euronavigations

Breakfast view

2010-09-20T05:02:00.002+01:00

Morning -

Just sharing the view from breakfast this morning. Spent the night in a 1000 year old palace on a hill last night. Amazing meal, best Indian we've had so far.

On the road to Jaipur now. Should be about a 5 hour ride.

Back to the States

2009-10-02T12:36:00.002+01:00

I needed to head back to DC for meetings, but wanted to do some visiting on the front end of the trip as well. I flew into Newark and headed up to my friends house in New York State to enjoy some rural peace and quiet. From there it was off to New Jersey to spend several days with my parents and to catch up with some friends from high school.

One night my parents and I went to Shogun Legends in Wall for sushi which was really nice. We also went to Graziano's in Point Pleasant one night with my cousins. I've been eating pizza in this place since I was 5 years old. There's even a waitress there that I remember from when I was a little kid. It's hardly changed, which is a good thing as it has no need to, great New Jersey Italian style food, the ultimate in comfort food. Then it was off to Annapolis to visit with my friend Jennie before heading to DC for a week of work.

Proof
On Sunday night, Janine and I went out for dinner at Proof in the city. The food was great, but the wine list is the real winner here. Plenty to choose from and most of it reasonably priced. I've been to so many restaurants in Europe where there's ten or 15 wines of reasonable prices and pages upon pages of "fine" wines starting at hundreds of dollars, so I really appreciate good choices. While they had several vegetarian options, they didn't offer a pre-determined vegetarian tasting menu, just a meat focused one. I had the impression that vegetarians were more an after thought than central to the menu's plan, however that didn't make the food any less excellent. I highly recommend it. It strikes me as a great place for lunch, I'm not sure if they are open on the weekend for lunch, but their proximity to the National Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery would make it a great stop for a leisurely lunch after a morning of museuming.

We Dine in Essex

2009-09-12T12:20:00.003+01:00

Keeping the non-stop pace up, the day after we got back from Sweden, Joe and I headed to Essex to have dinner at Neil and Dan's house. We'd had, had them over for dinner in May and it was their turn to return the hospitality.

The train ride was nice and gave us a chance to see a part of the country we hadn't been to yet. Neil and Dan have a great house with a really nice garden. It's all very relaxed and welcoming. We had cocktails in the garden before heading inside for dinner. Soup, which was full of Fall was the first course. There were so many courses it's hard to recall them all now, but the centerpiece was the best vegetarian paella I've ever had with a seaweed side (I can't recall the exact name) that was surprisingly sweet and crisp. I'd had it before as a garnish, but never by the fork full. I was disappointed to be so full by the time we got to the entree. For dessert we had dueling chocolate and regular cheesecakes.

Time and conversation flew by and we had to end the evening just to make sure we got the train back in time. Joe and I are up next for Thanksgiving dinner. Dan's sourcing an organic turkey for me.

A Week in Stockholm

2009-09-11T10:21:00.015+01:00

Joe had a week of meetings in Stockholm, so a few days after we got back from the States we jumped a flight to Stockholm for a week. We got in on Saturday afternoon so we would have some time to tour before the work week started.

On Sunday we went to the Hallwykska Museet. The owner of the home had been a forest baron heiress who made arrangements for the house to be preserved as a museum in its exact state at the time of her death so people could see how see how people lived at the end of the 19th century. A beautiful home, with intriguing collections from all over the world, it was really interesting to see the every day things...the kitchen and its utensils, the telephones, the bathrooms. Make sure to take the tour and plan on spending some time with the tapestries.

We stayed at the Adlon Hotel, just a couple of blocks from the train station. Extremely tiny rooms, at least that's my guess since we were supposed to be in one of the larger rooms. Nothing fancy by any means, but serviceable. The only real negative is that our room had a lovely view of the street, but was really loud at night. And, since there was no aircon and it was warm, the window needed to be open.

Monday was officially a bank holiday in the UK so I was off, though Joe had to work. I took the opportunity to just walk around and enjoy a day of nice weather and take in some of the city. It being Monday museums were closed. After visiting the sculpture garden at the Modern Art Museum, I had a nice walk along a marina and eventually ended up for a sunset cocktail at Gondolen. One of Stockholm's hottest restaurants, I went for the view, which I highly recommend. I'd also recommend eating there too, as the food going past the bar to the dining room looked very enticing. Afterwards I did some walking around the neighborhood near the Slussen subway stop. Definitely a happening neighborhood that is almost exclusively locals.

One night after work, Joe and I headed out to a neighborhood far outside the tourist area in search of a restaurant called Portofino on the island of Soldermalm. Before heading toward the restaurant we went to SOFO (south of Folkungagatan) to check out the neighborhood. It's full of trendy stores and restaurants. If I get back to Stockholm, I definitely want to spend more time getting to know this neighborhood.

We did make it to Portofino and it was an excellent restaurant. Great service and an amazing menu. We were expecting something a little more casual, not that the restaurant was stuffy, but the menu and food were very high end. Joe had the lobster ravioli, which were amazing. They had a great wine list too.

Thursday night we had reservations at F12, perhaps the best restaurant in Stockholm. Short for Fredsgatan 12, the address of the restaurant, this was a dining experience that will stand out for years to come. We both had the tasting menu with wine pairings, Joe had the meat and I had the vegetarian version. The first four wine pairings are served "blind". Poured from a decanted bottle you get a chance to banter your guesses with your server after each glass. I recommend you just surrender. While we were able to get some parts right, the wines themselves were so special and rare you'll never get them unless you are a serious expert with a deep knowledge of wines, especially those of Austria, Germany and France. The executive chef is Sweden's Chef of the Year 2009 and his cuisine showed why he had received the honor. Service was impeccable and the decor worthy of attention without being distracting. The other clear distinction for F12 is that they served me the most expensive meal I have ever eaten.

The cost of the meal at F12 was more a function of the cost of eating in Sweden than of the superlative experience. You will find that many very nice places in Sweden are self service. This is because the tax on self service is about 12%, whereas if someone waits on you it's 25%. This on top of the fact that many things are imported because of Sweden's short growing season and limited farm land and, well, you get the picture...be prepared for the cost of eating to shock, even at McDonald's.

On Friday, our last night in town, we dove head first into tourist cliche and had a drink at the Absolute Ice Bar. Book your visit online in advance and you'll save a bundle. It was interesting and I'm glad we satisfied our curiosity, but the interest didn't even manage to last though the length of the one shot sized cocktail served in a block of ice that you carefully drank with your gloves. Fun, but it definitely falls into the never need to repeat experience category.

From the Ice Bar we went to Kungliga Operan Gustav Adolfs Torg, the Royal Opera House, to see Spader Dam, or the Queen of Spades, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky based on a story by Alexander Pushkin. We were able to get great tickets the week before the show at the box office. Even if you don't go to the ballet or opera, the theatre is worth a visit. It's a beautiful building. The opera itself was great. We had a really good time.

We had an early evening flight on Saturday so we checked out and headed over to De Kungliga Slotten, The Royal Palaces, for the full tour. The combination ticket includes The Royal Aparments (a must see), The Treasury (also a must see), the Tre Kronor Museum which explores the history of the Palace's construction can be easily skipped and Gustav III's Antikmuseuem, which other than the view of the adjacent garden is an easy skip, especially if you've been to the Vatican Museum in the last year. We also took time out that day to drop in to several churches and wander the streets of Gamla Stan before heading to the airport.

Consistent with our Sweden tour in July, I found eating and alcohol to be expensive, hotels and transit to be the same as any big city, English to be spoken everywhere - with no one hinting that you're rude for not knowing or attempting the language, though we did try - and to make a sweeping generalization, the Swedish people are the friendliest people I've ever met.

US East Coast Round One

2009-08-27T08:25:00.000+01:00

Our two week US East Coast August tour went by very quickly.

In Washington, Joe and I got to dine with our friends Janine and Martha, which is always a blast. We ate at Komi. Martha, Janine and I had eaten there on my last trip to DC and I was really glad Joe got a chance to experience this amazing restaurant. It didn't disappoint on the return visit. This remains one of the most amazing places I have ever eaten. If you love food, you have to go, but book early. It's become a hot spot in DC and they are now taking reservations only 30 days in advance and those reservations all go the day they open up.

From DC we headed to New Jersey for a quick visit with the rents before going to the Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island for Joe's nephew's wedding. A couple of nights before the wedding Joe's brother and sister-in-law, went out to dinner with my family, which was nice as the two sides hadn't had a real opportunity to meet before. As we had expected, everyone had a great time.

The wedding was really nice and it was great to see so much family at the same time. After the wedding we spent a night at my parents before flying back to London.

It was a serious whirlwind tour.

Reality Show

2009-08-09T16:58:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I finished reading Howard Kurtz' Reality Show. While I wouldn't recommend this for everyone, if you are either a public relations person or an American baby boomer you'll probably enjoy this book.

Non-fiction the book looks at the issues and influences behind the changing of the guard at the network evening news anchor chairs that has transpired over the last few years leaving us with Charlie Gibson, Brian Williams and Katie Couric. Kurtz does a good job giving it all a perspective against the backdrop of the 24-hour news cycle, cable news and the Internet.

The moments that given insight into decisions about what does and doesn't make the news were the most interesting to me. But I also thought that if I'd been even five or ten years older, the challenges of the guard changes itself might have been more of a focus for me.

Catherine Visits - Part Two

2009-08-09T16:17:00.007+01:00

Last weekend we went to Oxford to see Catherine on her turf and tour the town. It's another place I haven't been since my first trip to the UK in 1988. We took the train and took advantage of First Great Western's Weekend First offer that let's you upgrade to first class on the train for practically nothing, £5 to Oxford, which given how crowded the train was in both directions was so worth it.

We stayed at the Royal Oxford Hotel which is right next to the train station. It didn't look so great on its web site, but was actually a great room at a great price when we got there. Fresh fruit in the room, how often does that happen?

The three of us strolled around Oxford, taking in the sites. Because Catherine is attending Christ Church College we were able to take see the Harry Potter sites without having to queue, though we did have to deal with the crush of tourists, mostly teenagers.

We headed over to a place called 4500 Miles from Dehli on Parkend Street for a great Indian lunch. Catherine said it's considered the best curry in Oxford and while I can't vouch for its standing in Oxford, it was excellent. We had a great meal and then set off to take in some architectural highlights before grabbing some pre-dinner beers.

For dinner I had scoped out a place called Restaurant 66a at the Cotswold Lodge Hotel. Great service and an excellent local cheese platter - the stinking bishop was mind blowing. When we asked for coffee afterwards they invited us into the lounge, where we sat in big club chairs in a bay window while they served a pot of french press. All of it was extremely reasonable in terms of price, I definitely recommend it as a must eat in Oxford.

The next day we took the bus to Blenheim Palace, where the Duke of Marlborough lives and where Sir Winston Churchill was born. This was my first visit to what I'd call a manor home. The Duke and his family still live at the Palace and charge £17 per person to visit to help pay for upkeep of the building and the 2,100 acres that make up the World Heritage Site. It was really a beautiful place to spend the day. We talked about how if we lived nearby we'd get the annual pass and picnic often. It was a great way to spend the day and cap our time with Catherine before she heads back to the States.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

2009-08-09T16:05:00.002+01:00

Two weekends ago I read The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mosin Hamid. It was a quick easy read from the reading perspective. I literally started on Saturday and finished it on Sunday and had a whole weekend in between.

It's definitely the kind of book that makes you think. While it is framed around current issues in the world, it is more of an everyman, every instance story that applies to so much of how people have approached otherness through the history of mankind. It did make me look at things from multiple sides, something I think we, as in the human race, fail to do all too often.

If you just want to keep thinking they way you do about people and races and ideas that make you uncomfortable so you can just continue to ignore them, don't read it.

Catherine Visits - Part One

2009-08-09T14:55:00.003+01:00

My niece Catherine is here this summer for a six week post graduate course at Christ Church College in Oxford. She took a weekend and came to London to hang out and do a little touring.

Her number one thing to do was visit Westminster Abbey, so I finally returned after more than 20 years. I had avoided the Abbey because of the crowds and the cost, £15 per person to walk around a church. It was incredibly crowded. It made my time there, on a weekday in February in 1988, very special. My biggest memory was just how vast and empty the space seemed to be since there were so few people there. I made a brass rubbing in the cloister in the back where I sat by myself for almost an hour. The brass plates don't seem to be there anymore.

That said, it's not like you could opt out of seeing Westminster Abbey if you're coming to London as a first-time tourist, but it does serve to remind that off season travel has plenty of benefits besides lower prices.

After the Abbey we did something else I had done on my first trip in 1988, but hadn't done since - we toured Tower Bridge and took the pedestrian crossing at the top. It was as much fun as I remembered and touring the steam engines that used to drive the bridge lifts with an engineer added a special twist.

We finished the visit with an amazing dinner at our favorite place, Skylon. They have just introduced a tasting menu and I had been anxious to try it out. They offer both a vegetarian and meat/fish version. It was great, but I have to say that for a tasting menu the portions were way too large. So if you decide to go and take this option, I recommend eating about half of every course they put in front you so you'll be sure to have room for dessert!

Love in the Time of Cholera

2009-08-01T14:49:00.004+01:00

Last week I finisehd Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Maquez. It was exactly what you would expect from a love story that won the Nobel Prize. Engrossing, moving and of course a great read. The most telling thing I can say about it is that I kept putting the book down because I didn't want it to end. Instead I wanted to wallow in the images and feelings Marquez had painted for me at that moment. It was all so vivid.

I haven't seen the movie, but heard it did not do the book justice, so if you have seen the movie and you're thinking no way, you might want to reconsider.

Stockholm at last

2009-07-30T13:56:00.002+01:00

We left Ostersund on a high speed train scheduled to arrive in Stockholm in time for a late dinner. Unforunately we hit our first serious travel delay in a long time. Even though it was an inconvenience and our five hour ride took 10 hours and included a bus and another train, I have to give high marks to the Swedish rail service. Though it didn't affect us, several people had connections and I could tell by the announcements and watching what was going on that they had set up hotel rooms, food vouchers and new train tickets the next day for these folks. Maybe the airlines could learn a thing two?

When we arrived in Stockholm slighly after midnight, it was cold and raining and the first cabbie at the stand wouldn't take us to our hotel after we'd gotten all loaded up because he said we could walk...30 mintues, in the dark, in the rain, wasn't going to happen. We did get a very friendly cabby who had watched our first cab experience happen and had felt really bad, it was really nice.

Our room at the Hotel Stureplan was awesome. We had gone for one of their contemporary loft rooms instead of a classicly decorated room. It was the perfect antidote to the hassles of the trip even if the minibar was dinner and drinks. The neighborhood is a great place to stay and play as it seemed, to us anyway, to be the heart of the party part of the city.

We slept in, skipped breakfast and met up with a couple of colleagues from our corporate office in Stockholm who took us to lunch. Everyone had been telling us that we had to go to the Vasa museum. We weren't really sure about this, a museum about an old boat, but everyone was so insistent we figured we better check it out. We got ourselves 72 hour mass transit passes, jumped on a bus and headed over. It proved to be an amazing thing to see. The museum houses a 17th century naval war vessel that met an early fate and is extremely well preserved. It was raised from the harbor in 1961. If you only have a couple of hours in Stochkholm I'd put this toward the top of the list. I've never seen anything like it.

Then it was back to the hotel to hook up with a former colleague from the States who lives in Stockholm. While waiting for him, we induldged at the hotel bar, Per Lei, with a champagne tasting that was great fun. It was slow at teh bar so we were able to have a long talk with the sommelier who was a very knowledgable and being Swedish, extremely friendly. We didn't have dinner there, but next time I'm back it looks like a nice place for a long, quiet dinner for two.

After hooking up with Babak he took us for a walk through the old part of the city where we hooked up with a friend of his and then went to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant called Sogni, not too far from our hotel. It was here that all the answers to our alcohol in Sweden questions seemed to come together. They don't drink much wine as it was never grown in the country so beer and spirits are the norm. Almost every place you go has a menu of shots worthy of an American spring break experience. They also don't really have bars, what happens is restaurants, like Sogni, turn into bars after dinner and they stay open well into the night. We also found buying anything other than beer for personal consumption hard too. This is because you have to go to what I would call in America a state store. These stores are open with very limited hours and are rarely located in town centers, which is why we could never successfully get a bottle of wine for the train.

Our last day in Sweden, we were exhausted. It had been a great trip, but we had been on the move the whole time so we slept in again and then just walked around. The Swedes do an amazing job of mixing ancient and contemporary architecture in a pleasing way.

We were done touring and just took in the city and the people. It was a fitting end as we spent several hours just rehashing all the ground we had covered and thing we had seen and done and then went back to our hotel room to close all the shades at 11p to hopefully get it dark enough to want to sleep.

Ostersund

2009-07-30T12:09:00.000+01:00

The night train to Ostersund was interesting. It wasn't quite as comfortable as we had expected, but we did get some sleep. By now it wasn't ever really getting dark, which made convincing yourself to go to sleep a little hard. And, as fate would have it, the train arrived 40 minutes early. The difference between 6:20a and 7:00a always seems like alot to me.

We walked through the sleeping town to our hotel to drop off our bags. Even though we weren't even registered yet they invited us to indulge in the massive buffet breakfast - that amazingly friendly Swedish culture that we experienced again and again. After breakfast we walked around town and waited for the vistor center/bike rental center to open at 9a.

We got a pair of really nice mountain bikes at the visitors center and headed to the bike trails on the island of Froson. It was cloudy and it had been sprinkling a little bit, but the weather was supposed to turn toward partly cloudy. However, about seven miles out of town it started to rain. We stopped to get out of the rain and tour Froso Church, a small, wooden church that was first built in about 800 and had recently been restored. It was really beautiful inside with sea themed murals. When we left the church it was still raining so we went across the road to The Music Cafe where we had waffles with cloudberries and hot coffee until we were nice and dry. It was becoming obvious that the rain wasn't going to stop, so we decided to head back to town and our hotel room rather than ride on in the pouring rain. We were cold and soaked when we got back, but it had been a great ride.

It did eventually stop raining and we headed out for a late lunch and to walk around the town. Before we left the next day we took a ride on the S S Thomee, an 1875 lake steamship, to tour a small part of Lake Storsjon. The lake is huge. After riding for more than an hour we came upon the open center of the lake and though we could see the moutains rising on the other side, we couldn't see the shore as it was beyond the horizon. The lake is said to be home to a lake monster that is a relative of the Loch Ness Monster.

Orebro

2009-07-30T11:08:00.002+01:00

It was a great train ride from Malmo - the Swedish rail system is wonderfully pleasant, efficient and friendly - to Orebro.

After checking into our room at the Plaza Hotel, we went out looking for some dinner. It's a small town and things were rolling up early so we ended up at a local Pizza joint that seemed pretty busy. Great pizza and great fun. We were far off the tourist trail and only one person in the restaurant spoke English. The chef from the back came out and we talked about our order. He found it hard to comprehend that we didn't want meat or fish on our pizza, but was happy to make it with onions and peppers. It was special for us to be in this town in the heart of Sweden and the pizza chef thought it was really great to meet two Americans who had come his way.

We spent the next day touring the town. It's got a true medieval heart centered at Orebro Slott. The castle itself has actually been turned into a conference center, but they offer a fun guided performance tour that features people from the tower's history reenacting scenes and involving the audience. It was fun. If you have kids a definite must.

Orebro is a big destination town for camping and cycling in Sweden. While we were there they were having their annual summer arts festival. In addition to public sculptures, we caught some public performances of dance and music.

Just down from the Slott is Wadkoping, one of several open air museums in Sweden where buildings and life from medieval times are preserved. We saw the one in Lund from the outside, it was very museum like. The one in Orebro is a living museum, with shops, restaurants and lots of activities for kids. We also visited St. Peter's church and caught the noon chimes of the clock at the Radhuset or city hall.

The other fun thing in Orebro is the Svapen or water tower. A famous design that has been copied by towns and cities around the world. It has an observation platform on the top with, of course, a coffee shop and a gift shop.

After a day of touring we hung out in a nice outdoor beer hall in the center of town with a view of the castle before catching the night train.

Lund & Malmo

2009-07-29T20:15:00.012+01:00

We went to Lund primarily to meet up with our friend and colleague Matts who wanted to officially welcome us to Sweden. Before hooking up we checked into our room at The Grand Hotel. The room wasn't too grand, but the rest of the place was in a classic way. The staff had that incredible Swedish friendly thing going on and you had this feeling like you were staying in one of the hotels from the early days of the U.S. transcontinetal railroad.

Lund University, founded in 1666, is Sweden's biggest research focused university and heavily influences the feel of the town from a personality and architectural standpoint. Matts was running late so we took a walk around.

We met up with Matts back at The Grand where he had made reservations for dinner. The restaurant is considered one of the best Swedish restaurants in the area and has an amazing wine list. As part of our welcome, Matts guided us through a first course of three kinds of herring, Swedish akavit and beer - simply sublime. For dessert we had another Swedish speciality, cloudberries, which were served with ice cream and a confection that translates as "cake baked on a spit", but seems to be a meringue with added flour that is piped out and then baked. Cloudberries are very special, if you ever get a chance to have some, don't pass it up. After dinner Matts gave us a walking tour of town.

The next day we made sure to make time to retrace a few of our steps to visit the Lund Cathedral, which was founded in 1085, and i renowned for its astrological clock. Then we jumped on the train to Malmo for the day.

Malmo is a great small city, with a beautiful medievil center. We only had a few hours there and so only took a walk around, visited the oldest church in town and had a few beers. If we had, had more time, a visit to the contemporary art museum seemed like a good idea as well as a visit to the Turning Torso tower which, as Sweden's tallest building looms above the city from miles away. Though as I understand it, you can't actually enter the building as a tourist. I remember watching the Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering about the building of the tower. It was really exciting to see it so close.

Copenhagen

2009-07-25T13:55:00.010+01:00

We spent two nights in Copenhagen before riding across the Oresund Bridge to Sweden for a week of touring the country. After a really easy train ride from the airport, we checked into our amazing hotel, The Copenhagen Island Hotel, about midnight. It was only one stop on the S-trains to Copenhagen Central Station from the heart of the tourist area and next to an "American" style mall with a great food court for a cheap breakfast or lunch...and great Dane watching.

After a couple of challenges - neither our UK or US credit cards would work in the machines - we were able to get a "10 klip" transit card for riding on the S-trains as well as the subway, a great bargain and an easy way to go.

We didn't have much time in Copenhagen and wanted to high the highlights. We started by walking through the main shopping district toward Nyhavn. Definitely a place to see. Beautiful architecture there and along the way. When we got there we discovered that we had lucked into part of the Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

After a couple of beers and some music we bought tickets and toured the canals by boat. A great introduction to the city, especially if you only have a a few hours. You get to see some of the oldest and newest archiecture of the city and get a real feel for the layout and key areas.

The next day we were up early and among the first visitors of the day at Rosenborg Slot. Dating from the 17th century, the Slot's treasury houses the Danish Crown Jewels while the Slot itself has some amazing collections. The one that really blew me away was the "glass cabinet" on the third floor...a room filled floor to ceiling with antique Venetian glass. Even in Venice I never saw anything like this.

Afterwards we headed to the Rundetaarn (Round Tower), unlike the usual sprial staircase this is a spiral ramp. It made for an easy walk and with a really wide space on the top, a great view of the city.

Then it was time to grab a quick bite and jump a train for our next stop - Lund in Sweden.

can you kew?

2009-07-16T17:35:00.016+01:00

In June I went to Kew Gardens twice, each time with a different friend visiting from the States. If you have even the slightes inclination to gardens or parks, this is a must see when you visit London. A key word of caution...guide books say you can see it in 3 to 4 hours, well I spent a total of 10+ non-stop hours over two days and saw most, but not all and my pace wasn't exactly leisurely.

Both times we took the train from Vauxhall in London and used the Southwest Trains summer 2 for 1 offer to get in, which given £13 for a ticket was good savings. It's just a short easy walk from the Kew Bridge train station. There's a nice pub with tables out front for a beer when you leave the park.

On my first visit the focus was on the "glass houses":

I also did the Treetop Walkway, the Davies Alpine House and the Rose Pergula. All amazing.

The second trip we got tickets to ride the Kew Explorer (think DisneyWorld parking lot shuttle), which allowed us to see much more of the grounds. We visited:

Again, all amazing.

Even though there are plenty of visitors and you certainly don't feel alone, you don't ever feel crowded...there's plenty of space. I really can't wait to go back and see it in different seasons.

My key word of advice is that the food is typical cafeteria food. There's no lovely place to sit and enjoy a meal and be waited on, so bring a picnic! And comfortable walking shoes.

Teened London 10

2009-07-14T18:36:00.007+01:00

My friend Katherine is bringing her two teens to the UK for summer holiday next month and she asked me for some recommendations. So here are my top ten for things to do in London with a teenaged guy and a teenaged woman...in no particular order.

1. You can't bring a young lady to London and not have proper tea, but what's the young lad to do? Take tea at the British Museum. Tea is served at the Court Restaurant, from 3p to 530p, reservations are highly recommended: +44 (0)20 7323 8990 or email: eat@britishmuseum.org. While the ladies are having scones and finger sandwiches, the lad can wander the galleries.

2. Take a tour boat - not just a transit, but one with a guide that narrates - to Greenwich. Make sure you arrive in time to be close enough to the Royal Observatory to see the ball drop at 1p as it has every day since 1833, before taking your picture straddling the 0 degree meridian that marks GMT. Consider lunch at Trafalgar Tavern, built in 1837, Dickens drank there, plan accordingly as there might be a long wait. Other things to check out in Greenwich include the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, the Fan Museum and the National Maritime Museum.

3. Have lunch from the stalls at Borough Market. Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, this is a truly London moment. Bring your appetite and cash, most stalls take credit cards, but what a pain. Don't miss the grilled cheese and chopped onions sandwiches, look for the raclette signs. After lunch head to Tower Bridge for the tour or if you'd prefer something more macabre the London Dungeon.

4. You can't come to London for the first time without going to the Tower of London.

5. Over the weekend spend some time at Camden Market, open noon to 6p daily, but weekends are most interesting.

6. See a show for half price. Like New York City, London has an official Tkts Tkts service - and lots of not official ones so beware - where you can get day of tickets for shows at half price. What is listed the day before is a good indication of what you'll get the next day. Show up at 10a for the best shot. Want to see something special, most sold out shows offer excellent tickets for sale (usually 10 to 30) for day of show that go on sale when the box office opens. Remember "stalls" means "orchestra section".

7. Grab a coffee, or an expensive lunch, at the Tate Modern Restaurant on the 7th Floor of the Tate Modern for an amazing view of the city. When you're done take in some art, or head out the front door to the right to tour the Globe Theatre.

8. It's really hard to understand World War II and what it meant to the Londoners that lived through it. Other than imagining sleeping on a tube platform by flashlight (aka torch) a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms can help people get a sense of the reality.

9. Gain an understanding of British culture through the centuries by spending a few hours at the Tate Britain. The museum displays the world's largest collection of British art from the 16th century through today. If the weather's great, when you finish go right out the front door and walk across Vauxhall Bridge and have lunch or dinner on the waterfront at St. George Wharf (the giant high rise that looks like cruise ships). If the weather's lousy, go left out the front door to the Millbank Tower where you'll find a Pizza Express (make sure to check the website for great 2-for-1 coupons good at their outlets all over the city).

10. Because you will go to Harrods, with a teenage daughter how could you not, you'll need a destination beyond the Egyptian Escalator. I really recommend for a high level Mother/Daughter moment - send the lad sporting goods on the 5th floor - Harrod's Chocolate Bar.

Don't forget to visit Transport for London to find out how to get around town and most importantly how to get your Oyster card.

everyman

2009-06-08T20:35:00.003+01:00

Over the weekend I read Philip Roth's Everyman. It's a quick read. It took me about two hours. That was the only easy thing about this book.

Roth's brilliance is clearly on display here. It would be almost impossible to read the book and not identify with at least one of the characters. The identification with characters and story lines made this book intensely powerful. It affected my waking thoughts and my dreams.

The book is set around the US Jersey Shore and New York City, where I grew up. This added personal reality of the setting heightened the intensity for me. A key outcome of the book was to bring me back in my life. I found my thoughts and dreams wandering to my childhood, high school years and people and moments I hadn't thought of in a very long time.

Definitely a great summertime deck or beach book. A couple of glasses of wine afterward and you'll win for the best stories of the evening.

Paris Weekend

2009-06-06T15:19:00.017+01:00

Eurostar
Last weekend, Joe and I jumped on a late Thursday night Eurostar and headed to Paris for the weekend. Two hours and 15 minutes to Paris from London. It's great, but I'm still amazed that the food offerings aren't any better than Amtrak's.

Since the train is the perfect place to have a meal, we bring our own. There's a great Marks and Spencer's Simply Food at St. Pancras in London. Gare du Nord in Paris is a bit more challenging, but once you are inside security there's a Paul (it's way in the back) for sandwiches and the Godiva store has a great selection of upscale cheese and luxury treats for a picnic.

I rendezvoused with Joe at the St. Pancras Grand Restaurant. It's a great place to meet. Across from the St. Pancras Grand Champagne Bar, which rarely has seats, the restaurant has tables and couches along the front with a full view of the glass roof and a lack of people that makes finding others easy. You do need to plan on buying a drink, but a glass of champagne before you head to the continent is always nice. Joe and I had the May special, a glass of summer champagne and a plate of chilled British asparagus with herbed mayonnaise.

The Five Hotel
We stayed at a wonderful boutique hotel called The Five which is located on the edge of the 7th arrondissement (near the 13th). Really nice bed and some of the nicest, biggest, softest towels I've ever had anywhere in Europe. The rooms, typically small, were clean and designed to the highest standard of detail. The fiber optic lighting included a wall of starlight in the shower and a shower head that had color LED lights.

The front desk staff were great. Excellent language skills and really helpful. It was about a 10 minute walk to mass transit - either the RER or the Metro's 7 line - and then 10 to 20 minutes to get to the heart of Paris. Despite the closeness, the neighborhood was outside the main tourist zone. Plenty of cafes, restaurants and grocery stores, populated mainly by Parisians.

We arrived about midnight and wanted something to eat. The guy at the front desk sent us a few blocks away where we had falafel sandwiches and fries. Right away we knew we were in Paris. The bread was incredible, the fries extraordinary and the place, literally just a tiny sandwich shop.

The 7th Arrondissement
We spent most of Friday wandering around the 7th Arrondissement. After breakfast at a cafe watching people go by we bought our carnet du dix (10 tickets to ride the Metro or RER, the most cost effective way to go) and and road down to the Jardin Des Plantes. The gardens and trees were beautiful. From there, we walked to the Seine and along it for awhile, just enjoying the amazing weather - it was sunny and in the mid-70s all 3 days we were there.

We turned back into the neighborhood and stopped at the St. Etienne du Mont church which contains the shrine to St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. From there we walked across the street and went into the Pantheon. Impressive architecturally, but not as impressive as Rome's Pantheon. Perhaps it's because the one in Paris was built in the 18th century.

We eventually made our way through little streets over to the Boulevard Saint Michel where we found a cafe and had a bottle of wine and some salad while watching the Parisians go by.

After a nap at the hotel we headed into the heart of Paris for dinner. My foodie friend Janine had recommended Le Souffle, near Place de la Concorde. Joe and I both had the flight of three souffles with salad. I had cheese, mushroom and rose. Joe had forest mushroom; ham and cheese; and chocolate.

I am a bit of a souffle snob so I do have to say the souffles were more formulaic than gourmand. However, if you don't make (or eat) souffles often, you'll be very pleased to have someone else whip the egg whites. The only negative I would share is that the staff pushed hard to turn the tables. Our four course, one hour 15 minute dinner could easily have been 45 minutes if we hadn't gently pushed back.

After dinner we walked along the Seine which was packed with the people of Paris having picnics and enjoying the first hints of summer weather.

Montmartre
Saturday we were off to Montmartre. On the way to the RER we walked through an amazing farmers market on the Boulevard de Port Royal, between our hotel and the Port Royal RER station. Great stuff for making a picnic, unfortunately that wasn't our plan for the day.

On my Mom's first trip to Europe she lit a candle at Scare Coeur and prayed that her children would get to tour Europe one day. I had lit a candle in thanks in 1988, my last trip to Paris, and wanted to honor the tradition by lighting another one.

After visiting the basilica we walked around the side streets and stumbled on a great restaurant, Chez Plumeau. Even though it wasn't out plan, we ended up having a long, long lunch. We sat outside under an old grape arbor full of leaves to provide shade, listening to the nearby street musician and enjoying the food. The staff were great and our fellow diners were a mix of Parisians and travelers from all over the world. Joe started with an excellent French onion soup while I had beet root carpaccio with basil sorbet. Next we both had sandwiches, but that fails to adequately describe these toasted, open face combinations of vegetables and cheeses with sides of fruit and salad.

We had watched amazing desserts come out throughout our meal so we indulged. Joe had the "crazy macaroons", two small scoops of ice cream with four different macaroon cream sandwich cookies on a skewer and I had an apple tart. Excellent, I highly recommend it for a quick cafe and dessert or a full meal. They had several worthy vegetarian options and were happy to make my sandwich without the meat.

It took us most of the rest of the day to stroll and sip cafe and wine back to the Seine and on to our hotel. After a quick nap, we found a little Italian restaurant on Avenue des Gobelins, just about the Metro stop of the same name called Cesars. Good pasta and, though we didn't have one, the pizzas looked incredible.

After dinner we headed over to the Tour Eiffel to see it all lit up. No easy feet as this time of year it doesn't get really dark until after 11p.

A Paris Sunday
We still had a full day in Paris before our train left at 8:45p. After sleeping in, we checked out, left our bags at the hotel, and headed out toward the Musee D'Art Moderne. I was particularly interested in seeing their Cubist collection. Unfortunately the museum was closed for no apparent reason. We weren't the only ones caught by surprise. A couple of Parisians wandered up and seemed a bit miffed too.

We didn't care, the weather was amazing and so we went for a walk down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and then through the Jardin des Tuileries. From there we crossed the Seine and window shopped through the gallery district, stopping at a couple of cafes. Before heading to get our luggage we stopped in a little touristy street and had a great crepe at L'Eloquence, 6, Rue Gregoire de Tours.

Back on Boulevard Port Royal I was surprised to find the chocolate shop next to our hotel open on Sunday afternoon. Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI had the most amazing window displays and I finally succumbed. I bought some beautiful tea cakes and a box of chocolates that look like pastels. We have some company coming from the States in a couple of weeks and I'm saving this little bite of Paris to share with them.

The New Black with a Little Punk

2009-05-29T14:50:00.004+01:00

Last week we saw our first "community theatre" since moving to London. The New Black at The Oval Theatre was smart, fast and very funny.

The theatre, which is in Vauxhall, probably held 100 people. I was able to buy tickets for £12 each the day of the show. A real change from the intensities of West End theatre.

The play is set in a cabaret, with a keyboard player who says little and David Mills, the star. An acerbic rant on contemporary society, the mostly monologue kept the audience laughing throughout the entire play while forcing us to reflect on our own viewpoints and actions, as good art can do.

The play was American in origin, but had been localized in a way that reminded me of Shear Maddness. I'm not sure if The New Black is traveling elsewhere, but if you need a good laugh, don't miss it.

A man, a chair and a stage...my kind of play.

A Little Punk
The theatre has a gallery space which I strolled while waiting to head to our seats. The show featured three artists that are members of The Union Gallery. The theme was Punk-art related and I found a piece I just had to have - the Union Jack with the word P U N K spelled out with Scrabble tiles by the artist Ben Oakley. It's on the gallery wall until the show closes on 13 June.

I passed!

2009-05-22T18:19:00.003+01:00

Last week the 18 month, £1,000+ saga of getting my UK driver's license came to a successful end. Well, almost, after I passed in true British process fashion they confiscated my driving permit and will send me a new license in 2 to 4 weeks. Trust and DMV, not usually words I'm comfortable with in the same sentence.

If you've been following the blog you know that I passed my written and video hazards tests last July. That was proceeded by a multi-week investigation into how to get a driver's permit followed by the actual application process which involved trying to find a six week period during which I could surrender my passport to the UK equivalent of the DMV, the DVLA. Unlike in the States there are no counters with surly government employees, just a mailing address.

After a break from test stress, this January I contacted the Royal Auto Club's official driving school, BSM. A littel side trivia here, the RAC was started in the very early days of the automobile and while they helped motorists and enthusiasts, according to a recent BBC documentary, their big initial membership jump came when they developed a system to warn members about speed traps. Teens on bikes...I kid you not...who would signal to members displaying their membership medalion of a speed trap ahead. For some reason that's not mentioned in their official Wikiepedia entry.

After 19 hours in the car with my awesome instructor Makabia I passed the first time around. Just as stressful as when I took my first test a long time ago... It was all about learning to drive like a 17 year-old again and forgetting gut and common sense to follow the rules to the letter. Makabia was an awesome instructor. I had been concerned that I would get some "kid" who wouldn't get that I had been driving for a long time, but he was great. Ask for him if you're taking lessons in South London. The fact that he's smart and funny is a bonus.

All my American friends keep asking me about how it is driving on the other side of the road. That part is amazingly easy. The hard part really comes down to vocabularly. The best example is pavement. In the States that's the road. In the UK that's the sidewalk, the road is the carriageway.

After it was all over I took myself out of champagne lunch. I was talking with one of the guys that works at the restaurant who is from South Korea and was telling him my story. He was shocked. He told me all he had to do was mail his South Korean license in and he got a UK one, didn't even have to take a written test or surrender his passport.

As one of my friend's over here says, "it's just part of the hazing of the American's, we're worried you'll get too arrogant."

canapes & such

2009-05-22T17:39:00.011+01:00

Had a couple of friends over a couple of weekends ago for dinner. Just had a chance to look at the pictures and I'm hungry all over again. It was one of the best dinners I've done in a long time. The food came out perfect and we all had so much fun it was over before we knew it.

Everything was from scratch, including the puff pastry and french rolls. I really believe my puff in the UK is much better than in the States, but I give all the credit to the hand-churned french butter I get at Borough Market. The rolls were the only disappointment, they were the right texture and a great crust, but I made them a little big.

Hors d'oevures

Pimms No. 1 Original Cocktail/Hendrick's G&T
Olive Tapenade/Goat Cheese & Sage Puffs
Stichelton/Goat Cheese/Olives Stuffed with Almonds Hot Puffs
Hummus & Crudites
Olives & Nuts

Soup
Broccoli Stichelton with Wild Rice and Red Pepper Confetti
French Rolls with Hand-churned French Butter

Entree
Appenzeller Souffle Extra Fine String Beans Steamed in Lime & Orange Pepper

Salad
Mixed greens , Mandarin Oranges, Pomegranates
and Sunflower Seeds
Topped with Fried Scallions and Dressed with Sunshine

Cheese Assorted British and French Cheeses Proseco

Dessert Pear Sauce Cake Topped with
Belgian Dark Lavender Chocolate with a selection of coffees, teas & ports

2009-05-12T19:35:00.002+01:00

I finally bit the tweet and opened a Twitter account. More for professional/work reasons than for social networking, but I'm doing both. It's an interesting medium and getting the hang of it for commercial purposes is fun for me.

I am having some annoying technical challenges. Mostly related to the fact that I can seem to receive Tweets on my Blackberry. I've activated my mobile and can send using the text function. I also installed TwitterBerry, but I have the same problem, I can send, get my list of friends, but can't get anyone else's Tweets. Hope springs.

Water for Elephants

2009-05-12T19:23:00.002+01:00

Finished Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen last week. Despite its popularity I had set it aside because the edition I got from someone, somewhere included a book club discussion guide. I don't really see myself as a book club kind of guy, so I couldn't imagine that I'd get into it.

What a wonderful read. It was a fun jaunt with the circus that compelled you to turn the page. The ending is a little disappointing though. I found the book to be very believable up to that point, but it just ended on such an unrealistic note. But the last few pages didn't diminish how much I enjoyed the ride.

If you haven't already, you should get a ticket for the big top!

Trails from the East

2009-05-05T20:45:00.004+01:00

This week I finished watching an incredible 13-part documentary on LinkTV called Trails from the East. Produced by Dutch documentarian Rob Hof, it is conversations with people, just regular people, riding trains. The film travels from Vietnam, across Asia, the Middle East and Europe and ends in the EU in the Balkans.

It was riveting. The conversations mostly focused on the speakers' opinions about globalization, economic opportunity, politics and religion. The editing was done in such a way that it's rarely an interview and is more often a monologue.

The way it's shot you feel like you are in the train, sitting across from the person just listening. The viewpoints are varied and present a balance between people who see a global way forward of peace and those that want to build barriers and retreat into their own spaces. Perhaps most amazingly, given the subject matter, the film makes no judgments of the people, though the oppression of human rights is noted from time to time.

Hof, a social anthropologist, speaks eight languages and had traveled much of the same path before. I attributed much of this to his ability to get people to open up and speak so freely. He does a great job of explaining his motivations for the film and the approach he used in this short video.

It filled me with hope for a future long beyond me. Don't miss it!

Float

2009-05-05T20:19:00.004+01:00

This weekend I did something I haven't done in about 15 years. I spent an hour in a flotation tank. If you don't know about these, check out this news story featuring the place where I went:

Both times I found that it really does do all the things they promise. I was able to meditate very easily and deeply and when the hour was up, I felt incredibly relaxed and energized.

The next day, when I woke up my back and neck muscles, where I store much of my stress, were sore. Not in a strained kind of way, but the way they feel the day after you've had a really deep massage that releases lots of toxins.

I probably won't make the effort to do it again anytime soon, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. My shoulders are still hanging relaxed and lower than they have in months.

Stabilizing an Unstable Economy

2009-04-26T19:04:00.002+01:00

I just finished plowing, and I mean plowing, through Hyman P. Minsky's Stabilizing an Unstable Economy. Minsky was a leading U.S. economist during the second half of the 20th century. I was drawn to his work because of his focus on public policy and financial crises, for obvious current events.

Admittedly about half the book went right over my head - there were way too many math formulas. Formulas aside the book was intellectually challenging for a non-business school person.

It did help me to better understand what has been happening economically in the U.S. since the late 1960s, especially since the 1980s and the S&L crisis and how all that fits into public economic policy.

Clearly Minsky has his own belief about what is right. I think in many ways his policy approach while smart for the 1980s, lacks an answer for today. It does however point direction and has helped inform my opinion.

Whether you decide to attempt this feat is up to you...though I'm sure plenty of my friends will be able to easily digest, math formulas and all.

Beer, Chocolate, Cheese & Pasta

2009-04-26T18:04:00.008+01:00

We had a full day in Brugge on Sunday since our train wasn't leaving until about 7p. We headed to a lesser toured area of the city to see the Belgian Lace Museum. When you look at most contempoary lace it's rather boring. But I have found in my travels around Europe that antique lace has a delicacy and intricacy that reminds me of Buddhist monk sand mandals. The museum also works with local resident to help preserve the art of handmade lace, which is always a nice touch. As a little bonus Jeruzalemkerk is located right next to the lace museum. Dating to the 15th century the chruch used in the movie In Brugge as the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The windmills in town aren't too far from here and worth the extra couple of blocks just to check them out and while you're there, make sure you walk by the Kruispoort, an original city gate that dates to 1402...along with the city moat!

Belgium may be the world's capital of chocolate, but it seems the Belgians think Brugge is the capital of Belgian chocolate. Everywhere you look there are custom chocolate houses. You can't go home without some so we went to Stephan Duman. I have to admit that the contemporary design edge of the shop drew me in...it didn't disappoint. I've never been a sweet kind of guy, I'm a savory man, but I plowed through that 500g of chocolate in less than two weeks...very fast for me.

Having had our fill of beers, fried things, chocolate and more beer we decided to try an Italian restaurant just off market square for a late lunch/pre-travel meal. Ristorante Adriatico proved to be an excellent choice. I haven't had Italian food this good since I was in Rome. A stellar spinach soup and then baked pasta that defies description. Not exactly Flemish, but if you have a hankering for anything Italian, go!

A special shout out to our buds Neil and Dan whose passion for Brugge as a London weekend getaway pushed this destination higher on our list than it would've ranked otherwise.

Sites & Sounds of Brugge

2009-04-26T16:48:00.006+01:00

Saturday we set out to take in some of the key tourist sites of the city. The Musea Brugge pass was an excellent bargain for us. Essentially you get in to every key museum and art space in the city with three minor exceptions, the chocolate museum, the diamond museum and the lace museum. The lace museum was the only one on the list we planned to visit.

We started out at the Basilica of the Holy Blood. This lovely little church in the heart of the city has a reliquary that contains the blood of Christ. I've seen lots of reliquaries in my tours of Europe, but this one definitely makes the top 10. From there we went next door to the Stadhuis, which has the most amazing Gothic hall on the second floor. The building is mostly 14th and 15th century and a definite must see.

We also visited the Hospital Museum - there are two actually, we went to Meming in Sint-Jan. It was, frankly, more interesting than I had anticipated. First of all you're talking about hospitals and medicine from medieval times in a country that was wealthy and had a very strong commitment to caring for the poor. Influenced greatly by religion, the thing that struck me the most was the focus on humane treatment for people regardless of their "station in life".

The "big" museum is the Groeninge. Normally this would've have housed a collection of primarily Belgian fine art. However, it was completely reassembled for an exhibtion called Charles the Bold. For the Flemish this was an incredibly important exhibit. Charles had been a beloved monarch from the 15th century. The country was very wealthy at that time and Charles traveled to war with a level of personal and cultural luxuries beyond pale for this time in world history. Unfortunatley in a massive defeat in which Charles had to flee, the Swiss got it all. This exhbition was the first time those possessions, taken so long ago, had touched Belgian soil. The pride of the Belgian visitors was palpable as they marveled at the style and quality of the artisianship of their ancestors.

Other highlights of the day included seeing Michelangelo's Madonna and Child - reportedly the only piece sold outside of Italy during his lifetime - and having a beer in the oldest tavern in Brugge...it's been serving travelers since 1515. A very touristy stop, but relaxing and charming and in a hostel kind of way, it was fun to watch people from all over the world stop in for a drink.

That evening we headed to the Concertgebouw to hear the world premier of Tejas by Wim Henderickx, a flemish composer. The piece is officially subtitled "What does the sound of the universe look like?" so...no reference to Texas. The piece was juxtaposed with Stravingky's Le Sacre du Printemps. An amazing evening. The building itself is an imposing piece of contemporary architecture (with accoustics to match) that sits at the entrance to this amazingly well-preserved medieval city. The piece - and the performance - of the premier was the most impressive piece of contempary symphonic music I had ever heard. The fun didn't end there. In the lobby at intermission, Joe started chatting up one of the bass players, who then introduced us Wim, who seemed happy to step away from whomever was chewing his ear and spent the rest of intermission just talking with us. It was just one of those great moments of serendipity.

Seging Brugges

2009-04-18T11:51:00.022+01:00

A few weekends ago, we spent a long weekend in Brugges. What a great town and the perfect time of year too. Just as Spring was pushing through the soft ground and before too many tourists arrived. This medieval town is incredibly well preserved and very tourist friendly.

We took the train from London. It took just under 4 hours including transfer waits, etc. Our hotel, Hotel de Goezeput, an old monastery was really nice. Historic, wood beam architecture, romantic roof top views, beautiful church bells in the mornings (not too early), a nice breakfast and a simple bar that was for an afternoon beer. Everyone was really friendly. While it was perfect for a place to sleep and shower, I might recommend something a little more upscale for a longer visit as the bed was a bit worn and the bath small. But we got much more than we paid for and would stay again.

We arrived Thursday at midnight, got settled and went to bed. Friday morning we met up with our friends Loreen and Mike who were on their own random travels. After a stop for coffee and then for some incredible Belgian frites, we headed over to Segway Brugge for a Segway tour. (The frites place had been recommneded to us as the best in Brugges...you'll find it at the corner of Geldmunststr. and St. Jakobsstr. -- the Segway tour place is on St. Jackobs, so you can stop on your way there or afterwards). I'd always wanted to ride one and was more interested in the Segway than the tour.

The tour company owners were very friendly. They were just finishing lunch when we arrived and invited us to finish our frites in the kitchen. They also had a great dog that really took to Loreen - it probably had nothing to do with the frites she was feeding him. From the Netherlands, they had moved to Brugges last fall to start the business.

After a brief training in the shop, our guide took us to a small courtyard where we were given some more training and were allowed to ride without a person standing next to us. It's interesting because you want to "control" the machine, but it really works best the more you relax and just let it be part of you. By the time we were done with the tour I really felt like I had robot wheels attached to my legs - totally cool.

Our guide understood that we were more interested in driving the Segways than taking the official tour, so our experience was more about seeing the archictecture and riding the machines, than learning about the city. He did make sure we got to some amazing highlights including the inner garden of a 17th century almshouse, the swans at Minnewater and the most spectacular moment of the entire weekend the Begijnhof. We took lots of pictures, but none of them conveys the beautfy of this "walled complex" for nuns that was over run with daffodils in bloom.

The four of us then spent the rest of the day wandering around, tasting beers, munching and watching the world go by. A great start to the weekend.

nar

2009-03-22T17:24:00.002Z

While there are plenty of eateries in our neighborhood, there really hasn't been a place I'd want to go to regularly. Aqua at St. George Wharf has nice views and the pizza is OK, but it's not really a dining experience as much as a great place to drink some wine and watch the water.

When we arrived a year and a half ago there was a place that looked like a great Italian restaurant, but closed within weeks of our arrival...so probably not. Over the last few months the space has been under renovations and opened about two weeks ago. I decided to check it out.

Nar Bar and Restaurant shows enormous potential. The extensive menu is both Turkish and southern Italian. Though we didn't have one, the pizza looked amazing. We went with a table full of Turkish mezzos. The falafel was wonderfully spiced in a way I have not commonly tasted. The stuffed grape leaves were the real thing, well spiced with pine nuts and sultanas, not just rice and dill...excellent. Nothing disappointed and most everything added a twist of flavor to the expected for a little surprise for the palate.

There's a nice wine list and the staff are more than happy to serve you. Jimmy (I suspect not his real name), the Turkish restaurant manager, was very friendly and treated us to a couple of glasses of dessert wine. The baklava was very fresh, tasting more of pistachio than honey, and the rice pudding with rose water was exacting and delicate.

All of this is done in an amazingly decorated space. It's worth a stop by for a drink at the bar to admire the interior design, especially the woodwork.

Best of all, the place qualifies as moderately priced. Can't wait to go back and try the pizza!

LondonWeekendSaturday

2009-02-26T20:15:00.002Z

Saturday we got up, had some coffee and headed out to The British Museum. This was the one major museum in London we had yet to visit. It is definitely one of those places where you can spend days and never see it all. Fortunately in our online explorations before heading over we found a great self-guided three-hour tour recommended by the museum.

If you are pressed for time, it is worth walking in just to see the Great Court, which is a glass covered 2-acre indoor plaza. We had lunch in the Court Restaurant (reservations recommended) which affords great views of the court and a bit of respite for the feet. They had started tea service as we were leaving and it looked like a great place for tea too.

I don't even know how to try to tell you about what we saw, it covered everything from Greek art to Chinese vases, an Easter Island statue to 20th century clocks. Seeing the Rosetta Stone was amazing. When you get to see this thing that you learned about as a little kid that is considered a key foundation of modern knowledge you have to be a bit awed. They have a replica outside the case that you can actually touch.

Whether historical world culture excites or bores you, you'll find at least a couple of hours, if not days of things to peak your interests.

LondonWeekendFriday

2009-02-25T18:12:00.004Z

Last weekend was a non-stop mix of intensity, fun and culture. It started off with my first behind the wheel driving lesson. It went pretty well. I like my instructor and he recommended I book my driving test right away, so a couple of more months and I should be driving in the UK! It was however, really intense. Trying to learn the UK way of doing things, which often involves unlearning the US way of doing things, combined with having a teacher in the car with London traffic - certainly not a Sunday drive.

I couldn't wait to get to lunch and have a glass of wine. Joe and I met up with our friend Bernie at a quaint French bistro near Covent Garden. She's from South Africa so mostly we talked about our pending safari plans.

On the way to lunch I stopped at the Tkts booth for the Official London Theatre Society and picked up two tickets for Plague Over England. It was a great play. Using the "tea room" (what the Brits call "cottaging") arrest of Sir John Gielgud in 1953 as the center of the story, the play explores the nascent gay rights movement in England at the time. As a play it was engaging and well done. As an opportunity to learn about a moment in time and juxtapose it against my knowledge of the gay rights movement in the U.S. it was excellent.

Before the play we had dinner at Sitaaray, in the West End theatre district. The food was good, but the concept was great. Essential it was a tasting menu, we received a couple dozen of things to taste, which was fun for me. I tend to stick to my favorites at Indian restaurants and don't explore much so this really gave me that opportunity. And the price was really reasonable.

In Cold Blood

2009-02-17T20:42:00.003Z

I don't think, other than a short story or so, I had read any Truman Capote before reading In Cold Blood. A long time ago I had seen the movie and I knew it was this iconic true story, but I hadn't really thought about putting it on the reading list.

I had received it as a gift, the Christmas before last and it looked like a good book for traveling so it came with me to the States. Divided into short enough segments that it's easy to pick up and put down, yet exciting and interesting enough to pull you away from the overhead announcements and the airport throngs or to make hours of flying disappear, it is a good traveling book.

What can I say, other than if you haven't read the book, get it. You don't often get such direct insight into anyone's mind, let alone that of two killers.

For added fun, knowing I had the book, a few months ago I picked up the DVD of the movie. Definitely read the book first, but then do see the movie. Shot in the actual town, with real towns people, at the real house made it an interesting experiment in comparing how I "saw" what I read and what things really looked like.

ChocolateBliss

2009-02-17T19:31:00.008Z

After two weeks in Washington, I headed to New Jersey to visit the folks and celebrate my Mom's upcoming 70th birthday. In honor of the occasion I had booked us at the historic Hershey Hotel, and its Chocolate Spa for three days of mother/son quality time and plenty of pampering.

They were calling for a big snow storm on the East Coast of the U.S. so we headed up a day early, which made it even more relaxing. From the moment the valet opened the car door until he closed it three days later, it was nothing but total relaxation.

After checking in on Monday evening, we took a walk around the hotel, enjoying its 1930s architecture. After a cocktail in the bar and dinner in one of the restaurants we went back to the bar for dessert. We each had a signature Hotel Hershey Coffee - Kahlua, cognac, Hershey's chocolate syrup and coffee all topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. To round things out we shared a serving of orange chocolate angel food cake, which came with a beautiful winged cookie and fresh mandarin oranges.

Tuesday morning we both ordered the Spa Breakfast from room service to set the mood. It included a great muesli, these really tasty high fiber muffins, fresh fruit, juice and coffee. Then it was off to the gym, followed by a swim in the huge indoor swimming pool. Since it was a weekday in early February the place was practically abandoned. The absence of other guests and the minimal spa visitors just added to the overall relaxation. I spent over an hour in the pool just hanging out all by myself.

That afternoon we started our spa treatments. I had a great sea scrub followed by a soothing hydrotherapy bath. I met my Mom back in the room and we had champagne and snacks that I had packed for our cocooning in the room.

Wednesday was the major spa day. After a light room service breakfast of fruit, juice and coffee we were off to the spa. I relaxed with a long steam before heading to the quiet room to enjoy some homemade hot cocoa. The kind made with powdered cocoa, milk, sugar and a pinch of salt...all you can drink...along with coffee, tea, lemon water, etc. My first service was a mojito body wrap with a vichy shower. After some relaxation time it was off to the Oasis restaurant for lunch.

Lunch at the Oasis must be the height of spa decadence. The food, a delicious and abundent buffet, included shrimp, several salads and pork loin. Even though I didn't have any, the lamb and barley soup, which my Mom ate, looked and smelled wonderful. For dessert there was an incredible array of little chocolate things. I really enjoyed the mini chocolate pecan pie in particular. And you get to do all this in your spa robe as only spa patrons eat here. The views of the hotel gardens, the sound of the water fountain add to the relaxed atmosphere, but alas, there is a pampering schedule to be kept.

As we were getting ready to leave, the hostess came over to our table and with a look of abject horror on her face apologized to my Mother, her 2:30 service had been pushed to 3:00. The hostess invited her to linger over lunch a little longer and assured her that the rest of her day would go as planned. This was the kind personalized attention we enjoyed throughout our stay.

After lunch I had an 80-minute chamomile relaxation massage and then a fun 75-minute private pedicure that included exfoliation, massage and paraffin. No polish, just a nice natural buff.

That night we ate left over snacks and had room service dinner. The room service waiter had inquired about our stay and we told him we were celebrating my Mom's birthday. When he returned to pick up our table he brought a lovely plate of chocolate petite fours for her. On our last morning I arranged for a late checkout as my Mom had a salon visit scheduled and I wanted to go to the gym.

The first contacts to make the plans and schedule the services set a standard of attention to detail and service that carried on throughout the entire trip. The recently renovated (and upgraded - big flat screen TV, fridge, sheets, pillows, etc.) room was wonderful and the relaxation hard to beat. The only thing I found disappointing - and I knew in advance - was that you need a jacket, and they prefer a tie, for the main dinning room. I did get to see the architecturally famous dining room though, and it is beautiful. The menu didn't look too bad either. Maybe by the time I get back they'll have loosened up a little.

FarrahOlivia

2009-02-17T18:40:00.007Z

During my almost three and a half weeks in the U.S. I did manage to go out to dinner once or twice. The biggest dining event was at FarrahOlivia in Old Towne Alexandria, Virginia. I was joined by my favorite fun dining friends, Martha and Janine.

I've spent quite a bit of time, too much time in fact, contemplating the overall experience. I finally decided that all that time validates my opinion that it was a mediocre experience, even though expectations were high.

The first disappointment was the service. We were promptly greeted on a Sunday evening and seated. Our waiter came over, answered some questions and with his cell phone ringing departed the table...never to return. He did eventually return to the dining room, but we sat ready to order for entirely too long before a new person arrived, nodded a brief apology and took our order.

The three of us ordered the seven course tasting menu, Janine and I had the vegetarian version with wine pairings, while Martha had the standard tasting menu, but only a glass of wine since she had volunteered to be the designated driver. Throughout the evening, the service remained a little too catch-as-catch-can, though it was certainly more attentive than our initial reception.

The food scored very high in creativity, but I found myself thinking, just because it's creative doesn't make it amazing, palate-pleasing or even fun. This was reinforced by the wine pairings. Janine and I have no qualms about going head-to-opinionated-head with each other so when our opinions align strongly we usually feel safe that we're in the right. The wine with either the second or third course was a total mis-match. It wasn't that we didn't like the wine, it was just plain wrong, clashing with the food on our palates making neither taste good. We noted that the leftover sips in our glasses went excellently with the course that followed. And, while the wines were all solid, like the service and the food, nothing wowed.

Frankly, I go to restaurants like FarrahOlivia to be wowed. All in all, I left feeling that there were many other restaurants I'd have preferred to have spent the evening.

I can't recommend it and I can't say that I'll give it a second chance, which if you've been reading my food entries in the blog you'll know is pretty extreme.

Obama Live!

2009-01-20T21:35:00.009Z

Thanks to the connections of my friend Steve I was granted the privledge of a silver ticket for the swearing in ceremony earlier today. I left Steve's house on Capitol Hill about 8a and headed to the Potomac Avenue metro stop. The first train that came by was full, but there was still room to squeeze a few people on. On a normal day it would've been a seven minute ride, but today it took about 35 minutes. The problem was getting people out of the stations. We rode through Capitol South and Federal Center SW without opening the doors, which was a good thing. It was a bit frightening to see all the people on the platforms, but clearly they had crowd control, under control.

All the time on the train, people were happy and friendly. Asking questions about each other, their friends, their plans, where they came from. There were only two Washingtonians near me. I spoke to folks from Colorado, New York, Kentucky and Alabama.

At L'Enfant Plaza everyone got out. While it was a mob scene, it was also a calm and happy gathering. As we were working our way up and out, somewhere a whoop would start and it would roll through the entire station, it was an amazing feeling.

Once I was outside, I started working my way to the security check point. There was a bit of confusion, but after awhile the crowds parted and I got into the lower area of the section. I immediately queued to get to the front section. All in all it took about 2 hours and 15 minutes, but I was able to be about 5 people back from the road that separates the reflecting pond area and the lawn of the Capitol, center stage. So, while the people were small, I could see them live.

With about 90 minutes to wait, all of us got to knowing our neighbors. My nearest neighbor was the student body president from Rochester Institute of Technology who had flown in the night before and was heading out tonight for classes tomorrow. There was one guy near me from DC, everyone else was from somewhere else...Ohio, New York and Minnesota. Periodically the crowd would break into cheers of "Obama" or "Yes We Can".

Finally things got underway. Ted Kennedy got a big cheer, as did Jimmy Carter. Bush senior got booed, as did Lynne Cheney and Laura Bush. When "W" came out the crowd broke into a chant of..."na, na, na, na, hey, hey, goodbye"...not booing, just chanting, over and over again. It was incredibly cathartic. When Obama came out we just chanted "Obama" again and again. It was great.

Aretha Franklin sang and then there was the John Williams piece, which I heard from people who watched on TV was amazing, but it was a little lost in the wide open space of the mall.

After he took the oath we started chanting "Yes we did"! And then the million plus people fell silent as Obama made his speech, which I thought was incredibly inspiring. The crowd was jubiliant with excitement and the relief of the end of the Bush era.

On my walk back to where I'm staying the people on the street were just so happy. Strangers were smiling and greeting each other on the street like we all lived in a small town. I was particularly struck by a group of old men and women gathered on a street corner. They had a TV and a barrel fire going and had been watching the moment. These people, who probably had very little to be happy about by traditional measures, were emanating the most energetic joy.

And now, the change begins with great hope.

The Custer Story

2009-01-10T18:08:00.004Z

I just finished reading The Custer Story: The Life and Letters of General George A. Custer and His Wife Elizabeth. What a surprise.

I was surprised, as I know my friends were, to find myself reading a book about General Custer. But, having visited the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn, it was just one of those things I was curious about.

It also was surprising to learn that Custer was a very important figure in the U.S. Civil War. Like many people, I had really only known of him by his death at the Battle of Little Big Horn and had always associated him with the westward expansion and exploitation of the American Indian embodied in Manifest Destiny. It turns out his time, and death, in the West amounted to a minor moment at the end of his life that like many "heroes" catapults them into history.

Two things made the book particularly interesting to read. First, as evidenced by the title, the book uses personal correspondence - primarily between Custer and his wife - as the foundation for the story. Secondly, these letters give excellent insight into exactly what life was like in those days and times just before, during and after the Civil War.

If you're more a sociological buff, than a history buff, I recommend this as a good read. It's better than a trip to Colonial Williamsburg!

General Dann and Mara's Daughter

2009-01-04T22:19:00.002Z

The Story of General Dann and Mara's Daughter, Griot and The Snow Dog, was a great fun read over the holidays. The sequel to Mara and Dann: An Adventure, by Doris Lessing, which I read a while ago, it was a quick and easy read.

For me the best part was returning to the memories of the first book, which is an amazing walkabout story, set in a futuristic science fiction earth that is so real you can't help but see parts of it sometimes.

The story of both books have that amazing staying power of a Lessing novel. Part adventure, part science fiction, part chick-lit, part horror it all adds up to moving story that leaves you thinking about life, the planet, the universe and everything - to paraphrase another British author.

Rothko and Meireles

2009-01-04T20:09:00.002Z

After a few days to let my head clear a bit from the Francis Bacon exhibit I headed over to the Tate Modern for two exhibits that were about to close, Cildo Meireles and Rothko - The Late Series.

Other than knowing that Meireles was Brazilian from the promotional information from the Tate, I knew nothing about his work or his motivation. As I explored the exhibition I was fascinated to learn that his motivation was Brazilian political oppression. To me, his works were so much fun. They freed my mind. They inspired my imagination to run wild, creating games in my head for bouncing balls and mazes with mirrors and fish. Not that I found the works to be frivilous, quite the contrary. Their complexity and depth enlivened the imagination with multiple, often simultaneous interpretations.

The highlight of the exhibit was the last room. After standing in a queue for almost 30 minutes I entered an antechamber where I took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my jeans. I then entered two linked rooms. The only light was from a taper burning in the other room. The entire floor was deep with talcum powder about halfway up my calves. It was incredibly beautiful and fun to watch how others reacted. I found it very peaceful and it focused me inward, while others in the room were playful and one woman was clearly frigthened. And, as a bonus, my feet were really soft for two days. If you ever have a chance to see a Cildo Meireles exhibition, go!

After the Meireles, seeing the Rothko exhibition was a sombre cathedral-like experience. The paintings didn't make noise (much of Meireles work had sound, or made sound as you interacted with it), the people weren't playfully interacting, they were staring. I even saw one man who was clearly meditating. I have a real love for Rothkos works, especially the later ones. This was a great opportunity to see my favorites from the Tate and Washington's National Gallery of Art as well as works I've never seen from Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art in Chiba, Japan and other museums. It was such a beautiful experience, I went again on another day.

Francis Bacon

2008-12-31T19:29:00.004Z

I did some museuming over the holidays. The most powerful works I saw were at the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Tate Britain. While I had seen his work many times before, I'd never had the opportunity to see such a comprehensive retrospective.

To say that it was powerful seems, frankly, weak. Perhaps, emotionally gut-wrenching is more accurate. Because of the immersion that the Tate's retrospective provided you couldn't just move on to the next artist in the gallery. You were compelled to let the feelings wash over you. The imagery portrayed such depth of pain and sadness, it pulled you in - often unwillingly - to his world, his viewpoint.

I will never see his work again in the same way. Bacon offers an important reminder of how hard it can be for some people to smile, to be happy and the need to be tolerant and accepting of those challenges. This acknowledgment of others journeys' is particularly of importance for those of us that have enjoyed a "glass half full" existence and serves to remind that you never know when something's going to knock over the glass.

The Dakota

2008-12-30T16:29:00.002Z

I've just finished reading Life at the Dakota, by Stephen Birmingham. The book is the history of the famous Dakota apartment building in New York, from its inception in the late 1800s through the late 1970s. Probably not everyone's idea of a great read, but if you're curious about this famous building and New York around the turn of the last century I can highly recommend it.

The only negative is that the book does leave the story wanting. At the end, John Lennon has not yet been shot and the building is facing a series of major economic challenges. Clearly it has survived those challenges, but you are left wondering how things progressed during the last 30 years. Online research didn't provide me with much insight other than the book was reprinted about 10 years ago and includes an afterward that talks about the murder of Lennon.

I remember cutting class in high school the day after he was shot to go to Manhattan and stand outside the building. It was thronged with people, mostly quiet, some singing and the flowers were piled so high at the entrance you could barely see the iron gates. It was a moving tribute to John Lennon and his music.

Mid-Century Modern

2008-12-21T16:18:00.003Z

Over the last several months I've been picking away at a very fun read, Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. Brini started out as a local access cable TV star in Manhattan. Her show was picked up the Style Network, which is where I found her.

A mix of Donna Read, Mary Tyler Moore and That Girl, Brini's book offers all kinds of ideas and tips for making life more fun. She's an aficionado of the 1950s, 60s and 70s and the height of mid-century modern design, fashion, food and lifestyle.

So if you're looking for a look back, or just need a good recipe for some classic your mother served at bridge parties, this is a great place to start.

Atlas Shrugged

2008-12-19T16:05:00.003Z

About a month ago I took a deep breath and picked up Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. A paperback at 1168 pages of pretty small text, I wondered whether or not I could get through this in a reasonable amount of time. I know the book is renowned for it's political statements and it's promotion of Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, but I just wanted to read it to read it.

It was a breeze, in large part because it is a compelling story. It was a little hard to read given the economic crash that was continuing in November from September and October. Much of the story is about the fall of the American economy from over regulation. As you may recall from the news the last few months, Alan Greenspan referenced that Objectivism had in part guided his tenure as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Certainly plenty to think about, but it does make one recognize that too much of a good thing only leads to trouble. Something to think about as the pendulum swings in the direction of more regulation. Not that I'm saying it's not needed, just that it will be interesting to see if the US government, as well as the other governments around the world, can keep the pendulum of regulation from swinging too far.

London Bridge Hospital

2008-12-19T15:48:00.003Z

As planned, a few days after we got back from Venice I spent the day hanging out at London Bridge Hospital while Joe had some minor day patient surgery. We have had a couple of direct experiences with the UK health care system, but this was by far the largest.

Before this our experiences with UK health care had been limited essentially to our annual physicals. The National Health Care system does not allow for annual physicals, in fact its approach seems to be one that askews the idea of preventive medicine. We shell out hard cash for the physicals, about £500 each.

For Joe's surgery, he first went to his NHS assigned doctor, who acts much like the primary care physician in the 1980s/1990s -- now tossed -- HMO system in the US. Once the doctor gave the diagnosis, our private health insurance kicked in. The coverage was excellent and easy to navigate and paid 100% of the doctor visits, hosptial, surgery and follow-up directly to the providers. And because it was private and not NHS there was no wait -- the wait for the same procedure with NHS was at least 6 months in our area -- and we were able to choose the doctor and the hospital, ensuring we had an expert. During our search, we were pleasantly surprised to also find that most private doctors disclosed a one price covers all for the costs of the procedure including the hospital fees, follow-up, etc. The surgeon Joe picked is considered one of the UK's top ten surgeons for the procedure.

Being an all private, for-profit hospital -- it's owned by HCA -- meant that service was excellent. Plenty of nurses and attendants and a person who's sole job was to make sure that everyone in the day surgery section was fed when and what they wanted within doctors orders. Plenty of TV, video on demand and a very friendly and helpful atmosphere.

Is NHS better? It's hard to say. Between what we pay in NHS payroll taxes, plus private health insurance, plus the cost of our physicals we put forth much more cash than if we were paying for our health insurance on an individual basis in the US. That's the down side. On the up side, everyone has access to health care. I'm not sure though that Americans could handle the limits they would have on prevention, testing and access to the latest techniques and drugs that are common with the NHS.

Venice - the last hours

2008-12-18T15:14:00.007Z

It was our last day in Venice, but our flight didn't leave until early evening so we still had a day to take in a couple of museums and grab lunch before getting on the boat to the airport (which takes a little over an hour).

The museum stop that day was Palazzo Grassi. This museum had an exhibit entitled italics that looked at contemporary Italian art from 1968 through 2008. It's on until 22 March 2009, so if you're in Venice, try to go. After seeing so much art through the centuries, there was something extra fascinating about seeing such recent creations. The palazzo is beautiful as well. We learned that the foundation that supports the museum is rennovating a huge building on the point of the Dorsoduro as a permanent home for contemporary Italian art.

Then we decided to try see if a restaurant we had passed the day before was open for lunch, but first we we went to Santa Maria della Salute. Considered the greatest baroque church in Venice, it was constructed in thanks by those who had survived the plague and held its first services in 1630.

On our way there we passed a small building that was noted in our guidebook. It was the gondola repair shop. A building that had maintained the same function for centuries. It was great fun to just accidently come up it.

From there we went to Lineadombra for lunch. By far the most amazing place we ate in Venice. It's location along the waterfront provides an amazing view of Giudecca, one of the lagoon islands and all the water traffic inbetween. In warmer weather they have a huge deck that juts into the water. They had the best wine list of any we'd seen our entire trip, it went on for so many pages it was hard to focus. Before ordering they brought out the most beautiful platter of the fresh fish of the day -- there were about half a dozen to choose from -- and while they had recommended preparations they were happy to prepare them any way you wanted. We just had wine and pasta and then the most incredible cheese course to wrap things up. The espressos and lemongellos that ended the meal were not on our bill. It was the perfect way to end an amazing week. I would obviously recommend this restaurant, especially if you like seafood, but make it a special occassion meal, because it's not inexpensive. That said, I don't think you'll walk away feeling like you overpaid.

Venice Wanderings Part III

2008-12-18T14:21:00.011Z

This was our last full day in Venice. Venice like so many cities has it's major sites and then tens if not hundreds of things to see and do once you've covered the top ten or so. We made it a heavy museum day. But first we did some serious shopping.

The night before, we had been wandering about and saw these amazing glasses in a shop window. We headed to the store and bought a set of stemware to be shipped to London. The store is in the Campo San Barnaba made famous in the Katherine Hepburn film Summertime. Elena who helped us with the order was really great and she sent us down the street to meet Francesca, the store's owner and a local architect who has designed the glasses. Madera had lots of other cool kitchen and housewares, but we figured the glasses were enough.

Ca' Pesaro is a beautiful example of Italian Baroque archictecture and houses the city's modern art collection. Compared to the feel of Venice, it was an exhilerating juxtaposition of modern art including Gustav Klimt, Mark Chagall, Paul Klee, Henry Moore and more. Just not what you eyes are expecting to see in Venice.

We traveled back and forth across the grand canal using gondola shuttles. For 50 euro cents you go from straight across one side of the canal to the other, standing in a gondola. It's much easier than getting on a bus or going up to a bridge to cross. And a fun and inexpensive way to get a gondola ride.

Another key stop for the day was the Palazzo Mocenigo. This museum was really interesting as it is pretty much as the family left it about 100 years ago. It's just a tour of the house, its furnishings and its rooms. It was the first time I'd ever seen a bathroom from the early 20th century. This is a good place to look for samples of the old Burano lace.

We had a great late lunch at Muro Pizza & Cucina, Campiello dello Spezier, Santa Croce 2048. We had passed it several times during the week, but thought it looked too chic to be any good. Looks can be deceiving. The service was friendly, the food was creative contemporary without being over the top, the wine list varied and the restaurant was full of Venetians. I would recommend it for lunch or dinner.

After lunch we went to the Basilica San Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. A feast for the eyes with major works by Titian, Bellini, Donatello and many more. It was breath taking.

Padua

2008-12-18T13:32:00.007Z

There are lots of places in the region of the Veneto that are an easy day trip from Venice by train. We decided to go to Padua. Joe has always had a strong connection to St. Anthony of Padua and I really wanted to see The Scrovegni Chapel and it's Giotto frescos.

Having heard that seeing the Giotto frescoes can be a long wait, we headed there first and got very lucky. It being a weekday and the first week in December, not only wasn't there a wait, but our timing worked out such that during our 15 minutes in the chapel it was just the docent and us. This incredible piece of Italian Renaissance art is lovingly restored and cared for and to be in the room, just the two of us was one of those special moments you will remember for the rest of your life. The ticket to the chapel also includes entry to the city museums including the Museums of Archeology and Painting. The collections are extensive and worth the time.

From there we walked our way to the center of town. It's a totally walkable town with roots going back to the Romans and medieval times. We enjoyed the tenor the streets which were setting up for a Christmas market that would open later that day and visited a couple of churches before heading to the Basilica di San Antonio.

The other "big site" we took in, was to wander down to the Prato della Valle, which is considered the largest public square in Italy. It was originally the site of a Roman theater.

Venice Wanderings Part II

2008-12-16T21:21:00.011Z

We awoke to the most amazing fog that made the view out our window like being in a Turner painting. After breakfast we headed to the Basilica San Marco and the Doge's Palace. There's everything and nothing to say about these amazing buildings rich in the history of the ages that hasn't been said. All I can add is that they will not disappoint, no matter what your expectations.

After an sandwich and some espresso to clear our minds we jumped a Vaporetti, found a seat in the open end of the back of the boat and road up the grand canal. Our DK Eyewitness Travel Guide for Venice has several pages that cover the houses along the Grand Canal making this the best buy for a guided tour of Canal. We road once covering the entire canal in one trip, taking pictures and diligently reading the guide. After that we were able to enjoy and admire, looking up a particular house we were curious about after we got back on dry land. It's fun to ride at night and look in the windows and see the people, beams and chandeliers.

We had a very late lunch, early supper that night at Casin Dei Nobili, S. Barnaba, Dorsoduro 2765. The best pizza we had the entire time we were there, but they only took cash, so we only had enough for a bottle of wine and one pizza. We tried to go back for lunch another day, but were told they don't serve pizza at lunch time. We got some cash and stopped at a small deli to get some wine cheese and olives and headed back to the room early for a long hot bath in the huge tub.

MuranoBurano

2008-12-16T20:36:00.004Z

On Tuesday there was no high water, and none for the rest of our visit. As Venetians went about the business of cleaning up and drying out, we got transit passes and grabbed a Vaporetti (water bus) to Murano the island famous for its glass. The transit passes are great, total hop on/hop off transportation to almost all the islands in the lagoon and around Venice.

Our first stop in Murano was the Museo Del Vetro, the Murano Glass museum. This was an excellent way to start our wanderings around the island. The exhibits provide an excellent review of the history and progress of glass making artistry on the island.

Murano really is all about the glass. You can take factory tours and shop for glass in what must be 100+ shops. A must visit are the two shops for Venini. It's more of a visit to an art gallery than a store. Everything's for sale, but chances are you won't be able to afford it. What I really liked about this store was you were encouraged to touch, unlike most stores with signs everywhere saying "DO NOT TOUCH". Communing with the pieces that cost tens of thousands of Euros was a great thrill. If you don't have time to get to Murano you can admire a smaller selection of Venini next to the Basilica San Marco.

Regardless of your budget you'll be able to grab a souvenir as prices cover the full range. We bought some double old fashion glasses, a vase and a small hand blown Christmas tree with little glass ornaments you hand on it. Murano also struck us as a nice place to get away from the crush of tourists during the busier season and the restaurants were a little less expensive, so plan on staying for a bite.

From Murano we took a round-about route to Burano. The head housekeeper had encouraged us to see this quaint island. Renowned in the past for its intricate lace, the designs of the past really aren't made anymore, but you'll see examples in the Venetian museums. Today the island is known for the visual appeal of its brightly painted homes. Fun to look at, we walked the main street and experienced a phenomena we started to notice elsewhere in Venice. At the end of the work day, rather than going home, the people would gather in the middle of the streets and piazzas, smoking and talking. The men would make the rounds of the local bars having a single Compari and moving on to the next bar after a smoke outside. We joined in, stopping in a couple of bars for a glass of red wine on our way back to the boat.

That night we had dinner at Osteria ai Schiavoni, Calle del Dose, 3734. They had a good wine list and a nice atmosphere.

Aqua Alta

2008-12-15T13:43:00.000Z

We awoke on Monday morning to the worst flooding Venice has seen in 22 years, the water level peaked at about 61" - 40" is considered flood level - turning our relaxing holiday into more of an adventure.

After taking pictures from our room and dressing, we headed to breakfast on the ground floor. If you've been to Venice you know that ground floors all have places to put panels in front of windows and doors and keep high water out. The panels in the windows made the dining room a bit surreal. Sitting at the table, looking out the window our eyes were at water level and little waves lapped at the panels in the windows. There was a great deal of activity as the hotel staff worked to keep guests calm and the water at bay. I finally understood why the flooring on the ground floor of the hotel seemed like a solid sheet of plastic. I think that's exactly what is was, some kind of poured composite plastic.

The head housekeeper (a lovely Scottish woman who came to Venice 30 years ago on holiday, fell in love, got married and became a Venetian) assured us that as hard as it was to believe the waters would recede with the tide as quickly as they came. After breakfast she told us where we could go to get some wellies since the waterproof shoes we had brought along were not up to the challenge. Then she fitted Joe with a big trash bag on each leg and taped them up tight. About 30 minutes later he was back with 2 pair of boots - shockingly in our sizes - for a mere €10 each.

We dressed and headed out to see what we might be able to see and do. As we walked along, we had to move slowly and carefully plan our route as the water was lapping at the tops of our boots which came just under the knees. We saw lots of people in waders. At Piazza San Marco people were literally up to their chests in water - we learned later that this is the lowest part of the city.

The devastation was incredible. We saw if for days afterwards. Shops that had inventory on the floors; restaurant food and equipment; lots of ground floor residents with all their stuff drying outside; candlelight. It wasn't until we got back to London that we learned much of the city had been without gas, electricity or land line services. Other than no Internet access at the hotel we survived unscathed.

The biggest post-aqua alta challenge was finding places to eat because of the water damage, many eateries were closed. Unlike Rome where your chances of getting a great meal run very high, it's just a matter of what you pay for it; we found finding great food in Venice to be much more difficult. I remember in particular stopping in a little cafe for a late afternoon snack and ordering pizza, it was horrible. Like something made with canned supermarket ingredients and cooked in a toaster oven.

Despite all that was going on, there were still plenty of tourist activities, Venetians being a tough bunch. Our first stop was the Museo Correr, which is the Napoleonic wing of Piazza San Marco, in addition to the collection we had a great second story view of the Piazza. I think whether it's flooded with people or flooded with tourists this makes a great place to get a good view of the Basilica and the Piazza. You can grab an espressro or ice cream at the cafe without having to pay the entrance fee to the museum. The archictecture of the museum itself if worth the visit. Venetian glass chandeliers adorn many rooms. The collection itself is officially the Venetian "civic" museum, but given Venice's rich history the word civic fails to convey the true depth and breadth of this museum.

We then headed to Ca' Rezzonico. I had wanted to go here because our guide book had described it as one of the few Grand Canal homes that was open to the public. At one point the house was owned by poet Robert Browning. Great art, but also great furnishings too. It gives you a real sense of what it was like to live the high life in 18th century Venice.

As promised, the water receded pretty rapidly (most of the photos on this page we taken about 3 hours after high tide). After a rest and refresh in the room, we had dinner at Trattoria alla Fonte Di Marguglio Vincenzo, Castello, 3820 - 30122 Venice. Though very bright, this place was packed with a mix of locals and tourists. We had good pasta and pizza for a reasonable price. Nothing fancy, but good italian food and friendly service.

Venice Wanderings Part I

2008-12-14T12:26:00.000Z

We started our first full day in Venice sleeping in and having breakfast in our room. It looked wet out there, but nothing like what was to come. We decided to mostly wander on foot and to make our primary goal of the day the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

The collection is a definite must see in Venice even if you are not a fan of 20th Century art. The house, right on the Grand Canal offers the opportunity to see how someone actually lived in Venice in the 1950s, 60s and 70s and how she incorporated the art into her home. You can also get a great look at the Grand Canal from the terrace and grab an espresso at the cafe. The collection held a personal highlight for me, Rene Magritte's Empire of Light. My self-guided art education began with this image, which I had only seen in print prior to this moment.

The other major stop of the day was the Scuola Grande S Rocco. This was an amazing building, which frankly sounds like an understatement. Two "halls" one on top of the other, are covered with Tintoretto's. A moment for a beautiful indoor respite - grab a mirror, take a seat, rest your feet and feast your eyes.

For dinner that night, we tried another recommendation from the hotel for our neighborhood. Il Nuovo Galeon in Castello at Via Garibaldi 1308-1309 was really excellent especially if you like seafood. Our only disappointment came from the fact that we had asked for a place that had excellent risotto or pasta. There was one pasta dish on the menu and no risotto, that said, it's a great little place.

Water Taxi Ride

2008-12-13T16:32:00.009Z

We spent the first week of December on vacation in Venice. We took a Saturday afternoon flight that landed after dark. We had debated a bit about how best to get from the airport to our hotel and decided to splurge and take a water taxi about €95, versus €24 for both of us to take a water bus.

It was so the right decision for so very many reasons. First it was a 30 minute ride in the cab, the water bus would've been a little over an hour. Second, the water taxis are really nice boats. Finally, and most importantly you arrive in Venice and within minutes of getting your luggage you're on the water, moving fast and you start to feel immersed in the reality of water that is Venice.

We stayed at the Hotel Bucintoro. It was a great hotel. Really beautiful rooms, great service and nice breakfasts. They offered room service breakfast for a small surcharge. Though there wasn't a restaurant, the bar offered coffee and gourmet munchies so it was a perfect place to take a break between touring and the evening out, or after the evening out for a night cap. We also had the most amazing view of Venice from our vantage point on the water and we're steps away from the water bus to the airport as well as all the major Vaporetti routes, making getting around really easy. St. Mark's was about a 15 minute walk and yet we felt like we were outside of the main tourist center and living more among the Venetians. I totally recommend the hotel as well as the location.

That first night we asked the hotel for a recommendation for really good pizza and were direct to this amazing, very locals, pizzeria called Al Tosi Grandi at Castello 985/A - 30122. We only had better pizza in one other restaurants in Venice, but we had to eat with lots of tourists there.

Vanilla Black

2008-11-28T15:57:00.003Z

On Thanksgiving Day I had a great lunch meeting with a colleague at Vanilla Black. Tucked away on a side street off a side street, but just a few steps from Chancery Lane tube stop on the Central Line, it's small - but not tiny - , crisp and welcoming.

All the food is vegetarian, but of a calibre that reminded me of the vegetarian tasting menu at Cityzen at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, DC. Everything was incredibly creative, beatifully presented and the kind of food that makes you want to savor every bite. The wine list is substantial and the service was with a bright smile. It's all linens and silver.

I can't wait to go back. The only thing that disappointed me is that they aren't open on weekends, just lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday.

Fat Pig

2008-11-14T15:48:00.003Z

It was a play, though I'm not so sure it deserved to be. Sammy had a chance to take in a few theater moments and I joined him for this new comedy. It did, as billed, explore our attitudes and relationships toward overweight people and it did offer a laugh or two, though not at the expense of fat people.

The acting was excellent, I blame the script. The play starts a bit slow and then just as you are getting to know the characters and begin to think the play is going somewhere, it abruptly ends.

Based on the accents and the actual words, I think this is a new American play. All I can really say is that I was greatly relieved that we had got the tickets at official London Tkts for half price.

Canterbury

2008-11-12T14:42:00.011Z

My friend Sammy was here from the States for my birthday. We took one day to day trip to Canterbury. It's an easy day trip from London. About £20 and 90 minutes on the train out of Victoria station, which offers plenty of departures and returns. You can easily cover the key sites of Canterbury and still have time for tea in a day.

There is of course is the Cathedral itself, which can easily take a couple of hours to stroll through and experience. Standing at the spot where Thomas Becket was murdered almost 850 years ago was an incredible experience. The architecture is amazing and the grounds are just beautiful, make sure you leave plenty of time.

From the train station, you walk along city walls first built by the Romans and pass an ancient mound. From there it's off to the center of town where a stroll down St. George's Street can help you imagine what it might have been like to be in Victorian or even Medieval England. Some amazingly old architecture, cobblestone streets all conspire to give a real sense of romance.

Our train conductor had suggested we make a point to get all the way to the West Gate - it's that the end of St. George's Street, which turns into St. Peter's Street about halfway down - for the views of the city. It was good advice.

We wrapped up the day with high tea at Tiny Tim's Tearoom. Not nearly as fancy as a London high tea - and not nearly as expensive - but very nice and the pastries were amazing. We looked at several tea rooms before deciding on this historic venue, a well-made decision.

Hungarian Roots

2008-11-03T20:48:00.024Z

After I had about 48 hours in London, Joe and I headed to Budapest for a long weekend in late October. The focus of the trip was to meet up with my parents, my Uncle Albert and my cousins Betty Ann and Eileen for a trip to the Lake Balaton region in search of our family roots.

Before we met up with the family, we had a chance to really relax in Budapest. This was our first time to return to a vacation spot, having done the tourist highlights, leaving us to simply enjoy the city and the people.

Our first full day we did some off the beaten path museuming. Our first stop was the Vasarely Museum, named for Victor Vasarely, who founded the Op-art movement in Paris in the 1930s. It was fun to see things one might associate more with the 1960s than the 1930s. The museum building itself is worth the price of admission. An amazing ancient building of giant wood beams and soaring ceilings.

From there we headed over to the Szepmuveszeti Muzeum (the Fine Arts Museum) to tour the permanent collection. We also took in the temporary exhibit featuring Ferdinand Hodler, one of the leaders of European Secessionism. I'm really enjoying getting to know and understand Secessionist art, a school of art I didn't even know existed until I moved to Europe.

After the museum we had a really nice meal at a restaurant with a big deck on a little pond called Robinsons. It's just steps from the museum. Good Hungarian food and very nice service. The perfect place to sip some soup, have some wine and rest your feet.

Our other big, chill-out highlight was the spontaneous stop at "The Bar" at the Four Season's Gresham Palace. A wonderful jazz quartet was playing with a singer. Our quick cocktail turned into muchies and a bottle of wine. Given the value of the Forint these days, it was a bargain.

Zirci & Balaton
The family headed first to Zirci, the town where my Grandmother - my Father's mother - was born. It was a very successful first step. We found what we believe is the house where she was born, met a distant relative and toured the church, the Zirc Abbey, where my Grandmother was most likely baptized.

For me, the highlight moment in Zirci was in the cemetary, where I got to stand with my Dad, at the grave of my Great-Grandfather, our namesake.

From Zirci we headed over to Lake Balaton, which is a very large lake and a summer tourist spot. At a little restaurant we met up with my Dad's first cousin Magdi. You could feel the hesitancy of the question in the air, "are we really family" and then a sense of confirmation. After lunch, Magdi graciously took us (and our tour guide and driver) to see the lake and then to her house for a glass of Hungarian sparkling wine. It was magical, especially for Magdi, my Uncle Albert and my Dad.

Anniversary Celebration
In a couple of weeks my parents will be celebrating their 47th wedding anniversary. Since we'll be about 3,000 miles apart when it happens, Joe and I took them out for a wonderful dinner at Pava at the Gresham Palace.

It was a beautiful evening of many courses, incredible Hungarian wines and Hungarian influenced Italian food. The perfect way to wrap up a great weekend for us and a European tour for my parents.

Beyond Belief

2008-11-01T18:39:00.003Z

Last week I finished reading Beyond Belief by V. S. Naipaul. This was an amazing read that taught me about a part of the world and a culture I really have very little knowledge of.

It is a follow up to his book Among the Believers. The premise is simple. In 1979 he spent significant amounts of time in Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and Malaysia exploring Islam and the relationship people of these countries have with this religion and, at times, its accompanying politics.

In Beyond Belief, he repeats the journey in 1998 and speaks to many of the same people. This juxtaposition of time really helps one to see the evolution of Islam in these cultures and gives a refreshing human perspective to this important force in our contemporary world.

If you are looking to learn more about Islam or any of these countries, this is a great place to start. Don't expect a page-turner, but do expect to find yourself deep in thought.

DC Dining

2008-10-27T17:24:00.001Z

At the beginning of this month I was in DC to take care of a bunch of personal stuff. I, of course, got together with friends and did some eating and drinking as well as some great shopping at the Leesburg Outlets. Yes, it was great to be in the land of American consumerism once again.

Locanda Cucine Meditalia
I started my restaurant crawl meeting my friend Katie and her soon to be husband Chris - a totally inspiring love can be magical couple - at Locanda on Capital Hill. The restaurant had opened shortly after the move to London and since it was in a location that had been several places I had really enjoyed eating over my years on the Hill, I was anxious to check it out.

The decor was cool, the place was loud and everything when you entered said fun. However, my first glance at the wine list told me this was going to be an uneven experience. The selection was good, but along with the prices, unnecessarily pretentious. This, as we immediately found out, went with the service, which on top of too much 'tude, was also way too in your face. We ordered some prosecco and turned our attention away from our insistent waiter toward the menu.

The peppers stuffed with goat cheese, raisins, olives and pine nuts were a lovely start and went wonderfully with the prosecco. Katie and I both had the ravioli of the day - sweet potato - and they were amazing. The pasta was perfection, the sweet potato flavor lovingly balanced with the light sauce. Unlike the wine prices, the menu prices are extremely reasonable for the level of cuisine.

Since we didn't want the conversation to end, a cheese plate was in order. The cheeses were good, but not wowing. If I'm on the Hill for dinner I will go back, but I won't be going out of my way to get there.

On a side note, Katie and I met at Sonoma before meeting Chris for dinner. I loved hanging out drinking and eating there when I lived on the Hill. One of my last great night's out in DC was there, but it's clearly way past its prime. I can't even recommend it for a glass of wine, let alone a meal. Perhaps the location is cursed, for over 20 years no restaurant has been able to make a real go of it there.

Grand Cru
This is an amazing hidden gem in the Ballston section of Arlington right near my office. I ate there several times this trip. The food is exceptional, and there are a range of dining options. The menu always features tapas and hearty vegetarian salad options with lunch time sandwiches exchanged for cheese and chocolate fondue as well as a wider range of entrees at dinner.

Additionally as a retail wine outlet, it has an extensive selection of wines by the bottle and a team of servers who are passionette about them. The wines by the glass list always includes a few flights to choose from or you can pick something off the shelf to have with your meal for a modest corkage fee. Make sure to say you want to be a member to get a discount on the fee.

The food and the service are consistently high quality and well-priced. The only thing I can't figure out is why more people don't eat there, but that means you never have to wait for a table.

Mio Reprised
If you've been following the blog, you know that last time I was in Washington my friend Suzanne and I had an amazing meal at Mio. Unfortunately the reprise with Janine and Martha was not as attentive or inspired.

All three of us ordered the chef's tasting menu with the wine pairings. The food was excellent, but it wasn't as exciting as it had been last time. I was particularly struck that the first and second courses both featured "smoke" flavor, which is heavy and weary on the palate for two courses on a tasting menu. I did really enjoy the first course which was sweet potato pudding with a smoked froth "topping".

The real problem was the service. We never seemed to be able to get anyone's attention. Our wine glasses remained empty for extended periods of time. When food arrived, it was as if they suddenly remembered the wine and rushed to get it in front of us and then just disappeared again.

I may go back, but only with one other person and only if I can sit at the chef's counter.

disney spin

2008-09-12T23:37:00.006+01:00

Today I finished Spinning Disney's World, by Charles Ridgway. I had really wanted to like this book for many reasons on many levels, but it was so hard. First, it's written by a person who on the pages just seems like a nice old man. A grandfatherly type of person. Second, it's Disney, there's so much opportunity for magic. Third, it's about PR, what I do.

It pretty much failed across the board. I often found Ridgway's turn of phrase a bit offensive toward woman, those less attractive, different cultures, technology. Perhaps that was part of the grandfatherliness of his personality, but I didn't find it endearing. The stories, while chronological, jumped all over the place and didn't create a yarn, as much as spilling facts and celebrity names into paragraphs.

The Disney magic was there. The ideas behind the parks and their realization reminded me of my childhood visits to Disney World. Ridgway started his work at Disney the year I was born. But in a way, his everything is magical at Disney, and there was never a dysfunctional team moment, makes it all a bit of fantasyland.

When it came to PR, I didn't find it all that informative. If anything there was too much waxing nostalgic for the good old days when journalists were given front row seats, people used manual typewriters and women were secretaries.

My sense is that if Ridgway hadn't been at a global brand like Disney for 40+ years, the book would never have gotten published.

dysfunctional 5

2008-09-12T23:28:00.005+01:00

Earlier this week I read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. A typical business book that structures a story around some very basic common sense themes. That said, it was short, easy to read and as rarely happens with these things, it didn't bloviate much.

This made it easy to digest and left me feeling energized and reminded of what the best parts of the best teams can be. It made me a bit nostalgic too, for a PR agency job I'd had for several years in the late 90s/early 2000s where I had the privilege to work with the most functional team of my almost three decades of professional life.

The thing I liked best about the book is that it's easy to see not only how this applies to the professional world, but to the personal one as well. The five dysfunctions are the same dysfunctions that cause relationships to fail and families to pull apart.

diamonds

2008-09-12T23:16:00.004+01:00

Before heading back across the pond, we had Sunday champagne brunch with Joe's nephew Ed and his new fiancé Lindsay. We ate the Grenville in Bay Head. The setting was beautiful, but the food was a real disapointment.

No matter, it was really about having some time with Ed and Lindsay and toasting their engagement. Originally we had planned to go to Great Adventure on Saturday, but Hurricane Gustav and a pulled muscle in my back squelched that. I was really looking forward to riding the world's fastest roller coaster, the Kingda Ka, maybe next time.

The Inn at Cochecton

2008-09-12T22:52:00.008+01:00

What can you say about the Inn at Cochecton, the name we use to refer to the place where our friends Jeff and Fernando live in New York State. A 19th century farm house, organic gardens, apple and pear trees, acres of woods and walking and a recently aquired adjoining meadow and barn, all make for an amazing back drop to one of the best amateur chefs I know.

After saying hi to Alban, the not so new puppy, we gorged ourselves on fresh tomatoes and cucumbers (what the Brits refer to as "raw pickles). We then toured the barn and checked out the progress in the food gardens.

The next day the big event was a bonfire in the new meadow. We filled the tractor wagon with chairs and tables and food and went to the meadow. Great food and great fun. Fernando made amazing empanadas.

nj.ny

2008-09-12T22:23:00.010+01:00

After DC, I headed to New Jersey for a few days of telecommuting from my parent's deck, before putting down the BlackBerry and taking some real time off. It was great to see the folks and friends. After Joe arrived we had a great trip to New York state to visit friends who have an amazing 30 acres with a 19th century farmhouse, barn, fields and woods.

It was very grounding all the way around. When I arrived at my parents, my Mom was having "the ladies" for a couple of days. These are all women I've known since before I was born. It was great to see them all together, looking so happy. Cotton, who is a yoga instructor held a great yoga session one afternoon on the deck, it was very special for me.
Dark Knight
One night "the ladies" went to the movies so Dad and I went to see the Dark Knight. It was great, if a bit long at almost 2.5 hours. I enjoyed seeing the parts that had been filmed at the Battersea Power Station that I see out my bedroom windows in London. It's definitely not a kids movie, very dark indeed and well done. But I suspect if I wasn't a Batman fan, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

Dad and I also grabbed dinner one night with my cousins Gavin and Lara and their amazing Mom, Dona, at the Squan Tavern, a Jersey Shore institution of pizza, pasta and all things "Jersey-Italian".

Joe arrived at the end of the week and we kicked things off with dinner at our friend's Mike and Cor's. We hadn't seen them since we met in Rome earlier in the year so it was really great to catch up.

Benjamin Franklin - An American Life

2008-08-28T18:53:00.007+01:00

I had wanted to read a biography on Ben Franklin in part because of a long time curiosity about this nascent period of the US that he helped to shape. Also, as someone who grew up a few miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and now lives in London, I wanted to know more about his perceptions of these places as well as the French Court.

Benjamin Franklin - An American Life by Walter Isaacson was easy to read for the most part, constructed more as a great story than documenting a time line (though the book is very well documented). While I was pleased to find that I knew most of the key facts about Franklin and the time, I learned plenty.

On the personal side of things I didn't realize that the Franklin men were essentially a line of "illegitimate" children, nor did I know that Franklin had such a reputation as a womanizer.

On the historical side, it was fascinating to gain greater insight into the political influences the drove the division between British Colonial America and the British. I never knew that many Americans had tried to keep the US a part of the British Crown until the last possible moments. Nor did I know that it was as much Parliament's response as well as the King's that drove the US to delcare its independence.

Franklin's time in France, which, when I was a child in grammar school, was positioned as duty to country also was a great deal of fun for Franklin whose reputation as an inventor and scientist made him famous in France before he ever set foot on its shores.

If you are considering reading the book, don't let the number of pages put you off. The last 150+ pages are footnotes and mini-biographies of all the players.

Komi

2008-08-24T19:54:00.006+01:00

Before I left DC for New Jersey, I got together with my friends Janine and Martha for an incredible dinner at Komi. Located on 17th Street NW in DC, not an area known for incredible cuisine, the dining room is intimate and minimalist, just like the food and the service. The restaurant has a reputation for locally sourcing all its food and stands out in part because the chef/owner, Johnny Monis (one of Food and Wine's 2007 Best New Chefs), seeks no publicity. Rather it appears he prefers to build Komi's reputation on food and service alone.

The one rigid moment -which you instantly get over - is that everyone at the table must have the same dining experience...the two-course, three-course or the degustazione. We picked the degustazione, which was described as approximately 28 tastes of the chef's whim, and paired it with the sommelier's pairings.

We then experienced a seemingly endless array of tastes made all the more exciting because each of us always had our own "taste". Most of these were one to three bites so by the time the pasta and entree courses arrived there was still room for more. The presentations were consistently minimalistic, focused on the bites themselves and were as beautiful to look at as they were to savor. The staff were extremely knowledgeable, detail-oriented and more than happy to repeat descriptions as well as answer more specific questions about various flavorings and preparation techniques.

While I suspect you can easily enjoy a two-course meal it seems a shame not to plan on the full experience. One of the things that Martha, Janine and I talked about was how this was a nice twist from our Mini Bar restaurant experience. At Mini Bar the courses come fast and don't allow much time for conversation, in part because when you aren't eating, you're watching the preparation. At Komi we were afforded plenty of conversation time during our more than three hour dinner and coffee.

A definite will return restaurant for me. Reservations are definitely recommended. If the plan is for a romantic diner ask for the two-top in the window.

my-o mio

2008-08-16T13:55:00.012+01:00

Last Tuesday I went out to dinner with my friend Suzanne in Washington, DC to Mio. Definitely a not to miss experience. The creative food and great service are enhanced by a passion for food that seems to permeate everyone who works at Mio.

We sat at the two seats that are part of the open kitchen. If it's just two people don't miss the opportunity to sit here and be in the middle of the fun, including getting a chance to talk with Stefano Frigerio, the executive chef. Stefano is really friendly and down to earth and seemed to enjoy all of our questions about incredients and preparation. As a bonus, Stefano, and his sous chef, are really easy on the eyes.

We had the chef's tasting menu. Stefano was happy to create a vegetarian version for me. Dinner started with a small salad of assorted cherry sized tomatos that had been skinned and tossed with a light dressing. It was accompanied by a pesto moose. It seemed like he had taken a very smooth pesto and pushed it through a whip cream maker.

For the second course I had a chilled beet soup and Suzanne had a ceviche that she raved about. My soup also came with deep fried zucchini flowers, which were the only disappointment of the meal. The taste of oil totally overwhelmed the flowers and the tempura, a minor transgression.

Next we had a basil pesto risotto. Suzanne's had a king prawn with a delicious string bean and pine nut salad on top, I just had the salad. It was presented in this great white china bowl with a lid for the "reveal" moment.

For the last major course Suzanne was treated to a trio of suckling pig - a stuffed loin, 3 small ribs and a piece of deep fried head cheese. I had a huge, peeled tomato stuffed with goat and manchego cheeses on a bed of really delicious tomato sauce.

For every course, including dessert Stefano personally explained what he was serving. I think he liked us, because for dessert we were treated to a trio of full sized desserts: an incredible pana cotta with a latin flair using almonds and black sesame seeds to give it a great flavor and a luxurious bluish-purple color; a chewy brownie with cinnamon ice cream; and carmelized topped rice pudding atop a layer of peach salad.

We did the wine pairings which was fun as always for me because I drink things I don't usually try. Even though I drink it all the time, the Pinot Noir that was served with the second course was excellent.

Manuel Iguina the owner also took time to talk with us at length, telling us about the restaurant and his passions for food and service. I look forward to going back.

Stritchy!

2008-08-05T21:04:00.004+01:00

This weekend I finally saw the Tony Award winning Elaine Stritch at Liberty, her one woman show. The show was at the Shaw Theatre, a nice sized and relatively new venue (read great air conditioning).

The show was great fun and this 82 year old woman is still a show stopper. Not so much dancing anymore - a little soft shoe - but belting out a series of tunes and projecting to the audience, it was amazing to see. She only took a 20 minute breakf over two-and-a-half hours.

As with most well constructed and performed works the story is moving, even if you aren't sure who Elaine Stritch is because her experiences transcends to everyone. The simplicity of Ms. Stritch, her chair and the six piece band, which seemed to be having loads of fun, made it all about the memories in her head as well as yours.

I also learned about her time in London. I hadn't realized she had spent so much time here and had actually been a TV sitcom star as well as a stage star.

The show is out on DVD, I'm pretty sure I saw it on HBO a few years back, but it was worth repeating live.

Worshipful Company of Marketors

2008-08-05T20:05:00.008+01:00

At the end of July we had the great honor to be the guests of a member of the court of the Worshipful Company of Marketors at a dinner at The Mansion House by the kind permission of The Rt. Hon. Lord Mayor of the City of London.

Slight step back...contained within what most people know of as London are several communities - think the five boroughs of New York City. One of them is The City as also known as "the square mile." It is the "Wall Street" of the United Kingdom. What makes this part of London particularly special is that its various Liveries (historically representatives of the business community) of the city hold elective power and elect the Lord Mayor who serves as a combination head of state/chairmen of an über Chamber of Commerce.

The Mansion House is the Lord Mayor's official residence and is described as a grand Georgian town palace. An accurate description.

One of those Liveries, which I think can also be referred to as Guilds - at least they'd be closely related - is the Worshipful Company of Marketors and each year, each Livery or Guild hosts a dinner.

The Egyptian Room at The Mansion House, where dinner was held brought the dining hall at Hogwarts to life. It looked just like it did in the movie, but with much fancier, or should I say posher, place settings, but I'm ahead of the story.

We arrived at The Mansion House and after clearing security (no cameras allowed) we were invited upstairs to observe the admission of new Freeman to the Company. Afterwards we queued for the receiving line. The trumpeter read our names from our invitations and we were presented to the Master and his wife and then through the rest of the receiving line. Did I mention that there was in the neighborhood of 300 guests these people had to greet?

There was a brief champagne reception with wonderful music provided by the Redbridge Brass Band Quintet, who also did the fanfares, yes, real fanfares. After the reception we were called into the Egyptian Room. In true formal dinner fashion we were seated not as a couple but split up so that we could meet new people.

No sitting yet though. Fanfare and then the entrance of the head table - which consisted of 32 people - during which we clapped throughout the procession. The food was excellent and the service was fun to watch. They would stage at the back of the hall and then somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 servers would march and clear. They would then gather plates and stage to serve an entire leg at a time, knowing precisely who had the fish, the meat or the veggie plate. As you can tell my the menu, the wines, port and Armagnac were very nice.

After dinner we participated, along with everyone else, in The Ceremony of the Loving Cup. I also had my first official toast "to the Royals". After the Lord Mayor spoke, we had a great presentation by the Country Manager for Tata Consultancy Services in the UK.

We met all kinds of lovely as well as great and important people. It was an awesome opportunity to do some business networking while enjoying interesting and entertaining people all in what I think was an incredibly proper British way.

I passed!

2008-07-28T18:35:00.003+01:00

During the last week I've gotten a couple of emails asking why the blog hasn't been updated. Sorry, but I've been studying like crazy for my UK driver's license theory and hazard video tests. Last Friday I passed! It was like being a teenager all over again, only I wasn't used to taking tests anymore.

Perfect score on the multiple choice questions and did OK on the video. Over clicked on one video and lost all those points so that hurt, but it's done now. I plan on taking the behind the wheel portion before the end of the year.

All the things I had to learn as well as unlearn made this an intense venture. When you've been riding in the car for 16 years you know the signs, not when you move countries though. I knew some of them, but many were things I'd never seen before. The whole level crossing (railroad) is completely different. You drive on the carriageway (not on the pavement because that's the sidewalk), in snow and ice you drive in as high a gear as possible. Then there's road hazards like sheep, horses and "organized walks". And don't forget those crossings: the zebra, the puffin, the pelican, the pegasus and the toucan. They had a panda, but it didn't work out so well. That's just a sample of the 1,000 test questions I had to know.

The video thing was really intense. If you play video games, you might feel more relaxed than I did. The idea is that you click the mouse every time you see a hazard or the hazard changes as you drive down the road. The only problem is after decades of driving I know that everything is a hazard. So figuring out when to click was no easy feat.

Here's an example of what I was up against:

There were 14 clips, each with "one scoreable hazard" and one video had two hazards.

Check back this week as I'll be back filling the last month, including the rest of the trip to the Nederlands with visits to Delft and Eersel, a weekend in Zurich and a great trip to Berlin.

United Berlin - Park Drei

2008-07-28T17:48:00.001+01:00

The Mighty Wurlitzer
On Saturday we arrived at one of Berlin's most interesting museums, the Musikinstrumenten-Museum, in time for the weekly demonstration of the Mighty Wurlitzer. The museum has a beautiful collection of instruments, including an endless array of keyboards that can easily be imagined in some parlor 200 years ago, with a woman in layers of dress playing away. There's also some very interesting contemporary pieces and of course the Wurlitzer which is a huge instrument. Even if you have no inclination toward music, the museum is worth the hour or so it would take to fly through it.

Sugimoto
From there we headed over to the Neue Nationalgalerie. I had been interested in seeing the permanent collection, which was closed for two special exhibits. My disappointment quickly dissipated. First, the Mies van der Rohe building is spectacular in its simplicity and welcome. The first exhibit, featured German artist Rupprecht Geiger to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, it was fun and whimsical and was perfect for the building space. Downstairs was all Hiroshi Sugimoto. While I suspect I'd seen work by him before, the scope of the exhibit made a lasting impression/introduction to the artist. Reflecting the simplicity of the building's architecture it also served to challenge your perceptions, your senses. Joe and I were particularly struck by a series exploring lightning. Before we read the description, we discussed whether it was tributaries and the delta of a river system from outer space or the human circulatory system. I will be seeking out more of his work.

Almost finally we were off to Kurfürstendamm to see Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche. The Ku'damm was insane with people, the first time we had that Times Square/Covent Garden feeling since arriving in Berlin. It was actually a sharp contrast to the Mitte region of the city where we had been spending most of our time, which while busy never have you that crushed feeling.

The church of course is perhaps Berlin's - and one of the world's - most moving monument to the destructive power of war. There's not much more to say beyond that.

The Fat Lady Sings
For our finale in Berlin we went to the Deutsche Oper Berlin to see South Africa's Cape Town Opera perform Porgy and Bess. I had always wanted to see this opera because I love the music. It just seemed incredibly exotic to see it in Berlin (with German super titles) by an opera company visiting from another continent.

We grabbed dinner before the show at the restaurant right at the opera house. An awesome meal, with incredibly friendly service at, what we felt, was a great price compared to what we might have expected in London or Washington for a similar meal at a similar venue.

On Sunday before we flew out, we wandered around a region off Alexanderplatz that Jennie and I had visited. Our goal was to find the Moskau Cafe. Jennie and I had lunch there in October 1989 and Felix told me he had gone there as a school achievement related celebration with his parents when he was young. A great visual exploration of the height of socialist architecture.

I only have one regret about this trip, we weren't there longer. We did so much, but missed so much, I am really looking forward to going back, seeing much of what we missed and having more time to just hang in the city, watch the people go by and meet more of the always friendly Berliners.

United Berlin - Part Zwei

2008-07-27T20:15:00.002+01:00

My friend Felix had taken Friday off to play tour guide in true Felix fashion. During dinner the night before we had given him a list of places we wanted to go. When he met us in Alexanderplatz the next morning he had the list worked out according to a time schedule and the addition of a few key items he thought we shouldn't miss.

The TV Tower
First stop, the Fernsehturm (the television tower). Built in 1969 it was a huge symbol of the success of socialism. Today its a great way to get a view of the entire city, but if you want to dine in the revolving restaurant, book at least six weeks in advance. It was great to have Felix there to give us a narative of what we were seeing and where East and West had been divided. As he spoke, nearby tourists were hanging on his every word adding to the fun.

Life in the East
Our next stop was one of the most interesting experiences of the trip, the DDR Museum. The museum is full of real life artifacts of daily life from East Germany including a reproduction of a bathroom, kitchen and living room of a typical home. Felix talked about how he had the exact same object, in the same color in his house growing up. Joe and I pointed out that it was all pretty similar except you had more choices of color and objects, though we did wonder if everyone got to have all the objects. A really informative and fun stop on the agenda, try not to miss it.

From there we walked toward Gendarmenmarkt, which is one of the most beautiful square's in all of Berlin. It is all about the architecture in this space, but if the weather's nice and you have time it looks like a great place to hang for a meal or a drink. The concert hall is flanked by two dom's (cathedrals) the French and the German.

Leaving the American Sector
Keeping to our schedule, it was off to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, which focuses mostly on the construction of the Berlin Wall, people's attempts to escape and the efforts of the East German State to keep them trying let alone succeeding. When Jennie and I had been there in 1989 it was quite small. Today it's in the same location, but about 5 times as large, though most of the exhibits are identical (I'm not sure they've even been dusted), but the stories are still as moving as the first time I read them. The oddest part for me was stepping out of the museum and not having any visual clue that the Wall had been just steps away or of the massive East German checkpoint that Jennie and I had plodded through to get to the East after checking in at Checkpoint Charlie with the American authorities. Weirdly though, a replica of the original Checkpoint Charlie booth is there with actors dressed in American and Soviet military uniforms and flags - for a Euro you can have your picture taken with them.

Then we went over to Potsdamer Platz to grab some lunch. With the Wall running essentially through the middle, it had ceased to be a key neighborhood in the city. The Wikipedia entry on Potsdamer Platz is worth a read as the history of the platz gives great insight into the history of the city itself. Today's it's considered a shining example of the unified Berlin. Almost all new construction with a giant outdoor food court area that is under an amazing glass roof that must be 40 stories up that has wings to create shade when it's warm. You'll also find a part of the hotel that I think inspired the setting for the movie the Grand Hotel.

After lunch we went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. When we had driven by in the cab it had been moving, but when Felix took us and we went "in" it really spoke. As you wander about the stones are really close together and then you become isolated, only catching glimpses of other people who seem far off. Beyond that it's very hard to describe.

On our way to the Reichstag, the home of Germany's parliament we passed by the Brandenburg Gate, it was cool to walk back and forth through it. All of the new government office buildings that have been built since the capital of the country was moved back to Berlin form a beautiful space on the edge of the Tiergarten, Berlin's main park. We didn't go into the Reichstag, though visiting it's new glass dome is a favorite tourist activity, in part due to the long line and also because it has been a long day of hard touring.

Just as we arrived at the Reichstag, Sam called to say she was done with work so we met up with her and headed toward their new apartment in Wedding for a home cooked meal.

The Ice Tray
During the dinner preparations Felix had a little learning moment that while very funny, is a great reminder of how important it is to be open to new ideas and to be extremely empathetic about other people and their cultures. The new apartment features a refrigerator/freezer, in their old apartments they had only had refrigerators. As an American, Sam was very excited about the prospect of her own ice supply. It's not that Germany doesn't have ice, it's just not something they're in to.

So, Felix is making us a couple of drinks and Sam offers ice, which we're very happy to have. Now Felix is trying to pick the cubes one-by-one out of the tray so I say, "Didn't Sam teach you how to use an ice tray?" while giving him the universal symbol for twisting an ice tray and just like that ice everywhere! Sometimes, it's the littlest things.

Berlin United - Part Eins

2008-07-27T19:53:00.020+01:00

The last time I was in Berlin was October 1989. My friend Jennie and I were some of the last Americans to enter East Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie because just a couple of weeks later, the Berlin Wall fell. Ever since then, I've wanted to return to see the changes; and going with Joe was very high on the list of London expat wishes.

We stayed at the Park Plaza Wallstreet Berlin, which is located on Wallstrasse. It is just steps from a main line on the U-bahn, 10 minutes walking to Alexanderplatz, the Pergamon and plenty of other major, must see sites. There's also an amazing tourist-focused pedestrian zone about five minutes from the hotel called Nikolaiviertel. In addition to plenty of places to eat and drink and the statue of St. Stephen slaying the dragon there are a great selection of antique shops and art galleries. My favorite place however was one of the nicest clock shops (new clocks only) I've seen in Europe so far. The most amazing music boxes as well.

Our room was a little on the small side, but we had gotten a great discount deal so we didn't mind. Despite the size, everything was brand new and it was jammed with plenty of services and amenities including a giant tub with room for two. The staff were incredibly friendly, spoke impeccable English and were more than happy to help with anything you needed - as was every Berliner I met.

We flew into Tegel Airport, arriving about noon and were through customs in moments with our bags already waiting for us despite the fact that we had been bused to the terminal. Love that German efficiency. We picked up mass transit passes and then hailed a cab. Cabs, like much in Berlin, are incredibly affordable, especially after life in London. Our driver gave a great, pride-filled narration on the way to the hotel. We passed by the Victory Column (where Obama would appear the week after), the Holocaust Memorial - officially called the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the brand new American Embassy - the friendliest looking American embassy I've seen in a very long time - which officially opened earlier in the month on the 4th of July, then on to Museum Island and around the almost deconstructed GDR Palace of the Republic before winding up at the hotel.

Palast der Republik
The Palace of the Republic turned into this interesting quest for the first few days of the trip. I didn't know the name of the building, just that in 1989 there had been this huge white marble and gold glass building in East Berlin that you couldn't miss. And I couldn't find it in 2008. It took a few days and the help of my friend Felix who was born in "the East" and was involved in the protests surrounding the decision to tear the building down, to help me figure out that the giant deconstruction site I'd seen almost every day of our visit was the former Palast.

The Pergamon
We immediately headed toward the Pergamon Museum and grabbed some street food on the way. It was definitely a dramatic change moment. Everything, from the buildings that now had patched bullet holes to the new construction to the incredibly long line to get into the Pergamon was different.

The Pergamon didn't disappoint either. It was just as incredible as last time to see the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate and the other amazing pieces of the collection.

There was also an interesting, but jam-packed exhibit called Babylon Myth and Truth, I'd say more, but the title speaks for itself. Was very interesting given that present day Iraq, Iran were included in the historical overview.

The next day we started with a walk by of Märkisches Ufer, which is a short block where the architecture is considered to appear unchanged (and well-preserved) since the 18th and 19th centuries. From there it was off to the Bodemuseum via Alexanderplatz. Alexanderplatz is a major transport hub and the last time I was there was billed as the "Times Square" of East Berlin. As you might suspect it didn't even come close. It's mostly a shopping and eating spot now. We got our fix for some Dunkin' Donuts coffee there one day.

The Bodemuseum is first a striking architectural experience, built at the end of the Prussia empire with a soaring domed lobby that has a great cafe overlooking the huge space. We were specifically in search of the two sculptures they have by Bernini, so we could practice what we had learned in Rome early this year.

Then it was off to the Berliner Dom (if I have my German right, dom means cathedral). A beautiful church, the restoration from the destruction caused by the bombings during World War II is what is most awe inspiring about this place. Next on the agenda was Hamburger Bahnhof and on our way there we stumbled onto a great little find, the Hackesche Höfe, a little set of interconnected courtyards. For some, it's a movie theater and a great place to eat and drink. For us it was about the amazing architectural work, which is considered a classic example of German Secession style.

At the Hamburger Bahnhof we decided a snack was in order first, so we hit what we thought would be a typical museum cafe. Instead we landed at Restaurant Sarah Wiener. She's an "untrained" celebrity chef in Berlin known for not using recipes, though she has two cookbooks. Lunch turned into an amazing 2 hour, multi-course affair with wine, coffee and dessert. Everything was incredibly delicious and beautifully presented, I highly recommend this restaurant.

The museum was even more amazing. First, it is more than 10,000 sf so it's a huge space. We saw some great Cy Twombly, which was a great thing to reinforce what we had just seen at the Tate Modern exhibit. Some really amazing Anselm Kiefer work as well.

It had been a serious day of touring and we were set for even more the next day, so we headed back to the hotel to chill before meeting up with our friends Felix and Sam for dinner.

Loreen Time

2008-07-13T19:07:00.005+01:00

Tate Time
Our friend Loreen was in town on business and we had a chance to get together twice for some great fun. First we went to the Tate Modern to see the member's only viewing of the Cy Twombly exhibit.

The exhibit was very interesting. My exposure to Twombly's work has been a bit scattered, usually just a couple of pieces in a museum so it was interesting to get a better sense of his larger oeuvre and inspiration. Loreen's engineer mind helped me to begin to gain insights into the effect that Twombly's time as a cryptologist has on his work. I definitely saw a new side of this artist.

After the exhibit we ended the evening with an amazing dinner full of great fun, wine and endless stories at Skylon restaurant.

Champagne and Caviar
The next evening we met Loreen to see her off on her Eurostar train back to Belgium from St. Pancras Station. The night before we had talked about how the station had Europe's longest champagne bar and since Loreen was heading out it seemed like the perfect excuse to check it out. Loreen selected a great bottle of brut and I picked a service with all the trimmings of Sevruga. Loads of fun, decadent and a great treat.

The bar is located at track level, looking onto the Eurostar trains arriving and departing (in this official photo the bar runs along the left side of the building) with a great view of The Meeting Place sculpture, which is a 30+ foot brozne sculpture of two lovers reuniting, or saying goodbye depending on how your perspective. All of which takes place in this huge, glass enclosed space.

Washington, DC Apartment for Rent

2008-07-12T11:35:00.007+01:00

See DC's July 4th Fireworks from Your Living Room

Our tenant is moving out of our apartment in DC, so if you know of anyone who might be interested, send them the URL: www.wildhack.com/caphill. All the details are there, including how to contact Leslee, our amazing property manager.

The apartment will be available August 1, 2008. Spread the word.

Weekend in Zurich

2008-07-11T14:08:00.012+01:00

Joe had been in Zürich for a week of client work so I joined him for a weekend to see the city. The best thing we did was get the 72 hour ZürichCARD which includes unlimited transport on boats, trains, trams and buses as well as free entrance to many museums. It doesn't include entrance to any special exhibits, but it does include permanent collections. If you only have a weekend in Zürich, it makes smart financial sense. Eating and drinking in Zürich is as expensive as they say, we found the prices comparable to London.

Fortunately Joe's meetings ended early on Friday and he caught up with me just after I'd checked into our hotel and had settled at a cafe for lunch. We stayed at the Hotel Rutli which is located about a 10 minute walk from the main train station. Great hotel with nice rooms for a good price which included breakfast. The room decor was really interesting - graffiti. The staff, like all the Swiss I met were extremely friendly, helpful and wiling to speak English. The hotel had one big drawback. Because it was in the 80s you needed to keep the windows open and the fan on (no A/C anywhere in the city that we could find); however, we were on a pedestrian street that was amazingly loud until after 3a both nights. I'd stay in the hotel again if it was weather for closed windows.

Our leisurely lunch initiated the theme of plenty of Swiss white wine with our meals. Crisp, dry and refreshing in the warm weather. From there, we went back to the hotel so Joe could get out of his suit. It had been a long week for him so we took a 90 minute boat ride that covered the top third of the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich), a great way to relax and recharge.

Zürich is a bit like Amsterdam in that much of what there is to do is wander around, enjoy the architecture and the food, shop if you're so inclined and visit museums and churches during the day. Or if you're up for it, party into the night. Joe and I went to bed early so we could hit the museums first thing on Saturday morning.

Chasing Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was Swiss by birth and we had heard Zürich was a great city to see works we may not have seen before. The first museum we headed toward on our quest was the Museum Rietberg, but this was all wrong on the Giacometti front. In some literature we had there was confusion about the museum's new wing and Giacometti, just one of those things. However, we were really glad we went. The museum is in an old mansion worth seeing for the architecture alone. The museum focuses on art from Asia, Africa and Ancient America. All of the sudden I was reliving my visits to Thailand, Malaysia and Laos, an unexpected pleasure.

Halfway back to the center of town we tracked down the James Joyce Pub for lunch. Lovely, but not exactly what I had expected. It turned out to be an upscale bar/restaurant in a hotel, not a hole in the wall where philosophers and writers might hang out. According to some research I did later, the pub tiles, bar and fixtures - which are really impressive - were bought by a Swiss bank and moved to Zürich from Dublin about 40 years ago. Supposedly, according to one article I read, the decor is described in certain passages in Ulysses.

After lunch we took a tram that drove us down Bahnhofstrasse, the Rodeo Drive of Zürich. Next we stopped at the Fraumünster, a church famous for its Marc Chagall stained glassed windows. They were incredible, but no photos allowed. Right next door is St. Peter's which has the largest clock face in Europe.

At our second museum stop, the Kunsthaus Zürich, we did find the city's amazing Giacometti Collection. There was of course, plenty of other art worth seeing. The museum covers the full time range from old masters to 21st century art. One of the things I particularly enjoyed was the way that selected pieces were placed where they surprised you and challenged your perceptions. For example, you might find a 20th century sculpture in a room of 18th century oil paintings of still lifes and portraits. There was a rather unnerving exhibit going on throughout the museum that we never were able to get any information on except for assurances from security guards that it was an exhibit. Randomly placed throughout the museum were backpacks, briefcases, etc., The kind of thing that you tend to be highly attuned to in airports and train stations.

A Hot Dining Experience
Saturday night we had dinner reservations at Hiltl. The restaurant has been serving an all vegetarian menu (no meat or seafood) since 1898. If you are a vegetarian of any kind you must make a stop here. There's a cafe, a bar as well as the more formal restaurant. It's prices are often cited as a bargain in the city.

The restaurant was beautiful, the service amazing and the food was great. It was oppressively hot though, which made it a little tough to bear. We were upstairs in a dining room with windows that barely cracked open (which we were far away from). Outside it was in the low 80s, inside it was in the 90s. No ice in your drinks and all the water you wanted, but in small glasses -- and despite the fancy waiters and service you fetched your own water. We must've made at least six trips. After we finished our ice cold wine, I began dipping the water glasses in the wine bucket, a bit tacky, but so refreshing.

It was really a shame though. I would like to have explored the menu more and perhaps stayed for dessert, but fresh air was needed. It was an easy walk over and then down Banhofstrasse for window shopping toward the cooling breezes of the lake.

Fritz Glarner
On Sunday we went hunting for the Haus Konstruktiv museum. We were expecting the museum to focus on residential building design and construction, but it really was about consumer product design - furniture, household items, etc. Very cool building and some edgy and fun stuff.

However, our primary objective was to see the Rockefeller Dining Room. It had been in Nelson A. Rockefeller's New York City apartment starting in 1963 and then removed and sold in the 1980s. It was amazing, like stepping into a painting. It reminded me very much of the feeling of immersion you have in the Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The big difference being the 20th century contemporary flavor. Glarner knew Piet Mondrian and was clearly influenced by this relationship.

The nice part about Zurich is you can really get a sense of the city and see the highlights in a weekend and still have time for a leisurely meal or two at an outdoor cafe. Keep in mind that the Italian food is excellent - including the street pizza - given Zürich's proximity to the border. While I wouldn't mind going back, I wouldn't necessarily seek Zürich out, though I want to see the rest of Switzerland and it's a good gateway.

's-Hertogenbosch

2008-06-30T13:15:00.004+01:00

About a 20 minute train ride from Eindhoven is the medieval town of 's-Hertogenbosch, also known as Den Bosch (pronounced boss). We weren't really sure what we would find there, but it was often highlighted as a tourist spot so off we went.

All in all a nice day, but nothing really jumped out as a "worthy of a detour" moment. If you're coming through, it's worth a day of your time, but I woudn't go out of my way to make sure you get there.

It was market day and that always makes a town fun and interesting. We stopped at a fresh stroopwafel stand. If you like cookies or caramel there is nothing like this treat made with hot off the grill waffles and a spatula of warm caramel. The other benefit of market day was brass bands all over the place, which Joe especially enjoyed.

We then got tickets for the big activity of Den Bosch which is to take a boat ride through the canals. Unlike Amsterdam, Delft and other Nederland towns Den Bosch built over their canals so it's really about traveling through a series of tunnels.

We also visited the Cathedral Basilica of Sint-Jan the Evangelist, a key historical aspect to the city.

The Stedelijk Museum, the city's contemporary art museum was great fun. A wonderful little restaurant with a deck where we had a coffee and a snack. Teh deck overlooks one of the Netherlands most significant architectural designs, which was very cool to see live.

We ended the day with a late lunch at a cafe, just watching all the people go by.

Biking to Eersel

2008-06-30T12:30:00.007+01:00

One night during our week in Eindhoven, Joe and I got bikes from the hotel and headed out for a ride to the town of Eersel. It's about 7 km south of the Koningshof, not far from the Belgian border.

The ride was great fun. Since we were essentially out in the country the bike traffic was light, allowing us to feel a bit more comfortable given the intensity of Nederland bike traffic and rules. We rode through several stretches of farm fields and through the tiny town of Steensel beofre arriving in Eersel which was a wonderful surprise.

There's a great old town center with at least a dozen restaurants on the town square (which in the Nederlands is almost universally referred to as the market - spelled markt), all with plenty of places to sit outside and watch the world go by. We walked around and took in the architecture and then enjoyed a great, typically dutch, dinner at 't Menneke.

The following week, after I'd returned to London, Joe biked back for dinner and also enjoyed a jazz band playing in the gazebo in Eersel's market square. If you have occasion to come through, it's a great place to stop and enjoy a beer or a meal.

Eindhoven Time

2008-06-30T11:15:00.005+01:00

After the weekend in Delft, it was time for work. As we've done before, Joe worked on the client site and I worked from the hotel room at the NH Koningshof in Veldhoven. I made a point of going to the gym every day and on Friday, the last day at the hotel I joined the yoga class, which turned out to be one of those really interesting moments you couldn't have predicted.

Yoga
As with most hotel gyms, they also sell private memberships. Well everyone, aside from me, were members and they were all women. At first I was a little apprehensive as I could tell I was imposing on a regular group, but they were open and friendly and made me feel really welcome, despite a wide range of English language skills. When class was over they invited me to stay, explaining that after their Friday class they would sit with a cup of herbal tea and talk about the class and how it made them feel. Their welcoming warmth was just one of those small, but magical expat moments that will stay with me forever.

Michelin Rated
On Thursday night we ate at Restaurant De Karpendonkse Hoeve, a wonderful Michelin rated restaurant in Eindhoven. The food wasn't as exciting as Restaurant De Luytervelde, the other Michelin rated restaurant in Eindhoven we ate at last September, but the wines were amazing. Joe and I both had a tasting menu with wine pairings. It was also the first time I ever had wine pairings that included refills. Given that the Dutch dining experience tends to be very relaxed this was particularly nice. I think it was a 4-hour dinner this time. Don't get me wrong, the food absolutely delighted the eyes and the palate, it just never surprised. If you have time, I highly recommend De Karpendonkse.

Philips Museums
Eindhoven is the global headquarters of the industrial giant Philips. The Centrum Kunstlicht in de Kunst is a very interesting art gallery/museum run by Philips that focuses on art that uses or depicts artificial light which I really enjoyed.

Later Joe and I took The Philips Incandescent Lamp Factory of 1891 tour, which is part of the same building that the art museum occupies. We got really lucky because there was only one other person on the tour who was from Australia, which meant the tour was given in English. Originally we didn't think English would be required, but if you go, don't bother unless you can get a tour in a language you understand as it's not really a tour. Instead, what happens is you visit the original workshop (just the one room) where Gerard Philips and his employees first made light bulbs and you are walked through the manufacturing process. Very interesting, but the explanation lasts about 90 minutes, so it would be incredibly boring if you didn't know what the tour guide was saying.

We rounded out our time in Eindhoven with a visit to the Van Abbe Museum. It was nice to spend some more time with the permanent collection and to see the evolving pieces around the on-going exhibit called "Be(com)ing Dutch.

Del-eft

2008-06-29T18:22:00.016+01:00

Our plan for the weekend had been to take an early train to Delft (pronounced Del-eft), which dates back to just after 1000, spend the day there and then head to Rotterdam for dinner, a hotel and touring the next day. However, there was a rare Nederland train delay so we didn't get to Delft until about noon. We decided to get a hotel for the night there, thinking we would head to Rotterdam after breakfast on Sunday. Of course, the VVV was an awesome resource.

The VVV found us a wonderful room at the Hotel Johannes Vermeer with breakfast for €100. The reception was very friendly and the breakfast was more than adequate. We checked in, dropped off our back pack and headed to Markt, which is the town centre to get a sense of the place and grab a snack. They were having a beach festival with a giant sand volleyball court set up...not your typical view of a medieval European city. With the Stadhuis (city hall) in the background it made for a an interesting juxtaposition.

First we visited the Nieuwe Kerk (new church), its foundation was built around 1396. Some really nice stained glass work as well as the mausoleum of Prince William of Orange, make it a must stop. Then it was off to the Oude Kerk (old church) built about 1246 where Vermeer is buried - at least they think that's where he's buried. If it's one thing Delft has more of than anywhere else, it's version of Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring. Be prepared to be assaulted everywhere you turn by this image. Also, don't expect to see any real Vermeer's here. At least we didn't see any or hear that there were any to see.

Pottery
Getting my hands on some real Delftware was a major goal of this venture and is the main reason most people visit Delft. There are two factories that adhere to the traditional methods of manufacture. Royal Delft, which has been in existence since 1653 and Delft Pottery de Delftse Pauw, which is the newer joint in town.

To say the town was overrun with tourists (including us!) is an understatement. So we hedged our bets on two fronts and headed to Delftse Pauw thinking we might have better chances of not so many tour buses and better prices. Though we didn't do a direct comparison, we're pretty sure we made the right decision.

Delftse Pauw had a nice intimate feel (only one tour bus, split into English and Spanish language groups) and we bought two great pieces. A double tile landscape and a skyscape in a bowl. Unlike most pieces which are based on stencils, these were freehand illustrations by the factory's lead landscaper. And yes, we believed that line. The pieces stood out as really different to us and when we told the woman which ones we wanted she appeared genuinely excited by our selection and launched into a little background about how the pieces were different from most of the other items in the factory store. (Both factories ship anywhere in the world, no problem).

We also know from shopping in town that the Royal Delftware was about twice the price. Christmas balls at Delftse Pauw ran about €50 to €100 each, the ones from Royal Deflt we saw in town went from €75 to €175 and were a quite bit smaller.

So if it's Delftware you're after I suggest Delftse Pauw. Doing your own factory comparison shopping may be tough as they are literally on total opposite sides of town and both locations are as far from the center as you'd want to go. But if Delftware is what you're after I'd say it's worth the trucking.

Evening
After the factory tour and shopping we headed back to town where we found an amazing transformation. With the tour buses gone, there were really no people around. The restaurants that had been crowded from noon to well after lunch were empty on Saturday night. We felt we had the entire town to ourselves. If you can spare the time, try to spend the night, the town is so much less crowded and it makes the wandering of the medieval streets really magical.

During dinner we decided we were enjoying Delft so much and that we wanted to see a few of the small museums so we gave up the idea of touring Rotterdam on Sunday for another trip, another day.

Why Rotterdam?
My draw to Rotterdam goes back to being a boy. My Grandmother had been to Europe on vacation - the first person I ever knew that actually went to Europe - and she brought me back this set of photo cards from Rotterdam. It was one of the first European cities I wanted to visit and though I've traveled through on many occasions, even on my first trip to Europe in the mid-1980s, I haven't actually spent more than transit time there. My Grandmom, Nina, was the person who really woke the wanderlust in me at an early age.

We were up and moving fairly early Sunday morning, thanks in part to the beautiful church bells just a couple of blocks from our hotel window. Sunday morning reconfirmed our perception from the night before. Things were fairly quiet and then about 1p, in a way that felt all of the sudden, there were people everywhere.

Museums
The first museum we visited was the Museum Lambert van Meerten which has an amazing collection of Delftware and its precursors. It'an amazing house, worth touring for the architecture and furnishings alone. We also went to the Nusantara Museum, which is dedicated to Indonesia, a key Dutch colony. Interesting if you are curious about that part of the world or how the Dutch viewed themselves as colonizers.

To wrap up our time in Delft we headed over to see the remaining, original medieval city gate, which was built around 1400.

All in all an amazingly relaxing and pleasant weekend. I think The Rough Guide to The Netherlands sums up my feelings best, "...it's the general flavour of the place that appeals rather than any specific site."

Getting Around
Unlike most places in the Nederlands, mass transit is a little sparse. Getting around is mostly by foot power so wear your walking shoes. This isn't really an issue as there's not far to go except for the trek to the Defltware factory of your choice. There are velo taxis as well as a semi-regular "tram" service (think Disney World parking lot shuttle) around town for tourists that is a viable option with a little time planning.

Hup Holland Hup

2008-06-27T23:09:00.003+01:00

On Friday the 13th of June Joe and I arrived early evening in Eindhoven the Netherlands for an extended stay...Joe for two weeks me for about 10 days. After checking into our hotel we headed downtown for dinner about 8p local time. To say we were overrun by literally thousands of people in orange was an understatement.

Orange shirts, pants, hats, toys, boas, wigs, shoes...you name it, if it was orange they were wearing it. What we hadn't realized was that Holland was playing France in the Euro 2008 games at 8:45p that night. Before settling on a spot for dinner we wondered around and just watched the phenomenon. By 9p the streets were empty and all the sidewalk eateries were abandoned as people crowded inside to watch the game.

No need to bother to join the packed crowds as every move of interest literally echoed throughout the entire downtown area. Thousands of people booing or cheering in unison. It was amazing. And, in case you haven't heard, Holland unexpectedly won that night. The city went crazy. Horns honking, screaming, cheering that went on for hours.

As Joe and I emerged from dinner...we had settled on a Chinese restaurant with one other occupied table and a small staff otherwise huddled around a TV (it was too A Christmas Story surreal not to)...listening to the horns and the cheers, you were overcome with happiness. It was amazingly contangious and then we realized, not only was the city of Eindhoven cheering like this, the entire country of the Netherlands in cities, towns and hamlets were cheering and honking their horns and celebrating.

The next day in Delft I would get the biggest smiles from waiters and waitresses, hotel staff, etc., when I would offer my "congratulations on the game last night." They beamed with such pride and hope.

Later in the week, Holland beat Romania, but that was expected, so it wasn't so exciting. Then on Friday, Turkey beat Croatia and the Turks went crazy-mad like the Nederlanders had the previous Friday. Unfortunately for Holland they lost to Russia on Saturday in an intense game decided in overtime. It was still incredible to hear the entire city roar for the one goal that Holland did score. No matter where you were, you knew what had happened and that it was a good thing.

I'll never forget that Friday the 13th though. It was one of those unanticipated magic moments you know you'll remember for the rest of your life.

anniversary

2008-06-08T14:46:00.005+01:00

The V&A
Friday night I celebrated exactly one year as a UK resident. I marked the occasion by meeting up with Leo and Francesco, as well as Joe, at the Victoria and Albert museum, which is open until 10:00p on Fridays.

Leo works in the development office at the V&A and made an excellent guide through the key exhibits. We started with a glass of wine in the cafe, which was the first cafe ever built in a museum. The architecture of the Morris, Gamble and Poynter rooms that make up the dining spaces in the cafe are pieces of art in and of themselves.

The first exhibit we went to was China Design Now, a great look at graphic design, fashion and architecture in contemporary China. The last piece of the exhibit is a digital "immersion fly through" of Beijing post Olympic construction...don't miss it, it's really cool.

We then went to see the new jewelery gallery. While jewelry isn't usually something I have a keen interest in, this collection and its presentation is really worth some time. It's arranged chronologically so you get an excellent sense of the progress of jewelry making throughout history, right through the present day. There was also the most incredible collection of pocket watches I have ever seen.

Blood on Paper: The Art of the Book, was nothing short of amazing contemporary art. 20th and 21st century artists, known primarily for their work in other mediums, had their "books" presented. Some artists, most notably for me Anselm Kiefer, were invited to complete works specifically for the exhibit.

On the lighter side...sort of...was T he Story of the Supremes from the Mary Wilson Collection. It was very much about the fashions and the music, but it also drew strong parallels between the history of the Supremes and the African-American civil rights movement. The dresses, shoes, wigs, jewelry and video clips were great. They also had a pile of album covers from the 60s and 70s, some of which I had owned, which in it's own way made me feel a bit on the old side.

Finally, Leo took us to see the Raphael Cartoons. The cartoons are paintings for the tapestries that hung at eye level in the Sistine Chapel. Having just been there and seen where they would've hung, it was great to see these. The room they are installed in matches the proportion, size and base architecture of the Sistine Chapel so that you get a real sense of how they fit in the chapel. Joe and I were both struck by the way the general form of this architectural copy drew you up even though the ceiling was just plain paint.

Dinner and a Drink
After the V&A, Joe and I went to dinner at Beirut Express, the first place we ate last March when we came to London on what was supposed to be a vacation in advance of maybe moving to London. It turned into the intense apartment hunting trip. Afterwards we went to the bar at Skylon for a night cap. A great way to wrap up a year of amazing changes and experiences.

Before It Was the Hudson

2008-06-05T23:07:00.006+01:00

After work today I finished reading North River by Pete Hamill. A beautiful story about a winter during the depression in New York City and love and hope and family. It's a got a great mob subplot - look for the line about the guy getting killed at the movies with an ice pick in his ear - along with a few others about the hopes of Irish and Italian immigrants.

There's also a fun trip out to Coney Island, plenty of hot dogs and Braciole and a Mexican communist terrorist.

It starts with a snow covered New York City and talk of the North River, which as I learned from Wikipedia was the original Dutch name for the Hudson River. According to Wikipedia, it is still called North River in communications among commercial vessels (I'll be checking that fact out with my Merchant Marine nephew-in-law soon). The Delaware River is the South River.

Not a taxing read, but a beautifully written journey to another place and time that reminds us that life is always hard for some if not many; that peace and national power are always fleeting things; that the love of family no matter how desperate the situation or how you define family brings not just solace, but hope and warmth.

The Historian

2008-06-01T19:54:00.008+01:00

This week I plowed through The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I had hesitated to pick up the book in part because it was a 640 page hard back - and who wants to lug that around - but also because my friend Pam who died suddenly last year had recommended it to me. She had read it and suggested it would be a great book for my upcoming vacation in Poland in November 2005. I hauled the book there and back, but never opened it.

More recently it has sat in my "to be read pile" on my desk and has made me smile and think of Pam daily and I didn't want to necessarily give that up.

But, last weekend in the rain it seemed the perfect adventure, so I grabbed it and, just like Pam would've wanted, jumped into a hot tub. It was a great, fast, fun read that travels you through the Netherlands, England, Romania, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria and the States.

The book's chapters are short and it's divided into three parts. So it's easy to put down and pick up several times a day, though you're likely to find yourself drawn right back to it like the characters are drawn to the mysteries of Dracula themselves.

I highly recommend it as a summer beach read or during long baths with a glass of wine, perhaps followed by a long Saturday morning in bed with coffee.

The Dangerous Book for Boys

2008-06-01T19:34:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I finished The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden. It's been a great book to poke through over the last several months. It's full of all kinds of fun things from knots to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient and Modern Worlds. I particularly enjoyed the series of extraordinary stories and great battles in history. I also look forward to using it as a base guide for building a tree house someday.

At the end is a list of books for boys that is a great idea starter for gifts...though I disagree with the recommended ages for most of the books - I think you could probably read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe before you were 12.

I definitely recommend it for fun light reading or as a great gift no matter how old the boy.

Also available is The Daring Book for Girls.

The Graham Norton Show

2008-05-31T18:56:00.000+01:00

Last Tuesday we went to see a taping of The Graham Norton Show. Great fun! I'm a big fan of Graham 's great acerbic wit and rarely miss a show, thanks to the BBC iPlayer. There weren't any clips from the show we saw online...it aired this week, but you can see what I mean about Graham's wit in this YouTube clip...

The guest for our show was Dame Edna Everage - normally he has two guests, but I guess, given Dame Edna's larger than life persona, Graham thought it best if she didn't share the stage. As it was, the bandying at the end of the taping between Dame Edna and musical guest Alanis Morissette got pretty intense, especially when Dame Edna mistook her for an American.

Dame Edna kept us rolling with laughter for more than an hour and Alanis performed an acoustic version of "Underneath" from her soon to be released new work Flavors of Entanglement. There was a technical problem so we got to see her sing it twice...the second time was much better.

Tickets are free, you apply on line and wait to be notified. We did learn that you need to get in line and queue early - I'd say by at least 45 minutes as not everyone gets to go into the actual theater, about half the people who were in line didn't make it into the show...we've no idea where they went. We were among the last people who actually got to be in the live show audience.

A Journey In Ladakh

2008-05-25T12:30:00.003+01:00

I finished A Journey In Ladakh by Andrew Harvey this morning. It took me a while to get through this 242 page book, I think in large part because it inspires the reader to a self-reflective journey. As with most books about Buddhism, the read itself is a journey. It was interesting to follow Harvey on this particular Journey and see the experience from his perspective.

If you decide to read this I recommend skipping the Afterwards. After this lovely spiritual journey Harvey cannot resist sharing his negative political perspective that, while a part of the journey, sours the palate.

München

2008-05-18T13:57:00.013+01:00

After Mittenwald we rode the train to Paunzhausen to visit Christine, her husband Andreas and their kids who hosted us for our tour of Munich. Sunday night we had a great time drinking wine and having adult career, global issues, etc. conversation.

On Monday, we headed to Munich. Since it was a Monday and a holiday museums, etc. were closed. We didn’t care, the weather was amazing, so wandering around town, taking in the architecture made for a perfect day. Thanks to Andreas’ recommendation we wended our way to the Englisher Garten, essentially the Central Park of Munich.

At the park we watched guys boogie boarding on the same river we had seen in Mittenwald – the Isar – and a sea of people out enjoying the great weather. From the entrance to the park we made our way to the center marked by a Chinese Turm (tower) where there was a Bavarian folk band, a biergarten and tons of locals just having a great time. We had lunch and just watched the people go by and listened to the band. The Horse Chestnuts were in full bloom and it seemed like they were everywhere.

After the Englisher Garten we headed over to the 1972 Olympic Village and Tower. Somehow Olympic touring seems appropriate this year given all there is to think about on the topic. The German venues seemed especially thoughtful given what happened at the 1936 and 1972 Olympics, including, as Joe and I discussed, Mark Sptiz’s seven gold medals. It was interesting to look at people swimming in the pool and think about the records that were made there. The best view we had of the Munich Olympic Village was from the Tower, despite the viewpoint, I found it very moving.

Innsbrook was 1976 and as I recall, basically tame, except for the bad haircut craze it spurred in America.

Our last day in Munich we visited the Pinakothek Der Moderne (Modern Art Museum) which was really great. They were running a Dan Flavin exhibit we had seen at the National Gallery in Washington a few years ago. There were some great Miros, Picassos and Klees. We also got to see plenty of 20^th Century art by Germans and other artists from the central and eastern parts of Europe that were not known to me. Running out of time, we wandered around and enjoyed the architecture, had a last beer and pretzel and headed to the airport.

In general I was struck by Bavaria’s balance between its historic agrarian roots and contemporary society. Munich is considered the silicon valley of Germany, yet Christine and her family can get organic milk by walking to the local dairyman. In Mittenwald there are literally hundreds of small plots that support a couple of livestock and are used to grow feed. While I’m sure there are plenty of challenges too, it was interesting to see and be inspired by. Bavaria also was full of Rapeseed fields in bloom, just beautiful. I also thought that there were quite a few mullet's and learned that it is actually a global style.