Sunday, September 27, 2009

A Good Quote from Henry Miller

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Calzones

Calzones are a nice break nice break from pizza, should you need one. They're easy to make, and they allow for plenty of options. I use my basic pizza dough, and divide it in two after it's risen. The recipe for that is below. My filling tends to be whatever is handy. This one has kalamata olives, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil.

Basic Pizza Dough
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Roll dough flat on a floured surface, like you're rolling a pizza. On one side of the dough add your filling: cheese, tomatoes, basil, olives, more cheese. You can fill it up, but don't fill it too much. Fold the dough over and pinch the sides together so there is a nice seal. Add a couple holes to vent and pop it in the oven. Mine tend to cook up nicely at 400 degrees in 30-40 minutes.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson last week. This thriller and international bestseller is set in modern day Sweden and revolves around an unsolved murder, a disgraced journalist and and a rich, dysfunctional family with many secrets. There are Nazi's, socio-paths, hackers, and perverts galore. The hacker would be Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo herself. The novel has so many plot twists that you're never sure what's coming next. And there's so much gratuitous violence that you begin to wonder if there was some hidden insanity inside those ABBA songs you listened to as a kid. It's a bit overlong toward the end, and it takes some time to get used to the dizzying number of characters, but it's still a great summer read.


Jenni read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo while we were in Sweden and really enjoyed it. She's just started book two: The Girl Who Played with Fire. I'm onto lighter fare with Long Way Down.







Friday, September 18, 2009

Travel Planning and Deals

I'm currently enrolled in a travel education program with hopes of having my own travel business in the future. For some time, I've put together trips as a hobby. Now that we have this blog, whenever I see a great deal or put together a new package, I'll share it in case someone might be able to use the information.

If anyone would like some help planning an upcoming trip, please let me know. I can use the practice!


Stockholm Journal 6

This is Stockholm journal 6. Just us taking a 3 1/2 hour steamship ride with the kids back from Gripsholm Castle. Lake Malaren was beautiful, and it was a nice day trip. Not a tremendous amount to see at Gripsolm Castle, if you're used to other European castles, but it was great being out on the water. It turned off pretty wet and cool on the way home so we had the deck to ourselves. The boys took full advantage of that.


Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Stockholm Journal 1

Here is Stockholm Journal 1. This is our first evening in Stockholm. We're dining outside behind an Italian restaurant.


Stockholm Journal 4

Here is Stockholm Journal 4. The daily journals were supposed to provide insight into what we were seeing, doing, or eating, but I was so tired most of the time it's really just me drinking beer and rambling. We're on the street for this one, so the sound is pretty bad.




Segway Army

Is it the future of transportation, or just a fun way to travel six inches above the ground. I don't know; but Stockholm was one of the cleanest and best smelling cities we've been in. Maybe it's because they keep their options open. There were numerous ways of getting around on public transportation, light rail, subway, bus, water taxi, train, all very punctual too. We found a lot of people on bicycle or walking as well. But this could be the future. These folks attended a training session in the Gallerian across from our hotel. At the end of it they were set loose on the streets. I was lucky enough to catch them.



Restaurants in Gamla Stan Stockholm Sweden

Gamla Stan Stockholm Sweden

Carl Linnaeus Garden Uppsala Sweden

You don't often get to say famous and botanist in the same breath. But Carl Linnaeus, the man who gave us the Latin naming taxonomy for plants and animals, is about as famous as they come. Take your Home Sapiens self for a walk through his gardens in Uppsala, and marvel at natures diversity. You might not see Sid viciousi and Johnny rotteni. They were ancient trilobites. But if you're lucky, you might see some mold eating beetles named: Agathidium bushi, A. rumsfeldi and A. cheneyi.