B-day weekend

First b-day back in Jax = Fantastic. Here's a quick run down of my weekend activities.

Friday - started out lame. Got better with evening plans. Erin and I went to Pastiche, which is by FAR my favorite restaurant in Jax. It's less than a mile from my house and it's owned by this local couple, who are always there. They have a seasonal menu and use mostly all local or seasonal ingredients. Afterward we went to the Five Points Theater which is an old night club and fixture of Jacksonville. It's now a movie theater and gets the more independent shows. We saw Sunshine Cleaners, which was fantastic.

Saturday - We woke up and took Charlie out to the Riverside Arts Market which was so fun. All local vendors showing their wares for sale. The weather was good and the people were great. It made me remember what southern hospitality is all about. As we were walking out we passed a cop who was holding traffic for people to cross the street and she had a beignet in her hand. Turns out someone had bought one for her. Love it. Following we went to our neighbors kids 1 year old birthday party and then had my entire family over for dinner. Erin did SUCH a good job of entertaining for everyone. It was so nice for me to have all them over having a good time.

Sunday - We went to my niece's soccer game this afternoon and I have the farmers tan to prove it. It was adorable to see all these little girls being competitive with each other. For a moment, I thought I might be able to handle a daughter :) That evening we joined our group of friends for some dinner at Bistro AIX. Company was fantastic but the food was less than. Skip that place and head to pastiche.

Such a fulfilling weekend. I am totally fuelled up and ready for this week. We are going to see Ray Lamontagne in concert on Tuesday - I'll be sure to post my thoughts about that guy. Ha.

another fav

This was shot in Gouda, Holland. The thing I like about this picture is the saturation of color as well as the perspective. The camera was completely level, which just shows you the pitch at which some of these buildings set.

my big return

Things seem to be getting back to normal after our return from Europe. I've posted an album of Europe pics on my facebook page and Erin is doing an amazing job of recounting the days through her blog. I'm spending this weekend crammed inside a classroom for my Real Estate intensive review. I take the state test on Tuesday.... we shall see.

I have to admit that my fitness suffered horribly while in Europe. Day one started great with a little Tony Horton Hotel Room workout - but then I got sick. Like, make it through the day and get into bed sick. It lasted until about the last four days, which Erin and I spent traveling through Belgium. Those days were filled with beer and patat frittes, which does not leave one excited to do squats.

SO - tomorrow - MONDAY - marks the beginning of hopping back on the train. I was about 75% through the ChaLean Extreme program before we left - so i'm going to back up about a week and jump in. Hopefully that extra week will give my body the time it needs for muscle memory to kick in. I do know that the fact our diet has resumed has helped the body quite a bit. No more need for a 2pm nap.

Mr. Canal Boat Man

Erin and I stood in line on a sunny Easter Monday in Brugges, Belgium. I wanted to take a canal boat tour of the city being that it is known as the Venice of Northern Europe. We stood in a line about 10 deep and waited our turn to purchase tickets.
As we got to the front of the line we were greeted by the ticket taker with whom we exchanged pleasantries. He spoke very good English, so I engaged him with a common question of, "How is your day going?"
He sat back in his chair, seemingly disregarding the line behind us and this was his answer:
"Well.....I recently went to the Dr. and found out I was diagnosed with cancer and my girlfriend was in an auto accident this weekend".
Erin and I just stood and stared, almost waiting for the punch line....and there wasn't one. "Oh, wow, I'm so sorry. Well, I guess it'll just be two tickets then please..."
I'm not sure if this guy was having some fun or if this really was his fate. Either way, my condolences go out to you Mr. Canal boat man.

Top 20 Dining

I realized, while eating at a fabulous restaurant in Brugges, Belgium, that I've had an extraordinary number of gastronomically stimulating meals. This has motivated me to start a top 20 list.

This list will be in no particular order
It will be updated as needed
Dates will be included from this point forward but all past meals listed will be estimated.

1. Christophe - Brugges, Belgium Garenmarkt 34 (4-13-09)
2. Noe - 251 S Olive St, Los Angeles www.noerestaurant.com (multiple dates 2006 - 2008)
3. Katsu-Ya - 11680 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA (multiple dates 2006 - 2008)
4. Victoria & Alberts - Grand Floridian Hotel, Walt Disney World, 4401 Grand Floridian, Orlando (2-11-09)
5. Pastiche - 4260 Herschel St, Jax (www.mypastiche.com) (02/ 2009)
6.....tbd

computer withdrawl

So we are now 8 days into our europe trip. We have one internet connection that has to be shared AND the modem has to be reset when we switch from mac's to PC's. This, along with our packed schedules of 8AM to 8PM 'things to do' leave me with very little time to be on the ol' laptop.
This has allowed me to realize how much I rely on this thing for communication. I haven't been withdrawing per se, but I definitely have noticed.
Erin and I are heading to Antwerp tomorrow for one night and then to Brugges for two nights. We are both looking forward to a little alone time. :)
I've posted some photos on facebook but i'm attaching one of my favorites here. Erin and family got me an early b-day present - a new lens. It's a canon 24-70 EF 2.8. Pretty sweet - and i'm having a field day over here with it.