Day 15 Lexington to Home

 Time to go home. We were on the road by 5:30 am. Sylvia was very happy. It was a 540 mile drive and it rained the first 4 hours. We went through Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. This trip we we drove through 17 states and accumulated over 5,700 miles. The weather was terrific, the only significant rain was today. 

A great trip! Time for a drink.

Day 14 Lexington, Kentucky

 I got up this morning and feasted on the perfect breakfast food, leftover pepperoni pizza. Since there was no rush to do anything this bright and sunny morning, I went out for an early morning walk and saw that just around the corner they were setting up for the Saturday morning farmers market. It was a pretty big deal as there were at least 50 stands being filled with produce, baked goods, and some really good looking edibles. Sylvia was up in the room, so I called her to get ready and come down and check it out. Everything there looked really good and I bought tomatoes and two little pound cakes. It was not the cheapest farmers market I was ever at, but in these times who knows what a good price is anymore.

Farmers Market (It goes on down the sides streets too)

Once Sylvia got there we walked around and stopped at the Visitor's Center and checked out the history of Lexington and how it became America's most famous horse breeding center. Zim's Cafe (www.zimscafe.com) was in the same building and we looked in to see what was going on, and it looked pretty good. We went in intending to have a Mimosa, but one look at the Brunch menu and we got hungry. We immediately decided to do brunch. Sylvia had the Breakfast Platter, and I had the Bluegrass Benedict. Both were well executed and very tasty. Good enough to keep lively discussions under control.

We didn't do much the rest of the day except walk around. We stopped at Agave & Rye for a not very good, but expensive Margarita. And later, we weren't very hungry, but thought we should eat, decided on Oscar Diggs, mostly because I liked the name. It turns out Oscar Diggs was going out of business in 3 more days. There was hardly anybody there but a bartender from Virginia Beach and a cook from Maryland, We had a really nice conversation with them and talked about their plans. They seemed happy they were getting on with life. The food wasn't great and they were out of most things, but we split a burger that wasn't too bad. 

That was it for the day, we went back to the hotel and semi packed. We're heading home tomorrow and I'd like to get an early start. Although, I'm the only one who'd like that. 

Day 13 Columbia to Lexington, Kentucky

It was a rather easy 7 hour 450 mile drive through St. Louis and Louisville to Lexington, Kentucky. For a Friday the traffic wasn't bad at all. The last 15 miles were through horse country and their immaculate farms. Neither of us had been to Lexington and we were quite surprised to see how nice of a town it was. We got a room at the Hilton Lexington Hotel on the 13th floor, looked out the window, and immediately decided to stay another night. 

View from room. Rupp Arena on left

    

 We quickly unpacked and went for a short walk around town and saw a bar called Pies & Pints, and I said "Great an English Pub, let's give it a try". Well, it was a beer and pizza joint. Since we were there we ordered a drink and chatted with Rachel the bartender, who gave us a little insight to the downtown which was greatly appreciated. We continued our walk and by then it was almost 5 o'clock and we hadn't eaten much of anything when we spotted an interesting little place called Harvey's Bar, so we stopped in hoping to get a little something to eat. It was a great little place that only had a charcuterie plate available which we ordered.

Harvey's Charcuterie Plate

    

 We nibbled at it while we talked to Alex the bartender, who's a fascinating 25 year old Nepalese guy who came to the USA by himself when he was 18 and made his way around the country. He has picked Lexington as the place he wants to stay, although he wants to go see everything, everywhere. We left Harvey's, walked back to the room, and that was about it for the evening. Except for my craving for a slice of pizza. I went back out and luckily found Goodfellas Pizzeria around the corner and popped in. Goodfellas is about the size of one's bedroom, and had slices of beautiful looking N.Y. pizza. I got a couple and took them back to the room. A perfect ending to the evening. I don't know what's up for tomorrow? Just checking out Lexington. It's got a lot of history.

Day 12 Limon to Columbia, Missouri

 It was another long 640 mile drive to Columbia from Limon. However, it included a random stop for lunch at a place Sylvia found on the Internet. It was just three miles off route 70 in Salina, Kansas called the Hickory Hut (hickoryhut.com. I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to try authentic East Kansas BBQ. The Hickory Hut was just what you'd think a small town Q joint should look like, and it was packed with locals at 11:30 in the morning. Now, I know less than nothing about BBQ, all the types are just way too much for me to comprehend; Beef, Pork, Back ribs, Short ribs, Spareribs, Country style, Baby Back, St Louis, etc. Plus the different styles; Kansas City, Memphis, Carolina, Texas, Wet, Dry, etc. Not to mention all the ways to cook them. It's just that another level of education is required to know anything about BBQ ribs. Anyhow, I walked in, totally out of my element, and asked the guy in the window "What are you famous for?" He smiled and told me the ribs and baked beans. I said, "Give me them and a pork sandwich with sides." He asked, "Where I was from?" I told him and he smiled rather kindly and welcomed me to Hickory Hut. Cool!

Well, it was an experience, and totally great. Like I said, I know nothing, but the two large ribs I got were very good (by my uneducated standards), and the beans were like nothing I've had before. I should have gotten a gallon to take home. Sylvia really like her pork sandwich, and she thought the coleslaw and potato salad were perfect. It was an excellent lunch stop.

The Hickory Nut

It was late afternoon when by the time we got to the Best Western in Columbia, Missouri. Sylvia had made a reservation from the car about an hour before we got there. As we pulled up we both thought something looked familiar, but we never remembered being in Columbia before. Once we got settled in, I checked the USA2017 blog, and sure enough, we had been at this hotel on December 26, 2017 after leaving Nashville on our way to Oregon. Thank goodness writing this junk is of some use. We would have been driven crazy all night.

Neither of us were at all hungry, so we didn't go to dinner. We just made plans for tomorrow to go to Lexington, Kentucky. 

Day 11 Jackson, Wyoming to Limon, Colorado

 There wasn't much happening today except driving. It was a 600 mile, 9 hour drive from Jackson Hole to Limon Colorado. The drive from Jackson south and then east through Wyoming was beautiful, as was the northern part of Colorado. The drive through Denver and east is awful. Limon is a little town about 60 miles east of Denver on route 70. The only reason we stopped there was the drive was getting boring and I was ready to quit driving. There wasn't much there except truck stops, a few motels, and Oscar's Bar and Grill (oscarsbarandgrille.com). The motel we checked in was fine, barely fine, but fine. Oscar's was another story. It was designed around a Hollywood theme with old famous movies stuff all over. The menu was extensive and the food really good. The tables were made out of old bowling alleys, strange but interesting. The manager at the motel recommended the 5 1/2 hour pot roast and so did the waitress. I wasn't interested in pot roast because there were so many other good things on the menu, but I got it anyhow. It was another lesson relearned - just listen to people! It was the best pot roast I even had and obviously recommend it. Limon turned out to be an excellent stop and I don't think if I drove by again, I'd never pass it by. 

Tomorrow we continue east through Kansas and into Missouri. We might just try to get east of Kansas City, or might just stop for the night in downtown?

Day 10 Jackson Hole

 Hooray, I've now spent at least one night in every state. Today is the final day of our western tour as tomorrow we start back home. We decided to spend the day hanging out in Jackson. I got up early, had breakfast and went for a walk while Sylvia was kind enough to do the last load of laundry. The hotel we're staying at has several nooks and crannies in the parking lot that are nice spots to sit in and enjoy the day. I took advantage of one to write this blog.

Hotel Nook in parking lot

Yesterday we walked the town, today we shopped the town. Yesterday I thought there weren't many souvenir shops, today there were many. You just had to actually go in the stores. One of the many things of interest was Jackson Town Square. It's in the center of town and is one square block and at each of the four corners there's an arch of made of hundreds of elk antlers.

Jackson Square Arch of Elk Antlers

For lunch we didn't exactly do local fare, we had lunch at the Thai Plate. Sylvia had Tom Yum Gai and I had Tom Kha Gai. Both were good and refreshing. Afterwards we walked around a bit more and stopped to checkout a restaurant called Local Restaurant & Bar. We each had a drink, talked to the bartender, and decided to make reservations for the evening. The menu looked like something we should do since we hadn't really done much in the way of local food. After that we went back to the hotel to plan for tomorrow's getaway.

The dinner at the Local Restaurant (localjh.com) was terrific. We had a couple glasses of wine, shared a Buffalo Tartare, Sylvia had Steak Frites, and I had an Elk Chop. Everything couldn't be better. We followed up by splitting a Chocolate Budino which I have never had before, and I can't describe it, but it was good. If I ever got back to Jackson (Hole), that's the first place I would go.

Tomorrow it's time to start home. I think we'll try to get east of Denver without too many lively discussions.

Elk Chop

Steak Frites

Day 9 West Yellowstone, Montana to Jackson, Wyoming

 Today we got an early six o'clock start and drove the 4 blocks from our hotel to the Park. There was no  line at the entrance gate, we showed our National Park Pass and went right in. There was no traffic and it was like we had the park to ourselves. We eventually did see some other cars, but they were far and few between. Along the way we saw some wildlife and had to stop a few times for bison. We stopped and watched a few bison swim across the river and they walked right in front of our car, totally ignoring us. In another incident a herd of 50 or more bison with many calves were walking down the road in front of us and we had to take a pull off road around them. It was a very easy 31 mile drive along the Madison river which was flowing very high and very fast. A fisherman in town had told us that the fishing was tough because the river was running too fast. However, we did see some hardy fly fishermen giving it a try. 

After swimming the river he just ambled past us like we weren't there

I was amazed as we drove through the upper geyser basin. I had no idea there were so many geysers and geothermal features. There was steam and smoke everywhere. I later learned that Yellowstone has the most geysers in the world. It's a pretty special place. 

Geysers everywhere

We arrived at Old Faithful, parked right in front of the visitor center, and walked over to the viewing area to see the Old Faithful do it's thing. When we got there about 20 people were already there and 30 minutes later, when the eruption occurred, there were over 100. There was a bison grazing next to the geyser, but the bison left about 5 minutes before it went off. I guess he sensed it coming. We then went to the cafeteria, gift shop, visitors center, and old hotel. The visitors center was really informative and the old hotel impressive, both need to be visited. I think a night or two in the old hotel would something worth doing. There's so much to see and do.

Sylvia, Bison and Old Faithful

The drive out of the park was about 40 miles and beautiful. We pulled over to take pictures at least a half dozen times. I didn't take one picture that did the scenery any justice. Since the flooding of Yellowstone two weeks ago, the northern part of Yellowstone was closed so we could only drive less than half the park (90 miles). Yellowstone deserves at least 3 days.

After exiting the Park we continued on by the spectacular Tetons mountains. By then I had given up taking pictures, just Google it. We ended up at the Lexington Hotel in Jackson, or Jackson Hole, whatever they call it. It seems to have multiple names. Anyhow, it's a very upscale town with expensive restaurants and upscale art galleries. If you ever wanted a painting of a bison grazing in a field, this is the place to come. Thankfully, there aren't many souvenir and t-shirt shops. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the very walkable town and had lunch at Hatch, a taqueria, and later in the day pizza at Hand Fire Pizza, an old renovated movie theater. Both were fairly good. And I'm tired of writing now. Tomorrow's another day.

I did manage one photo of the Tetons

Tetons

Day 8 Billings to West Yellowstone, Montana

 I can't believe how great the weather's been. The days have been t-shirt warm in the day and sweater cool in the evening. It's perfect for touring Montana and Wyoming. Today's drive was pretty simple, we drove west to Bozeman and then south to West Yellowstone, and it was only 240 miles. When we got to Bozeman, instead of going around the city we decided to go through it check it out. So we went directly through the center of town and down Main St. It's an exceptionally nice downtown and would definitely be worth spending a few days hanging out there, but we had Yellowstone in mind. When we turned south the scenery totally changed. Route 193 is two lanes and runs for 90 miles along the Gallatin river through the Rocky Mountains. The river was running extremally fast and high so it was full of kayakers, rafters, and fishermen. It was a beautiful and fascinating 90 mile drive. 

We arrived in West Yellowstone shortly after noon and checked into a fairly dumpy motel. We were only going to be there for one night, so it didn't really matter too much what the place was like. At least it was clean and in the middle of town. We sort of unpacked and walked around looking for a place to have lunch. There wasn't much of anything that looked special. So for no particular reason we picked Bullwinkles.  We each had a drink and split a Bison and Elk burger. The burger was good and the drink was needed. But best of all we chatted with a guy who was riding his bicycle cross country from Oregon to Virginia and he was taking a day off the bike. He was riding solo but told us he had ridden a few days with a girl he met on the road who too was riding solo but from Seattle to Las Vegas.. They had separated four days ago because she wanted a day off the bike and he wanted to keep going. Amazingly, as we were chatting, that girl walked in. They had planned to meet in Yellowstone and it was really cool to see them so happy to see each other. She was in her 20's and beautiful and he was at least twice her age and not as beautiful (That's solely my opinion). So I don't think there was anything going on other than they got along very well and they both were on a similar missions. Brilliant!

Later in the day I think I walked the whole town twice looking for something of interest. I was totally unsuccessful, but maybe it was just me being goofy. Anyhow, we went back to Bullwinkles for dinner. I had Elk Ravioli and Sylvia had pan fried Walleye which was excellent. We spent a lot of time talking to the bartender about the Park and what to do once we got there. It was some really good information, I'm planning on entering the Park by 7, or whenever Sylvia feels like it.

Sylvia's Walleye

Day 7 Hill City to Billings, Montana

 Today's destination was Billings with a stop over to see Devil's Tower. The drive to Devil's Tower was 120 miles and we took 90 miles of backroads via 385 and 14. They were only two lane roads but the speed limit was 70. There was absolutely no traffic until we got to Deadwood. There was one stretch of 28 miles where we only saw two other vehicles and one was a side by side. Definitely a fun and pretty drive. Devil's Tower pops up in the middle of nowhere and it seems as though geologist's can't agree on how it developed, it was a very special place to the Native Americans, and is recognizable from the Close Encounters movie.

We didn't spend much time there, we still had 270 miles to go to get to Billings, and that was 220 miles of two lane road. The back roads out here are really easier to drive than anything back home, you're always going at least 70 with little traffic and you can see forever. 

The drive into Billings wasn't very impressive, but we checked into a Home 2 Suites and it was pretty comfortable. At 5 o'clock we went to the downtown area which was really pretty cool and very active. We didn't walk around too much because we we hungry and hadn't had much to eat all day. After much deliberation we decided on Walkers (walkersgrill.com). It was the best decision we made all week. We split the Morel Mushrooms, Sylvia had the Wedge Steak Salad, and I had the Apple Brined Pork Shank. It was by far the best meal we've had in a long time. I wish I had taken better pictures, but I was really hungry and it looked great.

Morels

Steak Salad

Pork Shank

Day 6 Hill City to Badlands

 We got up this morning and decided we wanted to stay another day so we could go to see the town of Custer or maybe actually go up to Mount Rushmore. Unfortunately the hotel was booked up for the weekend, so today's the last day in the metropolis of Hill City (Population 862).

The plan for the day was to drive to Badlands National Park and stop off and finally see the town of Wall and Wall Drugs. First of all, we had to decide which entrance we wanted to take to enter the Badlands, and his was no easy task (i.e. lively discussion). Somehow, someone , no one know who, decided on the Northeast entrance and then we would drive the 39 miles through the park and come out at Wall, SD where Wall Drugs is. What a plan, it actually worked out okay. The park was not at all crowded, and we used our National Parks pass, so it was free. I'm not much of a sightseer, but the drive was really very interesting and well worth spending the hour and a half it took to get there. The views were unlike anything I had ever seen before.  It's hard to believe land can be that massively scarred and still be beautiful. Plus we saw Bighorn sheep, Bison, and Prairie dogs. You could take a thousand pictures and not get a true feeling of the sights, nor a sense of the size of the park it's self. The stop at Wall Drugs did nothing but satisfy my curiosity.

Badlands

The hour and a half drive back to the hotel went by fast, maybe because the speed limit is 80.  Once there Sylvia did laundry and I got the car washed. Later we went to dinner at a neat old hotel, the Alpine Inn (alpineinnhillcity.com). It's supposedly the best pace to eat in town. They open at 5 and people start lining up before 4. Well, it was interesting, the menu consisted of no appetizers, two entrees, no side selections, and 23 desserts. The entrees were a 6 or 9 oz Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignons for $14 and $16, and Spaetzle Primavera for $14. We ordered the steaks which came with a baked potato, lettuce wedge, and Texas Toast. There were no other options, that's just how it comes. The steaks were actually good as was everything else. I don't think things get too complicated in the kitchen. We split one of their 23 desserts and that was also good. The place sat 151 people and was packed. We were in and out of there in 45 minutes and as we left people were still lined up waiting to get in. Amazing! 

That was it for the evening as we're going to Billings, Montana tomorrow with a stop to see the Devil's Tower.

Alpine Inn Entertainment

Day 5 Fargo, North Dakota to Hill City, South Dakota

 We got up early to get started on another long day of driving. We left Fargo and drove west to Bismarck then headed due south right through the middle of North and South Dakota. It was an amazing drive through absolutely nothing except rolling prairie and cows. No cars, few if any houses, no phone connections, no nothing for at least 300 miles, and it was interestingly beautiful. You could see prairie for forever, and could drive for miles without seeing another vehicle. The whole drive was over 500 miles and were lucky we got gas before we left because it was more than a hundred miles between gas stations, and the ones we saw were like you'd see in a 1940's movie.

Dakota Drive

Our destination was Hill City in the Black Hills about 40 miles southwest of Rapid City. On the way we drove through Sturgis and Keystone where, at the recommendation of a friend, suggested that we turn off on to Cemetery road until it turns to dirt, then up the hill to the top of the cemetery where you can see Mount Rushmore. It was pretty neat and we didn't have to fight the crowds.  We arrived in Hill City midafternoon and drove through town which is maybe 5 blocks long before checking in our hotel, which fortunately had our reservation. 

After walking around the very touristy town checking out the t-shirt and trinket shops we stopped and had a refreshment at the Mangy Moose Saloon where we chatted with a couple from Iowa who brought their side by side along and had spent a week driving it around the Black Hills. I suppose it's the thing to do because we must have seen a hundred muddy side by sides driving around town. Anyhow, we ended up walking over to Mangiamo Wood Fired Pizza and had a pizza and a Caprese plate. Both were okay, but the waitress was fabulous. Her name was Lauren and she was a college student from Sioux Falls working here for the summer. She chatted with us for a relatively long time and gave us a detailed hand written note on where to go and what to do in each place. Everybody we've talked to on this trip has been so nice, but she was more than that.

Afterwards we went back to the hotel and called it a day. Tomorrow we're thinking of driving the Badlands. It's an hour and a half away, but everyone says it's something we should really do.

Lauren's Note

Day 4 Fargo, ND

 It sure was nice just getting up in the morning and not have to drive somewhere. Around 8 o'clock I walked up the street to BernBaum's (bernbaums.com) for breakfast. For some reason I didn't expect a Jewish deli to be in Fargo, but it was and I enjoyed the Shakshuka and got a bagel to take back to Sylvia.

Later in the morning we walked up to Plains Art Museum and wandered around there for an hour before going to Pound's, a small restaurant recommended by Manny, the hotel clerk who's been providing us with extensive culinary information about Fargo, and he's been spot on. Anyhow, we split a club sandwich that was unlike any I've ever had. That, and a beer made for a very good lunch. Feeling satisfied we walked down to the river and stopped at Sidestreet Grill and Pub. I had just one of their 50 draft beers before going to the hotel to figure out tomorrow's destination and make a hotel reservation.

Fargo city center

In the evening we figured out tomorrow's destinations. Turns out we made two reservations, one in Sioux City and one in Hill City at the opposite end of the state. There seems as though there was a mix-up at our end. I'm not allowed to say who goofed up, so I won't say her name. Neither were cancelable, so we decided to go to Hill City near Mount Rushmore. It's another 8 hour drive, but wtf. 

We skipped drinks and dinner, we had enough food and drink for the day. Fargo is really nice city and I would totally recommend it to anyone.

Day 3 Eau Claire to Fargo, North Dakota

 Left Eau Claire this morning for a relatively short 5 hour drive to Fargo. It was a beautiful cloudless day and perfect for seeing the countryside of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The 250 mile drive through Minnesota was amazing. Minnesota's moniker of "Land of 10,000 Lakes" is for sure an understatement.  It seems as though I saw more than that just on the drive up route 94, but that's probably an overstatement. Back in the early 70's I spent 3 months in Minneapolis and I knew there were some lakes, but I never thought there were actually 10,000 lakes. Beautiful!

We arrived in Fargo early afternoon and checked in the Jasper Hotel (jasperfargo.com/). The location is perfect as it's in the dead center of town. The rooms were very nice, modern, and somewhat less than $200 a night. We had a corner room on the 9th floor with a great view.

Our room at the Jasper

It didn't take long to unpack before we did a walkaround town and were amazed by the difference between what we thought Fargo would be and what it actually was. First of all, it's the largest city in North Dakota (125,000) , a young extremally vibrant population, many unique eating establishments, a well preserved downtown with a mix of modern and older well preserved buildings, and sits on the waterfront of the Red river. So after scoping out some of the town we stopped for a libation at the Wurst Bier Hall (wurstfargo.com). They had a huge selection of beers and an interesting noshing menu. An order of potato and onion perogies with a sriracha butter sauce and a bacon flight of four different bacons was just what was needed to take the edge off. Maybe the beers and wine helped too.

Wurst Bier Hall Snack

After the refreshments we walked around town some more, Sylvia went one way and I went another (conversations were getting a little lively). I enjoyed the walk and there's a lot of shops worth exploring, but the highlight of my walk was the bike shop. It was the biggest bike shop I'd ever seen and was in a beautiful old train station. I didn't buy anything, but sure was nice place to hangout.

In the evening we decided to go to the Beer and Fish Company (beerandfishcompany.com). It's a relatively new place in an actual alley (Roberts alley). It was a really cool place with a great selection of fish. I had halibut and walleye, and Sylvia had all walleye. It was excellent and neither of us could eat it all. We took it back to the room and it shall be my breakfast, unless I finish it later tonight.

Beer and Fish Company

That's about it. We're spending another day in Fargo and I have no idea what we're doing. I'm just glad I'm not driving.

Day 2 Dayton, Ohio to Eau Claire, Wisconsin

 We left Dayton this morning for a 10 hour drive to Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The day was beautiful and the drive was uneventful and from time to time scenic. We checked into the Oxbow Hotel (www.theoxbowhotel.com) around four and immediately went for a walk around downtown. It was 95 degrees so it wasn't a long walk, but the little we saw was still impressive. It's a charming smallish city that sits on the junction of the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers, both of which are rather picturesque with 11 bridges crossing them in the downtown area. Also, there's a lot of new construction going on downtown that fits in well with the older architecture. Definitely a nice place to live.

We skipped lunch and were hungry, so we decided on the District Pub and Grill just a few blocks across the river from the hotel. Since we were in Wisconsin we had to get the Cheese Curds that seem to be served in every restaurant in the state. They were interesting and good. We both had sandwiches and they were very good too. They had 30 beers on tap and one of the more interesting was the Liberal Tears. Of course I had one! And a few others too.

It had been a long day so we went back to the hotel and called it quits for the day. We had only planned to stay here one night, but for sure we would have liked to spend a few more. It's definitely a town worth exploring for a few days.

Tomorrow it's off to Fargo, North Dakota. It's only a 5 hour drive, so that's not too bad. We might even spend two days there.

Liberal Tears Beer Tap

 

Day 1, Home to Dayton Ohio

 We finally decided to complete a trip around the United States by visiting the last four states that we have not spent the night nor have had a drink in. Those states are Montana, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota. Sylvia has not been to Hawaii, but that's another issue, and that issue is not in my favor. We have not exactly planned this trip in the utmost detail, in fact we never got much beyond going to Dayton and maybe figuring out the next day or two once we got there. Well, we got there and it was a relatively nice 8 hour drive through Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.

We checked into a regular blah chain hotel and immediately headed downtown to checkout the real Dayton. We were not expecting much since it was a late Sunday afternoon and everything was pretty quiet. The drive down town evolved into a lively discussion between Sylvia and I, but we did get there and I was mostly wrong (of course). First of all, Dayton streets are not exactly horizonal and vertical streets and avenues. There is no way anyone new to Dayton could navigate around the city by the seat of their pants, at least I couldn't. Anyway, we eventually found our way to 5th street in the older part of Dayton called the Oregon District.. It was permanently blocked off for walking, shopping, and drinking, and of course my reaction was "What a great place", so many varied pubs, coffee shops, restaurants, knick-knack shops, etc. We walked around for awhile and finally decided to eat, or maybe it was to drink?  Not being up for a major meal we settled on Lucky's Taproom and Eatery. It didn't look much different than any other joint on 5th, and it probably wasn't, but what a score! There's nothing more comfortable than a little local pub like this with young people, old people, families, and a bunch of regulars just enjoying a beautiful and sunny day in a dark and dingy pub. Hah! how great is that! Even though the food was more than good, the atmosphere and the people there added so much more.

So, tomorrow it's off towards the last of the unvisited states. We're thinking of landing in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. At least Sylvia just made a reservation there, so that's the goal - for the time being.

Day 10 Madrid

Well I got up this morning and went down to the bakery again to watch the bakers make bread. As I had my nose pressed against the window, I could see them looking at me and I imagined them saying:

"There's that old homeless geezer from yesterday. Think we should call the cops?"
"No, just look at him, he's harmless."
"Maybe we should just throw him a donut, he's drooling?"
"Nah, don't feed him, he'll never go away."

Anyhow, the store part of the bakery wasn't open, so I went back to the apartment hungry. We still hadn't figured out what we wanted to do today.

Finally, we decided to do nothing special as tomorrow was going to be a long day. Although we did go out for lunch around one thirty and walked up to the Bilbao Metro station and stopped in a very nice restaurant called Cafe Comercial. It was fine except when we walked in they immediately gave us an English menu and a waitress who couldn't speak English and didn't know what was on the English menu. So we never got some of what we ordered and some other things that were just wrong. As it turned out it didn't matter, it was all good, besides, what we didn't get were the sweetbreads which Sylvia wasn't really looking forward to. We had a great buffalo mozzarella, a fabulous steak tartar, and a very nice looking caramelized pudding and rice with violet ice cream. The waitress didn't get the bottle of wine wrong, and it's a good thing or there would have been a scene.

Burrata de bufala con pesto de tomate seco, melon y brotes

Steak tartar de solomillo al gusto, a picado a cuchillo

Torrija caramelizada sobra arroz con leche y helado de violeta

I hope you read the captions because it took me forever to type them.

Tomorrow morning we leave for home. I will post a final blog when we get home.

Day 9 Madrid

Even though we had nothing planned for the day I got up fairly early and went down to the local bakery for a baguette to take back to the apartment. I got there a bit too early as they were in the process of making them. Not a problem, I just stood in front of the window watching three bakers making baguettes. They must have thought I was some hungry homeless man just staring in the window. When they were done making a couple hundred, they started on other breads. It seems as though they make the pastries first so I missed that, but I'll be back earlier tomorrow to watch that. A fascinating morning, can't wait till tomorrow. By the way the baguette was terrific, had it with butter and a smear of Camembert. I reluctantly left some for Sylvia, she doesn't like the Camembert.

Just before noon we decided to visit the Madrid Botanical Gardens. It was a nice 20 minute walk down past the Prado. I was surprised, after seeing pictures I thought it was small enough that we could walk it in an hour or two. Well, we walked around for less than that but we weren't close to seeing everything. It's 20 acres and contains 90,000 plants and flowers and 1,500 trees all well marked. I don't know how many beds there were but each one was lined with small box hedges. An unbelievable amount of work goes into this garden. There wasn't much in bloom, but I could imagine what it's like in the blooming season. I don't think you could walk all the paths in one day. It would be fun to see it five or six time a year. (Double click on the picture to enlarge it)

Botanical Gardens

We took the long way back and stopped for lunch at La Gustava in the Lavapies section of town. Again all the outside tables were full so we ate inside by the window. We had an omelette with onions and cheese, and ham croquettes, both of which are Spanish staples and served everywhere. They're very good, neither of which I could duplicate. We then marched back to the apartment for a few hours.

We did the 7:30 routine and went out for a before dinner drink at the Plaza de Chueca, but this time we managed to commandeer an outside table. The waiter gave us chips, olives, and nuts. They customarily give you one, but not all three. By nine o'clock we weren't very hungry so we got ice cream and went back to the apartment and I fell asleep early...again.

Day 8 Madrid

It was a slow day with not much to post. We did go to the Prado Museum and spent several hours touring a maze of galleries. The Prado's considered by many to be the best art museum in Spain and one of the five best in the world. It has a massive collection of old masters that's made up of massive paintings from the 1100's to the 1700's. It not easy to get around; we spent most of the time trying to figure out where we were. It was great seeing all the masters, but after two hours I was exhausted, and two hours is not nearly enough to do it justice.

Afterwards we went to an outdoor cafe up the street from the Prado and had a Jamon Iberico sandwich and some paella. It was fine but the people watching was better.

We've been traveling together now for eight days and it's getting a little tedious. At home we usually go our separate ways from early morning until late afternoon. Over here we don't get any time alone and the nerves get a little frayed. We haven't had much in the way of any "Lively Discussions". That usually happens in the car and we're getting too old and tired to argue very much - we just shut up. It seems as though most of our conversations consist of, "Huh", "What, "What did you say", "Did you hear me". I guess that's part of getting old? I think Sylvia can't hear, nor does she talk loud enough. Harumph!

In the evening we went up to the square by the Chueca metro station. As usual all of the 50 or 60 outdoor tables were taken, instead we got a window seat at a small cafe looking over the Plaza de Chueca and had a few before dinner drinks. As soon as it turned 8:30 we went to dinner Le Coco. Sylvia ordered a spinach fettuccine with three cheeses, and I had baked oxtail, pasta, and cheese that sort of resembled a lasagna. Both were very good. That was the end of the day and I don't know what we're doing tomorrow.

Prado

Large Art

Day 7 Still Madrid

Well we finally got off to an early start, if you consider 9:20 early? It's really not to bad because not much opens before 10. We walked over to the Royal Palace and got in line by 9:45. The line moved pretty fast for a museum line and we opted for the audio tour. It worked out pretty good because we didn't spend too much time on the first few rooms and got ahead of all the tour groups. The palace is unbelievable, there's 3,000 rooms but only 29 are available for touting. and that took an hour and a half. The royal family had it pretty good. You could easily spend 10 minutes in each room. I couldn't, but we still really appreciated it. One thing that stood out for me was the Stradivarious Room. There were five Stradivarious's in the room, 3 violins and two cellos - amazing. And they still get played occasionally by visiting artists. The whole place was amazing, beautiful, and interesting.  I highly recommend it, but go early and it's probably best to get tickets ahead of time. We didn't, but got lucky.

The next stop was a revisit of the Mercado San Miguel, and this time the crowd was half the size it was on Friday. We picked up a few tapas and a glass of Cava and managed to find two seats. Both the tapas and the Cava were excellent. The tapas were toast squares topped with various fish: cod liver, cod mashed with caviar, cod with honey, anchovies, and tuna. Sylvia also picked up a salmon wrap and a ham and cheese wrap??? It would be easy to have lunch there every day for several months and not get the same thing twice, and boy would I'd love to try. We stopped for another drink before going back to the apartment to do laundry. "We" might not be the proper word, but you get the drift.

Around 7:30 we went up the street to El Buho tavern for a drink before dinner. It was a pretty comfortable place and we had a good window table so we ordered dinner. Sylvia ordered a marinated pork kabob, and I decided to try some pig ears. I had never had a pig ear before so it was worth a try. They gave me way more than I thought they would, but I managed to eat all of them except for two. Sylvia had most of one and I left one. They weren't too bad, just a little gnarly. I won't be so quick to order them again.

Tomorrow we're planning on doing the Prado.

Royal Palace Dining Room
Can set up 110 people at one table

Pig Ears

Day 6 Madrid

Started off the morning with an espresso and a baguette with butter and cheese. Isn't it great when you can get a good baguette? Anyway, we headed straight off to what is called El Rastro. It's a huge Sunday flea market. It's supposed to be one of the must-do's on a Sunday in Madrid. I read a bunch of reviews and people either hate it or love it; there's not many in betweens. We tried to get there early but it didn't make a difference, it was already packed. The flea market started at the top of a hill and looking down I saw nothing but tents and people for as far as I could see. I said let's just do it and see what happens, so we waded in. It was no fun at all, but it was fascinating. For blocks and blocks it was tents with not much more than clothes, shoes, and accessories. This was pretty dull except there were so many people participating. After a half hour or so we got to the end and started back up a side road which was lined with at least a hundred antique merchants that had all their wares outside, and I mean these were real antiques, even older than Sylvia. (I just put that in to see if she really reads this gunk.) Anyhow, it was a pretty interesting event and I would recommend it if someone happens to be in Madrid on a Sunday; do go and have the patience to see it all and get ready to have a drink afterwards. It's worth a couple of hours.

Next up was the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, but on the way we stopped for lunch at a small cafe between Sol and Plaza Mayor. Sylvia had chicken and I had cuttlefish which was tough. We got to the museum around 3 and walked right in with no wait at all. The Thyssen is the second biggest private art collection in the world, just behind the British Royal Collection. This is a serious collection that is really well organized and includes all the biggies, Rubens, Van Dyke, Rembrandt, Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, etc. I really enjoy the Dutch and Flemish artists and there were plenty of them. What surprised me was how much North American art was on display. It was really, really good. I love the National Gallery in DC, but this was way more structured than that. I just wander around the National Gallery. Also, it was strange there was hardly any Spanish artists, a little Picasso, Dali, El Greco and a few I don't know, but that's it. I'd go back, no problem. We've still got to do the Prado which should be awesome.

For dinner we went down the street to restaurant Bazaar. We shared an excellent goose mousse with goat cheese. Sylvia had duck breast with some kind of sauce and I had a veal cheek cannelloni with the same sauce. Both very good except for the sauce. For dessert we had a something Madagascar, essentially ice cream and stuff which was very good. It was a pretty good experience that could have been better if we had ordered differently. We chatted with an interesting gentleman seated next to us, which was fascinating because here was a Chinese man, from France, in Spain, speaking English. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow we try the Royal Palace and Mercado San Miguel again.

El Rastro

Day 5 Madrid

There's not much to report today. We left around noon and headed to Retiro Park which is a park similar to Central Park in NYC, but a little smaller and a lot more trees. When we lived in New York going to Central Park on a Sunday afternoon was one of my most favorite things to do, but Retiro Park has Central Park beat by a lot, both in beauty and activity. I think if I lived in Madrid I would spend a least one day a week in Retiro Park, it's beautiful and a perfect people watching venue.

After the park we had a fairly good lunch at Taverna del Volapie. A bottle of wine, a tuna salad, calamari, fried anchovies, cod, and some other fish that I forgot it's name. Again we spent a lot of time walking just like the previous three days, according to my fit watch over 10 miles each day. Then we spent much of the evening sitting at an outdoor cafe just quietly watching people and avoiding any lively discussions. It was a late lunch so we skipped dinner and had dessert at a nearby cafe.

We've been to pretty many cities, but I've never seen so many people walking, shopping, dining as I have in Madrid. And this wasn't in the tourist area, this was the neighborhood where we stayed. These were people who lived here, both young and old. It was a remarkable sight and exciting to be around.  Madrid's way more interesting that I expected.

Below are some pictures from Mercado San Anton just two blocks down the street from where we're staying. Needless to say I go there a lot.

Day 4 Madrid

Managed to get a needed good night's sleep so we didn't get a very early start to do what we had planned to do. I was the first one up and went down to a local bakery and brought back a baguette and croissant for a late breakfast. We headed out around noon with the intention of grabbing a few tapas at Mercado de San Miguel then planned on spending the afternoon at the Royal Palace. As it turned out we were not very successful at either. We did get to the Mercado but it was way to crowded to get anything. Just walking through it was a real chore. It's very famous, although not a traditional market, but the best food court I've ever experienced. The tapas and drink stalls looked fabulous. It's to bad we didn't get to eat anything. We'll try again in a few days.

Undeterred, we had only a short walk over to the Royal Place. However, when we got there it was surrounded by barricades and hundreds of police. It seems as though there was some special event occurring there and it looked like it would be a long time before it concluded.  I understand it's a takes at least 2-4 hours to tour the Royal Palace, it has 3,000 rooms...yep 3,000. Pretty big place. We'll try again in a few days.

Somewhat disappointed, but okay with it since we have seven more days in Madrid. Instead we just wandered around checking out all the sights. We had a late lunch at an outdoor cafe and each had a Jamon Iberico bocadillo (ham sandwich). Only it's not your regular ham, it's really, really good ham. We walked a few hours more then went back to the apartment and waited to go out to dinner, When we did go out it was 8:30 and we went up the street to Lola Cocina. There was only one other couple in the restaurant, and they were Americans of course. By the time we had a drink and ordered our food and wine the place was packed. As is typical, nobody dines until after nine. We had a shareable appetizer of thinly sliced pork loin with capers and a sauce made of creamed tuna fish. It was very good. Sylvia had chicken and I again made a goof ordering. Instead of trying to pronounce the unpronounceable I pointed on the menu to what I wanted, and of course the waiter misunderstood.  I ended up with a hamburger and fries. Oh well, at least it was an excellent burger.  Overall, it was a good meal that we were more than satisfied with. That pretty much ended the evening.

Mercado de San Miguel

A few Tapas

More Tapas