Road Trips – Page 21

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.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL

The Hofburg Palace Treasury

August 24, 2016July 16, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: HOW DO YOU SPELL EXCESS?

Exiting from the Hofburg’s Imperial Apartments in Vienna, we discovered it was still raining on our parade. A little morning precipitation had been disheartening. To discover drizzle still dominating the day was downright frustrating.

Mourning the Loss of Plan A

I know my husband. It’s all well and good to spend a few hours in a museum and the Imperial Apartments were extraordinarily fine museums, but I’d better have something else besides museums on the agenda.

Plan A was designed with just that in mind. Next door to the palace is the Volksgarten. We’re talking European next door, not American. That means right across a small street from the exit of the Imperial Apartments is this popular garden. We were supposed to catch our breath from all that royal grandeur in a lovely garden which just happened to have a coffee kisok right there. It was perfect or at least it should have been.

The glorious Volksgarten is not so inviting in the pouring rain.

Instead, the main thing we wanted to do was get out of the rain. I half-heartedly offered up chocolate at Dremel or a visit to the Dortheum, an auction house he’s shown an interest in. I know either one would have been a good choice, but right then all he wanted to do was get out of the rain. Well, he’d probably have been perfectly happy to take a taxi back to the boat and see what kind of pastries were available at the free coffee bar.

Because he loves me, he wanted me to see the most important things on my very long list of must-see attractions, but he wasn’t thrilled about it. A part of me whispered that I should get this man back to the boat and let him browse the coffee bar, but I was afraid that if I did, I’d miss everything else on my list. He doesn’t approve of me wandering around strange cities without an escort of some kind and once he was back on the boat, I’m betting dynamite would not have gotten him off it for yet another subway ride and more stomping around in the rain.

As I stood there with all of this floating around in my mind I mourned the possibilities I’d wished for. I’d imagined Bill in the Volksgarten, with his cup of coffee in hand, oooohing and aaaahing over all the wonderful options we had to choose from. Instead the chill of the mist was invading our crevices and Bill became impatient with my list of attractions. “What are we closest to that’s inside?” he wanted to know. “The Treasury,” I replied,”but it’s a museum.” He said, “lead the way.”

Back into the Hofburg

Thanks to my friend, Rick Steves’ Eastern Europe guide book and DK Eyewitness Travel’s Top 10 Vienna, I knew my way around the palace. I led Bill through a tunnel to the In der Burg courtyard, through the Swiss Gate to the Schweizerhof which held the Treasury. Part of me whispered I was making a big mistake, but this was number two on my list of must-see’s and it was out of the rain, so I didn’t know what else to do. I think this was one of those lose-lose situations and there had not been a correct answer to the drizzle dilemma.

We were wowed by the Treasury. Bill’s fatigue was dispelled as he began photographing everything in sight. I kept trying to put it all together. This was the fourth day of the cruise and all four days had been dominated by the Hapsburg Dynasty. We’d already seen so many remarkable sites associated with their wealth, grandeur and power. I couldn’t get over the fact that the Hapsburgs toted all this stuff around with them wherever they went. I’d assumed that each of their many castles had it’s own set of china and flatware, but instead the emperors and their entourage packed it all up in velvet and silk lined leather boxes to carry it with them. After all, an empress never knows when she might need several hundred silver charging plates.

As if the Silver Collection of the Imperial Apartments had not held enough treasures for any dynasty, we were now in a treasury which was chockablock with more golden, silver and jeweled wonders. At some point my disbelief checked itself out and I just wandered around awestruck.

I’ll share some of the pictures Bill took. Then you come back next week and hear how my dream day in Vienna continued to disintegrate.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, International, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL

The Rest of the Imperial Apartments

August 17, 2016July 16, 2016 Jane Sadek

In between the wonders of the Imperial Apartments

TRAVEL THERE: COMING DOWN OFF MY DECORATIVE ARTS HIGH

So we’re in Vienna on Viking’s Danube Waltz Cruise. I’ve just been through the Silver Collection of the Hofburg’s Imperial Apartments and my excitement level is at about 27 out of 10. The Hofburg allows you to take all the photographs you want in the Silver Collection, but you have to put your cameras away for the Sissi Museum and Imperial Apartments, so you’re imagination (or the internet) will have to provide the visuals.

The Sissi Phenomena

Austrians love their Empress Elizabeth and I can’t exactly figure out why. Her story starts out pretty well. Beloved daughter of obscure Bavarian royalty enjoys an idyllic childhood. In her early teens, she tagged along on a trip with her big sister, who was being checked out by the Crown Prince of the Hapsburg Dynasty as a potential mate. Once old Fredrick laid eyes on Elizabeth, big sis was toast. Within days, Freddy and his “Sissi” were engaged, to the extreme joy of everyone in Europe, with the exception (perhaps) of big sis.

A few days later, the story changes. Sissi is a drama queen. She starts wringing her hands and emoting all over her diary. Poor pitiful princess finds being adored a real challenge. The rest of her life is one big panic attack. I’m sorry. I’m not suggesting panic attacks aren’t serious, but Little Miss Sissi makes a career out of them. Pretty much her whole life can be summed up by the famous Garbo line, “I want to be alone.”

Now the woman’s life was punctuated by tragedies, but she’d already cast herself as the Queen of Melodrama long before any of them occurred. By the time her son committed suicide, mama was already far along down the road to nutcase. This is a woman who spent three hours on her hair each day and she thought her most important duty in life was to keep her eighteen inch waist. No wonder her son was desperate for female affection and committed suicide when his mistress was going to be taken from him.

In spite of her complete failure in the wife and mother department (she did give birth to several children, but then promptly ignored them) she was adored by her rather stick-in-the-mud hubby and idolized by her subjects. I just don’t appreciate all her hand-wringing. I prefer somebody like Empress Maria-Theresa, who gets out there and does something more with her life than fix her hair, watch her waistline and write dreadful poetry.

So, with the opinion I have of the woman, you can imagine I was not thrilled with the “Sissi Museum” section of the Imperial Apartments. It was interesting to see some of her clothes and other personal items, but I would have been happy with a small sampling, instead of room after room of Austrian swooning.

The Imperial Apartments at the End of the Trail

By the time we actually reached the Imperial Apartments I was worn out. We’d been through the excitement of finding our own way to the Hofburg from our longship via Vienna’s underground and Graben Strasse. I’d exulted over every item in the extensive Silver Collection and then been held hostage by the Sissi Fan Club, but we weren’t finished. Now we entered the actual Apartments all tricked out as they had been during the reign of Emperor Fredrich and his tragic Empress Sissi.

Confession, I was underwhelmed. Yes, they were beautiful apartments exquisitely furnished, but it just wasn’t my taste. I much prefer Schonbrunn Palace or the delightful Linderhof. Maybe if I had liked Sissi more or hadn’t been so overwhelmed by the Silver Collection, I might have enjoyed the Imperial Apartments more, but that’s the way it goes. All three sections are included in the price of admission, so check them all out, but if your time is limited and you love Decorative Arts, spend your time at the Silver Collection!

So where did we go next on our rainy day in Vienna. Come back next week and find out.

ART, Attractions, Cruising, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, International, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL

The Hofburg’s Imperial Apartments – A Real Must-See

August 10, 2016August 10, 2016 Jane Sadek

Here's a place you need to see to believe! — Here’s a place you need to see to believe!

TRAVEL THERE: MORE GOLD THAN YOU CAN COMPREHEND

Let me make one thing very clear, if you are in Vienna, don’t miss the Hofburg. If I had gone there on my very first visit to the city I don’t know if I would have ever gotten to anyplace else in Vienna, ever. Chances are, if I ever do get back to Vienna, I’ll be making a beeline the Hofburg and the first thing I will do is go visit the Imperial Apartments – again and again and again.

Getting There

The Stephanplatz is a good starting point for all things Vienna. When you land there you are moments away from the Hofburg. Enjoy those moments. Gawk at the goods in the designer stores, people-watch and stop in Dremel for some chocolate. Spend some time at Michaelplatz, the grand entrance of the Hofburg. As if to prove this has been always been the center of activity in Vienna, you’ll find an archaeological dig with Roman ruins right outside the entrance to the palace.

Don’t hurry through the Michaelplatz. Along with the Roman ruins you’ll see spectacular sculptures. If architecture is your thing, turn around and gaze at the very plain bank building across from the palace. A persnickety architect, built the building as his home to act as affront to what he considered the very gaudy palace. Poor Bill! I was desperate to capture all of this in photographs and he obliged me, but it wasn’t exactly the right day for great pictures.

Entering The Imperial Apartments

After enjoying Michealplatz, enter the palace and turn right. You’ll be in the vestibule of the Imperial Apartments where you get your ticket to enter. We had the misfortune of being there when their credit card machine wasn’t working. Instead of being in a tizzy, trying to find out what was wrong and how to fix it like American cashiers would be, the attendant informed us we’d have to use cash in a very blase manner suggesting she really didn’t care whether we saw the museum or not. I felt very American at that point. I wanted her to sympathize with the fact that she’d be depleting almost the entire cache of our euros. Euros Bill had been loathe to buy and besides that her city was raining on us. This was all very distressing. You’ll be glad to know I managed to restrain myself and cough up the necessary euros, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it.

Decorative Arts Heaven

My dismay was short-lived, because I was soon standing in Decorative Arts heaven. I cannot begin to tell you how amazing and wonderful the Imperial Apartments are. As I lay dying, with my life passing before me, a good portion of the pictures I’ll see will be from the Imperial Apartments’ Silver Collection. Hyperbole? Don’t judge me until you see this!

Calling this orgy of beauty the Imperial Apartments is a bit of a misnomer. The Silver Collection is actually the first part of three very different attractions which have been rolled into one. The actual Imperial Apartments are at the end of the line and while quite nice, they are nothing compared to the Silver Collection.

To help you better understand why I am so blown away with the “Silver Collection” you first have to understand silver is just the tip of the iceberg. There is silver and gold and porcelain and linens and even the boxes they transported all these wonders in. We’re talking flatware, dishes, epergnes, vases, platters, bowls, tureens, napkins, tablecloths – all in multiples like you would not believe.

I’m someone who will dutifully spend hours stomping through the rest of a huge museum for the privilege of spending time in the one small room most institutions devote to the Decorative Arts. There are museums which have more Decorative Arts than others, for which I am grateful, but I’ve never been anywhere like this.

I think I’ll just shut up and show you the pictures Bill took for me. Then maybe next week I’ll tell you about the rest of the Imperial Apartments.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Self-led Shore Excursion in Vienna

August 3, 2016July 16, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: OUR DAY IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA

From the moment we booked our Viking River Cruise, I knew Vienna would be the highlight of the trip for me and a challenge for Bill. He loves to get on a bus, take in the major sites and be done with it. If we can get off the boat, see a few things and get some pictures without much hassle, as we could in Budapest, he likes that, too. Negotiating subways, taking in multiple museums and figuring out someplace to eat is not on his list of must-do’s. I confess, I was in heaven.

The Viking Shore Excursion in Vienna we are glad we weren't on! — The Viking Shore Excursion in Vienna we are glad we weren’t on!

Been There, Done That

Vienna is a city I am familiar with. I know my way around the Ringstrasse. I’ve been on the underground. I know the Stephanplatz. I’ve been to Schönbrunn Palace and the Belvedere. What I wanted to see was the Hofburg.

Sitting at my desk in Dallas I planned out the perfect day in Vienna. We would start with a museum in the Hofburg, hang out in gardens and see where the day led us. I imagined finishing the evening at some romantic sidewalk cafe with shopping bags spread around my feet, each bag holding a perfect gift for a special friend. Do I have to tell you that it didn’t exactly go this way?

It Rained on My Parade

The Viking Tor docked in Vienna around six. Had this been a girl’s trip with my bestie, we would have been standing in the foyer as they extended the gangplank. Kudos to Bill however, we were up and out, with breakfast under our belt, by 9ish. To our dismay it was a gray, chilly day with intermittent rain. More kudos to Bill, he intrepidly strode along the dock, determined to give me my day in Vienna.

Though I love an adventure, as I’ve confessed before, I have arrival anxiety. It’s one thing to read up on a destination and a whole ‘nother thing to actually get there and execute the necessary logistics to complete your plan. If I screw up getting us started, I can ruin the whole day. Talk about over-planning, just in case I didn’t get the underground details right, I had a map of taxi-stands and bicycle rentals waiting in my backpack.

Fortunately, finding the underground and grabbing our ride was a breeze. We stepped out of the Stephenplatz station like we knew what we were doing. The Graben Strasse pedestrian plaza was well marked and we took off in the right direction. So far so good. We delighted in the atmosphere and the architecture. Bill had his camera out and I had my map. I was looking for Kohlmarkt.

Just about the time I thought, “We should just about be there,” Bill shouted, “WOW, look at that.” He’d seen the Hofburg at the end of Kohlmarkt. It was so exciting that tears actually came to my eyes. Dreams really do come true. I was a little damper than I’d imagined, but my day in Vienna was going well.

Come back next week and join us at the Imperial Apartments.

ART, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Hanging Out at DFW

May 9, 2016May 13, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE: INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES AT DFW

I’m not exactly a fan of DFW, but if I have to go out there I hope I’m flying out of terminal D. For one thing, that means I might be going out of the country, which is always good news to me. For the other, it is by far the best terminal from which to depart.

New and Improved Travelers

There was a time when my husband tried to push the travel envelope to the very edge. He wanted to find out just how close he could cut it. It seemed every trip we were the passengers breathlessly running aboard as they closed the door. Unfortunately, I had been raised by a father who considered earliness to be next to godliness. That race for the plane thrilled my excitement junkie hubby, but I would go into pure panic mode.

Over the years we’ve both mellowed out. This is a good thing, since these days, travel is a very different endeavor from what it was twenty years ago. Anybody pulling a last minute maneuver, like some we did back in the day, would find themselves cooling their heels in some TSA holding space.

Nowadays we get to the airport with hours to spare. We treat the terminal like a tourist attraction, tasting the local treats and checking out the souvenirs.

A Plug for Park &’N Fly

When we fly, our car is parked at the Park ‘N Fly facility on Park Lane. We drive in. A bus pulls up and a nice driver pops out to help us with our bags. Frequently we are driven directly to our terminal, but even at busy times we get from our car to our gate lickety split. The nice driver offloads your bags and you’re almost done.

Over the last year, we joined Costco and guess what! Park ‘N Fly, which is already a bargain at full price, has discounted rates with Costco coupons. You buy 5 day blocks of tickets for $35 and we’re talking discounted. The price is so cheap that we saved money with the coupons even though we had to buy and extra day. The coupon never expires, so we’ll jut hold on to it until the next trip – maybe the one we’ll make to visit our new friends in Oregon we met aboard the Viking Tor.

Our driver for this trip may just be the most charming we’ve ever had. He was filled with the joy of his salvation and was listening to a sermon on his sound system. He politely asked if that was OK with us, but we just amen-ed with him and said a few hallelujahs. He asked where we were headed and when he found out about our cruise on the Danube he really wanted to go along.

Hurry Up and Wait

At the Lufthansa check-in we stared down the kiosk and tried to determine which number or piece of paper it preferred, but we were grateful when someone came to assist us with the check-in, especially since I had already theoretically done that online. It seems to me that all this digital stuff just makes more work. Used to be you called up your travel agent to buy your fare, got a hard copy ticket, took it to the desk and were checked in. Now you dabble online to find a ticket, get a virtual ticket, check-in online, get a virtual boarding pass, fritz with the kiosk at the airport, get pieces of paper and still have to report to a live agent to check-in your bags. Convenience, schamenience!

The line for the TSA security check was not too bad and then we were in, with a couple of hours left to kill. I had visions of sitting down over a good meal at Cafe Izmir, Cool River Cafe, III Forks or Sky Canyon. Then I made the mistake of allowing Bill to see the directory of restaurants and ended up at Popeye’s. You may think I’m kidding, but it’s the truth. Bill loves Popeye’s and since we’re usually trying to eat healthy we stay away. With all food being calorie free on vacations (wink wink) he wanted to get some.

Murdering Time

After our chicken we roamed the terminal and looked at all the places we could have eaten and checked out the shops. Along the way we saw some interesting art installations spread throughout the space. We really began to feel like tourists. Many of the most beautiful installations were mosaics on the floor which photograph poorly. We also found this interesting public interactive.

We decided it was getting close enough to departure time that we should get to our gate. They’d decided to start boarding early to beat some turbulence, so getting there early had been a good thing.

If you’re coming through Dallas or leaving from our airport, I hope you’ll get to enjoy Terminal D. If not, you’re stuck with the usual. Maybe if you’re stuck there long enough on a layover you could take the train over to D and dine in style.

On Wednesdays I’m sharing my Viking River Cruise, the reason we were at the airport in the first place. Please check back and share the adventure.

DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Heading Out to the West Texas Town of El Paso

April 29, 2016April 28, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL BUG TALES: OUR FIRST REAL VACATION

As promised, it’s time to get back to our family trip to El Paso and New Mexico. The year was 1967 and we’d recently moved back to Texas. I call it our first real vacation, because the only vacation our family took before then was coming to Texas from wherever my dad’s job had him stationed at the time.

Going Batty

Our primary destination for this family vacation was Carlsbad Cavern. We planned on taking the tour into the caverns, but Mom was insistent that we must first experience the flight of the cavern’s bats on the evening before. Somehow El Paso and White Sands National Park worked themselves into the mix.

I’m sure the inclusion of El Paso had something to do with I-20. This was back in the days before the Middle East Oil Crisis (the first one, not the recent one), so you could legally drive 80 miles an hour on I-20 in West Texas. In reality you could drive as fast as your car would go.

I can tell you this. If the speed limit was 80, you can rest assured my dad stayed two or three clicks below, so he could be sure he wasn’t breaking the law. George was a stickler for that sort of thing. Mom was a little more interested in making good time and there were usually “discussions” about Dad’s slow poke methodology.

Getting an Early Start

My dad was a Canteen Officer for Veterans Administration Hospitals, which meant he got up early on workdays to oversee the preparation of breakfast in the cafeteria. Since Dad woke at 4:45 every weekday morning, he didn’t see any harm in waking the rest of us at 4:45 on the first day of vacation.

For many years, Mom would wake us up at the start of a vacation and give us a good breakfast – make that a very heavy breakfast with eggs, bacon, toast and who knows what else. On any other day of the year a bowl of cereal, hot or cold, was considered a perfectly good breakfast, but for some reason, when we left on vacation, I was supposed to want the full monty.

The only problem was that once we got on the road, I would yell out, “Mom, my throat hurts!” This was family code for, “I’m car sick and am about to throw up.” Dad would pull over to the side of the road where I’d wrench open the door and deposit all of that good breakfast into the gravel, only it didn’t look quite as good by then. Within a few miles I’d be hungry again and would stay that way for the rest of the morning until my parents decided it was time for lunch.

Eventually, I permanently associated that “good breakfast” my father was so fond of with motion sickness. To this day I will not eat scrambled eggs or omelettes under any circumstance. Only during the last few years have I reluctantly succumbed to my husband’s desire to share a meal of eggs from time to time. He loves the things and whips up a late breakfast for us occasionally. I explained over and over why I didn’t eat eggs, but my husband doesn’t really know how to take no for an answer. So he fries up an egg to the point where the yolk will not run under any circumstances and the whole thing could be bounced on the floor. Then I will eat the egg, but I don’t want to get in the car for awhile.

By the time we went on this particular trip, I was 12 years old and was no longer subjected to having the “good breakfast.” I was able to toast up the blueberry Pop-Tart I usually had for breakfast. I didn’t like icing, but I would toast it with a pat of butter – a feat possible only because we used a Vintage Munsey Toaster rather than toasters which would actually pop-up the Pop Tart.

Our family had adopted another travel modification to avoid my “sore throat.” Though our 1966 baby blue Pontiac Catalina had seat belts, I was not required to wear them when I was feeling iffy. Instead I was allowed to sit on the edge of the backseat and hang my elbows over into the front. From this privileged position between my parents I could see out the windshield and the family avoided any unpleasantness. I learned I could pretty much sit like that whenever I desired, because no one wanted to take any chances.

Next week I’ll tell you how I failed my first assignment of responsibility as a traveler. I hope you’ll join me then.

Cruising, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Cruise Report: The Return

April 25, 2016April 27, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE: NO MATTER HOW HUMBLE, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Most folks who travel will tell you one of the best parts of the trip is coming home. I have to agree with them. I loved my recent cruise on the Danube, but sleeping in my own bed has its advantages.

What Did I Miss Most?

What I always miss most during my travels is Diet Dr Pepper. No airport in the world has my beverage of choice. A few airlines will offer it, but very few and certainly not Lufthansa or United. Soda machines outside Texas rarely have it and locating a six pack of it at my American destinations can be somewhat of a challenge. Finding any Dr Pepper product along the Danube was not going to happen, so once a day I would settle for a Coke Light to get my daily dose of caffeine. Coke Light is the European answer to our Diet Coke. Coke Zero? Forget about it!

Other Things I Lacked

I missed my bed and most particularly my top sheet. The mattress, though smaller than the one we sleep on at home, was perfectly comfortable. The contour sheet, pillow and pillow cases were all very well and good, but the only cover we got was a comforter. It was a very nice comforter, but I really missed having a top sheet.

Another thing wrong with the bed was that it was attached to the boat and at 3 AM in the morning, when the captain put the pedal to the medal, everything on the boat would vibrate. When I was a kid I thought it was cool to put a quarter in the hotel bed and enjoy the vibrations, but I giggled all the way through the “massage.” On the boat I would come awake wondering what was happening and then figure out that I’d been wakened by the boat’s vibrations – again. Of course, then I’d toss and turn. I was too hot with the comforter on and felt weird without a top sheet, so I’d usually stay awake until it was finally time to get out of bed – not by choice, of course.

When I did get up, I immediately regretted the tiny bathroom in our cabin. While the length of the shower was more than sufficient, for my money, I’d have preferred a little more elbow room in the other direction. I’m not a fan of showers, so I stood as close to the showerhead as I could, to get the most of me wet or I’d get a chill. Hence, I was stuffed into the front of the shower stall banging into the walls and doors – a far cry from my large soaking tub at home. Sitting on the toilet was particularly claustrophobic, but there was enough room for the brushing of teeth.

I moved the rest of my ministrations into the main room, taking over what I think was supposed to be a desk, but it made for a great vanity table – with the exception of the light. To turn on the light above the mirror, I would have had to turn on all the lights in the room. Not a good idea with Bill enjoying his final moments of sleep. (He had no problem with the vibrations, for which I was glad, but a little envious.) So, I would crack open the curtain of the sliding glass door which was right next to me – the benefit being that I put on my make up with natural light.

All Is Forgiven

In truth, I know these are minor irritations. While I struggled with the bed and bath, I was not cooking meals or washing dishes. A maid showed up to make up the bed and restock the linens. I didn’t fight the crowds at the grocery store or worry about traffic. In fact, I didn’t worry about anything. I didn’t know or care who was ahead in the election process or if anyone had been blown up. Even if I was missing my Diet Dr Pepper, having a bottomless glass of wine at dinner certainly made up for it.

20160422_213554 — Sorry, you have to imagine the frog voices.

As much as I love traveling there was one very priceless moment as I arrived at our home. The night was pitch black except for a brilliant full moon. I couldn’t wait to get out and take a picture. As soon as I opened the car door I could hear our frogs. They were all singing their welcome. I’ve identified three types of voices, the basso bullfrogs, frogs with a clicking sort of song and the sopranos screaming at the top of their voices. Thankfully the sopranos only sing a few nights out of the year, but they were out in full force when we arrived.

The picture didn’t come out very well, but I’ve shared it anyway. In the coming weeks I will share all the wonderful things we did on our cruise and all the amazing things the crew did to make it a memorable experience.

So, I’ll be changing things around here on the blog again. Mondays will remain Travel Here stories about things to do in the Metroplex. Wednesdays will return to Travel There stories where I’ll tell you all about the cruise. Travel Bug Tales, which were started as a sort of filler, have become very popular, so they’ll replace At Home in Heath on Fridays and if I have Rockwall County things to share with you, I’ll include them on Mondays. So I hope you’ll join me Wednesday for my first installment on the cruise.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Keeper of the Plains in Wichita KS

January 6, 2016January 8, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: THE RING OF FIRE CEREMONY FOR THE KEEPER OF THE PLAINS

I’d just like to complain a little bit. This particular attraction was the sum total of things available to me in Wichita KS. It’s not that they don’t have museums and gardens. It’s that the museums and gardens were all against me. They closed about the time I got there Friday. They opened back up when I went into the Ministry Event, but closed when I got out. Then they waited until I left town to open up again. Thank you Keeper of the Plains for lighting your firepots for me.

Dramatic Positioning

Our waitress at Taste and See gave us great directions to the site of the Keeper of the Plains. We found parking and saw the pedestrian bridge before we could see the Keeper. Once the Keeper came into sight, it was clear he’s in a very dramatic position. He stands at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers and looks down towards the modern city.

The Keeper himself is a work of modern art, but he makes me think of the popular Kokopelli figure. While Kokopelli is hunched forward, the Keeper stands erect with his face lifted to the Great Spirit.

As we approached the pedestrian bridge, with its bow and arrow motif, the arch of the bridge framed the Keeper. Each perspective seems to add to the mystery of the great figure atop a stone outcropping.

Once across the bridge, we entered an open-air interpretive center explaining the spiritual significance of the Keeper to Native Americans. From this position you are below the stone out-cropping, looking up at the Keeper. Soft tribal music fills the air in the interpretive area making it feel like a sacred place.

There are paths below the outcropping that allow you to walk all the way around the statue. The area is dark, so it was quite popular with couples. Deb and I were a little out of place.

Having seen the statue up close, we decided to wander back across the bridge and enjoy the Ring of Fire ceremony from afar.

I Anticipated the Wrong Ring

Across the river along the esplanade was several tiers of seating and a different type of tribal music was playing, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. Deb and I climbed to one of the upper tiers and watched a couple of little boys dance to the trippy little tune. As we enjoyed the boys I tried out the panoramic feature on my phone I had discovered at Myriad Botanical Gardens. The light wasn’t right, but I will share the results anyway.

Finally the moment came and flames erupted in the firepots at the Keeper’s feet, but that wasn’t what I was expecting. I wanted fire to blaze between the hands of the Keeper. Careful reading of the information I found revealed they’d had all the prepositions right, I’d just decided I didn’t want it that way, so I ignored them. My purposeful ignorance did not change a thing. The magic light did not appear for me.

I grabbed a final shot for you and we went back to the car. This was Friday night. We spent Saturday in the arena and enjoyed the seafood buffet at the hotel that evening. The next morning we headed home. We experienced the worst service I’d ever had at a McDonald’s somewhere along the way in Oklahoma. Then we were home.

I took this trip in mid-September. When I got home there were still several articles about the San Antonio Stroll on my blog waiting for posting. I went ahead and wrote all the items on the Wichita trip as soon as I got home, knowing the series would not start until late October, but not wanting to miss the details. You are reading this in the new year, but I am writing them on a beautiful September afternoon in Dallas. I wonder what will be going on in the New Year of 2016.

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

Legends at DoubleTree Wichita KS

December 30, 2015October 15, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: LEGENDS RESTAURANT AT DOUBLETREE BY HILTON IN WICHITA KS SERVES TASTY AND CONVENIENT FOOD

When you stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Wichita KS, you’re out at the airport and away from everything else. The hotel is lovely and once inside you can forget you’re even at an airport. At mealtime Legends Restaurant & Bar, in the lobby of the Hilton is a safe bet for a good meal.

Breakfast As You Like It

The Executive Level of this hotel is a sweet deal during the week, because you have a breakfast buffet and an evening social hour right there on your floor. If you are up on the Executive Level on the weekend, breakfast is still a sweet deal, because it’s comped. Everybody else has to either pay $12.95 for the breakfast buffet or order a la carte. Since it was comped, we opted for the breakfast buffet.

The breakfast buffet has pretty much anything your heart desires. There’s all the cereals, fruit, yogurt, pastries and such. There’s a do-it-yourself waffle maker with all the trimmings. They also have omelettes, Eggs Benedict, breakfast potatoes, sausage and bacon. You know, the usual. Well, maybe not so usual. Eggs Benedict are kind of a treat.

On Saturday, I tried the Eggs Benedict. Everything about them was fine, except for the fact that I’m funny about eggs. I don’t like scrambled eggs or omelettes, and any other egg should be well done. Well, a properly cooked Eggs Benedict should be over easy, but I’m not fond of the runny yellow goo. The sauce was good, the muffin fine and I ate my egg white. I left a lot of yellow goo behind.

The next day was Sunday and after 10 there is a Champagne Brunch with an elevated price tag. They had an extra buffet table all ready to fill up with additional goodies, but we got there before 10 so we could get on the road and to avoid having to pay extra. On that morning I went for some cereal and a biscuit. OMG, that biscuit was good. There can be some pretty sorry excuses for biscuits on a buffet, but these were amazing. I only ate one and since I’m not fond of gravy had no problem avoiding it, but I really, really wanted another biscuit.

Saturday Night Seafood Buffet

After breakfast on Saturday morning, I noticed on the way out of the restaurant that they had a $34.95 Seafood Buffet in the evening. That sounded pretty darned good to me. We’d be at the Living Proof Event all day long and I just bet we’d love to come back to the hotel and veg. I was right. What I didn’t know was everyone else in the general vicinity was also going to realize this was a good deal. I’m guessing that most of the people we saw hanging off the rafters in the restaurant lived in Wichita and came out on a regular basis. They all seemed to have the drill down pat.

There really was all the seafood you could eat. From broiled cod to shrimp cocktail and mussels to crablegs, you could eat yourself into a stupor. I love crab legs and they were sweet enough that they didn’t need butter as far as I’m concerned.

Oh and dessert. There was a chocolate pie good enough for someone’s mother to claim. It had a denser meringue than my own mother made, but the chocolate and the crust tasted just like home. There were other delicious looking choices, like a chocolate cake, but that wasn’t as amazing as the pie. After dinner we were glad to waddle back to our room and call it a night.

The New Year is upon us. I hope itis going to be a good year for you and yours. Party hardy, but get home safe. And come back in 2016 for a little Wichita KS sightseeing.

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