Going To See It All

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Gators galore Miami - pet sitting 3 16 - 3 25 19

This is quick. Pet sat second time for nice couple in Doral, which is right next to Miami. I like to come here because it is close to so many fun things.

Had a mellow time from 16th to 21st when Vicky flew in from Tampa. Starting next day our fun began.

We went into Miami and took the Island Queen tour boat (Groupon great deal) and went around the harbor and had narration of who owned this yacht and which rich/famous person lived where. Those multi-million dollar homes are sure beautiful. We had perfect weather and enjoyed seeing it all. Then we had lunch - Cuban sandwiches - that we maybe the best I've had. Walked around marina area and window shopped.

Next stop was Wynwood Walls, a great open air, free venue that shows huge murals. It is in a neighborhood that is going through improvements and the area was interesting. I love mural art and we saw some really cool stuff.

Next day, March 23rd, we headed to Ft. Lauderdale. Our trip is during Spring break so the population has doubled. Some streets blocked off by the beach, police command centers, it was pretty wild. We headed to a quieter venue, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. I have the Florida State Park pass so it was free. We did walk out to the beach -- this is more of a family beach. There were hardly any shells which was interesting. We then stopped at beach bar and had a beer and listed to their solo guitar player for a while and that was relaxing. We also stopped by a tent where a ranger was sharing snakes and turtles and giving us information about that. We even got to hold a snake.

We walked through the park and got on a water taxi that takes you up and down the intercoastal and there are 12 stops. So you can stop for lunch or shopping along the way and not have to pay for or try to find parking. I had read about the best bakery (French) in Ft. Lauderdale, so Vicky was cool with Stop 5 and we took a walk (our GPS sure took us on a stupid trip) to Nanou. Had too many pastries and coffee and then had to head back since we could only be parked in the park until 7:45 p.m. At the dock we met a nice gal from South Dakota named Allison. She was by herself and said she was so hungry and had to go eat. I told her we were heading to dinner and if she wanted to join us she could.

Walked to my car and saw a beautiful, magnificent banyan tree. A wedding was being held there too that day. What a neat place to get married. We drove quite a while with traffic to Field Irish Pub and Eatery. I'd been there with John when we were in town to leave for a cruise and loved the place. I know Vicky likes Irish food, so I took her there for her birthday. Allison ordered a big steak and really enjoyed it and just eating -- she was so hungry. So we drove Allison back downtown and headed home. We'd had a long day and got home around 11:00 p.m.

Off for adventure in the Everglades. I'd bought tickets, again through Groupon, for an airboat ride. John and I had taken this before and I knew that Vicky would enjoy it. Nice weather, great breeze on ride and we saw some gators. It was a fun hour.

Now down the road about 13 miles to Shark Valley National Park. (John and I had been here too). Vicky and I got tickets for the 2 hour tram ride and took a little nature walk while waiting for 3 p.m. We found a momma gator with about 20 or more little ones. So cute, first time I'd seen an mom and babies. On the tram and we really got our money's worth. Lots and lots of gators, all sizes and some really large ones. Saw lots of birds and this was a very interesting tour. Headed into Doral and ate at a wonderful Italian restaurant, Divieto. Oh the food was so good. I had Fiocchi di Pera, pasta stuffed with pear and Italian cheeses, in a four cheese cream sauce. Topped with fresh arugula, cherry tomatoes and candied walnuts. It was delightful. Unusual that I would try something so different, but sure glad I did.

I ate so much great food in this area. All types of Latin food is available and I tried to take advantage of it. Arepas, cochinita pibil, Cuban sandwiches, Italian bakeries (several trips). Good thing I have to go home. I just touched the surface of flavors here and most of these places were within 3 miles of where I was staying.

So if you live down in Florida and haven't spent some time down in the area try to get down for a few days. This is my second trip here and I've got a lot more to see and taste. Rico.

This huge chandalier came out of the

Trump Taj Mahal

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2017/12/05/taj-mahal-art-basel/

No shit!!!!

Technique for art above, very interesting.

These are all locks ... locks of love or ??

That's my plan!!!!!

Plan #2

And my reason to be in Doral, Florida was to take care of these critters, Nico, Paco and Lola. They were good kitties. Lola was a nut sometimes and would knock things off tables, desks or anyplace. You'd be asleep and hear clang, clang, boom, bang.

Lola, looking so innocent.

Paco and Nico

See the baby on mom's back. She had about 20

Vicky, had to feed the alligator.

Find the heart?

Captain Gena

U.S. National Registry of Historic Places - former home of the Miami News. In the 1960’s was a processing station for Cuban immigrants who were first exiled to Miami. Miami’s version of Ellis Island.

Miami is the number one cruise port in the world.

Highly rated so had to go find it.

Tasty treats. Needed afternoon coffee

and pasteries - French.

Happy Vicky holding a snake.

One HUGE gator. This photo doesn't do him justice.

See the baby on mom's back?

Our new South Dakota friend, Allison

Allison had never seen a banyan, one

huge tree.

We splurged and had a nice last dinner - Italian.

Seafood pasta with 1/2 lobster for Vicky.

I tried something different for once, four

cheeses with pears wrapped in pasta.

So that's about the end of our trip. We had a nice time and saw lots of new things and ate great food. Many laughs, a new friend and beauty everywhere. Who could ask for more!!!! Still lots more to see down there.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Kissimmee, FL again 2/19

Back again. I think our first year here was in 2013. We spent several weeks here and John was even in the hospital in Orlando with a 5% chance to live. What a spirit that guy had and as he said, "I am a cat with 9 lives" and that was true.

We came every year in February because we met you Canadian friends and it was always a good reunion. I decided I'd still come so it was a little sad, but mostly happy with good memories. Have seen our friends, Walt and Lammy, along with folks we met last year, Don and Dale. Learned to play a new card game and learned what a Caesar is in Canada. I was imagining a salad, but it is their term for a Bloody Mary. Isn't that funny. We all went for dinner and I had the best baby back ribs I've ever eaten.........tender, not dry, spicy just enough and so smokey. Oh yum. Came back had some beers and played cards. A fun evening.

Tuesday and Wednesday night my Amigas (Sue and Vicky) came with Sue's friend, Leslie. She's from the Baltimore area and was really enjoying our weather. I made a pot roast for them so we had a nice dinner and Sue even wanted to sit at the table which surprised me. Guess I'm too used to sitting in my chair with TV.

We goofed around, went to Old Town, shopped, listened to music, saw cars and had a drink. A nice evening. Had a delish lunch at Sea Dog Brewery.........I had scallop risotto that was delicious and I took half home.

Met Walt and Lammy for brunch at Golden Corral, feasted and I got my cotton candy. I only had two so did show self control. After that feast, we took a walk at Shingle Creek and found the Osceola Museum showing the history of the county. It was a small, well done and free museum and we enjoyed it. The walk helped us "shake off brunch"......all 4 of us are on WW, so we've been trying to watch what we eat to some degree and get in our walking. We then went to a flea market and tourist shop and did more looking than buying. I keep saying "is this a want or need?"

They left for Clearwater Thursday afternoon, but first we played mini golf (they looked at me like I was nuts when I asked if they wanted to play) and had so much fun. Leslie had two hole in one shots. I did win, but I'm not bragging. I love mini golf and John and I played every time we came over here so I had good memories of our games and laughter.

Thursday night alone, had plans to go to the pool. and 8:30 p.m. salsa lessons at the pool, but instead I stayed in, played on computer and took a nap and TV. I think I was tired and just needed a rest....which is OK.

Friday, late with all the rush hour traffic, Doug and Diane arrived. We had some pot roast, visited and had some drinks. Bed late.

Next day Diane and I went out shopping to a store she loves and we found some household things. Came back, picked up Doug and off to lunch at Logans, had a huge and tasty meal. The beer was large and the glass so heavy I had to use to hands to drink from it.

That might I took them to Old Town, a favorite that I never get tired of. We had a little sprinkling but it didn't dampen our spirits. We walked around the "town", acted goofy, tried on sun glasses and laughed a lot. Then we saw the vintage cars and watched the car parade. Doug and Diane really had a good time. So glad they were able to come spend a few days with me.

So fast the week was over. Met up with Walt and Lammy at Wendy's and we said our goodbyes. Always hard to let them go. See you guys next year!!!!

Had a really nice time despite being a little worried I would feel bad since John wasn't with me. I know he would have wanted me to go and have fun. I had a few days alone, a few days with my local friends (so glad they came), enjoyed my Canadians so much (as usual) and then a bonus of Doug and Diane coming over. It turned out to be a very good week.

Mini golf, Vicky getting her ball from under the bridge. This

was her luck that day. We did laugh at her.

Old Town - cutie in one of the trunks.

We did try to eat healthy most of the time.

Bye to dear Walt & Lamster

I love these guys.

Fun Old Town, been so many times and always enjoy it.

Having fun

Vicky and me had to have our White Zin

Out on the mini golf course. We had such a good time.

Good sun hat, it was hot in the sun

and this is in February.

Serious stuff. Vicky was our scorekeeper. Since

I won she did a very good job, LOL

Here we are again. Blessed.

This is a good restuarant. Usually come here

when I come to Kissimmee.

That beer was so heavy, two hander. Doug, Diane

and me at lunch.

Our nature walk at Shingle Creek. This is about

4 miles from our resort. Nice place to

get out in nature and take a little hike.

Kayaks for rent, not me there are gators in that water.

Cross under a bridge and came across this nice

little free museum. We enjoyed learning about

the area.

A favorite picture. Having fun, acting nuts.

Diana looking good. The owner grabbed us and said, "do

you want to sit in the car." which was so nice. Good

photo opp.

D&D, a fun night at Old Town

Doug saw some guy with this boot glass

and had to have one. That is a lot of beer.

This cracks me up. Have to rest sometime and these

girls all just hopped onto their phones.

Leslie and Sue doing dishes. I put

them right to work.

My annual cotton candy fest. Golden

Corral for brunch and always have to have a

few of these.

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Poland - Warsaw, Krakow & Auschwicz

Spent two nights in Krakow as it would have been a long trip from Warsaw to visit Auschwitz. Krakow goes back to the 7th century and was the capital of Poland until 1596. The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stayed in an Airbnb and next door was a jewelry shop that had a feather ring in it that caught my eye. I looked at that for 2 days and then went in and bought it. Just another instance of John's being there, so many feathers.

I took an early morning walk around the city and saw the walls which in places were 8 feet thick and 32 feet high. There was a 72 foot wide moat. Pretty amazing. Much of the wall was pulled down in the 19th century, but the main city gate "Brama Florianska" survived together with three adjacent towers.

A stately and very interesting building I found on my walk was the The Opera Krakowska. Still active today, it was founded postwar in 1954, but it sure looks older than that.

We took a day trip out to Auschwitz and Birkenau where there is a guided tour. Of course seeing the grounds and buildings is a solemn event and one that will not be forgotten. A day to think about what mankind is capable of and it was moving and emotional. I had been to Dachau, Germany in 1980 with John and that was a day to remember too. This site has been very well preserved and is again a UNESCO site.

We took a tour of the city in a little golf cart like vehicle with a fun young driver. He had lived in the U.S. for several years to attend college, but wanted to return home. It was only the 3 of us so I requested we eat something my Polish friend, Magda recommended. It is called zapiekanka. It is a halved baguette topped mainly with mushrooms and cheese and toasted. Can also order it with other things like meat and veggies. Known as a French bread pizza. Our driver knew the best place to take us and in all of my trip to Europe this was my favorite food. I want one right now. We ate several during the week back in Warsaw, but none was as good as the one in Krakow at the round kiosk in the market square.

Warsaw

My friend Magda was not in Poland but she was so kind to introduce me to her sister-in-law, Ela, who I got to spend time with. She took me walking and showing me sites and we rode the metro. That is not something I'd want to do alone. It is small, but just seemed very confusing. We had a great walk and went up on top of a university library and had a wonderful view of the river and surrounding area. We also met one evening and she brought her little baby girl, Milena. It was a fun evening with a great dinner and a pretty good rainstorm and we had no umbrellas. A night to remember. That was so great to get to make such a nice friend and I thank Ela for meeting up with me.

When Mike, Cheryl and I came in via taxi from the airport there was an interesting building that we commented on to our cab driver, saying "Oh wow, that is quiet a building." His response was something like "that is shit and I hate it".....as it was a building built during the communist years by Stalin. Interestingly enough, there are 6 or 5 of these Stalin architecture buildings in Moscow. (I saw several of them when I was in Moscow later on the trip) They are really amazing. The one in Warsaw, while hated by many for the memories, is really something to behold. It really fascinated me and I walked to it and spent quite a bit of time taking pictures.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/08/warsaw-palace-of-culture-stalin-a-history-of-cities-in-50-buildings-day-32

I did have a visit to the doctor, which thank goodness doesn't happen often when I travel. I was stung by a wasp and seemed to have a sensitivity to that and my hand was really swelling up like crazy and two of my fingers started turning purple. On the side of caution I went to doctor and was given a prescription and some cream. That hand itched so bad and I was clawing at it. Mike would look over at me and say, "Gena, stop that." So I did while he was watching me and then begin again. That damn thing itched so bad, but as in all things healing started and it was a real relief.

Krakow:

We took the train to Krakow. Nice to see the countryside. Felt that this little city was slow moving and very pleasant. The downtown is very walkable, cobblestones everywhere and many varied ethnic restaurants. We spent three days here so we weren't too rush. We planned a tour day trip out to Auschwicz. Stayed in a nice Airbnb, and it was right next door to a jewelry store that had some gold jewelry in the window. I saw a gold feather ring that I looked at every day trying to decide if I "needed" it. Finally, on my last day I went in and bought it. Means so much to me, John was there I felt. It is 3/19/19 and I'm still wearing it. So glad I got it.

I walked around the city and took pictures. The old walls are so interesting, along with the huge main plaza. Grand churches and a lovely park. We took a tour with a fun Polish guy who had lived in Chicago for several years. Cheryl's knee by this time was really bad and really not an option to do lots of walking. We rode on a large golf cart thing and he showed us all the various areas of the city.

I really did love visiting Poland and would like to go back again. Actually I did go back to Warsaw when I was going to fly to Russia I spent two days. I spent a day walking downtown and taking pictures. I loved seeing the Stalin building up close and took many pictures there. Actually went shopping and bought a blouse. The next day I went to the National Museum of Warsaw, a good walk from my hotel. That evening I met up with Ela and she brought her little baby girl, Milena. It was a fun evening with a great dinner and a pretty good rainstorm so walking without umbrellas was a wet, but fun experience. A night to remember. That was so great to get to make such a nice friend and I thank Ela taking her time to meet up with me.

So guess I still want to go back. Much more to see and I really do like it there. I was glad I got to experience the old historic center and then the more central downtown.

I usually buy a magnet and postcard from where I travel, but I could not resist so many beautiful items in Poland. I bought several pieces of beautiful amber jewelry and traditional dolls and pieces of china. The colors and designs on their work was irrestible to me so I weakened and had to mail an entire box of goodies home. I think being with Cheryl on my first time there encouraged me to buy more than I normally would as she is a shopper, but I'm glad I have all my treasurer and while it took a very long time to get my box in the mail, it did finally arrive and everything was intact.

I will never forget my time in Poland as there was a diversity in the areas I visited and it was most enjoyable. I highly recommend visiting Poland.

FFI Suncoast hosts Long Island

FFI hosting Long Island, New York Ambassadors 2/14 - 2/20/2019

What a great visit we had from Long Island. A great, perky group with good spirits and happy, ready to go attitudes.

Vicky hosted two ladies, Kathy and Michele, and they were great guests. We went to the airport to pick them up and as we were parking they called and said they were at the curb. Nice greeting and we went off to lunch at Molly Goodheads. We all had coconut shrimp, my favorite and then ventured over to the coolest antique shop ever. We spend quite a bit of time there. It was Valentines Day and the shop had decorated sugar cookies from J. J. Gandy (famous of their key line pies), but their pies could not be better than those cookies. Next non-diet occasion I have I'm going to go get some. Best cookies I ever had.

That night we had our welcome party of then. We used a member's clubhouse and it was chicken and then the rest was pot luck. Nice dinner. Guests all received bags with information and some treats and water.

The adventures we had and the wonderful trip planned for them by Jane and Gertrude was the best and all the timing was perfect. I had such a fun time and it was great getting to know some new people.

Day two took us all to Tampa. I was a day host and drove and stayed with two ladies who were super fun, Brenda and Bobby. We started at noon at a newer place in Tampa Bay called the Armature. A refurbished industrial building that formerly housed the TECO streetcars. They did a nice job and I'm glad they were able to save the building and repurpose it into a hall of food vendors. Very nice. They have everything from sushi to nitrogen ice cream.

After lunch, guests hopped aboard the Pirate Taxi and took a tour of the Hillsborough River. The guide gave out a lot of interesting information and Long Island seemed to really enjoy that trip.

Next on to Ybor City to learn about the history, culture (many diverse nationalities), a visit to the Museum that is housed in the Ferlita Bakery opened in 1896 and was active until 1973. This museum is fascinating and you can learn everything you want to know about making cigars.

Then on to the main street in town, E. 7th Avenue. Here you can see cigars being rolled by several "Torcedors" - Cuban word for cigar roller. There are cigar store Indian statutes that are fun to have your picture taken with. There is a resemblance to New Orleans with the iron work that is quite beautiful. There was even an iron works company right in Ybor.

Winding down the day we all had dinner at the famous Columbia Restaurant. We also were entertained by the flamenco show that was enjoyed by all.

A very full day filled with many different tastes, sights and we all learned some new things about Tampa Bay. A drive home and a good night's sleep after all that activity.

The list of things done:

Tarpon Springs including St. Nicoles Greek Orthodox Church with tour
lunch at Mama's Restaurant. The group also went on a boat ride and was shown sponge dividing from the old days in Tarpon - hard hat diving. It was interesting for our guests.

Each ambassador was treated to two home cooked dinners during their time here which was hosted by members. I was a first-time dinner host and enjoyed our evening together with the host family, Art and Gretchen, and their guests Jerry and Lori Axinn. We had lots of fun visiting and they said the dinner was good.

There was a wish day where guests could pick to do something they were interested in. Many went down to Sarasota to Ringling for the day. I'm not sure what everyone did, but I'm sure they had a good time.

One day was spent in the St. Petersburg area, but I did not go. I think that was the day of Sue's Tea that had been planned for a year and I wasn't going to miss that. Ambassadors were given their choice of seeing our most wonderful Dali Museum, or the Raymond James Western Museum, which is relatively new. I haven't even see that yet, but hear it is very special. Since I'm from the West I've seen lots of Western art, but I do plan on getting over there.

Day in Safety Harbor, toured Spa and went to tiny but interesting museum. This was the last day and it was followed up with a Farewell Dinner. I think our visitors had a good time and enjoyed themselves. It was my first time helping host ambassadors and I enjoyed meeting new people and making friends. We will hope to see them again.