When I Get Where I'm Going

I was lucky enough that I had to go back to Maryland for work and before that I went to Ohio. It was a good time to go for many reasons.

Main Street in downtown Wilmington, Ohio

Thursday, Mom and I headed down to Wilmington to see Grandpa, Rosey, Kenny, and Maurine. But first, we did a quick stop at the outlet malls. We had an hour, so after sycronizing our watches, we split up to find our bargains. I have to say, I think I did a mighty fight job stimulating the economy in under an hour. Oh, and Ann Taylor loves me.

We did the usual lunch at McD's (not McDonald's) and then Grandpa had to go home, because he wasn't feeling well. The rest of the afternoon we caught up, Mom and I found great recipes in the Rachel Ray magazine Rosey had (and subsequently got subscriptions when we got home), and drank some wine. That evening, since it was Rosey and Kenny's 59th wedding anniversary, Mom, Jennifer, Dana, Rosey, and Kenny went out to the General Denver for drinks and appetizers. (I tried to take the following pictures surreptitiously, but they didn't turn out very well.)

Kenny and RoseyJennifer and Dana

Mom

Friday, I once again tried my very best to stimulate Ohio's economy. Once again, I think I did a darn fine job! I took Dad to some appointments too, then we went home and hung out. Although not on my initial list of restaurants to visit while home, I was glad to have an old favorite--Donatos Pizza. Chad made a quick visit home too, so we told London stories and he showed us the pictures he took of the rest of his trip.

Saturday was another delicious dinner at Dad's before we headed to the Blue Jacket's last game of the season. They lost to Minnesota in a very disappointing game. They scored 2 goals in the first couple of minutes of the first period, then lost by a margin wider than I care to admit. It was fun to go, as I always enjoy the games with Dad. We even got free posters of the team, which made it to the NHL playoffs for the first time in their franchise history (don't ask how they did against Detroit in the playoffs, though). That night we got home just in time to see the end of the Miami University final game of the college hockey playoffs. Miami was playing Boston College, the #1 team in the nation. They lost in a heart-breaking overtime game. They were winning 3-1 with 3 mintues left, when Boston took their goalie out. Somehow, with a minute left, Boston scored two goals. Miami lost in overtime and it was such a devastating loss. Luckily, I don't think Miami is losing too many seniors, so they may be back next year, hopefully in the final game again with a different outcome.

Stinger, the Blue Jackets mascot

I got to Maryland and I ate my way through the week. I had a long list of restaurants I have been hungry for, so I didn't waste any time when I arrived. I had a steak at the Capital Grille, fresh roasted chicken at The Dogwood, my favorite Chianti and shrimp scampi (although Tillie's will always be my favorite) at La Scala, a bison burger at Golden West Cafe, I pigged out at this great Mexican place north of Baltimore (and whose name I don't recall), brunch twice at Miss Shirley's, doughnuts from New System Bakery (a.k.a. Heaven), and I had some delicious pie at The Savory House.

The Avenue in Hampden

I had a grand time in Baltimore, even if I did have to be rolled around in a wheel barrel because of all the food I consumed. Too bad work got in the way of having more fun. I got my butt beat at bowling (best of 5) by Chris. The owner of The Savory House (and Dangerously Delicious Pies), Rodney Henry, had a free outdoor concert of Baltimore bands on Saturday. It was BYOB and it was great.

Rodney "the Pie Man" Henry (in orange)

Junestar

The Young Jaquars

I also went to an O's game, but it was pouring before it started. We waited for a while, then left because we didn't know when/if the rain would stop. So I had my beer at Camden Yards, but didn't see my boyfriend Brian Roberts.

The ominous sky.

I'm sorry I didn't get to see everyone. It so hard when you have so little time. I'm grateful for the people I did see and I can't wait to see you again soon.

Way Down in the Hole

This weekend I came out of my hole a little bit, or out of my shell, as my friend pointed out. I think for the first time in my life, I've been affected by the dreary, grey, weather. It has been non-stop grey and grossness for months and it has really gotten to me. This past week, however, it was sunny. Cloudless and almost warm sunny. It was so refreshing. All I could think about was having a drink or a meal outside at one of the restaurants and people watching.

Saturday, I went with three of my girl friends to the Wiesbaden market, which is held every Saturday. It was gorgeous out!! Everything looked different with the sunshine. And everything tasted great too. I sampled some blueberries, rasberries, and these cool mini, bitesized kiwi fruits. I didn't take any pictures, because I was mostly enamored with and eating the food any chance I got. I bought some cheese, bread, and olives all for dinner that night. I wanted to buy more, but since I'm leaving on Wednesday, I knew I couldn't eat it all before then. Every free Saturday I have, I'm going to make a point of going down there.

After our rendezvous at the market, we found a place to have lunch outside. We chatted, had our requisite adult beverages, and enjoyed seeing the strange outfits the Germans were sporting. I wished I had had my camera poised, because there were some true winning style points for some of these outfits.

Following lunch and one of the reasons all of us met was to each find a hat. My boss is having a ladies tea party the first weekend in May, complete with cocktails at noon, little sandwiches, pasteries, English scones, and tea in the afternoon. We're supposed to bring a tea cup and to wear a hat--there will be a winner for the best hat. Now all along I've been opposed to buying a hat I'd probably wear once, especially one of those gawdy huge things that you always see the Brits wearing in the movies. I had even said I was going to show up in my Orioles floppy hat, which I thought would be a definite winner. But once we got to Karstadt (the department store) and started trying on hats, I started to change my mind. I wasn't going to buy one of the gawdy ones, but something I might wear again, and given that many of the hats made me look like a man, my choices were limited. Thank God I went shopping with friends, because we all told each other when we looked stupid. I went with the cowboyesque style hat.

Next we headed to the women's department just to see what sort of clothes they had. Kim ended up finding this cute skirt, but the only one in her size was on the manequin. So we asked a woman to take it off and getting it off--the arms were coming off and she couldn't get them back on. Of course, I had to take a picture of that.

Werewolves in London

It's been quite a while since I have written anything. I doubt anyone checks my blog with such anticipation, only to be disappointed that I still hadn't posted anything. Who knows, maybe there are admirers out there, who I'm unaware of.

"Look kids! Big Ben, Parliament!"

The most exciting thing that has happened recently is that the Roberts kids met up in London the weekend of the 14th. Chad had some business meetings in England, so he asked if I wanted to meet him in London before them so we could tour around and hang out. After a confusing beginning trying to find each other in the London Heathrow airport (you'd think international arrivals would arrive in the international terminal), we had a great weekend together. I think we walked the entire city of London or at least my calves felt like we did. It was fun to be around someone who had never been to Europe before and who was so enamored with how old everything is.



Our first day, we had the requisite fish and chips and tried a British brew. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, with bright sun all day. I read in the paper Monday that it was the warmest it had been all year--around 60 degrees. I think we both really liked the Tower of London and the Yoaman (Beefeater), who gave us a short tour and history of the grounds. The Crown jewels are held there and they are quite impressive--so many diamonds!

These are only a few of the pictures. Chad has the most that we took on Sunday, because I forgot my camera in the room that day, so you get to look up my nose at the one I posted here :)

Upside Down

On Saturday my friend Kim and I took a USO tour called Riesling...something..something...wine tour. That's all I heard anyway ;) Erich "the Red" was our German guide. He got his nickname from President Kennedy, because he couldn't pronounce Erich's last name. So because Erich had (at that time) a red beard and red hair, Erich "the Red" he became. Erich took us through the Rheingau (Rhein River area) stopping in a few towns to explain different things about them and the places you can go to taste the small winery's product. He was a wonderful tour guide with a very dirty-old-man sense of humor.

The tour was mostly driving through the towns on a "bus." The bus, it turned out, was a 15-passenger van. I knew that was trouble in the making, since I tend to get a little car sick, but add windy roads and some incline to it and I wasn't enjoying the ride. Since it was bitterly cold, everyone opted for an old coffeehouse Erich offered instead of more of the tour in the middle of the afternoon. After that, it was more driving; however, we finally ended up at our final destination close to 4.



We went to a small winery where we were treated to 9 wines, plus dinner, and dessert. Everything was delicious! Erich described the wines, what food they went well with, and of course added his humor at any chance he got. "Nipple popper," we learned, was one of his favorite phrases and once he described a wine as a "triple nipple popper."

After dinner, we headed down to the cellar, which dated back to the 1200's. The owner of the winery told us that tradition was that when your daughter got married instead of a dowry, you gave several bottles of wine from your daughter's birth year. His daughter never got married, so he let us taste some of his wine from 1975. Delicious!

Kim thinks Erich had a slight crush or fascination with me, because he made note of my cold red nose while we were outside, remarked how good my haircut looked on me, and also called me "princess" and his "doll." Oh, and when Kim wanted a picture of the two of us, he insisted on kissing my hand.

I don't have any other prospects...hmmm.

Whiskey in the Jar

Last weekend we had a three-day weekend, so I planned a trip to Dublin, Ireland and my friend Pete came along too. Friday after work, we took the train from Wiesbaden to the Frankfurt airport and flew to Dublin. We got to the hotel around 9 or 10 and immediately headed out for our first Guinness. We were lucky enough to find a pub that had both Guinness and live music, which seemed, for the most part to be Irish, so I was thrilled. The guys were really good and they were selling CDs, so after their last song, we went up to talk to them. They told us some good places to go and told us that on Sunday they'd be playing at the bar across the street, which happened to be their favorite bar. We went to watch them play for a bit on Sunday too.

Live music our first night in Dublin.

The next day, our first order of business was to go to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour and a pint. It was a bit outside the city center, but the walk was good. Once there, we walked around the museum they had of the brewery, which included how the beer was made, its history, advertising, etc.


At the end, the ticket into the Guinness Storehouse included a pint, which you could learn to pour yourself or have one poured for you. I opted for learning to pour one myself. Once you had your beer, you could enjoy the views of Dublin from the 360 degree bar overlooking the city.

My certificate after pouring the "perfect pint."

We also visited the Kilmainham Gaol (jail) after the Guinness factory. I know nothing about Irish history, but taking the tour through the jail was really interesting and sad. Kilmainham is where many of the Irish rebellion leaders, to include the leaders of the 1916 uprising, were held and executed there.


Saturday night, we took a musical pub crawl. We went to two pubs and listened to two men talk about Irish music, its history, and a little bit of the musical history of Dublin. They played traditional songs and some different instruments. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who goes.

We were there for 3 days, because we left on Monday, but in my opinion, that was too much and I could have seen all that I wanted to see in 2 days. I suppose the weather probably played a big role.

Easy

Today is my last day of vacation--I haven't been to work since the 24th. Soon-to-be former President Bush was nice enough to grant the 26th as a federal holiday, so I had a nice long weekend before my friend was to arrive for his visit.

Ready for the update? It's a long one, so take a deep breath...

On Christmas day it was very weird to wake up to an empty house, but I enjoyed my coffee and relaxed until I had to get ready to go. For Christmas, I went over to Amy and Will's house and joined three other couples, one kid, and one dog. We had three different types of lasagna, sides, good drink, and conversation. It was laid back and a lot of fun.

The 26th I took a little hike to this Russian Orthodox church above Wiesbaden. It was kind of chilly, but once you got moving, it was fine. It wasn't much of a view, but it was good to get out of the house and do a little exercise.

On the 29th, my Chris arrived for a wonderfully relaxing visit. We had no plans, but only a few thoughts on what we wanted to do. I've been running pretty much since July and he's tired of work, so for both of us, having nothing planned was probably the best thing we could do. If nothing else, it was just nice to have someone here who knows me really well. It's hard moving to a new place, trying to meet new people, and not letting them see how weird and nerdy you are until you know them. Luckily, Chris already knows I'm a nerd, so I didn't have to hide that!

After he was able to sleep a few hours, I took him out for the requisite German meal of Wienerschnitzel and a beer. Lucky for him, the ice skating rink was open and they were still serving Glühwein, which is something he really wanted, but missed because the Christmas market closed on the 23rd. So we stood by the fire, drank a few glasses of Glühwein, and watched the people ice skate.

Glühwein by the fire next to the skating rink.

Tuesday, we headed to this antique store that I had wanted to go to. I saw this really cool antique bar that I'm still considering. After that, we made the decision to go to Frankfurt to see where Chris used to live when he was stationed there about 10 years ago. First, however, we used my handy dandy GPS to find The Twelve Apostles--Frankfurt's first brewpub.

Chris outside the Twelve Apostles.

On New Year's eve, we decided to stay home, make dinner, and then go watch the fireworks in Wiesbaden. I made these delcious subs from Suz's recipe, the Roberts family bean dip, and champagne, of course. The first day of the new year was also spent relaxing. We took a walk around the park right next to my house that I've never been through. After our discovery that the Irish pub by my house was closed, I took Chris to this Bavarian place and we threw back a few dark Bavarian beers...yummmm.

Preparing the delicious bean dip!

Fireworks in Wiesbaden. (You can see the video I took in the previous posting.)

On Friday, we decided on a roadtrip--winging it with no plans, just a vague idea of where. Our first stop was in Hamm, Luxembourg where the American cemetary and memorial are, to include General Patton's grave. It was a lovely cemetary and memorial to the more than 5,700 American soldiers who died during the second World War.


Heading north, we stopped in a small town called Houffalize, with no reservations and no agenda. The reason we headed there was because my favorite beer I had at the Christmas beer festival a few weeks back was La'Chouffe and Chris just so happened to have drunk that beer at a local bar in Baltimore that same weekend. We found the brewery and although the shop and brewery were closed, the restaurant was open. The server was nice enough to let us use the phone to try and find a hotel and gave us a booklet about the area, but we still didn't have a place by the end of Chris's last beer and our delicious meals. We went back to the first place we stopped and they had a room and what d'ya know....La'Chouffe on tap in their bar ;)

Me with my new friend and number who knows how many.

The next morning, after stopping by the brewery to load up on 2 cases of beer and some souveniers, we went to Bastogne, Belgium for the day. This was the location of one of the battles in Battle of the Bulge. There we visited the museum the town has on the battle, which was great.


After lunch, we headed to Tongeren, Belgium, which supposedly holds the largest antique market every Sunday. After a nap, we took a really freaking cold stroll through the town and stopped to get some Belgian chocolates. I couldn't believe how cheap they were, because I was expecting to pay a lot more. For 7 Euro, you got a box with a variety 15 chocolates in it. And they are yum-my! That night we sampled some different Belgian beer over dinner.

The next morning after breakfast, we bundled up and headed out to the antique market. It apparently spreads throughout the town, with actual antique vendors and just regular Joes who have their things on display. I guess it's more of a flea market, but in Europe to an American, everything is an antique. We both found some treasures, but it was just too cold to keep going, so we left just before 12.

On our way home, we stopped in Cologne, Germany to see the Cologne cathedral, which is absolutely enormous! The construction of the cathedral started in 1248 and was completed in 1890.

Me dwarfed by the cathedral.

From there it was onward to Wiesbaden. You can see the route we took from Wiesbaden to the various places and back, by going here. We were greeted on Monday with snow!



Chris's visit unfortunately had to come to an end this morning. It was a great time, we had a lot of fun, and I look forward to the next one. Thank you for being my "wing" man, Chris!