I was glad to see that the Community Orchard near the airport in Fort Dodge Iowa is still looking good and doing a bustling business. Having the State Cross County Meet a stone’s throw away probably didn’t hurt business – that’s why we were in Fort Dodge for the first time, in my case, in maybe 15 years. Alas, the orchard was out on Jonathans – which I use to make applesauce in mass quantities this time of year – but they still had plenty Honeycrisps and other varieties. Also pies, carmel apples, apple crisp and a lot more fattening stuff we avoided…although we did try Smokey D’s BB ribs in Des Moines on the way home. The sauce a little too sweet for my Kansas City BBQ-oriented taste, but the service was good, tje ribs meaty and well-smoked. The sides – including homemade potato chips that came in a soon-greasy brown bag served with way-too-good-and-fattening thick ranch dressing, and smokey baked beans with just the right touch of bacon – were good too. Also turned out to be a good place to watch U of Iowa’s football team trounce Michigan State’s!
Category Archives: 2) Frequent Destinations
Randonnes in the Dordogne!
My brother and his wife made it safely home from France – fortunately flying into Barcelona and out of Geneva during the strikes that crippled French airports and rail. He apparently did okay with getting gas since they did drive across the country. As expected, he loved the Dordogne region and recommends “randonnes” – walks in the french countryside that are well mapped out and marked. Other highlights – the duck confit and “all the delicious stuff with walnuts in it.” Their last two days were in Annecy which they liked too but found a little seedy in parts (that I don’t remember.) They also did a quick tour of Talloires and got a pix of the hotel we stayed at in 1989.
Filed under France
New York on the cheap
As if.
well everything’s relative and I guess that means New York’s version of cheap is Des Moines’ version of not-so-cheap but that said, the NYT had some suggestions for people visiting the Big City on a Tight Budget:
– The Jane – 113 Jane Street (a very sweet street in the West Village that my cousin used to live on)…”50-square-foot cabins” for $99 a night (that’s a single withe shared bath)…www.thejanenyc.com
– The Hotel Chelsea, studio and shared bath for $99…if it was good enough for Sid and Nancy it may be okay for you.
– MOMA is free on Friday nights. Otherwise it’s $25 as I recall painfully.
– for other free events look in the listings of Time Out NY and New York magazine also FreeNYC.net and ClubFReeTime.com
– a seven-day unlimited ride metrocard $27. soon to be $29.
Filed under cost-saving travel, LODGING, New York City
Honeymooning in France during the strikes – it can be done!
My brother and his new wife have made it to Dordogne and are, of course loving it although my brother fears he may be developing gout from all the rich food. He highly recommends the place they stayed La Tour de Cause – which judging from the website looks like heaven. Word has it it’s run by a I highly recommend it. It’s run by a really cool, fun California couple. Next stop in Annecy and Talloire – so hoping he can get there safely without encountering any blockades or major gas shortages. And I’ll be living vicariously…
MOMA at Thanksgiving
Most Thanksgivings we visit relatives in New York City and I have one or two day to explore the city, which usually involves picking one museum to visit. This year’s winner? MOMA – which I haven’t visited for several years. Several exhibits have caught my attention that I”m eager to see – CounterSpace: Design and the Modern Kitchen (through March 14) and Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photograph (through March 21).
First runner-up (and a museum I hope to visit) is the New Museum downtown on the Bowery, which has an exhibit an old newspaperwoman can’t resist entitled “The Last Newspaper.”
Filed under museum exhibit, New York City
Mason City and Frank Lloyd Wright
We went up to Mason City yesterday to check out the work being done to restore the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed hotel there and while there’s a lot of work still to be done, it’s a great looking building and should be a gem if restored well. The hotel and adjoining bank – are scheduled to reopen on June 30, 2011 although I’m told guests probably won’t be able to stay there until later in the summer. The bank side looks far from done – and the ground floor has been completely gutted. We couldn’t see the hotel side as well (construction of the building and the streets its on restricted our access and view) but looks like it’s more intact. It will be the only remaining of six FLW-designed hotels in operation!
We also visited the FLW-designed Stockman House – took an informative tour for $5 a piece. Well worth a visit- it’s the first FLW Prairie Style house in Iowa and was saved from the brink of destruction back in 1993. We also toured the Rock Glen/Rock Crest neighborhood – with its Prairie Style homes by a FLW contemporary. And of course we had to stop at Birdsall’s, the old ice cream store on Federal Street that looks pretty much like it did decades ago (and has very good malts and sundaes.) Nearby Borealis looked like a good place too – a little cafe.
Filed under architecture, Iowa
Vacationing by car in France during the strikes….a handy ipod app
I’m a little concerned about my brother who is driving across southern france this week as part of his honeymoon. Strikes across the country can’t be making that easy. Fortunately he’s not flying in or out of French airports (he’s flying into Barcelona and out of Geneva) and I don’t think he’s using mass transit. But it doesn’t sound like driving – especially getting fuel – is that easy right now. I did read about a new iphone app people are using to find out where gas is available but not sure there’s an english version or if my brother’s smart phone works in Europe. http://www.mobicarbu.com/
This from the Guardian
One third of petrol stations across France still have no fuel. Over night, police broke up barricades and lift blockades at three strategic fuel depots in Donge, Le Mans and La Rochelle – the west of France has been worst hit by the petrol blockades.
All of France’s 12 refineries remained blockaded this morning and picket lines barred access to around 20 key fuel depots.
The prime minister François Fillon says it will take the country four – five days to get back to normal fuel levels. But France’s autumn half-term holiday begins this weekend and panic-buying continued as families wondered whether they would have to cancel plans amid travel chaos.
Pickets and stoppages were expected at airports today with Toulouse airport blockaded this morning and cancellations at Orly and Charles de Gaulle in Paris.
Train, bus and tram staff were still striking across France today but walk-outs on some public transport had eased since yesterday, in Paris for example. In Marseille, buses and trams were not running and strikers blocked key road tunnels causing miles of tailbacks. Hauliers and freight delivery drivers across France were continuing their protests with more motorway go-slows planned.
Filed under France
Bon voyage to my brother – off to Spain and France
Have a great trip M and H! Here’s a few parting words of advice – most fairly obvious but just in case….
In Barcelona, see any and all things Gaudi – the half-done church/temple (Sagrada Familia); the really cool park (Park Guell, it’s out of the way but worth the trip). We also visited another house in the city that I can’t remember the name of – both Casa Batllo and Casa Mila look incredibly cool. (We got the Gaudi bug in Barcelona and everywhere else we visited in Spain, we searched out nearby Gaudi buildings.)
In the Dordogne, remember to check out the “art way” (“chemin des arts” billed as “a funny way” to experience Sarlat. I think they meant “a fun way”) and one of our favorites, Sophie Noellet’s studio at 4-6 rue Alberic Cahuet.. And of course the outdoor market (I bought foie gras there for dad…) And here’s a long-shot request: We bought Lily her favorite all time necklace in Sarlat – which she lost last summer in the Dominican Republic. We found it at a little unimpressive-looking postcard-gift shop just off the artist’s studio walk. It was a horseshoe nail bent into the shape of a heart on a string of rawhide. Nothing fancy or expensive – but if by some remote chance you find something like it, please buy and I’ll reimburse you.
In Talloires, I’d love to know if the Hotel Beau Site is still there. And the Annecy market of course. And the Gorge du Fier.
Have a wonderful time! x0x,b
The Frank Lloyd Wright house in northeast Iowa
Not long ago, D and I toured Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Robie House near the University of Chicago on the south side. The tour cost $15 and we were in a group of maybe 10 people. The house was mid-renovation and had little furniture. I couldn’t help compare this to my visit a few years earlier with my friend Francine, who was visiting from London, to Wright’s not-as-famous-or-grand house, Cedar Rock, near the town of Quasqueton.
At Cedar Rock, Francine and I paid a very modest suggested donation – a couple of bucks as I recall – then hopped on a little cart that took us down to the house on the river. We – and only we – took a guided tour of the building, which was fully furnished. We were astonished to have the whole place to ourselves.
Now comes word that the trust fund that enabled these tours has run dry and the DNR has assumed most of the financial responsibilty. Staff has been cut, visitor hours and tour times have been reduced. Perhaps they should charge more for admission (currently, a “$5 donation is suggested) – which seems only fair. The home is open Memorial Day through Oct. 21, Thursday – Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with hourly tours.
Filed under architecture, Iowa
TakeBetsywithyou 