Restaurants & Bars – Page 13

DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Baalbak Lebenese Restaurant in the Sonasta Hotel

August 2, 2017May 17, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: EASTER LUNCH WITH FAMILY

In this particular blog, I’m going to rave about our niece Maggie, but please understand, there is no way we could have had such a great trip if not for all of our wonderful nieces and nephews. I’ve already told you how glad we were to see Mirette and Ayman at the airport and how our trip was enhanced by Steven and his traveling companion. The list goes on, but Maggie was my rock. She guided me through the challenges of gift-buying and what to wear for the wedding and what to pack for everything else. Her English is perfect, so she’s easy for me to chat with. She’s also the one who pulled together a perfect Easter Lunch for all the families on the day before the wedding. Kudos to this sweet, bright, beautiful lady!

Egyptian Customs

I’ll have a lot more to say about this when we actually get to the wedding, but they don’t do marriages exactly like we do. Rehearsal dinners are not a thing there, for instance, but Maggie wanted an opportunity for all of the family to get together, so from her home in Michigan, she planned a delightful luncheon for the whole group, including a car to deliver us from the Fairmont to the Sonasta Hotel where the luncheon was.

Egyptians don’t do lunch like us either. My lunch juices start flowing about noon, but Egyptians don’t start thinking about lunch until around 2 and a midnight dinner is nothing too far out of the ordinary, but it’s usually more like nine-ish. Which brings me to my dining schedule while I was there.

As I’ve mentioned, we usually had a huge buffet for breakfast and according to what we were doing that day, it could be anywhere from very early to nearly 11 AM. Whatever time breakfast happened, I needed to load up. If we had an early breakfast, chances are I wouldn’t see food again until late afternoon and that afternoon luncheon might or might not be the final meal of the day.

If we had a later breakfast, it really became brunch, and I’d try to avoid a mid-day meal and hold out until that late dinner. From time to time that meant the application of a little chocolate to my thighs via my mouth, and I tried to keep that to a minimum, but I had plenty of chocolates, thanks to the Ghaly’s beautiful gift.

Most days I was able to keep my intake to two meals, but then something would happen and I found myself eating three feasts in one day, along with some snacks forced on me by an eager hostess. That I only gained five pounds on this trip really was a miracle.

Lunch at Baalak

Baalak, is a lovely restaurant in the Sonesta Hotel featuring regional specialties – kofta, grilled veggies, stuffed grape leaves, eggplant casserole, macaroni in bechamel, rice, potatoes, grilled chicken – all the good stuff. However, they only serve dinner. As I have mentioned, Maggie planned this incredible feast long distance and it was a doozy.

When we arrived I gave the traditional two kiss greeting to everyone and while I wished I could have completed the gifting then and there, this event was to honor the bride and groom, so all I had was their gifts. The balance of the afternoon was spend around the table enjoying one of the most congenial and delicious afternoons you can imagine.

We are an international family. We’re spread out throughout Canada, the US and Egypt, but I’ve heard of relatives in Paris and as far away as Australia. The careers represented range from medical doctor, to teacher, to investor, to stay-at-home-mom, to laundromat entrepreneur, to financier and the list goes on. The children are beautiful, precocious and indulged. We are very interesting to ourselves, but probably not to you.

The next day was the wedding, but we’re not there yet! Come back next week for more family fun.

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Good Morning Cairo

July 12, 2017May 16, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: MY FAVORITE THING AT THE FAIRMONT HELIOPOLIS

My favorite thing at the Fairmont wasn’t a thing at all. It was Ahmed, the waiter in the Le Marche Cafe. Le Marche was my favorite place for breakfast during the whole trip. Having to face down a buffet every morning actually gets pretty old. Le Marche was a little a la carte cafe and while the food was good, Ahmed was marvelous!

Breakfast Not Included

Breakfast-included is kind of an Egyptian thing, but since the Fairmont is so Americanized, you could make breakfast-excluded reservations. And this is a good place to tell you, it is very Americanized. Except for a few decor items and the over-abundance of Arab-looking staff you could be in a hotel in Middle America for all you could tell from the interior surroundings.

For some folks that’s a recommendation, but not so much for me. I love my American creature comforts, but I also like them to come in an exotic package if at all possible. Our next hotel will do just that, but let’s get back to breakfast.

Before we headed downstairs, I dutifully perused one of those huge leather-covered tomes I’d hidden away from us the night before. With it I got a feel for breakfast possibilities. Here’s a rundown from the hotel’s website:

Dining choices at Fairmont Heliopolis are truly endless that varies from Lebanese favorites at Al Dabké, genuine Egyptian cuisine at Egyptian Night, authentic Thai delicacies at Lan Tania, modern Chinese specialties at Noble House, authentic Mexican cuisine and fantastic margarita’s at Maria’s, classic Italian cuisine with a modern twist at Leonardo, All-day dining at My Kind of Place, the freshest sushi and sashimi at Saki Sushi Lounge, Indian cuisine at Raj, chill-out outdoor venue at Pizza bar, contemporary international cuisine at Aqua E Luce, French patisserie at Le Marché, fast dining style at Marilyn and pool bar serving light snacks at Blue Lagoon Bar.

My reading told me we’d end up at Le Marche, but we were having a lazy, late morning, so I wasn’t opposed to browsing the lobby. We walked past Le Marche and saw My Kind of Place, which had a sign announcing, “Breakfast Performing Here.” I certainly wasn’t looking for dancing eggs and the sight of a buffet didn’t seem tempting. Price being one barrier and the number of upcoming breakfast buffets being the next.

Marilyn’s was a Marilyn-Monroe-Themed cafe, but it looked closed right then. We saw the Thai restaurant, the Mexican Restaurant, the Italian Place and some of the others, all waiting for dinner time. Continuing through the lobby we happened on Aqua E Luce on the Towers side of the hotel. They didn’t have a sign telling us breakfast was performing, but there was a buffet, which by the way did seem a little more inviting than the one over in My Kind of Place, if you are ever interested.

We kept on walking and found the Towers Pool. It had a Pizza Bar and lots of hookah equipment. Before I left Egypt, I also discovered it was the location for their Egyptian Night, but that story is for another day. We began to re-trace our steps and found our way to Le Marche, just as I had anticipated, but I hadn’t imagined there would be an Ahmed!

Le Marche Cafe

Le Marche has a pastry counter filled with delectable treats and we were salivating over them when we were approached by Ahmed. We confessed to be overwhelmed by our breakfast choices and Bill asked him if there was a menu. Ahmed and Bill were soon swapping stories in Arabic as I drooled on my own. Ahmed ushered us to a seat and continued his banter with Bill.

Bill suggested we share one of the croissant sandwiches with turkey and while I really wanted one of those humongous pastries, I acquiesced and asked for the bonus of a Coke Zero. Bill isn’t much of buying beverages in restaurants, but we had come down without our water bottle, so I got my Coke Zero. This was treat, not only because it was a splurge to get a restaurant soda, but because most of Egypt has Diet Coke, not Coke Zero and while I’d prefer a Diet Dr Pepper, I prefer Coke Zero to Diet Coke.

Ahmed was polite, solicitous and not at all inappropriate, but he should have just set down at our table. He and Bill became fast friends in about two minutes. The two of them chatted throughout the meal. When we got the croissant sandwich it was delicious and plenty for two. The conversation was so friendly I was concerned that I might be sitting most of the day.

The Rest of the Hotel

When breakfast was over, we headed out to check out the balance of the hotel. We found the gift shop, laundry and offices. Then we found out way out to the primary pool complex, which was extensive. There were a number of pools, a hookah cafe, indoor squash court and clay tennis courts. We found a pretty nice playground and gave the fitness center and spa a thorough inspection. High marks on all counts, including the friendly staff.

We looked at our watches and realized time was flying. Bill contacted the groom, who was in the salon getting a mani/pedi. He was about to head over to his bride’s home to transport her to the hotel, but he offered to drop us off at his sister’s place. That sounded good to me, because I was ready to quit carrying around gifts and start delivering them.

Come back next week for the fun!

DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL

Happy at Heathrow

May 24, 2017May 16, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: A DEFINITELY DELIGHTFUL LAYOVER

No matter how pleasant an Atlantic-crossing flight may be, I need a break when it’s over. Hanging out in an airport may not be the most fun I can have, but it can be some fun – and this time it was. It had been a while since I’d been to Heathrow and I have nothing but nice things to say about it.

Welcome to Heathrow

Our bags were checked through to Cairo, which was a blessing, but we had to change terminals. That’s never fun. At Heathrow that means you take a bus to the first terminal, follow the purple signs forever, take another bus to the other terminal and get delivered to a skillfully-organized dime-dropping opportunity.

After our brisk walk following the purple signs, I was ready for lunch. We arrived in the departure lounge and were a bit overwhelmed. This place is a shopper’s paradise and they have some pretty good food, too. After checking out the possibilities at the terminal map, we made our way to a place that sounded sort of pub-ish.

Hungry at Huxley’s

One nice thing about Heathrow was their choice of restaurants. You weren’t stuck with your usual food court choices. I was craving authentic fish and chips, so we made our way to Huxley’s, described on the Heathrow website this way:

“With its handsome dark-wood chequerboard floor and leather banquette seating, Huxleys could pass for a new-wave gastropub, but the menu has no such pretensions. Expect simple compilations of the best ingredients: slow cooked pork belly, old English pork sausages and 21 day aged steak. Thick-cut sandwiches, pie and mash, all-day breakfasts, beer battered fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding continue the British theme. “

I had to look no further than front and center on the menu to figure out what I wanted and Huxley’s did not disappoint. The British Classic was everything my taste buds had been craving – and the minted peas? Marvelous! Bill had some sort of sandwich and a beer. I wanted a beer, but I opted for a diet soda instead. I was still trying to watch my weight at that point and I was busting the calorie budget with my beer-battered fish.

As we waited for our food to be served we observed what others were having and admired something called an Eton Mess as it was delivered to another table. Fresh strawberries, crushed meringue, whipped cream and ice cream. What was there not to like? We toyed with the idea of finishing our meal with the same, but there was no room in the tummy after I inhaled all the gorgeous fish and chips.

Let’s Go Shopping

To me, the star of the shopping mall was Harrod’s. Not only is it a British classic, the space it occupied was spectacular. I saw at least six things that I wanted to come home with me before I even entered the shop.

Bill was attracted to the duty-free shopping. That’s where he discovered that I had been right about the Jack Black Scotch. We could have bought it for a great price at the airport and not had to sacrifice pounds in our luggage.

There was another little shop that represented another brand now associated with all things British. I’m not a Hogwart fan, but I had to take this picture for Hannah Beth. We were able to enjoy both floors of the Heathrow Terminal 5 shopping opportunity before they posted our gate on the departure monitors, but we managed to keep the credit cards in our pockets.

I caught up on my travel journal – it’s always quite detailed in the beginning, but by the end of the trip I’m not such a faithful diarist. I wandered around a bit, trying to take advantage of this chance to stretch my legs. I also made my pre-boarding potty stop. That’s when I found this guy biding me farewell and I couldn’t resist capturing him for you.

Our flight was called and we boarded. Come back next week for our exciting arrival in Cairo!

Accommodations, Architecture, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Libraries, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

And She’s Back

May 3, 2017May 3, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: AN EXTRAORDINARY EGYPTIAN ADVENTURE

I just got back from Egypt and I want you to visit this amazing country. You’re not going to believe some of the exciting adventures I had while I was there. I hope that as you read my blog in the coming months, you’ll start planning your own trip in your head. As much as I want you to go, I have always been totally honest with you – sharing the good and the bad. So it is only fair that I start this series by warning you that Egypt is not an easy country to visit. You have to overlook a lot to see what is valuable, but there is great value. In the coming weeks I will rave about spectacular hotels and jaw-dropping sites, but I have to start here, with the not-so-pleasant reality of Egypt today.

Then and Now

This was my second trip to Egypt. The first was in 1996 when terrorism was an occasional, rather than a daily, thing and the only terror incident associated with Egypt was an attack on a busload of tourists in 1990. The world has changed a lot since then. Days before I was scheduled to leave for this trip, bombs went off in two different Coptic Churches. It didn’t stop us from going, but it did give us pause. It shouldn’t stop you from going either, but you need to know what you’re getting into.

The imminent threat of violence was the most obvious difference between this trip and the one we enjoyed twenty years ago. Security was a pervasive presence, everywhere we went – whether we were visiting a museum, an airport or a church. Every time we entered our hotel we had to put all our belongings through a scanner and ourselves through a metal detector. I was glad for the security, but saddened by the need for it.

It was the same thing pretty much everywhere we went and you just got tired of it. Take a romantic walk on the beach and come back to the hotel for a thorough search. By the time you prove you have a right to be there and you don’t have any WMD’s, the romance has dissipated. This adds to the stress of travel and distracts from your ability to really relax.

One evening we accompanied a niece and her husband to a hotel where they stayed on their honeymoon. They wanted to take a walk down memory lane. Our taxi went through one inspection at the gate to the property and we were put through a thorough search at the front door. Then as we headed out to the pool to look around, we were stopped because we were not actually guests at the hotel. We had to go to the front desk, explain ourselves, show them our room keys to a sister property in town and give them a passport to hold before we were allowed into the pool area. By the time we actually made it down there, we had more thoughts about the intrusion of security than we did Maggie and Shady’s honeymoon.

Forget Lowe’s or Home Depot, Shop for Home Improvements Streetside

Related Changes

The threat of terrorism has devastated the country. Tourism has been at the center of Egypt’s economy for a very long time, but they have nothing to take its place and little with which to woo the tourists who actually show up. Yes, they have some of the most splendid sights in the world, like The Pyramids, Luxor Temple, The Valley of the Kings and such, but the hassle associated with visiting them is challenging.

I thought Egypt was the dirtiest place I had ever visited the last time I went. Well, now it is beyond dirty. It’s down right filthy and much of it has been abandoned. Whole blocks of Cairo and Alexandria’s city centers are just empty graffiti-covered buildings, surrounded by piles of trash. Everywhere we went, unfinished new construction showed signs of being abandoned years ago, when their hope of an Arab Spring turned into a nightmare. Don’t plan on wearing the same clothes over and over. A day of touring will render you and everything you are wearing disgusting. You either need to pack more or plan on a budget for laundry.

And Then There’s the People

Egyptians, as a whole, are wonderful. They are happy people who want to get to know you and they love pleasing you. They want you to love their country the way they do, but right now they are a little embarrassed – as if you caught them between working in the yard and getting a shower. They’ll point you towards the freshly planted flowers, hoping you won’t notice how dirty and sweaty they are.

However, they are also frustrated and tired. At almost every hotel we observed someone having a meltdown in the lobby and it was usually an Egyptian guest. Life is hard. The economy is impossible. Traffic is horrendous. Everything is harder to do than it should be and after a ten minute walk your white shirt just isn’t white anymore. Still, given the chance, most of them will bend over backwards to accommodate you and try to create a smile.

At the same time, we noticed there is also a trend that distances the female population from visitors. There was a greater number of women completely covered from head to toe. During our last visit, most women dressed very conservatively and the majority covered their heads, often with a bright colorful scarf. Many would be sharply dressed, while sporting a more conservative hijab. There were some who wore the more old-fashioned gallabeya and hijab, but only a rare woman was covered and veiled in black.

This time gallabeyas and hijabs were the norm. Young women wore leggings or jeans with a tunic, but the hijabs were everywhere and they were not brightly colored scarves, but solid blocks of neutral colors. However, women covered from head to toe in black were no longer rare and I noticed most of them also wore black gloves. They were moving shadows with just a sliver of their eyes showing – distant, aloof, unapproachable.

In the Cairo Museum we saw a young couple taking a selfie. The woman was completely covered in black. We wondered at the incongruity of hiding yourself and then taking a selfie. The young man’s outfit was standard casual fare, but she was covered in plain black without even a bit of embroidery. A lot of mixed messages there.

So I will tell you the story of our trip. I’ll remind you of the difficulties from time to time, but I’ll leave it to you to remember that everything was dirty, inconvenient and noisy, whether I mention it or not. Come back next week and we’ll hit the road.

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL

Egypt Here We Come

March 22, 2017March 20, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: CAIRO, SHARM & ALEX

In less than a month we’ll be winging our way to Egypt for a family wedding. While it’s primarily a family trip, you can rest assured that Museum Girl will be taking in the sights. The itinerary is firming up and I thought I’d share a few highlights.

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

As excited as I am about the rest of the trip, the reason we’re going is to participate in Bassem and Mariam’s wedding. We’re all agog with excitement. Bill and I will arrive in Cairo late in the evening on a Saturday night and be whisked away to the Fairmont in Heliopolis. On Sunday afternoon we’ll attend a luncheon for all the families at an “oriental” restaurant. When I wondered why we were having Chinese food, I learned Egyptians call Middle Eastern food “oriental.” I learn something new every day.

Monday is the day of the wedding, and it is also a national holiday, so I’m told I will see the residents of Cairo enjoying themselves in parks and other areas of leisure. I’ll spend the day getting all gussied up for the wedding. Egyptians know how to party and they expect guests, especially the couple’s families, to get all decked out. I’ll be wearing a long formal gown bedazzled with crystal beads. For the church ceremony I’ll wear a sheer over-blouse cinched by a jeweled belt, which will cover the spaghetti-strapped straight bodice of the full-skirted gown. Pictures to follow.

Let the Sightseeing Begin

On the day after the wedding we’ll be transported to the elegant Mena House Hotel, in the shadows of the pyramids. Some folks tried to convince me to hire a guide for sightseeing for the day, but 8:30 AM was entirely too early to start a day of touring, especially after partying late into the night in the ballroom of the gorgeous Fairmont.

So instead, we’ve arranged to be transported mid-day and ease into the sightseeing. We’ll enjoy the gardens of the Mena House, walk around with our mouths agape at the splendid architecture of the place, dine around the pool and then watch the Sound & Lightshow at the Pyramids from our room’s balcony. Who knows, there might even be time for a dip in the pool. Personally, I plan to have at least one picture of me taken in the pool with the Pyramids behind me.

Then we’ll do the Pyramids. Since we’ve already done the Giza Plateau, I plan to go further afield and check out the Step Pyramid at Saqqara and the Red Pyramid at Dahshour. I’m also interested in the Meidum Pyramid, but I’ve been told it is too far out – drat. Instead we’ll go back to Giza and see the Solar Boat Museum, something that’s been added since our last visit.

A Family Reunion Extraordinaire

After our second night at Mena House, we’ll head to the airport and make the short hop to Sharm el Sheikh. Some of the family lives in the beautiful city by the Red Sea and others will have gone there when we headed to Giza. We’ll have a family reunion of sorts for about five days along one of the most spectacular beaches in the world.

The diving and snorkeling are supposed to be awesome, but I’m not much of a guppy. You’ll find me at the Marriott Naama Bay Resort pool with an exotic cocktail of my choice somewhere near the waterfall. Yes, the beach is beautiful, but no way am I going to smear sunscreen all over and then sit in the sand all day. Not this girl’s idea of a good time. I’ve been promised activities like a star-gazing visit to the desert, some shopping opportunities and other attractions.

In the evening, look for me along the boardwalk. It’s one of my favorite memories of our last journey to Egypt. Every evening the tourists come out in all their sunburned glory to stroll along and enjoy the wide variety of entertainment available on every side. On our last visit the Macarena was all the rage. I wonder what earworm will bite me this time.

On to Alex!

We’ll fly back to Cairo and then have a driver take us to Alexandria where we’ll be in the center of the action at the Cecil Hotel. This elegant old dame gives a nod to Alexandria’s heyday with plenty of modern updates. What’s more, I’m supposed to be within walking distance of many of the sites I want to see – that is if I can ever cross the street. I remember the traffic being deadly in Cairo and Alexandria is supposed to be more of the same. Pedestrians don’t have the right of way and stoplights are merely suggestions. I’ll be right across the street from the beach, but may never actually get to the sand!

My wish list for Alexandria is long and includes a visit to a Coptic monastery on the way back to Cairo. Once back to Cairo, we’ll visit Old Cairo and seeing the famous churches there, something I never got to during our other visit. I think we’ll spend our final nights at the Fairmont. We have to be to the airport bright and early for our return. Then it’s back to the grindstone!

That’s it so far for Egypt. Keep dropping by. I’m not sure what I’ll be up to in the weeks to come, but I promise not to disappear.

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL, United States

Steel City Stories

February 22, 2017February 20, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: BIRMINGHAM FOR BUSINESS

My business is ministry and that ministry targets Central Asia and the Middle East, so I can’t always be an open book about where I go and why. However, I can tell you I made a visit to Birmingham, Alabama for business at an unspecified time for an unspecified reason. While I can’t give you those details, I can tell you some of the stories related to the trip.

The Crack of Dawn

My traveling companion for this particular trip was my work buddy and good friend, Hannah Beth. I’m old enough to be her mother and she’s gracious enough to treat me as if I’m her age, and I love it. Our flight to Birmingham was ridiculously early and we had to bring along some signage, so both of us were concerned about getting there, getting checked in and getting on the flight. In our eagerness we got to the airport hours before we needed to. We were there so early I had plenty of time to walk around and take pictures of the mosaics on the floor.

An Over Easy Arrival

We arrived in Birmingham in time for breakfast. While I’m used to being the tour guide pretty much anywhere I go, I was happy to turn the reins over to Hannah Beth on this trip. Her sister goes to school there, so she has the inside track. She proved that when she took us to Over Easy. She had a breakfast-something and I had lunch-something. Both were delicious.

The decor and atmosphere was very California: modernesque furniture and semi-hippie waitstaff. Because it was a late morning on a weekday, most of the clientele were students who didn’t have early classes and a few moms who’d dropped the older kids off at school.

We arrived at the restaurant via her sister’s campus. We Uber-ed there from the airport. I’m not a natural Uber-er, but Hannah Beth treats it like it’s her second car. We may work together like two peas in a pod, but we do come from opposite sides of the generation gap. At the campus, we picked up her sister’s car – another evidence of working in ministry. No rental cars or swanky hotels.

Speaking of the lack of swanky hotels, we stayed in a La Quinta. Don’t get me wrong. There was nothing wrong with the place. It was clean and convenient. The breakfast was good. It was a fine place to stay, but let’s face it two stars is not exactly plush.

So that’s the basics – an early morning flight, a little transportational shuffle, a hearty breakfast and an economy hotel. The rest of the meals were either breakfast at the hotel or something served to us at the thing I can’t tell you about. However, this was me and I had Hannah Beth with me. Adventures are in store. By the way, Birmingham is called the Steel City, because it used to be the home of most of the world’s steel mills. More about that next week, so please come back to visit.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL, United States

Palmer’s is Perfect – Almost!

January 25, 2017January 10, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: PARTYING ON PALMER’S PATIO

Armed with a recommendation and an address, Deb and I headed towards San Marcos. We wanted to grab a bite before we headed to the outlet mall. We found a lot more than a bite at Palmer’s!

An Awkward Beginning

From the street Palmer’s doesn’t look like much. In fact, coming from Gruene, the first thing you see is a wall with a large mural. Nothing about the mural let us know we’d made a good decision, but when we found the parking lot we realized we’d found the nirvana which had evaded me during an earlier yoga session.

A large shaded patio with a splashing fountain promised we were about to have a good time, but we had to work for it. As we passed the patio entering the restaurant there were scads of empty tables, but when we asked to sit out there, the hostess hesitated. She had to go check something and she asked us to sit down. When she came back she said we’d need to wait a little and that sounded OK, until a little turned into a lot.

There was a time in my life when I would have meekly sat there until called, but that time has passed. The hostess busied herself sorting through menus and made a career of ignoring us. Since the patio was virtually empty, we wondered what was up. Finally, I asked exactly what we were waiting on since there were so many tables available. She stammered around about the wait staff having just taken orders and not being quite ready to serve us. I didn’t stammer when I said we’d rather do our waiting outside.

She reluctantly seated us on the patio and soon we’d made our drink orders. It was never quite clear why the hostess expected us to wait docilely in the slightly dank and very dark vestibule, but with the breeze blowing, a jazz trio playing and the water playing in the fountain, we didn’t care for very long.

A Little Bit of Heaven

So, the service was lacking before we ever got a chance to sit down, but I didn’t really care. The food took forever to get there and when I got it, I didn’t like it very much. (Nothing on the menu suggested the fritatta came heavily drizzled with sour cream. There are only three things in the whole world that I won’t eat and sour cream is one of them.) But that’s alright. I was happy and didn’t want to get unhappy!

Sitting on the patio at Palmer’s is the closest thing I’ve found to sitting on the patio at Joe T’s; and sitting on the patio at Joe T’s is the closest thing I’ve found to heaven – only the food at Joe T’s is good, really good.

The food might have been mediocre, but they had something called a Poinsettia to drink. For the uninitiated, a Poinsettia is the same thing as a Mimosa, except that you use cranberry juice instead of orange juice. Orange juice is not one of the three things I refuse to partake of, but I do avoid it if I can. Now that I know about Poinsettias, I will never have to regret that I don’t particularly like Mimosas, ever again in my life.

Here’s what’s funny. A Poinsettia was $5, but according to the waitress, “for $8 you can get twice as much.” I planned to be there for a while so I went for the large. Forget twice as much! I could have gotten everyone on the patio severely drunk with the huge bottle of Poinsettias I was served. Deb had started with a make-your-own Bloody Mary Bar, with which she had been underwhelmed, but if we would have known, we would have just ordered the large Poinsettia and two glasses. We both drank as much as we dared over several hours and still couldn’t make a dent. See why the fritatta didn’t matter!!

I could go on, but the bottom line is this, the shady patio, the jazz band and the Poinsettias were so good, nothing else mattered – not the lousy service, not the mediocre food, nothing. I will return to Palmer’s but it was time to head to the outlet mall. Look out credit cards!!

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL

The Quaint Town of Cesky Krumlov

November 16, 2016November 26, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: A TOWN IN A TIME WARP

Cesky Krumlov was lucky. While it suffered a season of Communism, the Communists never had enough money to modernize the place. So when they were kicked out in 1989, all Cesky Krumlov needed was a little TLC. Tourists discovered it in the early 1990’s and the rest is history.

Entering the Time Warp

As I mentioned before, our wonderful guide was a native Krumlovite. He grew up there and had an abiding love for his lovely little town. We had disembarked our bus up in the castle gardens and seen a couple of lovely vistas from the castle grounds, but this charming blue, onion-domed church was our first taste of Krumlov proper.

The pace of our tour slowed down as the guide shared the highlights of his town, including his favorite places to eat and stories about his friends. I’ve toured with guides that turned this dialog into an “ain’t-I-great” soliloquy, but the charming citizen of Krumlov did not fall into that trap. His stories were all about the wonders in his favorite town.

By the way, while it is tempting to call it a village, rather than a town, it got a city charter somewhere along the way. They would probably be insulted because that I was calling it a town instead of a city, but I want you to get the feel of the place, even if my terminology is not technically correct.

On Our Own

We wandered along quaint little streets until we reached the town square, where our guide released us to our own reconnaissance. Our little group of cruise buddies hotfooted it back to our guide’s favorite restaurant and enjoyed a delightful lunch with generous quaffs of Czech beer.

And here’s their sign

Here’s where to find the restaurant

Then we headed out for shopping. EEEK! The prices were astronomical. I strolled into a handbag store and hurried out with my tail between my legs. While I’m not great at currency conversion, I do know enough to figure out when I’ve wandered into a triple digit zone. The cheapest handbag I could find was very comfortably in that triple digit zone and while my friends are certainly worth that much, I can’t afford it.

There were dozens of establishments featuring souvenirs – you know the kind, t-shirts and tea towels emblazoned with screen-printed images – but that wasn’t what I was looking for. Finally, I found a store with darling little gingerbread Christmas ornaments. I almost bought them out and was thrilled with my find, but unfortunately I lost them somewhere along the way. I was broken-hearted because they were hand-made and seriously darling.

Had I anticipated the expenditure, I would have bought up some amber jewelry. Every other store on the winding streets is an amber jeweler and I loved most of their wares. My bestie loves amber and I desperately wanted to find something for her, but in a town where a small cloth clutch costs about $200, you can imagine what the amber cost. Still, the prices were not unreasonable, so if you go, budget for the amber and shop until you drop!

Suddenly It Was Time to Go

For the final half hour or so, we abandoned our cruise buddies, because I was still desperately on the hunt for gifts. All of sudden we looked at our watch and realized we had to leave – right then. That’s when we figured out we were lost and Cesky Krumlov no longer felt like a quaint village, but more like the city they prided themselves on being. Our panic only lasted a short while, but that was long enough. They’d warned us they would leave us if we weren’t on time.

We strolled back through the town, up a path around the castle and there our buses were waiting for us. The drive back to the boat seemed longer than the trip to the Czech town, because we were hoping enough time would be left to check out Linz before dinner.

We did make it back early enough and I’ll share that with you next week, but for now, enjoy all these pictures from Cesky Krumlov.

DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Cafe Tirolerhof – a Rick Steves Fail

August 31, 2016July 16, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: WHERE NOT TO HAVE LUNCH IN VIENNA

While many of the wonderful things I discovered on my Danube River Cruise I can attribute directly to Rick Steves, he failed me miserably at lunch in Vienna. Please don’t go to Cafe Tirolerhof.

Rain, Rain Go Away

When I first shared my dream day in Vienna with my husband, he balked at lunch and dinner in the city. He couldn’t understand why we’d look for places to eat, when we had a perfectly good boat serving both meals without incurring any extra cost. I explained how we’d be a bit of a stroll and a subway ride away from the boat in the Hofburg environs, creating both time and monetary constraints on our day. He seemed to acquiesce to my research, but I don’t think he actually gave up on getting back to the boat for lunch.

When we exited the Treasury he was on museum overload and he really wanted that lunch. We had a few tense minutes, but the sun was a little bit on my side and it appeared we were in for some better weather, so Bill agreed to take in some of the sites which were, by my estimation, within walking distance – but first he wanted to sit down and have a meal.

Cafe Tirolerhof

I read him Rick Steves’ description of Cafe Tirolerhof, “a classic Viennese cafe full of things that time has passed by: chandeliers, marble tables, upholstered booths, waiters in tuxes and newspapers.” Sounds irresistible, right? And the cafe was only a block away.

Well, it’s not really that Rick Steves lied. Everything he listed was there, but instead of being as charming as it sounded, it was creepy and somewhat disturbing. My first complaint is that along with all the other things time has passed by, the Tirolerhof has a whole lot of dirt their staff has been passing by for a long time. I’ve heard waiters in Viennese coffeehouses can be rude to American tourists. Well, the Cafe Tirolerhof waiters are rude to everyone – a real equal opportunity situation.

What’s more the menu is downright weird. I pride myself on being able to pick something delicious off menus in unfamiliar places – even when the menus aren’t in English. Well, the Tirolerhof menu is translated into English, but you want to believe something is lost in translation. Let me tell you, it’s not. The food is as weird as it says it is. What’s more the cafe does not take credit cards and because the broken credit card machine at the Imperial Apartments had forced us to use most of our euros, I had to wander down the street and figure out the Viennese ATM.

The Gray Continues, But at Least the Rain Quit – For a While

Love is the only thing that saved me at this juncture. The sun which had been on my side right before lunch had once again retreated, but it wasn’t raining right that minute. Having already paid for lunch, Bill figured he might as well let me trot around the palace environs, especially since I promised we’d just be sightseeing, not paying fees and trudging through museums.

So we set off on the walking tour I had charted out in my head. What else should you see when you visit the Hofburg? Come back next week and I’ll tell you about our trek.

Accommodations, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL

Meals You’ll Love on Viking River Cruises

May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: MEAL BY MEAL ON THE VIKING TOR

Every meal is a treat on Viking River Cruises!

Breakfast

From 6 – 11 AM a Cafe Breakfast was available at a coffee station next to the Lounge. In fact, food and beverages were always available there. The food ranged from croissants and danish in the morning to cookies mid-afternoon, but there was always something. The liquid libations offered even more variety: coffee drinks both hot and cold; hot tea and hot chocolate; both bubbly and still water; even juices in the morning. The Cafe Breakfast service satisfied the needs of both the early risers and late sleepers, while the coffee station itself kept the rest of us from getting peckish throughout the day. There was at least one day we visited it for a second breakfast and on most days we took advantage of it for an afternoon break. At 7 the Aquivit Terrace served a Continental Breakfast.

At 7:30 the Restaurant opened up for a Full Breakfast and I do mean full. There was a lovely buffet where you could get anything from a made-to-order omelette to a bagel with lox. A list of all the things available would take up more word count than I want to spend on it. I was particularly fond of the mushrooms sauteed in butter, not something I usually eat for breakfast, but once I tried them I ate them every morning. Healthy things like fresh fruit and yogurt were available as well as diet-busters like bacon and breads of every sort. I’m not very experimental in the morning, so I had no interest in things like pickled herring and other local “delicacies” they offered up, but you might be.

Were you able to visit all the stations on the buffet and still not find something you were interested in, a menu was available for other selections. My husband chose to order from the menu on several mornings, but that wouldn’t keep him from enjoying the buffet too. The menu included all those taboo treats like French Toast, Pancakes and Waffles.

Of course, coffee, tea and a variety of juices were available, but should you have an interest in it, champagne was also being poured. Many of the passengers enjoyed mimosas, but I can’t start the day drinking. I’m a wimp!

Lunch

Most of the shore excursions were planned to get you back to the boat for lunch at 12:30. Lunch was served in the Restaurant in much the same way as breakfast, but with different selections. Instead of a chef preparing fresh egg dishes, the lunchtime chef offered made-to-order pasta. There were a wide variety of casual foods offered around the buffet, but you could also order off the menu. The Aquavit Terrace was also available.

Most days we’d order off the menu and then graze the buffet for tidbits until our meal arrived. The menu items were served in European proportions. You could get as many as you wanted, but a three course meal could be eaten without feeling as if you’d just ingested half the boat. Well, perhaps the desserts were overly indulgent, but the other two courses were very reasonable.

The items on the menu offered a wide variety. There was usually a regional specialty, something for the meat-and -potatoes sort and something else for the vegetarian. The vegetarian choices were delightful, even if you weren’t vegetarian. I would usually opt for the regional specialty, unless it was pickled something or other.

The wine started flowing at lunch, but that’s when I got my caffeine fix. I’ve already ~~complained~~ mentioned the fact that Diet Dr Pepper was not an option, so I’d have a bottle of Coke Light, Europe’s answer to Diet Coke. Pretty much any other non-alcoholic beverage you were interested was available at lunch.

I did mention desserts didnt I. — I did mention desserts didnt I?

Dinner

If you liked the idea of a buffet, then you could go to the Aquivit Terrace for dinner, but in the Restaurant dinner was off the menu.

Passengers generally dressed up a little for dinner, but if you happened to stroll in from enjoying free time at the port and were still wearing your sneakers, you wouldn’t be turned away. For the most part Viking passengers dressed up the scale from your average ocean cruiser, but there was no formality. There was no pool or beaches, so folks weren’t running around in swimwear. The chilly weather discouraged shorts, tank tops and the like. I liked dressing up for dinner and you could tell other women did, too. My husband usually wore nice trousers and a long sleeved shirt. Jackets and ties were not worn.

Each evening before dinner there was a briefing of some sort up in the lounge. The cruise director would ask if we enjoyed our day and then give us the lowdown on what would be happening next. Some evenings this event would be accompanied by a glass of free champagne. We always took advantage of that, but we never ordered drinks. The bar was always open, but unlike the wine with meals, alcoholic beverages in the bar were not free. With so much wine flowing at dinner, we saw no reason to invest in cocktails. That was not true for all the passengers though. We saw the bartender mix a lot of martinis.

Most evenings we’d find our cruise buddies, Deb, Mike, Gwynne and John at the briefing and then take a table with them for dinner. The fun we had around the table made dinner one of the best parts of the day. The food was to die for and as I’ve mentioned the wine never stopped.

At both lunch and dinner the menu was divided into two parts, but different things were offered for each meal. The left side had the chef’s daily menu and the right side was labeled “Always Available.” I usually ordered from the day’s selection, but Deb was all about the Grilled Salmon on the Always Available side of things. The dinner choices on either side were divided into three courses, but you could order it anyway you wanted. Also, like lunch, they provided a variety of things to please the adventurous, the meat-and-potatoes sorts and the picky (for whatever reason).

I’ve chatted for too long about food, but it is an important part of a cruise. Next week I’ll start sharing our exciting stops along the Danube.

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