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Hotel Country Club

The Burrow. I mean, our Hotel.

Yes, that is the name of the hotel where we stayed.

From the outside Hotel Country Club looks a little like The Burrow–slightly dated and looking like it was built in pieces. However, on the inside it is well furnished and has a warm atmosphere. The staff was beyond friendly, and all the meals from the restaurant were spectacular.

The guest rooms were generously sized with plenty of storage space. The bathroom came with a bidet and a towel warmer. The water pressure was good, and even though some 50 people were all trying to get ready at once, we never ran out of hot water in our room.

Bidet to you sir!

The bathroom even came with a hair dryer! I usually bring my hair dryer in case the hotel doesn’t have one. If they have provided a hair dryer, I use that one instead of my own. I was just telling Joe that I do this because the hotel dryers are usually lower voltage and designed so many can be used in multiple rooms at once, when the power went out. When we opened the door, the smell of burnt hair was very pervasive in the hallway. I surmised that someone used a hair dryer brought from home, and then shorted out the system. Moral of the story, if your hotel provides you with a hair dryer–use it, even if it isn’t as powerful as your own. If you don’t, you may knock out the power of the entire hotel, and everyone will hate you.  

In addition to all these amenities, the hotel is a convenient distance to Pisa and Florence, as well as the nearby town of Lucca. We were able to hike from the hotel to the community of Montecarlo as well. There are 2 pools at the hotel, but as it was winter we didn’t use them, nor did we take advantage of the balcony for outdoor dining. But, if we even return to Tuscany, this hotel will be at the top of my list.

Useful Links!

Photos from our Trip!
Hotel Country Club

Lean, Mean, Towering, Merchant Marine

Byzantine Art on the Duomo

When we arrived in Pisa, we left our bus at a bus parking lot, and then boarded a city bus to reach the city center. Disembarking these 2 buses we were able to witness something ubiquitous to Pisa: African dudes hawking cheap knockoffs to tourists. They are like pigeons fighting over a piece of bread. Even before we had parked our tour bus these guys were circling with their trays of sunglasses, their belts loaded with umbrellas, and their shoulders over laden with women’s handbags. To exit the bus we had to run the gauntlet, but it was endless, and they followed us wherever we went. We finally left them behind to board the city bus, but found more when we arrived in the city center. It was a beautiful sunny day, and these dudes were trying to meet my eyes under my sunglasses, so they could sell me more sunglasses. Or, they were trying to convince me that I needed an umbrella to protect me from the sun. Hey guy, I’m coming to your country from Germany. The most sun we get is ½ a week. I’m not blocking any sunshine. I need to stock up.

Piazza dei Miracoli

Pisa is a pretty cute town, but it’s got a university, so many of the shops catered to the hundreds of students running around. It felt very youthful. Pisa is a walled city, which is always fun because you get to enter the city through a towering gate, and it feels very impressive. Once you are through the gate, Pisa’s main attractions are all right there sharing a piazza, or square. In addition to the tower, there is the duomo, or cathedral, and the baptistery, as well as museums pertaining to the history of all these grand buildings. All of this is nicely laid out on a beautifully manicured lawn, perfect for picnicking, or taking the obligatory “holding up the tower” pictures.

Oh, hey! Look who is peeking out!

We had a guide showing us around the Piazza dei Miracoli (Plaza of Miracles), but Joe and I thought he was a bit pretentious, and therefore we had a hard time listening to him. He did mention that the duomo was covered in Byzantine art, which I found interesting. Apparently, Pisans made lots of money in the shipping (with ships) industry, but they didn’t have the skill to build and decorate their symbols of wealth (the tower and religious buildings), so they paid other to come do it for them, resulting in the Byzantine art that remains today.

Romanesque Duomo

For lunch, we headed to a little café, Ristorante Antonietta, near the tower, where we ordered our first authentic, Italian pasta dishes. Joe got one with red sauce, but I opted for pesto gnocchi, and it was so fabulous. I want to make some pesto now that we’re back, but since no one watered my basil plants while we were gone, they are going to need some time to recover before we can have pesto or even bruschetta again. Maybe I can just buy a jar at the grocery store.

This bad boy is NOT level. 

After lunch, we took some pose with the tower pictures. Then we wandered the kitschy souvenir stalls where we got a tower reproduction and some cool alabaster eggs. They were made in Italy. In fact, our hotel was quite close to the carerra marble mountain quarries. Our next stop was the gelato stand. I got lemon, feeling it was an authentic Italian flavor, and it was refreshing and delicious. The even put a little anise cookie on top of the ice cream–it tasted like a pizelle.

  

Then we returned to the bus stop where we waited for our shuttle bus and tried to fend off the vendors. One particularly persistent man bothered us for several minutes before he finally gave up. He later returned to try again, and I gave him a very stern no, at which point he apologized for bothering me. I call that a win.

Useful Links!

Photos from our Trip!
Pisa Tourism
Planning a visit to the Piazza dei Miracoli
Buying Tickets Online
Ristorante Antonietta
Pisa at Wikipedia

Hellacious Bus Ride

Our adventure to Italy began at 9:45pm on Tuesday. We boarded a bus with less space than a modern airplane, and proceeded to head south for 12 hours. Not being a great sleeper myself, when I was unable to get comfortable, I just sat there wishing the hours would fall away faster. Luckily, the bus stopped a couple times, and we were able to get out and stretch our legs or purchase something to drink. Our bus also came equipped with a tiny closet of a bathroom, right across the aisle from our seats. So in addition to not being able to sleep I also got to listen to the squeaky door rattle all night, as well as my fellow riders making frequent trips to toilet. Upside, no vomit, and no deuces.

Shortly after sunrise, we stopped at an Italian rest stop for breakfast. Before we left, I had examined the itinerary, so I knew that we weren’t checking into the hotel, and were jumping right into touring. Joe and I brought our toothbrushes, and I brought a change of clothes; we were almost refreshed. However, the bathroom where all this freshening was supposed to occur was outside. In a trailer. The real bathroom was under construction. Oh, and the doors weren’t clearly marked so men kept walking into the women’s room. Awesome.

The rest stop was packed, and it consisted mostly of grab and go cold sandwiches. Nothing we were really excited about, so we decided to pass. We did grab some drinks and ate some poptarts for breakfast on the bus.

After everyone boarded we set off for Pisa. 

Belated Post about a Munich Trip

I’m sorry this hasn’t made it up here before now, I guess I’ve just had too many other things going on, and I got into a bad habit of neglecting this space. But here it is, a synopsis of our trip to Munich on November 3^rd. Yes, it has been that long.

Since we came out here, I’ve been trying to get Joe to go to some palaces or castles. It took until the 3^rd to make that happen. Bavaria has 65 state-run castles, palaces, and gardens, and you can purchase a pass to visit all of them. I love this offer. You can buy a ticket to see 1 palace, a 14-day pass to see as many as you want, or a 1 year pass to see as many as you want. It was € 65 for the year pass for a family, which I believe is 2 adults and 2 children. We can go visit ANY of the state run palaces, AND we can leave and come back at our leisure, something that the single visit passes don’t allow. This means we can leave the palace area to get lunch or drinks (without the palace markup) and come back after for more touring. Seriously, I am crazy excited about this card.

We bought our card at the Palace of Nymphenburg in Munich. This was originally the summer palace of Bavarian royalty, and when it was built, it was in the countryside surrounding Munich, though now it’s in a quiet corner of the city. The palace is preserved in the style of King Ludwig I and his wife, Queen Caroline, grandparents to “Mad” King Ludwig II.

That's the Palace there, waaaaay at the end

The palace is truly an oasis from the city. It sits on nearly 500 acres of park land, and is a huge U-shaped symmetrical building. I loved the approach to this palace, along a long, rectangular, man-made lake, leading to a large fountain lake, ending in the beautiful façade of the building.

The Steinerner Saal

Inside is truly breathtaking. I should have been a royal. Seriously. That is the good life. And, if I can find some chairs that look similar to the Queen’s, I will be reupholstering them in brocade so I can feel fancy. 

We think the REALLY happy guy in the middle is her dad.

While we wandered amongst some royal portraits, we heard this weird pounding. We rushed to the nearest window, and saw a bridal party dancing to the beat of a drum and tiny trumpet. I have no idea what culture the wedding was, but I’m guessing some kind of Middle Eastern because of the outfits the women were wearing. They looked so happy, and the Dad’s dance was so proud. It was truly a joy to witness, and made our visit exceptional.

 Ludwig II on a Nighttime Sleigh Ride by R. Wenig

Ludwig's Sleigh

The Queen's Chairs

Part of the palace was the carriage museum. This huge gallery was full of carriages from the previous royal era. The were all so very gilded and intricate. It brought to mind Jay Leno and his car collection, only these were carriages and sleighs. Furthermore, there were the horse decorations, bridles and other horse-wear (sorry I don't know all the horse terms). No saddles though. I'm amazed at how many vehicles and artifacts have survives, but apparently someone had the foresight to move them before the war. It's hard to pick a favorite, but it was really exciting seeing the carriage from the painting of Ludwig II on a Nighttime Sleigh Ride by R. Wenig, and the painting itself. This was especially exciting as these images, and the King's peculiarities were the inspiration for the DarKastle ride at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA. 

Joe checking out the Lego vending machine.

After our visit ended, we walked back to a train station, and hopped one toward central Munich. In the train station we found a LEGO VENDING MACHINE!  How crazy awesome is that?! We didn't buy anything, but maybe next time. 

My goal for dinner was to find a brewery we hadn’t been in before, so we wandered around until we came upon Schneiderweiss. We went in, grabbed a seat, and ordered. We were soon joined by some Germans, and they proudly informed us that Schneiderweiss was a great choice, as it was tastier, and more authentic than the nearby Hofbrauhaus. Regular readers will know my feelings about HB, and those newbies can check it out here. 

Useful Links

Pictures from this Trip!

Nymphenburg Palace

Nymphenburg Wikipedia Page

Bavarian Palace Tickets

Schneiderweiss Brewery

DarKastle Ride

DarKastle Wikipedia Page

Paella

When we visited Spain in January, I brought some saffron back for the moms. In Spain, the spice is only € 1 instead of $10+ as it is in the States. Until recently though, I still had not cooked with it, but I understood it to be the key spice in Paella – which I love. Last week I took the plunge, and decided to make some Paella. I found some saffron, or safran in German, at my local Rewe for € 3, and started my cooking adventure. Most recipes indicate that you can substitute turmeric for saffron, but this is only a color substitution, not flavor. In fact, my Paella recipe called for turmeric. Having never cooked with saffron before, I was unaware of the nuances of proper saffron usage. I just stirred it in when my recipe called for turmeric. Wrong!

Saffron is the stigma you know, that middle part of the flower (in case you tuned out during biology), of a particular species of crocus. The stigmas are picked from the flowers and allowed to dry before packaging. It looks a little bit like dried grass, but it’s red. Because of this labor intensive picking process, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.

It’s grown in many countries around the Mediterranean Sea and in the Middle East, which is why I found it to be the least expensive in Spain. Saffron can also be sold, as a powder, but buying it in this form can be risky, because sometimes people cut it with turmeric, leading to an inferior product, purchased at a superior price. Whether you are working with either the powder or the straws, there is a crucial first step of using this spice: soaking it in hot (not boiling) water for at least several minutes, but up to several hours. The soaking will help release the flavors giving you a more complex tasting dish.

Now that I’m better educated, the next time I make Paella it will be even better!

Useful Links

Cooking with Saffron

Saffron Wikipedia Page

Trade and Use of Saffron

Paella Recipe

I use Paella as an opportunity to empty my fridge, and will put pretty much put any veggies I have into the mix. A common Paella recipe involves seafood, but not liking mussels and shrimp, I used chicken and chorizo sausage. I then topped it off with some rice and veggies. Here is my paella recipe, but remember, it’s easy to alter based on what you have on hand.

4 chicken legs (wings and thighs)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 pinch of saffron, or 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
4 ounces chopped chorizo sausage or smoked ham
2 cups long grain rice
2 ½ cups chicken stock
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 cup frozen peas

Remember important step! If using saffron allow the threads to soak before cooking, for each teaspoon of saffron threads, add three teaspoons of hot, not boiling water. Before starting anything, pour half the chicken stock over the rice and let it soak until you are ready for it. Preheat oven to 350° F. Cut chicken legs in half. Heat the oil in an oven-safe frying pan or flame proof casserole, or use a regular frying pan and be prepared to transfer the entire concoction to a casserole dish for baking. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides in the frying pan. Add onion and garlic and stir in the turmeric or saffron. Slice the sausage or dice the ham and add to the pan, with the rice (and soaking stock) and the remaining chicken stock. Bring to a boil, season to taste; cover and then bake for 15 min.

Remove from oven and add frozen peas, sliced bell pepper, and tomatoes. Return to oven and cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is tender, and the rice has absorbed the stock.

The last time I made this, I added more peppers, black beans, and a frozen veggie mix I had in my freezer. The recipe is really just a loose guideline; add whatever you have on hand. 

Picking up the Pace

It has come to my attention that when Joe has an exercise to support (you know, the reason we’re out here), I have fewer blog posts, since we’re not traveling. This leads to HUGE gaps between posts, and that’s not really optimum. And although he has to work, I’m still doing interesting things, and I could easily write about them. Henceforth I shall no longer be limiting myself in regards to subjects. While the main focus will still be our adventures, when we stay home for a bit, I’ll be writing about other things. 

Humorous Ads

I've decided to add a new feature: ads that make me laugh. I don't know what is being advertised in any of them, as I don't speak German, but they do make me smile (or cringe) whenever I see them.