Frederick, MD - In the Streets Festival

Today in Frederick Maryland was "In the Streets", a yearly outdoor street festival. Market street was pedestrians only with lots of food stall, places for kids to have fun, and bands on several corners.

Downtown Frederick was packed with people enjoying the beautiful day. My friend Nicki and I spent about 3 hours walking around the area. We shared a panini sandwich and some wine at Olives. Yum!






There was even a booth with some beautiful owls and hawks, who had been rescued from the wild. One was missing an eye, another a wing, another with a paralyzed wing and this beauty his 'smarts.' He had flown into a window and like the others, no longer can care for himself.

















The kids seemed to have the most fun with the hula hoops and face painting, hair coloring, and rock climbing.




































Carol Creek Canal was filled with families in boats, along with performers.

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.