUC4Ejp8p_a0LiJW-lQ2fBrBOnK7XiWme1DG7Fa-AZzBrz7uG6LP8qJAsJlztNulVjGQVoCAK0Pvlh8bR/s200/Mom-Vicki+small.jpg" title="Mom & Victoria at Kensington" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a quick rest, we went out wandering - trying to stay awake as long as possible - and ended up at <a href="http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/" target="_blank">Kensington Palace</a>. I was really feeling weird, but we sat outside and had some water and snacks in the garden. <i><span style="color: blue;">Here's mom and "Vicki" at the palace.</span></i> We had dinner at a kebab place in Earls Court that mom likes, and then went back to crash. I will say, it was nice to watch Wimbledon in real time. I was rooting for Andy Murray, because we were going to be in Scotland by the time the finals were on. Sadly, he didn't make it that far. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Monday</b> morning we took the tube to Covent Garden for the standard Monday morning Fratkin family activity: the <a href="http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/2000235-covent-garden-market" target="_blank">Covent Garden flea market</a>. It was surprisingly empty, but it was fun to look around. I bought some "Keep Calm and Carry On" socks. I was very conscious of the fact that we still had two weeks of travel ahead, and I didn't need to carry anything extra! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnXhmKFWLv-P3MjQA8NQZ0-AuOoKT0icbqNzc5GvUeFBT0Xj7CX2LdCAgdoZRnj9a18l00GbqFVjZ6-pEV5s7yH_RlVnVi1ri2w0QvDu5SR38iVb7dVLRVPYggI7HAfSNd3Kh/s1600/Band+Buckingham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnXhmKFWLv-P3MjQA8NQZ0-AuOoKT0icbqNzc5GvUeFBT0Xj7CX2LdCAgdoZRnj9a18l00GbqFVjZ6-pEV5s7yH_RlVnVi1ri2w0QvDu5SR38iVb7dVLRVPYggI7HAfSNd3Kh/s320/Band+Buckingham.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We walked from CG through Leicester Square and past one of the antique shops where mom knows the proprietor. We stopped for a chat, and then headed down to the Mall, to see the tail end of the Changing of the Guard. Standing on the Mall sidewalk about 500 ft from the circle in front of Buckingham Palace, some of the guards passed us on their way in, and the band passed us on the way out, so we got to see enough, and we didn't have to cram in like sardines with all the other tourists. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe8yYtgdg5iREzJ73Cyuu8-o4pREjsJJSA45AI1D3cTYB_IqoLl501buOEm_jAu6qbeK2yUwoqCZQcY2iXc7nEoItrSSGWMd4P0_gux9KFzd_pgx9GotW6zIy3JqZ4w3OT4pb/s1600/Dragon+cannon+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe8yYtgdg5iREzJ73Cyuu8-o4pREjsJJSA45AI1D3cTYB_IqoLl501buOEm_jAu6qbeK2yUwoqCZQcY2iXc7nEoItrSSGWMd4P0_gux9KFzd_pgx9GotW6zIy3JqZ4w3OT4pb/s200/Dragon+cannon+sm.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After lunch, John and I went off to visit the Churchill War Rooms. Unfortunately, everyone else on the planet also wanted to go to the War Rooms after lunch, so we skipped it. We walked along St. James' park, past the Ivy Lodge, the Guards Division Memorial, and across into the Horse Guards parade area. I never noticed the two giant cannons on either side of the park, but of course John did. </span><i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[Photo of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1diz_Memorial" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Cadiz Memorial</a>, <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">right]</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we walked across to Victoria Embankment, and along the Thames up to Westminster. We took pictures of the London Eye, but we didn't really feel the need to go on it. After some ice cream and photos of Big Ben, we took the tube back to the apartment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dinner was leftovers from the kebab place the night before, with some rice and naan and salad from Sainsbury. I will say that the UK supermarkets carry a wonderful arrangement of individual or small portions of tasty things. I think it's partly convenience, and partly the fact that homes in London tend to be small and have very small kitchens. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIeie3VZhBVPgWp8JugoVK0_rfgphB2c7KLkZz4SoMV640CbkxOfxa5GbCZU9mkZobnvS00Iba_hASbRaF_85QO-LC2LDmZqRtgqDAPzF0u-vVaUcGFNXZ2mQaMz17mXNVZ3J/s1600/JM+MF+IWM-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIeie3VZhBVPgWp8JugoVK0_rfgphB2c7KLkZz4SoMV640CbkxOfxa5GbCZU9mkZobnvS00Iba_hASbRaF_85QO-LC2LDmZqRtgqDAPzF0u-vVaUcGFNXZ2mQaMz17mXNVZ3J/s200/JM+MF+IWM-sm.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>By Tuesday, </b>w</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">e learned that the tube stops running at midnight and starts again at 6am. Even with earplugs, it's hard to sleep through that, but we tried. The only thing on Tuesday's agenda was the<a href="http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london" target="_blank"> Imperial War Museum</a>. <i>[Requisite photo with the big guns, left</i>.] As it happened, we were on the tube at 11am, on the 10-year anniversary of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">London bombings</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. We didn't realize until halfway there, when it dawned on us that there were very few people on the tube. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The museum was full of school kids in uniforms, but we managed to avoid them most of the time. It has been completely redone since the last time I was there, and they have added displays about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Really sobering. We didn't even get all the way through the museum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stopped for lunch at a pub, and I discovered a wonderful drink - <a href="http://www.drinkfentimans.com/#!rose-lemonade/c23br" target="_blank">Fentiman's Rose Lemonade</a>. It's pink and bubbly but not sweet. I'm thinking I might have to get some (World Markets here I come)... and probably mix it with gin. :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finally felt well enough to eat Indian food, so we met the whole CASC group at <a href="http://www.noorjahanrestaurants.co.uk/" target="_blank">Noor Jahan</a>, which the Fratkins have been visiting on every trip for at least a decade. It was extra tasty, particularly since I'd been eating so blandly for so long. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Wednesday,</b> we were u</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">p and out early, because we had to catch a bus to get up to Oxford for the CASC-UK HPC Meeting. We took a taxi to Victoria, and the bus comes every 20 minutes or so. Being tourists, we rode upstairs at the front window, and marveled at how the bus driver managed to squeeze between and get around things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we got to Oxford the gloomy weather was brightening up. On the way to the hotel, we cut down a side street and I could swear I recognized the scenery from an episode of "<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/inspector-lewis/" target="_blank">Inspector Lewis</a>" on BBC. Turns out I was right - and not only that, they were there FILMING! They called for quiet, and since our suitcases made way too much noise on the cobblestones, we stopped and waited. They filmed the scene, and then people could move again, so we continued on our way. We walked right by Laurence Fox (DI Hathaway)! He's just as good looking in person as he is on TV. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thebutteryhotel.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Buttery hotel</a> is also a cafe (and the meeting point for most of the walking tours of Oxford). They gave us the room just opposite registration, so we were looking out over the street and the tourists. They also gave us a standalone A/C unit, so the room was cool enough, and the tourist noise mostly stopped after dark. Of course, "after dark" is close to 10pm up there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went out wandering and got a quick lunch, and then I had to report to the meeting at the eResearch Center. John got his bearings in Oxford, and then he joined us for a nice dinner at <a href="http://www.kellogg.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Kellogg College</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Thursday,</b> I spent the day at the meeting, and John got to be a tourist. When I saw all of his pictures, I was jealous. There are dozens of colleges and universities in Oxford, many of which are older than the United States. We'll have to go back. The meeting continued on <b>Friday </b>morning, and then we hustled over to the coach station to catch the bus directly to Heathrow. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a nice lunch at the airport - Terminal 2 is fancy! - and then we were off to Edinburgh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://melyssaf.blogspot.com/2015/07/sixteen-days-in-uk-part-2.html" target="_blank">Edinburgh - read next post</a></span>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-75899816220577881462013-09-02T14:54:00.000-05:002013-09-02T14:54:13.851-05:00West Texas travels - part 3<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Homeward Bound </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got up at 8 – I smelled bacon! – and showered and went
into the main house for breakfast. The Inn’s cook made us breakfast (we never
got their names!) – scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns and Canadian bacon.
Here, at least, the coffee was better. We were the only people staying in the
house, so the staff sat and chatted with us for a while. We got an impromptu
history lesson about Fort Davis – one woman’s mother had worked in town for
Harvard University’s radio telescope astronomers (and that is why there’s a
Harvard Hotel in town!) so she had been there since the late 50’s. She talked
about how different it was once the NPS took over the Fort itself – kids used
to go and climb on the ruins, etc. She also told us that there are four foreign
exchange students staying in the house, and one of them is the Polish kid that
we’d seen at Murphy’s and the Drugstore.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(aha!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had to stop at the <a href="http://www.allpecans.com/" target="_blank">Davis Mountain Nut Co.</a> store in
town – we’d had their “mocha madness” pecans from the McDonald Observatory cafe
and wanted more. We tasted a few things
and bought a bag for home and a bag for the office. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pEHeOv9OppafKbDUj7rqPzblwt3j05sY2mNYt67k0Rni1X8RsgVe3Ttfnf3CaE91exikqCIVbE_AZGh3ur-DBJd1kyWXLwa6ztTisezj9wSoeN7F5ZSN39yr5RIViRzVuqqQ/s1600/P8230322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pEHeOv9OppafKbDUj7rqPzblwt3j05sY2mNYt67k0Rni1X8RsgVe3Ttfnf3CaE91exikqCIVbE_AZGh3ur-DBJd1kyWXLwa6ztTisezj9wSoeN7F5ZSN39yr5RIViRzVuqqQ/s320/P8230322.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we drove north 33 miles to the natural springs at
San Solomon, called Balmorhea (pronounced BAL-more-ay – the lady at the Inn was
very impressed that I did that correctly). It’s 20 to 25 ft deep in some
places, and it’s chilly! There are fish swimming around, and the bottom is
mossy and uneven. I stuck my feet in,
but that was enough. We decided we’d
swim there another time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9bVNrfjPtiT9UTvf8RhH80miOsr9sZtRGMHPbGkaE_J2qi3lK6EQr9xIEJXjx7LuSjJ-GwcnjDYCVqlleKVcHBAhwwGQgB1wwMTqzfmIbau6x1H4gvVWFlOXp_qm-1eWeoR0/s1600/P8230326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9bVNrfjPtiT9UTvf8RhH80miOsr9sZtRGMHPbGkaE_J2qi3lK6EQr9xIEJXjx7LuSjJ-GwcnjDYCVqlleKVcHBAhwwGQgB1wwMTqzfmIbau6x1H4gvVWFlOXp_qm-1eWeoR0/s320/P8230326.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got on I-10, and headed east, toward home. We decided
we’d get lunch when we got to Fort Stockton. I wanted to go into town to see
<a href="http://historicfortstocktontx.com/attractions-2/paisano-pete-fort-stockton/" target="_blank">“Paisano Pete”</a> the largest road runner in the world. (57 miles) (He’s 11 feet
high.) We passed up a bunch of food places, because we thought we’d go into “Historic
Fort Stockton” and find a place to eat, like we did with Mason and Ft. Davis.
But Fort Stockton’s historic district just looked dead. We did get out and
check out the courthouse area, and the Zero Stone - a marker placed in 1847, used
as the zero reference point for subsequent surveys of the western part of the
state. But then we just got back on the
road. We stopped for gas in the same place that we had limped into on Monday
afternoon, and bought some snacks to hold us over until we could find real
food. (If DQ counts as real food...)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I drove some of the last bit, from our lunch stop in
Ozona, 90 miles to Junction, where we got off I-10 and onto the smaller roads.
Unfortunately, the part I chose to drive was also when we rode into the black
clouds, lightning and thunder we had been watching all day. A few drops of rain
would turn into a downpour, and a mile later would be all gone, and a mile
after that another downpour. For about 20 miles, up and down the steep grades.
It was exhausting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We passed a lot of churches on our drive last week, and
clearly the most popular denomination in west Texas is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_church" target="_blank">Cowboy</a>. Turns out these
churches aren’t just for humans – “Some cowboy churches have covered arenas
where rodeo events such as bull riding, team roping, ranch sorting, team
penning and equestrian events are held on weeknights.” And there are over 200 of them in Texas now. <b>(Lesson
#11 – a lot of Cowboys go to church!) </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last leg of the trip was uneventful, and we were glad
to see that most of the traffic was going the other direction. (Traffic! We
finally had other cars to contend with!)
Made it home around 7pm. Sadly, we had forgotten just how HOT it is in
Austin in August. We were so spoiled. Sigh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now… laundry!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage, day
5: 443 miles, ~9 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage
overall: 1,255 miles </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Here's the <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/iktKY" target="_blank">map of our route home. </a></b></span></div>
MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-53287232728367182013-09-02T14:46:00.003-05:002013-09-02T14:46:42.726-05:00West Texas travels - part 2<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 3: McDonald Observatory </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOojG1dV8C5LqBI6F6vukA0tJTuFJY5p72_Bt22jPQWYCSJFXGp-v8ezeXM2Z2hDNnbdS2VaolziyDEAhYSRcTlEh4AHkmkF0Qmysh_eGTa0B7m_WIX9gQKG0-VFYHskjTD3LX/s1600/P8210287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOojG1dV8C5LqBI6F6vukA0tJTuFJY5p72_Bt22jPQWYCSJFXGp-v8ezeXM2Z2hDNnbdS2VaolziyDEAhYSRcTlEh4AHkmkF0Qmysh_eGTa0B7m_WIX9gQKG0-VFYHskjTD3LX/s320/P8210287.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wednesday morning, we started with some instant oatmeal in our room, rather than trying to hunt for a breakfast spot again. And here we come to<b> lesson #4: The coffee in west Texas
sucks</b>. Granted, it was hotel room
coffee, but even the stuff from the lobby was bad. Even Alice’s coffee on Tuesday
was bad. And the trend continued through McDonald and Fort Davis. Or maybe I’m
just spoiled by the awesome coffee maker we have at home, and the ready access
to Starbucks, which hasn’t made it out to Marfa yet. Just sayin’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stopped in the gift shop for a Marfa t-shirt, and we
set off to the north for <a href="http://www.fortdavis.com/index.html" target="_blank">Fort Davis</a> and the <a href="http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/" target="_blank">McDonald Observatory</a>. We stopped
for lunch in Fort Davis at Murphy’s and had subs. They were really good. We
also learned<b> lesson #5: everything comes with a bag of Lay’s potato chips.</b> At first, I ate them, but later in the trip
we just started hanging on to them, and came home with 4 bags in our “snack
sack,” which accumulated munchies as the week went on. From Marfa to Fort Davis, it's only 21 miles. At the restaurant, we picked up a map of town
that was sponsored by a store called Fort Davis Outfitters, which looked like
the modern equivalent of a General Store, so we had to check it out. It was
exactly that – they had everything from cosmetics to cowboy boots to kitchen
gadgets to car repair kits, and everything in between – except Lactaid! We
spent a long time talking to the proprietor, who moved down with his wife from
New Hampshire and opened the store at the end of last year. They’ve got a 50
page list of new items that they’re going to start carrying, and he added Lactaid
pills to the list. He did have something
I needed, though – I bought a new cosmetics bag to replace the minty one. The proprietor, even though he had moved down
from New Hampshire, was an Aggie (graduated a few years before John). <b>Lesson
#6: Outside of Austin, there are a LOT of Aggies around!</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We drove through town (tiny, at 1211 people) and passed
the actual fort for which Fort Davis is named – we’ll be back there on Thursday
– and started the drive up to the Observatory. The
weather was fabulous – 80 degrees and sunny. We drove with the windows down!
(This made it a lot easier to stop and take photos of the mountains, too.) We
got to the Visitors Center (16 miles) just in time for our 2:30 tour. First we
learned about the sun. They have a telescope that just looks at the sun, and
the tour guide (Rachel) showed us a live image, so we could see the sun spots. My
lack of coffee was starting to take its toll, but then it was time to head up
the mountain! First stop, the 107” <a href="http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/research/telescopes/HJSmith" target="_blank">Harlan J. Smith telescope</a>, on Mount Locke –
6790 ft elevation. We climbed the stairs to the floor of the telescope dome
(whew, 50 steps at that elevation was rough) and learned about how the
telescope works, the mirrors, and how it takes in spectral information and the
scientists review it. The kids on our
tour got to move the telescope to different points; when there were no more
kids to volunteer, I got to take the controls and rotate the dome itself! So
cool! The view from the telescope area
is also amazing – Rachel pointed south to where, on a really clear day like the
one we were having, you can see all the way to Mexico. And somewhere in Mexico,
they can see “la montaña con dos huevos” :) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we went over to the <a href="http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/research/telescopes/HET" target="_blank">Hobby-Everly telescope</a>, 6,640
feet up, atop Mount Fowlkes. This one is very different from the 107” telescope – instead of one big tube
with a mirror, it’s made up of 91 hexagonal mirrors, and is 433 inches across.
It was also built for a lot less money than other modern telescopes,
re-purposing previously used technologies like a radar dome, and the kind of
metal frames that are used in construction. The dome panels were covered by
hand with silver tape to reflect more light – you can see the stripes of silver
on the outside. They are currently doing some modifications to the mirror base,
widening it so it can participate in the HETDEX project. When we looked through
the glass in the HET visitors’ center, they were bringing a cherry-picker down
from its lofty position, rotating the telescope at the same time. It had to be
done really carefully – it was like a ballet! I also noticed that of the five
people working in the telescope room, three were women. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the tour, we drove back around to the Mt. Locke
side and checked in to the Astronomers’ Lodge. It’s where all of the visiting
scientists stay when they come to do research at McD. There are signs
everywhere warning you to turn lights off, and there are blackout shades in
every room. Unfortunately, I don’t think the décor in the lodge has changed
much since the 70’s. The room was sparse, and the bed was uncomfortable, but
they had amazing water pressure. Not the best wireless access either (we were
hoping for a UT connection, but alas…) but it was enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8VIYxDYZCmi7NqoItZrk5OpGMQj7sLv5ErDImVEbTN140TZu9Dq_REuwV0W7uYyhBRxec7N2J4m_Gj9ARqSwGDeOlBr2Qd4yqdytNg76NqfRs9XA2yC9ry0NeD1cF76sVKoD6/s1600/P8210289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8VIYxDYZCmi7NqoItZrk5OpGMQj7sLv5ErDImVEbTN140TZu9Dq_REuwV0W7uYyhBRxec7N2J4m_Gj9ARqSwGDeOlBr2Qd4yqdytNg76NqfRs9XA2yC9ry0NeD1cF76sVKoD6/s320/P8210289.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dinner was with our tour group for the special viewing at
the 107” telescope. The lodge provides three meals a day for the staff and
scientists, as well as items you can take to go, like peanut butter & jelly
sandwiches and fruit. It turned out we
were really lucky to have gone on the earlier tour – there were a lot of people
in our later group who didn’t know as much about the Observatory or how it
worked. Our evening guide took us back
up to the same seats in front of the Smith telescope, but he gave us a
presentation on Spectroscopy, which is mostly what the two instruments at
McDonald are used for. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we had a presentation by an astronomy grad student,
who also had been sitting with us at dinner. He was a very bright guy, but he
had a strong stutter. During dinner, when people would ask questions about the
telescope, I was able to answer them, so he didn’t have to. But he had to give
his presentation to the group. There were times when you could tell he really
loved his work, so he didn’t stutter. He said if he had to choose, he’d go on
being a researcher instead of a professor… I totally understand why. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, in order to equalize the temperature in
the room, when they start moving the telescope they open the doors on both
sides, and it got COLD up there with the wind blowing! But we got to go into the monitoring room and
look through an eyepiece and see Saturn! You could see it as a tiny bright dot
with the naked eye, but through the telescope, it filled the view! That was my
favorite moment, I think. They also brought up two Messier objects, which John
had shown me earlier – the M13 globular cluster, and M57, the ring nebula. We were looking in an area of the sky that
was very near Cygnus, which is where the “Melyssa” star is, but we couldn’t ask
them to find it – there were too many people there. The full moon was also
beautiful, but it was too cold for me to stand out there and look for very
long. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The full moon was useful, though, because we had to walk
back down to the lodge in the dark. :) We grabbed some cookies and went to bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage, day 3: ~17 miles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage overall:
750 miles </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/J2d84" target="_blank">map of our route </a></span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 4: Scenic Loop to Fort Davis </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxW8KhF8xZZH3VLCBzHtLJIDtaO07KBzS0eO7P0v449tpS00ZB3QwmZqBWTRGEGHiIuNYcUkelRxgzfhE2lsStXehwTHY_TfTF8Qkf12iqY2A8An1BQSkXxv76-xBX1LPWajzn/s1600/P8220309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxW8KhF8xZZH3VLCBzHtLJIDtaO07KBzS0eO7P0v449tpS00ZB3QwmZqBWTRGEGHiIuNYcUkelRxgzfhE2lsStXehwTHY_TfTF8Qkf12iqY2A8An1BQSkXxv76-xBX1LPWajzn/s320/P8220309.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn’t hard to sleep in a room that was pitch black
(with the exception of my phone battery charger, which makes a handy
night-light), and I was exhausted. We ate breakfast with some of the same
folks from our tour, and made ourselves some PB&Js to have later. We decided to do the “Scenic Loop” drive
around the Fort Davis mountains, which leaves from McDonald and goes
counter-clockwise, ending up back at the road into town (near Murphy’s). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, though, we stopped back at the McDonald Visitors’
Center to see the exhibits (which we’d missed before our tour) and do some
shopping. Turns out we didn’t miss much
-- the exhibits are kind of dated and over-used. But there was a plaque on the wall thanking
everyone who had been involved in creating the exhibits, and the first name on
the list was Brad Armosky. I’ll have to send him a note. John got a t-shirt and a shot glass with the
observatory logo, and we were off! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here again, we were the only car on the road most of the
time, and with the speed limit at 45 (lots of twists and turns and rolling
hills), we drove with the windows down. It was beautiful. We stopped in the
middle of the road to take pictures a lot, because … there was nobody else
there! We kept seeing signs for a “Wildlife Viewing Area” – all the way around
the loop – that never really materialized. <b>(Lesson #7: there is no wildlife
viewing area; or, alternatively, the whole loop is a WVA. We haven’t decided
which</b>.) With the windows open, we kept
hearing a popping noise, but we thought it was just the tires on rocks or
gravel, until John pointed out what became lesson<b> #8: Grasshoppers (especially
the giant, west Texas kind) make a loud popping noise when you run over them.</b>
(eeeeewwwwww) Scenic Loop: ~60
miles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also drove over a lot of cattle grates on the scenic
loop. There are a lot of ranches out there, and the cattle are just roaming the
hills. Some goats, too, but mostly cattle. We saw a few on the wrong side (road
side) of fences, but they were content to stay put. We kept thinking if we were
seeing sheep, rather than cattle, we could be in Scotland. (Well, aside from
the large palm-like succulents growing everywhere.) It’s that green!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just as we were pulling up in the parking lot of the Fort
Davis National Historic site, the black clouds overhead opened up, so we sat in
the car and ate our PB&J’s and hard boiled eggs, and waited. We probably
sat there for about 20 minutes, using the convenient Park Service wireless.
Between the slowing rain and my need to find a restroom, it was time to get
out. We went to the visitors center and got a map of the site, and some
background info. It turns out that the Buffalo soldiers were once stationed at
Fort Davis. The first black man ever to graduate from West Point,<a href="http://www.nps.gov/foda/historyculture/secondlieutenanthenryflipper.htm" target="_blank"> Henry O.Flipper</a>, was also stationed there, but he was court-martialed for embezzlement
(even though he was not guilty) and dishonorably discharged in 1882. (He was
posthumously pardoned by President Clinton in 1999.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They have restored a few of the buildings, and have
marked off the ruins of others. We stopped in the Commissary, the Hospital, and
the Officers’ Quarters. John found the Magazine (complete with boxes of ammo) way
out behind the hospital, too. The
scenery is just breathtaking – all of these buildings were constructed at the
base of a huge mountain, along what used to be the San Antonio-El Paso road.
The road isn't there anymore, it’s mostly dirt and overgrown, but there are
signs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After walking around the site in the sun and occasional
rain shower, it was time to go check in to our last hotel. We had driven by it
a few times already, the Davis Mountain Inn.
A lovely blue house that would've had a perfect backdrop, except for the
RV park that seems to have sprung up next to it. Ah well. It’s a lovely
B&B, with a big kitchen, rooms that hold a total of 12 guests, a large
living room, and more cookies! <b>(Lesson #9, chocolate chip cookies are
everywhere. Always grab one when presented with the opportunity!)</b> Our room was
the one with the king bed, giant spa bathtub, and equally huge tiled shower. We
were in heaven. I think my bedroom growing up was smaller than the walk-in
closet. (2 miles from the Fort) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkK4yu9MOQvSceUenrF-NzbkYlBgWOz3i1deh6AHBRRMqB1gBdQUBn6haqlV0y9KRA1wUs9aUGywGThIQWEPXEU9uDHTVwNFRIr3Z7_oDiT9lTGfAJD2FhmNPuvOj-YV9ncEa/s1600/86100021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkK4yu9MOQvSceUenrF-NzbkYlBgWOz3i1deh6AHBRRMqB1gBdQUBn6haqlV0y9KRA1wUs9aUGywGThIQWEPXEU9uDHTVwNFRIr3Z7_oDiT9lTGfAJD2FhmNPuvOj-YV9ncEa/s320/86100021.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We rested for a bit – John spent too much time out in the
sun, and it took its toll – and then we decided to go to the<a href="http://www.fortdavisdrugstore.net/" target="_blank"> Fort Davis Drug Store</a> for dinner. It has a long history – the original
drugstore opened across the street from where it is now, in 1913. It moved in
1950, and has been in the same spot ever since. The food is traditional Texan –
meat, meat and more meat. John had chicken-fried-steak, and I had a ½ lb burger
that almost took over the table! And
since it’s an ice cream parlor, we had to have dessert too. I was worried that
I didn’t have enough Lactaid pills, but they sell it (individual pill packets
for $0.50 each) behind the counter! <b>Lesson #10: Every ice cream shop should
sell Lactaid!</b> So I got to have a nice
big scoop of mint chocolate chip. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also noticed that the young guy who waited on us at
Murphy’s on Wednesday afternoon was there at the Drug Store on Thursday night.
We learned more about him the next day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we <a href="http://www.fortdavis.com/walking%20tour/walkingtour.pdf" target="_blank">walked around the “center” of town</a> – the square,
which has the County Courthouse, the library, the state bank, and the Hotel
Limpia. We looked in the bank window, and it still has the old fashioned teller
windows… if I were going to film a bank robbery movie in a small town, I’d use
this town! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was enough of an evening for us, so we went back to
the Inn, watched some tv and went to bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage, day 4: ~62 miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage overall: 812 miles <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a<a href="http://goo.gl/maps/WuHkB" target="_blank"> map of our route</a></span></div>
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MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-25947159824430928922013-09-02T14:21:00.000-05:002013-09-02T14:44:36.697-05:00West Texas travels - part 1 <div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marfa, McDonald and Beyond</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the wonderful trip John planned for me for my
birthday (6 months ago) and only revealed in early July. When he had the idea
in February, the first time the tickets were available to the special viewing
at the 107” telescope at McDonald was August 21. So that became the central
event around which the trip was built. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We left on Monday and started the drive west. We stopped
for lunch in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason,_Texas" target="_blank">Mason, TX</a> – a quaint little town with a population of 2,104. The
town’s claim to fame is that the largest blue topaz found in the US was
discovered there. But of course that museum was closed on Mondays. (We
should’ve sensed a theme…) We had lunch and looked around a bit, added a little
gas to the tank, and got back on the road. (114 miles) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turns out Mason was exactly half-way to our first planned
vacation destination, the <a href="http://cavernsofsonora.com/" target="_blank">Caverns of Sonora</a>, in Sonora, TX (114 miles). The caverns are a National Natural Landmark.
The cave was warm and muggy (98% humidity), and there were about 360 steps to
climb (up and down) throughout the tour, which meanders for almost 2 hours over
2 miles of caves. The tours here are a
lot less practiced and formal than the tours at Luray – partly because it’s not
a National Park Service site. No uniforms – Bill, our guide, wore a t-shirt and
jeans. There were exactly 3 people working there that day, so they were
alternating tours. The caves are amazing; formed by gas, there are very
different formations here, including helictites that stick out at odd angles
from the walls or the ceilings. The most famous one at Sonora, which formed as
the shape of a butterfly, was vandalized by someone on a tour in 2006.
(Bill told us they think they’ve caught the person, and really want him to
bring back the piece that he took!) In
Texas, it’s a jailable offense to vandalize caves and cave formations, so the
thief is in trouble either way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had some ice cream (had to recover from the heat of
the cave!) and headed further west. If you’re counting the miles we’ve driven
and thinking about our gas mileage, you may understand the mild panic we were beginning
to feel as we got closer to Fort Stockton. We were now getting into the higher
elevations (and going up and down mountains), so we pretty much made it to the
gas station on fumes! (141 miles) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On our drive west from Austin, particularly on Route 29,
we crossed a lot of creeks. They were, with one or two exceptions, all bone
dry. And had been for some time. <b> Lesson
#1: Just because it’s called a “creek” doesn’t mean there’s any water there.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From Fort Stockton, we went south to Alpine, in search of
dinner. There’s one really nice restaurant in Alpine, called Reata.
Unfortunately, Reata was closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for renovations.
Sigh. So we quickly looked up another
restaurant, but we found it at 8:15 and they were closing at 8:30. Sigh. Where
did we eat dinner, on our first night of vacation? Subway. Well, it was food. And we didn’t want to wait
til we got to Marfa to eat, fearing that everything would be closed. (67 miles)
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turns out, we were smart not to wait for Marfa for dinner…
we were right, everything was closed! We checked in to the <a href="http://www.hotelpaisano.com/" target="_blank">El Paisano Hotel</a>, which
is where Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean (and the whole crew) stayed when they
were filming “Giant.” It’s charming.
John got us a suite facing the courtyard and fountain. The room bizarrely had
two levels – the kitchen and sofa on one level, and the bed and bathroom up 2
brick steps on a higher level platform (that creaked like crazy). The accents in the room were interesting,
including a small stained glass triangle window with a fleur de lis above the
bathroom door – which was also ringed in bricks. We had two sets of French doors looking out
over the patio. It was really lovely. Fortunately the hotel has (weak) wireless
access – <b>lesson #2: cell phone service is awful out there.</b> (26 miles) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I went to unpack my toiletries, I noticed that
everything was a little wet and smelled minty. What do you know? My small
bottle of mouthwash – the only thing not in an additional plastic bag – had
opened and leaked out all over everything. Fortunately it was clear, not
green…but everything had to be taken out of the bag and wiped off. I’m just lucky my library book didn’t get a
minty makeover! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage day 1: 463 miles (plus a few extra driving
around Alpine, looking for dinner). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total time: 11 hours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/YZafn" target="_blank">Map of our route</a> </span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 2 – Big Bend </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We slept late and lounged around for a while, and then
decided to go find breakfast. Here’s where we learned<b> lesson # 3: Marfa is only
open on the weekends.</b> Everything we tried, including places that had been
highly recommended, was closed on M-T-W.
We finally found a little hole-in-the-wall place (Alice’s Restaurant)
serving breakfast burritos. We weren’t
the only people in the place -- two Border Patrol guys were enjoying their
breakfast, so we figured it had to be good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We thought we’d have to choose between going to the art
museums in Marfa and going to Big Bend, but with lesson #3 in full effect, the
decision was made for us. Big Bend, here we come! We packed up our gear and set off. First stop, gas and lunch in Marathon. We
bought burgers at the gas station grill. (I eat at Rudy’s all the time, so why
should eating lunch from a gas station bother me?) We took it to go and set off
for the park. (56 miles to Marathon) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basically, from Marathon, you drive straight south to Big
Bend. It’s very long and flat, but the mountains in the distance are gorgeous.
I had no idea that there were big mountain ranges like this in Texas! It really
doesn’t look like what people imagine west Texas to look like – or what you see
in the movies -- with big saguaro cactus, dry earth and rolling tumbleweeds. There
were lots of little cacti, and low scrub brush as far as the eye could see. And
it was actually GREEN! (40 miles to Big Bend) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was nobody on the road with us for most of the trip
– not just to Big Bend, but in general – I think we were passed once on the
highway on Monday, and only saw one other car on the way to Big Bend. Halfway
to the park, there’s a Border Patrol check point, with lots of cameras
recording who comes and goes, but we didn’t have to stop. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we got to the park, it also seemed deserted. The
entry gate was unmanned, with a sign to pay for your park pass at one of the
three visitor stations. The first visitor station, right inside the gate, was
closed for lunch (it was 1:45, and they were reopening at 2pm, but we didn’t
want to wait). So we drove on to the
next station, Panther Junction, which is roughly in the center of the park,
about 26 miles in. The hills started getting steeper, and the vegetation was
more desert-like. The rock formations were amazing. We talked to the Park
Rangers at Panther, ate our burgers, and decided to head for Chisos Basin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[There was a <i>teeny</i>
bit of cell service at the park, so I got a call back from Cochineal restaurant
in Marfa, offering us a dinner reservation time of 8:15pm. This turned out to
be perfect – if it had been earlier, I don’t think we would’ve made it back in
time.] <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most famous pictures you see of Big Bend are of Casa
Grande Mountain, and are usually taken from Chisos Basin (9 miles into the
park). We went on one of the shorter
hikes into the basin area, and caught sight of a roadrunner, who walked ahead
of us just fast enough that we didn’t get very good pictures. Sadly, he did not
say “meep meep.” We took lots of pictures at the basin, and then turned around.
[96 miles back to Marfa]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had to stop at the Border Patrol station (briefly) on
the way back. The two officers came out and checked the car and asked, “Just
the two of you in the car?” Yes, sir. “And you’re both US Citizens?” Yes, sir!
“Have a nice day!” I guess we don’t look
like we’re smuggling anything (or anyone). ;) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we got back to Marfa, the ground was wet - it rains
in west Texas, too! We had about an hour to rest, and then we got dressed and
went to dinner. We had time for a drink in the hotel bar, which was nice. The
food looked good – it had to be, considering they had a mostly captive audience
of hotel guests who couldn’t get food anywhere else nearby! As we left to walk the four blocks to dinner,
it started raining again. I stood under an awning while my chivalrous man ran
back to get the car. So John was a little damp by the time we got to dinner,
poor guy. Dinner at Cochineal was
excellent… I understand why the reservations are so hard to come by. For our appetizers, John had arancini (fried
balls of risotto) and I had fried artichoke hearts with garlic aioli. They were
both wonderful. There was a LOT of garlic in mine! Then we both had chilaquiles with pork for
dinner. We probably could’ve split one,
but it sounded SO good, and it’s a house specialty. We ate so much, we declined dessert! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At dinner I finally got to give John a present that I had
been hiding for a month… one that I had hoped to be able to give him for Xmas,
or his birthday, or any other occasion where we’d see his family up in
Richardson, but that was not to be. You see, it takes a lot of time to get the
right parts to repair a 100+ year-old pocket watch. When we were first dating, he showed me this
family heirloom (in pieces, missing its glass, etc.), stowed in a plastic bag
in his office closet. It was engraved to his great-grandfather in 1906! I knew
from the minute he showed it to me that I was going to “steal” it and get it
fixed for him. I snuck upstairs one afternoon last December and took it, and
dropped it off at the jeweler that week, but it wasn’t ready until mid-July.
Well, the trip seemed like the perfect time to give it to him, and he loved it.
It needs a longer chain so he can wear it more often. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went back to the hotel and crashed. It was a loooong
day! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage, day 2: 270 miles <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total mileage overall: 733 miles <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/rJJwA" target="_blank">map of our route</a></span></div>
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MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-81055002130838147182012-03-25T21:13:00.010-05:002012-03-26T11:59:17.761-05:00Weekend in FredericksburgIn February, John decided we should go away for a weekend. Because of our schedules (mostly mine, sadly), we didn't get to go until this weekend. He chose a cute little B&B with individual cabins, in Fredericksburg, TX.<br /><br />Unfortunately, we waited a little too long to leave on Friday, so it took longer than it should have to get there. But, we picked up our keys and went to find some dinner. The food (and the beer!) at the <a href="http://www.yourbrewery.com/">Fredericksburg Brewing Company</a> was just what we needed (maybe too much!), and John picked up a t-shirt that turned out to be perfect for our Saturday adventure.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyv4YTs7uEx3XUZi95XxZsuxpbyjCuBLt2ZjMVHS293e_VL0SzfZoaLbTSZIfEwvvCva1NCcqITlRAiYaJAuT1bKtgyg6lNQP5didWU5FmxxqV7gTnLnyQ-lo6LLHNHfgAJRWz/s1600/P3230048-sm.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyv4YTs7uEx3XUZi95XxZsuxpbyjCuBLt2ZjMVHS293e_VL0SzfZoaLbTSZIfEwvvCva1NCcqITlRAiYaJAuT1bKtgyg6lNQP5didWU5FmxxqV7gTnLnyQ-lo6LLHNHfgAJRWz/s200/P3230048-sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724029146823313362" border="0" /></a><br />After dinner we went back and found our cabin at <a href="http://www.baronscreekside.com/">Barons Creekside</a>. It was adorable! The cabin was originally built in Kentucky and brought to Fredericksburg. From what we could tell, it was sort of split in half, and they put the kitchen and bathroom area in the middle, between the living room and the bedroom. But it was just enough space for us. :)<br /><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"></span></span><br />Saturday morning we got up relatively early and set out for <a href="http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/enchanted_rock/">Enchanted Rock</a>. It was gray and overcast, but the forecast said the sun was coming eventually. We had our water<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3BcjQBsPNRCJtQJbHzU84bk3iwiCPrCLty7Q8GWhDeeB9wp7iIXndht7pdqQMFUIdlCwJWxWdnWkq-50wpMHshh4SpHygA5BybzONmOQoHfaFuooSjSrIeoZq28c5pJh7-eu/s1600/P3240064-sm.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3BcjQBsPNRCJtQJbHzU84bk3iwiCPrCLty7Q8GWhDeeB9wp7iIXndht7pdqQMFUIdlCwJWxWdnWkq-50wpMHshh4SpHygA5BybzONmOQoHfaFuooSjSrIeoZq28c5pJh7-eu/s200/P3240064-sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724033691725870242" border="0" /></a> bottles, hats and cameras... we just had to get up that 425ft hill. It was slow going (my heart rate monitor was working overtime!) but we did it. Right along with the 25 school kids, the twenty or thirty other families, various dogs... etc. We made it to the top, took pictures, and came down around the side, to see some of the giant boulders and rock slides. The flowers and cacti growing out of the rocks were beautiful. The round-trip hike took us about 2 hours. On the way out, the line of cars waiting to get into the park was amazing! We were so glad we got there when we did.<br /><br />After we went back to the cabin and rested our shaky legs, we decided to go check out <a href="http://www.luckenbachtexas.com/">Luckenba</a><a href="http://www.luckenbachtexas.com/">ch, TX</a>, and look for lunch. Neither one of us had ever been there, s<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJYSG9vkPLbTWCQySF54nmZKh364QAs7j-a28-yND9cZKW2tz8YQ_pKY6Kk1ybbeGjLFbHIBTx774oFpl5n7Om5ZKjtHfQ9yX-WtczJALBwiZ0NFJfrbnHt-_4j5LrmYBzsg0/s1600/Luckenbach.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJYSG9vkPLbTWCQySF54nmZKh364QAs7j-a28-yND9cZKW2tz8YQ_pKY6Kk1ybbeGjLFbHIBTx774oFpl5n7Om5ZKjtHfQ9yX-WtczJALBwiZ0NFJfrbnHt-_4j5LrmYBzsg0/s200/Luckenbach.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724038179003967618" border="0" /></a>o we didn't know what to expect. Well, what greeted us was a real Texas party -- we happened to go on the day of the <a href="http://holdmyticket.com/event/32007/">Mud Dauber Fest and Chili Cook-off</a>. I had been worried we were going to go to a fancy place and I'd be under-dressed in my jeans and sneakers. That was NOT a problem. ;) There were long lines for beer, but shorter lines for food. John's "Vote - Less Government, More Beer" shirt, which he had bought at the brewery the night before, was a hit.<br /><br />We didn't stay around for the rest of the Cook-Off festivities - we went to find some wine to taste. (We were in Fredericksburg, after all!) We went to <a href="http://www.messinahof.com/mhhillcountry/about.htm">Messina Hof</a> - a winery that John and his family had visited in their main location in Bryan, TX. It was crowded and not very personable. We bought some wine, and went along to the next place on the "Wine Road." We poked our heads in at Grape Creek, but was another one that was really crowded and too focused on selling, so we left. Further down the road, the <a href="http://www.woodrosewinery.com/">Woodrose Winery</a> was a thousand times better. Our wine flights were served by the owner, who talked to us about how they made the wine, which grapes they chose, where they came from... it was SO much better. John bought a bottle of their wine as well.<br /><br />Then it was time for a nap before dinner. (I could get used to this!) We skipped the upscale dinner places in favor of the West End Pizza Co. The food was good, but it took an hour to get to us, and we were just getting more and more exhausted as we sat there. The live music didn't help much. We knew we were going to sleep well!<br /><br />Sunday morning we took a walk around the grounds, to check out the creek and the other cabins. It's really a beautiful place. The creek is man-made, and there are Adirondack chairs beside it, an<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRkfncrnquQ122N1hVK6D98E2IG2lvV0F2yrQ3pBlLozIUClEQcCIM1tJ3BK3lWxj8-ZIq3nv7zgpYAV5sivlVffF7g3Z7u6KRLeYZ6Q9l9fIZfOHftIlACwvXEGrSfkYqrG3/s1600/P3250086-v-sm.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRkfncrnquQ122N1hVK6D98E2IG2lvV0F2yrQ3pBlLozIUClEQcCIM1tJ3BK3lWxj8-ZIq3nv7zgpYAV5sivlVffF7g3Z7u6KRLeYZ6Q9l9fIZfOHftIlACwvXEGrSfkYqrG3/s200/P3250086-v-sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724044316042788258" border="0" /></a>d painted cows all over the place. (Like the ones in New York)<br /><br />After breakfast, we went to the <a href="http://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/index.asp">National Museum of the Pacific War</a>. It's a phenomenal museum - I'm amazed at all of the artifacts that they have in this huge museum, in the tiny little town of Fredericksburg. It took us three hours to get through the main pavilion. We didn't have the energy to go to the Nimitz Museum or the Pacific Combat Zone down the street... now we know why the entry ticket is good for 48 hours!<br /><br />It really was an amazing weekend. I'm exhausted, but I think we'll go back again!MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-31548851382642016772011-07-18T13:13:00.004-05:002011-07-18T13:49:20.867-05:00Travelogue: Germany, June 2011<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> 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mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-family: georgia;">Wow, it's been a year since I blogged here. </span>But it's hard to describe a week-long trip abroad in short snippets on facebook, so I thought I'd write it out. <br /><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">I left on Saturday, June 25. John was nice enough to drive me to the airport for my 6am flight to Newark. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">(oy, I'm never doing that again!)</span> Then I had five hours to sit around the airport to wait for my flight to Stuttgart. I watched a movie on Netflix (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179794/">TiMER</a>), watched some Wimbledon tennis in the Heineken bar, and even got a little work done.<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">The plane was mostly full of Germans. There was one poor German woman on the plane whose son didn’t board in Newark… she cried half way across the ocean. (But he’s 24… he can probably deal.)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I didn’t sleep much at all on the plane. I watched <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/">Rango </a>during/after dinner, and then tried to sleep but couldn’t… and then with two hours left (at 5am), the guy behind me decided to play some kind of game on the screen on the back of my seat. UGH. No matter how many times I turned around and either gave him the 'evil eye' or asked nicely for him to stop... he just poked harder at the screen. <br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">The passport agent was scary, but maybe that’s because I was so damn tired.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The luggage carousel was “smart” – bags that came up the ramp stopped until there was space on the carousel for them to drop. Really quite impressive. (very German)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Had a bit of a time finding a money machine… and realized at that moment that I probably have Euros in a drawer at home. Sigh. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(as it turns out, I didn't have Euros... Plenty GB pounds, and Costa Rican colones, but no Euros.) </span><br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">Took a taxi to the hotel. (30 Euros!) Gray weather and very muggy. The taxi driver didn’t speak English, so I sat and read my phrase book and tried to figure out where we were.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> Then I was s</span>o tired when I checked in that I didn’t even give them a credit card. And of course my room was in the other building, so I have to go underground (to floor -2) and walk down a long hallway full of African art (for sale) to the Park building, where I go from floor -1 to my floor.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That walk got very old. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">Took a nap for an hour, and then a hot shower.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I had to eat (breakfast on the plane was just a croissant with jam and OJ), so I had standard European breakfast of bread and cheese and ham and jam, and some coffee at the hotel. Whew, that was expensive! (and I had to pay cash because I hadn’t given them a credit card! Oops!) </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">I wandered down to the center of town, where the big old buildings and museums are, and the shopping streets. Unfortunately, everything except the cafés is closed on Sunday. So I meandered, and it was hot <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">(they were having a heat wave, it was 85!)</span>. Had to stop at Starbucks and get some water – that’s the only place I could find where you could get a bottle of water to walk around with. Saw the Schlossplatz and such, took photos.<span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"> (See my Stuttgart photos posted on </span><a style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41106078@N00/sets/72157626928452429/">Flickr</a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">)</span> People were dipping their feet in the fountains! I was the only one not wearing shorts. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Went back to the hotel and tried not to sleep too much…. Then my colleague called and asked if I wanted to go to dinner. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">So the American group went to dinner – me, Suzy, Ashok, Steve, and eventually we were found by Merle. We wandered a bit, checking out the menus, and ended up at the <a href="http://www.zumpaulaner.de/paulaner/index.php">Paulaner brewhouse</a>, sitting in the sun. (Between that and the earlier part of the day, I got a sunburn on my chest!)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I had a beer, two Weisswurst and a pretzel, and it was fantastic. The honey mustard was great too. I’m now a huge fan of Weisswurst – which are apparently only supposed to be eaten for breakfast. Oh well. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">I slept really well on Sunday night. I think all the walking helped. We had a quick breakfast and then took the subway out to the University center. It was HOT! I had dressed up and I got seriously sweaty. The meeting room didn’t have A/C either, which meant that around 3:30, when we were all starting to doze anyway, it got really warm. Luckily, Dan and I had to give our presentation then. He was totally wiped- they flew in on Monday morning and drove from Frankfurt. But the presentation went well, and we were done around 5pm.<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">Maria came and picked us up – thank goodness I didn’t have to hike back to the subway! – and we got to rest for a bit before going to dinner. Unfortunately, the restaurant where we had dinner also wasn’t air-conditioned. But the dinner itself was AMAZING.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The waiter offered us a special deal… lots of mixed appetizers and then a fish dinner and dessert.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He spoke German, English, Spanish, Turkish, and Italian, if I counted correctly. The appetizers just kept coming – sliced veal, green salad, seafood salad (like ceviche), fresh baked pita bread, tomato-mozzarella caprese (very fresh), and Italian antipasto. Then there were two kinds of fish and a giant prawn on the dinner plate. Then the three desserts – a chocolate-covered profiterole, a lava cake, and tiramisu.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Between that and the wine, and the heat in the restaurant, I was done. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">Tuesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel (most of the American group left earlier because we had arrived late when we took the train on Monday!) and then Maria drove us to the meeting. After the meeting, the HLRS guy (whose name I don’t know!) showed us the Porsche driving simulator, made from an actual Porsche.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Wow. I didn’t try driving it. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">(see photos on Flickr for that too.) </span><br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">We left HLRS and drove south to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Hohenzollern">Burg Hohenzollern</a>. It's 2800 ft above sea level. We climbed about 700 of those feet, from the parking lot area. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">(or at least it felt like that!</span>) The castle was closed when we got to the top, but it was so beautiful. We had ice cream snacks before the walk, and got some water.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When we got back to town, Dan was wiped out, but Maria and I went to dinner at a pub just up the street from our hotel. Typical German brewhaus – dark wood walls and benches. They had pretzels and mustard on the table – yum! I had wienerschnitzel <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">(about time!)</span> and a side salad drowning in dressing. Maria had a steak and creamed spinach, which was pretty tasty. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>By the time I got back to my room it was after 10pm! </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">We met for breakfast and took off at 9 to go to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle">Neuschwanstein Castle</a> – the one Disney modeled his castles after. It was about 2 hours away, and we had to pick up our tickets at 12:30 for the 1:30 tour. We made it, and took the bus up the hill. Unfortunately, once you get off the bus there’s a hike – both up to the bridge, and then down and back up to the castle. Oy. At least I know my heart can take some serious stress after that! My legs and feet… not so much.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">The castle was incredible. We climbed lots of circular stairs… it was gorgeous. Poor Ludwig only lived there for a few weeks before his "mysterious drowning," and most of the rooms were never finished. And you can’t take pictures inside, so the guidebook is 12 Euros. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">(I didn’t buy one.)</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The view was amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Then we hiked back to the bus stop and took the bus back down the hill to have lunch. More Weissbrat sausages for me! And fries!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Then back in the car to go investigate the next thing. Unfortunately, by the time we found the recreation area that Maria found with the cable cars to the top of the mountain, the rain clouds were rolling in, and the mountaintop was obscured, so we didn’t go.<span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"> (it was also $25 per person to go up and back!)</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So instead, we drove around Bavaria, and accidentally crossed the line in to Austria!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> We turned back after a mile or so. </span>We drove through some cute little towns until we found a road that paralleled the highway, and eventually got back on the Autobahn going north. I'm pretty sure Maria was having fun driving at over 150 km per hour. <span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">:) </span> </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">They dropped me off at the University train stop and I took the subway back into town. It’s really an honor system, like the Prague subway was – no turnstiles to check your ticket, you just have to make sure you have one, or it’s a 40 Euro fine. I made sure I had a ticket. I walked out the wrong exit from the train stop, but it got me to a little takeaway place where I bought dinner to bring back to the hotel. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">(a curry chicken wrap and dried apple slices.)</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Outside the movie theater down the block from the hotel, they had the ‘bumblebee’ Camaro from Transformers -- I forgot the movie was opening this weekend. I should've taken a picture.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was exhausted, but it took me a while to fall asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">Thursday, I got up and had breakfast in the hotel, and went back to my room to check in for my flight. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">[Paying for Internet access in the hotel was highway robbery!] </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Then I figured out where the Mercedes Benz museum was, took the S-bahn train north a few stops, and walked to the museum <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">(feet hurting already!)</span> with a gaggle of teenagers who were going to the same place.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’m suddenly very short on patience for groups of kids like that. Maybe it’s worse here because I couldn’t understand them if they were talking to/about me? Hmmm…. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">Anyway. The museum is beautiful. Starts from the top and comes down in a spiral. I was really impressed at their handling of WWII history. It was restrained, correct, and clear. They had Princess Diana’s MB coupe, which she had for about a year before the Windsors made her give it back. And the Pope-mobile, and some other well-known cars. The gift shop was ridiculous. I might have bought a magnet of just the MB logo, but they didn’t have one. So bleh. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">Walked back to the S-bahn, eating the PB crackers that Maria gave me. Thank goodness for those, because I really think I would have passed out otherwise.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Got off the train at a different stop – the main train station - and sat down at a café in Schlossplatz… I sat in the sun for a while but that was too hot and I was getting woozy. Bitter Lemon helped, and “meatballs” and potato salad.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Still a little woozy, I got some ice cream and walked back to the hotel. Went by the Ulla Popken store – nice women’s plus-sized clothes! I took a nap and put my feet up, that felt SO good. Puttered around watching CNN until 5:30, when I went down to get dinner. I felt like I was finally figuring out the streets of Stuttgart, finding the back way to/from things. Shame, since I was leaving the next day.<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">For dinner I went back down by the Paulaner café, but I chose one of the Italian places instead. Had a big bowl of ziti with pesto and red sauce, and a homemade lemonade. Wandered around a bit more – it was a good thing I took a picture of Neues Schloss on Sunday, because by Thursday, it was all covered up for the start of Jazz Fest on July 1. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">I was really getting a kick out of watching the CNN international coverage of Wills and Kate’s visit to Canada.<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">I had exactly enough Euros to take a cab back to the airport on Friday morning. It's a really small airport, so all I did was buy a bottle of water and a candy bar, and we boarded the plane. I hate how much longer it takes to fly west across the Atlantic... 10 hours later, we landed at Newark. I was so glad to be back! </p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNoSpacing">I think I'd like to go back to Germany to visit Munich and maybe Berlin. Someday.<br /></p>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-12130042877179613812010-07-17T18:43:00.000-05:002010-07-21T09:36:51.625-05:00Margaritas and queso at Matt's<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOE-uLhLbhFVW4eE3MSCgyYPvfFuOjjP4fblplsMyyKsMrmyrvCLxflL6QizG332-gqgLhDvNaaH7INl4znk7vMXsmEbV4UuxvVhwxjj2vrYJ0QrB0Wu3xOHswQEyK3rOr8eLn/s1600/PIC-0012-793660.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOE-uLhLbhFVW4eE3MSCgyYPvfFuOjjP4fblplsMyyKsMrmyrvCLxflL6QizG332-gqgLhDvNaaH7INl4znk7vMXsmEbV4UuxvVhwxjj2vrYJ0QrB0Wu3xOHswQEyK3rOr8eLn/s320/PIC-0012-793660.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495581565408647506" border="0" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo">More time-delayed photos, courtesy of AT&T. Here are our margaritas (his was top shelf, mine was sangria-margarita) at <a href="http://www.mattselrancho.com/">Matt's El Rancho</a>. The waitress talked us into Bob's queso - queso with ground beef and guacamole in it - she really had to twist our arms, as you might imagine. Allyn practically licked the bowl. ;)<br /></p><p class="mobile-photo">The food at Matt's was good (his Tacos al Carbon was better than my Tacos al Pastor) but not great. Personally, I think <a href="http://chuys.com/#/home">Chuy's</a> is better. We will be going there in November.<br /></p>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-25833144764876314352010-07-17T11:27:00.000-05:002010-07-21T09:32:18.959-05:00Jae's first taste of Rudy's - he likes!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mLnAXFHQuQgN5BCBj80DY5j6LiNCRlATpGT63Y7CWuzpcO2jCrf7LxejwxWBrwHQS84dGqoWw4JK3DcfNmaZ6OblH2R15S_ohoLLxFYXr7_ekGY0Rwp6yrbYZyEsquszaMwC/s1600/PIC-0009-765431.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mLnAXFHQuQgN5BCBj80DY5j6LiNCRlATpGT63Y7CWuzpcO2jCrf7LxejwxWBrwHQS84dGqoWw4JK3DcfNmaZ6OblH2R15S_ohoLLxFYXr7_ekGY0Rwp6yrbYZyEsquszaMwC/s320/PIC-0009-765431.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495469349112512978" border="0" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo">Unfortunately, my phone was having posting issues, so this took a while, but here's Allyn on the covered patio at Rudy's (did I mention that he loves outdoor dining?) right before we stuffed ourselves with brisket, turkey, sausage, cole slaw and potato salad. He liked it. Hm. That's an understatement. He offered to eat at Rudy's for every meal for the rest of the weekend, but I declined. :)<br /></p>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-5500118475549246672010-07-06T10:43:00.004-05:002010-07-14T18:19:03.032-05:00Back to bloggingSomeone pointed out to me last week that I hadn't been blogging in a while. It's true, I've gotten so addicted to Facebook that I post just about everything over there. But there's not enough room at FB to really delve into anything... I just post a link and make a little comment, and it's done.<br /><br />So back to Blogger. And you'll notice I've changed the design of the page a bit... I'm going to keep playing with it until I find a design that I really like. Comments are welcome.<br /><br />It's July. Half the year is over. Sometimes I really wonder where time goes. I know I go to work every day and get stuff done, and move forward... I just hope I'm making enough of a difference in the world.<br /><br />We read "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Next-Thing-My-List-Novel/dp/0307351297/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278431344&sr=1-1">The Next Thing on My List</a>" in book club last month (good choice, Maria!) and it got us all to think about what would be on our "lists" -- like a bucket list, only with a slightly shorter time line. The list below was modified from<a href="http://cassieboorn.com/56-things-to-do-before-im-25/"> Cassie Boorn's list</a>. She was interviewed on NPR last week about her project asking women to write letters to their 20-something selves, but she also has her own list of things to do before she turns 25. (oy, I'm old!) I called mine "50 Things to do Before I turn 50." heh. that gives me a little wiggle room. :) Some of the things on Cassie's list were good, and I kept them even though I could cross them out.<span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Here's my list:<br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">1. <s><span style="color:black;">Visit the Aquarium</span></s> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(Monterrey, Baltimore, Sydney... I love aquariums)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">2. <s><span style="color:black;">Dance in the rain</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">3. Ride in a hot air balloon<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">4. <s><span style="color:black;">Buy a house</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">5. Visit all 50 states <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">6. <s><span style="color:black;">Own a big girl camera</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">7. <s><span style="color:black;">Spend a day at a winery</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">8. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><s><span style="color:black;">Tutor Someone</span></s></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">9. <s><span style="color:black;">Host a dinner party</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">10. <s><span style="color:black;">Go camping<o:p></o:p></span></s></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">11. Write a book…or maybe a nice article <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(hmmm, does blogging count?)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">12. <s><span style="color:black;">Learn to swim</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">13. <s><span style="color:black;">Speak to a crowd </span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">14. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><s><span style="color:black;">Build something</span></s></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(hello, IKEA)</span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">15. Pay off my car<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">16. Plant something <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(that doesn't die...)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">17. Take a road trip with friends<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">18. Try something I hate<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">19. <s><span style="color:black;">Go to a movie alone</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">20. Wake up early and sit on my patio<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">21. <s><span style="color:black;">Keep a journal</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">22. Take a risk<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">23. Visit 10 landmarks in Texas <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(or in the US... I still haven't been to many National Parks outside DC)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">24. Teach someone something<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">25. Do yoga <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(without getting the giggles)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">26. Make a soufflé<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">27. <s><span style="color:black;">Make a large purchase without panicking</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">28. Be fearless<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">29. Write a poem<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">30. Meditate<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">31. Fall in love <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(hasn't happened recently)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">32. Change a tire<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">33. Get married<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">34. Ride in a horse drawn carriage<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">35. Pay off my credit cards<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">36. Invest in something<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">37. <s><span style="color:black;">Attend an outside concert</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">38. <s><span style="color:black;">Catch a fish</span></s><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">39. Ride a motorcycle<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">40. Be content<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">41.<s><span style="color:black;"> Make my own ice cream<o:p></o:p></span></s></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">42. Read 100 books<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">43. Take a graphic design course<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">44. Watch all the movies on AFI's top 100 list<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">45. Run (or jog) a 5k (as opposed to just walking)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">46. Ride an elephant<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">47. Go to Italy <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(also on the list: Greece, Ireland, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand...) </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">48. Learn to speak Hebrew.<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> (I can read it, but that's not enough.)</span> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >49. Take a cruise to Alaska<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >50. Take dancing lessons <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(swing, salsa, 2-step, etc.) </span><br /></span></p> <span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span>What's on your list?MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-53724473878774517062010-03-17T07:40:00.000-05:002010-03-17T07:27:16.700-05:00Dawn at the Capitol bldg in Austin<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRFBQjScK1xK8Y0o3HJJXikx18r1h7tZc-SslOfbXZowcFNv0OONM-RL0urrFLlLwxYsZxW0GBhAqrv-HV_Fbf6HH0h-_8dF9OpwdBsrj4z2mJs6-ezG03OBfCfN_T1ePauOY/s1600-h/542720-736704"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRFBQjScK1xK8Y0o3HJJXikx18r1h7tZc-SslOfbXZowcFNv0OONM-RL0urrFLlLwxYsZxW0GBhAqrv-HV_Fbf6HH0h-_8dF9OpwdBsrj4z2mJs6-ezG03OBfCfN_T1ePauOY/s320/542720-736704" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449578358126703538" /></a></p>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-17401794086875901552010-03-12T18:46:00.000-06:002010-03-12T18:32:54.737-06:00That's cheating!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFmwZbDXJuZuP2aWqgu_HpS5ml3817UrQ1d86ZrsJAeSD6VKqbBMKHsxqKvpaLNjgbxDO6A2flz7piP3vvq4b8-lf8X_ypjA3xLErAhx6ilzdmZ02EkpeqYd50sSwcDFKO7_9/s1600-h/28859984-774740"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFmwZbDXJuZuP2aWqgu_HpS5ml3817UrQ1d86ZrsJAeSD6VKqbBMKHsxqKvpaLNjgbxDO6A2flz7piP3vvq4b8-lf8X_ypjA3xLErAhx6ilzdmZ02EkpeqYd50sSwcDFKO7_9/s320/28859984-774740" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447909924535711426" /></a></p>in the freezer section @ Costco... pre-made matzoh balls!MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-50858817422866828872010-02-08T12:30:00.000-06:002010-02-08T12:49:15.753-06:00Spicy caramel popcorn<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVC4LxU1dEz_aeV1rE4ZtAILQ3WCB0CHW2nSXw8wbY423nOIhP69KmoV7bC6tP2BUp5SGtif8y0kB2YttLUo5TOvPBOs3ME4p7Owo4inu8plHL0zLXNW5CNU7ob9gzpkP8Hq9i/s1600-h/bm-image-755754.jpe"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVC4LxU1dEz_aeV1rE4ZtAILQ3WCB0CHW2nSXw8wbY423nOIhP69KmoV7bC6tP2BUp5SGtif8y0kB2YttLUo5TOvPBOs3ME4p7Owo4inu8plHL0zLXNW5CNU7ob9gzpkP8Hq9i/s320/bm-image-755754.jpe" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435946641443837730" /></a></p>recipe from SmittenKitchen - yum! Next time, I'll remember the peanuts.MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-27066066298310966342010-01-23T19:27:00.002-06:002010-01-23T19:41:04.387-06:00A new annual traditionLiving in Austin has given me a lot of things. A great job, wonderful friends, a nice house... and allergies. Ugh, the allergies. And apparently, as soon as the cold weather goes away (and it happened early this year), and the "cedar fever" starts up, I get bronchitis. Because, you know, it's not enough to just have the cedar allergy. I get the yucky green mucus (tmi? sorry!), the pain in my chest, the coughing, and the Barry White voice. Really pleasant. I could feel it coming on, so I made a pre-emptive appointment with the doc on Wednesday. He looked at his notes and commented that he had prescribed an antibiotic last February for bronchitis. This time, he prescribed a z-pack (more antibiotics) and cough syrup with codeine. <span style="font-style: italic;">wahooo!</span> I haven't had cough syrup with codeine in probably twenty years. <br /><br />Needless to say, Thursday was not a day for going to work. I slept. I took my antibiotics and some cough syrup, ate some oatmeal, and slept. And slept. Ate some soup. And slept some more. Wow, did that feel good. I decided I had to go in on Friday for a little while -- by then I was so stir crazy, I had to get out of the house! Unfortunately, sitting upright and trying to concentrate for an hour was plenty. I stopped and got a pizza on the way home (random craving, but this way I didn't have to go out again...) and went home and crashed again.<br /><br />So, after four days of antibiotics and cough syrup, and lots of sleeping and watching random movies, I am pleased to report that the pain in my chest is gone, there's no more green gunk, and I sound a lot more like me, and a lot less like Kathleen Turner. (I suppose it might have been sexy, but the coughing kind of killed the mood.) ;)<br /><br />Please remind me next year that I need to keep taking my allergy meds when it's still cold outside, so when it warms up, I won't get bronchitis!MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-47183023588419329542010-01-10T10:00:00.000-06:002010-01-10T09:48:02.970-06:00Pulled Pork!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRx0GUOh08uIYZz2D2QqpcAkYOcRCPLjQJCFqU8fJ4OPs5DLhfTW04AaHjmC61T-8kjRhxgJ69PR_v2mExBfqwLCrccjziG_imhN-hZDO6vviC3uPI0CJQY6N-xT3IXaU_C8Xs/s1600-h/bm-image-782972.jpe"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRx0GUOh08uIYZz2D2QqpcAkYOcRCPLjQJCFqU8fJ4OPs5DLhfTW04AaHjmC61T-8kjRhxgJ69PR_v2mExBfqwLCrccjziG_imhN-hZDO6vviC3uPI0CJQY6N-xT3IXaU_C8Xs/s320/bm-image-782972.jpe" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425138471947981858" /></a></p>4 lb pork butt, $6.29
<br>BBQ sauce, $2.39
<br>Root beer for cooking, $3.59
<br>Making your own pulled pork: priceless. (and almost irresistible!)MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-12426326935201488062009-12-18T19:58:00.000-06:002009-12-18T19:46:36.112-06:00Happy last night of Hanukkah!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQReOJrTlsWqzfXB-bNg_D2Q7UFTHGILQIjjhMyo7LmhBlHhCbYiaXR2Lk3wbXtGgYyUK-GJcAFWzo3LoYQDpCaG2-CeiU5d2G3Lq9SFZQYtfcUFfO-7I5K34fSMOzsk-hnFP/s1600-h/bm-image-796115.jpe"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQReOJrTlsWqzfXB-bNg_D2Q7UFTHGILQIjjhMyo7LmhBlHhCbYiaXR2Lk3wbXtGgYyUK-GJcAFWzo3LoYQDpCaG2-CeiU5d2G3Lq9SFZQYtfcUFfO-7I5K34fSMOzsk-hnFP/s320/bm-image-796115.jpe" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416757764795756018" /></a></p>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-74718738816360508342009-11-27T16:47:00.003-06:002009-11-27T17:40:11.081-06:00Cheerio, Chaps!I'm pleased to report that a) it's been sunny in London <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">(doh! I probably just jinxed us!)</span> and b) we've really had a blast in the past two and a half days.<br /><br />We arrived on Wednesday morning. It's chilly, but not nearly as cold as it was last year. Or maybe I'm a lot less cold because I brought my super-warm wool coat this year! We hung out in the apartment for a bit, and then Bryan and I went out to find some lunch. Then it was naptime.<br /><br />Wednesday is also the customary trip to TESCO to stock up on groceries. We stopped at a pub for dinner - had to have fish 'n' chips! - and then went shopping. Prices seem reasonable when you look at the number in pounds sterling... then you do the math and realize that it's $1.65 to the pound. (Which is actually better than it used to be!) Mostly we need breakfast food.<br /><br />Thanksgiving Thursday, Mom, Dad and I went to the antiques market at <a href="http://www.visitspitalfields.com/">Spittalfields</a>. Many of the people in the shops wished us a Happy Thanksgiving. We wished them a happy Thursday. :) There's also a craft market, and some other cute shops. This is the place where I saw the cool giraffe bag last year, and didn't buy it. I wasn't going to make that mistake again! I got some nice jewelry from one of the artisans - a ring, and a matching blown glass pendant and earrings. We tried the Greek place for lunch, for kebabs, salads, feta cheese. It was more like tapas - small plates, for too much money. No wonder it wasn't very crowded! <br /><br />From there we met Bryan at Gray's Antiques, where dad likes to shop for watches. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">[and I finally remembered to get a new SIM card for my phone, so I have a UK number now. ] </span>We didn't stay long... the kid and I wandered down Bond street shopping, but we were so exhausted that we headed back to the apartment pretty quickly.<br /><br />We had planned to go to <a href="http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/five-25-info-5395.html">Five 25</a> for Thanksgiving dinner, but when we got there, the menu seemed really simple and pub-like, so we opted for <a href="http://www.noorjahanrestaurants.co.uk/index.html">Noor Jahan</a> Indian food instead. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">(My family does Indian food for Xmas, why shouldn't we have it for Thanksgiving?)</span> :) It was lovely. That's one of the restaurants we have come to every year since 2001 - sometimes multiple times in the same trip.<br /><br />Today was probably one of the best London days I've ever had. As an early Chanuka present, Dad splurged and got me and Bryan tickets to the <a href="http://www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/">ATP Tennis World Tour Finals</a> at the <a href="http://www.theo2.co.uk/index.php">O2 arena</a>. Oh. My. Gawd. First off, the arena is really neat. It's that white bubble with the yellow poles sticking out that you see in lots of images of London now - it appeared in the last (Pierce Brosnan) James Bond movie. Inside, there's an inner layer that holds the arena, and an outer layer surrounding it, where there are a dozen restaurants, a music museum, and even a mini amusement park. Also on the outer layer is the practice court for the tournament. We got there just in time to watch Novak Djokovic warming up with his coach, Todd Martin. *sigh* Novak is one of my favorites. <br /><br />My other favorite is Rafael Nadal. And guess who Novak was warming up to play? :D The opening match was doubles - Max Myrni and Andy Ram against Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy. Apparently my brother has now seen Leander Paes play in four different cities.<br /><br />Oh wait, I forgot to mention our seats. We had <span style="font-weight: bold;">FRONT ROW SEATS</span>. In the center - right behind the umpire's chair. Wow. Just... wow. I'll post some pics soon; we were 15 feet from Nadal! Bryan got Djokovic's autograph as the players were leaving. And it was some of the most amazing tennis I've ever seen. <br /><br />From there, we had to rush over to Westminster to meet the 'rents for a tour of Parliament. One of the guys who grew up at APIC shows now works for the Conservative party over here. He's been here for about a year. He took us inside Parliament, to the House of Lords, under Big Ben, and almost into the House of Commons (the guard wouldn't let us go past the doorway.) Then we went down to one of the eight (or more?) pubs inside the Parliament grounds for a pint. Unfortunately, as it was Friday night at 6pm, all of the other young staffers had the same idea. It was packed! We had our one beer and got out of there.<br /><br />On the move again, Bryan and I had tickets to <a href="http://www.love39steps.com/">The 39 Steps</a>, so we had to head for Picadilly. I saw it in New York when we were there for Robin's birthday, but the kid hadn't seen it. It was hilarious (again). Bryan laughed out loud.<br /><br />YAWN. That's two and a half very full days, which will be followed by two more full days, and then a full day flying to get home. Time to get some rest! Tomorrow: Portobello Road.MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-76546097044882944592009-11-24T17:27:00.003-06:002009-11-24T17:47:21.424-06:00The blur that was PortlandI thought I might be able to post more often while I was in Portland, but that just wasn't to be. Here's a quick synopsis.<br /><br />Sunday was spent at the Convention Center, putting up posters in the TACC booth. We had our share of surprises, successes and snafus, but for the most part, our booth was lovely (bigger than we've ever had) and <a href="http://www.tacc.utexas.edu/news/feature-stories/2009/supercomputing-09/">very successful</a>. <br /><br />Sunday night, mom and I went to the Intel welcome party at the <a href="http://portlandartmuseum.org/">Portland Art Museum</a>. (Apparently I didn't miss very much at the craft market.) The food was very good, we ran into a lot of people we knew and had some lovely conversations, and they gave out nice fleece jackets as a parting gift. My only complaint was that we didn't get to see the rest of the museum. That was kind of a bummer.<br /><br />Monday, I moved to the <a href="www.governorhotel.com">Governor hotel</a> where the rest of the TACCsters were already encamped. After staying in the tiny room with my mom for the weekend, it was a pleasure to have a nice big room on the top floor, complete with fireplace! <br /><br />After putting the finishing touches on the booth (and stopping by a pre-opening reception), the fun began at the convention center with the opening party for the conference attendees. It was such a blur - we talked to so many people! The booth was very popular. It went on like that for three days - chatting in the booth til closing, checking out a restaurant or a party, and crashing into bed. That's how these things go every year. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(I have to say, I miss the LinuxNetworx parties at the sports venues like we had in Seattle and Tampa!) </span><br /><br />Thursday, Al Gore did the keynote address at the conference. I was debating whether to go or not - he was besieged by protesters at his speech on Wednesday, and they swore there would be tons of security, blah blah blah. But in the end, I just couldn't stay away. It's AL, after all. I love Al. I think a lot of other people were scared away... I got into the ballroom right away and got a pretty good seat up front, just left of center. It was pretty empty until right before his talk started. I was frantically texting my staff to get them to come quickly -- and I'm sure I wasn't the only one.<br /><br />Al was great. Clearly, he has a selection of canned jokes, mostly self-deprecating, that he likes to tell. And he used an African proverb (that got <a href="http://twitter.com/search#search?q=%23SC09%20Al%20Gore">retweeted multiple times</a>), which he also recited on '30 Rock' and SNL. Ah well. But he gave a tremendous speech, showing that he knew about supercomputing and networking <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(whether he "invented the Internet" or not...)</span> and issued a call to arms to the HPC community to help solve the climate crisis. It made me sad (again) that we had to live through 8 years of that other idiot... this country would be in a totally different place if Al had been President. *sigh*<br /><br />The rest of Thursday - another blur. I went to the job fair and talked to some students interested in summer internships... and then I had to haul a** for the airport. I had the chattiest cab driver ever on the way there. He was telling me about his rare book collection, his latest surgery, the love/marriage advice he gave to a woman who was crying in his cab last week... and on, and on, and on. <br /><br />I was so glad to be back in Austin, even for just four days.<br /><br />Next stop: London!MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-19708623515519120602009-11-14T23:59:00.003-06:002009-11-15T00:24:22.977-06:00Greetings from Portland(I mean the one in Oregon.... apparently there are a lot of other Portlands around the USA!)<br /><br />Today was filled with dining and shopping and football-watching. But let me start with last night's dinner, which was excellent. The front desk person at the hotel recommended a restaurant up the street called <a href="http://www.southparkseafood.com">Southpark</a>. I admit, I had visions of Stan, Kyle and Cartman at first, but it's actually a seafood restaurant with a distinctly Mediterranean flair. I forgot that it was a Friday night at 7:30pm... the place was packed. I ended up sitting at the bar in the Wine Bar section of the restaurant. It was very nice. I had a glass of Apolloni Pinot Grigio, and a small-ish dinner (it was already almost 10pm for me by then) of warm flatbreads with hummus, and the Pacific Northwest version of crabcakes. I was starving. Everything was very tasty, and the bartenders were really nice (one had even grown up in DC!), but between the time difference and the wine, I was starting to fade. I walked back to the hotel -- ooh, did I mention that it's COLD here! Thank goodness I brought my wool-alpaca coat from last winter in DC! -- and pretty much crashed into bed. Unfortunately, just as I was starting to get comfy and fall asleep, mom came in, having landed at PDX at midnight. So... we didn't get to sleep til after 1am. And I woke up at 5. I'm gonna sleep well tonight!<br /><br />We slept late (honestly, I don't know when I've ever seen my mom sleep as late as she did!) and had the buffet breakfast at the hotel. We went to the tourist information center for some brochures, watched the giant Xmas tree construction in Pioneer Square, and eventually made it up to <a href="http://www.theagencyentertainment.com/">the Agency </a>sports bar, which is where the Portland USC Alumni gather to watch games. We were early, so we wandered around the neighborhood and ended up spending a few bucks in the Dollar Store. (yes, we're big spenders, that's right!) She needed hairspray, I needed a scarf... it was very exciting stuff. Then we went back to the bar and found the USC group. They were all very nice and welcoming. We even had a few Stanford interlopers. And then the game started, and it all went downhill from there. All I have to say is, UGH. The rest of that rant we will leave for another day. ;)<br /><br />When the game ended, we meandered back to the hotel by way of the supermarket, the <a href="http://www.knit-purl.com/store/pc/home.asp">yarn store</a> -- which it turns out was Dani's fave when she was here -- and the<a href="http://www.drmartens.com/"> Doc Martens</a> store -- only one in the USA! I looked at some of the boots, but they're seriously expensive. For dinner, we invited zak to come over from Convention-Center-land, and we were originally headed for a Greek place. Unfortunately, I got all turned around and walked us in the wrong direction! <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">For some reason, my normally excellent sense of direction has TOTALLY failed me in Portland so far. </span> *sigh* We turned around and headed for the restaurant, in the right direction, but got sidetracked by a nice looking place, the <a href="http://www.redstartavern.com/">Red Star Tavern</a>. That was fortuitous, because we ended up having an excellent dinner! Short ribs, scallops, cornbread... it was all excellent.<br /><br />To continue the bargain-hunting theme, we stopped at Ross on the way back, so mom could buy a hat for tomorrow's trip to the <a href="http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/">Saturday Market</a> (yes, I know tomorrow is Sunday). We ended up also getting microfleece thermal tops, and another scarf for me. So the grand total of our "shopping" today was $30. The total for food was.... much more than that. :) And that's as it should be, if you ask me. <br /><br />Before you ask, I didn't take a lot of pictures, but don't get your hopes up - today was likely the only day this week without rain. :(MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-47293840073259859952009-10-31T17:44:00.000-05:002009-10-31T17:32:53.718-05:00Pecan praline pie, for supper club. YUM!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7vpzzafwRbHmAhnXK-zshfrYAJMaPJcdEML7A3KzFPNsdJkLTilhXN6mqrCsgc9b0RCB7NAX3WUUxvSxuP_ZCHVKJw2wDW2Feqn5Uycp0lVs4Jsctw0cMYRPs8J0m7ugE03Th/s1600-h/bm-image-773722.jpe"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7vpzzafwRbHmAhnXK-zshfrYAJMaPJcdEML7A3KzFPNsdJkLTilhXN6mqrCsgc9b0RCB7NAX3WUUxvSxuP_ZCHVKJw2wDW2Feqn5Uycp0lVs4Jsctw0cMYRPs8J0m7ugE03Th/s320/bm-image-773722.jpe" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398895753500078946" /></a></p>MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17790818.post-60196482388565444922009-10-18T22:15:00.004-05:002009-10-18T22:26:44.892-05:00Getting things done(I refuse to use Larry the Cable guy's catchphrase. Bleh.)<br /><br />This weekend, I managed to finish a bunch of things that were just sort of hanging around in limbo. For starters, I finally completed the crochet caterpillar for Nicky W. I'm hoping to get to the post office on Tuesday to ship it off to Boston.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZYwkY8nZibPNI2F7W-P11Q-c31X19YpUhgAwkTnEsHLfKAt_ddSYrsGGhB-WbpJf3menymttE8GOOUAYKVIQzEfBSrPJkikzGgwTEzP88kmllMLm2S55HsKQpl4dKmhSLrIqd/s1600-h/picture2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZYwkY8nZibPNI2F7W-P11Q-c31X19YpUhgAwkTnEsHLfKAt_ddSYrsGGhB-WbpJf3menymttE8GOOUAYKVIQzEfBSrPJkikzGgwTEzP88kmllMLm2S55HsKQpl4dKmhSLrIqd/s200/picture2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394146298772248866" border="0" /></a><br />I also finished re-installing (mostly) my printer/copier/scanner so I could use it to scan photos and such. (see photo, right --> ) More of those will be posted shortly. There are so many to choose from!<br /><br />And, I cleared out a ton of cardboard boxes that have been filling my garage... I need the space -- my new<a href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ66xh1/R-100045379/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053"> B&D electric mower</a> is coming on Thursday! (it's so cute!) There are so many things I can get done outside, now that it's not going to be 104 degrees every day.<br /><br />I also started a few new things - a new pot of basil is growing, some new parsley seedlings are peeking out, and I made an apple granola crumbly-thing for breakfasts this week. <br /><br />I'm sure this burst of energy will run out soon, but for the time being, I'm kind of enjoying this whole "done!" thing.MelyssaFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03054264963024571664noreply@blogger.com0