Hello again, faithful readers! However many of you are left, anyway. I apologize, as always, for my tardiness in posting interesting events reasonably quickly after they happen, but obviously, I am incapable of pulling that off. So. Here we find ourselves again, me recollecting things hazily, and you along for a shabbily-written ride into the recent past. Yahoo for time travel!
And with that, we're off. Back in April, our dear friend Kyle came to Europe for a couple of weeks, spending roughly one of those at our house. As Mike has me (his trophy wife) to support, I got to do a little errand-running (buying stuff for Mike's birthday!) and day-tripping to Lucerne with Kyle. It was fun. Lucerne is gorgeous. Kyle is a nutter.
Chapel Bridge.
Kyle contemplating Chapel Bridge.
Chapel Bridge with the mountains and the Jesuit church. (Lucerne is kinda pretty.)
Lake Lucerne.
Lion Monument (carved in 1820), commemorating the Swiss Guards who were killed guarding the Tuileries palace during the French Revolution in 1792.
Then, it was a brief trip to Bern (the Swiss capitol) with Kyle and our friends Nanda and René for a little sightseeing and beer tasting (well, for the menfolk, anyway). I really, truly liked Bern...a beautiful little city with nice people, an excellent coffee shop (Adriano's...their iced coffee was FANTASTIC), a UNESCO-listed old town, and a Saturday market full of amazing-sounding street food (tortas! hamburgers! fried rice! and other delicacies you don't find here that often!). But mainly, it's just a lovely place to visit.
Marktgasse.
Swiss Parliament.
Kramgasse, with buildings and arcades dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries and tons of statue-laden fountains.
Arcades.
Shops at street level and underneath.
Bears (you know, like in the city's name) in the Bärengraben.
View from the Bärengraben.
View from Nydegg bridge.
Bern has a 15th-century cathedral, but most of it was covered in scaffolding, so here's the inside:
Fancy ceiling!
Fancy pipe organ!
...and the view from the cathedral tower.
LOOK HOW PRETTY. I really, really liked this city.
Next amongst our travels was one of our big semi-annual trips back to the U.S., and this time for my sister's wedding, no less! It's always fantastic to go back and catch up with friends and family (and to catch up on eating New Mexican food...!), but the wedding made this particular visit that much more special. I feel a little weird about writing too much here about the wedding itself, and about posting too many photos, since it was my sister's day and she's the star of the show, so suffice it to say that my sister looked ridiculously gorgeous and her groom, Scotty, was adorable and spiffy; the ceremony was lovely; the food delicious (smoked salmon and prime rib! three flavors of cake, all of which I managed to taste, thank you very much!); and the flowers and decorations just lovely. For your consideration:
Look at my super gorgeous sister!
Joy 'n Scotty cutting their adorable cake. Awwww.
Love. These. Flowers.
Naturally the tertiary goal of the trip for us (after seeing family and attending the wedding, of course) was cramming in as much New Mexican food as we could handle. The highlights: breakfast burritos and enchiladas rancheros (WOOOO!) from Twister's; fantastic salsa and pork carnitas at Casa Vallarta; green chile bacon cheeseburgers, tots, and cherry limeades from Sonic (yes, this absolutely makes the list, deal with it); breakfast burritos laden with the best green chile ever from Chile Works; yet more green chile on an actual perfect bean burrito (and, let's face it, anything on the menu) at Tesuque Cafe; enchiladas and combo plates at Rancho de Chimayo for my sister's rehearsal dinner (such awesome food! such a gorgeous location!); guacamole at Gabriel's; and combination plates, wicked good salsa with blue corn chips, and fancy-schmance margaritas at Tomasita's. Ahhh, New Mexico, how we miss your cuisine when we are away.
What I'm reading: finally, finally finished The Nelson Touch, which was a bit lengthy and dry, even by my standards. Conclusions drawn: Nelson was a vain, silly, self-important, selfish man, and was not lacking in nerve when it came to seeking advancement or promoting his own self interests. He clearly had no small amount of courage, and exhibited occasional touches of maritime military brilliance, but it sounds, frankly, as though he was intolerable in both his professional and personal lives. Now I'm on to another mammoth read, but a work of fiction that I am truly excited about: The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It is quite rare that I re-read a book, but I've read this one before, know how it ends, and it is still a true pleasure to be back in it again. It's tremendously creepy, and seriously well written; if you enjoy history, mystery, a creative and complex story, and lush, evocative prose, this one is for you. LOVE IT.
My favorite things: shallots. Like onions, only better. 'Nuff said.
Next up: a lovely anniversary and a trip to Bellinzona, with its THREE CASTLES. Sweet.
