Saturday
Mom and I got up early, real early.  We had crashed early anyway but I’m sure the time change did a number on our bodies.  So at 4:20am we were well aware of the fact that nothing would be open.  So we bided our time reading books.  She was into The Reader and I was starting Without a Map.  We absorbed as much as we could before the time we figured a coffee joint would be open.  At 5:30am we through on some clothes and headed out.  The hotel is on George Street and in the center of what seemed like a lot going on.  So we started down towards Circular Quay (pronounced KEY….many folks in Cleveland mispronounce the Quay 55 bldg.), with no plan in place.  At a light waiting for the little green man to tell us it was good to walk across the street.  I spot a gentleman walking towards us and as he turns to go the way we just came from I notice he’s got coffee in his hand!  I tell mom to chase him down and ask where he procured his little treat.  This nice, nice man begins to explain which way to the Market City Shopping area when suddenly he says, “c’mon, I’ll show you the way.”  So we walk down while we chat him up and get the scoop on the area.  He has guided us to a cute little breakfast stand, and as I’ve learned from my friend, Keiron, Aussie’s call it “breacky.”  The Aussies shorten a lot of words because, as it was explained, they are a laid back people.  Mom gets a latte and I order a flat white coffee, which, from what I understand means just coffee with milk or cream.
We take our drinks and head down George Street.  Keiron has told us about QVB, the Queen Victoria Building, for shopping.  Of course as I write this I’ve realized I forgot to take a picture of the fabulous statue of the Queen.  Ah……I’m sure I was just more concerned with how often I could blast my credit card through the building.  Which is what I did.  Well in one store at least.  A clothing store called Cue.  They are everywhere as I’ve since noticed and I saw the cutest little business dress in the window and wanted to see how it looked.  I tried one on, too big.  The second was too small.  I was beginning to feel like a bear in Goldielocks, but the sales girl, her first week on the job, sends someone to get just the right size out of the store room in another part of the building.  In the meantime I try on a few different tops and bottoms and this girl is so incredible that I tell myself no matter what I’m going to buy something!  As it turns out the dress, in the correct size, fits perfectly.  So I walk out of the store spending too much money but feeling incredibly satisfied.  We even called the manager over to tell her how much this girl helped.  And boy did she…fetching sizes and other outfits she thought I might like.  And no, she wasn’t on commission and the best part? I hadn’t showered and looked kinda grubby and she still went out of her way to make me feel like I was an important customer.  For that moment I was Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, if you can imagine.  The day, from there, only continued to rock!  We asked some construction workers for an idea for breacky and they guided us further down the road.  The place they normally go isn’t open on the weekends but this place City Extra is a good place.  Yes, it’s in Circular Quay for the tourists but solid food and we could start the day with a cocktail.  The place had a certain charm and we did have a good meal.
From there we just dinked around until my friend Keiron called.  He was coming back into the city so I could meet his two daughters and asked if we would like to go to a traditional Aussie Barbie.  By the way, just FYI, they only say barbie.  They’d write BBQ.  So off to Shane’s Park we go and what a FUN time!!!!!  We drank **** and talked **** the whole night and truly had a blast.  Lots of food was cooked including Rissoles, a compressed mixture of meat and spices, coated in breadcrumbs according to the dictionary.  They are YUM! Oh and I got to try VEGIMITE!!!    It’s like boullion in paste form.

Nat and Corrine and Wayne and Bill, Matthew and all the kids were so welcoming to a couple of Yanks.

At some point some clothes came off……

What can I say, dear people, it was one of the best almost 12 hours of my life!  Then it was back off to the hotel in a taxi and off to sleep for the night.

What an amazing trip…….there was SO much that this post will be a work in progress so if you’re interested in this trip keep checking back:)

In the summer, Amsterdam is in full bloom.

40% of people who live in Amsterdam ride bikes EVERYWHERE!  It’s awesome!

Part of the charm of Amsterdam is the water.

And bridges!!

In Germany, the Köln Cathedral is definitely a “not-to-miss” sight!

Our hotel in Köln.  Not the greatest but in a cute area.

Papa Joe’s Jazzmen entertained us on our last night in Köln and it was AMAZINGLY fabulous and fun! Met so many fun and interesting people.

The countryside in my mothers hometown of Bad Münstereifel.

Rodger and I went to New Orleans for exactly 2 days!! But in those 2 days we found tons of fun and lots to do. Did I say “do?” I meant drink.

We stayed in the French Quarter at the Hotel Monteleone. Friends had booked two rooms in the 4 star place and while it is NOT inexpensive, Rodger and I were able to use miles so we didn’t pay for airfare. The hotel is very nice and the customer service, for the most part, was fantastic. Al, the bell hop, celebrated 49 years with the hotel this year! And he’s still going……..

Thankfully we had missed check-in….apparently it wasn’t pretty but our friends worked it out. The rooms were really cute and very clean, no view but we didn’t come to hang out in the room too much. Our friends came in on Friday, us on Saturday……and the games began……..

We started at the Bourbon Cowboy for 3 for 1 drinks. What?! Yes, so unless you like drinking a lot, quickly, then one person order for three people. Some bars are 2 for 1 AND 4 for 1! Wow!

We ate at La Bayou and had delicious, Award-winning gumbo……YUM! And our first Hurricanes of the weekend. Tasty but not cheap at $10 a pop. We weren’t expecting that considering all the drinking deals around town so if you are money conscious then check prices upon arrival.

We stayed on Bourbon Street and did Bourbon Rocks. It’s a party place. Waitress Cheron tried to teach me how to shake my booty but I am too “straight-laced” or something!:)

We also went to Razoo for dancing, 544 & Fat Cats had an amazing band!

Street Performers entertained us Sunday night. Calling them “good” doesn’t do them justice!

We started the morning with a cup of coffee and beignets at the original Cafe Du Monde at St. Ann and Decatur. A definite MUST!

My brother texted me “Go! Now!” and I will forever be grateful. We tooled around checking out all the local artists around the park. Talk about some serious talent! Rodger and I both bought a piece from one woman.

There are TONS of antique shops and boutiques if you are up for some spending.

We had brunch at Commander’s Palace which is very famous.

The food was amazing! And we were seated next to this very interesting 4-some, one of which was circling their table with a video camera. He said he was shooting a video for Dido’s new song. It’d be cool if we ended up in the vid!! There was also a jazz trio that played tableside. They were wonderful……..

We wanted to see more of the city but didn’t have the time. We really didn’t see any damage from Katrina save for a bar that was borded up on the outskirts of the Quarter.

We decided after food to take a quickie nap, then found a cute little place called Johnny White’s to watch the Browns get annihilated. Yah, the usual, but we did have some other Brownie fans there to share in the misery.

Dave and Marie Jose enjoy a Lucky Dog….a MUST when in Nawlin’s!

We had a great time even though it was not long enough of a trip. Always feel free to email me with any questions you think I may be able to answer. Happy travels!

My girlfriend Marie Josee and I needed to get out of dodge for a while and what better place for a couple of whino’s than Napa?  She and her husband had just been there in the past year but, as I found out for myself, Napa never gets old.Since we had to fly into San Francisco anyway I begged her to go back to Alcatraz since I had never been there.  Of course I had heard so much about it and seen all the movies, the prison has become larger than life!  But as with anything with such a reputation one never knows what it’s truly like it unless you see it for yourself.   Alcatraz is run by the National Park Service and they do a phenomenal job!  The tour was not only extremely fascinating but easy to follow along as you could start, stop and rewind your audio tour anytime you wanted.  Visitors can go at their own pace which, for me, is exactly what I need.  I’m one of those geeks that likes to gawk for a while plus I’m the first to admit that sometimes it takes me longer than most to absorb information especially when it’s information I’d like to remember. Don’t make my mistake, though, and assume it’s easy to get tix.  We almost didn’t get on the boat because we didn’t buy tix in advance.  We had planned to go Friday night but by the time we flew out west all those tours were booked.  Thankfully we found one in the morning still open but that pushed back out trek up north to start our wine experience.   When you go, get tix in advance and everything you should expect right HERE. If you end up spending the night in San Fran, make sure to check out Vesuvio’s for a cocktail.  Great reputation and people watching.

We stayed the night in the Adante Hotel.  Booked it on Hotels.com.  Great little hotel for not a lot of money.  My only beef was that they claimed to have internet.  I had to go to their small lobby to log on and when I couldn’t the desk guy says to me, “Mac’s aren’t my thing.”  Whatever.  Also, their so-called breakfast in the morning consisted of instant coffee….and bread.  Yum…..or not. In the morning we hopped on the trolley.  You have to be incredibly strong to drive on of those suckers!

We went and had breakfast at Castgnola’s at Fisherman’s wharf.  Try the soup! Then we meandered down the wharf and hopped on the boat.  Did the Alcatraz tour and it knocked my socks off!!