Arizona

It started with Ruth having to go to Tucson on a business trip. As I have not been to Arizona at all, we thought that we could spend a couple of days checking out the country side and drive up North to Page to see the Southern Antelope Canyon and bring home a couple of nice pictures.

Antelope Canyon

Being in the canyon and shoot pictures on a mandatory tripod was an experience that I will not forget for quite some time. Very unique, dusty and so colorful.
On the way back we visited the Biosphere 2 facility, one of those man-built structures that have fascinated me since it opened, but I never knew exactly where it was. It was definitely worth stopping.

Because the entire structure is sealed, the air pressure change must be handled somehow to adjust for the difference in temperature between day and night. The above dome contains a membrane that keeps the pressure constant. Pretty amazing what technical challenges they had to overcome.

A Chandelier from Murano

This summer we visited Murano and came home with a nice chandelier. I know what you are thinking... no, not with a traditional chandelier, but with one that resembles tulips and has LED lights built in.

It's a piece of art - it's a master piece.

It shipped in three big boxes and it took us about 2 hours just to unpack every part. Laid out on the floor they looked like mummies. After that the unwrapping started. Each segment was wrapped individually.

Individual Pieces

After 4 hours of  work the "monster" was up and hanging. The result is stunning, see for yourself.

Here I would like to thank the entire Schiavon Art Team for their creation and specifically Massimiliano for helping us with the design.

We enjoy it every day!

Venice

This year we went to Venice and we didn't know we would book a room at a wonderful hotel at the Grand Canal that the historic regatta was going to be held. It is arguably one of the most important events in Venice dating back to the second half of the 13th century.

Regatta

After arriving at the airport we took a water taxi to our hotel, the Sina Centurion Palace, just in time to watch the parade with a glass of sparkling wine from our private balcony. It was unreal. The palace is a architectural gem with 20 feet tall ceilings and we felt like kings. It's located right next to the Basilica Di Santa Maria della Salute.

We were lucky enough to see Venice from it's best side, colorful and romantic.


Grand Canal

After getting "lost" in the alleys of Venice, we always were rewarded with a delicious dinner like one of my favorites, fish risotto.

We also visited Burano, which is a smaller island with very picturesque canals and it offers a more relaxed atmosphere. The wheel of life seems to turn a lot slower here than in Venice or Murano.



Burano

See you next time!

Côte d’Azure and Provence

Like ever year, as it comes to a close it's time to reflect on travel destinations from this year. For "some" reason we are drawn towards countries that offer either interesting and old cultures or new and tasteful cuisine, or both. This year we chose the South of France as our destination and we were absolutely floored. After spending some days exploring the Côte d’Azure from Monaco to Cassis we headed north and spend more time in the heart of the Provence (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence) enjoying the smells of Lavender, Roman architecture and of course fine foods of the region.

Compared to people living in Paris, the French in the south have a more relaxed attitude on life and it’s basically what doctors prescribe for a nice vacation.

 

While driving through Annecy on the way back to Switzerland, we must have exceeded the posted speed limit (by 7 km/h) because a couple of weeks later we received a ticket for 45€ from the French government. At least we were able to pay online by credit card, which beats traffic school anytime. Please note, that Annecy is located further north towards Geneva.

Result of a wet Spring

The other day I went down to the lake and my eyes caught something and I had to take a closer look. As I bent down to investigate, it became apparent that it was a mushroom. In fact, there was not only one, but two of them. Knowing that some mushrooms can have serious effect when ingested, I did some research and found out that they are Morels. Being the cautious type I left them alone. I was not that hungry that I depended on this quite beautiful fungi.

 

A Morel

With all the rain that we have had here in the Midwest it's not a surprise that this Morel appeared in our backyard.

Wakeup Machine

Every morning we wake up with an espresso and today the machine hit 6000 brews. We bought the Bosch benvenuto B30 in 2006 and it still works like a champ.

One of the best features is that one doesn’t have to clean the grinder all the time like in other models. It really allows the owner to enjoy what you bought the machine for, a good hot nice shot of espresso. All you need to do is to once in a while drop a cleaning tablet into a hole and let the machine do the "tough" job. If you want to buy an espresso maker for the sake of cleaning it, then this machine is not for you.

This brings me to another topic. Even though the initial expense for this machine was higher than other models, the cost per shot which it the 1299.- / 6000 = 0.22, which is negligible and beats a shot at Starbucks anytime.

I can't wait until tomorrow morning.

Christmas Time

They have such a seasonable sweet and nutty taste that I often get “blamed” to make guests want more. Of course, I am talking about Cinnamon Stars, a famous and traditional European Christmas cookie (Zimtsterne).
 

Zimt Sterne

To no surprise, Google comes up with 437000 results.
Most of those recipes have one thing in common and that is the consistency of the dough. But the cookies taste so delicious that it’s well worth dealing with the ultra sticky dough.
The stickiness can be dealt with by cooling the dough in the freezer for an hour before cutting out the stars.
 
Once the cookies are cooled down the stars should end up soft inside with a white hard icing.
Here you find the recipe that I was using.