Linens, chocolate and popcorn

Saturday, April 9th, 2016

Another fun day of shopping in local shops.  Our first stop was a chocolate factory (Seidl) that I had visited the last time I was here.  They sell many of the same chocolates in the pastry\coffee shop we went to on Wednesday, but it is a tiny bit less expensive at the factory and the selection there is huge!  So I bought more chocolate to send home for friends, family the postman and the UPS man.  (The UPS and USPS guys are so helpful especially when I am traveling... they loved the last ones I gave them, so I bringing them some more : )

Next was a trip to small family owned business ( Katharieder Bauemhanddnuck) that sold beautiful bolts of material including hand stamped designs.  We were looking for something for a project of Caroline's and while we didn't find what we were looking for we had a great time looking at all the bolts and bolts of material.  I ended up buying some dishcloths which I will enjoy using and remembering this quaint shop each time I do.

Then onto the commissary where we found one of Michael's favorite fruits! (granadilla) I haven't seen them since we were in Peru but there they were just sitting in the produce section.  Of course I had to send a picture of them to Michael. :  )

Next on the agenda is the movie theatre on base where we meet Lauren and Amanda to see The Boss. Dinner tonight was popcorn, nachos and a diet coke.    After visiting a bit after the movie, it was home to unpack and off to bed.

Another busy, fun day in Deutschland.

Shopping is fun in any country.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Got to have a ladies day out today.  Went shopping with Caroline and two of her friends ( Lauren and Claire) with the goal of finding a dress for an upcoming Ball.  Lauren, Claire and I had a great time picking out dresses for Caroline to try on, and she was willing to try anything we brought ( including a pretty oddly constructed green dress that I picked out - it was pretty bad but we got a good laugh out of it.)  Eventually we found an elegant emerald green dress that I think will be perfect and will be both beautiful and easy to wear. Can't wait to see the picture of her in the dress and Booker in his uniform.

Then on to a delightful lunch, more shopping for the other ladies, and home.

I am glad Caroline has made good friends here in Germany. : )



Friday,  April 8, 2016

Happy birthday Grandpa!   Today is my dad's birthday!  Hope he is having a wonderful day. Love you Dad!

 I love shopping in grocery stores in general, but especially in other countries.  There are always foods I already know and like - and many new ones to discover and this afternoon we got to go to Rewe, the local grocery store that we use.  And then home to cook.

Booker is working some pretty long hours right now so you may not hear much about him as I talk about our days activities - he is gone early in the morning and coming home around 10 or 10:30. So sadly, he is missing much of our fun.  Caroline tries to have healthy food for him to take for his meals when he is working this rotation and since she is a good cook, he is eating well.    Whenever I am visiting them,  I always go home with new ideas for foods that I want to prepare, and I can already tell this trip will be no exception.

Practice makes petfect

I was smarter this time.  Sometimes it takes me a few times to figure out a better way to make something better but eventually I get there...

This is my third trip to Germany in the last 6 months and I have finally figured out the easiest way to have an 8 hour layover in Atlanta- buy a days pass to one of the lounges.  Specifically "The Club" in concourse F.  For 35 dollars you can sit in comfortable chairs, in pleasant surroundings and even take a shower in a spa like setting (which I did) ( and it was great!).  I mean, if you paid for it, then why not use it?

Also, they serve a continental style breakfast of muffins, various pastries, cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt, fresh juice and any kind of coffee drink you want.  Later they serve a light lunch of soup, salad, and sandwiches.  ( I assume dinner is similar choices, but had I had left by then.)

 I chose fresh fruit, yogurt and a cappuccino. They also had snacks of popcorn, more fresh fruit, cookies and chips.   A full bar is also included in the cost,  I passed on this perk today, but I know others would love it!

To make the day even better, Tom had a layover in Atlanta that afternoon so I was able to visit and catch up with him.  How perfect was that!

Some of you savvy travelors already know about these travel oases, but I was blown away at how much easier it made 8 hours of waiting.  I am sure between Starbucks, breakfast and lunch at the airport, I would have easily dropped 35.00 so in I thought it was a great deal as well.

Trip of a lifetime

Monday April 4, 2016

Tomorrow morning I leave on a trip that I have dreamed of for at least 40 years... I am finally going to Italy...

and...

while there, I am going to get to go to a cooking school...

and even better....

Caroline is going to be able to go with me!

About 8 Christmases ago, the kids gave me money to set up an "Italy savings account".  They knew how much I wanted to go and said that since I had always supported their dreams and they wanted to support mine.  I set up the account and have added to it over the years, and now with Caroline already being in Germany and the cooking school running a heck of a deal, I took the plunge and bought the tickets!

I am not sure why, but I have always wanted to go to Italy.  My real dream is to live there for at least 4 months, but since I don't know anything about the country other than it calls to me, and I had no idea where I should go, I decided a small cooking school set in the hills of Italy would be the perfect introduction to the country.

The first part of the trip takes me to Germany where I get to spend time with Caroline, Booker and Apollo, then on the 17th we will hop on the plane to Italy and spend a week learning traditional Italian dishes and seeing the country side.  whooo hoooo hooooo!  I. can. not. wait!

I plan to write about the trip and post my pictures here so that family and friends who are interested can come along with me and I won't be boring others or blowing up my facebook page with pictures that others may not want to see.  In many ways, it will be a running diary for me to remember the trip, but feel free to travel with me and leave your comments. : )