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| 31 Dec 2009 11:06:12 pm |
 Dinner Party Time |
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December 30, 2009. We used to through dinner parties all the time and now with Quinn and travel and life... we have been neglect in our entertaining ways. We ramped it up for New Year's Eve Eve and decided to invite our friends Danny/Molley, Jeff/Kerri, and my bro Greg and Donna over. Greg is ill mobilized with his recent ACL surgery and also a great cook. I took advantage of both of these events to plan a great menu. Greg happened to have a duck confit in his fridge (1 in a million chance) and those of you who know this French delicacy know... you never pass up a duck confit. Here is the menu....
Course 1: Baby spinach salad with red onion, roasted chestnuts, and a home made mustard vinaigrette with garlic cheese bread
Course 2: Home made ravioli with duck confit, chestnuts, ricotta and parmesan cheeses, and fresh parsley serviced in a browned butter, sage and cream sauce (greg and I rolled the paste fresh just hours before)
Course 3: Pheasant and Chucker Piccata (lemon, white wine, butter, and capers) with French beans in a pancetta and sweet onion sauce (birds from our annual Tweardy Hunt... alive just days before)
Course 4: Chocolate and Peanut Butter pie with assorted after dinner drinks
We accompanied the dinner with a Barolo and a Brunello, both 2003 and both brilliant. It was a great meal with friends and I wish I had the time and money to do it every week :-) |
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Posted By : John
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| 31 Dec 2009 10:54:27 pm |
| Christmas Morning |
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| December 25, 2009: Christmas Eve is traditionally at the my parents home and this year's event was the usual mix of wonderful food, friends and family, and one too many scotches. The difference this year was that Quinn is now almost 2 yrs old and she is starting to get the drift of this present and Santa thing. She jumped and giggles with glee at the first presents from cousins on Christmas Eve and twirled around doing her now famous "happy dance". We all exchanged gifts after the guests departed and got home late to play Santa at our own house for the 1st time. Quinn was up early (as usual) and came downstairs to her new baby kitchen set (the big Santa gift of the year... and PINK!). She loved it! The grandparents and Sherrie and Matt all came for a Christmas brunch and she was in hog heaven. Center of attention and entertaining the troops! It was a great first Christmas in our new house on Stratton Lane and I look forward to many more and continuing "happy dances" from Quinn. |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[41] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 13 Dec 2009 07:57:59 pm |
| 3rd Annual Chili Cook Off |
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| December 12, 2009: The defending champion (aka me) had to bring his A Game this year as my brother Greg, yet to get his name on the trophy, has been testing recipes for weeks. I stuck with the same formula that brought me the championship last year.... good meats, rich flavors, and a slow heat that come late and brings you back for more. The competition had 9 entries this year and the quality of the event is getting better each year. I tried all the chilis and all of them were good this year. The judges tested and smelled and deliberated and the results were in..... (drum roll please)..... 3rd Place! I am pleased to say that Greg finally got his championship and his chili was marvelous. The Tweardy's swept the winner's podium for the second straight year with Mom's vegan chili (yes... vegan) coming in second. I suggested that I could be a judge next year to give someone else a chance to win... LOL. Great fun and a little healthy competition with family and I will have to go back to the drawing board to get back the championship next year. Watch out Greg! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[41] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 12 Dec 2009 03:29:31 pm |
| Weekend in LA |
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| Novermber 4-7, 2009: I have been working in LA for most of the year, although admittedly, have not seen much of the town. Lisa and Quinn decided to join me mid week and stay the weekend to enjoy the beach and a bit of the LA lifestyle. We started in Westwood right near UCLA at the Palomar Hotel. Work is within walking distance and the girls strolled through Westwood Village and relaxed in the pool. We also hit a great upscale Mexican resturant in Bevery Hills. Mole sampler was delicious. The weekend hit and we cruised Rodeo Drive for a bit to see how the 'other' half lives and then moved location to Manhattan Beach. Much more rool at the Mariott Residence Inn and closer to the beach. Saurday was family fun day and we got down to the 'strand' early and watched the surfers. Then we rented some bikes and cruised south past Hermosa Beach. Great lifestyle out there. From young to old were out walking, riding, and playing volleyball. Beach is wide and soft and perfect for sport. After a nice lunch we all took and nap and our friends the Glasses had us over for wine and a dinner. It was great catching up with new friends and spending time with the family. It was Lisa's first time to LA and I think she loved it. We will be back.... |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[38] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 10 Aug 2009 03:04:48 am |
| Back home for good! |
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| August 2, 2009: more to come.... |
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Posted By : John
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| 10 Aug 2009 12:57:24 am |
| Long lost Swedes return to Pittsburgh |
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| July 17 - 26, 2009: We finally got the A Team back together. Our great friends Josh and Lisen came all the way from Stockholm, Sweden to visit us in Pit for a wonderful 10 days. The big news was dropped on us the first night that Lisen was pregnant and we could not have been more excited. It is always a balancing act when frineds come as you want to pack as much fun and Pittsburgh sites in as possible but also need to realize this is their vacation, and they want to relax. I think we struck the right balance as we did some big activities, like the Nickelback concert, Kennywood Park, Jam on Walnut, and some nice dinners out and some chill things like tons of shopping (Lisen's official sport), grilling huge steaks, some movies, and basically catching up with good friends. We miss them already and are planning a Euro Trip for next spring for sure. Until next time... love you guys! See you soon. |
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Posted By : John
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| 07 Jul 2009 03:48:34 pm |
| A Texas Sized 4th of July |
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| July 3 - 6, 2009: About 17 years ago, three college freshmen from very different backgrounds landed on the 4th floor of Graham Lee's dormitory at Washington and Lee University. Quickly becoming good friends and finghting the odds, they have stayed in touch as each has started his own family and travelled the world. Well, Gray and Brad now both live in Houston and Gray's generous family has a beautiful home in the Texas Hill Country (outside Austin, TX). Gray, his wife Erin and their daughter Hayden extended us an invitation to join then and the Payes (Brad, Dom, Gavin, and Nathaniel) to a Texas style 4th of July. This was simply too good to pass up so I flew in from LA and Lisa and Quinn came in from Pittsburgh to join the party. Now Texas is a special place and I mean that in a good way. The Hill Country is beautiful with lots of cedar and a high desert like landscape. It is also hot as hell... over 100 degress every day. Our salvation was the Blanco River and Gray's house was nicely position right in front of a swimming hole. In grand Texas style we ate great BBQ (brisket of course), home cooked Fajitas, and a classic burger and dogs day on the 4th. Gray also has a traditional fireworks display and has a zealot like passion for things that make big explosions in the sky. The men all went down to the river bed around dark and the families sat perched on the deck for the show. Gray unloaded about 45 minutes of motars into the Texas sky to "uuuhhh's", "aaahhh's", and "awesomes"!! We also hit a huge streat fair, did some fly fishing, hit the cute hill country village and the girls even hit the massive outlet mall about 30 minutes away! It was wonderful catching up with old friends and meeting their families. A big thank you to Gray and Erin for hosting a wondeful weekend and we hope to stay on the list for future meeting in Texas! See y'all soon. |
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Posted By : John
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| 07 Jul 2009 03:30:45 pm |
| Summer Vacation in HHI |
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| June 7 - 18, 2009: Almost every year since 1981, the family has been making the 13 hour drive to a little resort island off the coast of South Carolina called Hiltin Head Island. The island has undergone many changes over those years but the core tenents remain the same.... great tennis and golf, wide open beaches, wonderful resturants, long bike rides, and tons of hot and humid weather. My parents now own 10 weeks a year in a time share so they take full advantage. I have not been is a while due to the living in Europe and we decided to let Quinn experience the her first true "family" vacation. Lisa, Quinn, and I decided to fly in and my parents drove in from their annual golf classic in Kentucky with Uncle Bill (they actually almost won this year). The 10 days went by far too quickly with lots of great meals (even some new discoveries), a couple rounds of golf, daily tennis, bike riding, and lots of lounging around. Quinn unfortunately got an ear infection and this slowed her down the first week and took me to the HHI emergency room for the first time (it is like a nice hotel). With some meds she was back to herself and enjoying the beach and all the grandma and pappap attention. My parents really love this place and I can see why... I think Lisa is a convert too so I would expect many more updated on HHI in the years to come. |
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Posted By : John
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| 25 Jun 2009 09:08:07 pm |
| Take me out the Ballgame |
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June 5, 2009: The Pirates are a bit of a third wheel in Pittsburgh. With both the Steelers (football) and Penguins (hockey) winning championships this year... noone really cares about the Pirates. And the fact the they are in the mist of their 13th losing season doesn't help! The only redeeming quality the Pirates have is their ballpark. PNC Park is beautiful and with a gorgeous nigth, $1 hot dog night, and the Rockies in town... it was too good to pass up. As luck would have it that, I ran into my old highschool friend Muddy Waters and he work sat the ticket booth part time (school teacher by day) and of course... hooked us up with great seats for peanuts. We were joined by our neighbors and now good friends Jeff and Kerry and they brought their son William (now 1). This was Quinn's first Buccos game and she loved it. One hand on a hot dog and the other in the nachos... just like her Dad. Baseball is still fun at the ballpark and more summer nights to come.
Click for all the pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 25 Jun 2009 08:52:05 pm |
| Memorial Day Pool Party |
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May 25, 2009: First big pool party of the year is always fun over at the rents house and the weather cooperated enough for everyone to take a dip and enjoy the sunshine. Dad cooked up tons of ribs and mom put on her classic spread. All the usual suspects were there... good to see everyone. Summer has started!
Click for all the pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 25 Jun 2009 08:40:03 pm |
| Surprise... you're now old! |
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May 10, 2009: Your 35th Birthday is the first of a series of "oh crap... I am old moments" in your life. The first is 30 and then the low thirties just sort of float past but 35 is a nice reminder that you are a full on adult and get used to it! Lisa had planned a cool evening out and our great friend Lara came into town from Columbus to join us. We started the weekend off with a visit to the Mattress Factory Art Museum(http://www.mattress.org/) in the North Side of Pittsburgh. Very contemporary and even a bit interactive (with a crazy dark floor). Afterword we hit the local brewery call Penn Brewery for a "Bavarian Style" lunch packed full of meat trays, schnitzel sandwiches, and tall beers. That evening was the Birthday event and I was told that we were hitting a trendy bar called the Firehouse (in an old fire station) for a cocktail training/mixology class of sorts. Little did I know that me devious wife was a planning phenom. When I rounded the bend of the bar... whammo.... 50 of my closest friends and family were there drinking champagne and yelling "surprise"! I was floored. A total shocker. The entire family and friends from high school, work, and as far as Colorado came in. The event was perfect and the bar turned into a trendy nightclub and lounge and with the birthday drink special (a $5 Belvedere Dirty Martini) kicking everyone's butts... everyone danced and rocked the house. Lisa was a star and pulled off a 5 star event! The next morning was rough with people scattered about the house and Lara's attempt at indoor camping. Every 6 years or so my b-day hits on Mother's Day and this was just such a year, so we rallied the troops and headed over to my parents house for a super brunch prepared by my bro Greg (fantastic cook). Wonderful meal and some "cazzo" (like horse) on the basketball court rounded out the afternoon.
Thanks to all my friends and family that made this one of the best birthday ever . Special thanks for Donna for all the assistance and super kudos go to my lovely wife... Lisa... you rule!
LInk to Photos:
http://www.almostmadeit.com/g/#090509_Pittsburgh |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[88] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 04 May 2009 02:36:30 am |
| An Island Wedding |
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April 22-26, 2009: On Jeff's birthday 3.5 years ago... who would have known that the blind date we set up between Lisa's grad school classmate Christel and my IBM colleague Jeff would end up in an beautiful destination wedding in ARUBA! We decided we needed a mini-vacation and headed off to the islands to see our Swedish friends tie the knot. This was the first long trip we have taken without Quinn and although there was some anxiety, it was just want we needed. As you you would imagine... there was plenty of blue water, sunshine, cold Belashi (the local beer), and island breezes. There plenty of activity (golf, horseback riding, snorkling) but the highlughts were the sunset cruise they booked for the entire wedding party on a huge catamaran and of course... the beach wedding. Everyone looked great and the evening was just perfect. Jeff's brothers Jason and Justin and his friend Demitri were great company and we all enjoyed the Swedish style speeches let by Petter and the easy, laid back dance party. The wedding could have not been nicer and I will place my vote for a beach wedding any day. Converted!
We wish Jeff and Christel a lifetime of happiness and we love you both! |
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Posted By : John
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| 04 May 2009 02:25:49 am |
| Las Vegas |
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April 2- 5, 2009: I love when the family gets to "piggy back" on company business and this time I was in Las Vegas for the CTIA Wireless convention and supporting my Virgin Mobile client (BTW - they are excellent!). Lisa and Quinn decided to skip the cold of da 'burgh and joined me for a long weekend. This worked out perfectly as I had to be in Los Angeles on Monday and it was better to stay west for sure. We decided to stay at the Trump as it is new, non-gaming (i.e. no smoking) and generally kid friendly. The hotel was great and we were upgraded to a full 2 room suite that was bigger than many of my previous apartments. Vegas with a 1 year old is definately different but equally as good. We hit the strip with Quinn one day and made our way to the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay... she loved it and we then enjoyed some superb mexican. We chilled at the pool the next day and Lisa got a message. That night we got a baby sitter (whammo that was expensive!) and went to Caesar's Palace for a great steak, some gambling, and a little night life. We finished up the weekend with some more relaxing at the pool and a nice dinner at Encore. Quinn loved it and I tried to teach her "double down"... maybe next time.
Click for all the pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 22 Mar 2009 07:42:48 pm |
| 1st Birthday Celebration |
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February 28, 2009: We cannot believe it has already been a year! Quinn Gabriella turning one year on February 19 and we decided to have both family and friends over to celebrate the occasion. We also had a good friend Sara Carlsson visit all the way from Oklahoma for the weekend. This was also a quasi house warming as for many of the guests, this was the first time they had seen our house or the remodel. We had a great crowd of about 30 adults an kids and everyone was incredibly generous to Quinn! The birthday cake "event" did not disappoint as Quinn slowly approached the icing and after a small taste... dove right in with both hands and painted herself with icing from head to toe. She is now walking and is ready for spring as she giggles with glee and make a break for the door each time you open it. Thanks again to everyone and for all the love for Quinn.
Click for all the pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 26 Jan 2009 02:28:04 am |
| Cha-Cing! |
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| January 24, 2009: Poker Night. This is nearly a monthly occurance with the crew (made up of the Chahine 'Machine', the Tweardys and a few close friends) and although I have missed the last few... it was great to see Samer's new house, catch up with the crew, hit the Hooka, and of course.... take all the little baby poker bitches mulla! They affectionately call the game "call if you hate money!" and not sure I will be getting the next call. Thanks guys for the economic stimulus package! |
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Posted By : John
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| 19 Jan 2009 04:23:26 am |
| Superbowl Baby!! |
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| January 18, 2009: Here we Go... Steelers... Here we Go... Pittsburgh goin' to da Superbowl!! This is a famous song on P'burgh radio and goin' for a 6th Championship. Lovin' it! |
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Posted By : John
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| 18 Jan 2009 09:59:48 pm |
| Steamboat Christmas |
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| January 3 - 11, 2009: One of the most anticiapated trips of the year is our annual family trip to Steamboat Springs, CO. This year the entire family was able to make it with Mom and Dad, Greg and Donna, Matt and Daniel, and Lisa, Quinn, and yours truly. I got the vacation curse this year and as soon as the vacation starts... I get sick. This has happened twice this year but I rallied through it and was back to shape in only a couple days. The weather the great all week and in classic Steamboat fashion, it snowes about 40 inches during the week. The week had a good balance of skiing, hot springs, family game playing, relaxing, bowling, movie watching, and great meals. One of the highlights for me was my brother Greg's home cooked meal including fresh calimari, mussels aux provance, and fresh pomme frittes. All homemade and all incredible. He is a great cook. The week always finishes too quickly and the enevitable "why don't we move here" discussion occurs. Love the boat and great times spend with love ones make is even nicer. |
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Posted By : John
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| 28 Dec 2008 05:00:22 am |
| Quinn's 1st Christmas!! |
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December 25, 2008: After 12 weeks of crazy contractors and over priced everything and an all day exhausting relocation... we finally moved and got to spend Quinn's 1st Christmas in our new home. Nice feeling. I hope everyone got to spend time with friends and family in their "homes". Happy Holidays everyone!
Click for all the pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 28 Dec 2008 04:51:55 am |
| Chili Cook-Off Champions |
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December 13, 2008: Those who know my brother Greg know that is an insane foodie... possibly even more than me and to boot... he is one hell of a cook. Last year he started a chili cook-off and although I hear his chili was killer, he was upset by a down home chili from Darren Schumacher. He was bitter all year and this year brought the second annual cook-off and a chance for redemption. 10 eager contestants threw their hats and best chilies into the ring. I got the invite this year and pulled together a strong chili was nice meats, 2 beans, and a sweet taste to start with slow heat on the finish. I felt confident but I knew Greg's was going to bring his best stuff and my dad whipped up a chili that I must say, was "pretty darn good!” Greg had T-Shirts made and sequestered the judges into a separate room for tasting. He even down loaded and printed official chili tasting notes and scorecards. I told you... he is serious! After the smoke cleared and we all ate more chili than we ever had before... the judges announced the top 3. Third place went to the big fella... my dad. Second place went to my bro... Greg. The winner was yours truly and the Tweardy sweep of the winners circle was even nicer than my name on the huge chili trophy (I told you he was serious!). See you next year Greg.... !
Click for the spicy pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[151] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 28 Dec 2008 04:21:45 am |
| Winos in Napa Valley, CA |
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December 3-7, 2008: After years of the Italian and French wine regions, we had the opportunity to test the heartland of US wine... Napa Valley, CA. My client is based in Walnut Creek, CA and instead of taking the long trip back to Pittsburgh over the weekend, I decided to bring Lisa and Quinn out to California and have a nice long weekend. We set up little mini-apartment in the Embassy Suites and Lisa enjoyed the nice weather and the quaint town odfWalnut Creek while I worked. It was ncie to have friendly faces waiting for me every night. On Saturday we took the short 1 hour trip north to Napa and cruised the beautiful "Silverado Trail" in the sunshine. Very dramatic as the valley is very narrow and the vineyards gleam between the two ridgelines. We stopped at Joseph Phelps (my father's favorite cab) for wine tasting in the morning and Quinn stole the show. She was is super smile mode (maybe it was the vino) as we tasted 6 wines including a 1995 Insignia (their top end cabernet). We left wit their coastal Pinot Nior and a Cabernet. We then hit Rutherford Hill for a picnic lunch and enjoyed the view of the valley. We continued to weave our way north and settled in Calastoga. This town cute not be any cuter with hot springs, mud baths, nice cafes and resturants, and vineyards on all sides. We happened to hit the annula Christmas Lighted Tracker Parade (no kidding!) and the play was a mad house. The town must have tripled in size and everyone lined the streets for pure americana. We had a nice dinner and on Sunday hit a small winery on a local's recommendation called August Briggs. Great little place specializing in zinfindel. Very nice and had to leave with one. We navigated our way back through Napa and Sonoma and landed in San Fransico for the night. Great trip and another visit to Napa is already on my mind. People have been asking me which is better... Piedmonte, Tuscany, or Napa. Hmmmm... ask me again over some wine.
Click for all the pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[133] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 18 Nov 2008 01:22:34 am |
| Pitt Cheerleaders |
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| Novemeber 8, 2008: With Pitt a respectable 6-2, we decided to attend the game against Louisville and Quinn doned her first cheerleading outfit (I fear the first of many to come). She looked precious and all bundled up against the cold, we were off to the game. Pitt came to play and won big and Quinn was an angel and we tried to teach her touchdown. The beginning of a new tradition in the Tweardy family... Pitt football with Quinn. Sorry baby... loving Pitt is a lifetime of agony... but join the club! |
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Posted By : John
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| 18 Nov 2008 01:17:17 am |
| Freelance No More! |
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| October 24-26, 2008: Lara "Hollow Legs" Knight, formally known as Freelance, the Stockholm Kid, and "I think I want to restore antique furniture"... paid the Tweardys a visit in Pittsburgh. We always love seeing Lara and now that she is in Columbus, Ohio (only 3 hours away)... we hope to see her more often. On Friday we just chilled and caught up on everything and with rain on Saturday, we bagged the Pitt game (thank gosh as they got killed) and strolled around Shadyside, did some shopping, and enjoyed the day. That night we hit the town and a wonderful Med dinner at Mallorca. Lobsters and great wine and we were ready for the night. We strolled Carson St and hit a couple spots. Lara hit the vodkas and soon it was time for bed! On Sunday we joined my parents for a nice brunch and then just as fast as she arrived... she was off. Come baby Lara! Can't wait to see her again and she will always in Freelance in my heart. |
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Posted By : John
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| 27 Oct 2008 01:57:26 am |
| Man-cation in Elk Country |
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October 17-23, 2008: Elk (noun): the second largest member of the deer family, smaller only than a moose. Elk never have flat antlers (like moose do.) October 18th marks the start of the 2nd rifle season in Colorado and the prize for most hunters are the elk and mule deer. The season only lasts for 1 week and this year my father-in-law Dave Harris and his son Brian traveled cross country for a chance to see the Rockies and shoot a trophy elk. I am more of a "social" hunter and although I enjoy the hunt, I really prefer the poker games, beer drinking, story telling, elk eating, and an excuse to take a long walk in the beautiful mountains. The Harris' are hard core hunters and they were geared up with maps, plans, equipment and full on machismo. Let the games begin. Due to work, I was only in attendance for 3 days but my mate Chris joined me as well and we hit the mountains on Sunday at about 4:30 am and were on the continental divide before sunrise. Although the day was beautiful, after 8 hours of no action we returned to the condo to find a new plan. Google Earth was brilliant here and we found a valley with good cover, north facing and water and we decided to attack the next day. Just as we had hoped, this valley was full of action and big Dave shot a cow elk at sunset. Later that week a mule deer buck also met it's maker and the week ended with tons of game for the family and a wonderful week inthe mountains. I think this hunt will become a tradition and this coming weekend... elk is on the menu!
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Click for anotherfull-size image |
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Posted By : John
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| 24 Sep 2008 12:20:48 am |
| Donuts in da 'Burgh |
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September 17 - 21, 2008: No matter the pundits say, Pittsburgh is a surprising nice little city. Rich with ethnic pockets, good food, history, architecture, culture and delusions of grandeur from it's glory days at the turn of the century. If the weather cooperates it can really shine and da'burgh really put it's best foot forward for Chris (aka Donut) and his g-friend Jenni. 5 days of sunshine and high 70's with cool nights for relaxing. Their trip collided with Lisa's 1st week back to work and a full week including a conference in DC for me but they made the best of it and hit the Carnegie Art and Natural History Museum, had several long lunches, and enjoyed all the local shopping while we were working . We regrouped at night for some nice dinners that included al fresco at the Harris Grill on Thursday, homemade sauce and a great vino (Brunello) on Thursday, the Monterrey Bay Fish Grotto on Mt. Washington on Friday, and a local sports bar for wings on Saturday. The highlight of the trip was a Saturday afternoon at the Pitt Game. Pitt played Iowa and we were all scared of a Big 10 opponent and Pitt's propensity for choking under pressure. We started at 9:00 at the tailgate and started the drinking at about 9:05. Some Bag-O, tailgate crashing, and mood setting from the Pitt Band and we were ready for the game at Noon. The sun was beating on us all day and the game was very excited with Pitt pulling out a 21-10 victory! We all collapsed early that night and awoke to a pancake breakfast and a walking tour of the Shadyside Arts Festival. They returned to Colorado on Sunday afternoon headed over to the Steelers Party at my parent’s house to finish off the weekend. We love showing off our little city with great friends and always enjoy Chris and Jenni's company. We hope they enjoyed Pitt and hope to see them soon in the new house. Go Steelers!
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Posted By : John
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| 03 Sep 2008 09:23:12 pm |
| Steamboat Springs Weekend |
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August 27 - September 1, 2008: We used the long Labor Day weekend as an excuse to head west to our condo in Steamboat. Although famous for the skiing, Steamboat is just as nice in the summer with cool nights, warm days, fishing, hiking, hunting, and plain old relaxing. We planned to take full advantage of the relaxing part and arrived on Wednesday to big blue Colorado skies and sunshine. Perfect. Our friends Chris and Jenni joined us on Thursday and we spend a couple days catching up, hitting the sidewalk sales in town, chillin' by the river playing cards, and enjoying the hot tub. The 'bag-o' competition at the Slopeside was heated but lots of fun and I see more of that game in my future. On Saturday we hit Fish Creek Falls and were joined by the Kindel Family (Rich, Tamara, Zack, Matt, and Alexis). With a full house we played games and spent some time catching up with old friends. On Sunday we took the boys to a "Sheep Dog" competition at a local ranch. Although dampened by rain, the dogs were great and the kids enjoyed the farm atmosphere. We had a family dinner that evening and finished our 3 day 500-Bid card marathon. If card playing ability is an indication of relationships then Jenni and Chris are made for each other. The weekend ended on Monday and we set off for the long trip back to Pittsburgh. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful weekend. Colorado mountains and good friends is a perfect recipe and we should do it more often.
More Photos Here |
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Posted By : John
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| 16 Aug 2008 08:51:06 pm |
| Our HERO! |
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August 11, 2008: We just want to say that Sgt. Matthew Irwin-Clark is our hero. He has and continues to serve our country bravely in the US Army and has recently returned from Afghanistan were his contibutions earned him the BRONZE STAR! How incredible is that! We can't wait to have you and all our troops back home for good.
more photos here |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[110] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 16 Aug 2008 08:46:32 pm |
| Goodbye Original Sin... |
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August 10, 2008: After some searching, Lisa and I decided to join the Shadyside Presbyterian Church (about 3 blocks from our apartment) and this has been a great decision. Lisa was baptised in July as we joined the church and the community has been gracious, open and welcoming. The icing on the cake is that the Pastor, Jim Tinnemeter, is a 4th cousin. Small world!! Now it was Quinn's turn and she wore the same christening gown as me, Matt, and Greg (my mom saves these types of things). The gown was beautiful and she looked like a little angel. We invited our close family and Greg and Donna were the Presbyterian version of the "God Parents" called sponsars. The day was extra special as Lisa's sister Sherrie and her husbond Matt were back from Europe and Matt was home safely from 18 mo in Afghanistan (US Army). Quinn was her usual perfect and smiling self and the paparazzi we're flashing throughout the ceremony. After the event, we walked over to the Sunnyledge B&B for a nice brunch and enjoyed the combination of great food, perfect weather, and close friends and family. The day could not have been nicer and thanks to everyone for the generous gifts and all the love and support.
More Photos Here |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[106] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Jul 2008 02:52:14 pm |
| Chautauqua Lake on the 4th of July |
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July 3-6, 2008: In the 1960's, Lisa's grandparents bought a little house on Chautauqua Lake in NY for about $3000. Presently, the lake is famous for the Chautauqua Institute, beautiful homes, country stores, resturants, antiques, and sailing... and now the homes start at about $200,000 and go up quickly. We had a chance to enjoy the cottage for the weekend and were joined by Lisa's parents, Dave and Irene, and Lisa's cousin Mike and his boys Andrew and Nathan. The weekend had all the classic 4th traditions... BBQ with lots of hot dogs, burgers, and kielbasi, cold beer, boating, fireworks, card playing, and relaxing. The great news was the weather which cooperated all weekend and this makes the difference. The fireworks were the main show and were abundent throughout the weekend. The evening of the 4th was like the Tet Offensive as it seemed everyone around us had big time fireworks and wanted to "1-Up" their neighbor. Quinn was not a big fan! On the 5th we relaxed all day and even took a trip to Midway Park, an old time amusement park on the lake where Lisa's has many fond memories. That evening the local 'red neck' decided to have his own fire works display and must have spend his entire LT Disability check as this was the best personal display I have ever seen. More than 30 minutes of smoke and explosions. Again... Quinn was less appreciative than I. Overall a very nice weekend and I can see why Lisa always refer to the good times at the lake... it is a special place indeed!
Click for more photos |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[110] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Jun 2008 06:04:50 pm |
| Wine Tasting! |
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May 30, 2008. Severel months ago, my brother Greg decided to sponsor a wine tasting with the hopes that this new tradition would take off and be hosted in friend's homes on a mothly basis. Unfortuntaly it took two tastings for the idea to flourish and afterward I agreed to carry the torch and host an event. The theme was Italian Reds (of course) and everyone was instructed to bring their favorite vino di italia and I would provide the authentic antipasti table. We changed the format and added a twist in this event by randomly choosing 5 of the wines to partake in a blind tasting competition. The winner by poplular vote would recieve a special bottle from my collection, a Famiglia Anselma Barolo Adasi Riserva 2001... very nice!!! During the tasting, it was amazing to see how everyone gravitated to a different wine. Some sweet, some dry, some fruity, etc. Each wine received at least one "5" rating on our scale from 1 - 5 illustrating this different. The second place wine was an Amorone from my father, "Big John". I do not usually care for Amorone as I find the finish too dry and bitter but this one was really excellent and barely lost to ourwinner, a 2001 Brunello di Montalcino. This wine was big and bold, with a lots of berries and oak and a long finish. It belonged to your's truly. Now... there was some grumblings from the crowd, especially the drunk ones, that I stacked the deck and placed a ringer in the competition. It is true this wine was the perfect year, held a Wine Spectator Rating of 93, was big and bold and delicious. It may also be true that this bottle was a bit higher price point than the rest. But come on people.... this is a competition. Did you expect to win with a $15 bottle of wine? This is wine... you get what you pay for. Don't bring a butter knife to a gun fight! In the spitit of brotherhood, I offered to share the booty with the crowd and after the right glasses were found... we all enjoyed a wonderful wine on the deck with cigars and friends. It was a nice evening and I hope everyone enjoyed the food and wine and maybe even learned a little too. Until next time... stay winos! |
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Posted By : John
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| 03 Jun 2008 07:58:28 pm |
| Baby Beach Party |
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May 28, 2008: There is no beach in Pittsburgh but since spring is here and JC Penny has their big beach picture offering... we decided to celebrate Quinn's 3 month Birthday with some bikini photos. Check these out... too cute!
Click for more photos |
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Posted By : John
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| 21 May 2008 01:29:23 am |
| Gone Fishin' |
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May 16 - 18, 2008: Lisa's father Dave has a fishing and hunting camp in north central PA in a little town called Clarmont (Pop. 19). Now... ever since he bought this little A Frame cabin 5 yrs ago, he has been telling trout stories. We catch our limit in 5 min, they jump into our net and the fish fries are the greatest he says, bla bla bla. So, we had to see it for ourselves and packed up the Volvo (1st one ever in Clarmont) and set off with Greg (my brother and future red neck), his wife Donna, Lisa and Quinn. With a baby the 3 hour trip became 5 hours but we arrived on Friday night ready for some beers, wings and buffalo balls at the local "Mountain Inn" and a day of fishin'. Saturday was rainy but with Smethport Lake freshly stocked with tasty rainbow trout, we put on the rain gear and attacked. Locals were killing it with a special spoon spinner (angler lingo) and we did not have it... so we went with the Dave bait "special". A trout cocktail of magots and bull worms with a small piece of foam to float it off the bottom. Too much for any trout to resist and over the course of 2 hours we caught 16. That night we enjoyed a fish fry and one of the best fish sandwiches ever!! Overall... a wonderful weekend with family and tradition. Dave was right... everything seems better up at camp.
Click for some fishy photos |
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Posted By : John
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| 08 May 2008 01:07:20 am |
| New Job! |
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| May 5, 2008: First day of work and my new visa commercial: "Ten hard years making a name for yourself, great executive sponsorship, team respect, and world class accomplishments.... throwing it all away and joining a new firm where noone knows you... priceless". Deloitte Consulting LLP... here I come. |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[104] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 08 Apr 2008 12:23:16 am |
| Opening Day at the Ballpark |
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April 7, 2008: PNC Park was the venue for Opening Day for the Pittsburgh Pirates (aka da' Buccos). This is usually the only day the ballpark sells out to see the perennial last place Pirates and there borderline Triple A squad but with 70 degree sunshine (very rare in Pittsburgh in April) and the Bucs 3-3... which is .500 baseball baby... we could not pass up the chance. Tickets and tallgate provided by Paul Atencio and his law firm and Greg (my bro) and I joined him for a wondeful 12 inning adventure (ending in a loss). We finished the day at the Original Oyster House with fish and some cold beers. Nice Day with friends in da' burgh.
PS: for those European readers on JT.COM.... this is a reference to Baseball... so do not feel bad if none of this entry made any sense.
More Photos Here! |
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Posted By : John
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| 03 Apr 2008 07:22:08 pm |
| My bro needs some help. |
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April 3, 2008: My brother Greg sits at work and finds these things.... my count is 33... bring on the 5 year olds!
33 |
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Posted By : John
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| 25 Mar 2008 12:16:57 am |
| Happy Easter! |
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| March 23, 2008: This was our first Easter back with the family in at least 10 years and Quinn's first family holiday. We celebrated the day at my Aunt Jackie's home and all the whole gang was on hand for a wonderful gourmet feast and lots of catchin' up. Quinn was properly introduced to her new cousins Emma and Sydney (actually she mostly slept) and Sydney kept saying "baby... baby!" She is only 2. The holidays are for family and it was very nice being back home and enjoying all the love. Happy Easter to everyone! |
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Posted By : John
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| 29 Feb 2008 03:21:33 am |
| da 'Burgh (aka Pittsburgh) |
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| February 28, 2008: Yes... we are moving back to Pittsburgh for a year. Iron City Beer, Primanti Brother's sangwitches, pierogies, kebosi, salads with steak and french fries on top, Friday fish fries, Pitt losses, O Dogs, smog, bad weather, traffic, and all the other reasons we love Pittsburgh.... well... mostly family. And we are baaaack. Our new address is 5251 Ellsworth Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15232. See you soon. |
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Posted By : John
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| 21 Feb 2008 03:15:18 am |
| QUINN-tesencial |
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February 19, 2008: At 3:16 on February 19, 2008... Quinn Gabriella Tweardy joined the family. She was 8.3 pounds (or 3.7 kilo) and 19.75 inches long (or 50.1 cm). She has a full head of beautiful (and long) hair. Baby and mom are both healthy and happy. I may be biased but she is beautiful... Thanks for all the support and warm wishes. We hope you can all meet her soon.
Here are some of the pictures from the first few days... it was like the paparazzi were in the hospital!
More Photos Here! and Here! |
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Posted By : John
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| 17 Feb 2008 09:59:22 pm |
| Bambina is coming.... |
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| February 17, 2008: The doctors may want to induce labor... baby will be coming this week... ! I will keep everyone informed. |
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Posted By : John
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| 14 Feb 2008 02:33:27 pm |
| Happy Valetine's Day USA |
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| February 14, 2008: It is San Valetino Day and my first full day back in the USA. I think I will ask Lady America to be my special Valetine this year... since we have a lot of catching up and have been apart for so long (and she is upset that I have been cheating on her with Europe for the last 5 years). I hope everyone has a special Valetine too. |
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Posted By : John
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| 08 Feb 2008 02:51:40 pm |
| Grazie Mille Italia! |
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December 2005 - February 2008: This blog entry comes with a large amount of sadness  as it marks the end of a wonderful two years spend in Italy. I will be leaving on the 13th of February for the US and my 5 ½ year adventure in Europe comes to an end. In some ways I feel much more European than American and I value every day and every experience I have been lucky enough to have along the way. I leave Italy with no regrets... ok... only one... that I did not learn the beautiful Italian language. The only words I know have some form of "cazzo" in it... so thanks to all my wonderful teachers (and you know who you are!)
There are so many people to thank for making this personal experience one of the most memorable of my life and making this professional experience one the most rewarding, enriching, and successful of my life.
Let’s start at the top with the ones that brought me to Italy and supported me along the way. That starts with Pino Greco! A wonderful boss, a charismatic leader, and now a close friend. Dave McCullough, the other “expat” who has a gracious, calming, and thoughtful leadership style that worked perfectly to defuse a complex client. I learned a tremendous amount from both of them and also learned to love Dave's fam! We will surely meet again. Also to Adriano Losi for the steady support and always dealing with the rogue “Americano”, to Carlo Zorzoli, to Franco Cassinari, Virginia Magliulo, Tiziana Trova, the PEs, the DPEs, the CSLs, and the many others for all the support.
Let’s get to the team. Truly one of the best team’s ever assembled for transformation and they all bought into a nearly impossible dream to turn it around and delivery it on time. No Money… Just Glory! This motto got us through tough times and they are all a credit to IBM. This includes Innocenzo “Used to be a” Casanova, Jan “Big Red” Christensen, Alberto “Big Bear” Orsatti, Giuseppe “Pino Due” Mastropierro, Sam “da Morman” McConnell, Jes Ravn, “Grande” Michele Corsaro, Maurizio Natta, Mauro Nano, Fausto Bramati, Daniela Bottan, Roberto Caprioglo, Antonio “Big Tone” Lusiani, Alessandro “Glue Stick” Gelli, Danila Ripamonti, Tiziano Bozzola, Paola Maranzana, Stefania Comba, Dario “the CEO” Perreca and many many more. When you are on a foreign assignment… the people you work with are more than colleagues. They are the ambassadors for their country, their culture… they become tour guides, translators, negotiators, and most importantly… friends. I have 100 new friends in Italy and I hope to see every one in the future!
To my wonderful assistant, Silvana Borio, this will be the only time anyone calls me Doctor Tweardy. She was a help always and wish her a wonderful retirement! To the TPO girls and guys... you made the job so much easier and thanks for everything!
To the bigger team… Italian language was often a barrier for me to get to really meet everyone on the personal level I like to reach… but the results speak for themselves. A world class team. I hope you learned as much from me and this experience as I have from you and Italy.
To the basketball team… great moments and I thank you for making me feel like Michael Jordan. Massimo, try to look up before you “bull” to the basket. To the pizza club… I think Giuliano won but I will never tell Enzo. To the poker club… it is amazing that Sam actually won several times… we should not go to Vegas. To the horse syndicate… what were you thinking? To the Sauze club… the balcony incident is a moment I will remember forever. To all my favorite restuarants, namely L'Oca Fola, I may miss you most of all... I have literally eaten my way through Italy... loved every minute!
To our wonderful friends, Dario, Annalisa, and King Georgio Duse. If not for a local San Paolo bank and fate we would have never met and that would have changed our experience in Torino for the worse. We will see you in Steamboat soon and introduce Georgio to his future bride (after 22 yrs at least!!). To the better half of the Ravn equation, Tine and Mie Ravn. We will miss you and hope to see you in the US soon.
To everyone I missed… and there are tons… I apologize and thanks for everything.
Until we meet again… God Bless and Stay Well. Grazie Mille per le memorie!
PS: There is a chance I will go crazy in the US… and be back before you know it!!!
PPS: To all you Nordic friends… we love and miss you too! |
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Posted By : John
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| 08 Feb 2008 10:16:36 am |
| The Wedding! |
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January 24-28, 2008: Thoroughly travel beaten from Italy to Finland to Italy to USA in 3 days... I made it back to da 'Burgh for the BIG SHOW (aka the Tweardy/Chahine Wedding). The weekend was perfect and without a hitch. Pizza party on Thursday to welcome the families and friends and enjoy a bit of calm before the storm. I smuggled a Johnny Walker Blue back with me and we all soon realized.... it is better than the Black. Friday was the rehearsal dinner and one of my favorite evenings. This is sort of like the VIP Group of the closest family and out of town friends and as people mix and mingle... everyone is smiling and so excited for the event. My mother did her usual montage for the bride and groom and eloquently thanked everyone for coming. I took the stage next and gave a sort of "Rodney Dangerfield" style speech that people told them made them "pee their pants laughing and cry all at the same time." I will take that as a compliment. The big day was Saturday and we convened at the suite at around noon and were joined by Greg's whole W&L Crew. All great guys and as I start to get to know them (bachelor party included)... I feel like they are all now my friends too. Greg was calm and confident and we got the bachelor dressed and then tested a gorgeous 1996 Dom Perignon (also properly smuggled in). Perfect ! Everyone was ready and we were off to St. Paul's Cathedral. It is the largest in Pittsburgh and had to be... as there were about 500 people at this convention, I mean wedding. The wedding was short and sweet and Donna was absolutely stunning! I could not have been a more proud best man and brother. The reception was next and it started with a bang as immediately after the wedding party was announced and entered the ballroom... the Lebanese band started in and we were swarmed with guests. All of a sudden... both Donna and Greg are on people's shoulders and being paraded around the dance floor. Everyone is clapping and dancing and screaming. All the white folk (aka the Tweardys and Guests) caught the bug and joined in. 45 min later... everyone is sweating and ready for a party! That was the theme of the night... party. Lisa rallied and was even doing the "prego shuffle" all night long... way to go baby! Great night and a brunch the next morning to sort out the stories and say heartfelt goodbyes. I am so pleased to add a wonderful sister and a new family to our family. The bigger it gets... the better it gets.
Here are some pics from Greg's friends:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Calvert.Anne/TweardyTiesTheKnot?authkey=dvO6e2HbTKs
http://picasaweb.google.com/swannf/TweardySWedding |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[92] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 15 Jan 2008 09:34:27 pm |
| Chamonix Mont-Blanc |
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January 17-20, 2008: Sitting under the snowy shadow on the tallest mountain in Europe is nestled Chalet La Moraine. The Chalet is located between Chamonix and Les Hauches and is a newly renevated masterpiece with 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, sauna, hot tub, and incredible view of the big fella (aka Mont Blanc). We lucked out by landing the place last minute as it usually only rents for 1 week increments. The original crew was Jan, Sam, Elisa, Stefania, and me and we relaxed on Thursday and game-planned the weekend. Friday morning the girls and I hit Les Hauches to ski. Elisa kicked off the day by breaking her ski on the very first run after only 100 m. Thank God she was OK because I was laughing my ass off. Her day was obviously over and Stefania and I covered the whole mountain and conditions were great. That evening we were joined by Alberto and after a long sauna and recap of the "ski" incident, we dined continental on fois gras, fig jam, fresh cheese and bread and perfect wine (Sauternes Grand Cru 1998... of course). Saturday we hit the Grand Montets. This is extreme stuff with 3300 meters to the top, position under Mont Blanc and the Argentière glacier, and tons of off piste terain. We were joined by the McCullough Family (Dave, Mitchel, and Calib) and skied all day. Perfect. The evening saw a risotto with gorgonzola and chicken marsala with a 1999 Barolo... nice! We played some cards (Hearts and 500 Bid) and chilled under a full moon. Sunday was all about recovery and we slept in, strolled the town of Chamonix, had a lunch in the sun and unfortunatly prepared for our return to Torino. I have always wanted to ski Chamonix and this weekend was everything I had hoped for and more. The chalet, the skiing, great friends, waking up under Mont Blanc... perfect! Let me go find the list..... Ski Chamonix.... check.
More Photos Here! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[98] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 15 Jan 2008 09:33:12 pm |
| Happy New Year! |
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| December 29 - Jan 1, 2008: Happy New Year Everyone! 2007 was another great year and 2008 promises to be even better with the upcoming baby, my brother's wedding, and our homecoming to the US. A new tradition seems in the making as Lara joined us for New Year's for the second straight year! The baby shower was the event that brought her and our friend Sarah Karlsson to town. Fantastic to see them! The ladies spend the first days catching up and the men ventured to the Annual Tweardy Hunt. This year saw 14 Tweardys (all with guns... scary!) and the quick demise of over 70 birds. I rejoined the gals to swoop them away to Seven Springs (our local PA ski resort) were we enjoyed local delicacies like Primani Brothers and pierogies, snow tubing, 'The States' watchin' and champagne sippin'. Marc and Heidi Roup made a surprise visit on New Year's Eve and we all enjoyed a chillin' night in front of the fire. Here's to a wonderful 2008! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[94] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 21 Dec 2007 12:59:30 am |
| Babymoon |
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| December 15 - 21, 2007: Yes... that is what it looks like. Baby-moon. This is billed as the last bastion of relaxation before the baby arrives and we decided to enjoy the mountains of Colorado in Steamboat. We were joined in the first few days by Big Chris and Jenni and Jeremy and Wendie. We ate tons of antipasti and caught up the first night and were up early for some skiing on Sunday. That evening saw a little hot tubbin' and then mexican at the Rio. The rest of the week was just Lisa and I and we enjoyed some massages on Monday and a homemade crap cake dinner that evening. Skiing was the plan the next day but with foggy conditions, we spent some time touching up the condo and just relaxing and a movie. Wednesday was Lisa's BIG 30... and we again hit the massage and Lisa added a peticure and we topped it off with a river side dinner at the Cottonwood Grill (Pacific Rim Cuisine). Thursday back to Denver and some Indian food with friends. Not sure what a Babymoon means but a lazy week in Steamboat is just what the doctor ordered and Lisa's Birthday turned out just right! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[104] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 06 Dec 2007 10:31:39 pm |
| Brazilian Tour |
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Nov 26 to Dec 3, 2007: IBM was the catalyst for my trip to Brasil and in true IBM spirit... booked me in 3 different cities in 4 days with non-stop meetings. The meetings went better than expected and were very valuable but the people were the main reason this trip was special. Our first stop was Belo Horizonte in the middle of Brazil. Octavius (aka Guto) is the GM for Global Value Services Brazil and was our host for 3 days. Great guy and lucky for me, he enjoys food almost as much as I do. We enjoyed traditional Brazilian BBQ serving endless slow cooked meats of all types one day, a home cooked meal with his family another, and the typical local cuisine from BH on the last day. We also met his team and were welcomed by Rodrigo, Antonio, Mucio, Murilo, Carlo, and others. We even got to see a local soccer match with Atletico (aka Gallo) playing Goias. The futbol was average but the atmosphere was amazing. One of the best ever! After BH we traveled to Campinas to visit the IBM "Mega Center". An impressive facility and with 6000 people with an average age of 26... very similar to a college campus and very "un-IBM like". After a half day of meeting we drove the 100 km to Sao Paolo to finish of the work day with a meeting with the GM of IBM Brazil. We a successful work week behind us, we needed to enjoy the city and relax and luckily for us... we found just the guy. My friend Janiana is from Brazil and now living in France. I contacted her and she hooked us up with her old friend Alex for a night on the town. Now, not knowing what to expect, our expectations were low but Alex was fantastic and we hit it off instantly. We ate some slow cooked "porkie meat" and enjoyed the cold Brazilian beers. On Saturday our friend Paolo scheduled a quasi-tour with a driver. It did not exactly turn out as expected with this being our driver's very first day on the job. With 20 million people and lots of traffic... he seemed a bit overwhelmed and we directed him to the food (our main priority anyway). We landed at Bolinha for their famous "feisoada" lunch. This is a black bean, rice, and pork dish originally made by the slaves. Wow is it good and the most filling single dish I have ever eaten. I literally could not eat until the following day at 3 pm. We then hit some shopping and called it a day with full bellies. Sunday was our flight but not until 10:20 pm so we got up early and walked through the central park. 30 degrees and sunny and tons of people and activities in the park (just like NYC). Alex and his wife Esther called and invited us to enjoy some jazz music and a nice lunch and we could not refuse. Another wonderful day and new friends for life! Brazil was an excellent combination of wild, modern, cultural, raw, hectic, relaxing, and friendly. Put it on your list... a great place!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[101] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 02 Dec 2007 01:24:38 am |
| Winner Winner Turkey Dinner |
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November 28 - December 2: Sherrie kept with our new Thanksgiving tradition and came down from Germany to Turin with an Army Base Butterball in hand. We celebrate our feast on Friday... as noone has ever heard of Thanksgiving in Italy so it does not really matter. This year was a bit complicated with a forced trip to the Brazilian consolate in Milan for a visa (as I was traveling to Sao Paulo on Monday) but Lisa stepped in beautifully and thoroughly buttered, salted, and stuffed the 13 pounder. Bird came out perfect with the highlight being my "way better than Grandma's" stuffing (a chunkier version this year) but also a nice potato dolce (sweet potato) dish surprise from Sherrie. Ok... the real highlight was another great day with family and friends and we were joined by our friend Kimo and the Duse's (Dario, Georgio, and Annalisa). This was their 1st Thanksgiving and hopefully it did not disappoint. Great DAY!
I hope everyone out their enjoyed my most favorite of holidays with friends and family and gave thanks to everything special in their lives....
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 18 Nov 2007 03:14:02 pm |
| Losing a bet... Wendie style. |
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November 10 - 17, 2007: I have been making money for years off our friend Wendie's inability to make it to Europe and visit us. Every time she says, "I am definitely coming"... I bet Lisa she will not and sure enough, I win. This time, I was glad to lose the money as Wendie and her boyfriend Jeremy came to Italy for a wonderful week adventure. Wendie looks great as always and I was a little nervous about Jeremy since I had never met him but he is aces and we mixed together perfectly. Already looking forward to hanging out with him again in Denver or wherever. The week was loaded with activity and an early highlight was tickets to the local futbol match with Torino. Weather was beautiful and game was great (unfortunately 1-1 tie). The group hit Torino on Monday and joined me on my business trip to Milano on Tuesday. The couple broke free on Wed and Thur and visited a must see, Venice. They loved it. Friday was Wendie's Birthday and the ladies hit the spa for a relaxing day of treatments and then the open market for some snacks. That night we celebrated her Birthday at our favorite restaurant (L'Oca Fola) and enjoyed a hand picked menu including truffles over carne crudo (raw meat like tartar), over eggs, and over fresh taglioline pasta. After 8 course, nice wine, amaro, and coffee... we rolled the 200 meters back to the apartment fat and happy. Wendie enthusiastically proclaimed this the "best meal of her life".... mission accomplished. The next morning we were off to the wine country and drove the beautiful sun kissed hills near Alba on our way to Locanda d Batista. This small restaurant has a fixed menu for lunch that is so simple, so fresh, and so wonderful that your mind explodes. We had to muscle up to push another 8 courses into us but... no problem. We then strolled the village and purchased some local wine. Last stop on this tour was Grinzane and the castello (castle) which moonlights as an enoteca (wine shop). We did a tour and bought a couple more bottles. The day finished with a nice snack, some beer tasting, and a deep review of the full week of activities. I think they did not want to leave and we cannot blame them as they saw some of the best Italy has to offer in only 1 week. We can't wait to see then again!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[91] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 09 Nov 2007 01:44:20 pm |
| Our Return to the North Lands |
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November 2-6, 2007: After 2.5 years living in Stockholm, Sweden and then 2 years of not visiting our wonderful friends up North... we cracked under the pressure and headed back for a long weekend. Almost instantly, both Lisa and I felt a sort of "coming home" feeling. Our first gracious hosts were Mattias and Tina and they have some prime real estate with a beautiful apartment in Stureplan. After catching up, Mattias and I were off to the Oxen (my old after work stomping ground) for a few pints of strong ale and whiskey and a rendezvous with Kevin and Allen (Oxen's owner). Then to Friday's to meet the whole gang including Lisen and Josh, Jeff and Crystal and Lisa and Tina. Everyone looked fantastic and it was like we never left! The boys received some kitchen passes and we were off to a couple hot spots and the ladies enjoyed some wine at Tina's place. I still wonder what Stockholm does with the ugly people! On Saturday we toured the city, did a little shopping and enjoyed some champagne and delicious seafood skagan (fresh shrimp, dill, mayo) at the Grand Hotel over the water. Molto Bene! That evening we rounded up the entire group, this time including Carin and hit East, one of my favorite spots with amazing Asian fusion cuisine. That night Mattias and I got serious and played our traditional game of Axis and Allies. This is no mere game... this is full on world domination and bragging rights for years! Long story short, John is 2-0 with wins from both Axis and Allied starting positions... say no more! Sunday saw a wonderful brunch with Hakan and Stine and their new bambino, Viggo (great name!). They are fantastic and it has been too long! Next stop was to our new home at Josh and Lisen's place. Josh, a chef at the famous Gondolen restaurant made a Beef Bourgogne that was out of sight and we relaxed with a movie and caught up. Monday we met Toffe (our good friend and owner of AG 925... one of our favorite restaurants) at his new cafe in Pub (like a small mall). We caught up on this new empire and life situation and we hope he can come to Italy soon! Next stop, a "Fika" or afternoon coffee with Jenna, Lisa's friend from Gray's. That night, we treated Josh and Lisa to a full on eating explosion at Kungsholmen Restaurant, a fancy new hip spot on the water. Cerviche, chanterelle soup, and fois gras burger were my choices and believe me, I was a WINNER! Tuesday was the last day and we relaxed with Josh and Lisen over a 3 hour lunch and coffee and after getting the hard sell to stay in Sweden forever... we had to sadly depart for the airport. Stockholm is such a beautiful place and becomes spectacular with all our close friends around. We have fond memories that will be with us a lifetime. Until we can see you all again... !
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[92] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 01 Nov 2007 06:37:13 pm |
| Title Fight of Wine Tasting |
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October 31, 2007: Many will agrue that Italy has the very best wine in the world. With the Barolo, Brunello, and Amarone... it is tough to argue against it! These Italian giants can get pretty expensive and the guys and I were looking for a reason to blow some big cash on the Title Fight of Wine Tasting. The opportunity came with the successful evacuation of the data center on 31/10... a huge effort representing over 18 months of work. We put our heads togethers and consulted Wine Spectator (thanks James Suckling) and came up with the perfect list of wine and food. The night unfolded as follows:
1.) Moet and Chandon, Don Perignon 1998. Wine Spectator Rating: 91 Price: €99 Our Food Choice: Caviar and Fois Grass
2.) Famiglia Anselma, Barolo 1999. Wine Spectator Rating: 92 . Price €32. Our Food Choice: Pacheto and prosciutto crudo (Ham slices). Salami (from my last visit to France), Russian Salad, Buffolina Mozzarella, Marinated Sweet Peppers
3.) Frescobaldi, Brunello di Montalcino Ripe al Convento Riserva 2001. Wine Spectator Rating: 97. Price: €65
Our Food Choice: Bruschetta with spicy red sauce and melted Buffolina Mozzarella, Tarjin con Ragu di Coniglio (rabbit).
4.) Aldo Conterno, Barolo Gran Bussia Reserva, 2000. Wine Spectator Rating: 96. Price: €118. Our Food Choice: Warm Arrosto (Beef Slices) in a lovely brown sauce
5.) Certan-Giraud, Pomerol 1998. Wine Spectator Rating: 85. Price: €49 Our Food Choice: Selection of Italian Cheese (Fontina, Asiago, Gorgonzolo Picante (ie: Strong), Parmigiano DOC, Provolone Picante and Confit de Fig (like a jam)
6.) Bertani, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 1999. Wine Spectator Rating: 85. Price: € 54
7.) Grappa di Barolo and homemade Limoncello (Grazie Jes)
Wow... what a night! These were all incredible and the beauty was tasting them side by side. You can really see the differences in years, grapes, Italian v. French, etc. Everyone had their own favorties but my list was easily determined with the Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino the Big WINNER. This wine, especially for the price, was a dream and one of the best I have very tasted. Numero due was the Gran Bussia Reserva. A lttle expensive but super long in the finish and soft like a baby's bottom. The rest were all suberb and difficult to rank with the Pomerol (French) a completely different taste and one I very much enjoy with a earthy nose and smooth finish. The Famiglia Barolo is wonderful and for the price, a steal. Dom and caviar is always a great combo and the Danes loved the Amarone but for me too hot on the mouth (high alcohol /15%) and too dry in the finish.
It is not something you can afford to do all the time, but for a special occasion and when you plan it correctly... these events are where great memories are made. Thanks to Sam (our host), Jes, Jan and Kimo for a night to remember!!
Photos from Sam: http://picasaweb.google.com/sammyiv/ItalyTurinTTWineTastingExtravaganzaOCT2007
Video Version on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bemqxyR7z9Y |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[89] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 20 Oct 2007 01:21:04 pm |
| The Perfect Wine Day |
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October 19, 2007: With the project team driving hard to the finish line, I thought we needed a half day to enjoy some treasures of Piedmonte and refill the energy tanks. The Langhe Wine region was the logical choice and I called upon my new friends from the Alba Truffle Market to set up a tour. We started at Noon and our first stop was San Cristoforo in Neive (CN) which specializes in Barbaresco. The day was perfect with sun shining, blue skies, and the glow of the changing leaves on the vines. Mary and Angelo Sassi were our hosts and after a tour of their small operation we got down to business. We started with the 2006 Dolcetto and then moved through several years of their high quality Barbaresco. Mary provided some cheese and salami and we enjoyed this wine in the sun for over an hour. We finished with fresh "Kaki" (Persimmon) off the tree. Great Start! Next stop was into Barolo and to the cantina Famiglia Anselma. Our host was Maurizio and we received an extensive tour of their cantina/castle. No joke, they are building a castle to Barolo and have been working on it since 1999. It was obvious that Anselma will take it's time and spare no expense in creating a traditional wine that can live up to the history and lineage of Barolo. We wanted to taste the big guns and Maurizio laid out his Barolo Reserva (Adasi) from 2001, 2000 and 1996 and the Famiglia Barolo 2000. All were spectacular and Wine Spectator rated. Our last tasting stop was back to basics at another small operation called Curto Marco in La Morra and our host Nadia was joined by the whole family and an incredible spread of cheese, salami, bread, marmalade, and nuts. We got right to business and she opened everything in sight from Dolcetto to Nebbiolo to several years of Barolo. Even a grappa was thrown in there and we were enjoying every minute of it. We could have stayed there all night and some us wanted too but we had an 11 dish dinner planned at a local Agriturismo called L'Eremo Della Gasprina and we were our way. The place was unreal... slow food all the way and each dish was delicate and wonderful. Our real problem was figuring out how the heck to get back to Torino after 10 hours of wine and food. I voted to just drop me in the vineyard to sleep but we all arrived safely with memories of an epic tour!! Thanks guys!
Pictures (Thanks Sam!)
http://picasaweb.google.com/sammyiv/ItalyBaroloWineTastingOCT2007
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[89] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 14 Oct 2007 12:21:08 pm |
| A Knight in our Castle |
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October 10 - 14, 2007: For me, the autumn season is where Torino and the surrounding Piedmonte region really shines. The leaves are changing, the air cooler, the time for the wine harvest, the tartufi, the porcini, the polenta and all the weekend festivals spread across the country side. Just perfect for great food and friends. The weekend brought our good friend Lara KNIGHT who has been working in Istanbul for the last 7 weeks. This trip was a "long time coming" and although it did not include Christoffer (story for another session), it was wonderful to have her. Now, it is the religious month of Ramadan in the Muslim world and this means fasting.... eating nothing but eggplant, humus, and lamb... Lara was like a caged animal upon arrival and defiantly brought her "A" Game as she ate everything in sight! I like that attitude as I have been known to enjoy a fine meal or two in my day and here is the overview. Thursday and Friday were still working days for ol' John but the girls toured the city, visited the Egyptian Museum, hit a couple great cafes and lunch spots and caught up on all the life gossip. On Thursday evening we enjoyed a typical apperitivi (cocktail) at our local bar fully equipped with a 10 ft table of creative antipasti. On Friday we visited the doctor for the good news (It's a girl!) and then walked the river side park and found a cafe to enjoy a late afternoon drink. I surprised the gals with the "famous" canoli from a local Sicilian bakery (chocolate lined, ricotta filled heaven bombs) and Lara proceeded to show us her "O" face. I think she liked them. We hit pizzeria St. Paul for a posh pie that evening and awaited the big day on Saturday. Early Saturday we were off for a day in the wine country and in Piedmonte, that means Alba and the Langhe region. The destination was a lunch at Locanda 'd Batista in Diano D'Alba. We all jumped onto the full "menu" which was a 9-course extravaganza of local foods. WOW! We added a couple bottles of local Dolcetto D'Alba (the local wine) and kicked it up a notch by purchasing a 7 gram white truffle. The taste and smell of this mushroom (most expensive food in the world) is unlike anything else... rich, potent, and intoxicating. You cannot put it on everything, as it dominates the dish and they recommended it for the carne crudo (raw minced beef similar to a steak tartar) and for the risotto con toma (rice with local cheese). 3 hours later... Lara was cooing like a baby, Lisa ate for 4, and I was starting to get the meat fever. PERFECT day and one of the best lunches ever. We needed to stretch the legs and walked the hillside town and then stumbled into a wine tasting enoteca (darn!). We sipped a grappa and some Nebbiolo and walked out with 12 bottles including 3 grappi. Car loaded with booty, we slowly drove the vineyard covered hills for a couple hours and enjoyed the sites. Heading back home through Alba we noticed some "buzz" in the air and needed to check it out. Whammo... the official Truffle Market is the old center of town. Incredible. We purchased a wine tasting ticket and proceeded to enjoy local products of every sort all night. We finally arrived home with a nice buzz, wine, truffle and Barolo salami, and a truffle sauce for pasta. With a strategically placed fresh agnolotti (meaning "priests hats"... like a ravioli) in the frig, we popped a bottle of wine, Lisa pulled together a bufala caprese salad and I whipped up a little dish of truffle pasta so good that I cried myself to sleep. It is only Sunday and Lara is still here somewhere but I cannot take anymore! Lara came on a mission eat here way through Italy with friends. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Glad I got to be a part of it! Love ya freelance! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[97] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 14 Oct 2007 11:25:41 am |
| IT'S A GIRL!!!!! |
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October 12, 2007: Well, after 21 weeks of waiting and guessing and entertaining all kinds of crazy theories... we finally have the news. It's a girl!  The family is tickled "pink" (pun intended) and my mother will be an unstoppable dynamo of pink power as this will be the first girl in the family! The doctor says baby and mommy are in perfect health and everything looks good. The name... the key question on everyones mind is will stay under wraps until at least Christmas... sorry. A litte suspense will do y'all good! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[94] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 30 Sep 2007 08:03:17 pm |
| Finally... a weekend to relax! |
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September 29-30, 2007: We no formal plans on the agenda for the first time in 3 weeks, Lisa and I packed the house with tasty snacks and prepared ourselves for a minor hibernation. On Saturday I am proud to say that I did not leave the house and used the Sling Player (epic modern invention) to enjoy one of the biggest days of college football upsets ever. Numbers 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 in the ranking all lost... wow! Lisa made a vegi pizza and we chilled all day. On Sunday, I made a brunch of Mexican burritos and fresh squeezed juice and it was so nice outside that Lisa forced a couple hour stroll through the park. NFL on all afternoon and more snacks... perfect. Two days of sleeping into noon and no plans was just what the doctor ordered. Refilled for a big October!
Click on here for a relaxing veranda photo |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[93] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 26 Sep 2007 07:45:30 pm |
| Round 2: World Cup Rugby in Edinburgh |
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September 21-23, 2007: I am going to start this entry by testing the avid jt.com knowledge of our complex travel habits.
Q: What is our favorite part of the UK... is it the food or the people or the climate or the airports or the exchange rate?
A: None of thee above... I would rather hit a beach holiday in Iraq than go back to the UK!
Now, with this mind we hit the road trip trail with cautious anticipation and optimism as 1. we were visiting our friends Anne and Peter, 2. first time to Scotland, 3. World Cup Rugby tickets, and 4. William Wallace castle (Freedom...) The recipe was set for big fun but.... it is the UK and it never fails to beat me down and disappoint. We arrived late on Friday evening and enjoyed Anne and Peter's marvelous country home and outlined the weekend ahead. On Saturday we arrived in the Edinburgh and settled perfectly in our hotel on the Royal Mile. We hit the town as tourists and strolled the mile, went to Grass Market, hit Princess and George streets for some shopping and of course hit the pubs. We enjoyed Modern Scottish cuisine at Howies and the Cullen Skink (a creamy Haddock chowder) among others delightful dishes. On Sunday we met Anne and Peter, fully decked in Scottish pride (kilt included), and head for a lunch. The Dome was the site for a traditional haggis with a sexed up filo pastry crust and whiskey mustard sauce. Superb! Bellies full and slightly buzzed from 2 bottles of wine, we started the pub crawl to the stadium and the RUGBY! Ales at every corner and we hit the game ready for a Scotland win (ok... hoping for Scotland not to absolutely embarrass themselves against NZ). The game was disappointing at 40 - 0 but after a flask of horrible whiskey... we were still in high spirits. The night finished with some pub fare and a future handover. Great day!! Monday was a tourist day and we spend several hours at the Edinburgh Castle and left totally impressed. We then sought cover from the rain (it is the UK) and relaxed in a cafe. That night we hit Khushi's for a curry (we like something different from continental Italian) and reflected on our weekend. Although some of the classic UK nemeses were evident... like the brutal exchange rate, the weather, and airport delays... this trip had surprising great food, cheerful people at every turn, wonderful sports atmosphere, cultural enlightenment, and great pubs! Overall... perfect trip and Scotland will be on my list to explore further in the future. Thanks Anne and Peter!
Click on here for more pics!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[86] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 17 Sep 2007 06:34:46 pm |
| Baptismo de Toscano |
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September 14 - 16, 2007: This trip was all about family and one of the best in recent memory. The reason for the voyage to Tuscany (Prato) was to visit my "famiglia italiana" and see Fabrizio and Carolina and witness the Baptism of their new bambina, Laura. The road trip on Friday was long, thanks to the classic Genoa traffic, and a bit stressful, thanks to John forgetting the hanging clothes.... but that was the only problem all weekend. Carolina cooked us a nice late dinner and we caught up on the family, the weekend plan, and little Laura. Saturday morning we saw old Prato and hit PreNaTal for some new clothes for Lisa (I had to recover from my mistake). Fabrizio surprised us with an impromptu lunch invitation with his parents Sergio and Gabriella. Now, this is the site of the original visit to Italy and the fantastic dinner on the roof top with the entire family in front of a Toscana sunset. Our expectations were lower but Gabriella did not disappoint with a simple yet superb pasta, pork, salad (just like my nonna's) and roasted potatoes. Full and happy... we set off for a Tuscan roadtrip and landed in San Gimignano. This is a small walled medieval hilltop town in Tuscany, Italy, about a 35-minute drive northwest of Siena or southwest of Florence. Famous for it's towers, we booked a small hotel and enjoyed a cool fall evening walking the town, people watching, and some Tuscan home cooking at Il Pino. Sunday was the baptism and we weaved our way back to Prato via San Miniato, a small hilltop town and then Vinci, birthplace of Leonardo. The event was nice and Laura was amazingly well behaved and enjoying the attention. After the baptism, we all hit the social event and in classic Biagini style, there was a 20 foot spread of delicious foods. We hated to leave but had a 4 hour roadtrip ahead of us back to Torino. We hope Fabrizio, Carolina, and Laura will visit us in November before we have to leave Italy and it was great to see them and the whole family. Even though the communication is a bit difficult, the love and support is obvious and wonderful!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[100] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 10 Sep 2007 07:52:32 pm |
| Rugby World Cup in Marseilles.... BRILLIANT! |
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September 7 - 9, 2007: The 2007 RWC has begun and the host country, France, is the venue for the top 22 teams in the world. Now if you are an avid reader of jt.com, then you know several key facts about me. 1. I love road trips, 2. I love big events (particularly the elite sporting type), and 3. I love an excuse to get to France. All three came together when 4 field level, 5 meters for the players, super VIP tickets came falling from the heavens into my lap for the New Zealand (hereafter the All Blacks) vs. Italy (hereafter Azzuri) opening match in Marseilles, FR. The beautiful part is I already had excellent seats for this match and had the draft plans for a killer road trip laid out. Then whammmo... better seats and the opportunity to make some fast cash and things just got better. Marseilles is a French Riviera port city and with perfect weather and a deep rugby fan base... a nice entry point to pop my RWC cherry. First the road trip. Sam hooked up a 9 person super van and with Jes bringing 40 liters of cold beer, we were all set. 6 hours and 5 pit shops later, we arrived in Marseilles. We booked ahead and found a large villa to rent for the crew. Now, these rentals can be an adventure as you either hit the jack pot or bust and you really never know until you arrive. This villa... jack pot! On the hills overlooking the port, private pool, large terrace, and plenty of room for 7. It was perfect home base. Saturday's a rugby day (Rugby song)! We arrived early, enjoyed some fresh croissants, loaded ourselves down with beer and hit the pre-game festivities. Atmosphere was great and by now, I am "Jonesing" for some rugby. All Blacks are the #1 team in the world and I am sensing the "once in a lifetime experience". Seats, game, rugby, atmosphere... all brilliant! Azzurri were outmanned and lost 76-14 but the rugby was artful and at field level, you could here the bones crash. Hands down best sporting experience (as a spectator) of my life. Weekend finished with steaks on the grill, poker with friends, and late night cocktails. Thanks to Jes, CG, Sam, Jan, Big Tone, and Dario for making it possible.
You can still see the smile on my face!
Link to pictures:
http://www.almostmadeit.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./Rugby%20World%20Cup
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[92] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 05 Sep 2007 08:44:24 pm |
| Three is not a crowd... it's a FAMILY! |
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Summer 2007: The news is out and it is finally time to post the "official" notice on the website. Yes, you guessed it, Lisa is pregnant. We are both thrilled and the families seem over the moon and arrival of the first grandchild is due in February 2008. We do not know the sex yet so we have affectionally called the little guy or gal "BLU". Look for more baby BLU updates in the upcoming weeks. |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[94] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 04 Sep 2007 07:34:08 pm |
| Closing Night at the Opera |
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September 1-2, 2007: Not just any opera, but the last evening of the summer series at the Arena di Verona (http://www.arena.it/). This is a the last working open arena (colliseum) of the Roman Emprire and we were lucky to see Verdi's AIDA that owns the most performances (517 performances since 1913), in the greatest open-air opera house in the world. The idea for the trip was our friends Jes and Tine from Denmark and we were joined by Michele and Agata and his friend Roberto as well. Verona is one of my closet favorites of Italy with rich food and wine, a weathy and aristocratic heritage that is reflected in the architecture, high end shopping, and overall beauty of the city. As with most of our trips, we enjoyed several fantastic meals and as much wine as possible... this time Amarone (the favorite wine of Jes). The food was great but the highlight was truely the opera. Aida is a classic and the show was top notch with hundreds of extras and huge outdoor sets and effects. The real treat is the atmosphere. 14000 people packed the sold out arena and you have to see it to believe it. This is our second time to Verona and to the Opera (last time La Traviata) and hopefully there will be many more. Love this place!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[94] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 30 Aug 2007 01:14:38 pm |
| Summer Skiing in Cervina: Part 2 |
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August 28, 2007: Part 1 was last July 2006... Part 2 is a similar affair. When most people were just getting back from their long August vacations at the sea, my mate Fede and I decided to head to the mountains and take in some of the last hours of the summer skiing on the glacier in Cervina (2nd highest peak in Europe). Now part of the appeal is simply the pleasure of saying "I just skied in August" but in reality, the snow is actually quite OK. There are tons of ski clubs and international teams there doing summer practice. We had a classic big mountain day where it was sunny, cloudy, sunny, rainy, snowy, lightening, cold, and then sunny again... all in a 3 hour period. That is what happens at 3600 meters. Some exercise and mountain air built up the appetite and after skiing, we strolled the town center for some "typical Valle d'Aosta" lunch fair. We hit the jack pot and enjoyed some baked local toma (cheese) with polenta, fois gras, fonduta with bread, and lamb with local herbs. Back to work in the afternoon but with sun on the face and great food in the belly... it was more manageable than usual! Great day and thanks Fede!!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[101] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 30 Aug 2007 12:53:34 pm |
| Festa di Lardo |
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August 25, 2007: Yes... that is what I said... festival of lard... pig fat... the beautiful white creamy flavor bomb that melts in your mouth and clogs every artery. In the small Valle d'Aosta village of Arnad, famous for only one thing... Lard d'Arnad... they have a yearly street party of all things lardo. Believe me, this stuff is actually delicious and with fresh mountain air, good friends, and tons of tasty eats... I was a lock for this adventure. So good that I was forced to exercise the next day...
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[100] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 22 Aug 2007 08:05:39 pm |
| Rehab in Vegas |
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August 16 - 20, 2007: There is a very important step that every soon to be married man must take in their life... it is called the bachelor party. And when discussing the location for said party, there is only one mecca... Las Vegas baby! I flew half way across the world to enjoy a few sacred moments with my brother Greg, Donut and Littl' Richie and Greg's whole W&L Crew. Now of course leaving out the details only the privilaged insiders get to know... the party was "off the hook"! Really... it blew my bachelor party (pretty good BTW) out of the water. It had gambling, fantastic 4 star dinner at Nobu, VIP limos, hot craps, monster line jumps straight into Tyrst (hottest nightclub in Vegas at the Wynn), early morning buffets, Blue Man Group, back room strip clubs, bottle service everywhere, dive Punk Rock bars, old town Vegas blackjack, Food Network Top 10 Diner (killer stromboli!), School Girl jams at Body English and of course... the Sunday "REHAB"! For those of you who really do not know... go to http://www.rehablv.com/. I consider myself a well traveled and well seasoned partier... and this was one of the best parties I have ever seen... and only possible from the viewpoint of a killer cabana (Thanks Key!). We had LeBron James and Melo Anthony on our right, Drew Carey and KFed on our left and Kevin Dillon (Entourage) in the DJ booth. Sippin' champagne all day in the sun with 5000 beautiful people in bathing suits and VIP access all around... damn... I want to go back this Sunday.
Greg... I will be paying off that trip for months but I would not take back a single penny... great trip... Vegas BABY!
Check out the pictures at http://www.almostmadeit.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./LasVegas |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[87] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 23 Jul 2007 10:05:19 am |
| Lovin' other people's boats! |
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July 21, 2007: My father always told me that the biggest money drain in the world is a boat. Everything costs money... the boat, the dock, the storage, the insurance, the gas, the extras, and then the constant fixing and tweaking it needs. You just have to really love them or be a bit crazy or both! That being said.. I love the water, I love the atmosphere or relaxing with friends on a boat, and the "yaughty" culture is fun too... therefore I have come the conclusion that what I really love is... other people's boats! Thanks to our friends Dario and Annalisa (Lisa's watches their son Giorgio), my wishes were answered and we traveled down to the sea in Liguria for a day of sun and relaxing on his 34 foot open. The day was perfect with Giorgio , the Birthday Boy, in grand spirits, the sun shining, and a calm sea (necessary for my happiness). Annalisa's brother Marco also joined us and the entire day was spent in front of the cliffs near Genoa. That night we cleaned ourselves up and hit the very posh port for a fish dinner and were joined by friends Matteo and Rosella. We enjoyed some live music, great food, and celebrated Giorgio's second birthday! Yes.... boats really can provide a perfect day like no other and caught up in the magic I nearly fell victim to their allure. Luckily I came to my senses and realized that friends with boats my be the very best friends in the world! Grazie Mille Dario!!!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 12 Jul 2007 10:12:46 pm |
| Recovery of the Worm |
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July 9 - 12, 2007: My father, affectionately called the "worm", brings me to sunny Cleveland for his heart surgery. The quick update to all is his surgery was on July 11 and it was completed successfully. The doctor's are very happy and he has been moved from ICU to the heart recovery floor. He will be there for at least a week. He looks good!! The Cleveland Clinic is really a special place and all first class....
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 12 Jul 2007 10:08:29 pm |
| The Sardinian Paradise |
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June 29 - July 8, 2007: From the time I stepped foot in the office in Italy, nearly every colleague has waxed ecstatic about the pure beauty of Sardinia (Sardegna in Italian and the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea). Of course, as it is in my nature, I had to taunt and dismiss this idea to these simple Italians that their island captured just a sliver of the beauty that the Caribbean, or South Pacific, or Mexico holds. Now, I have never been there but I love the thrill of the argument. Finally succumbing to the pressure I booked a 9 day trip to see for myself what all the excitement was about. The trip was originally going to be a Tweardy Family Tour but due to my father's heart surgery (BTW: recovering nicely), we were happy the Harris Family could adjust their plans and make the trip. My friend Dario was crucial as he helped locate the gorgeous villa right on the sea, the hotel mid island, and a couple choice and local eating locations (Grazie Dario!). So... the tour starts with a mini road trip to Genoa in Liguria where we sipped some cocktails and awaited our boat/ferry to arrive. The Moby Cruise is 1 part ferry, 1 part cruise liner, and 1 part refugee camp. Since we traveled over night, we sleep nicely in our 2 rooms and were ready to start fresh when we arrived in Porto Torres in the north of Sardinia. Day 2 was in Bosa, an old fishing village on the west coast and we hit our first beach and then enjoyed the Festa de San Pietro (random luck) at the old church for live traditional music and festival foods. Day 3 takes us the length of the island thru Calgiari (largest city) to a small village outside Pula called Portu Colombu. This will be our new home for the next 6 days and was simply PERFECT. Big beautiful villa for 7 right on the sea with everything you could want to relax and enjoy the family time. Without giving up all the details, the rest of the trip filled with long naps, beautiful beaches (Chia in particular), snorkeling, sunbathing, card and boggle playing, great food, some touring, some shopping, and lots of family memories. One of the highlights for me, as I love to eat, was the grand finale on Friday with the whole roasted "miale" or baby suckling pig. This is a Sardinian delicacy and we had to special order it ahead of time from a famous restaurant in Pula. It was spectacular and was a perfect finish! So... I guess I have to concede defeat on this one... Sardinia is truly beautiful, with shades of blue water at every angle and lots of sun to finish you off. I recommend to check it out for yourself!!
Click on here for more pics!
The monkey of course was happily trailing us on our adventures. Nursing a hangover... he's getting a nice even tan this year, nice going monkey!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 25 Jun 2007 09:44:52 am |
| FESTA DI SAN GIOVANNI |
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| June 23-24, 2007: The festival of San Giovanni (Saint John) is a major event as Saint John is the patron saint of Torino. The festivities last nearly 2 weeks and build up to the "burning of the bull" on Saturday and the parade and fireworks on Sunday. The bull is the symbol or mascot of Torino and in the main piazza (Piazza Castello) they built the equivalent of a 50 meter bon-fire with a wooden bull at the top. The legend states that if the bull falls to the right then good luck for Torino for a year, if it falls to the left, bad luck ensues. Well, this ground hog day-esk activity is slightly rigged by those ingenious Italians and the bull always falls to the right.... Bon Fortuna!! On Sunday, like may Italians, we headed to the country side to enjoy a classic piedmontese lunch at an "agriturismo". These are farm restaurants that serve only fresh ingredients and home cooking in the classic style. The name of this particular spot was Tre Tigli or Three Limes and was 6 courses of heaven. We sat outside on the hilltop patio enjoying the breeze, the views, the wine, the food, and most of all the company (some colleagues from GV). After nearly killing myself is a gluttonous rage... again... I came home for a nice afternoon nap. The girls summoned more energy than I could muster and went out for the grand finale and saw the fireworks over the Po River. They both said "best they have ever seen" and I was almost jealous until I remember my full belly and just smiled. Every weekend should be dedicated to John... I mean San Giovanni! |
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Posted By : John
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| 19 Jun 2007 08:09:27 am |
| Our Venetian Adventure |
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| June 15-17, 2007: With our Ford Galaxy rental van fully loaded with beer and panini, we rocked out to some custom mixes of the Killers, My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park and Pearl Jam on our way to the Heineken Jam Music Festival in Venice. What we did not plan for was a natural disaster. Yes.... the first tornado in forever came up the coast and dropped squarely on the park hosting the concert. It felled trees, damaged the stage and knocked over sound and lighting towers injuring 30 people. The police cancelled the entire 4 day affair in the wake of this destruction and we had 100,000 shocked and bewildered people mulling around in a mild depression. Now, this is not Kanas or Oklahoma... this is Venice, Italy. Unbelievable!!! After we recovered from the emotional shock we realized that we were still in Venice and things could be worse. We decided to make the best of it and in the end had a wonderful time. The Saurday weather was beautiful and since Sherrie and Sam had never been to Venice, we played tour guides and hit San Marco, the watch tower, the Rialto, the shopping, and some small side streets. We settled down in a perfect square in the shade and enjoyed some sweet Campari cocktails and relaxed. That evening we hit Trotteria Antica Carbonera, a classic old Venetian style restaurant. I enjoyed the very best steak tartar or "crudo" of my life (raw filet chopped and mixed with onions, spice, capers, cognac, quail egg, tabasco, etc). A great meal can turn me around faster that anything! We returned home on Sunday, still with a little disappointed but with great memories of Venice and good times spent with friends. |
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Posted By : John
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| 13 Jun 2007 06:34:28 pm |
| Weekend Holiday: Man vs. Woman |
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June 9-11, 2007: This is a classic what men like versus what women like scenario. The ladies (aka Lisa and Sherrie) went on a tourist filled sister fest to Rome for the weekend. The men (aka John and friends) ate monster steaks from the BBQ, drank grappa, cognac, and anything else not tied down, smoked cigars, played cards, and generally lounged around all weekend. You be the judge of which one sounds better!
The girls story: While John was busy having a man weekend, the girls jetted off to Rome. The trip started with a simple 50 minute flight which landed us into the heart of Rome where we were "upgraded" to a special junior suite. Day one consisted on the Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps, Pantheon and an unexpected Presidential sighting. After braving an hour long demonstration against President Bush, we headed to a quiet cafe for an excellent 3 course dinner. Day two was all about the Forum/Colosseum. Most of the day was spent taking in the different views of both the Colosseum and the Forum from places such as the top of Vittorio Emmaneule Monument and finishing at a pizzeria facing the Colosseum. Monday greeted us with long lines at the Vatican along with blazing sunshine for the third day in a row. The smallest country in the world is certainly the most breathtaking (the Sistine Chapel can do that to a person). We also lost our breath walking the uneven winding 320 stairs to the dome of St Peters Cathedral. All in all the trip was amazing and the 65,000 steps that were pounded through Rome are ones that we will never forget.
The guy story: While the girls were busy having a woman weekend, I.... worked out, got haircut, bought 2 kilos of gorgeous fillet, marinated meat, took a cafe, went shopping at Zegna and Gucci in Biella (north of Torino), ate a wonderful pizza that reminded me of Fiori's (local joint back in the 'Burgh), took nap, started BBQ, cooked meat, ate perfectly prepared meat, ate homemade Caesar salad with bread (thanks Sam!), drank a superb 2001 Barolo, rubbed belly, drank a 5 year aged grappa, played cards, drank cognac, smoked a Cuban, played more cards, drank more, slept (long time), ate a buffala mozzarella, enjoyed a gelato, watched rugby, watched French Open, ate pasta, watched movie, went to bed..... very happy!
Click on here for more pics! |
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Posted By : John
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| 04 Jun 2007 07:45:40 am |
| Camminmangiando ! |
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| June 3, 2007: Fede and Laura again invited us to the yearly Camminmangiando event. For those of you not familar, this is a "walking and eating" tour through the wine region of Ghemme. This is the 11th year for the event and our second. Camminmangiando is an all day eating and drinking fest and starts early with registration at 10:00, then the welcome Champagne and off to the first of 6 courses. The route takes us through the beautiful vineyards and small towns over 8.5 KM with 2 stops for antipasti, 1 for risotto and pasta, 1 for "tapulone" (donkey!), then cheese and fruit and finish with dolce, coffee and grappa around 18:00. Long day in the sun and tons of walking, eating, drinking, laughing, etc! Sherrie joined us and was welcomed into a unique local tradition on the very first day and ate her first donkey! This is really a classic Italian Day with everyone singing and enjoying the "best of life". Bravi! |
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Posted By : John
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| 04 Jun 2007 07:31:24 am |
| La mia seconda moglie è arrivato! |
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| June 2, 2007: Translation is "my second wife has arrived!" Lisa's sister Sherrie has arrived to live with us for the summer from Germany since her husband Matt is off in Afganistan. |
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| 28 May 2007 08:04:52 am |
| Spring in Paris |
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May 20 -27, 2007: Paris in the springtime can be one of the best places on Earth or simply miserable. The temperature can quickly flucuate from sunny, light breeze and 25C to humid and 35C and then to 15C and down pours. That is part of the magic! Amazingly enough... we saw all three types on our week in Paris which added to our Parisian experience. The catalyst for the trip was again our friend IBM and this time for the annual Technical Leadership Exchange (TLE) held in EuroDisney. The conference welcomed 2500 IBMers from across Europe and it is always an honor to attend and meet our "best and brightest". I was given the opportunity to speak at this conference... twice and this added some excitement and stress to the trip. The feedback was good and at mid week the conference was winding down and Lisa arrived from Torino. We spend Wednesday night watching AC Milan win the Champions League (ITALIA!) and then spend a super Disney afternoon on Thursday at the parks. Surely not Disney World in Orlando or California but very nice and we enjoyed Space Mountain 2 thoroughly. Overdosing on Mickey, we fled to the city for 3 days of all things Paris. Thursday night we saw our friends Thore and Anette Kirketerp, who welcomed us to their home for a meal, drinks, and excellent conversation. They live in a simply brilliant spot in the 7th district off Saint Germain, packed with cafes, art galleries, boutiques, and beautiful hip people. Friday we hit the tourist trail and were off to Château de Versailles. King Louis XIV really knew how to live and we spend hours strolling the garden and touring the palace with our travel partners for the day, the McCullough Family. Maybe the nicest palace I have every seen (Hermitage is St. Petersburg is up there too) and glad I "checked" it off the list. Friday night... came the rains and we were caught in the storm and soaked to the bone. Rain = movie and we snuck off to see Spiderman 3 in Version Original (VO)... meaning in English. Saturday was cooler but manageable and we hit a flee market in the north city area and then off for a casual tour of shopping and site seeing. We started near Opera, then down r. Madeline to r. Honor (nice shopping) and across to Arc de Triomphe. Then down the Champs-Élysées, past the Place de la Concorde and through the Tuileries Gardens to the Lourve. No Lourve tour today as at this point, I have 60,000 steps on my pedometer and my body is numb! We finished the night with a dinner with our friends Jes and Tine Ravn. Paris... what can you say. A world class city on par with New York, Sydney, London, and Rome and definitely in my Top 5 favorites!
Click on here for more pics! |
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| 13 May 2007 11:36:43 am |
| A Day in the Wine Country |
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| May 12, 2007: On the heels of our friend Dario's house warming party, we rallied to a wine tasting event with our GM Expat friends the Palmers and their whole GM crew. Everytime we head toward Alba for wine touring the day seems just perfect. Sun shining, blue skies, and cool breeze! We started with the Cantina La Spinetta. This is a famous label and has grown in fame and varieties of wines steadily since the 90's. We recieved an excellent tour of their new facility and got the family wine history. Then, we tried 6 wines ranging from Sangiovese from their new vineyards in Tuscany to the more classic Piemontese Barbara and Barolo. All excellent and on the higher end of the price range (26 to 100 euro). We picked up a case (6 bottles) of their 2004 Barbera d'Asti Superiore Bionzo with comes from their oldest vineyard (55 yrs old) and is drinkable now. We also got a case of their Barbera d'Asti Superiore Bionzo 2005 which we will store for a year or so. Wine Spectator rates the 2004 as a 90... excellent! Next we hit Trattoria della Poasta for a 3 hour lunch (my favorite type) and were just spoiled with homemade classic Piedmontese and wine, this time a Prunotto Nebbiolo. Fat and happy we left for a last spot which was the Cantina di Massara. This is a less prestigious producer in terms of world renound but a local favorite and to my surprise, producing excellent quality and value across all their varieties. They had my favorite everyday wine call Dolcetto, several Barbara variations and a Barolo. Loving the value we got 4 cases of Dolcetto 2005 4 cases of the oak aged Barbara 2005, and a case of Barolo 2001. The wine collection has officially begun and the goal is 500 bottles by December! |
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Posted By : John
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| 11 May 2007 03:19:42 pm |
| Cinco de Mayo |
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| May 5, 2007: Torino saw the reincarnation of this Mexican Holiday pulling double duty as John's 33rd Birthday party and as the opening summer cocktail party. Margaritas were fresh (we used 4 kilos of limes) and going down fast and although not all the ingredients were readily available... the fiesta was muy bien! Thanks to my team for the very generous gifts! |
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Posted By : John
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| 01 May 2007 08:38:24 pm |
| Italian Riviera |
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April 28 to May 1, 2007: The Italian Labor Day (May 1) provided the natural 4 day weekend and like moths to a flame... all Italians fled to the sea. In Northern Italy this means to Liguria aka the Italian Riviera. Lisa dug out a perfect little apartment in a small sea town of La Serra, located about 2 km up the hillside from Lereci (a port city near La Spezia). La Serra was ideal for a relaxing weekend... no cars in the town, brilliant views of the sea and the romantic Golfo di Poeti, and quaint and quite foot streets wrapping up the hillside. It also had good "hop off" access to Portovenere and the Cinque Terre. Day 1 we hit the market on the port in Lerici and scouted the boat transit. We decided boat was our best bet and that afternoon we spent the day in Portovenere. This is a beautiful walled city on the mouth of the bay with a church at the top of the cliffs facing the sea. That evening we met my old friend and Steamboat Real Estate agent, Heidi Yoder. She was spending a week traveling Italy with her family and Lisa and I took the train about 30 minutes west to Bonassola and met the entire clan. Wonderful and gracious family and a pleasure to spend some time with old and new friends. Day 2 we hit the beach. A short walk straight downs the mountain and we found a secluded cove with a sandy beach and lots of Italians. Now we are on vacation... nothing to do and all day to do it. Day 3 we needed to do the Cinque Terra and again to the boat, this time to Riomaggiore and the first village in the Cinque Terre from the east. The village is typical for the Cinque Terra, small and nestled into the cliffs with picturesque buildings and footpaths. This is the beginning of the "Via dell'Amore" or lover's walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola and since it is one of the easiest... we started there! We walked to Manarola and then onto Corniglia. There we jumped on the train to Vernazza and found our favorite of the 5 cities. Vernazza sits right on the cliffs and has an cozzy port, lined with cafes and restaurants and full of life. We decided this was our lunch calling and hit a higher end seafood restaurant with fresh catches and a seafood risotto to die for... buonissimo! Back via the sea which gives you an excellent perpective of the dramic coastline and then into our little village for a quiet dinner of fresh pasta. Day 4... back to reality but well rested and with fond memories of the sea. Life may be too short not to live on the sea.... hmmmm.
Check out all the photos here! |
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Posted By : John
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| 01 May 2007 07:16:20 pm |
| Czech Please! |
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| April 23-25, 2007: IBM has gone the way of the low cost country and in Europe that means Czech Republic (for now anyway). Our account in Italy gets support from Brno, Czech and along with fellow managers, we ventured to the southern country side of Czech Rep to investigate the capibilities and meet and greet the team. To my surprise, Brno is a lively college town with 6 universites and about 90K students out of about 400K total population. The IBM site is brand new and cleverly situated among the university campuses and has an average employee age of about 26... which is clearly visible in the energy level and general positive mojo of the site. The business side of the trip was excellent and the Brno team was informative, accomidating, and professional in every way. The real highlight was running into a couple of my old team members from my days in France (over 4 yrs ago). Francois and Raphael practically attacked me and after a showering of kisses, hugs and so "excellent to see you" in heavy French accents, we arranged for a reunion tour on the town. A perfect night filled with pork, beer (it's Czech, what did you expect!) and catching up. With 30 to 1 euro to Czech Krona... the night can get interesting and you can afford to be generous. Enough said... I miss those guys! The trip finished with a half day lay over in Vienna.... another excellent city and one that I will have to invest another dedicated trip to truly enjoy. |
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| 22 Apr 2007 03:34:57 pm |
| International Food Festival |
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April 21, 2007: Lisa discovered this food fest during the week and with the promise a fresh pig and sausage grilling in the open air, I could not resist. I was more than pleasantly surprised as this small but lively festival showcased foods from all over Europe. Tons of small boothes with food and textiles and a nice overall atmosphere. We sampled some fresh paella and sangria wine from Spain, bought some olives from Sicily, salami from Cuneo, olive bread from Puglia, and the famous Sachertorte from Vienna, which is a chocolate cake, invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 for Klemens Wenzel von Metternich in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties. Of course, we finished up with some Bratwurst and Pork Leg roasted with beer. Mini-Octoberfest in Torino!! Gotta Love it!
Too see all the photos click here! |
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Posted By : John
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| 22 Apr 2007 03:22:45 pm |
| Tennis Anyone? |
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| April, 18, 2007: Through the grace of Innocenzo Casanova (Enzo), my deputy, friend, and avid tennis fan... we landed 2 tickets to the Masters Tennis Tour stop in Monte Carlo. Those of you not familiar with Monaco, the small municipality on the coast in southern France, it is a beautiful and dramatic place. The entire city/country is on the mountain side crashing down into the sea. The Monte Carlo CC is situated facing the sea and you get to watch the tennis in front of you and the blue sea behind... very nice indeed. The day was sunshine and tennis and we had the opportunity to watch Nadal on center count, some doubles and even see Federer in warm ups. Enzo's home made panini were perfect and a day watching tennis on the sea beats a work day in Torino every time!! |
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Posted By : John
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| 09 Apr 2007 06:42:29 pm |
| Refining the ART of SPA |
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April 4 - 9, 2007: Easter Weekend and a wonderful visit from our Swedish friends Jeff and Christel. It has been over a year since our last meeting during the winter olympics and the long weekend started with Lisa's "soon to be famous" homemade pizzas and a lot of catching up. Thursday night we hit my favorite local osteria called L'oca Fola which is quickly becoming one of my all time greats! Perfect meal and 4 happy fat people woddling home. Friday we hit La Thuile for some skiing under Mt. Blanc and the sun was blazing! Jeff got fried and I spent several hours in a lounge chair on the French side, sipping cold beers and sun bathing next too several topless ladies (honestly!) Next stop was Sauze D'Oulx and a fresh pasta and wine at the apartment with some card games to close the day. As we strolled around the village on Saturday, we discovered a new spa and whammo... we decided to take the afternoon to treat ourselves to a "me" day. Now, some of you may have noticed from these updates that we have been hitting the spa more often that usual (3 out of the last 5 weekends to be exact) but to that I say.... jealousy will get you nowhere! A couple more dinners and the weekend finished up perfect and relaxing. Life is tough!  |
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Posted By : John
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| 03 Apr 2007 12:24:54 am |
| April showers brings deep powder! |
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| March 30 - April 1: I thought it was April Fool's when after the longest snow drought this side of the Sahara desert, the heavens opened up and the snow, it was a'fallin'. March 31 saw about 1 meter of neve fresca (fresh snow) and I was numero 25 on the chair lift and hit untracked powder on my first 5 runs. Now, this may not sound exciting for the non-skiers out there but to anyone that knows the joys of a beautiful powder day... this was heaven! I was thigh high and lovin' it! I skied to exhaustion on Saturday, ate like a king for dinner and rewarded myself on Sunday with a spa day and hour massage. Italy sucks! |
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Posted By : John
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| 21 Mar 2007 12:10:51 am |
| The Big Apple |
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| March 14-20, 2007: IBM Class was the reason for the trip and of course, course was great. Then comes the winter that Torino has been avoiding and all the planes are delayed... city comes to a halt. Then comes the cancelled meeting in Richmond. OK, enough complaining. The real NYC was seeing my bro Matteo and "The Pirate Queen" on Broadway. Daniel was in the ensemble and was excellent! The show is high energy and we all hope it is a smash hit! We hit an after theatre dinner and caught up on all things. Molto Bene! I also got to see "Putnam County Spelling Bee". This was a nice surprise as I took full advantage of the flight delays and it was great. Very witty and at times, laugh out loud funny! Overall... I love the big apple and would not trade it's madness for anything! |
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Posted By : John
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| 21 Mar 2007 12:07:56 am |
| Danish Delight |
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| March 9, 2007: A big thank you to the IBM Denmark TPS team for the invitation to speak on Program Management at the PM Day and for the excellent feedback. I thoroughly enjoy the Danish hospitality! |
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Posted By : John
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| 21 Mar 2007 12:01:59 am |
| The softer side of Bavaria |
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February 23 - 25, 2007: My Bavarian experience thus far in Europe has consisted mostly of Oktoberfest and more to the point... sausage, beer, and pretzel filled evenings. Since we discovered our brother Matt will be heading "down range" (Army term for going to Afghanistan) in May, we wanted to see both Sherie and Matt in Germany and do something very non-military-esk and relaxing. After super-planner (aka Lisa) worked out all the details, we decided to enjoy the hospitality of a Bavarian Spa and the beauty of Neuschwanstein Castle. Neuschwanstein Castle (yes, the magic kingdom castle) is perhaps the most famous 19th century neo-romantic castle in the world and was built by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria. Believe the hype, this castle is just as amazing as the pictures and the castle and spectacular Bavavian Alps alone would have made the trip well worth it. But... that were just the side show. The main event was enjoying the the Hotel Rubezahl and Wellness Center with everyone. For about 6 hours on Saturday and Sunday, the boys were treated to just about everything the spa had to offer and the gals followed with a nice selection of hand picked favorites. Hard living ! We followed it up with a nice dinner and of course, some Bavavian Beer and games. Although too short, it was great seeing Sherrie and Matt and getting to "spoil" them a bit. We can't wait to do it again soon and miss you already.
Matt... you are far more brave than I... do your best, serve your country and come back safely! We love you! |
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| 29 Jan 2007 11:02:53 am |
| Big Swede in Italy |
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| January 26-28, 2007: Per-Olof Lindqvist or P-O joined us from Sweden for a "get away" weekend in the Alps and Italy put it's best foot forward with fresh snow (finally) on Thursday and blue skies with endless sunshine on Saturday and Sunday. The weekend started with a typical Piedmontese dinner at our local (and still favorite) restaurant called L'Oca Fola or The Crazy Duck. The beauty of this place is a new menu every night made with 4 courses of the freshest food available for only 30 euro. Only 12 tables and everyone in the house is eating the same thing... whatever moma has cookin'. Suberb! On Saturday we left early for Montgenevre, France (Altitude 1850m – 2680m) for some skiing and the highlight was a 700 m back bowl run (off-piste) with magestic vistas, 30+ cm of powder, no people, and even some fresh tracks! We were crushed at the end but it was perfect. Next stop, Sauze D'Oulx! This is the small village where we have our condo and the crazy Dane joined us for a night of cards, drinking, and catching up. Sunday was spent chillin' in the sun at the local cafe and watching the world go by... Great weekend with friends and hopefully it was just what PO had in mind! |
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Posted By : John
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| 17 Jan 2007 11:30:08 pm |
| The Holiday Trip 2006-2007 |
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December 19, 2006 to January 11, 2007: Yes, this was a nice long and much anticipated trip home for the holiday season. The main recipe for this trip was "family" as we had not seen everyone in so long and the trip did not disappoint with tons of great memories and times shared. The trip starts in Pittsburgh, PA (home to John's and Lisa's families) and we did all the customary pre-Christmas visiting and last minute gift buying and the highlight was the wonderful Cabaret show writen and starring Matthew Tweardy. The show was a spoof on "da 'Burgh" and was just perfect. The icing on the evening's festivities was the surprise proposal of the youngest bro Greg to his long time side kick and better half, Donna. She of course said yes and love was in the air!!! Here comes another wedding! The trip continued with Christmas Eve at the Tweardy's (in da rental house!) and Christmas Day at the Harris'. It was another wonderful and generous Christmas and the only thing missing was our sister Sherrie .... still in Germany with her hubby Matt! One could argue that Brian, Jennifer, and Adam were missing but that is another story.
Next stop Steamboat, CO and this was the highlight of the vacation. Although unsure of the formula for total family mixology... the result was a perfect cocktail and the week could not have worked out better. There was skiing, drinking, cooking, game playing, hot tubbing, dancing, shopping, a surprise guest of an old friend, some great mexican food (colorado style), and plenty of chillin'. Special thanks to Donut and Wendy for the Denver hospiltality and Mission Accomplished on family. A new tradition is born!
Next stop Los Cabos, Mexico (and you thought we were finished). Our gracious hosts for this VIP voyage were Heidi and Mark Roup. The plan here was to relax, as 14 days of family is great... just not exactly "relaxing". Heidi and Mark are the Mexican Sun Gods of Relaxation and the trip was brilliant in every way. There was yachting, fine dining, touring, shopping, jazzing (is that a word), star watching, massaging, some fitness, some drinking, lots of great mexican food, plenty of hospitality, and lots of fun! Just what we needed and we are already looking forward to more lazy days with that incredible view (hint: don't sell the place). Mark and I are the "eucher" (card game) champions of Cabo and oooh how that makes Heidi CRAZY! Thanks for the amazing time!
Well.... back in Italy now and back to the reality. Thanks to all the people involved in making the holiday season of 2006/2007 a very memorable one and hope to see everyone soon in Italy!
For all the holiday shenanigans click here! |
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Posted By : John
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| 17 Jan 2007 11:02:27 pm |
| Happy New Year Nordics! |
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| January 1, 2007: Just a little Happy New Year to all our Nordic friends that have not seen in to long including Lisen and Josh, Toffe and all the Horns, Kevin and Carin, Christina, Hakin and Stina, Anders, Patty, Roger and the remaining expats, PO, Anette, Magnus and everyone we missed! |
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Posted By : John
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| 28 Nov 2006 01:52:46 am |
| Thanksgiving... Italian Style! |
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November 22-26, 2006: Over the past five years I have been absent from my Aunt Jackie's house on my favorite of American holidays, Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, my pilgrim spirit for bird and all the fixin's has sustained me as I have ventured into unknown territory of cooking a full Thanksgiving meal in a foreign country. Yes... Thanksgiving in Sweden and now Italy is a interesting proposition but with some creativity, a Butterball from the Post Commissary (military lingo) and some contraband Libby's.... it all good! This Thanksgiving was extra special as Lisa's sister Sherrie, her husband Matt and our new friend Shawn (hereafter Bradley) came down from Germany to share the weekend with us in Torino. The weekend was not only about the bird... we also visited Torino, ate a fantastic 5 course Piedmontese Meal at L'Oca Fola (our local favorite), and spend a relaxing day in Sauze D'Oulx. Although we realized Bradley is a light weight drinker and has no luck with women (Italian or American), the weekend was wonderful and there were too many "firsts" to mention. Hope to see the family again soon!!
One thing does not change when overseas... Thanksgiving is best shared with family!
For more Thanksgiving delights, click here! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[92] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 24 Oct 2006 10:39:14 pm |
| Anyone want to buy a watch? |
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October 14-22, 2006: Just returned from my Swiss Miss experience (aka Switzerland) with a very "un-neutral" feeling. In fact, even a bit confused. Swiss seems to me a land of opposites... strikingly beautiful, calm, clean, diverse, and intriguing on the one side.... and detached, antiseptic, rule bound and oppressively expensive on the other. The people everywhere were very nice and Zurich is always rated one of the world's best cities to live in with lots of restaurants, culture, beautiful surroundings and watches as far as the eye can see... yet somehow there was a strange vibe like "big brother" was watching and noone dares to have too much fun. Hard to articulate....
Hmmm.... Swiss.... I am still curious and the place is far too beautiful to ignore. I will surely give it another try. |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[89] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 24 Oct 2006 10:14:10 pm |
| Where sausages go to die.... Oktoberfest! |
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September 28 - October 1, 2006: Do not be lured away by cheap imitations of Miller Light swilling beer fests under the same name in hot spots like South Side or LoDo or the Village. This, my friend, is the real deal... the numero uno.. the big kahuna... the, well you get my point. This is round 3 of the title fight between me and the reining champion Munich and needless to say.. I am 0-2. Seasoned from past battles, I thought I had an excellent game plan for this carnival or carnivals... Oktoberfest. The 3 day plan was simple... 1 warm up night followed by a heroic last stand mono e mono slung fest on Friday and then a day (or many) or rest and post victory celebrations!
The details are to remain in the annals of history but... the obituary reads... "Here lies John, valiant challenger that fought bravely to the last drop but broke himself against the rock that is Oktoberfest!"
Several lessons were learned or relearned (depending on your perspective) this glorious weekend:
1.) Although the magic formula of beer - pretzel - beer - sausage - beer - cheesy bread - repeat can prolong the experience, it cannot prevent the inevitable.
2.) Vodka Red Bull can provide a false sense of invincibility
3.) I am no longer 21 and in prime drinking shape but under pressure... I can have a big game!
4.) Italians cannot drink beer, period.
5.) The best a German woman ever looks is in "lederhosen"
6.) Everyone is your friend at Oktoberfest
7.) OFest is simply GOOD TIMES!
Everyone needs to go at least once... then you will know that what I speaketh is the truth!
Special thanks to the OFest crew which included seasoned vet Donut and rookies Sherrie, Mike, Sammy, and Nick. It was worth the pain!
For all the Oktoberfest photos you can handle click here! |
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Posted By : John
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| 19 Sep 2006 10:47:59 pm |
| Ode to Mushrooms |
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September 17, 2006: Away from the madness of il Palio d'Asti, we escape to the small town of Cisteria d'Asti, were we discover the magic of all things "FUNGI"!! The delightful osterie e locali tipici called Ristorante Garibaldi was the setting for a 6 course mushroom extravaganza... from fungi fritto to tagliatelli con fungi, to fungi grill.... porcini mushrooms are in season and we are the big winners! Thanks to Dario for the well planned road trip.
The perfect way to spend any Sunday  |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[100] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 12 Sep 2006 01:02:07 am |
| Food Heaven: FESTIVAL DELLE SAGRE |
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September 9, 2006: Let's play word association... I'll say Asti and you say.... Spumanti... probably. Wrong! You need to say food fest from now on because on the weekend before the Palio di Asti, the town center turns into the biggest outdoor restaurant I have ever seen. The festival is a grand celebration of the local cuisine in the Asti region of Piedmonte (located about 40 km SE of Torino). Each town around Asti has it's own unique food and traditions and each of them, 47 in total, set up a mini restaurant in the Campo where you can test the goods and drink the local wine. Let me tell you... everything looks and smells magnificent... from Bagna Calda to Polenta con fungi, to fritto misto de carne, to Gnocchi alla cunichese, to canoli... buonissimo! Big Chris, Lisa and myself met Jan and Dario and an Asti insider, Eliana. Eliana mapped us an attack strategy that had us maneuvering in true Italian style from antipasti to primo (pasta) to secondo (meat) to dolce (dessert). One problem... too much food! The wheels fell off the wagon at the second primo dish and then a numbing coma of food bliss sweep over us as we found some empty chairs, illegally uncorked a nice bottle of vino, and commenced the digestion phase including moaning, belly rubbing and people watching. Dario and Lisa gained absolute hero status by fighting an Italian mob for 45 minutes to grap 5 fresh canolo. Words cannot properly describe this Piedmonte version of the Silcian classic...
I won't try... buy the ticket now and see you next year! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[93] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 04 Sep 2006 11:25:01 pm |
| Sagra del Peperone (Pepper Festival) |
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| September 3, 2006: Who knew that the little village of Carmagnola, Italy would explode into a colorful festival celebrating everyones favorite vegetable... the pepper! For 10 days in September, Carmagnola (about 30 km south of Torino) celebrates the peperone or pepper harvist with food, entertainment, a carnival and the highlight... a Ferrari Exhibition. The Italian Ferrari Club sponsors a time trail track for anyone with a Ferrari and all the collectors bring their babies to Carmagnola to show them off in a parade and make their best Shumacher impression. Big Chris, Lisa and I made the short trip down on a perfect sunny day to enjoy the festival and admire the Ferrari's (50 + on hand). Although definitely not the momma of Italian summer festivals... it was enough to stuff my pepper and a good excuse to enjoy a lazy Sunday in the sun! |
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Posted By : John
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| 01 Sep 2006 04:04:14 pm |
| The Donut has Landed! |
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| August 24, 2006: Chris Greenwood, aka the Donut, aka Big Chris, aka CG, aka the Gainsville Grapper, aka the Porn King, aka Big Love, aka the Russian Trumphet.... has landed in Italy! God save the queen. |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[90] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 01 Sep 2006 04:01:12 pm |
| London's Calling |
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| August 24 to 27, 2006: Needing a quick stop off at a English speaking county and also missing our Swedish friends Mattias and Tina Hammarqvist (on assignment in London), we jumped on Ryan Scareways and hit the curry capital of Europe. Tina and Mattias' place is great and they are starting to see the joys of assignment living (free baby!). Thursday was spent catching up over a fish and chips and then Friday was hit the British Muesum. The BM is really excellent and on par with the Met in NYC and the Louvre in Paris. We met Big Chris, who was there as a stop over to his vacation in Torino with us. That evening we hit a posh curry with the whole gang + our friend Mike and Christine then off to Tiger Tiger (cheesy brit nightclub). Saturday was for football as we went to "the Valley" and watched Charton beat Bolton. You may ask... who the hell are Charton and Bolton and believe me... I asked the same question several time. After the inevitable Micheal Bolton jokes we discoved they are 2 mid-level Premier League Teams. In the end, game was great! That night we hit Mexican in Inslington and wrapped up an excellent weekend. Thanks to Tina and Mattias for the hospitality and we hope we have earned a spot in a least the "B" friend group! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News | Comments[96] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 20 Aug 2006 08:05:06 pm |
| Lago di Garda Vacation |
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August 12 - 19, 2006: In Italy, the month of August is the sacred vacation month, where on a good day you can still find a pizzeria open and on a bad day... well... go fishing! The middle week of August is at the pinnacle of this exodus and we made like Italians to Lago di Garda or Lake Garda. Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and is located in Northern Italy, about halfway between Venice and Milan. Think of a more beautiful Lake Tahoe with little villages, better food, and more Germans. Yes, I said Germans, who come down the A22 expressway in truckloads to enjoy the lake atmosphere, wind surfing, and sunshine. Germans aside, the place is magnificent with 1000 meter mountains and a deep blue lake sprinkled with medieval villages on all sides. We rented a residence or small apartment of 40m2 and it was perfect with a small kitchen, nice veranda with room to sunbathe or eat a lunch, and access to the pool! The trip was uber relaxing with lazy days spent reading, swimming, playing tennis, and a little napping to boot. We finished the trip with a visit to a friend's recreation home in the Dolimiti (or Dolimite Mountains) north of Trento and enjoyed a grand lunch under the pink mountains. Thanks Enzo and Anna!!
Overall... another fond memory of Italy! |
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Posted By : John
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:47:55 pm |
| French Riveria and Italy with Swedish Friends |
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June 27 - August 7, 2006: We are always lucky when we get to spend time with our fabulous friends Josh and Lisen from Stockholm, Sweden (A listers!), but it is even better when we can spend time together for 10 great days in the French Rivera and in Italy at our home. This trip was loaded with "FUN" and at first, young Josh and Lisen had a negative image of France in their head. This misconception was quickly dismantled as we approached the cloud free skies, pounding sunshine, and clear blue sea of the Cote d'Azur! The trip was perfect with lazy days spent at the beach, excellent meals, lots of Rose', and a yacht trip to Juan les Pin and the Cap de Antibes (ok - it was a 6 meter dingy with a Vespa motor but it was all ours and it was fantastic). All the luxury was made possible from our other great friends Vincent and Helene Diotte. Helene generously allowed us to use her flat on the beach as she is away for the summer and Vincent and Valerie were the hosts du jour and took care of our every need. Merci Beaucoup!!!!
We then returned to Torino for a decedent meal with friends of fois gras, French cheese, Bordeaux and Sauternes wine and all the accoutrements. Wow... this simple meal was just gorgeous and although not an everyday event... well worth it! The Italian part of the vacation continued with tours of Torino and the museums (since I was at work ), a trip to the Alps to see the town of Aosta and the medieval castle at Fenis, and lots of the local cuisine. A wonderful 10 days and thanks to the Josh and Lisen for the memory filled trip and we cannot wait to see you both again soon!!! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[98] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:44:46 pm |
| Mediterranean Cruise: Greece, Turkey, Croatia |
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| July 16 - 23, 2006: CRUISIN'!! The result of the wife induced mandatory vacation was a week on Royal Caribbean's Spendour of the Seas and a much needed break. Our week spend cruising the Med was fantastic and just what the doctor or in this case nurse Lisa ordered. Here are some of the highlights: we started in Venice and had 2 relaxing days at sea. This was perfect as we took some pilates, a spa, relaxed by the pool, enjoyed the art auction (and actually won a couple raffles), and enjoyed the nightly entertainment and obviously... all the food! Our first port was in Turkey in the resort town of Kusadasi. The main attraction was Ephesus, a Roman ruin of excellent quality that has the Temple of Artemis, the largest building of the ancient world, according to Pausanias, and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. One wonder down (check) and 6 to go... The tour of Turkey continued with some "hard" selling by the many rug and jewelry merchants and although we managed to stay clear of those pitfalls, leather bags and Haute couture overwhelmed Lisa and I was powerless to defend. Down goes Frazier! Our next stop was our favorite and the destination was Athens. Lisa pre-booked a private tour with an excellent guide that was part Greek historian, part tour guide, part politician, part philosopher, and all parts the father from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Everything comes from Greece... no joke... everything... the obvious ones like democracy and cradle of civilization stuff aside... first VAT, first biological warfare, first stock exchange, first sport, first university, first guy on a boat, first guy to fish... bla! Absolutely hilarious this guy... you had to hear it and be there to believe it! The day finished with 6 course Greek late afternoon lunch that made my Top 10 Meal list with Calamari that made me weep out load. Next was well-deserved day at sea on the way to Dubrivinik, Croatia. Dubrivinik was one of the best medieval walled cities I have ever seen. It was pristine and on the water with walls crashing into the clear blue water. Although we only had 4 hours at this port... Croatia is on my return to list for the future. The trip had a good balance of activities and relax time and the icing on the cake was some of the great people we met on the cruise... especially those at table 140 for dinner. The Levin's (hope I spelled that correctly) were a delight to get to know and a couple we hope to run into again in the future! And the Hungarian Posse was inspirational with their appreciation of all things cruise and of life in general. Another great group of people to add to the list and fond memories of all!! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[87] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:40:54 pm |
| Summer Skiing in Cervina |
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| July 8, 2006: While everyone in Italy is heading to the sea to beat the heat, some friends and I went north to the go glacier skiing! The destination was the glacier between Monte Rosa and Monte Cervino or the Matterhorn. These are the second and third highest peaks in Europe after Mont Blanc just up the road at around 4500 meters. The Matterhorn is perhaps the most familiar mountain in the European Alps. On the border between Switzerland and Italy, its graceful pyramid towers over the Swiss town of Zermatt and the Italian town Breuil-Cervinia in the Val Tournanche. The snow was suprisingly good and our pack of adventures (spannig from totally hard core to simply want a nice view) was full speed ahead. After 3 trams to around 3500 meters we hiked to a rustic lodge which was to be our home base, sleeping quarters, and provider of Ginepy (Valle de Aosta liquorwith aniseed flavor) for the weekend. We then skiied and hiked down to Zermatt (Swiss) and then road a 4th tram the the highest point... and then skiied all the way back down!! My compliments to Alberto and Federico for pulling the trip together and including me! Skiing in July at the top of the world... simply awesome! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[98] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 04 Jul 2006 01:21:38 am |
| Il Palio in Siena |
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| June 30 - July 3, 2006: In my continuing search to find the great "events" in Europe... Lisa and I landed at "il Palio" in the medieval town of Siena. "Piazza del Campo" is the site for the Palio horse race that is one of the most famous popular Italian manifestations. It takes place every year on July 2 and August 16. The Palio is run to celebrate the miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary near the old houses that belonged to Provenzano Salvani. If you want a history lesson, look it up on the web but the highlights are the town is divided into districts or "contradi" and every year, 10 are selected to race for honor, love, family, and all the virgins (ok, I added that but it is Italy and it is believable!). Our weekend was wonderfully spent with touring Siena, enjoying the sites and sounds of the pre Palio activities and of course eating Tuscan food! We had 3 wonderful meals which included local favorites like "Florentine"... a 1+ kilo T-Bone and the best steak in all of Italy and Ribollita... a cabbage and bread soup. The main event was the race on Sunday and each contrade parades through the Campo in full medieval wardrobe including armored knights, servants, flag holders and musicians. The tension builds over 3 hours and reach climax with the horse race. Our hotel was located in the ISTRICE (Porcupine) Contrade and were hoping for a local victory... and party afterward! But... the winner was PANTERA (Panther) in a photo finish and an amazing race! At this point, grown men are crying... no weeping with joy and kissing each other, women, children, the horse, the jockey, his helmet... Forza! If "Under the Tuscan Sun" included the Palio... maybe someone other than my mom might of watched it! Il Palio.... simply suberb and a must see! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[87] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 04 Jul 2006 01:17:03 am |
| World Cup Madness |
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June 16 - 18, 2006: So you say you love sausages... and large beers.. and street festivals... and maybe a little football (aka soccer)... well then, welcome to the World Cup in Germany! My luck would have it that Italy (my new home) and the USA (my original home) played an important opening Group Match on June 17th in Kaiserslauten Germany. Would be great to watch the game with lots of friends.. but it would be EVEN better to go to the game with lots of friends... I'll take door #2 please and off we went to Germania! The crew with me was Sam, Jan, Dave, and Dario... a motley bunch to say the least and only 20% true football fans among us. That being said, 100% lovers of beer, sausages, and Germany hospitality!
So, we hit Kaiserslauten on game day about 9 hours before game time... first order of business... find the party. This is an easy one as all roads lead to the Fan Fest / 100 blocks of craziness. Second order... become an obnoxious fan! Oh yes... I believe it was Reagan that said "thou shalt support county"... and off to the cheesiest souvenir stand we could find for Flags, Hats, Face Paints, T-Shirts, Blow Horns... you name it! Next and most important.. beer! The next 8 hours were spent crawling from beer party to beer party... singing, making new friends (World Cup slogan), enjoying the Italia v. USA chanting sessions, and oh yeah... eating sausages. Dario managed to get over a meter into his 5' 5" frame. The sun was shining, spirits high, tickets in hand... and then came game time. You know the rest... game is violent, US is robbed and ends 1 to 1 (kissing your sister). We somehow manage to find our hotel some 50 km away and return to reality the next day. Overall.... a big CHECK in the World Cup box and lots of good memories. |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[92] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 25 May 2006 08:31:13 pm |
| Back to USSA |
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As promised in the "Spring Time Update", Lisa and I traveled back to the US for a 9 day tour of family and friends. The trip started in NYC with the wedding of my brother Matthew and his partner Daniel. The weekend was just perfect with a Broadway kickoff on Saturday to the appropriately named "Wedding Singer", with drinks and dinner to follow.
Sunday was the quintessential NY Spring Day (sun but not too hot, blue skies, warm breeze...) and the families met in Central Park for pictures. With the rest of the afternoon to ourselves, the Tweardy Clan his a street festival on the west side and stopped at the World Famous Gray's Papaya for a couple hot dogs and then watched Greg eat his way through the festival.
Sunday night was the rehearsal dinner at a Japanese Karaoke Bar!! A riot....
Monday was bagels at the Carnegie deli, 5th Ave shopping, a lunch with long time friend Moises Santiago, knock-off bags on Canal St. in China Town, picnic in lttl' Italy and then to Camino Sur (Columbian Restaurant) for the ceremony and dinner. Magical night and the icing on a perfect weekend with friends and family (old ones and new ones).
Next stop was Wilmington, DE to see college friend Tom Esposito, his wife Basia and their new daughter Sophia. Tom has undergone a recent transformation into Super-Suburban Dad... occupied with babies, drywall, mulch, and pressure-treated decking. The days spent with the Esposito Family were warm, welcoming, and relaxing.
Next stop was just outside Baltimore to our friend's family owned restaurant called "Sander's Corner" for a wonderful al fresco experience overlooking Lock Raven. We were joined by Lynn and her husband Mark and also long-time friends Rich and Tamara Kindel. Crap cakes, fresh talopia, and cold beers are great ways to catch up with old friends and the evening was very enjoyable.
Then off to Annapolis, MD for an afternoon with Rich and their little maniacs (Zach and Matt). We explored the US Naval Academy and got to catch up with the boys... some of Uncle Johnny's favorites!
This trip was just getting warmed up as we hit Washington DC to have lunch with long-time friend Ward Cole. The spot was the Hotel Washington and a perfect of the White House and surrounding monuments and always great to catch up with Ward. Hang in there buddy! The last stop on this train was Lexington, VA.... and my 10 year college reunion. Yes, it was been that long and a very good crowd from 1996 made it back to the ol' stomping grounds for a trip down memory lane. As always, the Hull's hospitality was amazing and we stayed comfortably at there amble abode. The weekend was relaxed with live music, plenty of eating and drinking, and catching up with old friends like Gray Hancock, Brad Paye, Stu Hogue, Doug Kennedy, Rich Achee, Andy Statton, and numerous others. Class looked great and successful... just as one would expect from W&L! Trip was concluded with evening with my brother Greg (W&L senior) and his friends over some wine and games and lots of good memories of when days were full of college dreams and endless opportunities. A big THANK YOU to everyone on the USSA roadtrip as it was without a flaw and carries an excess of fond memories! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[98] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 25 May 2006 08:13:55 pm |
| Spring Time in Italy |
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Spring comes about 60 days earlier in Torino than in Stockholm and we do not mind a bit! The spring started with my trip back to Chicago to handle some Italian Visa issues (my favorite part of the European experience). The trip was saved when Big Chris decided to join me in the windy city for some St. Patrick's week fun. In mid week, we decided to shoot over to Colorado and catch a couple days of fresh powder in the Boat... perfect! The trip was great and refilled my US tanks for the Italian summer. In Italy, the weather has been great and it has brought our first pile of visitors to Italy. The newly married Joey and Jill Bianco visited for 8 days and this was there first 1st trip to Europe. We all a blast and the trip was highlighted by lots of great food and a wonderful weekend in Venice... aaahhh Venice! Everything for Joey and Jill was a first. From their first true antipasti tray to their first train ride, to their first octopus and squid salad to their trip to the Alps... it was special showing them some new things and watching them enjoy the experience so much. Our second April visitors came just 2 days after the first set and over the Easter holiday. It was our friends Vincent and his sister Helene from Nice, France and they were joined by Vincent's girlfriend Valerie (our newest friend!). This visit was highlighted with a trip to the Egyptian Museum in Torino, the second largest in the world and very impressive, and also some very nice dinners. We seem to have a very full calendar the rest of the summer with trips and visitors and it should be a great experience for all.
Our next adventure is back to the US for my brother's wedding in May... more to follow.... |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[96] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 25 May 2006 08:13:34 pm |
| Happy New Year! |
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Happy New Year to everyone and all the best in 2006!! As most of you already know, Lisa and I have moved to Torino, Italy (from Stockholm, Sweden) and will be here for a couple years. I have been battling the Italian Visa and Relocation progress for several months now and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Torino is a wonderful place and definitely has a very undeserved reputation for being a little Pittsburgh in Italy (not saying the 'burgh is all bad!). I have discovered wonderful food and wine, lively cafes and night life, history, architecture, warm and friendly people and let's not forget.... the beautiful Alps on 3 sides and skiing every weekend! We have found an apartment and it is a combination of old and new and is just perfect. It is located in the heart of the city and has all the madness of Italian life. It is also huge... so lots of room for visitors from afar.
More news to follow after the Olympics if we can survive and all the best! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[95] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 25 May 2006 08:13:19 pm |
| Travel Time... |
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September was another busy month and was highlighted by John's trip to the US and Lisa's friend Heidi visiting Stockholm. I had to travel back to the NYC for an IBM class but took advantage of the opportunity by visiting my youngest brother Greg in Lexington, VA and my middle brother Matt in NYC during the trip. Greg was the first weekend and I got to see his opening football game of the season. It turned out to be a perfect day as the family was there (including my cousin Tom and his soon to be wife Tina and my buddy Rich), the sun was shining, and Greg led the Generals to a big opening day victory over Alfred with 5 TD passes!! In NY, I spend some time with another great friend named Moises! The week finished with dinner with my brother and Daniel and an amazing performance by Daniel in "Altar Boys".... While I was in the states Lisa was busy with Heidi enjoying Stockholm and taking an amazing girl trip to Paris!! They enjoyed the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, and lots of shopping!!
Last, the really big news!!! We bought a place in BELIZE!!!! It is a isolated beach with about 75 ft of beach front with white sand, blue water, and palm trees. That's the good news, more interesting news is there is no water, no electricity, no road, no house and you can only get there by boat! You better Belize it! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[97] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 25 May 2006 08:12:55 pm |
| Harris Visit |
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| The conclusion to the summer visitors tour was punctuated with Lisa's parents Dave and Irene Harris. This was a trip of "FIRSTS" for the Harris Family with their first passport, trip to Europe, cruise ship and lots of interesting foods and Lisa just returned from her 1st trip to Greece (spent with friends)! Overall, I thought it was the perfect end to the summer and an amazing trip for all. The trip included all the usual experiences including Gamla Stan, the Vasa, Drottingsgatan, the Castle, Kungstrgarden, etc. But also included a couple firsts including a overnight cruise to Helsinki across the Baltic Sea on the Viking Line. The cruise was perfect with great weather, music, food and company and included a day tour of Helsinki and some interesting foods at the local market! Overall... another wonderful experience for us in Europe. |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[95] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 25 May 2006 08:12:00 pm |
| Dusseldorf |
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| You would never think that Dusseldorf Germany would be a great get away weekend in Europe but let me and my liver tell you, you are wrong. In pure German style, our recent weekend trip to Dusseldorf with the McConnell brothers and of course, the Donut (aka Chris Greenwood), brought good times, tons of great beer, and a stomach busting quantity of sausages. Surprisingly, Dusseldorf is the "fashion" center of Germany (who knew?) and the streets are packed with shopping from regular to trendy to couture The old town is wall to wall bars, breweries of Alt or "Old" Beer, and restaurants. The weekend had 2 large events. The first being German"fashion week" and we saw the world's largest runway with a massive 700 meter walk in the heart of the city. This outdoor show was a serious event and we got a great seat near a small stand serving excellent Mojitos! Next to the banks of the Rhein River with a classic German summer carnival. German carnivals are not like US carnivals... these are large transportable cities with more bars then Pittsburgh. We ate backfish, Austrian cheese sausage, sauteed mushrooms, pomme frites with mayo, and of course German sausage all washed down with local beers. It was basically a mini Octoberfest! Thank you Germany another great weekend and you are quickly becoming one of my favorite countries in Europe! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[97] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 25 May 2006 08:11:40 pm |
| Summer Vacation |
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| July is the summer vacation month in the Nordics and the real start of the beautiful Swedish Summer. This year is the best ever and the weather has been just perfect! My parents (John and Patty) just visited for 2 weeks and we had a wonderful time. The trip started with pure craziness with my parents forgetting the tickets in Pittsburgh and then loosing their luggage in London and being rerouted and basically pure hell! It improved quickly with an excursion to Prague for 5 days with Lisa and my friend Big Chris. Prague is beautiful and so cheap it makes you cry.... starting with the 25 cent beers. The next week was spent enjoying Stockholm with lots of touring and eating. We spent one great night at Edsbaka Krog, which is a Michelin 2 star and one of the most famous restaurants in Sweden.... great experience! We finished up the trip with a cruise out to Sandhamm, a sandy beach island on the outer most archipelago, and a nice BBQ. Next trip is Dusseldorf for a summer Rhine Valley festival. |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[101] | Trackbacks [0]
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