TripGabble

The French Bakery

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 20:21:00 +0000

If you are on Hilton Head Island and like coffee, pastry, or bread you should check out The French Bakery. French Pastry Chef Johny Philoxene does an amazing job. I especially love their croissants- the plain, chocolate, raspberry cream, and blueberry cream are all delicious. I also enjoy the ambiance, it has a comfortable area where you can enjoy your coffee and food. You'll probably hear a couple of different languages being spoken such as French and Spanish. Their espresso is not quite as balanced as I like, it's tilted towards the bitter side, and the crema could be thicker but it's still an enjoyable cup.

Island Orchard Cider

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 01:10:00 +0000

We decided to visit Island Orchard Cider in Ellison Bay to try their traditional Normandy style hard cider. I wasn't sure what to expect, but after visiting their shop I was impressed by their tasting room, their passion for fermenting apples and most of all their hard cider! We met Mike who led us through a tasting that included the Brut Apple Cider, Brut Apple Oak Aged Cider, and Bright Apple Cider. He explained the cider making process and the history of their fledgling operation (they've been in business since August of 2011).

We also met Yannique, who was working with Mike to figure out the best location for the holiday decorations when we first arrived. Yannique and her husband Robert got the idea that making cider would be fun while visiting her father in France. Like Door County it's difficult to grow grapes in Normandy, so instead of making wine they grow and ferment apples and pears to make hard cider. In Door County there are over 1,000 acres of apples so there's plenty of the fruit needed for cider, Island Orchard grows their own.

Next to their tasting room, which features a home designed bar and stools (based on apple crates), are their Italian fermentation tanks, bottling station, and labeling station. The building has an interesting history- Mike explained how years ago it was used to store potatoes, then it was used as a work area for commercial fisherman, and finally as a truck garage. The cider coming out of here now is dry, barely carbonated, and delicious. I enjoyed the Oak Aged Cider, which is fermented for 3 months in stainless steel with oak chips.

Sister Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Door County was shaped by a one mile thick glacier that moved in 110,000 years ago. The glacier retreated 10,00 years ago and as it did it carved out Green Bay with its massive weight. An interesting geographical feature in Door is the Niagara Escarpment, the backbone of the Great Lakes Basin. It was formed over millions of years as rocks of different hardness eroded at different rates. It runs through the entire length of Door County, in fact most of the islands off the north tip of the peninsula are outcropping of the partially submerged ridge. We traveled from Sister Bay to Ellison Bay and finally to the end- Garret Bay. From the Northport Pier you can take a ferry to Washington Island, the biggest of the 26 islands around Door County.

Sister Bay has Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant which serves breakfast all day and has a clothing boutique inside. We went there for brunch and it was OK. Most of Door County is flat and has less than three feet of soil above the limestone bedrock. This explains why there are over 2,000 acres of cherry orchards but almost no local vineyards. Grape vines can reach a depth of 15 feet with the more active roots in the 2-3 foot range. It's possible to grow grapes at shallower depths, but the minimum is probably 4 feet. Instead of growing the fruit wineries in Door import it from California and then ferment it on premises. Stone's Throw Winery actually brings their fruit in whole and crushes it on premises, the results are quite nice.

Peninsula State Park

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 23:58:00 +0000

Peninsula State Park was established in 1909 and is a very popular camping destination in Door County, Wisconsin. Situated between the towns of Fish Creek and Ephraim, this park has eight miles of Green Bay shoreline, and 3,776 acres of hardwood forests, wetlands, and meadows.

Most of the park is undeveloped but there are foot trails, boat launches, beaches, and a golf course. There is also Eagle Tower, a 75-foot wood tower located on top of Eagle Bluff, a 180-foot limestone cliff. From the top of the tower you get a sweeping view of the surround islands, including Horseshoe Island, and the Michigan coastline.

Horseshoe Island, aka Eagle Island, is 38 acres and one of 26 islands in Door County. The history of the island is very rich and features Indians, French explorers, pioneer settlers, and a wealthy family, the Foldas's, who built a summer estate on the island. Today the island is part of the state park system.

The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse was built in 1868 and restored in 1961. The building gets its pretty color from the Cream City Brick that was used for construction. This brick gets its light yellow-color from a clay found around Milwaukee in the Menomonee River Valley. You can get the complete history of this lighthouse here.

Brasserie 54

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 03:55:00 +0000

Today we went to Brasserie 54 a french brasserie in Andersonville which features straight forward french food. The menu with features local and seasonal ingredients with dishes like beef bourguignon with mushrooms and bacon, and a daily $25 plat du jour. I had the delicious hanger steak with frites, an aspargus soup, and Teurgoule. Teurgoule is a traditional desert in Normandy and is very much like rice pudding. We enjoyed an earthy Cotes du Rhone that went well with most of the dinner, including the cheese platter. If you are in the mood for French cuisine and a comfortable atmosphere you should check them out.

Oktoberfest

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 22:34:00 +0000

We spent the afternoon outside the St. Alphonsus catholic church in west Lakeview. They were having their 12th annual Oktoberfest and we decided to check it out since the weather was perfect for drinking beer outside. The church was built sometime in the 1800's and features an impressive spire. Typical Oktoberest fare was featured including Becks and Goose Island beer (now owned by the infamous InBev), pretezels, bratwurst, and some exotic sausages. They also set up a tent where you could watch the football games on a big screen TV.

Slash at The Riviera

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 03:46:00 +0000

I've been to three Guns N' Roses concerts in the past so I wasn't going to miss Slash and his new band on the Apocalyptic Love World Tour at the Riviera, a classic but faded theater in Uptown Chicago. Slash blew the place up with loud, tight, electric guitar work and lead singer Myles Kennedy did a good job of keeping the energy at a high level all night. Sorry, I don't have any pictures but you can find some here. Here is the set list:

Halo

Nightrain (Guns N' Roses)

Ghost

Standing in the Sun

Back From Cali

Been There Lately (Slash's Snakepit)

Civil War (Guns N' Roses)

Rocket Queen (Guns N' Roses)

No More Heroes

Carolina

Doctor Alibi (Todd Kerns on lead vocals)

Out Ta Get Me (Guns N' Roses Todd Kerns on lead vocals)

Not for Me

Starlight

Blues Jam (Guitar Solo)

Anastasia

You're a Lie

Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses)

Slither (Velvet Revolver)

ENCORE

Fall to Pieces (Velvet Revolver)

Paradise City (Guns N' Roses)

Nellcote

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 02:17:00 +0000

We went to Nellcote on Randolph street, a restaurant featuring a small plates menu and glitzy interior. We chose to eat outside since it was a beautiful evening. We got the night started with the chilled squid ink strozzapreti, main lobster, chillies, pine nut pesto plate. The wonderful desert wine, Muscat de Beaumes-De-Venise, was aromatic with hints of orange blossom and citrus peel.

Rue du 4 Septembre

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sun, 20 May 2012 17:45:00 +0000

Musée du Louvre

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 03:37:00 +0000

We dedicated our last full day in Paris to the Musee du Louvre, one of the largest and most visited museums in the world. It's collection of artwork, sculpture, and artifacts is colossal. It has transformed over the course of 500 years from a fortress, to a royal palace, to a meeting place for scholars, and finally as the museum we visit today- home to nearly 400,000 objects. We watched a video series on the Louvre before leaving for Paris to prepare for the visit. This was helpful as it made the museum feel a little bit familiar and not as overwhelming as I think it could have been.

The Louvre has some incredible pieces such as the Nike of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, and of course the Mona Lisa. The Venus de Milo, a sculpture of Aphrodite from 100 BC, was breath taking. She is provocatively posed and although she doesn't have arms you can image one arm holding something while the other tries to hold up her drapery which is almost falling off. Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer, De La Tour, Le Nain, and Claude are all well represented here, as well as the Spanish school and the Italian Renaissance and Baroque artists. I liked Nicolas Poussins' "Autumn. The Grapes from the Promised Land.":

This was the final of a four part series of paintings done between 1660 and 1664: Winter; Spring; Summer; and Autumn. Originally painted for Cardinal Richelieu, today the "Four Seasons" are located at the Louvre in a single room. Poussin painted the series late in his life and was suffering from hand tremors at the time which made painting painful and difficult. Notice the enormous size grapes in this painting, perhaps a way to demonstrate the power of nature? We saw a great self portrait of Poussin as well, where you get a sense of confidence, organization, and education:

There really is too much to say about the museum. I highly recommend spending a full day there, but take a break at some point to reset your brain. We did that by taking a walk on rue Saint Honoré an ancient street that today has Fifth Avenue type shopping. From there we walked North to see the Palais Garnier, a 2,000 seat opera house completed in 1875. Like the Notre Dame, Sacré Coeur basilica, and the Louvre this place is very well known (it was the setting for the 1911 novel Phantom of the Opera). From there we walked back to the Louvre to take in more of the art and culture that Paris was offering.

We ended the day at Juveniles, a wine bar owned and operated by an ex-Pat from the Scotland. Located on rue de Richelieu, it's one of the oldest wine bars in Paris. A friendly staff serves delicious great plates of food along side their huge wines-by-the-glass menu. I asked for some advice on some food-wine pairings and the server knew his stuff. In fact I bought a to-go bottle of 2010 Cuvee Marie because we liked it so much. The Marie is made with 90% Gros Manseng and 10% Corbu and it's aged in mostly old wood for 11 months. The result is an acidic, spritz-in-your-mouth wine with wonderful minerals.

Reflecting on our trip I offer the following travel tips that can be applied anywhere:

1. Learn to use the public transportation (if available) of the place you are visiting. Doing so allows you to learn the city more quickly and become independent. Plus it's cheaper and you don't have do worry about opportunistic taxi drivers.

2. Adapt to the local time zone to avoid jet lag. Adjust your watch to the local time zone as soon as the plane takes off and do whatever you would normally do at that time. This may mean sleeping on the plane and staying awake as late as possible once you land.

3. Use the local language as much as you can. We made an honest effort to speak French, and although our conversations were far from smooth, I could tell it was appreciated. Parisians were friendly and I felt welcomed in their city.

Versailles

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:23:00 +0000

We left Paris today on the RER C suburban line to visit the palace of Versailles, a royal château built by King Louis IV. We visited the chapel, the grand apartments, the kings wing, the queens wing, and the impressive hall of mirrors. We then headed outside onto the massive gardens towards the grand canal. Life at court must have been a bit smelly as there were no functioning toilets until 1768, and only nine by the time of the French Revolution.

We left the estate and walked into town where we got sandwiches from a Boulangerie (bakery). We got them to-go and ate in a little park nearby. I had a delicious ham and Brie panini. The weather has been perfect in and around Paris, clear skies and warm temps. We've enjoyed sitting outside for all of our meals, except dinner. After lunch we walked back to the train station to head back to Paris and an aperitif at a cafe.

In Paris everything happens about two hours later than back home- which puts happy hour at around 7:30pm and dinner around 9:30pm. We had dinner at Fish La Boissonnaire (69 Rue de Seine) later in the evening. Boissonnaire is another seafood restaurant we heard about from Greg at Vejus. This bistro is also owned and run by ex-pats and is located in a former fish shop. The noisy ambiance and good food made for a nice ending to the day.

Vélib'!

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:54:00 +0000

Monmartre

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:20:00 +0000

Today we went to Montmartre to see the Sacré-Coeur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart). This catholic church took 40 years to build and was completed in 1914. Located high on a hill, the first time you see it from Rue de Steinkerque, it looks beautiful all in white with onion shaped domes. Interesting Sacré-Coeur is made from a quarried stone that sheds calcite, so the church gets whiter over time. Although certainly not as spectacular as the Taj Mahal it did remind me a little of that beautiful memorial.

We took the funicular up the steep grade to get to the church. There were crowds of tourists, mimes, and guys selling fake bags. We took in the view from the outside and then, after walking quietly around the inside of the church (a mass was in session), we exited and walked around the church to another older church- Church of St. Pierre-de-Montmartre. It's one of the oldest in Paris, built in 1147. Much less impressive than Sacré-Coeur in terms of scale, but it's age makes up for it.

Many artists lived in Montmartre at some point in their lives, including Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, and Dali. Walking around the area we went to the Dali museum, walked by the famous La Maison Rose restaurant (famous because Utrillo, Picasso, and Gertrude Stein ate there), and saw the last vineyard in Paris, Clos Montmartre Vineyard. Up until the 17th century every town in the old Paris region had its own vineyard. However the French Revolution, phylloxera and urbanization took their toll and all that remains is this vineyard, replanted in 1933, whose wine sales go to charity.

We found the park where the stone statue of headless St. Denis lives. The martyred Denis was the first bishop of Paris, he is said to have picked up his head after it was cut off and walk away while still preaching! In a small square near the top of Monmartre is an odd sculpture of a man passing through a stone wall. The bronze sculpture is a tribute to the Parisian writer Marcel Ayme and one of his characters Le Passes-Muraille (Passer Through Walls). Ayme lived here until he died in 1967.

We had lunch at a place just down the hill from Sacré-Coeur at a place called L'Ete En Pente Douce (8 Rue Paul Albert). You have to descend long sets of steps to get to the bottom of the hill. We enjoyed a ribsteak with delicious whole roasted potatoes and a slice of egg plant. We ordered wine with our lunch to try and fit in with the local crowd (people do drink here a lot, mostly with food), but our waitress for to bring it. I had un cafe after lunch and then we headed back to the hotel.

We had dinner at Verjus, a restaurant and wine bar run by an American chef Greg and his wife. Greg is an ex-pat from Boston with a literature degree. After consulting for William Sonoma he decided to quit and start a restaurant. His wife Laura is the wine pro matching his delicious dishes to great wines. We had the chef's menu which featured a piece of simply cooked veal from the Pyrenees, and a fatty trout fish that is highly prized, also from the Pyrenees.

Il De La Cité

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:30:00 +0000

We took the Metro to the Cité station so we could visit historic Paris. We started at Notre-Dame (Our Lady) a church dedicated to Mary that took 200 years to build. The facade features carvings of many religious figures, including St. Denis a bishop of Paris- he got his head chopped off as a warning from Romans to Christians not to convert. The church looks big from the outside and the inside is massive and imposing. I can't imagine what peasant folks felt like walking in here in 1345.

Just beyond Notre-Dame is the Deportation Memorial which remembers the 200,000 French victims of the Nazi concentration camps. Jews and dissidents were held and then deported from this sub-terrainian location. It's a quiet, reflective memorial now with 200,000 lighted crystals in a cool bunker. If you were here 60 years ago you must have felt afraid as you descended the staircase, lost your view of the city, and awaited a boat that would take you away forever.

From there we walked through the Latin Quarter. We saw the famous Shakespeare and Company Bookstore run by Sylvia Beach. Her bookstore was famous for being a meeting spot for "Lost Generation" writers such as Hemingway, Joyce, Stein, Shaw, and Pound. We also saw St. Severin, a gothic style church that took even longer to build than Notre-Dame, we walked around it but did not go inside. On the triangle shaped Place St. Michel there is a statue of St. Michael slaying a devil.

After lunch in the Latin Quarter we headed over a few streets to La Sainte Chapelle, a gothic style church that was built in just six years, and finished in 1548. Nothing special on the outside, where this church really shines is on the inside. The top level has 15 very tall stained glass panels which on a sunny day like today flood the room with light. The 6,500 square feet of glass depict over 1,000 religious scenes. The rose window depicting judgement day was added 200 years more recently.

To finish the day we walked along the river Sienne, passing the left bank book sellers (Le Bouquinistes), to the Musee de Orsay. The museum is inside what use to be a train station. Trains operated in this terminal for 40 years until 1939 when the platforms became too short for the newer trains being used. An interesting place to house artwork, it's something like Grand Central Terminal meets the Art Institute. It's known for its impressionist art as well as its collection of sculpture.

All of the big artists can be found here including Cézanne, Renoir, Manet, Monet, Caillebotte, Degas, and Toulouse-Lautrec. There was an exhibit on Degas that was similar to the Matisse exhibit in that it showed how he developed compositions from drawings. His "After the Bath" painting, done later in his life, was remarkable. We finished our tour in the Van Gogh rooms that included the eery Portrait de L'artiste and the easy going La Méridienne.

For dinner it was Citrus Etoile (6 rue Houssaye), located near the Arc de Triomphe and walking distance from our hotel. With a gold fish bowl on our table we ordered some seafood courses. We had scallops and lobster salad for Entree's, and then it was Tuna for Stephanie's main course and Trout fish for me. After talking with the Maitre'de we learned the restaurant was opened six years ago and they struggled to build their customer base. The chef/owner Chef Epie actually left Paris, went to Los Angeles for awhile, and then returned to open this place.

Eiffel Across The Seine

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:53:00 +0000

Marais

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:30:00 +0000

This morning we had breakfast like local Parisians having un cafe et un croissant au comptoir before heading out for a walk through the Marais area that would end at the Pompidou modern art museum. It would actually end at a cafe with an aperitif, but we'll get to that. To get to Marais we took the Blue 1 metro to Charles de Gaul E'toille and transferred to the Yellow 1 train. We got off at the Bastille station where a royal fortress turned prison use to be located. As you emerge from the underground metro station you immediately see the July Column.

In 1789 the people of Paris stormed the prison and freed the seven prisoners held there. Later they destroyed the stone fortress and killed some big shots. Ever since then the French have celebrated July 14 as their independence day, or Bastille Day. Now all you will find here is a gilded liberty monument representing the establishment of democracy and the struggle of the 1830 and 1848 revolutions. It was opened on the 200th Bastille day in 1989. We sat on a bench in the Place de la Bastille so we could peak at our map and navigate the streets for the rest of our walk.

We found our way to Hotel de Sully (hotel means mansion here) which was home to the aristocracy during the time of King Henry IV. In the middle of these former mansions is the Place des Vosges, today a public park, with fountains and a monument of Louis XIII. We sat on a bench in the park and took in the interesting architecture around us. The mansions are now expensive apartments with brickwork and sloped slate roofs. We saw people laying on the grass and sitting on the benches enjoying the beautiful weather. There was one person running laps and a class of young students studying the monument.

We left the park and took a detour so I could see the apartment where Jim Morrison died, #17 on Rue Beautrellis (nondescript building behind the blue van in the photo below). From there we worked our way over to the Jewish quarter on Rue de Rosiers. The neighborhood is being squeezed by the trendy Paris boutiques but there is still a good ethnic population here. We grabbed some falafel at the busy L'As du Falafel and ate them while we walked to the Pompidou, a modern art museum with totally tubular escalators. It has a form-follows-function design with funky colored pipes on the exterior and a spacious interior.

The museum was featuring a Matisse exhibit that emphasized how Matisse started with the final idea, but worked and re-worked his compositions many times to get back to that idea. This exhibit built on the idea presented at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010, Matisse: Radical Invention, which showed how he re-worked colors and compositions to get to his final version. Put another way, it was the initial idea that conditioned the existence of the work he did. The exhibit was wonderful, Stephanie pointed out his incredible understanding of color, something that wouldn't be matched again until Andy Warhol.

We took the escalators up to the top floor, which had panoramic views of Paris, to see the exhibit. After the museum visit we sat around in the a square near the Pompidou Center before walking over to Chatelet where we had an aperitif- two draft Heinekens. It was around 4pm at this point and I noticed most of the other cafe patrons were drinking espresso. I've never seen so many people drinking coffee so many times per day. A quick cafe in the morning at the bar (I believe they have a cup at home first too), then a late afternoon cafe, and finally an after dinner cafe. That's a lot of cafe's oui?

We ended the day with dinner at Antonie (10 Ave de New York), a seafood restaurant. The restaurant is located near the Eiffel tower and we had a nice view of a lighted Eiffel tower all night. We enjoyed a crab appetizer (which the French call an Entree) and a whole Turbot fish for our main course. I chose a white first-growth Burgundy for dinner, which had a nice balance of vanilla and floral aromas in the nose. We had a cold red dessert wine with our chocolate dessert (see the "before and after" below), the manager helped us pick it out. The wine smelled like figs and was a great complement, I wish I new the name of it.

After dinner we walked over to the tower, which was closed, and walked around underneath it. At 1,063 feet tall it's about as tall as the Chrysler Building and weighs in at 7,300 tons. It was built as a temporary feature of Paris' Universal Exhibition By Gustav Eiffel who designed, financed, and oversaw the construction of it. That someone had the idea to build something this large, at a time when the 555 foot Washington monument was the largest man-made structure in the world, is impressive. I took some 16 second exposures of the base to show off the lights.

Bonjour

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:00:00 +0000

We landed in Paris on time after a comfortable flight on Delta airlines. I was able to get several hours of sleep, Stephanie not so much. The plan was to use the train to get from the airport to the hotel. I used the website ParisByTrain while I was back home to help learn how to navigate the train systems of Paris. After figuring out that we couldn't buy the 5-day 5-zone visitor metro pass at any of the kiosks, we waited in line at the ticket desk and got them for 53 euros each. We found the RER train platform for suburban trains headed to Paris and took the KROL express train to the Gard du Nord station. From there we transferred to a Blue line metro train which got us near our hotel about 9 stops later. We walked the rest of the way which was only about 2 blocks.

Our hotel is a short walk away from the Arc de Triomphe so while we were waiting for our room we went to see it. Officially, it is the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, because a smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel exists nearby, and then there is the Arc de La Défense near the Louvre. This arch is essentially a war memorial honoring those who fought for France. Interestingly from the right spot it's possible see all three arches at the same time because they line up with each other. We also took a stroll through Park Monceau, an "English" style park with curved walkways and randomly placed statues, which is only one block from our hotel. Most of the public parks in Paris have free Wi-Fi access courtesy of the Orange network.

After eating a quick lunch at an Italian cafe (we had a Capricossa pizza that was delicious) we took a walk down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. This famous avenue is something like Michigan Avenue meets Times Square. The weather was beautiful so it was absolutely packed with tourists. There were some interesting stores like the Renault Showroom which showed off some of their single person vehicles. We walked to the Place de la Concorde, pushing through the crowds and the jet lag along the way. This is where the Luxor Obelisk lives, a 75 foot Egyptian obelisk that use to be located at the entrance of the Luxor temple in Egypt. This is also the site where King Louis the XVI and other famous figured were guillotined during the French Revolution of 1793.

Continuing past Place de la Concorde you eventually end up at Place de la Carrousel where the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and Louvre museum are located. This arch was completed in 1808 to commemorate Napolean's military victories, it's about half the size of the Arc de Triomphe which we saw ealier today. We didn't plan to actually go into the Louvre today, we're saving that for another day, so this is where we ended our walk and took the metro back to our hotel. I enjoy listening to how the recorded voice pronounces the names of the train stops along the way. For dinner it was Del Pappa, another Italian restaurant (I know we're in France but these places were conveniently located, I recognized many items on the menu, and the food was good).

Harbour Town

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:13:00 +0000

We went to Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island for lunch today. Harbor Town is located in the Sea Pines Resort on the Calibogue Sound and features a 90 foot red and white striped lighthouse tower, little shops, and restaurants. It's also a yachting destination on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. We ate at the Crazy Crab where I had a grouper fish sandwich that was perfectly blackened.

Berthed at Harbour Town is the "Stars & Stripes", the original America’s Cup boat once skippered by Dennis Connor. You can experience sailing on this authentic 12-meter America’s Cup yacht if you wish. There's a playground for kids, a long pier that you can walk out on with great views of the sound, and lot's of other stuff to check out in Harbour Town.

Bird March

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:33:00 +0000

Getting up in the morning and being able to run on the beach in December was a real treat. The wide beach on Hilton Head Island is made of a hard-pack sand which is perfect for running. There were lot's of families out on the beach, dressed in sweatshirts bearing the name of their favorite college, and playing with their kids in the sand. There were some casual bike riders and people walking too. The houses along the beach are really pretty and you can't help but feel a tiny bit jealous that the people that live in them get to see the ocean everyday. While I was running I did notice some dolphins, the waters around Hilton Head Island are one of the few places where dolphins routinely "strand feed" which is where a school of fish is herded up onto mud banks, and then the dolphins will lie on their side while they feed before sliding back down into the water. I also noticed a lot of birds while I was running and after my run this morning I decided to grab my camera and photograph these birds wading around.

Savannah

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:38:00 +0000

We took a day trip to Savannah, Ga today to have lunch and take in some of the city's architecture and historic buildings. We ate lunch at Belford's which is located on Saint Julian street in a beautiful old brick building. Notice the interesting arched windows in the photo below, inside the restaurant had a large open space with exposed brick. I ordered a beer battered grouper sandwich on a baguette which was very tasty.

River street runs along the Savannah river and features old warehouses that have been converted into shops, hotels, pubs, and restaurants. The cobblestone street (which still has some rail line exposed) was busy with car traffic while the sidewalk had many people, like us, walking along checking out the shops.

The port of Savannah is a very busy port and in 1990 a the new Talmadge Memorial cable-stayed bridge replaced the old Talmadge cantilever truss bridge which was built in the fifties. The bridge has a main span of 1,100 feet and has 185 feet of vertical clearance. The bridge is dedicated to Eugene Talmadge, who served as the Democratic Governor of Georgia in the late thirties.

Savannah has a new World War II Memorial on River Street. It's a globe made from 12 tons of copper. The globe is 20 feet tall and divided in two with a walkway in between the two hemispheres (you can't see the walkway from the angle of my photo). Docked in the river along River Street is the Savannah River Queen.

Rutt's Hutt

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 01:11:00 +0000

The hot dog served by Rutt's Hut in Clifton New Jersey is called a a ripper because its skin tears, crinkles and, well, rips, when it is deep fried. The oil bath of the fryer turns the pork-and-beef link rugged, dark, and chewy on the outside, while the inside remains soft and juicy. With regular mustard or spicy-sweet relish (always served on the side) this is a great hot dog, standing up to Gene & Judes or any other of America's great hot dog spots. We went there for lunch today, in a building where they've been making rippers since 1928 (the current owner has run the business since 1974). I had two rippers and an order of sauerkraut- delicious.

Taste of Belgium

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:08:00 +0000

Jean-François started out selling his authentic Belgium waffles at local Farmers Markets in Cincinnati and now he has a Bistro on Vine street named Taste of Belgium. We went there for lunch today and found a menu featuring crepes, salads, soups, baguette sandwiches and of course waffles. I ordered a Belgium version of Goetta on a sandwich with golden crispy french fries- yum. The minestrone soup was made with a hearty tomato sauce. All of the dishes had fresh ingredients and were nicely presented. Taste of Belgium also features Coffee Emporium coffee which is excellent.

Great Lakes Brew Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 02:18:00 +0000

A friend at work told me about the Great Lakes Brew Fest which is a festival for the craft brewer and craft beer drinker in Racine, WI so we decided to take a drive and check it out. Beyond beer the festival also raise funds for the Racine Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps. It was located in the Racine Zoo which is right next to lake Michigan and the weather was beautiful. We bought tickets online for $40 which allowed us to walk around and taste 3oz pours of beer and ciders from many local and national brewers.

We tasted "Wheat Monkey" and "Fixed Gear" from Lakefront (Milwaukee, WI), "Icarus" from Devil's Trumpet (Indiana), "Great White" from Lost Coast (California), "Vintage Blond" (made from Chardonnay grapes) from Blue Moon, "Milk Stout" from Left Hand (Colorado), "Hop Cream" and "Octoberfest" from Capital (Madison, WI), "Summerbrau" from Wasatch (Utah), "Mosquito" and "Coon Rock Cream Ale" from Lake Louie (Arena, WI), a mystery beer from O'so Brewing (Wisconsin), and so many others.

Make no mistake this festival was about the beer, but there were a couple of music acts including Jethro Riley Band and the The Racine Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps. Jethro Riley Band were a fun rock band that performed some popular songs and some originals. The Kilties are an all age co-ed drum and bugle corps complete with Kilts. I'm not really sure how we were supporting them but after some great beer they didn't sound bad. You can hear for yourself by clicking on the last photo below.

For breakfast we drove up to Milwaukee to visit Blue's Egg. I order a Wisconsin aged cheese and spinach omelet which was excellent and their coffee was good too. Check them out if you're in town:

Chicago Air Show

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:45:00 +0000

What does it sound like when a F-18 Hornet buzzes past your balcony? It sounds something like this:

Salt Lake City

noreply@blogger.com (Perry Marchant) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Last week I attended the Agile 2011 Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference was made up of different types of sessions all related to the Agile process of software development. Session types included workshops, talks, tutorials and experience reports. I found the talk on Lean Startup by Abby Fichtner especially interesting. Looking back at the startup and green field projects that I've been involved in I realize now that Agile didn't quite fit. It was too heavy weight and didn't promote what was truly important- which is learning. Learning what the problem is and learning what the customer wants.

I also appreciated the "Agile Isn't Enough" session from Jeremy Lightsmith. He touched briefly on Current Reality Tree (from Theory of Constraints), Paper Prototyping (from IxD), A/B Testing (from Lean Startup), and Getting Things Done. The "Agile Leadership Kata" session from Tom Perry was interesting. He talked about deliberate practice (something my team and I are not doing enough of) and problem solving techniques such as Reverse Kata, A3 Kata, and Remember The Future Kata. The session from Ron Jeffries on "What We Have Learned So Far" was good but left me wanting more answers.

Salt Lake City has a three-line light rail system in Utah's Salt Lake Valley, serving the city and several of its suburbs. Although the light rail system was initially met with some opposition it now boasts 40,000 riders a day with 60,000 expected by the end of this year. A couple of extensions have already been completed and more are on the way, including an extension to the airport (something the taxi and limo drivers are not happy about). Cincinnati, which is considering such a system, should look here for how successful a rail system can be. A permanent improvement to the public works such as this can foster economic development.

Temple Square is a ten acre complex located in the center of Salt Lake City owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Somewhere around 5 million people visit it a year making it Utah's biggest tourist attraction. It includes the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake Tabernacle, Salt Lake Assembly Hall, the Seagull Monument, two visitors' centers, and a plaza. I just walked around the plaza and noticed there were many bridal parties taking wedding photos. Shaun and I found the best place in town for breakfast, a place called " The Judge Cafe and Grill". It's located just off of Main street in a historic building that was built in 1906.

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