Christmas Dinner 2006

I know. i'm only FOUR years behind here, but I told myself I was going to catch this up to the present, so that's what I'm doing. Going to try at least!

So, every Christmas my brother and Erin have a Christmas dinner. I always look forward to it because it's yummy food. This was Matt's first year to come to the dinner, so that made it special. Without further adieu, I will get to the food.

The menu. So sophisticated I tell ya.

Scallops with some yum sauce and green sauce yum decor

Lobster Bisque. Yay Yaaaaa!

Crap stuff in a martini glass. what what?

Another angle.

Venison with sweet potato risotto. This has become a standby along with the lobster bisque.

A yumfest of molten lava cake and raspberry sauce.

Anyway, it was a GLORIOUS dinner! Can't wait to show the other years of them!

Las Vegas - 2006

Welllll, I decided I'd start back as far as I have pictures on this computer and post any travel and food pictures to get caught up. It makes this blog really unorganized, but I go back and forth from being organized to all over the place, so this idea is an all over the place one.

Anyway, in 2006 I traveled to Vegas with 2 of my co-workers when I used to work in AZ's tax department. It was no Hangover type experience at all:) But a fun time. I may have only had one glass of wine the whole trip, but the sights were cool, and food was great. I was there for a Vertex (tax software) conference, but don't really remember much about that.

We rode that crazy ride at the top of the Stratosphere..i think the name was X-Scream. All I know is I STILL have nightmares of that thing! It made you feel like you were about to plummet 800 and something feet off of the edge of the building. I really do still get nervous thinking about it:)

We also saw many of the casinos, ate some good food, and even rode in a gondola at the Venetian. Seeing the fountains at the Bellagio was really cool, too. Anyway, that was my 1 and only trip to Vegas, and even without the lack of memories from it, it was a great time!!

COOOOOL

The fountains at Bellagio

This was for The Beatles, "Love"...we didn't see any shows, but all of the advertisements for them were cool.

Butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper for the bread

Neat wine storing contraption. The wine thing was in a restaurant and people (restaurant workers) would climb up that thing to get them, safety ropes and all. Interesting.

Yum dessert

 The top of the Stratosphere.

Scariest ride ever.

The video is sorta dark, but you get the picture of it going straight over the edge. It would do that 3 times. Oh, and the ride had no over the shoulder harness...so I was sitting there with just a metal thing to grip that was basically a bar that went between my legs with handles...sorta like a pogo stick. It felt as secure as one, too. I was holding on to that thing with all I had.

This picture sorta gives it a better perspective. I found it on another website.

Rome - March 2010

Rome. So cooooool. I loved it. There is just so much to see. So much history, so many sights that you've seen in movies and read about in book, and plenty of culture to soak in. We stayed in Rome for 3 nights. that was the longest we stayed in any place. I visited while I was in school in Innsbruck, and never went inside St. Peter's Basilica, so that was a big treat while we were there. Not only did we go in, but we signed up 3 months in advance to take the Excavations Tour (basically a tour of 'old Rome' underground St. Peter's). The absolute coolest part was getting to see Peter's bones. Granted. No one can completely prove that it really Peter's...as in Jesus' disciple Peter's bones, but many things pointed to it.  I can't remember all of the details, but a few facts about them were they were found wrapped in purple cloth...all bones from one man, dated back to the time he was crucified (up side down), and they found each bone structure except for those of the feet. As gross as this is, they used to just chop off the 'criminal's' feet to pull them off of the cross, or whatever they had been left to die on. Anyway, it was really moving, even it they weren't his bones:) We enjoyed the tour and it was really cool to be with just a group of about 10 and experiencing so much history...a priest from Oklahoma --- they paired you based on where you were from :) --- was our guide, and he was so very nice.

Also, it was cool because we were down there walking on roads that dated back to before Jesus' time. So. very. cool. Also, the story behind the excavations was neat. During World War II, they decided to start excavating. Since there was the risk of the excavations being discovered and stolen, they did all of it at night. It was really amazing.

So, there's my lonnnng spill on one topic:) We also got to attend Palm Sunday at the Vatican and see the Pope. It was so incredible...all in Italian, but still a very cool experience. We didn't go through the Sistine Chapel. (sad), but for the most part we saw just about everything we wanted to see in Rome. And, of course, ate some awesome food along the way!

The Colosseum. sooo cooooooool.

Inside.

This was inside the Colosseum.

Palatine Hill. Where all the senators and super important people lived.

Constantine's Arch

Inside the Forum (ruins)

Forum

Trevi Fountain

My favorite piazza. Piazza Navona. I don't know what it is about this place, but it just reaches out and grabs me and makes me love it (what am I talking about?).  I don't know if it was the beautiful fountains, the gorgeous Sant'Agnese in Agone, or the fact that they sell cool art in the middle of it, but I LOVE it. It was so cool at night because artists would set up their tent or whatever and sell original pieces. Of course, there was the junk, too, but for vendors it was the coolest area for street vendors. I loved it the first time I went, too. My parents had come to visit, and we ended up needing to run through Rome because we got stuck in the train station for FOUR hours due to a ticket mix up. So, we ran through the city, and this was the only place we actually stopped to sit down and soak it in. I still remember I had a glass of wine and sauteed spinach that was so good. Just a really cool and memorable place. Also, if you've seen Angels and Demons, the scene when they push the guy with weights tied to him in the fountain was in that huge fountain in the middle. Yes, movie reference:)

Piazza Navona during the day.

Palm Sunday in Vatican City at St. Peter's Basilica. 

Piazza Navona again. I can't stop.

So, here begins the food....

When we first got to Rome and checked in, we stopped in Campo di Fiori and had this. Yum yum cheese.

And, this was probably only 3 hours later while we planned our day (notice the travel book in the corner). This was outside of the Pantheon. So pretty! the food, too.

Having coffee while waiting on our morning excavations tour.

This was a hidden restaurant that a friend had recommended. It looked like a house, and the man spoke no English, and the place seated about 15 people. It was really cool. Food was great, and it was a fun experience.

Yummmmm

yummmy tummmy

This was our last day. We were shopping, and decided to stop for an appetizer. The food wasn't so great, but presentation very unique. That was dry ice. Yea. Crazy fancy time. I was so confused when the lady brought it out.

Beautiful salad!

Pepper and percorino pasta (AWESOME), and Matt's pizza in the background. (also awesome)

I was in love with the water. So much that I had to start buying Pellegrino when we got home. By the case. Sam's has a great deal on it.

Sitting in Piazza Navona

This was Cul de Sac. Our favorite place. We actually went twice, and were only there for three nights.

Cul de Sac had a huge selection of all types of tapas and unique dishes. This was pheasant pate with juniper berries. Very interesting and awesome.

I had to get this cheese because I saw an Italian lady do it. It's called burrata cheese. She described it as milkier than mozzarella, but much tastier. She was right. And, I watched how she'd pour some olive oil on the plate and dip it in there, so of course, I was sold. And, I definitely requested a bottle of olive oil. 

Matt got escargot. We were trying to try stuff we'd never had. Actually, they reminded me of mushrooms. Soaked up any flavor they were in, so I didn't really think they had a taste other than olive oil/basil. So that was good. I wasn't sure what to expect, but they weren't bad at all!

do it.

woops! the Colosseum snuck in. Not sure why that happened:)

 Another sneaky picture. This is Vatican City.

Okay, leaving the post with another food picture. This was the entree to our meal at Cul de Sac. Matt got beef Roman rolls. A man from Chicago who had lived and taught in Rome for 10 years said it was the best on the menu..and he eats there EVERY night...luckyyyy..he was so nice.  Anyway, it WAS good.

 I got duck stuffed ravioli, and it was very good, too!

Anyway, longest post EVER. 

That concludes our European travels and food intakes. I'm already counting the days before we can go back. I love it. I like to think I know a lot about Europe, but I really don't. at all. I just really like it:)

Lucca - March 2010

Lucca is a beautiful little town, all enclosed by walls.... an old medieval town. Now, you can ride your bike or walk around the walls. Matt and I came here after leaving Pisa and stayed for about 3-4 hours. I really loved it. It was such a nice change of pace from the touristy spots. We toured the whole town in no time, and then enjoyed a snack (imagine that) and glass of wine (and, again) in a big open sqaure so we could people watch and enjoy the weather.

View from the outside of the town

Bell tower

Another view of the walls. It was really cool. You had to walk through the walls and wind around to actually enter the city. Usually, i'd seem really scary because it's almost like a cave for a second, but I really don't think they have much crime here.

Our afternoon break

I look like a freak face, but this is where we sat and enjoyed some of the afternoon.

Bruschetta (yum) with sardines (baaad idea). I like to think I'm adventurous with food and whatever, but these were gross. They were so salty that they took over the whole flavor. I was all sad because I wanted to soak in the tomato/olive oil goodness, but just got a mouthfull of salty fish:) It was worth the 'experience' or something.

Overall, this place was definitely worth visiting, especially if you ever go to Pisa because they are so close together. Plus, the sound of "Lucca" just sounds cool. Lucca. Lucca. Yep, very cool.