jpalbny

Each of our cats has definitely chosen one, and only one, of us. Dora is my lap cat and Duma wants nothing to do with me. He adores his Mom. I can't blame him, since I chose her too. 🙂 We spent the weekend in NY City to meet up with some old friends (our Maid of Honor and her husband) so we took them to dinner at Eataly Saturday night. It was fun to catch up, since the last time we saw each other was for her father's funeral, during Covid. This was a much more enjoyable get-together. And since they took the train in we could share lots of wine. We enjoyed a Bone-in veal chop that was probably big enough for the four of us (but one of us ate it), and also a delicious Osso Bucco. Sunday we wandered the West Side and stopped into Hudson Yards which we haven't visited yet. Looks nice, and there is a José Andrés place there with lots of food counters which looked delicious. Next time! The Vessel in Hudson Yards is a striking building. I really like what they've done to Broadway, in the 20s. Several blocks have been pedestrianized and there's artwork, cafes with outdoor seating. It's a nice oasis to walk through to enjoy the atmosphere without dodging cars. We went to an afternoon show (Six, about Henry VIII's wives) then had an aperitif or two at a wine bar on Broadway before dinner. Our dinner last night was at Bazaar, a José Andrés restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Nomad (that's why we didn't stop for lunch at his place in Hudson Yards). The tasting menu is highly recommended. Will have to put those pictures together at a later date; there were 10+ courses and all were delicious.

I have people for that. If I tried to follow this and make sense of it, I'd have whiplash. Up one day, down the next... Not much logic in the markets these days.

That's a great coincidence! We were there last November and it's my favorite safari to date. The lodges, and the lack of crowds, were like no other place we've visited (yet). Highly recommended. Someday I will get my pictures sorted...

I understand it but don't watch it other than once a year. And lately, the commercials have been lousy so it's hardly worth the time! Lirio - you have to start gradually. We used to overpack "in case of" every contingency. It has taken years to learn that we can pack less, and now we have fine-tuned our approach. The keys for us are to minimize the number of shoes that we bring. They take up a lot of room in the suitcase. The second tip is to make sure that your clothes can mix and match with each other. The third tip is free laundry! Without that, it's much more challenging. I also worry much less about forgetting something, because I know that I can always buy it if I desperately need it. Unless I'm in the middle of the Okavango Delta or someplace like that, there are plenty of stores to choose from. When I'm traveling in a developed country, I don't worry at all about forgetting something. I just double-check my passport before we leave. You're coming to the USA where there is a strip mall every few miles, so you don't have to worry. And if you don't find what you need in a store, there is always Amazon! Any idea what they were? I've always had good luck with pharmacies in Europe or other countries which I've visited. My curiosity is piqued! I have my travel kit packed and ready to go at all times. It never leaves my backpack unless I'm refilling it. But as you say, you can't cover all possibilities.

Agree, yes to all. The best perk! And just put the bag out by 9 and it's back before dinner.

But if you do that, you'll miss us in Singapore by two weeks! We'll be there on Feb 7/8th after our WC segment.

Portland is a nice place to visit - we've been there twice for long weekends. And we've done the drive to Multnomah Falls and from there to Washington. I can't attest to the fantastic view from the Vista House at Crown Point, however!

The new phone cameras are indeed amazing. We used our Galaxy S22 Ultras on safari in Botswana last year and they were great. I did bring my Nikon with the 500mm zoom lens for those situations where I needed it, but the phones did a great job. For most of our trips post-Covid we have not bothered to bring cameras at all. Phones have always been really good for landscape photos. But in low light, like taking food pictures in a dim restaurant, I agree with you that the phones take really amazing pictures now. Looking to upgrade later this year and I'm excited to see if the technology is even better than 2 years ago.

That's where I had lunch for my 50th birthday! Agree that it's very nice.

Hope you had a great cruise!

My Mother's rule was pretty much if you're not using it at this moment I'm throwing it out. And she meant it; we were afraid to sit still for too long for fear that she'd throw us out too! So of course I overreacted in the opposite direction. Chris's parents and grandparents were much more of the saving type, since they left their home country with what they could carry with them. So Chris is not a fan of clutter. Luckily we met each other! Chris tolerates it for the most part and can help me figure out what I really shouldn't bother saving. She is also pretty good at organizing the stuff we have saved away. So it's not such a messy clutter; just organized excessiveness.

They were worth the trip.

That's an accomplishment! Lucky they didn't bring salo.

Fresh corn is the best. I usually grill it but I do shuck it first so the kernels get a nice sear. Lately I've been cutting the kernels off and sauteing them in a "litte" butter until they are soft, then using them to accompany another dish. For instance, a nice piece of cod or halibut, pan seared then finished with a bit of broth, over corn and potatoes, makes for a delicious one-dish meal. The sweetness of the fish and the corn combined with the potatoes...Yum!

I find genealogy fascinating. I think I've shared some of this previously so forgive me if it's a repeat. I have three distinct German lineages which I can trace. The closest is my paternal Grandfather's paternal Grandmother who was born in Lampholdshausen in the early 1830s and came here in 1857, then married my Great-grandfather's father. My GGF was born here in 1859. Next is the Bellinger family who came here in the early 1700s from Palatine Germany, some probably as mercenaries for the Dutch. They eventually settled in the Mohawk Valley of New York state in places like Herkimer and German Flats. Drums Along the Mohawk, etc. Many fought in the American Revolution, most on the American side though some of my other relatives did not... My maternal GM's maiden name was Bellinger and she was a proud member of the DAR who didn't talk about the other side! Most distant are the Ten Broecks who came from a part of Germany near the Netherlands in the early 1600s to settle in New Amsterdam and then Fort Orange (which became Albany). Dirk Wessele Ten Broeck was one of the first mayors of Albany in the late 1600s, 12 or so generations back from me. The last two branches meet up in my maternal Grandmother. She also has emigrants from England in her family tree and once you start digging in England, some royalty are sure to show up. And all European royalty are pretty much related. So I can go back to John I, William I, etc. Then it extends into French royalty including Henry I and Anna of Kiev, which makes Chris very happy that I have a little Ukrainian lineage in me (even though we're probably related)! My maternal grandfather's line goes back to Sicily in the early 1900s and we can trace it a few generations back from there but since everyone has the same name it gets challenging. 😉 Happy Friday all - off to pick up dinner since we're too lazy to cook tonight!

No, just "on the way" for us. The cruise is Helsinki-Helsinki on Ponant. And because the cruise leaves on a Wednesday we have a few days beforehand, since we'll fly in on the weekend. But we've been to Helsinki twice in the recent past and didn't want to spend the whole time there. It's a lovely city but we wanted to visit another area. So we had to break up our flights. We're flying RT JFK-Paris to get to Europe the weekend before and after the cruise. But Paris-Helsinki on AF was expensive, and Amsterdam-Helsinki on KLM was really cheap; I got 2 RT tickets for just some old CC points that I had lying around! But now we have to get from CDG to AMS by land. Thus the plan to land at CDG, hop a train to Brussels, and spend a few days there before getting back on a train to Schipol and flying into Helsinki the night before the cruise. We have been to Brussels and Bruges before but the latter was only in the Summer so it should be pretty in the Christmas season. Coming home we'll get a train from AMS to Rotterdam and spend a day/night there before we go back to Paris on Saturday evening for our Sunday morning flight. Rotterdam will be a new city for us.

We'll spend a few days in Brussels this December, before flying to Helsinki for a cruise. We might take a day trip to Bruges if we get ambitious! Lots to see in this area.

That is insane! I just looked at the US website and it's $10800 for two but $12800 for one (P2P). Maybe we should book a cabin and take you along in our suitcase? This cruise includes Chris's birthday so it would be fun. If we didn't already have the WC segment coming up at the end of January, for which we already have our plane tickets...

We're booked on that cruise for our 30th anniversary! I saw that it was "marketed" to English speakers but didn't assume that meant English-only.

That was a LONG thread, Ron! Quite the ordeal and one that we would not wish on anyone.

Looking forward to following; we'll also be on Silver Dawn next January for a WC segment. Glad you're having a nice time so far.

I found a fall recipe last week but it took a while to gather the ingredients. Pork chops cooked with bacon, in an apple cider and mustard sauce, with sliced apples, shallots, and sage. It was worth the wait. Berkshire heritage pork chops from Fred the Butcher. Found some tasty Gala apples at the supermarket. I didn't have fresh cider so I used boiled cider and diluted it. Sage was from the garden, crisped in bacon grease. I matched it with an Austrian Grüner Veltliner. It was great, but now we have to take a walk around the block to metabolize some of it!

No doubt. We require an entry tax too, so turnabout is fair play. 🙂 The online e-visas sure do make it easier! Now you can hand over the $$ even faster.

It's just another entry tax, IMO. As if there aren't enough taxes and fees included in the airplane ticket to get there!

Depends whether it's meant for ladies or gentlemen, I'd think?