The loving continues...
A Little About Allison: Allison and I grew up in the same town and even went to college in the same town. Though a lovable goof, she is tres intelligent and is now in Arizona where she intends to receive her DMD, Doctor of Dental Medicine. Coincidentally enough, she too is a Dutch American like me.
Commence Wooing
Hey, baby, I think there's something in my teeth, do you think you could get it out for me? No, you won't be needing any of those silver tools, hot shot! ;-)
Notice anything different about me? That's right, I brushed my teeth just for you, this morning! Now I don't want you to think I'm some sort of dandy or anything, but I also flossed! Wait, what? You're supposed to do that every day? Oh...
Dream Date: First, we would make pannenkoeken, which are kind of like crêpes, except thicker and with things embedded in them. Then I would take her to a night club where we would have fun dancing. And if it were my dream date and not our dream date, the night would conclude with a make out session in a dentist chair, but I understand you don't want to mix work with pleasure. So, I think we'll end the night by making exquisite sundaes involving hot fudge and bits of marzipan.
Okay, so the last entry gave advice to single people, so I feel like I owe a little morsel to my lovers out there who already have other lovers.
When I was in tenth grade, a girl asked me what romantic thing she could do to impress her boyfriend. Here's what I came up with:
Everybody expects chocolate on Valentine's Day, maybe even more so than flowers. Luckily, they're conveniently packaged in hearts to let our significant others know “I love you AND I remembered that you love chocolate!” But lovers of the world, you can do more.
Not too much more; you don't want to exhaust yourself silly before your big date. But here's a simple way to take a very standard gift and make it your own.
Go ahead and buy one of those heart-shaped packages and make a list of reasons you love your significant other. There should be as many reasons as there are chocolates in that package. Write those reasons on little pieces of paper and place one under each chocolate. That way, each time your lover picks up a piece of chocolate to eat, they get to read a new reason why you love them!
And the best part is that if you can't come up with a reason for each chocolate, you know it's time to move on and find someone new!
Pics will be added to this entry next week
Yesterday, we left Kentucky and made two important stops in Tennessee. The first was the full scale replica of the original Parthenon from Athens, this one being set in Nashville. I think my dad chose this place specially for me, because I took a lot of Latin and Ancient Greek from middle school through college. I also had the chance to see the actual Parthenon in Athens.
The original Parthenon looks pretty good, given its age and the fact that it survived cannons firing at it. But it is not whole and it is missing several original elements. The most obvious to me being its original colors (it was not originally white) and the huge statue of Athena. This building restores those.
Admission was 6 bucks for each adult and there is a gallery below. Dad and I did not have time to look through it since we're trying to reach Los Angeles by Sunday. We did get to go up and see the magnificent replica of Athena, a gigantic sculpture in white stone and gold paint. (I will be able to post pictures next week or so and edit them into this entry)
Our next stop seemed a sort of pilgrimage to me: Graceland in Memphis, the home of Elvis Presley. Driving through this section of town is amusing. Yes, now there does indeed exist a Heartbreak Hotel, and yes, it is on the end of Lonely Street. Elvis souvenir shops line Elvis Presley Blvd, and you are able to take a tour of his private jet.
There was special parking for Graceland that cost ten dollars a day, which we of course refused. Instead we went to a place called the “Rock and Roll Cafe” (not the Hard Rock Cafe) and had lunch. I ordered Elvis's favorite sandwich: a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich with white bread. I've made those myself several times, actually, when a friend in high school informed me of this being Elvis's favorite.
While my dad is still trying to eat healthily, I think there are certain areas I must indulge, especially if it means indulging in such a way that is not possible in Amherst. Also, I could not ignore a voice in my head asking “Would the King try to eat healthy?” to which I replied, “no, he wouldn't!” and ordered a root beer float to go with my sandwich.
After lunch, my dad and I headed over to the gates of Elvis's old property. They were open, so we decided to walk in. Then we were yelled at. Apparently one needs to purchase a ticket to take a shuttle bus to the mansion and get a tour. We decided seeing it from the outside was enough. We still had miles to go.
After Tennessee, we drove through Arkansas, and it was everything I expected! A vast stretch of nothing. We didn't make any stops here except for gas. I was the driver toward the end of the night and I begged my dad to let me be the one to take this car into Oklahoma. That was a state we only saw in the dark, but what was cool about that was all the Cherokee casinos lighting up in the dark.
I have been suffering from extreme allergies this trip. I don't know whether it's something in my dad's car or whether it's something that exists only in the South. Either way, I advise anyone considering a road trip to bring lots of tissue and lots of water. Sure, you're inclined not to drink water because you don't want to pull over to pee, but I can assure you that you'll want to pull over often enough to address these needs.
I had a terrible night of sleep last night being kept up by my stuffy nose. One thing that has been a double edged sword is my corrected septum (read late December entries). Before, my nostrils seemed to defy gravity, but now they drain so easily, I must constantly run for a tissue to catch whatever comes out. But at least I'm breathing much better than before. When I woke up at 3am, I decided to take a bath and let the water vapors clear my nose. It worked a little, and I was able to sleep for an extra hour or so before we left. Then I slept some more in the car.
Today we entered Texas. The way people express their Christianity in Texas is a bit peculiar to me. For instance, I kid you not, there was a travel store called “Jesus Christ is Our Lord and Savior not a Swear Travel Store.” It kind of rolls off the tongue, though, doesn't it? Also, someone bothered to build the “World's Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere.” It was a huge and white, and promised to be a “spiritual experience you will never forget.” Size is everything, people, especially in Texas.
I feel that most of the landscape we have seen on this trip has been variations of other landscapes I am already familiar with. This is why I've been extraordinarily disappointed every time I saw snow, something I assured myself I was leaving for a week. The grass is much greener in Massachusetts than in the South, but that might be a result of it being winter. Once the snow clears in Amherst, I'm sure the grass won't look too green for a couple of weeks.
Halfway through Texas, though, I felt that I was hurled into a Western film. The landscape started to roll with green and yellow grass with flecks of red rock. This was like no land I had ever seen before. Maybe certain arid areas of Greece, but I was there so briefly, that it still seems exotic to me.
The streaks of red on Texas's ground seemed to foreshadow what we would see in New Mexico: towering mesas, layered with various colors like a cake. I've seen rock formations in red, yellow, tan, and black. The grass is mostly yellow, with bushes here and there providing green vegetation. Every so often you see a long train with colorful double stacked carts that seem a natural part of the landscape. As you travel on, you can see more and more sand and the mesas become more jagged. At a distance, you are able to see a different landscape entirely: snow peaked mountains.
We ate authentic (I hope at least) New Mexican cuisine. I forgot what my dad had, but I had a burrito with egg, bacon, cheese, and green chili, with some sort of fried dough side dish with honey. Finally a very attractive waitress, which is not to say that I'm a shallow individual... okay, maybe I am, but you should have seen last night's waitress at Denny's. She looked very unhealthy, something about her yellow eyes framed with dark circles had a sort of depressing look. Our waitress had an implacable ethnicity to my yankee eyes, although I'm wondering if she's part Native American. And I'm not going to guess a tribe, because I know I'm going to fail. She had a beautiful smile, and I'm a sucker for smiles!
Now and then you'll see an adobe style house from the road, but I think I remember seeing mainly trailers. We went into the suburbans of Albuquerque where the houses seemed to imitate the adobe style in color, but not really shape.
We took a rest stop at the Great Continental Divide, which was at a cliff of a great red mesa overlooking the landscape. I promise to show you a pic as soon as I can.
We arrived in Flagstaff, Arizona at night and ate at a place called “Granny's Closet.” As luck would have it, it was karaoke night, so of course I went up there. I sang “Touch Me” by the Doors to warm myself up. Then I sang my notorious version of Sammy Davis Jr's rendition of “Candy Man.” It sounded great in my voice, especially for someone so congested with allergies. The DJ spoke to my father during my performance, asking whether I was a performance arts student at North Arizona University. So, they struck up a conversation and after the song the DJ said, “Ladies, P. Divvy's going across the country, so get him while he's hot!” :-)
Christmas, is the holiday that lasts the longest before it even begins. I think Thanksgiving lasts long after it ends. Sure, after Christmas you can enjoy your gifts, but they learn to coexist humbly with your other possessions. Or rather, they remind you more of the people who gave you the gifts than the actual holiday. Thanksgiving haunts your refrigerator for at least a week. Especially the dead turkey… sitting on the shelf. I like a lot of cold food. I absolutely love cold pizza, for instance. I can’t do cold meat, though, so I’ll be making great use of the microwave.
For breakfast, I had an apple turnover and heated butternut squash with brown sugar. For lunch, I had stuffing and some turkey. For dinner, I visited my dad who made lasagna. Then we went to the UMass hockey game.
In the first period alone, St. Lawrence, whom we were playing, scored two goals. That was disappointing, but before the second period, something cheered me up. At every hockey game in the Mullins Center, where the UMass Minutemen play, there is a “Dance for Your Dinner” contest. Fans in the audience dance while being filmed and broadcast over the stadium’s big screens. Usually the prize goes to some woman flaunting her body, but tonight, it finally went to someone who deserved it – me! I was wearing a scarf into the stadium, so I incorporated that into my dance. Anyway, free dinner at the Route Nine Diner in Hadley. I can’t wait. They have really good ice cream drinks and burgers.
The last period of the game was exciting. We were down 4 to 1 in the last three minutes. We scored twice and then there were thirty seconds left to the period. All the UMass fans were standing, believing in their team. They almost made that last goal, too. We lost, but it was an exciting game.
Why are Americans always stereotyped as the crass ones?
August 23, 2008. Saturday.
Today, I am a zombie. Even walking upright seems a heavy task.
Last night was my worst experience ever in a hotel. From midnight to 7am, we were kept up by the sounds of banging and yelling right above our room. I think the night manager knocked on their door, to which the one with the shrillest voice said, "F- off, mate!" It was a male voice. He wasn't using his falsetto, and yet he could still pierce the walls with his speech. All night, it was "f- this," "f- that!"
It wasn't a giant," I said to Stephanie, "and it wasn't his hand. Silvius Brabo cut the tongue off of a belligerent tourist and became the town hero. But you know stories change over time."
One can imagine the sculptor changing the body part to the more easily recognized hand and blowing that into gigantic proportions so people could see what he was throwing.
We asked the desk if they could do something about the noise. The woman working the desk basically told us that their hands were tied as forty Englishmen had booked the rooms until Monday, but that she would kindly ask them to be quiet the next night.
Stephanie and I discussed their tone of “Englishmen.” She suspected it meant “whatever, they're your countrymen!” I thought they must have meant, “you know how they are!” After all, there was nothing about us to suggest that we were English, besides the fact that we spoke English. Anyway, they leave when we do, so we may never know the joy of a full night's rest in Antwerp.
Our first activity didn't require too much walking. Just sitting on a dinky little tour trolley. Mumbling was available in four different languages! It was certainly not our Brussels tour experience all over again. This time, I hardly learned a thing!
After buying breakfast and a spiffy soccer scarf representing Amsterdam's team, Ajax, we headed toward Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kathedraal. While paying admission (the only cathedral yet where I've had to pay for admission), I was asked if I were Dutch. Now it may have been the scarf or it may have been the not-quite-so Belgian pronunciation of Dutch, but the point is that I didn't stick out like an American thumb. Last night we got to walk on the graves of the poor, but today we were able to walk on the graves of the rich! No tour of Europe is complete without seeing the grave of an aristocrat. The main draw to the cathedral is Peter Paul Rubens' Descent from the Cross.
in Antwerp is Rubens' house, which is known as the Rubenshuis. There was some deal where we only had to pay two or three euros each (I'll have to check again). The house featured not only his own work, but other artists' works that he owned. Rubens certainly lived in style, owning a beautiful home and courtyard. It was clear that he was appreciated in his lifetime.
For lunch we had pannenkoeken at a shopping mall. I ordered one Mikado style, which has chocolate sauce and ice cream. It's very very good. The waiter was a charmer, and humorously gave me the bill and Stephanie a handful of candy.
We toured the streets again at night. I was suffering from hunger pans and went to a Middle Eastern kabob joint and ordered fries. I have become addicted to Belgian fries, but these were not Belgian fries. First of all, Belgian fries are fried twice, and second- no, I guess that's it. Frying it twice makes a huge difference. Still, Belgium's best culinary accomplishment is the waffle, as far as I'm concerned. And yes, that is high praise.
Paul and Stephanie explore Antwerp and learn a bit of its folklore.
August 22, 2008. Friday.
Antwerp was the city that gave us the best greeting. Our train from Bruges stopped in the dim blue underbelly of Antwerp's central train station, but as we ascended we found a gorgeous crystal palace with train tracks running through. It looked like a Victorian gentleman's vision of the future. It was completed at the beginning of the twentieth century, and is now dubbed "the railway cathedral." The Belgians consider it the most beautiful train station in the world, and they may be right.
From Antwerpen-Centraal, we took a metro to the Groenplaats. Next to the Groenplaats is Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Church of Our Lady) and next to Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal is our hotel. This is by far the best-located hotel we have had the whole trip. After unloading our luggage, it was a quick walk to the Grote Markt. Enclosed by majestic buildings is a square, in the middle of which stands the legendary Silvius Brabo...
When the Romans were establishing their Empire, the citizens of Antwerp lived in fear of the giant Druon Antigoon. Druon was the self-appointed toll-collector of those who wished to cross the river, Scheldt. He would cut off the hand of anyone who refused to pay his fee.
One day, Silvius Brabo, a Roman soldier and a nephew to Julius Caesar approached Druon Antigoon and cut his hand off, which he threw into the river. The giant bled to death and the citizens of Antwerp were free to cross the river.
Antwerp derives their symbol, a severed hand, from this legend. It is also believed by some that the name Antwerpen means "hand throwers." Ant- means hand, werpen- means throwing.
Today, his green likeness was surrounded by tents for something called "Bollekesfeest," which is apparently a festival celebrating a type of beer brewed in Antwerp. I know, no surprises there. We were sure the festivities would kick up at night. So, we picked a spot at the Markt and sat down for some spaghetti followed by pannenkoeken.
After lunch, we went to a souvenir shop, where I bought a yellow patch that said "Vlaanderen" (Flanders) and featured a black lion. I think I'll put it on my blue jacket after I give it a long overdue dry-cleaning.
We took a long nap back at the hotel (vacations are exhausting, you know) and woke up to the sound of loud music coming from the Markt. We followed the sound and saw the Bollekesfeest in full swing, with a huge band (like a big band, but bigger) playing jazzy songs. All the tents were selling things, like meat or cheese. There was also a gloriously lit up tent with a fountain that sold beer.
A map we picked up at the info center showed that the feest was widespread. We decided to check out the Groenplaats, where there were more tents set up. Those of you who know Dutch or have a good eye for cognates will realize this means the "Green Place." This was the place where the poor were buried, since they could not afford graves in the cathedral overlooking it. Eventually, the city prohibited burial there, and paved over the ground until there was no more green to been.
Tonight, only the swankiest of restaurants were represented at the Groenplaats. To purchase anything, first you had to buy tokens. It was all too appropriate to see yuppies dining on the graves of the paupers.
Not wanting to go through the hassle of buying tokens to then buy food, we headed toward the river Scheldt, where there were more tents. A trailer selling fried food was there, and I purchased a paper cone of smoutebollen, which are like the Dutch oliebollen. Basically, fried balls of dough. I also had a Juliper beer. It would be so easy for me to get fat here if I weren't always walking.
We walked to the Nationaal Scheepvaartmuseum (National Maritime Museum). It is a medieval style building that was part of Antwerp's original fortress. In front of the museum stands a statue of the Lange Wapper, another character from Belgian folklore. He is a trickster figure who can change his size and appearance. His favorite pastime is irritating drunkards, which he can be seen doing in the sculpture. He is a figure I'd like to learn more about when I get home.
On our way back, we bought a bag full of pastel-colored marshmallow treats. Some were plain, others had coconut, still others had chocolate, and some even had both. We wrapped up most of them for later, since we did buy a hefty bag.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrox
Nation, you've been hoodwinked. You may have thought that Oreo was revolutionary when it first came out, but it was predated by Hydrox four years prior to its existence. Unfortunately, over time, people thought Hydrox cookies were the knock off and refused to buy them. Well, in honor of Hydrox's 100 year anniversary, they're re-releasing the cookie. If you're an Oreo fan, you can appreciate this celebration, too, as it did help pave the way for crème filled chocolate cookies.
Anyway, I'm telling you, the readership, this because it's only happening for a limited time! Unless, of course, it does well in sales. Ask your local supermarket if they sell them. They are goooood.
Link: http://www.bakusafricanrestaurant.com/
The streets of Amherst are heavily populated with sandwich shops, cafes, and Asian restaurants. Many are all fine and good individually, but sometimes a townie needs something else. Enter Baku's.
Here are some features:
Gluten free
Lactose free
African cuisine
Completely delicious!
Food manufacturers have found a way to sneak gluten into just about anything. For the most part, what is left for those allergic to wheat are foods that resemble styrofoam. But Baku's is a great alternative that doesn't taste like an alternative!
Stephanie and I started with two tall glasses of their mango ginger beers. They were sooooo delicious! The two flavors, ginger and mango, complimented each other quite well.
Wing enthusiasts will love the mango chicken wings, which prove that Baku's really does have something for everyone! I ordered those as an appetizer, followed by rice and black pea fritters. Also really good. Stephanie ordered the curry chicken and let me have a bite.
I would definitely recommend this restaurant to you the reader. It is located on 197 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts.
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