Birthday in Paris

One word. Superb!!!! We took the tour on the double decker bus, walked thru the Montmartre district, visited the Louvre, and dined at the Jules Verne (http://www.lejulesverne-paris.com/). It was a very busy three days but, after all, we went just for Susan's Birthday dinner.

Road Trip Continued

An interesting part of the drive to Santa Fe was the parts of old Route 66 that we saw. Old cafes, gas stations with chickens, once triving towns that were killed by the interstate. We got to Santa Fe and had a wonderful time walking around but for some reason we didn't take any pictures. In any case we got to the Garrett Desert Inn, which had a wonderful pool, relaxed and got a good nights sleep. Leaving Santa Fe we stop at Cerillos. Once it was a candidate to be state capitol. Today, it is an interest side excursion.

Road Trip - Amarillo

All our road trips have at least one common characteristic, the all night drive. Leaving Dallas at 11PM, after the night baseball game, we drove north to Oklahoma and then turned west. Driving all night we got to Amarillo, TX at sunrise and stopped for breakfast. We were there to see the "Cadillac Ranch". As you can see from the pictures, even if they are well planted, Cadillacs will not sprout and grow. They will collect graffiti. As we were informed at the Diner to watch for rattle snakes, so we did not get too close to the cars. We were told that someone had been killed there the previous week. So much for touching the art.

Yankee Baseball in Dallas

We go to Dallas every year to watch the games between the Yankees and the Rangers. This year the only difference was the afterwards. Tara and I have done road trips ever since she was a little kid. This year it was going to be the Southwest. After the baseball games, Susan flew back to Galveston and Tara flew into Dallas to begin our drive. But first Dallas. The new stadium being built for the Dallas Cowboys is immense. The picture shows the huge arches that are being built to support the roof and the video screen that will be in the center of the stadium. The picture was taken from Texas Stadium. The Yankees and Rangers split the four game series. It was the first time that Susan went to a game that the Yankees did not win. Ah, there is always next year.

Jazz Brunch for the morning after

Murial's the morning after. Mamosa's, Bloody Mary's and Brunch with Jazz in the background.

At long last I have returned to updating the blog. Here are some great pictures from the dinner in New orleans.

New Orleans

Where do you start!!! The restaurant tour, the night clubs, the food, the Dinner at Brennan's, the presidential suite (with pool table), Brunch at Muriel's, the street car rides, the ferry rides, and, of course, the people who joined us for the celebration. New Orleans is still the perfect place to throw a party. Yes, the clubs and restaurants are not 24/7 like they were years ago, but there is always the casino. For someone who needs breakfast 24 hours a day there is always Daisy Duke's. For someone who insists on gumbo at 9AM there is the Coffee Pot.
The anniversary dinner at Brennan's was impeccable. The restaurant staff did a wonderful job and the food was superb. I still think that my version of the bananas flambe is better but there didn't seem to be any left overs at Brennan's.
It was nice to see that Pat O'Briens still puts on the piano show even though they now close at 3AM.
The above are some pictures from the first day and the restaurant tour. I will add other pictures as they arrive from the various people who took pictures during the weekend.

Athens, Greece with Rachel

Hello Everyone,
If you are studying anthropology, as Rachel is, a trip to Athens and Crete is probably a neccessity. In any case it seemed like the thing to do. In some of my previous blog entries I have been criticized for being too much of a food critic. Too Bad. The food in Greece made the travelling even more interesting. Yes, I wanted to see the Acropolis, the Athens' archeological museum, the various archeological museums on Crete, and the ruins of Knossos but to visit Greece and not enjoy the lamb, the pastries, the sardines, and the rabbit would not be my idea of travel. The museums were magnificent and the food was excellent. The food was even better when you had a surprise guest. (see the photos) Ted was in Athens on a separate trip and joined us for a delightfull evening at a small outdoor restuarant. As you can see by the empty plate, I devoured the rabbit. The restuarant's name is Daphne's and I highly recommend it when you are in Athens. We stayed at the Ledra Marriott which had a pool on the roof with a view of the Acropolis. Ted stayed at the Royal Olympic Hotel which had an excellent location next to the Temple of Zeus and was walking distance to the Acropolis but did not have the roof top pool. It also had a nearby ATM with an unusual "guard" dog. Athens has numerous dogs just like Rome has its' numerous cats.

The Acropolis must have been magnificent in ancient times because it is still quite impressive. However, visiting it on free museum day can be like walking through Times Square. The view down into the old but now renovated amphitheater shows the last of the stage being removed from the "Kiss" concert which was the previous night. Hmm. I guess whatever pays the bills is OK. We rented a car for one day in Athens to drive to the Temple of Poseidon which overlooks the Aegean at the end of the Attica penisula. It was well worth the trip. This must have been truly impressive to ships approaching Greece from the Aegean during the days of the Athenian empire.

It seems that the picture are in reverse order to the commentary. Sorry

Honduras, the Danese/Medina wedding

Congratulations and best wishes to Davide and Nicole,

The trip to San Pedro de Sula, Honduras for the wedding of Davide and Nicole was wonderful. Most impressive was the hospitality of the Medina family. From the plantation visit, to the coffee factory tour, to the wedding and reception, it was the most relaxing four days that I have had in a long time. The day by the pool also contributed to the relaxed attitude. Obviously the focal point of the trip was the wedding and it was fabulous. The ice sculptures, the food, the music, and the company made it an evening to remember and thank God that cameras allow us to remember things that the drinking prevents.