Blog Archives

I haven’t been motivated to update my blog this week…but not because it wasn’t a really wonderful week.

On Monday, I had a late dinner with my buddy Ashish, who introduced me to Coastal Flats in Tysons Corner–I had some amazing bbq beef ribs. Wednesday night, I met up with Gretchen, Brian, and Allison at the Hard Times Cafe in Herndon for a hearty bowl of Texas chili. And on Thursday night, I visited Ginger and James at their house for a bit of homemade potroast and James’ own yummy cheesecake.

Friday night, I made my way south to Richmond for a too-short visit with my family. My parents and I had some wine, discussed the price of gas, and listened to my dad’s collection of folk albums.

But on Saturday…I got to experience a first. I got to visit with and hold and stare at and cooo over my nephew Benjamin. So Saturday night, my folks, Jodi and my brother Cliff, my aunt Teela and uncle Jim all got together for some food on the grill, old slides, and discussions of diaper changing. I can’t tell you how amazing it was to see my brother as a papa. I was so proud.

In anticipation of my long trip to Virginia this week, Jeff and I decided to do a sunny road trip up to Napa this weekend. We found a few new wineries, and returned to one that we had been introduced to on a previous trip. (Thank you Brooks and Patricia!!) In addition to yummy wines, two additional things drew us back to Robert Sinskey: 1) the food samples that accompany the wine tastings, and 2) the chock-full Koi point in the front of the property. Sooooo, we joined the wine (and food) club, and Jeff had a fun time feeding the Koi. 🙂

An enthusiastic cheer to D.J. who carried this yummy treat back from the Victoria Pastry Company in North Beach. This delightful Cream Puff carried me through an afternoon that dragged. THANK YOU D.J.

(Heh, the entry title also has me chuckling as I remember the silly scene in Anchorman with Will Ferrel and Co. singing a version of Afternoon Delight.)

I discovered a new stress reliever today after an email sent me into a tizzy. I simply picked up a pack of Post-Its, peeled them off one-by-one, and threw them at my computer monitor until the screen (and the offending email) was hidden from view.

Very theraputic…I highly recommend it.

It occurred to me that after all of my postings on London, Paris, the Loire Valley, and Venice, that I never did post any photos from our overnight stay in Milan. Well, this vomiting fountain from the front of the main train station (Milano Centrale) pretty much sums up my love of Milan 🙂 [You have to remember that Milan has always been our stop before or after tiny, romantic Venice…an unfair comparison.]

Now, I’m sure that Milan has many charming features, but on our third trip trough the city, the charm still escaped me. But Milan is a big city, brimming with life. We happened upon Milan right at the beginning of the World Cup, and got to witness the shared experience of watching soccer on the big screen with a thousand of your closest friends.

Still, at its heart, there is no doubt that Milan exudes style and design. The shopping is a laundry list of famous labels. Even the subway is decked out in Italian style.

And of course, you can’t visit Milan without stopping to see its most famous structure: the gothic Duomo di Milano. On our last visit to Milan (with Curt and Cheryl), we toured the maze-like roof, where you can walk among the spires. On this visit, we ventured inside the Duomo. It is truly breathtaking.