Thanksgiving ....

This was only my second American Thanksgiving as an American and I guess my first real one as this one was with family, friends and the requisite turkey.

Laura had planned this well in advance as it is a big holiday for her - probably her second biggest day of the year. She arranged flights for us that got us into Nashville Thanksgiving afternoon and had booked us into one of the oldest, and I later learned, most prestigious hotels in the US. I have read somewhere that there are over 95,000 hotels in the US - only 37 of these hotels (less than .04%) have a 5 Star AND a 5 Diamond rating and the Hermitage in Nashville is one of them. It is not big but they do pay attention to detail and that makes all the difference in the world. The photo is one of the lobby ceiling - all beautiful stained glass.

After we arrived in Nashville and relaxed a bit we headed over to Lisa's for dinner where we were greeted by two very enthusiastic dogs, Jordy and Cookie, and of course by Lisa, Laura's Mom Kaye and her niece Britni. We would later be joined by Steve, Britni's boyfriend. We had a fabulous turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad and much more including 3 different desserts and some GREAT wine. It was a fabulous evening, even when we were each asked to say what we were thankful for.

Friday was yet another great day. Lisa's birthday was actually on Thanksgiving Day so I took Laura, her Mom and Lisa out to lunch at a great little spot that Laura booked called the Yellow Porch. Again great food, good conversation and for me some good local beer. After lunch Laura took me on a surprise tour of some of Nashville, showing me some of the prestigious neighbourhoods and then taking me to Cheekwood. Cheekwood is more than a park - it includes a sculpture garden and some beautiful grounds but also a mansion which had a wonderful collection of American Art including Warhol and many others. Along with the art display there is a tradition of Christmas tree displays after Thanksgiving so we were there to see some wonderfully decorated trees that were decorated by local artists or groups. It definitely gave me some good ideas :-). We then walked the grounds before heading off to dinner at a wonderful restaurant that Laura had booked, the Park Cafe. A nice little restaurant that had some wonderful art from a local artist.

Saturday was to be travel day so we filled up at Noshville, I on pancakes and Laura on a turkey sandwich, before she took me to Centennial Park where we saw the Parthenon. OK - I know - the Parthenon is in Greece but this is a full sized replica of the original and in fact is the ONLY full sized replica. A quick trip to the airport and we were home safe and sound to get ready for our Thanksgiving dinner with the girls on Sunday. Another wonderful afternoon and evening with the kids and more eating - Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, veggies, a Lentil Loaf and some more good wine.

As you can see - my first real American Thanksgiving was not just filling but also wholly wonderful.

Looking forward to next year in Nashville.


.... cu

A chance to relax ....

... at least for a few days ... and then we get to think about getting ready for the holidays.

The last few weeks have been busy once again. Three weekend ago myself,  Sam and Tika headed up to Ottawa for my nephew Isaac's Bar Mitzvah. My parents and sister flew up from Newfoundland so it was great to see everyone all at once. It was a busy weekend - the girls staying with two sets of friends on two nights, myself with staying with Malcolm and Lynn, and of course the weekends events. The weekend started for us on Saturday, we got to Ottawa late and missed the Friday dinner, with the Bar Mitzvah service at the synagogue early Saturday. Isaac did a wonderful job reading the Torah. After the service the we had a wonderful lunch catered by David Smith, a well known restaurateur in Ottawa. Saturday evening was the big party which was held downtown in Ottawa, again catered by David and VERY well attended. It was quite the party and one I am sure Isaac will remember, as will my Dad according to the picture.

Sunday we left and took Mom, Dad and Michelle and drove back to Virginia so they could spend the week with Laura and myself. It was a great week - did a bit of shopping, some sightseeing and we had a birthday party for Mom, Dad and Michelle (since they were here about half way in between everyone's birthdays). It was a nice little party with all the kids, Laura and myself and Darlene joined us as well. Saturday myself and Tika drove everyone back to Ottawa so they could stay with Wayne, Kayla and the boys for a few days while we spent a night at Dave and Michelle's. The drive was interesting - everyone watching the side of the road for wildlife. We saw horses and cows of course, but also some alpacas, wild turkey and zebra (YES zebra on a farm in Maryland - way too bizarre)  Myself and Tika got up early and headed back to Virginia on Sunday after we made a quick trip to the Byward market for some GREAT fire baked bagels and a little bit of shopping and then had a nice drive back.

It was great seeing everyone in Ottawa and it was nice to have Mom, Dad and Michelle here in Virginia with us, even if it was a short trip.

OK - back to work ..... cu

Finally home for a few days

I just got back from Ottawa around lunch time today. It has been a long few weeks so it is nice to be home right now. Do not get me wrong - the weeks were long but were enjoyable. Switzerland was a great time - 8 days of enjoying small Swiss towns and then exploring the old part of Zurich. We were also treated with great hospitality by people at the hotels and Laura's colleagues. As I mentioned last time we went to an old Abbey church which was followed by a great meal at a nice Italian restaurant - some great pizza, pasta and wine. Thanks to Monika and Bernd for a great treat on our first day in Switzerland.

The rest of the first few days I spent exploring Rapperswil-Jona and doing some running to Ruti. Between doing a little shopping, exploring the castle and the old parts of the town (along with the occasional long lunch with a nice cold Carlsberg) and taking lots of pictures -  my days were full. Thursday we had what was probably the most delicious meal I have ever had in a restaurant, and it was at the hotel's restaurant overlooking Lake Zurich.

Monika and Bernd continued their hospitality Friday night when we went to Zurich for dinner. We met Andreas, another colleague of Laura's, at a wonderful old restaurant called Kaiser’s Reblaube. The upper room was once occupied by Goethe. We ate a wonderful meal in the lower dining room - very traditional with good wine and great conversation.


Saturday we hopped on the train and headed to our hotel for the weekend in Zurich. The train followed the lakeshore from Rapperswl to Zurich. A quick walk from the train station and we were in the center of old town Zurich and at our hotel. We knew we were in Switzerland when we looked across the cobblestoned street and saw the blue cow on the balcony. Saturday we did a little shopping, did some sightseeing in the old churches and of course found a great place for lunch and a nice little Italian place for dinner, It now appears to us that wherever we go we find ourselves eating pizza the first night we are there (true for Victoria, Seattle, Seaside Florida, Rapperswil and Zurich). We continued our sightseeing Sunday, visiting the Grossmunster church (climbing the 186 VERY narrow tower stairs to get the pic on the left), the Art Gallery for a Seurat exhibit, and of course exploring more of old town. Lunch today was a picnic lunch with a nice bottle of Amarone on the Lindenhof Plaza that overlooked the Limmat River. My lunch choice - Roast Beef with mustard and dark chocolate - all in the same sandwich!


Sunday evening was my turn to treat Laura to dinner and I wanted it to be special so I had reserved a table at the Kronenhalle. The Kronenhalle is one of the most famous restaurants in not only Zurich but all of Switzerland and our impression was it was deserved. From the moment you walk in you see the history - not just in the building and the fact that the restaurant has been there for almost 150 years but the artwork that is hung on the walls. It is things that you would see in a good American restaurant where they would hang prints of Matisse or Picasso except at the Kronenhalle they are Matisse and Picasso paintings. One painting in the entryway is valued at over CHF 2 Million (that is 2 million Swiss francs - about 2 million dollars). The food and wine matched the impression as did the service from a full staff. It was a meal to remember. However we did not stop there but stopped at the Terrace Restaurant on the bank of the Limmat for dessert. It was a night that made it hard to leave Zurich because one had to wonder what we had missed and in a city so beautiful you could miss things and not know. Hopefully we will be back in Zurich some day again.


For now - I am happy to be home :-)


.... cu