A good choice if you are traveling solo with a bike, but want to remain in the "economy" class of car rental.
Fiat Panda
13 May 2010
12 May 2010
Italy - 12 May
The 2010, 12-May through 3-June journey to Italy began with all night packing and immediate driving of four hours to RDU. I have a few rules when flying and taking my bike:
After successfully being an Airport Ninja I amazingly had a good flight with no one seated beside me from JFK to MXP and got decent sleep for once.
As an aside, it is funny when you get on an international flight with two meals being served. It is as if the nationality of the whole flight is one nation at the beginning of the flight (and first meal) and suddenly changes to the arrival nation towards the end of the flight (second meal). Can't you just serve one kind of meal instead of pretending we are actually in either the departure or arrival country.
- No more than 1 connection.
- That connection must be between the exact same airline (in my case, American Airlines to American Airlines).
- That connection must be within the United States; RDU to JFK and JFK to Italy is my preferred route.
- There must be ample time between connections. Instead of trying to have as short as travel time as possible, I put in lots of time between connections - both to Italy and returning - for padding.
- Aside from the bike bag, I only take a carry-on. Lugging a bike bag and a large luggage on arrival is not fun. So pack compactly.
After successfully being an Airport Ninja I amazingly had a good flight with no one seated beside me from JFK to MXP and got decent sleep for once.
As an aside, it is funny when you get on an international flight with two meals being served. It is as if the nationality of the whole flight is one nation at the beginning of the flight (and first meal) and suddenly changes to the arrival nation towards the end of the flight (second meal). Can't you just serve one kind of meal instead of pretending we are actually in either the departure or arrival country.
11 May 2010
The Corner Kitchen
On the 11th of May P went to Ohio for a little over a week for some time with his Grandparents. I was supposed to leave that afternoon and drive to a friend's house to stay the night and head to RDU in the morning for Italy. However, the prospect of being alone, without assistance from visiting family or babysitters, with Bean Counter for the first time in who knows how long was too good to pass up. And with such an opportunity it could not be wasted on something ho-hum. So, I said to my still-haven't-packed-for-three-weeks-in-Italy self: "I don't have that much to pack." With that we decided to go someplace nice. Of course I was wrong and didn't sleep at all before driving to Raleigh.
The Corner Kitchen decision was not inspired by President Obama's recent visit at all. In fact, it was on the List for some time. The Corner Kitchen is located in Biltmore Village in a quaint old house and is a popular place in town serving food inspired by fresh ingredients. One way to score points with us is to not have much of a fixed menu, but to base it on what is good and in season - of course you will always have your staples though (e.g. Three Meat Meatloaf).
To start I had a cold gazpacho which was superb. It was not a hot night, but the cool gazpacho was great. It had a nice bright and fresh taste that was very refreshing. Bean Counter had the Corn and Crab Chowder which she enjoyed very much. I was given a bite and it was indeed good. I would have been more than happy to have that, but the gazpacho was more my style.
For entreé I had the Tamarind Roasted Tempeh in Green Curry with Japanese Eggplant, Snap Peas and Sticky Rice. As I may have mentioned I am drawn to Tempeh, Tofu, etc. dishes. This was a good curry and a nice gourmet way to provide for vegetarians. However, as has been mentioned, it doesn't entirely fit in with the Corner Kitchen's menu and strays from what their mission seems to be. Bean Counter had the staple Sweet Mustard Glazed Three Meat Meatloaf with Collards, Cheddar Grits and Three Sauces. I only had one bite, but can confirm it was good. I can see how people would repeatedly be drawn to it - embraced by its consistency, comfort, good taste, and the warm fuzzy feeling that meatloaf brings to you. I can see this being awesome in late fall, winter, and early spring for me. Maybe next time. My wife was also quite excited by the wine deals they have weekly. She wants to return so she can have some Opus One without opening her own bottles of it and paying less for it through the discount.
Then it was off to pack a bike stealth like, stuff food, nutrition, tools, clothes, and more into a bag and fit clothes into a carry-on for three weeks - the majority of those clothes being cycling kit.
The Corner Kitchen decision was not inspired by President Obama's recent visit at all. In fact, it was on the List for some time. The Corner Kitchen is located in Biltmore Village in a quaint old house and is a popular place in town serving food inspired by fresh ingredients. One way to score points with us is to not have much of a fixed menu, but to base it on what is good and in season - of course you will always have your staples though (e.g. Three Meat Meatloaf).
To start I had a cold gazpacho which was superb. It was not a hot night, but the cool gazpacho was great. It had a nice bright and fresh taste that was very refreshing. Bean Counter had the Corn and Crab Chowder which she enjoyed very much. I was given a bite and it was indeed good. I would have been more than happy to have that, but the gazpacho was more my style.
For entreé I had the Tamarind Roasted Tempeh in Green Curry with Japanese Eggplant, Snap Peas and Sticky Rice. As I may have mentioned I am drawn to Tempeh, Tofu, etc. dishes. This was a good curry and a nice gourmet way to provide for vegetarians. However, as has been mentioned, it doesn't entirely fit in with the Corner Kitchen's menu and strays from what their mission seems to be. Bean Counter had the staple Sweet Mustard Glazed Three Meat Meatloaf with Collards, Cheddar Grits and Three Sauces. I only had one bite, but can confirm it was good. I can see how people would repeatedly be drawn to it - embraced by its consistency, comfort, good taste, and the warm fuzzy feeling that meatloaf brings to you. I can see this being awesome in late fall, winter, and early spring for me. Maybe next time. My wife was also quite excited by the wine deals they have weekly. She wants to return so she can have some Opus One without opening her own bottles of it and paying less for it through the discount.
Then it was off to pack a bike stealth like, stuff food, nutrition, tools, clothes, and more into a bag and fit clothes into a carry-on for three weeks - the majority of those clothes being cycling kit.
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