Diana took us on a shirt train ride to see the town of Eltville am Rhein (on the Rhine) and to see the strawberry festival happening just outside the city in a small suburb.
Eltville itself is just glorious; right on the water, and full of blooming roses. We picked a fantastic time to visit, for sure.
We we are all completely smitten with Germany. And good thing, too, because our flight home was cancelled and we are here another night.m
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After some crazy-tight train connections leaving France, we arrived in Wiesbaden, Germany. My friend Diana met us at the station with German beer and pretzels, and I swear it was the best thing ever!
We have had the BEST time here in Germany. Our first night we tried pork knuckle and sauerkraut for dinner (best sauerkraut I have ever, ever eaten) with German beer.
The pork knuckle was fit for a medieval king!
Apple strudel.
We spent the day walking around downtown Wiesbaden yesterday, exploring the area before heading out to the festival in the evening. It was such a wonderful, wonderful day. Neve absolutely loves it here, and we do, too.
There are thermal springs here in Wiesbaden (“Baden” means “bath”), and we *may* have put Neve in the “healing waters”.
The world’s biggest cuckoo clock!
Yummy Kaffe Crema!
Berry waffle bowl
Diana and I.
The festival was an absolute blast. The street food (and alcohol! Everywhere!) was incredible, and the atmosphere was impossibly friendly and fun.
Neve and Maddie’s favorite night of the trip, so far.
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With the Taste Of The Vineyard Gourmet Stroll coming up on June 18 and The Taste Of The Vineyard’s Patron Dinner & Auction on June 20, 2015, I’d like to tell my story about the one and only time I went to this lovely and delicious event 22 years ago in 1993.
My daughter Deb and I decided to treat ourselves to The Taste of the Vineyard, we’d never gone before and it seemed like a fun and different thing to do. Off we went to the Vineyard for a glorious long weekend of eating, shopping and tasting. The weather turned brutally hot all along the Eastern seaboard, it verged on 100 degress which is unusual for mid June. A few hours before the Taste was to begin welcomed thunder storms rolled in and dropped the temps about 25 degrees. The evening was cool and clear and perfect.
We donned our new outfits and headed over to the grounds of the Preservation Trust which are located at the Dr Daniel Fisher house in Edgartown. The house is a beautiful Federal style home surrounded by lush gardens. It’s gorgeous.
We gingerly and hungrily entered the tents where all foods and drinks were on display. Lots of eager tasters were already there. We got our dishes and start wending through the crowds. We found seats and set about our tastings.
The tables were set with crisp white tablecloths.. in the middle of the tables were mounds of sand with seashells and rocks scattered about and a large hurricane lamp with candle sitting in the middle of the sand. Simple and tasteful, much like the occasion. The bite sized portions of appetizers and entrees were just satisfyingly enough. Had to leave room for the abundance of dessert samples after all.
But… the thing that mostly interested me was trying for the first time the Frozen Cappuccino from Espresso Love one of my most favorite places on MV. I returned to our table with my cup, eager to taste what smelled and looked delicious. I set it on the table… or at least I thought I had… but no, I had sort of placed it precariously near the edge and it landed in my daughters lap, almost the entire cup of cappuccino!!!!! On her new skirt !
(The part of the original skirt is now being portrayed by a stand-in)
Deb loved the skirt and had hoped to wear many, many times. I felt awful, I still do… it was an accident. I mean after all I myself had gotten a drop or two on my new shoes. We cleaned her up as best we could and I believe she went and got me a second cup of frozen cappuccino. I set it down on the table and… it hit the rocks and there before our eyes it oozed from the rocks and sand onto the table cloth. It looked like the tide had come in… it wasn’t pretty and it was embarrassing. Could it be that maybe the third time would work! I had to find out so off I went for the third cup of frozen cappuccino. I walked carefully back to the table, avoiding being bumped or nudged. I approached the table… Deb grimaced… I held the cup tightly in both hands… I bent to set it down… and… I did it, I made solid contact with table. I then raised the cup to my lips and actually got to taste the frozen cappuccino and I have to tell you… it was good, it was very very good, it was joy to my taste buds. I loved it and I still do, I try to have one at least once during every trip to MV. And of course I feel compelled to apologize each time to my daughter for her long lost beautiful skirt.
This blurry picture of the two of us was taken at the end of the evening. At least we’re laughing because no matter what, we always enjoy ourselves on the Vineyard.
(PS.. apology #27..I’m still sorry about the skirt)
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Tagged clothing, dining, Events, Family, food, Martha's Vineyard, Photographs
Okay, confession time.
Paris was a bit of a downer point on this trip. We had only one day, really, and Neve was still not back to herself so we couldn’t explore as much as we had planned. Basically, we didn’t give ourselves time to really adjust to it and get into it, and navigating the Metro with our luggage was quite a challenge (all stairs, all the time, everywhere. This is why the French are so fit.)
Next time?
We did, however, manage to get a fabulous hotel room thanks to the many, many points my husband had saved from years of work travel, and we had a great neighborhood base from which to roam a bit.
We were located in Trocadero, which is to the north, and practically under, the Eiffel Tower.
The one thing Neve rallied for was The Paris Catacombs. This was the thing that she had picked herself,many she was NOT going to miss it. The wait, unfortunately, was a little over an hour long in the hot Parisienne sun. We kept ourselves amused remembering the wise words of my friend Aurelie and her boyfriend Paul, “We French enjoy waiting in lines. We wait all the time.” So we stood there, waiting, feeling ourselves we were truly French now.
The Catacombs did not disappoint (aside from the typical American tourists we encountered who were loud and disrespectful in their comments. Jerks. Quit making us look bad!)
They say there are more than 6 million skeletons in the Catacombs. I can believe, after witnessing its staggering vastness, there are many more than that.
As you may imagine, it is very dank and wet down there. There was a lot of dripping water from the walls and ceilings, and some of the bones were molding. We all had what we’ve been calling “Catacomb Crud” on our shoes afterwards.
And then, at the very end, Neve coughed so hard she threw up. In the Catacombs.
Sigh.
We made our way out, stopped at a Monoprix (an excellent grocery/everything store) to buy fruit and wine, and dropped Neve at the hotel for a bit. Maddie and I explored the neighborhood a little, found some chocolates, and picked Neve up again for dinner and the lighting of the Eiffel Tower.
It it was hard to capture the sparkle effect!
Trocadero
I will say say this for Paris: it is STUNNING at night. They don’t call it the city of lights for no reason!
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Getting a bit behind in posting! The morning we left London Neve woke with a pretty high fever and cough.
We thankfully stayed with an old friend from college in Versailles for two nights; but our hectic pace was dramatically slowed for our time in France, and Neve spent much of it in bed.
Maddie and I wandered the village of Versailles a bit (and loved it) before touring the palace itself. I even made Maddie try a Croque Monsieur for the sake of stereotypical French cuisine.
We finished the day with dinner at a creperie with Aurelie and her boyfriend Paul. I tried the goat cheese and tomato crepe; absolutely divine. For dessert: chestnut crepe. Add in the French wine and it was heaven!
Aurelie’s neighborhood
The gate at the palace
It it was a lovely, lovely village, and if pressed, I may admit to having liked it better than Paris itself. (But don’t tell anyone).
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Long Beach Island, New Jersey in Sep 2014 after the summer crowds have gone …
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/off-season/
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Tagged beaches, New Jersey, ocean, Photographs, postaweek, postaweek/postaday, sunset, water, weekly prompt
What magazines do you subscribe to? Personal ones? Professional ones?
Or do you only/mostly pick up your periodicals at the newsstand?
How do you feel about digital editions versus print?
Do you save the old copies after you read them? Or promptly recycle them?
Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!
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