Filed under: Minnesota
Well I think at least two of us were surprised but turns out the girls all wanted to go to Nelson’s Farm to see the pumpkins, the kittens, the go carts and the trebuchet. We ate lunch at our usual place in Waverly. We stopped to see the largest ball of twine in Darwin.
Filed under: New York
The girls and I had one and a half days in NYC. (Grandpa dropped us off and went on to see carwashes and friends.) We made a list of all of the things we wanted to see while we were there. We saw everything on our list except the Statue of Liberty. We just decided that it was too much of a time commitment to make that trek. I wore my FitBit (which is just an expensive pedometer) and we learned after the first day that we had walked 18 miles! That’s pretty good.
We started the day getting up early to watch Good Morning America – mostly because we were staying in a hotel in Times Square that was feet away from the taping. Unfortunately none of us watch the show so we didn’t really recognize the people or know much about what was going on. So we headed south – partially because I was armed with a map of Banksy works. We were lucky enough to be visiting during the month that Banksy had taken residency in NY. So we were table to see lots of his street art. I was amazed at how much had been scrubbed away or defaced in the short time it had been up- who doesn’t know Banksy?! But I was happy with the amount that we were able to see.
We walked to the Brooklyn Bridge – and half way over it. We got bagels, which was on the girls’ culinary list. We toured the gardens of remembrance (sort of sneak previewed) at Ground Zero. We walked around Rockefeller. We went to FAO Schwartz – and got a creepy doll that has followed us to different places. We walked about the highline walkway – which is a cool elevated, artsy/nature path.
We went to the Museum of Modern Art, which Aine and I loved. Although with the visual arts, they had lots of small performance arts stuff happening around the galleries. We went to some cupcake place that the girls had seen on TV. We had slices of pizza. We had macarons at Laduree – somehow the girls knew about them. We walked through Central Park.
Who loves a road trip more than us? No one! We had a family baptism in New York so we decided to turn it into a road trip. Yes we were in the car as much as out of it – but that’s OK. Mostly it’s OK because Grandpa is the best driver ever. He drove every single mile there and back!
We started by going through Chicago to Northern Michigan. I don’t think I’d actually been to Michigan before. It’s very pretty – especially in the fall. It seems like we spent the first day or more driving. We did get the thrill of entering Canada. We had lunch there. The girls recognized that Canada is not exactly like the US – but it’s not really like London or Dublin either.
Also we all got a lesson on data plans. Only the mom gets to use International data roaming plans! So everyone else spent a few hours unplugged. OK maybe not the favorite few hours of the trip, but we all lived to tell the tale. We ended our time in Canada viewing the Canadian site of Niagara Falls. Unfortunately it was pretty dark but still pretty impressive. Also I realized that Priceline does not differentiate between US and Canadian hotels when you search for a place to stay near the border – after getting through the curt and unfriendly US border control. Luckily we also learned that we can get out of reservations made via Priceline if you call as soon as you figure out your mistake.
So we spent the night near Niagara, which was super nice for the two of us who got up early enough to check out the American side of the Falls. Though it was very cool. I always think it’s kind of amazing to see something that’s been around for so long. Then we continued on our voyage to New York City!
Filed under: Wisconsin
To celebrate some big birthdays, Grandma and Grandpa brought everyone to a very fancy cabin in Northern Wisconsin for a fun weekend. I’ll just say that the best part of having a brother who is a chef is not eating hotdogs or hot dish at family events. We ate like royalty! We also got to spend time on the boat and just hanging out in a very beautiful location.
Filed under: Minnesota
Being in town opened us up to attend more events that we usually miss – one example is the Dinner on the Farm. Great chefs come in to cook local food in farm settings. We go to these events when they are near town in the off season. This year we were able to attend a few on actual farms. When on the farms the events are very family-friendly. Usually they include access to beer and wine and some music. In town the events are a little more grown up – no kids, more beer and wine, occasional costumes.
Last summer I spent more time in St Paul than I have in years. I enjoyed being too hot for a change. (Dublin is nice – but it’s not hot!) We did get out to see a lot of shows and festivals. Aine and I started writing music reviews in earnest, in fact maybe I’ll just start linking to the reviews we write here to keep track of our in-town activities a little more. For now I just thought I’d share a few pictures. You’ll notice that the youngest kid appears more often than her teenage sisters – especially when we are close to home. That’s because I think they would rather be seen in last year’s fashion than with their mom!
Filed under: London
Lily and I got to take her Irish Grandma to London to see Lily’s Uncle John. I have to tell the funny story on Irish Grandma, although it’s not really an apt reflection of her. Irish Grandma is very smart and usually on the ball – but I think she gets a little tangled up when traveling. We flew to London in the morning. Took the Underground to Earl’s Court, since I knew that’s where John lived. We get up on the street and Irish Grandma tells me she forgot the address and phone number in Dublin. Hmmm. It’s noon in London, which means 6 am in Minnesota. Irish Grandma suggests we ask a police officer. I think if the police know where Uncle John lives we are definitely turning back. I can’t make a call from my phone out of London (hadn’t planned on being in London and therefore hadn’t marked it as a possible call-from city) but my data plan works. Unfortunately there’s only one person I know who’s up at 6 am and he’s not on Facebook.
So Lily learns how to make a collect call. We find a phone box, reverse the charges and make Grandpa think he’s gone into a time warp. But Grandpa is able to reach Patrick who is able to get us John’s address and within 10 minutes we’re back on the road to Uncle John’s!
We have a nice lunch and then Lily and I are turned loose on the city for 4 hours. We have a fun afternoon with a couple of art galleries (snuck a peek at the David Bowie exhibit) and a walk around some of the fanciest secondhand stores we have ever seen. (Think Sloane Square!) It was a fun day.
Filed under: Berlin
While we enjoyed the historical tour of Berlin – both Lily and I were even more impressed with the alternative walking tour, which featured lots of street art and underground areas. I’ll start with the highlight – we saw Banksy graffiti! We also saw some JR work, which thrilled me. He does large scale portraits of people from the community – by large scale I mean 10+ stories! We saw Blu – which was maybe my favorite. One important distinction between street art and graffiti – graffiti is not sanctioned and is usually done clandestinely. Street art is much more in the open and may even be commissioned.
One of our favorite memes was Little Lutzi – she is painted all over town trying to kill
We also the East Side Gallery, which is a long stretch of the Berlin Wall, now covered in murals. Some of them are fantastic, some are political, some are very OK. Also near that area is a park/you club sort of area. We were in the minority here being native English speakers and being white. There was a soccer pitch, space for skateboarding, cafes, more art. I think Lily could have hung out there all day. We did get a flavor of how young and vibrant Berlin is. There is a real excitement in the city.
On our own we checked out some second hand shops and walked about an extra 10 miles. Just what Lily wanted – but she was a good sport. We didn’t eat a ton of the native cuisine – although we got a healthy and unusual (by US standards) breakfast each day. Actually the breakfast was good – no cereal, pancakes or baked beans but plenty of fish, meat and pastries. It was enough to keep us going most of the day.
While we left I could see that Lily was making her plans to get back to Berlin – probably without her mom.
Filed under: Berlin
Lily and I spent a few days in Berlin. She decided it would be a good idea and somehow talked me into it. I had never been to Germany so I must admit it wasn’t the toughest sell. Mostly what we did on our brief German vacation was walk. We started with the free walking tour of Berlin. We started near the Brandenburg Gate – the former city gate. It was rebuilt in the late 18th century but of course a huge part of the significance is the no man’s land aspect of it. It stood along side the Berlin Wall. We also visited the wall – which is sort of amazing to visit. It’s incredible to think that the wall was built over night and you were stuck wherever you happened to be that night. It was an effort to keep too many people from leaving the area. What a strange solution.
We heard stories of escape – like the people who built a zip line to get to the other side. There are parts of the Wall that stand I suspect mostly as they were back in the day. They are so gloomy and heart breaking. Then there are parts that have been revived with murals – although more on that later.
We saw other highlights such as Check Point Charlie and the parking lot above where Hitler killed himself. They didn’t want to do anything to commemorate the spot because they didn’t want anyone to use it as a reason/opportunity to celebrate Hitler. Mostly you see the cars and the tours gong through. Throughout the tour are telling stories about book burnings, grand art and a huge sense of competition.
Added: My mom asked a good question about the blocks that Lily is sitting on below. It is from the Jewish Memorial, which is spectacular! The blocks are the same square dimension but different heights – and if this makes sense, the height doesn’t change, the depth does. I’m not very easily moved but I have to say the memorial is very touching and thoughtful.
Filed under: Dublin
Mary and I spent the final days of her holiday in Dublin. We met up with some of my old friends. And over the next week or so I visited lots of places by myself. I’m just going to include all of the pictures here. The weather was great. It was so much fun to spend time with old friends. I got a ton of walking in, which always makes me happy.
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