Horses in my yard!

I just looked out my window and saw horses in my yard! I tried to keep Lucy in the house, but she ran the door before I could stop her. They belong to a neighbor down the street. I guess an area of their fence is down. I threw an apple to Tony who was trying to keep them in the yard - he split the apple for three of them. They were pretty calm despite Lucy. 5 minutes later they headed back home.

Burano, Italy

Here are my photos of Burano.

And here are all of my Burano Reflections photos.

A Short Visit to Washington DC

It was a scorcher today! About 98 degrees. Tony had plans to meet some VMI buddies for lunch in Washington DC, so I went along for the ride and hopped on a metro to the Eastern Market on 7th Street SE. I hadn't been there before and I do enjoy visiting markets.



This is an indoor market filled with wonderful foods: Seafood, meats, fruit stands, a cheese stand, a lovely flower stand, and a place with delicious looking pastries and pies. There were even foods that were vacuum sealed, such as the pollo asado. One meat stand had a variety of sausages: Italian, Argentinean, even Mexican.



I enjoyed a tasty crab cake sandwich at Market Lunch. The line was long with people waiting to place their order. There was a nice variety of seafood to choose from, as well as burgers and BBQ sandwiches. There's a long table with bar stools for the diners. I bellied up and ate my sandwich while talking with a couple of guys next to me. One had just moved to the area after living in Japan for 20 years. Navy guy.

I understand that this market is quite packed on the weekends along with vendor stands outside, so today was fairly quiet. I'll have to return on a weekend...on a cool day.

I walked up 7th street and headed over towards the capitol. Along the way I passed some very beautiful homes. I also saw a small garden with hibiscus the size of small dinner plates. I had never seen them this large!





Nearby I saw this squirrel trying to keep cool in the shade by laying flat on its belly with legs and arms spread out on the dirt. He didn't move at all. Another squirrel was rolling around in the dirt.

I headed to Union station where I knew I could cool down, window shop a little and wait for Tony to pick me up.


We don't get to Washington DC that often and being there today made me realize we need to take advantage of its offerings: The museums, a visit to Chinatown, the monuments, and the Eastern Market...but next time we'll go with a cooler in the car so we can bring home some meats and seafood. I saw some fresh octopus - that would be tasty on the grill!

PS: I was in bed awake at 5:00am this morning and felt the earthquake (5:04am). After the occurrence, I thought to myself: Big truck in the area? No. Airplane? No. Earthquake? Here? Hmmmm. Had to be. Lying in bed, it shook me side to side along with a low, long rumble. The news this morning confirmed what I felt.

Burano Reflections

I wrote an article for the Italian Notebook website, a great web site that provides daily notes on Italy. The photos taken were from my recent trip to Venice. A friend purchased two of them!

http://www.italiannotebook.com/local-interest/burano-reflections/

Monica

Venetian Masks

In Venice Italy, there are many shops that sell Venetian Masks, many which can cost hundreds of euros, as it can take many hours to make by hand. Masks sold at souvenir stands, such as the one in this photo, aren't of a high quality but are definitely a fun souvenir to bring home. These were in the 10 -15 euro range.

Lunch at Hinode's

Today I had lunch with my dad and we dined at Hinode's located next to Carroll Creek canal in downtown Frederick.

It was too hot to sit outside under the umbrellas, as the temperature was rising to the high 90's, possibly hitting 100!

Hinode's has a nice selection of Japanese foods including sushi, sashimi, tempura and teriyaki dishes, and even lunch boxes.

We started with the Gataguri shrimp, which is wrapped in noodles, deep fried, and served with a sweet and spicy sauce,
and pan-fried beef gyoza.

Both were delicious, although the portions were small.

I had the sashimi lunch box, which consisted of a bowl of miso soup, California roll (although I asked for fish roe to be included), shrimp and vegetable tempura), rice, and three types of sashimi (tuna, white tuna, and flounder).


Dad ordered the pork Katsu, which is lightly battered and fried, and is served with a thick sauce; along with a side salad (not pictured).


For dessert we shared the creme brulee, which was one of the best I've had in a while (very creamy and light).


I thought the sashimi pieces should have been thinly sliced, rather than served in thick chunks; and the tuna wasn't of the best quality. Also, were served our main entrees when we were still trying to enjoy the appetizers. Overall, lunch was tasty and filling.

Gondola and Flowers

I took this photo on my second day in Venice. It was a beautiful day!

The Color Purple

Today my friend Beth and I went to a lavender farm in Pennsylvania. It was a beautiful but hot and humid day. We lasted just three hours before we began to wilt. We took many photos and picked lavender to take home. The smell of lavender is wonderful and soothing. There were about a dozen or so of vendors selling various products, including items from Provence (which they jacked up the price).

Here area a bunch of photos I took from our visit.






In addition to the two fields of lavender, there were some pretty flower beds and herbal gardens.


After, we headed back to Frederick to have lunch downtown at Acacia. Delicious caesar salad and spinach stuffed ravioli with a Bolognese meat sauce for me ...


...and a beet salad and fried chicken with mashed potatoes for Beth.



A great day despite the humidity.

7 June 2010, Time to head home from Venice

7 June, Monday

I got up at 6:10am and got ready to head to the airport.

After breakfast at the hotel and paying the bill, I left at the hotel. The streets were very quiet, although some people were around. I took the #1 vaporetto to Piazzale Roma. On the way I snapped a few last shots of the Grand Canal.

I caught the #5 bus (A1 stop) to the airport. It was a hazy morning, so I knew it would be a very hot day. It was time to get out of Dodge, although another day in Venice would have been great.

Check in was fast since I got to the airport early. Security was tighter than in Philadelphia. I was asked to have my bags inspected. One camera and my itouch were in the carry on bag. Of course, it took a few minutes for me to put everything back neatly so I could close my suitcase. Flying with only carry-on is great but you do have to pack perfectly.

The flight home took a little over nine hours. We took off 30 minutes late but still arrived on time. I watched a couple of movies, read my book, and talked to the flight attendants who treated me to a few goodies.

It took about 40 minutes to get through immigration. I guess I got in the wrong line! I talked to two guys behind me for a bit. They lived in Towson, MD. One security worker had her cute beagle and he went around sniffing the luggage in the area.

Just as I got out of the customs area, I called Tony. I knew he had been working and was calling to see where he was. He said, “I’m just outside.” What a nice surprise! He was just around the corner from the customs area. He had finished working around noon and decided to fly to Philadelphia to meet me so we could drive home together.

On the way home, we stopped for dinner and later he did the rest of the driving. At that point I was pretty tired.

It was a great trip that I really needed and Venice is one place that I can go to anytime and enjoy. I can never get tired of exploring the many streets, canals, and bridges. There's a photo to be taken around every corner.

The weather was beautiful overall with the exception of two very hot days and some rain. I had the opportunity to meet old friends and new friends; and chat with waiters and hotel owners.

I'll be back to Venice again someday soon.

Now it's time to wait for my next trip: Another transatlantic cruise from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale!