Enjoyed a light meal last night at Roostica. Meatballs and polenta. Sounds heavy. Mine was not. I ordered the appetizer portion.
Polenta is an Italian dish. Cornmeal. Generally, boiled. Can be fried or baked.
Never enjoyed polenta while living in Utica. Tried it a couple of times. Did not like it.
Now, I love it!
I have been to Courmayeur in northern Italy several times. God’s country. Sits 4,000 feet up Mont Blanc. Mont Blanc being the tallest peak in Europe. Four thousand feet sounds like a lot till you look up and see Mont Blanc’s snow covered peak at 16,000 feet.
Courmayeur beautiful. Swiss chalets abound. Residential and commercial buildings alike.
Polenta is the traditional food of Courmayeur. Courmayeur world known for its polenta. Prepared every which way.
Every restaurant serves polenta. Regardless of what else is ordered. A large bowl is deposited in the center of the table at the beginning of each meal.
I got to like polenta during my Courmayeur stays.
Courmayeur is situated close to the French border. Less than an hour’s drive. Opposite Courmayeur on the French side is Chamonix. Another famous Alpine resort.
Connecting Italy and France is the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The only way to get to Chamonix from Courmayeur. The tunnel is 7.15 miles. Through the mountain, not over.
I found it strange. You drive through the tunnel with the windows closed and the air conditioning/heat off. Less you be asphyxiated from carbon monoxide fumes.
Trump makes it sound like borders are protected everywhere. Not among the democratic countries of Europe. I was impressed I could drive through the tunnel without showing a passport or stopping. Like driving from Florida to Georgia or New York to New Jersey.
I highly recommend a Courmayeur vacation. Summer or winter. The buildings magnificent, Mont Blanc overwhelming, the people nice.
Before Roostica, I stopped at the Chart Room.
John introduced me right away to Lana and Gary. I was thrilled to meet them. They are daily blog readers and had bought and read Irma and Me.
Presently live in Crystal River, Florida. Manatee country. You can even swim with the manatees in Crystal River!
Both originally from New York State. Lana, Rochester and Gary, Catskill. Lana a school teacher. Gary a retired fireman who now works as a ticket broker. Both in their late 40’s.
They are in Key West celebrating their third wedding anniversary. Today the day. They were married three years ago in Key West.
Gary asked Lana to marry him three plus years ago on the stage at Irish Kevin’s. In front of the world! He needed a ring. Stopped at a souvenir store on Duval and bought a 10 cent multi colored plastic one.
Enjoyed my time with Lana and Gary. Good people!
Sloan and I have not been together in weeks. We have reached a point where I e-mail a need and she performs. However every now and then, we have to sit together. Mechanical things to be done. Tonight at 5:30.
Something new was started last year in Key West. The Key Lime Festival. This year sponsored by KWAHS.
The event takes place at the Key West Lighthouse on Whitehead. From 11 to 2:30 next saturday, June 30.
The reason to attend is to view or participate in the Key Lime Pie Drop from the top of the Lighthouse. Seventy three feet. The idea is to place a key lime pie in some contraption invented by the dropper and let it fly. The winner is the one whose pie lands without damage.
A difficult feat.
I have written several times that while Trump goes around demeaning other nations, those nations are slowing moving off the dollar to the Chinese yuan. Each time this happens, the dollar is devalued. It is occurring frequently since Trump took office.
Some nations, especially small ones, are moving off the dollar or yuan to gold. They believe the world is too volatile to remain with the dollar or yuan.
Back in the 1990’s, the Keys were declared a National Marine Sanctuary. Took several years and much work to attain the designation.
BOB got upset at a time thereafter. The federal government decided it wanted to build a missile launching pad at Cudjoe Key. To test antiballistic missiles launched from Cudjoe to Panama city.
The National Marine Sanctuary and a missile launching site seemed inconsistent to BOB and he vented re the situation.
I am unaware of the missile site ever being established at Cudjoe Key. Bob Smith’s opposition must have helped.
In recent years, we have been told that in a 100 years, non-whites will outnumber whites in the U.S. A recent study indicates an acceleration. The study now indicates that by 2045, there will be more non-whites than whites.
A major contributing factor is that whites are dying faster than white babies are being born. The study indicated increased white births would not help. The whites are too far behind.
Such is life.
Enjoy your day!