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You know those people who hold up lines at fast food restaurants with their endless questions about the menu, the most uncryptic list of items known to man? You get a little annoyed at them because they clearly don't understand the concept of fast food, but then the feeling turns into sadness for them and the obstacles they must face to get through life. If they can't figure out what all goes into a combo meal, how in the world are they able to raise children? You know they all have children.
Anyway, I became one of those people yesterday. It wasn't a shining moment in my life, but neither is eating at Dairy Queen, which is where this life altering experience occurred.
TripAdvisor Honors 2008 Travelers' Choice Award Winners (CNN Money, January 15, 2008)
From travel website TripAdvisor.com, a partial list of the winners:
Best Luxury in Europe - The Ritz-Carlton Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Best Bargain in the World - SeaCoast Inn, Hyannis, Massachusetts
Best Bargain in Europe - Arcadia Residence, Prague, Czech Republic
Best Hidden Gem in the World - Golden Well (U Zlate Studne), Prague, Czech Republic
Best for Romance in the World - Legends Hotel, Grand Gaube, Mauritius
Best for Romance in the U.S. - Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii
Best Pool in the U.S. - Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa, Poipu, Hawaii
Best Inn & B&B in the U.S. - Foxfield Inn, Charlottesville, Virginia
The one that caught my eye was:
Best Luxury in the U.S. - Signature at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
Really? Luxury? Also: Us? In a luxury hotel? Odd. It was very nice when we went stayed there last fall, but really? That's luxurious? I hear Inigo Montoya telling me that, "I do not think it means what you think it means."
He's right, but I'm not sure if he's talking to me or to TripAdvisor.
Since winter began about four weeks ago, we've had both the heater and the air conditioner on, although thankfully never on the same day. It's definitely been a strange season. While I'm glad it's been in the 70s some days, seeing snow yesterday was great. It's been so long that when I first saw the flurries, I thought, why is there all this white dust? About an hour later it was coming down in big flakes and my brain went, oohhhhhh. Not that it took an hour for me to realize that... nevermind.
The tree-huggy part of me (yes, she surprisingly exists) wants the cold to last so that there's some hope that global warming isn't worsening at a frightening rate. I know that it'd be false hope, but I can be easily convinced with some stuff. Do you need to be convinced?
2007 Was Tied As Earth's Second Warmest Year (Science Daily, January 17, 2008)
photo Danièle Francis
L'apaisante retenue d'Isabelle Boulay (Cyberpresse, January 21, 2008)
I sure do like apples and I don't mean Isabelle's cheeks! I mean...wait, what do I mean by that? Let's not explore.
Apples make pie (good), sauce (gooder), and cider (goodest!). The cider I'm talking about isn't the Woodchuck or Strongbow in a six pack. I mean the frenchy (what else) kind made in Normandy where the apples are fermented until they alcholise. They add nothing at all to the juice (JUICE!) and then I buy it in the package store and drink whole bottles of it until I fall over.
It's not an easy product to find because we 'mericans have our own ideas of what hard cider is, don't we, Vermont? I've only found two labels so far in Atlanta and one is clearly better than the other. It's Etienne Dupont and I have my eyes set on the giant 1500ml bottle for this weekend. That's two wine bottles in one. My liver is frightened.
I'll have my chance to try many more later this year when we follow the appley path of the Normandy Cider Route. Sixteen different farms = Yen passed out for 3 days, waking up, asking "Where the hell am I? France? Woohoo, let's go get some cider!" And repeat.
Cylinda can't wait.
http://www.calvados-tourisme.com/loisirs/route/route5_gb.asp
The Georgia Democratic Party held its annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner last night for $250 a plate. Being the main fund-raiser of the year, it's not about the food but giving support to the party. That's how I justify all the uneaten fruit parfaits left on the tables. I didn't swipe one and I wasn't even tempted. Okay, honestly, they didn't look that yummy.
What was my point? Oh yeah, the Democrats let me in the building along with other rabble-rousers for the unplanned Hillary Clinton campaign stop that took place after the dinner. John Edwards had planned to be there, but he dropped out of the race just a few hours earlier. Anyway, Clinton gave a wonderful speech and I'm glad to have had the chance to hear and see her in person before the Super Tuesday primaries next week.
Clinton is solo act at party gala (AJC, January 31, 2008)