10 days in and our first play

so yes- we have been here ten days- well actually nine full days - having arrived on the evening of the 1st.... and we have been to two concerts- numerous dinners out and gotten settled in and tonight our first play of the season- a double bill at the FSU Conservatory-

the first play was very funny and completely fun - the second play was less funny although it had some good lines and clearly the actors were all having a ball with both one act plays...

 

we also tried a new place for dinner- we have always had an issue with the lack of late night options- being city folk we think everyone should be able to dine until at least midnight...LOL

but recently I came across a place that serves until 2 AM- the Starlite Room!

 you can pay a corkage fee if you want to bring your own wine- which of course we always want to do-  tonight a 1998 Panther Creek Bednarik Vineyard pinot noir- 625 cases made-

I had the deviled eggs to start and Phil had the escargot- then I had a wedge salad and flat bread and he had the prime rib-

so the flat bread was not brilliant but the wedge was very good and the deviled eggs were just right - so next time I will try something else- we are bound to be in need of a late night venue again sometime...

and tomorrow- back to photos from the trip.....

I promise

I will be back to blogging about the Romania part of our trip ASAP... meanwhile since my last post about ten days ago - we have moved south for the winter (twenty hours of drive time) and then got the Florida condo opened and cleaned up (pest guy, pressure washing guy, cleaning lady...etc.)

We also managed to hit a couple of our favorite places for meals- Blue Marlin and Waterfront... and then by Friday had plans for a couple of nights for concerts- one near and one far...

so off we go on the catch up post and I PROMISE - I will get back to Romania next week...

on Sunday morning the cats wouldn't let us sleep at all so we left the hotel around 5AM (having checked in around 12:30- LOL- a VERY short night) so we found ourselves needing lunch really only about two hours north of "home"- we stopped at this BBQ in a gas station and thought it would be good- we were totally wrong... it was the worst BBQ brisket I have ever had- so don't go here- despite the authentic look- it was awful!

we got here so early we needed dinner close and easy the first night so we headed over to AMOB for some grouper- and the world's best lobster bisque!

the cats settled in right away- you can see "watch-cat" Penny keeping an eye on things from her top of the couch perch...

the next night we headed over to Blue Marlin for some fabulous fresh fish (right off the dock - this night- Black Grouper) and our bottle of white was terrific even though it was an older vintage-

the following night we ate at home - and Phil ran over to the dock/fish market at Star Fish Company for stone crabs- which we devoured as if famine victims (which we were since we hadn't had any since the spring!) and then some tuna as Hawaiian Ahi Poke salad---the fish company has a huge trading program where they send their fresh caught grouper and stone crab claws to other places around the nation and exchange for their fresh local catch- that way we get Alaskan and pacific NW Salmon and Tuna and other things really fresh on direct exchange flights...

by Friday night we were well into our winter schedule and headed to Fogartyville for a SOLD OUT! concert of The Slambovian Circus of Dreams which was completely funky and fun... since we were last there they have gotten AC (which was needed this week!) and a new art installation-

these folks play folk festivals up along the Hudson (Falcon Ridge and Clearwater both) and yet are really more of a fantasy rock band... they played things reminiscent of Floyd, Allman Brothers, Donovan, the Beatles and yet everything had their own twist - and mythology from the Slambovian history... a rousing evening- we would definitely go see them again. And I think John and Barb enjoyed the show as well (although they can weigh in on their own...LOL)

I even got a small clip from their Flapjacks in the Sky...

then the following night- last night- Saturday night- the four of us (John, Barb, Phil and I) headed north an hour to a house concert in Seminole- Ben Bedford was the featured artist.  A wonderful writer of words and melodies, he doesn't have the strongest voice or a particularly good range but he makes up for it with extreme charm and good nature. A very nice evening of shared food, drink and music at hosts Alexa & Craig Huegel's home...

 
so that brings me back to current and this upcoming week is filled with more "chores" but should give me some free time to continue on the Romania trip blog posting...so come on back....