Magic in Vegas Day#4 “No, No, Please Say It Isn’t Over”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

I won’t bore you with stories about breakfast except to say we went to Blueberry Hill again.   It was great again. How this place gets a 3.9 rating on Yelp is beyond me.

The morning session was at times a bit mind boggling,  mind blowing, and mind numbing.  We heard an interview with Penn and Teller and also a lecture about under appreciated Black magicians which were very interesting.  There was a very impressive mentalism performance by an act named Mind 2 Mind. I don’t think many of the men in the audience concentrated on the act after the female part of the duo walked through the audience. (see below) 

The female part of the Mind 2 Mind twosome. This was the reason many of the men didn’t pay attention to the tricks and just stared at her. I of course was focused on the magic.

Patrice here. Do you believe that nonsense he just said? Ask him to name one of their tricks and see if he can name any.

Lastly and most sobering was a talk about an attempt to end piracy of magic books and tricks.  Apparently the pirates not only have stolen money but have also threatened the investigator with extortion and threats of physical harm. Yikes!

The afternoon sessions were great.  I learned some great tricks to do plus some others that although I can’t do were interesting to learn the secrets.  

Dinner was also a show.  Yes we went to Benihana.  We joined Bill and his son Bill and 4 other friends from back home, John, Connie (who told us about Magic Live) and their friends Gary and Cindy. It is always a lot of fun watching and listening to the Benihana chefs and tonight was no exception.

From left to right: Bill II, Bill (Bill II’s dad), John, Connie, Cindy, Gary. Row 2: Patrice, Yours truly, and Owen.

When I asked my magic buddy, Mike, if he wanted to attend Magic Live, he scoffed at the thought of staying at such a cheap hotel as the Orleans.  I have to admit that he was right in many respects.  Of interest there were a couple of things that made the hotel desirable. For example the hotel doesn’t have any pressure filters in the shower so you get a real blast which I really like.  Also the water temperature is extremely hot. I love a hot shower.  Newer hotels tend to limit the water pressure (money saver?) and temperature (possibly to avoid injuring guests and hearing from attorneys?) so the Orleans has my vote in regards to the shower.  Interestingly this morning Owen noticed that the cold water from the sink was hot.  I’ve been to numerous locations where hot water is a rarity (LAX for example) but I’ve never seen any location where the cold water is hot.  Well, not until today.  

The closing show was one more treat to top off a great 3 days of magic. It is late and I don’t want to bore you with details of the show. Actually I need my editor to proofread my posting and she is fading fast so we need to call it a night.

Tomorrow it’s back to home.  I am always happy to return home but I have to admit this trip was very special. I look forward to returning next year. Thanks go to our friends who made it a unique event. Treating us to dinners, driving us to locations, waiting in line to save us seats, gifts for our grandson, showing us the lay of the land for the convention, is too much to fathom. What a wonderful group of friends. I am really blessed.

Not a great photo but definitely a great bunch of people.

No trips planned for the near future but if we head out of town I promise you’ll be the first to know. 

Ciao 

Magic in Vegas Day #3 “Robert Becomes a Magical Star!”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

Another great night’s sleep.  I think I need to leave my phone in the kitchen from now on. 

Last night we were treated to an amazing show which included a mentalist, a juggler (not strictly a magician but still very entertaining), a physical magician, and a guy who had a nonstop supply of cards emanating from his hands.  There was also an emcee who did the best trick of the night.  He took a ring from an audience member.  Another member of the audience helped him make it disappear and the same member of the audience helped him find it.  It was located on the emcee’s toe under his sock AND BOOT! I would tell you how it’s done but I can’t because I don’t want to break the magician’s code of ethics. Also, I have no idea how he did it.

This morning we decided not to risk being killed by a cab driver for hiring them for a one mile trip and ate at the Copper Whisk located in the hotel.  It was closer but clearly a step down from Blueberry Hill.  But what it lacked in quantity and quality they made up in service. For example look how they arranged our service settings.  See below. 

As I recall he dropped the utensils on the table and said, “Here”.

We then attended the general session which showed a mentalist (Brian Curry) who was funny and impressive and a hilarious magician named Piff the Magic Dragon.  His trick was funnier than it was impressive but it was definitely my favorite presentation of the session.  There was a father and son duo who discussed how storytelling and magic presentations are very similar.  They gave tips to performing magicians which were definitely lost on me.  There was also a costume designer explaining the importance of your costume for your presentation.  I think I will stick with a white coat for my performances. 

The afternoon was much more enjoyable.  First we saw another mentalist (Drew Backenstoss) who gave a great show and then told how everything was done.  I definitely plan to utilize some of his tips.  This show was especially enjoyable because I was able to be a volunteer participant.  I was a bit scared because he was trying to predict the PIN of my debit card.  Lucky for me he failed in that endeavor.  After that we saw a close up magician (Mike Pisciotta) who also did a show and proceded to teach us how everything was done.  I got a close up view because again I was picked as a volunteer.  This was spectacular because we got to see a great show and learn some great magic tips. See  below.

Mike Pisciotta explaining how to do his tricks.

We have one more show tonight and then it is off to dinner. This has truly been an incredible experience. 

Ciao

Magic Time in Vegas Day#2 “The Magic of Sleep”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

I had an amazing night.  The room was very quiet and I slept like a baby (that is I woke up every 2 hours) but thanks to Owen it was a great night.  Often when I wake during the night I’ll grab my phone and can’t back to sleep.  I didn’t want to bother Owen so didn’t touch my phone and instead fell back asleep.  Glory, glory, boy do I feel great. 

We got our act together this morning and headed to Blueberry Hill (a local restaurant recommended by Bill, not the Fats Domino hit song from the 50’s) [1505 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89119].  The place was amazing.  Food was great, portions generous, and prices reasonable.  If you plan to stay at the Orleans Hotel I’d definitely recommend this place for breakfast but please take an Uber.  When the cab driver heard we wanted him to take us to a place about a mile away he was not a happy camper.  Getting an Uber back to the hotel was not all that easy either so maybe tomorrow we will look for something walking distance from the hotel.  No food pictures but here are just 4 pages from the menu.

French Toast or Waffles?
Pancakes?
Eggs Benedict?
How about an Omelette instead?
I lied, here is a food picture. Patrice and I shared an omelette (this was my portion) and it came with pancakes (located behind the eggs).

Then it was time for Magic!  Well not quite.  The General session was hosted by a very funny and clever magician named Rick Merrill.  The other presenters were talking about their philosophy and history of magic.  That is not very interesting to me but seemed very well received by the others (the true magicians) in the audience. 

The afternoon session was interesting, informative and inspiring.  We saw a British magician named Joseph Barry do some incredible card tricks and then showed them again but this time explained how they were done.  I think they are all quite doable.  All I have to do is quit medicine, not talk to any friends or relatives, and practice all day for about 10 years and I will then be mediocre at what he did, seemingly with ease.

We then saw a stunt magician named Jonathan Goodwin.  He too is from Great Britain but unfortunately about 4 years ago had a trick go awry and he is paralyzed from the chest down (T11 level for those of you in the medical field).  He showed us some incredible tricks that he used to do and also explained how they were done.  In addition to being informative he was quite amusing.  When the audience gave him a standing ovation, he said, “It looks like you are all mocking me”. 

Jonathan Goodwin

After a short break it was the close up magic show.  This is always my favorite.  Tonight was no exception.  There were 4 different magicians and all were spectacular.  Some of the tricks I had seen before but there were others that were beyond comprehension.  For example one of the magicians made shadow figures with a light on a screen.  No big deal, we have all seen that.  But have you seen it where he throws a card from his hand to the shadow and then the shadow throws it back?  But my favorite was a trick involving a bag and an egg.  No need for me to explain it because it clearly was impossible and the magician just had us all on hallucinogenics.  Yes, it was mind boggling.

We then went for dinner and got stuffed on cajun food. What else would you expect at a hotel called, Orleans? 

But that isn’t the end of our night.  We will be leaving the room soon for another show.  This is apparently the big show of the night.  

And to think this is just day #1 of the convention. 

Ciao, until tomorrow. 

Magic Time in Vegas, Day #1 “Welcome to Sin City”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

Many followers of this blog know that I have adopted a new hobby, magic.  My friend Mike and I have been studying online with our instructor (also Mike) who is a plumber in New Jersey (not a joke). We have been having a lot of fun and become much more interesting to strangers (our friends are bored having seen our tricks too many times as we use them as an audience for our practice sessions). I found out about a convention dedicated to magic called “Magic Live”.  It takes place every year in August in Las Vegas.  Yes, Vegas in August doesn’t sound like a dream trip but that is where Patrice and I are.  Lucky for us we have a travel guest, our oldest grandson, Owen.  This is our third trip with Owen having taken him to Panama and Canada previously.  He is a great travel partner, very easygoing and so fun to talk to. 

We found out about the magic convention from 2 of my patients, John and Connie.  We ran into them last year when we were out to dinner.  Oddly, Connie recognized Patrice from the blog and didn’t even notice me.  I don’t recall how we got on the topic of magic but Connie mentioned that her brother hosts the magic convention and here we are.  

Upon arrival to the Harry Reid International airport in Las Vegas there was no doubt that the pilot took us to the correct city.  These two sights made it clear that we were not in Salt Lake. 

Slot machines by baggage claim. “Dorothy, you are not in Kansas anymore.”
Okay, can you direct us to which part of the airport where this is allowed?

After exiting the airport we were in a cab in seconds (this definitely is not LAX) and on our way to the Orleans Hotel. My friend and magic buddy, Mike, decided not to attend because the hotel at which the convention is located is not one of the luxury gaming houses.  “Robert I am not going to a hotel that charges $80 per night”.  Hmmm, okay. At first it seemed just like any of the other Vegas hotels, smelling of smoke and with a huge casino greeting you as you enter.  It is clear that this is not like the higher profile places.  For example at check-in your option was to do self check-in or pay $35 to have a human take your information. We opted to save the $35 and use the self check-in machine which was very easy to use.  We were only given 2 keys which is all we need since if we let Owen out of our sight for one nanosecond his mother and father will have us fried.

The Orleans might not be a luxury hotel but it still is very nice and adequate for our purposes.  For example we had an excellent dinner at Alder and Birch which is located in the hotel. We got a great deal on the price of the meal because we were the guests of our friend Bill and his son Bill Jr.  The meal was amazing but the best part was the entertainment. Bill teaches airline mechanics how to work on engines.  Years ago he also worked as a party clown entertaining kids. Bill Jr. is a professor at Abilene Christian University.  Both Bills are amazing magicians and entertained us during dinner with some incredible tricks.  

After dinner we headed over to the Convention mixer where we met some more magicians and were treated to some more impressive magic.  Next door was what they call “The Dealer’s Room” which is essentially a hoard of merchants selling a variety of magic tricks.  It was very interesting but there were so many people there it was hard to get a salesperson to even talk to let alone see what was special about their booth.  Hopefully later in the week it won’t be as crowded.  

Enjoying time with our baby grandson (he is the one towering over us) while I try to hide the ice cream I am eating.

Tomorrow the convention starts for real.  Hopefully I will be funnier tomorrow.  Patrice can be brutally honest sometimes.  I asked what she thought of the blog and she said, “It wasn’t very funny”.   

I will try harder tomorrow. 

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day 14 “Wrap Up Photos”

by reissmd, posted in Denmark, Norway, Sweden

Loyal followers of this blog know that my last post of a trip has a series of signs and sights that I have found interesting. This trip is no exception.

This was at our hotel in Stockholm. Apparently Swedes don’t know how to wash their hands.
Tyres = Tires. Otherwise I don’t think this requires any explanation.
I was told WC stands for Water Closet. I guess they have a lot of bottled water here and need to keep it in a locked storage area.
A Stockholm walkway cautioning adults to hold their child’s hand when close to the highway. I definitely agree with this one.
I will never live in a city where double doorways are needed because of the weather.

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has been a huge help in writing the blog this time. I have used Chat GPT on occasion with great results. For example it taught me how to type those funky letters like ü, æ, and ø. Thank you Chat GPT. It also made our lives easier in other ways, for example we were at the SAS lounge at the Copenhagen Airport waiting for our flight to Stockholm. We weren’t sure exactly where we needed to go, how to get there, and how long it would take. I got this reply:

Gate B10 at Copenhagen Airport is located in Concourse B, which is part of the Schengen area. The SAS Lounge is situated in Terminal 3, near Gate C10, also within the Schengen area. The walk between the SAS Lounge and Gate B10 typically takes about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your walking pace. Both locations are airside, so you won’t need to pass through additional security or passport control when moving between them. Amazing, no?

Did I need to come to Scandinavia to get a Route 66 sign?
Going to Toftaholm was a challenge.

Google Translate was a huge help. See below.

Not sure if I already showed you this painting from the restaurant in the Grand Hotel in Olso. If I did, it deserves a second look because the service there was represented by this scene. They definitely were working as if that is where their heads were located.
This is something I thought was very cool. Notice the big numbers next to the store name. Those are the store hours. This store is open 9-21 (2100 meaning 9 pm) and 1800 (6 pm) on Sundays.

And finally, we saw a variety of types of restaurants, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Indian, and we even saw a Scottish restaurant. See below.

And lastly, for Eric.

See you next trip.

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #13 “Adjø (goodbye) to Scandinavia”

by reissmd, posted in Bergen, Norway, Norway

Today was our last full day in Norway.  Tomorrow I will finish up as usual with a collection of photos that speak for themselves (but of course, I will speak for them).  Today we started with another massive buffet.  That has been the recurrent theme of this trip.  Small rooms but massive buffets.  

We then met the group for a bus/walking tour of the city.  One thing I have learned from this trip is that I don’t like to be led around by a guide hearing tons of facts about a city.  I prefer to explore by myself (with Patrice of course) and meet locals rather than hear about things that happened 1000 years ago.  Sorry if I sound like a heathen but that is who I am. 

We are in Bergen, which as I mentioned yesterday, is the 2nd most populated city in Norway.  We found out today that it is a sister city with Seattle.  You might know that Seattle averages about 37 inches of rain per year.  Well its Norwegian sister averages 89 inches.  I wonder if they know about Sitka, Alaska which receives 100 inches of rain per year?  My Los Angeles friend, Linda, tells me she loves rain.  I think relocation to one of these 3 cities would be in her best interest. 

We were on our own for lunch and the afternoon.  Patrice and I only ate a snack for lunch (bringing our average lunch calorie count for the trip down to about 1800). We then walked the city and decided on going to the Kode museum.  It was a worthwhile stop so I would recommend it.

At night, we met the entire group for a farewell dinner.  This has been a really good group of travel buddies.  It is hard to imagine that you would get 24 people together and not one of them would be a jerk making the trip less enjoyable.  Patrice pointed out there was one jerk on the trip and she had to room with him. 

Tonight we toured a local farm with the group and saw some interesting animals.  Have you ever seen a Fjord Horse?  See below.

Fjord horse mommy and her 4 week old son.

I was not looking forward to this dinner since I thought the main attraction was the farm and the dinner would not be very good.  I was wrong.  I would say this was the best meal of the trip. 

A lovely trout for dinner.
Wait, what’s this? The trout was just a starter? This is veal for your main course. I decided just to have one bite but it was AMAZING and I ate the whole thing.
A swan for dessert? No, sorbet with meringue and whipped cream with raspberry sauce. I’m not a big whipped cream or meringue guy but the sorbet was yummy.

I always have mixed emotions about an end of a trip. I love traveling but it will be good to be home. I always like to learn things on our trips. I definitely learned something on this trip. See below.

I NEED A HAIRCUT!

I will send you my photo post from the airport or possibly from the plane. 

Adios, oops, I mean adjø

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #12 “Bergen”

by reissmd, posted in Bergen, Norway, Norway, Uncategorized

Our trip is almost over.  We left the fjords this morning and the beautiful scenario that every way we turned looked like a picture used in a jigsaw puzzle.  Yes, beauty that you would think only existed in someone’s imagination. If you think this is just my imagination, come to Norway, experience the fjords, and see for yourself.  Here is one last fjord for the road.

Fjord with a salmon farm.

There has been some downtime during the trip during which I have read my book group selection for the month. It is a non-fiction tale about about Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the Diesel engine.  At first glance it might sound like a boring story.  In reality it’s quite interesting and what’s more, it is very pertinent to the trip. 

Diesel was a peer of Alfred Nobel from Nobel prize fame.  As you might recall we visited Stockholm where the majority of the prizes are awarded and Oslo where the peace prize is given. This tidbit was a footnote in the book and was very illuminating: 

[When Ludwig Nobel (Alfred’s brother) died in April 1888, French newspapers incorrectly reported the death of Alfred, who was in fact alive and well. Alfred then read his own obituary, which was a scathing critique of his life and work. The obituary named Alfred a “merchant of death” and declared that his invention, dynamite, “killed more people faster than ever before.” Alfred was so disturbed at this potential posthumous reputation that he later changed his last will and testament to bequeath his entire fortune to a new foundation that would award a series of prizes to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”]

I’m sure this was horrifying for Nobel but I’ve often mused that funerals are a waste because the one person who would really enjoy hearing what was being said is dead and can’t enjoy it.  That’s why I’m planning to have my funeral long before I die.  

We left the Fjord country and headed to our last stop, Bergen (of course not before stopping for bathroom breaks which just happened to be in gift shops). Bergen is Norway’s second largest city, with a population of about 292,000 with about 20,000 of those people being students at the University of Bergen.

We arrived late and only had a chance to use the funicular to see a panoramic view of the city.

A view from the top.

I also was excited to to see someone with a nose bigger than mine. See below.

Handsome chap, isn’t he?

In addition we saw one of my favorite travel sights. See below.

Oh yes, another bird on a statue’s head.

After returning from the furnicular we found an excellent Spanish restaurant for dinner and then on to home.

Tomorrow is our last full day of the trip. Until then adjø (goodbye).

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #11 “W.T.F. Waterfalls, Trolls, and Fjords”

by reissmd, posted in Norway, Uncategorized

Travel can sometimes make me confused.  Yesterday I said TGIF but it was only Thursday.  Well today was (is) Friday and we had a another great day of looking at the fjords.  We had an early start, lots of great food, and transportation to lots of great sights.  In other words we are on a Tauck tour.

Our coach driver (by that I mean our bus driver, not someone who is telling our driver what to do) did a great job transporting us from location to location.   Our coach is large and comfy, but the roads are at times a bit narrow. 

This is a two lane highway. Luckily traffic coming the opposite direction was light and drivers were very considerate (in other words they weren’t from Los Angeles or New York).

Our first stop was Dalsnibba where supposedly the view is breathtaking unfortunately for us, all we could see were clouds and snow flakes. 

Except for the coach, is there much you can see?

But then we had a series of stops where we saw lovely waterfalls.

Patrice posing with me in ‎⁨Oppstryn⁩, ⁨Norway⁩.
Together in front of a fjord. ‎⁨Geirangerfjord⁩, ⁨Norway⁩
In front of a run off from another waterfall. Also in ‎⁨Geirangerfjord⁩, ⁨Norway⁩
And another. Also in ‎⁨Geirangerfjord⁩, ⁨Norway⁩

Finally Patrice had enough and told me to go take the picture by myself. I asked our guide if Tauck would give me a substitute for me to use in my picture. I was told, they would send a young thing to pose with me instead. YES, I LOVE YOU TAUCK.

Tauck, that was not exactly what I had in mind. With travel buddy, Matt, in ‎⁨Hellesylt⁩, ⁨Norway⁩

Back in the hotel now and getting ready for a lecture on the history of Norway (just the first 10,000 years) followed by…….. DINNER!

Talk to you soon. But since this was entitled Waterfalls, Trolls, and Fjords, I feel obligated to give you at least one Troll (other than me). See below.

See you tomorrow as our trip rapidly nears its end.

Skol! Our Trip To Scandinavia Day #10 “TGIF: Thank God It’s Fjord-day”

by reissmd, posted in Loen, Norway, Norway

Today was totally devoted to experiencing the fjords of Norway. As I mentioned before this was one of the main reasons I wanted to take this trip.  I hate to say this but in spite of today providing some beautiful sights I have to say I was a bit disappointed.  

My vision was that I was going to see mountains of ice extending from a water base all the way to the heavens. I was thinking about what we had seen in Alaska and Patagonia and that this would be similar or hopefully even more spectacular.  Today reminded me of when we saw geysers in the Atacama desert in Chile.  The guides prepared us to see spectacular geysers but instead we saw things that guides at Yellowstone or Patagonia wouldn’t even bother to point out.  

The day started out with me being cold on a ferry. Do I look happy?

Cold and alone.

That being said it was still an enjoyable day. It warmed up after the morning and we didn’t have any rain. I even had to take off my jacket because it was warm. And we got to hang out with 22 new friends who are all wonderful travel partners.

Warmer and happier in front of one of the glaciers and fjord.

Heading to one location we met with a delay. Traffic was blocked by some locals crossing the highway.

Line of cars waiting for goats to clear the highway.
A close-up of our new travel buddies.

But more fjords were to follow.

In the coach passing by a lovely fjord.

Our next fjord/glacier was a bit more spectacular (see below).

Nice view of a glacier.
Same glacier but close-up view to better see the snow and ice.

We also had the opportunity to see two Norwegian movie stars.  I only got their first names.  They were obviously special since numerous people were among their entourage.  Here is a photo of Sven and Ingrid.

Such gorgeous movie stars. Her English was amazing. His needs a lot of work.

We then returned to the hotel to be greeted by another massive dinner buffet. Good thing my pants were loose fitting when we left Los Angeles. They feel just right now but I predict they will be snug by the time we get home.

I did another magic trick tonight asking one of our travel mates, Jayme, to assist me and it worked like a charm. They are a great magic audience.

See you tomorrow.

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #9 “Fjords Ahoy!”

by reissmd, posted in Balestrand, Norway

We had an early morning start today.  The buffet at the Grand Hotel was fantastic again. I noticed some chocolate chip cookies.  I had one and later went back for another.  A fellow traveler (Deb) asked me if they were good.  I told her they were excellent “…but not as good as my sister, Annette’s”.  Deb said “Oh, how sweet, you should put that in your blog.”   So there it is. 

The early start required us to have our bags ready for pick up at 7 AM and we had to be on the bus by 8 am.  Tauck is quite militaristic when it comes to the schedule.  Some vacationers might not like that but I love it.  If our schedule calls for us to leave at 8 and I’m on the bus at 8 it would irritate the heck out of me if we don’t leave until 8:15 because someone else is late. 

That reminds me of one of our fellow travelers, Marshall, who has been very fun to talk to.  He told me the 3 main life lessons he has tried to teach his children, grandchildren, and apparently anyone else who will listen.  That would include me so here they are:

1.  If you’re not early you’re late. 

2. Leave things as you’ve found them. 

3. Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story (my personal favorite)

All good lessons to live by. And here is a picture of the sage person who shared them with me. 

I’m taking life advice from this person?

Today we headed to the fjords.  This was one of the main reasons I wanted to take this vacation. During today’s road trip, our tour guide, Dean, relayed a number of interesting facts and stories.  For example did you know the name Bjorn means bear?  Or that the Vikings didn’t wear horns? (I guess Marshall isn’t a Viking after all).    

Today’s trip was very long so we had some bathroom stops.  The first was at 10:00 AM at this roadside restaurant with a very interesting roof.  

This is called a sod roof and I don’t think it will become popular in Southern California.

Lunch was in Gol, Norway where the  average high temperatures in July are 60° and in August 58°.  In spite of these “high” temperatures they have this in Gol. See below. 

A water slide when the high temperatures in the summer reach 60°? No thank you.

We finally approached the fjords and then we were just two ferry rides and a short drive away from our hotel for the night. I could not believe the ferries. They were incredibly stable and exhibited no sway at all. I didn’t realize we were moving and then saw we were about to arrive. Very nice.

We are staying at the Kviknes Hotel (Kviknevegen 8, 6899 Balestrand). The hotel looks just average and the room is nothing special either but the buffet was something of which I don’t think I have ever seen before. We were told to get to the dining hall 15 minutes early for a lecture. I was prepared to hear a boring lecture about vikings or some celebrity who spent a night at the hotel 25 years ago. Oh no, not at all. Instead we were introduced to the head chef who walked us around the entire buffet and explained every dish. I am sure you are thinking, no big deal, he described 4-5 dishes and said “Bon Appetit!”. Uh, no. I can recall the following: Herring in mustard sauce, tomato sauce or pickled. Crabs legs, shrimp, seafood salad, Caesar salad, potato salad, cole slaw, tomato and cheese salad, crayfish soup, smoked and 2 other types of salmon, trout, halibut, venison stew, cold cuts (ham, roast beef, salami, et.al.), grapes and other fresh fruit, cauliflower, broccoli, root vegetables, olives (yuck), potatoes, a variety of cheeses, blueberry pie, ice cream, cheese cake, eclairs, creme brulee, flan, panna cotta, cookies, crackers, brownies, etc. Just writing this sentence is making me feel stuffed.

I am tired and need to get to sleep. We have another early start tomorrow. Speak to you then.