I'm back!

Long time, no post. Since my last post I've been to Edinburgh, Scotland, Rome, Italy, and many places in the UK. I'm going to try to post more articles on the places that I've been, seen, and done. :)

Guten Tag

Location: Stuttgart, Germany
When: May 2008 (long weekend)
Weather Conditions / appropriate attire: Slightly chilly, but beautiful sunny weather
Where we stayed: With my friend’s uncle and aunt

What we did & where we went:
When my friend told me that she planned to go to Germany for a holiday and said that I could meet her I was all for it! It is so nice to see familiar faces. The beginning of the trip didn’t start off so well. My husband was unable to go with but he did drive me to the airport. Unfortunately, we missed the exit and I was 5 minutes late to check in and had to pay £100 (=$200) to change flights. I did get on the following flight to the Frankfurt Hann Airport. From there I had to take a bus to the train station. I was so worried that I was going to get off at the wrong stop. The language barrier was a bit intimidating but most people were as helpful as they could be. Once I made it to the train station where my friend was able to pick me up, with her aunt.

It was great to meet her family and to see her, her husband, and daughter. Our first day we went to Rothenburg which is a medieval walled town that now has many shops. It was very interesting and neat. (Pictured right: the wall that surrounds the town .)


That night we went to the Spring Festival which looked like a carnival with rides and games and beer tents. This was a fair on steroids. The prize booths seemed to go 20 to 25 feet into the air. They had about 5 – 10 beer gardens. We walked by one of the tents that was playing “Sweet Home Alabama” in German. Not something I was expecting. When we found the beer garden where we were meeting some of her uncle’s friends we walked through. Two German guys tried to obtain me from the group. Finally able to break away, we met up with the people we were looking for. Everyone was on the benches of picnic tables singing and cheering drinking maas's which are a liter of beer in a large mug. I have to say that I did drink 1 maas and it was a lot of work. First of all it was very heavy and I had to use 2 hands to hold it. Secondly, by the time I got to the bottom of the the mug it wasn't cold any longer. (Pictured to the left: My friend Kim and I in the beer garden drinking our maas.)

The next day we went to Ludwigsburg Palace. It has a family area for children and it was quite impressive. This photo of me at the bottom and it just shows how large the building is.

Where we ate: Honestly, I cannot say exactly where we ate. I can say that it was good and different. I also had a bratswurst at the fair. I had schnitzel which I’ve never had.

Left: Schnitzel
Right: White asparagus a seasonal delicacy

Overall Impressions: I had such a great time. It was nice to leave England to see some good friends and nice weather. I found it fun to try to speak the language, but I was not very good at it.

Weekend Getaway

Location: Bath & Salisbury

When: April 3 & 4, 2009

Weather Conditions / appropriate attire: B-E-beautiful!!! Sunny and blue skies. Still England but only really needed a jumper.

Where we stayed: RAF Fairford lodging. A perk of being in the military, we were able to stay in a room that was only $40.

What we did & where we went:
It had been a while since we went on a trip and we really needed a change of scenery.

Bath: Bath was very interesting and not what I had expected. The Roman Baths were buried deep below the present level of the city. With my new camera, I was able to play with the light and my new filter. The water was untreated and signs were posted to warn people from touching much less drinking. I was a rebel and touched the water anyway. Another perk of visiting Bath was the audio guides were included in the cost of admission. The admission was £11 per person. (Pictured left)

Woodhenge: We saw the signs and decided to go see Woodhenge on the way to Stonehenge. It wasn't too much of a detour. A definate pro of visiting this attraction was that it was free. Once we were there, there was no wood...only concrete markers where there once were timbers.

Stonehendge: We also did a quick drive by on Stonehenge, but it was crowded so we didn’t go in again.

Salisbury: We decided to go to Salisbury which was only about 7 miles from Stonehenge. First we walked in the park that was nearby and I took some photos and then we went towards the Cathedral. I took a few photos, my favorite was looking through the Cloisters. (Pictured right)

Where we ate: On Saturday we went to the Harvester which was pretty decent. I would compare this to Ruby Tuesdays in the states.

Overall Impressions: I loved, loved, loved the area!! It was everything that I wanted England to be. Spring had sprung. Rolling hill, beautiful landscapes, great weather.

Romantic Dinner

Restaurant: Tuddenham Mill High Street,Tuddenham,Nr. Newmarket,Suffolk, IP28 6SQ

When: April 2, 2009

It was a wonderful dining experience. Some friends told me they had just been there and that it was really good. They said specifically that the steak was really good. We didn’t arrive with a reservation but we were able to get a table. What was really odd was that we were seated in a ‘waiting area’ gave our orders and then taken up to the main dining area.

Drinks: Red Wine and Still Water

Appetizers:
Rabbit, duck and sweet potato terrine with a fresh horseradish and beetroot pesto: This looked very pretty but looked that there were only 3 bites of rabbit (pictured right)

Chicken and bacon with mango chutney: This was a bit heavier than I expected. I did not plan on having a loaf. (pictured left)

Mains:
"Rare breed rib eye steak with marrow and garlic butter, hand-cut chips, slow-cooked tomato, mushroom and pickled horseradish": this was the best steak in England.

Smoked fish including haddock and salmon. This also included prawns. It looked very pretty, but I don't think that I really like smoked fish that much.

Desserts:
Crème brulee: Delicious.
Warm chocolate brownie with vanilla pod ice-cream: as good as could be expected.

Overall Impressions:
I would love to go to Tuddenham Mill again. Next time I’ll be sure to go with a menu choice of items that I’m more familiar with. The ambiance was lovely and everything was presented beautifully. The service was great as well.

Prices: ££££

Menu

Colorado Springs, CO

Location: Colorado Springs, CO

When: May 2007

Weather Conditions / appropriate attire: Sunny, mild temperatures. Long sleeves/hoodie and jeans.

Where we stayed: With my good friends, Nicole and Jaime. Cost $0.00.

What we did & where we went:
My really good friends were nice to play tourist with me. I spent a long weekend there and we crammed as much stuff in that we could afford. We went to the mall, went to a museum, went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End , took scenic photos of Pikes Peak, played in the Garden of the Gods, and went to a cheesy dinner theater show called Iron Springs Melodrama Dinner Theater. Since I was on vacation, I was all about cheesy. I don't mean to tear down the Iron Springs Melodrama Dinner Theater or anything, but I'm surprised that people would go more than once.

Where we ate:
They took me to a great restaurant called Ai Sushi & Grill. It was awesome! The sushi chefs were so nice to us and very entertaining. (Pictured right: My friends and I with the Sushi chef.)

Overall Impressions: I had a great time!! I had so much fun and loved spending time with my friends. Miss them so much.

Stonehenge, 2007

My very good friend came to visit me shortly after I had moved to the UK, which was in November. We decided to go and see Stonehenge which is a 3 hour drive from where we live (well, 3 hours when you end up driving around Windsor Castle 3 times.) We got within 30 minutes of our destination and it starts to rain. I thought that maybe it wouldn’t rain once we got there. It didn’t matter. We had driven 3 hours and we were going to see Stonehenge. There was no turning back.

It was our good fortune that we had brought our umbrellas. Once we paid admission we walked under the underpass and made it to the walk around Stonehenge. The Stones are as large as I had expected, but the circle was much, much smaller. Remember it was raining, windy, and cold. I’ve been told that it is a windy location and even chilly in July. The rain felt like ice as it hit my face. My friend’s umbrella was mangled from the wind, but she managed to put it back together.

All in all, if the weather were nicer, there wouldn’t be much of a story. In the future, we hope not to visit Stonehenge under these conditions.

Lavenham, England

I had heard about the ‘crooked town’ and finally made the time to go and see it with my own eyes. The town is a medieval town that most of the houses are build of timber, and has made most of its wealth from the prosperous wool that they sold. I’m trying to visit as many interesting places in England because there is so much around that I haven’t explored yet. I was told about this town from a few different people and although I didn’t find it to be the most exciting place it was better than the couch that I usually visit.

Great Yarmouth, UK

Great Yarmouth is a beachy town located on the east coast of the UK adjacent to the North Sea. This is what I'd imagine Coney Island to be. I went to Great Yarmouth with a good friend and neighbor. (My husband was out of town.) There was a tourist attraction vibe to it. They had tons of games--arcades that had the claw games, the small gambling games where you try to win more money, putt-putt courses, amusement park rides, and my all time favorite--cotton candy. Here they call it 'cotton floss.'

Being able to see the beach was something that I really missed. Growing up in Florida where seeing the water on a near everyday basis it was something that I took for granted. It was a sunny warm day near the water and it was a new adventure for me.

I cannot finish this article without saying that this is one of the tackiest places I've been. This from a girl who grew up in "L.A." (which has nothing to do with Los Angeles), also known as the "Redneck Rivera." I saw unusual signs of things that I wouldn't think go together but maybe I'm wrong...You tell me.

Cirque du Soleil

We have lived here in England for over a year and we finally went to a show in London!!! We bought some tickets to see Cirque du Soleil, Quidam Show. Our tickets are only £60 per person, including the bus ride. The face value was £35 per ticket. We left at 10:45 am and we arrived back at our drop off point at about 7:30 pm.

The show was held at the Royal Albert Hall. We didn't want to be late for the show and so we decided to eat at Cafe Consort. They had some interesting items on their menu. (The downloaded menu is not exactly what they had to offer, but it is close.) I decided to play it safe and order the ever-safe Cesar salad with chicken. My husband had the Chicken Parmesan. The service was really fast. We ordered and our food was out to us in less than 5 minutes. The food was okay for what you expect in a theater. Once we found our seats, it was gorgeous. We had what you call the "nose bleed" seats. We were in section Q on the very top row to the left of the stage. This is the seating chart.

There were about a dozen different acts. I'll only highlight the ones that I found funny and/or the amazing ones. One of the first acts was what I call the, "human top" but really it is called the German Wheel. The man was able to weave in and out of this wheel, flip, and spin. It is definitely something that was captivating.

The four little Asian girls, they looked as though they were 10 years old, were really great. It seemed as thought they were doing this since birth. I looked in the program and they aren't related.

Unfortunately, I was not able to take photographs. Photos shown were from my camera phone.

Other shows I would like to watch:

Wicked

The Phantom of the Opera

Houston, TX 2006

I was really only in Houston for less than 24 hours to visit my “B.F.F” in August 2006. My husband and I, this is before we were married, had just left his family who live in West Texas and we were driving back to my house in Florida. Once we found her place and relaxed for a bit she took us out to show us a little bit of Houston.

First she took us to eat some sushi at a hip and trendy bar and restaurant called Ra.

Ra

3908 Westheimer
Houston Tx 77027
Phone: 713 621-5800

It definitely had a buzz about it. There was a long wait for tables, but we were offered to sit in the bar so we wouldn’t have to wait. The menu was really exciting to me. They offered unique ingredients that I have not seen paired with sushi since. I can’t remember the names of the rolls we ordered, but sushi such as mango, crunchy green tempura, and cream cheese! It was delicious! I know that this was 3 years ago and I still think that their sushi was memorable. Below is a photo of my and my husband in Ra.

After dinner we went to the Cotton Exchange. It was a neat little bar and lounge that had a laid back vibe, great for the young professional to meet and greet. In fact, in 2006 it won awards such as “After-Work Bar 2006,” “See and Be Seen Bar 2006,” & “Singles Scene 2006.”

Cotton Exchange

202 Travis St Ste 100

Houston, TX 77002

Phone: (713) 213-1141

Au Paris!!!!

This Blog is based on a trip that we had on 1st year anniversary. It was August 9, 2008. We went to Paris with a couple of our friends. They live in Italy and decided to drive and were nice enough to pick us up on the way in Switzerland. We each reserved a room in the Best Western Le Nouvel Orleans. Our room was very, very small. I don't think that I would choose to stay there again.

Day 1: It was late afternoon when we went by the Eiffel Tower and walked around; we didn't go in up the tower that day. We did walk around and we went to a café which was just a few streets away from the Eiffel Tower where we ate escargot for our appetizer. We went to see the Arch De Triumph.

Day 2: It was a gorgeous day and our anniversary. First we went to a café, and it was so very French. We had a coffee and croissant. Then we were off to see the Eiffel Tower. We spent hours waiting in line to use the elevator. In hindsight I think it would have been faster and more interesting to walk up to the 1st floor and then take the elevator. The view from the top was breathtaking. We spent almost 4 hours with the Eiffel Tower. We only spent half of the day with our travel mates so that we could spend some time alone. We went to the Centre Georges Pompidou which had some very interesting street performers.

The DK Eyewitness Travel recommened to go to a restaurant that said it had a romantic atmosphere that was not extremely expensive called the Le Coupe-Chou. Please take a look at their menu. The food was good, but some of the restaurants that we passed looked even better. After dinner we walked around and found that the streets were alive with tourism, shops open late, restaurants, and night clubs. It was one of my favorite parts of this trip.

Day 3: We set this day aside to see the Louvre. This was our last full day with our travel mates. One of our friends was not that interested in art, so we knew we weren’t going to spend a lot of time here. Luckily, we were able to hit the hot spots and saw Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and of course the Mona Lisa. My husband and I would have liked to stay longer. It was time for a late lunch and although my husband and I thought that the food court looked appealing, our friends had their heart set on the Hard Rock Café Paris. (We spent 2 hours looking for it, 30 minutes waiting for a table, and 30 minutes waiting for the food. The food was just like it always is; too expensive for the quality and generic.)

We walked around to see some of the other sites. We walked by Moulin Rouge and the Montmartre & Pigalle area. Later that evening we went on a riverboat ride to see the landmarks along the river. The timing was perfect to see the Eiffel Tower with its light show.

Day 4: We ate at the American Diner in Paris for breakfast. We went to one location and found that it was closed for remodeling or something so we walked from this one to the other location. The food was what you would expect from Denny’s. We had time to see one more tourist destination, or so we thought, and went to see Notre Dame, but we did not go inside because the line was so long (again poor planning). Our friends had to start heading back home from here. We specifically saved The Museum D'Orsay so that we could go by ourselves and also because they have already been there. What we were not ready for was to find it was closed on Mondays, which it was. It was one of the things that I was really looking forward to seeing. I really appreciate Impressionist art work. It was my fault for not checking into the hours. So we had to make an alternate plan B.

We decided to go up to the hill to see Sacré Coeur. Unfortunately, we did not have any directions other than to follow the general direction. We had to walk up this very steep hill. Once on the top we saw Sacré Coeur and my husband thought it was fascinating. I was impressed by the view that it offered. I was also more interested to find that there was a lift that we could have taken that would have saved me my feet, legs, and breath. I know I sound like I’m old, don’t I?

Also on top of the hill was a tourist attraction of Artists. Mostly they were doing portraits and selling their art. I was very interested to do this, but 2 things stopped me.

1. My husband said no. It was about €60/person.
2. There wasn’t anywhere safe to store the work on our trip home.

Once back down from the hill we found ourselves in what appeared to be the fashion district where they shops were filled with fabulous bolts and bolts of materials. We had just enough time to go eat something quick before we had to find the airport. We ended up going back to the Louvre to eat in their food court. It looked so good the day before so we thought we would go back. Not as good as we had thought it would be.

Overall, this trip was a lot of fun. I would have liked to have done more "French" things such as eat more real French food and spent more time in the Louvre. I also would have made sure to see the Museum D'Orsay. As far as places to see, I'm definitely very glad that I can say I've been to Paris. If you have a long weekend, I think that Paris is the perfect destination. Personally, if you have more than that, I would prefer Italy.

The Morning After

For my birthday we went to the Andaz Hotel which was a stone's throw away from the Liverpool Tube station. When we checked into the hotel, we were greeted by the concierge and checked in promptly.

They gave us a free King upgrade, it wasn't as nice as the photo, but the bed was large and comfortable, there was AC, the place was clean, and the staff was so nice and helpful. There were also a lot of amenities: complementary mini bar, free wi-fi, Ipod docking station, and a towel warmer (it didn't work but I don't have one anyway so it wasn't a big deal). There were also 4 restaurants that were associated with the hotel. The one that I really wanted to eat at was closed for the holiday. The breakfast was also included. We were instructed to order it the night prior and told to set up a delivery time. We each had the Belgium waffles, eggs, fruit plate, coffee, orange juice, and pineapple juice.

For lunch we ate at a pub. My husband had the fish and chips; I had a Cesar Chicken Salad. I didn't think it was anything to rave about, my husband thought that the fish and chips were really good. We each ordered a drink as well. My husband had a Stella and I had a Mojito.

The staff was nice enough to research and find a sushi bar that was open and not too far away. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of places were closed due to the time of the year.

We went to Matsuri:
Matsuri High Holborn
71 High HolbornLondon WC1V 6EA

(t) 020 7430 1970

(e) eat@matsurihighholborn.co.uk

When I first arrived, the place looked really nice. The menu was really exciting. I was really looking forward to eating at a different place than the same one I always eat at. We had the Tempura Shrimp roll, California roll, a special Marble Tuna Roll with special balsamic soy sauce, and a scallop Carpaccio.

Overall, I found that this was nice meal but nothing that knocked my socks off. I personally didn't like the carpaccio.

After dinner we went back to the hotel. We decided to stop off to get a drink and some dessert at Eastway. I had Cheesecake with mango. My husband had the brownie. I also had a raspberry martini which was made from fresh raspberries. It was very sweet but not compared to that of the cheesecake. ***The best raspberry martini I've ever had was at Bluepoint in Destin, Florida.

We also went down towards Trafalgar, but we didn't count on the delays with the tube stations. There were many stops that were closed. The tubes were also packed full of people drinking, which was prohibited. We did make it to Trafalgar in time for the stroke of midnight. Too bad for our poor planning we weren't able to see the fireworks. After midnight, it felt like a concert. The hoards of people pressed and pushed up against us as we walked along the streets. It was definitely an experience to see New Year's in London.

**We did not go to Simpsons in the Strand because it was booked and there was not an available time when we wanted to eat.