A Tourist with Well Connected Friends

6/6/2009
Today started out as a touristy day of D.C. with Sara as my guide. First we saw the Navy Memorial/Fountains. Then we walked to a park where a young boy apparently just couldn't hold it anymore. 

From there we checked out the Natural History Museum where we saw some prehistoric skeleton's of extinct sea creatures, land mammals, and birds, but more importantly DINOSAURS. Oh and the Hope Diamond which is surprisingly not as impressive as one would think. 

After that museum, we met up with my other buddy Chris and checked out the Air and Space Museum. Here we saw a model of the Wright brother's plane, a bunch of rockets, and the coolest parts, the Apollo command modules. I also discovered that one of the Wright brothers was a wicked mandolin player. Who knew?

Chris just so happens to be a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill, so he took Sara and I on a little tour of the offices. We even got to venture out onto the roof to get a fantastic view of Independence Avenue and the Capitol. 

Then we were hungry. It was a toss up between Ethiopian and Spanish tapas. Since we passed by the tapas place first, it won out. Fantastic little dishes. One consisting of the most flavorful, tender chicken, another dish of warmed mini-potatoes with a spicy/tangy dipping sauce. The wild rice and mushrooms had each of us fighting for the last bite. Even the asparagus, covered in a buttery base and topped with asiago cheese, made for quite a treat. Washing it all down, a perfectly blended sangria. 

A good day in D.C. But we still had a night ahead of us. Sara and I parted ways with Chris to get ready for the night. I met up with Chris later in Columbia Heights, just a 15 minute Metro ride up from Crystal City where I was staying with Sara. We started things out in a dive bar with a few bottle's of PBR. But eventually we wanted to meet up with another friend, Alex. We made our way to South 18th street, a bar district packed sidewalk to sidewalk with a young drinking crowd. We drank at Town Tavern for a bit and met up with Alex, then went next door to a sweet jazz lounge, more my cup of tea. Unfortunately, the band was just wrapping up. But no matter, cause we were getting free drinks. It helps to know people who know bartenders in D.C. 

After that, we were done, but hungry. I was told I had to experience a jumbo slice of pizza. At the time, I remember a euphoria of pizza bursting in my face. However, the next morning when I looked at this picture, the only thing I could say was, "I ate that?"

Emeril Lagasse meets Daniel Boone

Being relatively unemployed has its downsides. Mostly consisting of not having money for things like bills, health insurance, gas. It's bad enough not having money for the essentials like drinking, going out, and partying. But being the optimist that I am, being unemployed also has its benefits. Mostly consisting of having way too much free time. Which truthfully can be a blessing or a curse. 

In the case of me and my other good buddies, who also happen to not have jobs, we've taken the time that we'd otherwise flitter away and the beautiful weather that we'd otherwise waste in front of an Xbox, and turned ourselves into regular Emeril Lagasses. 

It all started when my friend, Mike, got himself a dutch oven, which for those who don't know is a large cast iron pot for cooking over a fire. We had a cook book. It served well as a start for our recipes, but we decided to take things a little further. 

For example, the Good Old-Fashioned Family Stew. The recipe called for:

• 1 pound of stew meat, cut to 1" cubes
• 2 large diced onions
• 4  cubed potatoes
• 1 cup of baby carrots
• 1/2 cup of diced celery
• 1/2 cup of diced other choice veggies (mushrooms in our case)
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 2 cans of mushroom soup 
• Seasonings of choice

That's all great and grand. But we added:

• 2 can of Miller High Life
• An extra pound of meat
• 2 more potatoes
• Brown Sugar
• 2 Apples
• A garlic clove
• lots of Love

Take that mixture of mouthwatering flavors, let it sit on some hot coals for 3 hours, stir every 20 minutes or so, and you'll be hosting the best party your mouth has ever seen. The meat dissolved before your teeth could do the work. The apple and brown sugar combined with the beer to give a sweet, cider lager flavor. Plus, the garlic and onion added an extra bite that made the love ridiculously palpable. 

The following week consisted of another delicious dish: a dutch oven pot roast. Alex found this one, and I'm quite pleased he did. One huge slab of meat simmers with apple cider and barbecue sauce for about an hour. Then add in preferred veggies and simmer for another hour. Finally, to finish the whole thing off,  15 minutes of simmering with 1/2 pound of okra. Delectable. 

A cast iron pot isn't the only thing we can cook in either. We took a three day journey up to Mike's cabin in Iron Mountain. There we concocted a fantastic Last Supper consisting of Alaskan Pollock, perfectly seasoned potatoes and onions, beans, and of course, a box of Franzia to wash it all down. It made for a great Holy Thursday. 

Our tag-team cooking has us considering a future in the restaurant business. However, then we'd miss out on the best part of all this cooking, having fun. Once the prep work is done and the pot is on the fire, it's all about having a few beers, playing with the dogs, shooting guns, singing along with ukulele strums, and enjoying the life of the unemployed. 

I don't mind this lifestyle. That is, till I run out of money. 

Tap that Ash

During the middle weeks of March there was definitely still snow on the ground, yet it warmed up enough to get the sap flowing in Mountain, WI.

In a successful attempt to promote more winter activities, Bear Paw Scout Camp, a summer camp with which I have quite a history, held it's first ever Bear Paw Maple Days: a day camp in which kids come up to camp and learn everything there is to know about maple syrup, from tap to bottle.

I worked on the staff, teaching all the little ones about the history of maple syrup making, how it was made by Native Americans and early European settlers. Trust me, I'm no syrup expert but after this weekend of maple magic, I feel I'm many steps closer.

For example, did you know that the sap that come out of a tree is basically sugar water? That's

right! The sugar content of the sap is only about 2-3%. However, after a lengthy boiling process, in a "sugar shack" like the one at right, the water is boiled off and you are left with the deliciousness we call maple syrup. The contents of which is about 67% sugar.

Here are some other fun facts:

• Tapping does no permanent damage to the tree
• It takes 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup
  
• 1 tree produces 10 gallons of sap
• Maple syrup won't actually freeze
• Maple syrup is the first farm crop to be harvested in Wisconsin each year
• and in 1905 the U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act made alteration of maple syrup with glucose illegal (bet you didn't know that one)

Oh and we showed the kiddies how a gravity taping scheme works. Instead of hanging baskets from taps, a series of tubing is used to filter the sap to a collection at the lowest point in the area. Believe me, after walking around for hours collecting 5 gallon buckets of half frozen sap, a system like this is really sweet (pun intended). But you do have to have the luxury of many maple trees in a valley-like area.

The final product at the end of the day was a delicious little bottle of homemade, fresh, delectable, maple syrup that everyone got to take home and enjoy on their pancakes, waffles, spaghetti, whatever.

Ohh and P.S. We were tapping sugar maple trees as they yield the most sap. Tapping an ash tree is just absurd. I simply couldn't resist the innuendo.

At Least the Skiers are Happy

Up until December 25th, everyone in Wisconsin wishes for a White Christmas. However, once the gifts are unwrapped and the get-togethers are done, most say, "enough already with the white stuff." But the snow continues to fall well into March, sometimes even April.

This past Tuesday forecasted heavy snowfall overnight which would result in school closings Wednesday morning. But children woke up disappointed to find a light dusting that just made things look pretty again. Then early this morning the snow piled up slowly but surely, and has continued all day.

As many despondently trudge down their driveway's, shovels and snow blowers in hand, for about the hundredth time this winter, other folks are loving this day more than any other of the year.

North America's largest cross-country ski race, The American Birkebeiner, is being held today in Hayward, Wisconsin. Now in it's 36th year, this race tests a skier in just about every way possible, physically and mentally. Since I haven't put on cross-country skies since I was five, I don't have personal experience on the trails. But this lady does.

I had the pleasure of being one of the thousands of spectators watching skiers brave this incredible journey last year. At the time, I was in a journalism class and for a final project my group decided to cover the Birkie (as it is affectionately called by it's participants). The class had a twist though. It was a topic specific writing course, on food of all things. So we covered the Birkie from the perspective of what fuels these skiers on the trails.

Once I have a full winter in Wisconsin to train, I intend on tackling this 52 kilometer trail. Last year as I was filming this little documentary, I was having a blast. The overall good feelings everyone has and the help-eachother-out nature of the Birkie is contagious. Which is why every winter skiers from across the world experience a Birkie Fever relapse.

A London Thanksgiving

11-27-2008

To all you Wisconsin citizens reading this, know that your tax dollars are being well spent. Today, the University sprung for a delicious Thanksgiving feast for us all at the Park Café in Regents Park. We had the whole place to ourselves, it was fantastic.

From my understanding, the catering company was scrambling to gather Thanksgiving recipes and trying to figure out how the hell to make these dishes, but truthfully, they nailed it: mouthwatering turkey, perfectly spiced stuffing, candy-like sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and even the pumpkin pie chaser with a coffee to settle the tummy. Couldn’t have asked for a better holiday away from home.

Afterward, being the college students we are, we had a Get-tanked-giving started by a beer pong tournament and finishing at the ISH bar.

Yo Sushi

10-21-2008

Katy and I went to Yo Sushi! after work today. That is all. 

Good Food and Comedy

10-17-08

Most Fridays I don't work. It's a nice arrangement that I'm going to miss once I have to get a real job. I did however go in today. 

The first thing I did when I got to work was go out to lunch with my supervisor and another volunteer my age. Salaam, the restaurant which made my taste buds sing, is on my route to work every day and I've always wanted to check it out. Now I have.  The humus was creamy and delectable and the warm nan bread complemented it quite well. 

My main course was the size of a family meal, a plate-size piece of nan bread topped with a salad and lamb meat. This meal served well as multiple meals throughout the weekend. 

After getting a wee bit of work done that afternoon, I went out with some co-workers to see a fellow c0-worker in his comedy routine. There were 4 comics total, including one from Brooklyn. My co-worker, Geoff, was the headliners and rightfully so, as he was the most talented comic that night. The venue was small, and unfortunately not many showed up, but it made for all the more intimate of a show.

A City Called Venice

9-12-2008

We boared the bus at 8:00 this morning and left at 8:15 for the tourist conquered city of Venice. Bad morning. We arrived in Venice a hour later than we wanted due to a city official that wouldn’t give clearance to our bus driver unless we had a beautiful woman to go to the counter with him...which sadly enough is a common theme throughout our day in Venice.

Because we were late, we got a quick half hour tour with our guide and all any of us could think throughout the tour was, “it’s way too hot here,” and it truly was, somewhere near 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

After the short tour we journey to La Rialto, a popular shopping plaza. While there, my buddy Mike was walking behind me and suddenly I hear him shout ridiculous amount of Spanish at a very rapid rate.  I turn around to see him hugging a Mexican friend of his that just so happen to be in town for an architecture exhibit in which he was presenting. His name was Jorje. He came with our group to a quaint little Jazz pizzeria where according to the sign they would have live jazz.  If by live they meant recorded jazz that was live in the 1930’s, then the sign was not false advertizing. With a Fanta to wash it down, we all sampled some of the best pizza we’ve ever eaten. I had a pizza with hamon, which was the most flavorful ham I’ve ever eaten. The fat was woven in with the meat making it all the more flavorful. I could just picture a happy little piggy running around the Italian country side. Making my meal all the more delicious.

We saw what was to see all around Venice, ate some Gelato, and eventually took a gondola ride. While it was a touch pricy, €150, it was worth it to see Venice from their water streets. Our driver was great as he pointed out great things to see and was very talkative. He even went to Vegas and showed those fake gondoliers at the Venecian how it’s done for real.

A storm rolled just as we finished our ride through the narrow waterways for Venice. As the thunder rolled and lightening lit up the sky, we stopped into the many blown glass art and masquerade shops. One of my favorite glass art pieces was a full mini orchestra complete with little spectators.

Before too long, the storm let up and we took another look around the city. Jenny and I made it up to the second floor of St. Marco’s Cathedral and got a great view of the port. As we waited for our boat bus, a few of the girls bought some knock-off purses from guys on the street.

On the bus ride back, I stenciled a bomb garden scene with the group leader’s daughter Mya. I should be an art major.

A Day in Verona

9-11-2008

The hotel we are at in Italy has a fantastic continental breakfast, probably because it’s an actual hotel opposed to a hostel, the Centro Carraro: Turismo e Convegni. We bored a bus after our apricot-filled croissants, fresh cappuccinos, and cereal, then headed into the heart of Verona. 

We met with a fantastic tour guide, Christiana, right next to the ancient Anfiteatro Arena, which at the time we were visiting was being set up for a performance of Notre Dame de Paris. Even with the modern seating and staging which was in place for the opera/musical season, I could walk up to the top of this massive arena, look down, and put myself in the shoes of an Roman spectator, watching as beast, men, and blood entertain the crowd around me. As explained by Christiana, a spectator of today’s football Americana, football, or any other sporting event is not much different than a spectator of Roman games: there were conversations about who was injured/performing well/etc., bets were placed on who would win, and each contender had his streak of winning or loosing. The only difference is that loosing often meant death.

 Perhaps the most impressive part of this arena, to me anyway, is that it is still used today, unlike the Coliseum in Rome.

Christiana wove us through the tiny alleyways of Verona with a thorough explanation of most everything we saw along the way.  Some of the most interesting parts of this Italian city were below our feet. First, the recycled stone that is everywhere in this city. Much of what was used to make the more “modern” structures, which are still 500-years-old, were made from older Roman ruins.  The arena also had an outer wall which was used as the city’s personal quarry when restructuring parts of the city over the centuries. Even parts the streets were made of ancient stone. In certain sections, you could look down at a stone slab and see fossils in the rock, many of which we would have missed without Christiana. The most interesting part of Verona, to me anyway, was the ancient Verona 20 meters below our feet.

Verona truly is the recycled city. Streets we built up on top of other streets and buildings upon other buildings. Every time they would build new, they would build on top of the old. If new Verona were torn up, the Verona of old would reveal itself, and often it does. We walked past an excavation that was only dug up because it was intended to be a parking garage, but is now an archeological dig. 

With the help of Christiana we learned much of this fantastic city, even learned how to tell the illegal tour guides from the official ones like her. Ohh and she showed us Juilet’s house and even more recognized, her balcony. 

 LARGE GROUPS, SMALL GROUPS, and INDIVIDUAL Touring                       (an academic required writing)

Throughout the tour thus far, I’ve had the opportunity to travel with different group sizes. I’ll be pessimistic now and get that out of the way. I hate traveling with the entire group.  Too many people trying to get through small places. Too many people to keep track of. Too many breaches in social graces. I wouldn’t say I’m embarrassed to be with a large group, but we certainly do stick out more.  However, there is really nothing wrong with that. After all, we are tourists, just like everyone else in these sight-filled cities. On the flip side of that though, even other tourists often carry with them a touch more tack than a large group of students. That’s why I prefer the smaller group.

Six to eight people tops, and even that can be a bit much. Four can be the best. Much quieter. Also, one can cater a small group to people with similar interests. We can stop in the same shops and not be bored out of our mind when one person wants to spend an hour looking at something the rest of the group isn’t interested.

Today I spent a good hour romping around Verona on my own, I did the same for an afternoon in Salzburg (see Segway pics). Solo travel can be extremely liberating. However, it’s always nice to be able to share your experiences with others. Plus, I really don’t have a problem with anyone I’m touring with. I feel as if I can latch on to any group of people and head out with them! Granted, there are those I enjoy spending more time with than others, but I can’t really complain about anyone one person or group.

CONTINUING WITH MY DAY IN VERONA: Once the tour was over and I cruised around by my lonesome for a while, I met up with a group for lunch at a lovely little pizzeria off of the main plaza of Verona. Here I had a few glasses of wine with a unique tortellini dish. No sauce smothered the taste of the beef inside the pasta shell like in America, rather the tortellini was lightly dabbed with an oil. At the pizzeria I also experienced an awesome lesson of group size dynamics.

 I walked in by myself and met up with a group of about 10. During lunch it was a bit overwhelming, as a broken glass covered the table at one point and the decibel level was higher than I would enjoy. Thank heavens, our waiter was super cool and understanding. As we finished our meals, of which I sampled everyone’s pizzas, pastas, and raviolis, this group was ready to move on, I however was not. I needed some chill time. During our meal Meredith and Becky came to the same restaurant and sat at a table for two out in the alleyway. I, along with Billy from the first group, decided to join them for a glass or two of wine.

Again, this group size is ideal. We simply sat and basked in the area around us. I love Meredith, because she has the sense to stop wherever we are, take a moment, and remind us all, “Hey guys, look at us. We’re eating at a sweet pizzeria in Verona.” I love those reminders. Lately, I’ve been getting better at reminding myself to take in everything myself, as opposed to taking it all in through my camera lens.

 We finished dinner and my group got even smaller as Billy and I parted ways with Megadeath (Meredith) and Becky. Billy and I were ready to cover Verona with our tracks, and we did.

We pointed at the highest point in the city and said lets go there, and we did. Along the way we stopped into some beautiful churches, one with a few priests sitting in the pews ever so quietly saying their prayers. I joined them for a second and asked God protect the souls of those lost 8 years ago on this day. That day is so vivid in my mind. As vivid as I hope this trip will be…

Billy and I made our way up a hill and got a great overlooking view of the city. On our way back down the hill we got in a bit of trouble. We hopped one gate to get down and inadvertently found ourselves in an outdoor Roman ruins museum. We continued down the path and ran into a group of museum curators who apparently had seen us jump that gate on security camera. He pointed to a security monitor and said, “saw you on camera.” He ushered us to the elevator and told us to leave. Which honestly was the easiest way down the hill! Sometimes playing the ignorant American helps quite a bit. Thanks Italian curator!

    

We met our bus at 18:00 and Rupert drove us back to the Centro Carraro. I couldn’t have been happier that we had a bus that day because Billy and I probably walked close to 10 miles or 16 kilometers.

That night we had a three course dinner at the hotel restorante. Starting with bread dipped in oil and vinegar. The appetizer was the best slice of lasagna I’ve ever had (sorry mom): rich and creamy, like pasta noodles held together in a square by deliciousness.  Following was the main course of pork cutlets with a lemon slice. Once the lemon juice covered each bit, the true flavor of the pork was exposed and my tastebuds couldn’t have been happier. Ohh and I did I mention I probably had the equvilient of one full jug of bianco vino  (white wine) to myself?

The night ended with a drunken online search of how a few of us were going to get to Florence for a day trip on the 13^th.  That ended in failure. However, our waiter, Bugs Bunny, joined us again for a few glasses.  

After those few glasses, the after party started on the front lawn with a huge group of Italian students.

Too Much Walking

9-10-2008

Our hotel is too far from Verona’s city life. We walked a good 4 kilometers. However, upon reaching our destination (which we decided upon while we were walking) all the walking was worth it. We enjoyed a mouthwatering dinner at an intimate pizzeria called Pizza a Metro Mamelia. Since I’ve wanted an authentic Italian pizza for years, I was fully prepared to throw down mass amounts of money for what seemed like a pricey place. 

We started with the purest water at €4 a bottle, moved on to two jugs of wine (a white and red), and had delicious dishes consisting of rabbit meat pasta, potatoes dumplings, my amazing mozzarella, feta, and ham filled calzone, and a few other pizzas that rocked any pie I've ever eaten in the states. 

Following dinner we got confused. I won’t say we got lost because we really weren’t. We were always on the right track, yet ridiculously confused as to where this river was which flowed along the road we were supposed to follow back to the classy hotel. As I write, I am sitting on the outside steps and ending my night with new friends (and our waiter who we affectionately call Bugs Bunny) and a few glasses. Viva Italia.

 

And now a little something from Kallie: I am the coolest person you will ever meet! Don’t even question it! Every day of my life is so amazing and  I hope I will never will never forget any moment of it, but I hardly even remember it…I don’t know what else to say, I’m that cool. I thought I was cool in America but Jesus Christ, I’m super cool in Europa.

A First Night in Munich

9-5-2008 (wee early hours)

Seeing as it is rather early in the morning on a Thursday night / Friday morning, I’m going to make this quick. In a nutshell, one of my roommates was too young to hold his alcohol and the other roommate got him to bed. By the time I was ready to go to bed, they were both passed out. So I had to go to the front desk and ask for a €5 Euro room card in order to get into my own room.

Prior to the binge drinking we had dinner at an amazingly authentic German restaurant. Amazing mushroom soup, salads with cauliflower, green beans, and sour coleslaw mixed in, and the main course consisted what we eventually somewhat agreed was pork with a dumpling-like ball.  I loved every bite, however the salt content of everything was a bit overwhelming after a few bites. For dessert, lime jello with a vanilla pudding on top. All of that, plus a liter of Munich’s finest brew definitely filled me up.  Until tomorrow!!