September 30, 2012 - Quebec City, Canada

The weather today has been abysmal.  The wind has been ferocious, but we are making the best of it.

Breakfast is included in our hotel and it was a nice continental - toast, cereals, hard boiled eggs, croissants and, reminiscent of our hotel in Prague, ham and cheeses.  There were also fruit salad, apples, and oranges.  Coffee was good, but no good tea selection.

Funicular connecting upper town and lower town

 

After breakfast, it was overcast, cool, and very windy, but not yet raining.  We walked over, through the lower town, to the funicular.  I can't say enough how picturesque a little city Quebec is with its old cobblestone streets lined with shops, restaurants, and cafes.  For $2 CAD the funicular takes you up to the upper town (there are steps too, but it is well worth the $2 to avoid them) to a wide promenade in front of Quebec City's most recognizable landmark, the Victorian Era Chateau Frontenac hotel.  The view of the St. Lawrence, dotted with cruise ships, was stunning, even with the clouds and wind.  Although I think Lisa was getting frustrated with the picture taking because her hair was blowing everywhere.  I wore a hat, but I was constantly tightening the adjustable size, afraid in would blow off!

We wanted to tour the hotel, but with steady rain in the forecast for the afternoon we decided to tour the Citadel before it started to rain.

Fortifications at the Citadel

The Citadel was built on Cap Diamant (so named for the quartz deposits that Cartier initially thought were diamonds), the highest point in Quebec City and the narrowest point in the St. Lawrence river (from which Quebec derives its name, from the Algonquin word kebec, meaning where the river narrows), making it an ideal location for a fortification.  There are some 17th century French buildings on the site, but the current fort was constructed as a British fort in 1820 - out of concerns that the U.S. might try again to invade Canada.  It has the same "star" design with corner bastions as other forts of the era, such as Baltimore's Fort McHenry.  It is still an active military base, of sorts, as it is the headquarters of the Royal Canadian 22nd Regiment (although the whole regiment is no longer barracked there), a French-Canadian regiment formed in 1914 to fight in World War I.  The motto of the regiment is the motto of the province of Quebec, "Je me souviens," or, "I remember," - specifically, for the soldiers, that they remember their fallen comrades.  A cross from Vimy, France, stands as a memorial to the regiment's first victory and the thousands that lost their lives achieving it.

View of the St. Lawrence from the Citadel

The tour of the Citadel was very good and again the views of the city, the river, and the Chateau Frontenac were spectacular.  We were also there for the firing of the cannon, which happens every day at noon, so that was pretty cool.  It replaced a ball, visible from the river, that used to rise at noon and descend at 1 PM.  Both were originally to communicate to ships docked there accurate local time to which to set clocks to subsequently be able to find longitude at sea.  Unfortunately, the only do the changing of the guard ceremony in the summer (through mid-September).  After riots in the 1830's, internal defenses were built to fall back on, in case they (British soldiers) were attacked by Quebecois!  This culminates on a long promontory overlooking the river with an absolutely stellar view!  One the two official residences (the other, I presume, is in Ottawa) of the Governor-General of Canada (the British monarch's regent in Canada as officially the reigning monarch of England is still the head of state in Canada) is also in the Citadel.  You can tour this, but we did not.

View of Chateau Frontenac and Promenade from Citadel

There are a couple of museums about the regiment in the Citadel.  One had a display about the regiment in Afghanistan.  They were the last Canadian combat unit to leave Afghanistan last year (AUTHOR'S NOTE: U.S. and Allied Forces had invaded Afghanistan in 2002 for harboring the Al Qaida terrorists that planned the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.  As of this writing, U.S. Forces still occupied Afghanistan).  A large parade area in the center of the Citadel is used for ceremonies, including remembrance of the Battle of Vimy on April 9.

After touring the Citadel, we walked back toward Chateau Frontenac and found a lovely little place for lunch on Rue Saint-Louis called Restaurant Le Cavour.  They had Quebec beers from the Unibroue brewery - I had the Matilde, a red been which I had also had at dinner last night, and Lisa had their white beer.  Both were very good.  For lunch, Lisa had a cheese crepe in white sauce and I had the filet of sole lunch special which, in addition to the fish (which was tasty), included a delicious carrot soup and a small amount of carrots, mashed potatoes, wonderful stewed zucchini, and tea.

We finished lunch around 2.30 PM and by then it was starting to rain (and it has rained continuously since then).  We decided to save Chateau Frontenac for tomorrow because we paid for a pass to the Museum of Civilization when we went to the Museum of New France yesterday and it closed at 5 PM, wasn't open on Monday (tomorrow) and, although it is right across the street from our hotel, we probably wouldn't have time Tuesday morning before going to the airport.

The Museum of Civilization, like the Museum of New France, is visually stunning and engaging.  The emphasis is on Native American culture and the land and people of Quebec, but there is also a Japanese exhibit, an extra admission Samurai exhibit (which we did not see), and even a Nigerian art exhibit.  The Native American exhibit was very interesting and featured some wonderful artifacts and reproductions- including a 30-foot birch bark canoe!  The exhibit on the land and people of Quebec was visually the most spectacular.  As you walk from display to display, the display on the floor is the St. Lawrence and you are flanked on both sides by illuminated curtains depicting scenery of the landscape.  In the middle of each section is a round table with a video screen in the center and picture scenes around the edges with text information in both French and English.  No real museum pieces in this section on the land, but visually engaging displays.

After the museum, we chilled at the hotel for a while before finally deciding on a plan for dinner - which got nixed!  After much deliberation, we found a place that sounded good, was casual, had great reviews on Yelp and Travel Advisor, but most importantly was only 100 m from the hotel - a short walk in the nasty weather.  But, alas, it was closed.  Whether it was closed on Sundays or only open for lunch, I don't really know, but I think the former because some of the reviews sound like people went in the evening. 

Anyway, from there it was a short walk to the bistro next to the Asian place where he had dinner the night before (tasty, but not exactly what I would call Thai curry...  Had the same beer as I had at lunch today.  However the owner's daughter was running the place last night and she was delightful.  Came and chatted with us for a while and made us feel right at home!), which I had thought was the Belgian bistro we saw on the way to the hotel from the airport, but it was not.  It was called Bistro Brigante and was essentially a gastro pub.  Reminded me some of The Three Muses in New Orleans, although it had traditional table service (rather than order at the bar) and no live music.  It wasn't very crowded, so it was small, quiet and cozy, and really quite romantic - in fact there was a young French speaking couple there on a date.  The menu was eclectic with appetizers ranging from nachos to a real Greek salad and a local cheese plate.  We shared a cheese plate to start and, other than the blue cheese which neither of us like, it was quite good.  Then we both had the salmon, which was wonderful.  Topped with capers and olives and served on rice with some zucchini on the side.  There was some sauce on it, but not much, and the fish was delightful.  Lisa had another Cheval Blanc and I had the pilsner from a Quebec brewery called Innobrou, which was excellent - arguably the best beer I have had on the trip so far.  We did really well for meals today despite picking places at random!

May 18, 2012 - London, England

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following journal entry was taken from a very impromptu trip to London in May 2012.  We decided to go only about six weeks prior to our departure.  Lisa's friend, April, was traveling to take a class for her job.  When her coworker who was supposed to go as well left the company and she thought she would be traveling alone, she asked Lisa if she would come with her.  I encouraged Lisa to go, expressed my jealousy, and the we decide to both go!  As it turns out, they hired a replacement for April's coworker, named Dan, and he took the course as well so ultimately April wouldn't have had to travel alone...  We had also hoped to see our Irish friend, Gemma, on this trip, who had moved from Maryland to Cambridge, England.

Wednesday (May 16) we met with April and Dan at 8.30 AM for breakfast.  They had found an inexpensive breakfast place not far from the hotel, near the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station (where Lisa and I had gotten off to go to the hotel, but which is actually not as close to the hotel as the Goodge Street Station, which I affectionately refer to as, "The Gooch.") called Garfunkel's.  It's a chain and I have seen several around London.  We had a very nice Eastern European waiter and April and Dan both had coffee while Lisa and I had tea (Twinings English Breakfast).  I splurged and had the English breakfast - a piece of bacon, a wonderful sausage, one egg, a small hash brown, grilled tomato, and grilled mushroom.  Left the mushroom, of course, but the rest was very tasty.  Lisa had toast and sausage, April bacon and eggs, and Dan porridge.  After breakfast, I asked April and Dan where the Starbuck's they mentioned was so that we could use the WiFi (AUTHOR'S NOTE: This would be our last trip overseas without an international data plan!).  Dan recalled one back up by the Goodge Street Underground Station, but unfortunately he forgot about the one just around the corner from Garfunkel's on Oxford Street!  Anyway, we walked all the way back up to the other one and I sent an email to my Mom and to Lisa's Dad to let them know we had arrived safely.  I also sent a message to Gemma, our friend in Cambridge, to coordinate meeting with her, which, sadly, was not to happen.

Wednesday morning, we went and saw the Churchill War Rooms.  Can't believe we have never done this before. What an amazing piece of history - the underground bunker near #10 and Parliament where Churchill and the British government ran the war.  Many of the rooms, such as the the main conference room and the telephone dispatch room have been left just as they were, including the date in the dispatch room still saying August 16 [1945], the day after the Japanese surrendered (V-J Day) and the last day anyone worked there.  In one of the map rooms, the original map still hangs with graffiti picture of Hitler drawn in the Atlantic Ocean.  The audio tour pointed out the scrambler phones and a device that Churchill and the others referred to as a, "klop," which was a hole-punch that made a, "klop," sound when used.  Churchill insisted that documents be hole punched and then fastened with a ring or tied as he disliked both paper clips and staples.  There were signs admonishing no whistling or other unnecessary noises as Mr. Churchill hated extraneous noises, especially whistling (I am sure he would have really been annoyed by cell phones ringing...).  He was indefatigable, working 8 AM to 3 AM workdays throughout the war.

Half-way through the tour, there is wonderful Churchill museum which exhibits the entirety of his life.  There are interactive poll questions, followed by supplemental information to see if you changed your mind. There is also a huge interactive timeline in which you can look up and read about specific dates in his life.  They have a number of Churchill effects, including one of the zipper suits he wore, the flag that draped his coffin (he lived to be 90), the revolver he carried during his daring escape from South Africa during the Boer War, and facsimiles of some of his paintings of Chartwell (his home) - Churchill painted!  I also didn't realize he had backed Edward VIII in the abdication crisis.

As fantastic as the Churchill museum is, it really is a bit much in combination with the war rooms, which themselves take a while to tour and are a lot to see.  There really is a lot of information down there and it is hard to take in all of it in a reasonable period of time.  Nonetheless, it was well worth the attempt.

By the time we finished the tour, it was nearly 2 and we were famished.  We had lunch at a pub just across from Parliament called St. Stephen's Tavern.  Nice place.  I had a Thai-style chicken green curry, which was reasonably good, and Lisa and fish and chips, which she thought was OK.  However, her Pearwood pear cider was lovely and my seasonal ale was pretty good.

Lisa and I and the London Eye

After lunch, we crossed the river and to the London Eye.  We had done this on our first trip to London nine years ago, but Lisa is rather obsessed with it 😁.  It is pretty cool.  Large capsules that hold 25 people with space to walk around rotate ever so slowly so that you hardly notice the movement around a large Ferris wheel and afford wonderful views of London.  We took some nice pictures from there.  In the visitor's center, where we bought tickets, there was free WiFi so I checked email, which included a message from Lisa's Auntie Peg (who lives in Greenwich) saying to meet here at Trafalgar Square Thursday (yesterday, but tomorrow as I was reading the message) in front of the National Gallery at 11 AM.

Palace of Westminster as viewed from London Eye

 After the London Eye, we made our way back to the hotel to meet April and Dan before going to dinner.

April 23, 2012 - New Orleans, Louisiana

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was in New Orleans in April 2012 for the American Academy of Neurology Meeting.  Lisa was to join me midweek and my friend Dan from residency had just moved there about a year previously.  The sight-seeing in this journal entry is minimal, but I felt it captured the feel of New Orleans well.

This morning I am at Mother's (featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive In and Dives) for breakfast on my second full day in New Orleans (NOLA) during my first visit in 8 years and my first since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city 7 years ago.

I arrived two nights ago and and after checking into my hotel, I went right to Bourbon Street.  I was looking for Sea Port Cafe and Bar as on my three previous trips to NOLA (college spring break in 1993, interview for residency at Tulane in 1996, and vacation with Lisa in 2004) my first dinner has been jambalaya there.  Alas, it has closed.  Later when I realized where it was, I tried the, "new" place at that location and had a sampling of red beans and rice (yummy) and a Tin Roof Amber Ale - brewed in Baton Rouge and absolutely wonderful.  But, I ended up having dinner (Red dish and a disappointingly small side of jambalaya) at The Old Coffee Pot restaurant in the Quarter on St. Peters' near Pat O'Brien's.  Nothing special, but the mint julep was good.

Bourbon Street was as crazy as ever.  Music was blaring from many of the clubs and, of course, there was a preponderance of Gentlemen's clubs.  Hustler now has a big presence of Bourbon street...  Lots of the old haunts are still there - Maison Bourbon, Pat O'Brien's, Court of the Two Sisters, and, of course, Preservation Hall.  All sorts of craziness - a man half passed out on the street, surrounded by police, a group of about 8 women doing the Electric Slide in the middle of the street (the song was blaring from the bar they were in front of).  I was older than most of the revelers and felt slightly out of place, but I couldn't not have gone, if only to remember previous trips, and there were people of all ages there, including couples old enough to be grandparents, just taking in all the sights.

I passed a bar on St. Peters, just off Bourbon and next to Pat O'Brien's, called The Dungeon.  It brought back a hazy memory going there with my college roommates on our Spring Break trip senior year (I later found out my friend Justin from residency was also in New Orleans for Spring Break in the spring of 1993 - maybe I spilled beer on him and don't even know...).

I had wanted to go to Preservation Hall that night (Lisa will not want to go after she comes down in a couple of days) but it didn't open until 9.30 PM (which was 10.30 to me, having just arrived from the East Coast), when it usually opens at 8 PM, because of a private event.  So, I decided to call it an early night.

Yesterday I had a morning class on neuro-ophthalmology, where I ran into Justin and made plans to join him and initially Dan, but Dan had to bail, for dinner.  After class, I went to the French Quarter and had lunch at the Acme Oyster Company.  Seafood gumbo was a little disappointing (tiny shrimp) but the grilled oysters were fanstastic: char-grilled with some cheese on top.  Add a little Tobasco and it is a beautiful thing.  Washed it down with an Abita amber ale - another quality local beer, this one brewed just outside of NOLA.

Acme was an interesting place.  There was quite a line to get in, but because I was alone, I was taken early.  I sat at the bar next to a woman from Ohio and her friend.  I was waited on by a wonderfully amiable gentleman who made good conversation but almost never looked up from the oysters he was continously shucking.  He never budged from standing in front of me and the Ohioan woman.  I swear, I never saw him write anything down when I ordered (he just kept shucking), there didn't seem to be any electronic ordering system, he never moved, and I didn't catch him relaying my order to anyone verbally and yet, somehow, my correct order promptly arrived!

After lunch, I walked down to Jackson Square.  Popped in to St. Louis Cathedral, lit a candle, and said a prayer.  I remember when I first visited St. Louis 19 years ago, I thought it was the most beautiful church I had ever seen.  While, having been to cathedrals in Europe (including St. Peter's in the Vatican), I can no longer say that, it is still pretty impressive.  It was glorious sunny afternoon and my plan was to plant myself on a bench under one of the big trees in the square and finish reading the cases for my Grievance Committee meeting tomorrow, but even under the tree the glare was too much for the back-lit screen of my Kindle Fire....  So, I had to cut the glorious afternoon short and go back to the hotel.

Cathedral of St. Louis, Jackson Square

 After finishing the cases, I went to the 5.30 PM mass at St. Patrick's Church, which was just a couple of blocks from the my hotel.  Built in the 1850's, it is NOLA's second oldest Catholic Church and another beautiful building.  Really old school - the altar is still built into the apse and the priest said the liturgy of the Eucharist with his back to the congregation!  They also have an old school pulpit and apparently the 9.30 AM mass on Sunday is a Latin mass!

After mass, I went to dinner with Justin and colleague of his from U. of Wisconsin (were Justin is now faculty) named Marcus.  Nice guy, but very quiet and I felt like Justin and I dominated the conversation, which ranged from medicine to politics, to comparative theology!  I had forgotten what a keen mind Justin has!  We ate at a Cuban restaurant on Esplanade, just outside the French Quarter, called Mojito's.  The mojitos were quite good.  The food was good too, not quite as good as Cuba de Ayer back home (or quite as authentic, a lot of New Orleans influence on the menu), but still very good.  We ate several tapas of different things.  I remember the calamari (not fried!), black paella, pork sliders, and short ribs being particularly good.  But, the atmosphere was awesome.  We sat outside on a patio.  The weather was picture perfect.  Inside, a Latin band played while other patrons salsa danced.  Nice little place (Justin had just found it on Urban Spoon).

After dinner, we met up at Pat O'Brien's with another friend of Justin's named Simon.  Simon was a former resident at University of Wisconsin and was now working in Colorado.  Great guy and a lot of fun to hang out with.  Simon is an electromyographer, like me (Justin is a stroke specialist) and although behind me in training, was nearly my age as he got a business degree initially and then went back to med school later.  As it turns out, he is from Towson (Maryland) originally and graduated from Calvert Hall in 1990!  So, he knew my med school friend Ed and graduated high school with my college friend and med school roommate, Bimal (Ed graduated from the Hall in 1989).  Small world, eh?  Another nice guy I met there was a Brazilian named Daniel - big baseball fan, although unfortunately a Yankees fan...

Although I only had one Hurricane at Pat O's (where we sat in the courtyard in front of the fountain/fire), that someone else paid for, we lingered at dinner and hung out for quite a while at Pat O's , so it was nearly 2 AM by the time I got back to the hotel.  Haven't done that in a while!  Made getting up this morning rough and I am really tired!  When Daniel and I left the group to go home, Justin, Marcus, and Simon were going out somewhere else!

Today after breakfast I have an all-day stroke CME course.  At Mother's I had a crawfish etouffee omelet, which was really good (although I could only eat 2/3 of it).  The grits that came with it, however, were amazing.  If I ever eat breakfast there again, I would probably just have the grits and toast!  I would like to come back later in the week with Lisa for lunch to get po'boys.  They are apparently known for their ham (Lisa's favourite) and turkey.

May 8, 2011 - Rome, Italy

Lisa and I arrived in Rome today for vacation.  Flew from BWI, connecting in Philadelphia, which was actually cheaper than booking the flight out of Philly...

Landed in Rome about 8.30 AM local time.  Got to the hotel around 10.15-10.30.  Had to leave our bags as the room was not ready yet, but when we got back in the afternoon they had already taken our bags up.

Our hotel, Hotel San Carlo, is nice.  The room is not as small as we are used to in Europe.  There is a room with a king size bed and another smaller room with a single bed, as well as the bathroom.  Staff have been very courteous and speak English.

In general, we have not run into a language barrier.  We were in touristy areas all day and everyone seemed to speak English and we were given English menus.  I'll be curious to see if things are are any different when we go to Florence later in the week.

We've only been here about 13 hours, but so far, I love Rome.  It has all the vibe and hum of a big city like London or New York, but there is a certain quaintness too with narrow cobblestone streets at bizarre angles that meander here and there, like in Prague, Venice, or Rhodes.  Unlike Venice, much of which is now abandoned, even the side streets in Rome bustle with activity.  While in Venice the small side street might open into an empty and abandoned piazza with a non-functional fountain, the side street and little piazza will contain shops, cafes, gelatorias, and/or restaurants.  I've truly never seen a higher density of restaurants anywhere in my life.  Only the French Quarter in New Orleans comes close, and not really.  Every few feet, at least in the area around the Spanish Steps and the area around the Pantheon, there is a restaurant (or 2, or 3) and they are all serving food, with gracious service, that looks absolutely wonderful.  I think you could spend all day in Rome eating!

After dropping off our bags, we walked over to the Spanish Steps (so named because they were in proximity to the Spanish embassy to the Vatican).  The steps were pretty, dotted with azaleas that were just starting to bloom and packed with tourists.  We had cappucino and a croissant at a small, busy, cafe near the Spanish steps.  There is also a splash of England by the steps: a tea room called Babington's and a museum to Keats, apparently in a house in which he died.

From the Spanish steps, we walked to the Trevi fountain, a truly stunning fountain fed by the end of an old Roman aqueduct and made famous in film.  We each tossed a coin backwards into the fountain, which is supposed to guarantee a return trip to Rome someday.  The Trevi fountain was completely mobbed with tourists, reminiscent of the Charles Bridge in Prague.  We paid a street vendor 5 euro (about $7.50 USD) to take our picture and it actually turned out well.

Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

From the Trevi fountain we walked to the Pantheon.  Definitely the most impressive thing we have seen so far.  The original Pantheon was built in the first century as a temple to all gods (hence the name, from the Greek), but the current building was constructed by Hadrian in AD 120.  It became a Christian church in the 7th century and remains so to this day.  This preserved it from being plundered for building material and left to ruin.  It is the only ancient Roman structure in the city that is completely intact.

Oculus in the dome of the Pantheon

The Pantheon is the model for much U.S. Federal era architecture.  Davidge Hall at University of Maryland - Baltimore (where I went to medical school), Mr. Jefferson's rotunda at the University of Viriginia (where I did my neurology residency, and particularly the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore are all modeled after the Pantheon (as is the U.S. Capitol to some degree).  The Pantheon is capped by a huge dome that is equal in diameter and height.  At the top of the dome, there is a 27-foot diameter oculus that lets in the only light.  Like the Basilica in Baltimore, the stream of light from above creates a sense of illumination and holiness.  Two Italian kings, Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I are entombed in the Pantheon, as is the Renaissance master, Raphael.  The soaring height of the dome, the marble floor, and the ethereal lighting create a marvelous effect and the Pantheon is truly one of the most impressive buildings I have ever set foot in, and certainly the oldest that is still completely intact.

Davidge Hall, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Rotunda, University of Virginia

Basilica of the Assumption, Baltimore

We had lunch al fresca on the piazza in front of the Pantheon at a place called Cafe Restaurant Di Rie.  We each had insalata mista (tossed salad, which contained raw fennel - apparently a big thing here - and corn) and shared a quite good pizza Margherita.

Following lunch, we walked over to the Piazza Navona, which isn't a square at all, but a large oval because it was built initially as the Circus of Emperor Domitian.  Standing there, I could just picture Judah Ben Hur driving his team around the track...  At the center of Piazza Navona is Bernini's Fountian of the Four Rivers (which figured prominently in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons).  A statute represents a river on each continent: the Ganges, the Danube, Rio de la Plata, and the Nile.  Smaller Bernini fountains are at each end of the piazza.  We stopped at a gelateria on the piazza for gelato.  I had melon, which was out of this world.  Perhaps the tastiest gelato or ice cream I have every had.  It tasted like a perfectly ripe cantaloupe!

Gelato

We got back to our hotel and checked into our room around 4 PM.  We chilled for a while (actually, I dozed off for a bit) and then around 6-6.30 we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant called Ristorante al 34.  The food was pretty good, although not spectacular.  We shared a half litre of the house white and they brought us a sample of some chick pea soup with some kind of seafood (calamari, we think) to try.  It was quite tasty (a little salty, but tasty).  Then Lisa had the vegetable soup, which she seemed underwhelmed by, and I had insalata mista.  For entrees, I had the spring lamb, grilled, and Lisa veal saltimbocca, both of which were quite good.  We shared a side of grilled artichoke and capped it off with espresso (when in Rome...).  But, what really made the experience was al fresca dining on a gorgeous evening (it was sunny and 70's today, absolutely gorgeous) on a small cobbled side street while street musicians walk up and down the various restaurants serenading for money.  Others approached selling figurines or roses.  Cars could even drive down the narrow street, no more than six inches from our table!

From Piazza Navona, we walked back to our hotel by a different route (and for the first time got a little turned around on the narrow, winding streets) to pass the early first century mausoleum of Augustus, but unfortunately it was closed for renovation. 

After dinner, we went back to the hotel (around 9 PM) to call it an early night.  All-in-all, a wonderfully fun day.  Tomorrow, it's off the the Coliseum, which we got a glimpse of on our bus ride in from the airport.

July 21, 2010 - Isle of Palms, SC

On vacation with Lisa's family (her folks, brother (Adam), his wife (Shannon) and their two girls, aged 7 and 3).  We arrived last Saturday (July 17) and will be leaving this Saturday (July 24).

We are staying the Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, SC.  It is just north of Sullivan's Island and north and east of Charleston (about a 20 minute drive to downtown Charleston).  The resort is enormous and very nice.  There's a beach, several swimming pools, two golf courses, seventeen tennis courts (including five with lights and one stadium court), a spa, and several restaurants and eateries.  The resort is a a combination of permanent residents, vacation homes (which some people rent out when they are not there), rental condos (where we are staying) and a hotel.

Our condo is very nice.  Three bed rooms and three bath rooms, a very nice kitchen that is well supplied and a nice sitting/dining area.  Free internet access as well.  My favourite feature of the condo, however, is the balcony.  The view is not great, but it is oriented to catch the prevailing breeze and the combination of the breeze and cover from the sun keep it cool and pleasant to sit on, even when it is hot - and it's been plenty hot!  Reached 100 F yesterday!  If I had to do it over again, perhaps Prague in July and South Carolina in October would have been better than the other way around!

We flew into Charlotte, NC last Saturday, rented a van, and drove from there (about a three and a half hour drive).  That saved about $300 per plane ticket compared to getting a connecting flight from Charlotte to Charleston (Author's note: at the time there were no direct flights from Baltimore to Charleston).  Since we needed a vehicle anyway, the only extra expense was the extra gas and I guarantee where not using $2400 in gas between here and the airport and back!

So we got in Saturday just in time to have dinner.  We have been alternating between eating out and eating in.

Sunday (7/18), Lisa, her mom, and I went to mass at Stella Maris church on Sullivan's Island.  It was a cute little church, but pretty old school (pre-Vatican II) as the priest said mass with his back to the congregation (they even have a Latin mass at 5 PM on Sunday!).  The church was also in desperate need of new kneelers...

Sunday afternoon we spent at the beach and at the pool.  It was relaxing and I am sure the nieces had fun.  Sunday evening we went out to dinner to a restaurant on Sullivan's Island called Station-22.  It was a nice restaurant and the food was excellent, although the service was very slow.  They were busy and seemed to have only two waitresses working.  I had tilapia, which was served on grits and was wonderful.  Washed it down with the Charleston brewed Palmetto Amber Ale (have some in the fridge here at the condo as well) - which is pretty good; although nothing to write home about and certainly no match for Goose Island (Chicago) or some of the microbrews I had in Maine.

Monday (7/19) we went into Charleston.  Our first top was the Old City Market, which has been there since the 1840's.  It is no longer a produce market but is now filled with craft vendors (including sweet graft baskets) and souvenirs.  After the market, we had lunch at Bubba-Gump Shrimp, which was nearby (food was really good, but man, was Forrest Gump, a nauseating movie, or what?).

After lunch, we took a carriage tour of Charleston - one of the most interesting historic cities in the United States, in my opinion.; both for its role in the American Revolution as well as in the U.S. Civil War.  The nieces enjoyed the carriage ride and the guide was fantastic.  I learned why the palmetto is the state tree of South Carolina.  Not only are they abundant, but in June 1776, British ships sailed into Charleston Harbor and opened fire on what is now Fort Moultrie (Author's note: named for the commander of the garrison during this engagement) on Sullivan's Island.  The fort, made of palmetto logs, withstood the barrage and the British were unable to take Charleston.

After the carriage tour, we walked down to the waterfront and Waterside Park for a bit.  I wanted to walk down to the Battery, the most beautiful part of Charleston, as I had been disappointed our carriage tour didn't take us there.  But, it was very hot and the girls, (and my mother-in-law) were ready to head back.

Aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown

Yesterday (Tuesday, 7/20), the women stayed at the resort and went to the main pool while Adam, Dad and I went to tour the U.S.S. Yorktown - a World War II era aircraft carrier.  The Yorktown is much, much, smaller than modern carriers and is dwarfed by the U.S.S. Midway that Lisa and I toured in San Diego.  In addition to the aircraft and World War II displays, there is a Medal of Honor museum on ship and I was reminded that Admiral James Stockdale, Ross Perot's 1992 VP running mate) was a Medal of Honor winner for resistance in captivity in Vietnam.  He self-inflicted wounds to avoid being used in propaganda films.  I hadn't realized he died in 2005.  The carrier has his A-4 on the flight deck and his ceremonial sword in the museum.

Fort Sumter

After the Yorktown, we took a harbor cruise (they leave from Patriot's Point, where the Yorktown is) out to Fort Sumter.  My friend Brian and had done that when we were here for an afternoon 15 years ago (on our way back from our trip to Daytona).  It was well worth doing again as it is such an important piece of our nation's history, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.  I learned more this time about the Union's unsuccessful attempt to take it back in 1863 - firing at it from land and from iron clad ships, cutting the wall in half!  Interestingly, there was a ceremony there at the end of the war on April 14, 1865 to hand control back to Federal forces.  Historians think President Lincoln was invited to the ceremony but turned it down because of the danger involved traveling to the South so shortly after Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865 (and, in fact, Joe Johnston's forces had not yet surrendered to Sherman), and in particular to South Carolina, where secession began.  Instead, President Lincoln and his wife went to Ford's Theatre to see a performance of Our American Cousin on the night of April 14, 1865...

Last night we had a nice dinner at a restaurant here at the resort, The Lettered Olive.  I had the New York strip and a couple of draughts of Guinness.  It was family night and they had a special buffet for the kids and before dinner, in a little amphitheatre on the plaza outside the restaurant, there was an entertaining magic show.

The Fam

April 17, 2010 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The American Academy of Neurology was in Toronto this year, which gives Lisa and I the opportunity for travel adventures as well as catching up with old friends.  Lisa and I had flown in and out of Buffalo and rented a car to drive to Toronto.  Southern Ontario is also home to my mother's family and although I had not spent much time in Toronto proper before, the region is very familiar to me.

Getting ready to leave for home this morning.

Thursday (April 15) we took the rental car and got out of Toronto for the day.  With our friends Billy and Amy (who were residents with me at University of Virginia), we went to Niagara-on-the-Lake.  As many times as I have been to the Falls, I had never been to Niagara-on-the-Lake before.  We had a splendid day.  The weather was beautiful - sunny and 70's F.  We did wine tasting at two vineyards: Inniskilln and Jackson-Triggs (which were actually sister vineyards, so going to Jackson-Triggs got us free tastings at Inniskillin).

Lisa and I at Jackson-Triggs vineyard

It was during these tastings that Lisa and I tried ice wine for the first time.  Billy and Amy are big fans of it and, although the vineyards we went to make table wines, the only thing the export out of province is their ice wine.  Ice wine is made from grapes that are picked while frozen solid in the winter (they have to be picked on the third consecutive night of temperatures as low as 15 F).  The freezing extracts water from the grape, leaving a mash that is essentially juice concentrate.  The subsequent fermentation creates a high sugar, high alcohol wine that is actually syrup-like in texture and perfect for a dessert wine.  They were quite tasty and the one I liked the best was actually a red ice wine - Cabernet Franc.

For $5 (CAD) each we got a tour of the Inniskillin winery.  It was quite a good deal, actually, because it included additional free tastings and  $5 off the purchase of 200 mL or more of ice wine (Lisa and bought five 2 oz. (50 mL) ice wine samplers).  The tour was quite interesting.  In addition to the four of us on the tour there was a very inquisitive young man from Toronto (and his remarkably attractive Asian-Canadian girlfriend) who must have asked hundreds of questions on the brief tour.  Some interesting, others not, but God bless him for his insatiable curiosity.

Our tour guide, Marta, was also our sommelier for the tastings at Inniskillin.  I felt like I learned a lot about wine tasting from her and have much better appreciation for evaluating the bouquet of a wine and appreciating at least some of the subtleties of flavour.  Contrast that with Colin, the affable old Scot at Jackson-Triggs who gave us no guidance and didn't even charge us for the tastings (although we did promise to return later in the day and buy wine from him.  Lisa and I bought a Sauvignon Blanc there as the table wines are unavailable out of Province...).

Billy, Amy, and I tasting wines

Between tastings, we took Colin's advice and lunched at the Golf Club restaurant, which afforded a spectacular view of Lake Ontario and the Niagara River.  The food was also excellent.  Lisa had the hamburger, which she said was fantastic, and I had a wonderful chicken sandwich with very sharp cheddar cheese.  Amy seemed quite happy with her Reuben, as did Billy with his steak frites.

After the vineyards, we spent an hour or so walking around town.  Really just up and down Queen St./Picton St., the main drag.  It was populated with all sorts of shops, cafes, and nice looking restaurants.  Many of the shops were closed, but we did browse the Irish store and a shop that sold jam and tea (where I bought something called Canadian breakfast tea for my mother).  In the center of the street was a small clock tower that served as a cenotaph for Canadians who had given their lives for their country.  At the far end of the street from where we parked (the Picton St. end) was a nice park with a historical marker plaque from which I learned that Niagara-on-the-Lake was the capital of Upper Canada when John Simcoe was the Royal Governor in the 1790's and early 1800's until it was burned by U.S. forces in 1813 (presumably the same campaign during which Toronto (then called York) was burned).  Near the park was the Prince of Wales Hotel - very posh with sort of a Victorian/Imperial decor.  Reminded us of the Empress Hotel in Victoria (B.C.) on a smaller scale.  They were serving what appeared to be a wonderful afternoon tea.  There was also an old, 19th century, apothecary, but unfortunately it wasn't open to the public until May...

Prince of Wales Hotel

We left Niagara-on-the-Lake at a little after six to return to Toronto.  Billy and Amy had included us in their 8 PM dinner reservations at a restaurant near our hotel called Bymark.  It was a little over-the-top for our taste, but very nice.  I tried rabbit for the first time and it was wonderful (my meal came with both a cut of rabbit and rabbit sausage).  Lisa had a cornish game hen and we shared lobster tacos for an appetizer.  I had a cold Guinness draught before dinner, white wine with dinner and a very nice cup of tea afterwards.

Although the meal was quite good (Lisa preferred Lucien (a restaurant at which we had eaten earlier in the week), though), what really made the evening was the company.  In addition to Billy and Amy, we were joined by Dean (who was in Billy and Amy's residency class and chief resident my first year in residency), and Kim, a pharmacist who had worked in the neuro ICU at UVa when we were residents but now works for a pharmaceutical company...  Lisa and I hadn't seen Kim since the Virginia Neurological Society meeting two years ago and I hadn't seen Dean since a stroke meeting 4-5 years ago.  The service was a bit slow, but it didn't matter, we were all having a wonderful time catching up with old friends!  A delightful nightcap to a wonderful day!

October 10, 2009 - Prague, Czech Republic

Lisa and I got into Prague today (Lisa's birthday) to start our vacation.  I have wanted to visit Prague ever since the Cold War ended (The Czech Republic was then Czechoslovakia, an eastern bloc country under Soviet domination) and have finally arrived!  I have only been here a few hours (I write this at 9 PM and we arrived at our hotel at 4 PM) and so far it doesn't disappoint. 

Our cab ride from the airport was interesting (we flew from Baltimore via Detroit and Paris).  The driver was a maniac and I had flashbacks to our cab ride from Brick Lane in London in 2003.  He rode everyone's bumper and was off like a bat out of hell as soon as they got out of the way.  But, we made it in one piece for about $35 USD or 600 crowns (Kc).  There was almost no customs inspection and no passport stamp at the airport...

Our hotel (Hotel Rott) is very nice.  The room is small, but actually one of the large rooms in which we have stayed in Europe, and very clean.  The hotel staff were super courteous and the hotel cafe looks nice.  The location is perfect.  Just off the Old Town square and a short walk to the Charles Bridge.

After settling in, we went over the Old Town Square.  What a place!  It was filled with people, tourists and locals alike, and bustling with activity.  Vendors were selling everything you could think of - hot dogs, sausages, fish, chicken kabobs, and all sorts of sweets and pastries that I couldn't put a name to.  The smell of grilling meats permeated the air and there was also a vendor selling beer!  Prague is all about the beer and it is as good as it is cheap.  A pint from the vendor cost 35 Kc ($2 USD) and it was really nice beer!  Unfortunately, I cannot recall the name...  In Prague you can walk around any street drinking beer from an open container.  And, where we ate dinner, the beer was the same price as soft drinks for a 0.5 L draught!

Astronomical Clock

The bustle of the square gave it the feel of a medieval marketplace, which I am sure was the initial purpose.  However, the buildings lining the square were baroque, and stunning. The highlight of the square was the astronomical clock, which we got to watch change at the top of the hour (5 PM).

Some sort of chanting was going on at the square amongst a gathering of Polish soccer (football) fans (Poland was playing the Czech team that night).  It seemed benign enough to me, but all of a sudden several scary looking policemen in riot gear stormed into the square and set up a perimeter.  They looked like throwbacks from the communist era and like they meant business.  We decided it would be a good time to leave for dinner!  Never did find out what happened, but several of the Polish fans hot-footed it out of there and as we were leaving a police helicopter was circling overhead.

Old Town Square, Prague

From the square, we walked over to the Charles Bridge.  Although currently marred by some construction, from the bridge there are beautiful views of the Vlata river and the city - especially Prague Castle in the Little Quarter (Mala Strana).  Several statues adorn the bridge, including one of St. John Nepomuk (who was drowned in the river at the order of King Wenceslaus IV for refusing to divulge the contents of the Queen's confession, a martyr to the sanctity of the confessional) - rubbing his brass relief with your left hand (which I did) is supposed to bring you good luck.  Street vendors lined the bridge as well as some pretty talented street musicians.

We had dinner on the other side of the bridge in Mala Strana at a restaurant called Gitanes.  Not only was it recommended in our guide book (Top 10 Prague), it was also highly recommended by Lisa's Uncle Mick, who is a chef and gave us the great recommendation of the Falcon Hotel in Stratford in 2007.  He and Pam liked it so much, they went back a second time - and I can see why.  The decor was very eclectic but the food was fantastic.  A talented band consisting of a pianist, a violinist, an acoustic guitarist, and and upright bass player provided live music while we dined.  The served rolls, that were really more fried dough, with cream cheese to spread on them.  Delicious, although I am sure terrible for your arteries.  I had a Balkan salad - cheese, cucumber, tomato and green pepper dressed with oil and vinegar (also delicious).  My entree was called Pork Tobasco - an above average piece of pork covered with a tomato sauce that tasted like the sauce my paternal grandmother (maiden name Wiener) used to make for stuffed peppers, only with a little spice to it.  In the sauce were grilled onions as well as green, red, and yellow bell peppers.  It was absolutely delicious.  I washed it down with a Gambrinus, a delightful light (in colour) lager (pilsner) that is apparently the best selling beer in the Czech Republic.

Unfortunately, I don't think Lisa enjoyed her meal much.  Probably from the travel, lack of sleep, and missed meals (we'd been on the go since breakfast), she developed a migraine and subsequent anorexia.  By the time we had finished, I was feeling a bit tired too and we walked back to the hotel.  The Charles Bridge is just as impressive at night, but by then it had started to rain.

We'll call it a night early tonight, but tomorrow night plan to take a free 1 hour walking tour to get an overview and then will take it from there.