I was really excited for this port--I've always wanted to go to Nice. The start of the day was interesting, as we had to take a boat (our emergency boats) to get to shore (no docking area for a cruise ship as big as ours). The ride was cramped but lasted just under 15 min.
Once there, we met up with our tour guide and hopped on the charter bus. First we went to Nice, and the drive was very pretty. Our first stop was Vielle Ville (old town), where they have a daily farmers' market that is 10 times better than ours.
I was desperately seeking socca, a flat, pancake-like food that I had seen on the Travel Channel. Unfortunately, the only vendor that was selling it said she wouldn't start making it until 9 a.m., and that's the time we had to return to our bus--I was really sad!
Kristin and I ended up buying some oil, Balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper shakers in the form of clay humans.
Then we were off the Monaco via a scenic drive through Nice. The neat part is that it's built into a mountain side, so as we climbed to the top the view got prettier and prettier.
Finally we got to Monaco, a small principality filled with rich people (the cheapest apartment is 1.5 million euros). As a result, many of the workers commute from the surrounding areas. Principality, as we came to learn, means a region governed by a prince (thus, "kingdom" is a region ruled by a king).
From where the bus parked we walked right by the residences of the princesses. (Apparently, they are often seen out and about in public, like regular citizens.) Then we got to the palace, which was nice but not humongous. The changing of the guards, in fact, was pretty bland.
Kristin and I walked the side streets in the area and did some shopping plus got something to eat. We didn't have much time before we had to scramble back onto the bus again.
Our final destination was Monte Carlo, the famous casino in many movies (including James Bond). We were originally told it wasn't going to open until 2:30, but for some reason it opened at noon when we arrived. I was excited to gamble there, but the 20 Euro admission charge was disappointing. After some slots, I played some roulette. I bet 10 Euros (two 5-Euro bets) the first time and lost. The second time I was going to play Kristin's birthday (well, the squares around it) but chose another quad at the last moment. I wish I had played the 19th (as in, Aug. 19), because the winning was 18, and I would have won 8x5=40 Euros for the quad. Oh well.
I forgot to mention: as we drove to Monte Carlo, we took the same road on which the Formula One race takes place.
Now it was time to head back to the dock. It was a bit sad to say good-bye to our final port. I would definitely go back and vacation in Nice some time and take the time to explore the city (and have socca).
Back on the ship, Kristin and I packed, lifted weights, then relaxed by the pool again. And, based on a dare from her, I wore my speedo the entire time (sunning and using the jacuzzi). Sorry, no pics!
Then we had dinner at Le Bistro, a french restaurant. I ran the gamut of food, ordering the l'escargot (snails) and frog-leg soup, amongst other things. Then we walked around the ship and took pictures everywhere. Back in the room, we sat on our balcony and drank our remaining beer. I also picked up the wine that the ship took from us at each port.
It was a windy but beautiful night. We turned in early because we had to disembark at 9 a.m.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Mediterranean Cruise Day 6: Florence
We got to "sleep in" a bit today, as our excursion into Florence (from the port of Livorno) didn't leave until 8 a.m. And, with the two-hour drive, I had a nice little morning nap once again.
Basically, this was an on-your-own trip, with the bus dropping us off at Santa Croce, a basilica on the southeast side of the downtown which contains the tomb of Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei and other "celebs". Unfortunately, Kristin and I didn't know any of that at the time, so we didn't go in.
Instead, we did a slow walking tour, stopping to see:
--the Piazza della Signoria, a striking square that includes the Neptune Fountain, the statue of Perseus holding the severed head of Medusa and a copy of the statue of David
--the trendy shopping street that is Via Tornabuoni (Prada, Gucci, etc.), though we didn't buy anything
--the Duomo, "the loftiest, most sumptuous edifice human invention could devise." Basically, it was a gigantic cathedral that was brightly colored (green, pink and white)
--the Mercato Centrale, a two-story grocery store. We unfortunately didn't have time to go in and see the vegetable stands, panini stores and cheese and meat stalls.
I think it was near this area where we finally settled on an early lunch (just past 11 a.m.), at a restaurant called Za Za's. I ordered the Florentine-style tripe, which was cooked in some tomato-based sauce (I think). This was my favorite meal of the entire trip. Hell, I liked it so much I bought the restaurant's cookbook!
From there we scurried on over to Galleria dell'Accademia, where we had reservations for noon (I had read that the line to get tickets can be very, very long, and that booking reservations is the way to go). Well, it turned out that the museum wasn't very crowded at the moment, so it actually wouldn't have mattered.
When you enter the museum, the first room is filled with paintings. Then you exit the room and enter a large hallway, and the moment you turn to the right to start walking, you are stunned by the beauty and size of Michelangelo's David, which is at the far end of the hall.
First though, we looked at some of his unfinished statues, and it was amazing to see these huge blocks that were half carved out. Then, we walked right up to the David, and Kristin and I must've stared at it for a good 15 min. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed, but the statue's magnificence and extreme detail will forever be burned in my mind.
After the museum we headed south to the river to see Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge. Then we made our way back to the meeting point, where there was lots of shopping to be done. I think the first thing that strikes any tourist is that Florence is filled with leather stores--a conservative estimate would be 60% of the clothing stores were leather stores. We went in several, and the prices were pretty good, but we didn't buy anything.
The shopping guide from our cruise recommended a store called Italianloves, and it was here where we sampled wine and olive oils. We ended up buying bout 84 Euros (including the 10% cruise discount) worth of wine and oils.
Back on the ship. Tonight (Friday) we ate at a nicer "free" restaurant called Tapas, a Mexican-style restaurant. After dinner we went to the Cirque du Soleil show, which was amazing but short. Then we went to get a drink, and we decided to save money by taking part in the "buy five beers, get one free deal." We drank one each on the spot and took the remaining bottles back to our room to save for the next night.
Basically, this was an on-your-own trip, with the bus dropping us off at Santa Croce, a basilica on the southeast side of the downtown which contains the tomb of Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei and other "celebs". Unfortunately, Kristin and I didn't know any of that at the time, so we didn't go in.
Instead, we did a slow walking tour, stopping to see:
--the Piazza della Signoria, a striking square that includes the Neptune Fountain, the statue of Perseus holding the severed head of Medusa and a copy of the statue of David
--the trendy shopping street that is Via Tornabuoni (Prada, Gucci, etc.), though we didn't buy anything
--the Duomo, "the loftiest, most sumptuous edifice human invention could devise." Basically, it was a gigantic cathedral that was brightly colored (green, pink and white)
--the Mercato Centrale, a two-story grocery store. We unfortunately didn't have time to go in and see the vegetable stands, panini stores and cheese and meat stalls.
I think it was near this area where we finally settled on an early lunch (just past 11 a.m.), at a restaurant called Za Za's. I ordered the Florentine-style tripe, which was cooked in some tomato-based sauce (I think). This was my favorite meal of the entire trip. Hell, I liked it so much I bought the restaurant's cookbook!
From there we scurried on over to Galleria dell'Accademia, where we had reservations for noon (I had read that the line to get tickets can be very, very long, and that booking reservations is the way to go). Well, it turned out that the museum wasn't very crowded at the moment, so it actually wouldn't have mattered.
When you enter the museum, the first room is filled with paintings. Then you exit the room and enter a large hallway, and the moment you turn to the right to start walking, you are stunned by the beauty and size of Michelangelo's David, which is at the far end of the hall.
First though, we looked at some of his unfinished statues, and it was amazing to see these huge blocks that were half carved out. Then, we walked right up to the David, and Kristin and I must've stared at it for a good 15 min. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed, but the statue's magnificence and extreme detail will forever be burned in my mind.
After the museum we headed south to the river to see Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge. Then we made our way back to the meeting point, where there was lots of shopping to be done. I think the first thing that strikes any tourist is that Florence is filled with leather stores--a conservative estimate would be 60% of the clothing stores were leather stores. We went in several, and the prices were pretty good, but we didn't buy anything.
The shopping guide from our cruise recommended a store called Italianloves, and it was here where we sampled wine and olive oils. We ended up buying bout 84 Euros (including the 10% cruise discount) worth of wine and oils.
Back on the ship. Tonight (Friday) we ate at a nicer "free" restaurant called Tapas, a Mexican-style restaurant. After dinner we went to the Cirque du Soleil show, which was amazing but short. Then we went to get a drink, and we decided to save money by taking part in the "buy five beers, get one free deal." We drank one each on the spot and took the remaining bottles back to our room to save for the next night.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Mediterranean Cruise Day 5: Rome/Vatican City
We woke up early and got to the theater at 6:45 a.m., as our tickets told us to do. Unfortunately, there was some delay (maybe with the port authorities?), and we didn't get off the ship until 7:45 a.m., which meant we could have slept another hour!
Well, as soon as I got on the bus, I slept most of the 1.5 hours from Civitavecchia (the port) to Rome. I also missed most of the instructions our tour guide gave us, but Kristin heard most of them before she fell asleep as well.
We went right to the Vatican City, which if you didn't already know, is actually its own country. The line to get in wasn't bad, surprisingly, though based on all the ropes, it looked like it could snake for quite some ways.
Our new tour guide (different from the one on the bus) talked into a microphone, which we could pick up on our walkie-talkies (we tuned into channel 48 and used a headphone). She took us from one courtyard to another; the second had stations where tourguides could show and explan to tourists the paintings inside the Sistine Chapel.
The Sistine Chapel was unbelievable, though quite dark (not much light is let into it as to preserve the paintings). Also, you're not allowed to talk or take pics/video, so the guards have a busy task of monitoring for cameras and yelling "Shhhh!"
From there we went to St. Peter's Square, and I was just in awe, especially thinking of all the people that come to get blessed by the Pope, who by the way was at his vacation home in the south of Rome.
At this point I want to mention that there were three somewhat annoying people with us on this trip. The woman in the group was wearing a tanktop and shorts, and I said to Kristin that I couldn't wait to film the guards denying her entry into the Cathedral (because no bare shoulders and nothing above the knees are allowed). Unfortunately, some other tourists with us lent her (and another woman) a huge shawl that covered their entire body, thus granting them admission (damn!) into St. Peter's Basilica.
As the biggest catholic church in the world, the Basilica has many side "churches" inside where mass is usually performed (in fact, one mass was going on when we were there).
After the Vatican City we headed to a restaurant for lunch (it was included in this ~$269 excursion), but the service was super slow, so we were in the restaurant for almost two hours (you'll see why I'm mentioning this later). We shared a table with a Ukranian couple, who at first didn't seem like they wanted to talk to us, even after I smiled and said "hello."
Finally, the man broke the silence, and we discussed many things, including whether I thought Americans were happy living in America (he was curious). I asked what languages he spoke; he replied Ukranian, Russian, Spanish (he and his wife currently live in Spain) and English. He then joked that his wife "only" speaks Russian, but she gets by in life by pointing at things. (She never spoke the entire time, by the way.)
Back on the bus. Now we were headed to the Colosseum and the Forum. Unfortunately, since the lines to get into the Colosseum were supposedly1.5 hours-long, we did not have enough time to get in (damn that lunch!). I was pissed but dealt with it. Kristin and I walked the perimeter, plus we walked into areas of the Forum. This was simply amazing to see; it was honestly like going back in time. One area had what looked like new pillars, and we were told later that fashion designer Valentino put those pillars there and had a fashion show about two weeks ago--that must have been cool as hell to see.
That marked the end of that trip. I again slept on the bus ride back to port. On the ship, Kristin and I actually split up for dinner--sort of. I went to Chin Chin's again, except this time to its sushi bar where I ate 28 pieces of sushi! What can I say? I gotta get my money's worth. During this time Kristin worked out. After she cleaned up, I sat with her as she ate in the main dining room.
I think it was this night that we went to a lounge on the 13th floor in which we sat next to some super loud Americans. They were SCREAMING when they talked so that everyone in the lounge and the adjacent restaurant could hear them. Plus they hadn't bothered to dress up; one guy, for instance, was wearing a tank top, shorts and flip flops, and this was a pretty nice bar. I was about to kill one of the women in that group, but luckily they decided to get something to eat.
Only two more days!
Well, as soon as I got on the bus, I slept most of the 1.5 hours from Civitavecchia (the port) to Rome. I also missed most of the instructions our tour guide gave us, but Kristin heard most of them before she fell asleep as well.
We went right to the Vatican City, which if you didn't already know, is actually its own country. The line to get in wasn't bad, surprisingly, though based on all the ropes, it looked like it could snake for quite some ways.
Our new tour guide (different from the one on the bus) talked into a microphone, which we could pick up on our walkie-talkies (we tuned into channel 48 and used a headphone). She took us from one courtyard to another; the second had stations where tourguides could show and explan to tourists the paintings inside the Sistine Chapel.
The Sistine Chapel was unbelievable, though quite dark (not much light is let into it as to preserve the paintings). Also, you're not allowed to talk or take pics/video, so the guards have a busy task of monitoring for cameras and yelling "Shhhh!"
From there we went to St. Peter's Square, and I was just in awe, especially thinking of all the people that come to get blessed by the Pope, who by the way was at his vacation home in the south of Rome.
At this point I want to mention that there were three somewhat annoying people with us on this trip. The woman in the group was wearing a tanktop and shorts, and I said to Kristin that I couldn't wait to film the guards denying her entry into the Cathedral (because no bare shoulders and nothing above the knees are allowed). Unfortunately, some other tourists with us lent her (and another woman) a huge shawl that covered their entire body, thus granting them admission (damn!) into St. Peter's Basilica.
As the biggest catholic church in the world, the Basilica has many side "churches" inside where mass is usually performed (in fact, one mass was going on when we were there).
After the Vatican City we headed to a restaurant for lunch (it was included in this ~$269 excursion), but the service was super slow, so we were in the restaurant for almost two hours (you'll see why I'm mentioning this later). We shared a table with a Ukranian couple, who at first didn't seem like they wanted to talk to us, even after I smiled and said "hello."
Finally, the man broke the silence, and we discussed many things, including whether I thought Americans were happy living in America (he was curious). I asked what languages he spoke; he replied Ukranian, Russian, Spanish (he and his wife currently live in Spain) and English. He then joked that his wife "only" speaks Russian, but she gets by in life by pointing at things. (She never spoke the entire time, by the way.)
Back on the bus. Now we were headed to the Colosseum and the Forum. Unfortunately, since the lines to get into the Colosseum were supposedly1.5 hours-long, we did not have enough time to get in (damn that lunch!). I was pissed but dealt with it. Kristin and I walked the perimeter, plus we walked into areas of the Forum. This was simply amazing to see; it was honestly like going back in time. One area had what looked like new pillars, and we were told later that fashion designer Valentino put those pillars there and had a fashion show about two weeks ago--that must have been cool as hell to see.
That marked the end of that trip. I again slept on the bus ride back to port. On the ship, Kristin and I actually split up for dinner--sort of. I went to Chin Chin's again, except this time to its sushi bar where I ate 28 pieces of sushi! What can I say? I gotta get my money's worth. During this time Kristin worked out. After she cleaned up, I sat with her as she ate in the main dining room.
I think it was this night that we went to a lounge on the 13th floor in which we sat next to some super loud Americans. They were SCREAMING when they talked so that everyone in the lounge and the adjacent restaurant could hear them. Plus they hadn't bothered to dress up; one guy, for instance, was wearing a tank top, shorts and flip flops, and this was a pretty nice bar. I was about to kill one of the women in that group, but luckily they decided to get something to eat.
Only two more days!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Mediterranean Cruise Day 4: Naples/Pompeii
Kristin and I were on our own again today--no paid tour or anything. When we got off the ship, we were harassed by several taxi drivers in what turned out to be a bidding war for us to choose them. This was funny as each driver would offer us a lower price than the previous driver's. We declined and walked to the train station, about 15 min. away (though it was a bit scary, because the sidewalks were very narrow and there were some sketchy people out and about).
Thank God I read out guidebook, which said most people mistakenly take the train to Pompei (one "I") instead of Pompeii/Scavi (two "I"s). So we were in line for tickets, and I asked the person if this was the correct train to get to Pompeii/Scavi, and he said we had to take the Circumvesuvian train downstairs. There, we bought tickets to Pompeii/Scavi instead of Pompei (yay book!). The driver told us to take the train at 9:40.
We looked at our tickets and it said "1 40 min." Kristin and I did not want to ride a train for 1 hour, 40 min. each way, but after asking a security guard, we found out it's only 40 min. (thus, I'm not sure what the "1" was for).
At the train stop, we took the 9:30 train, and that was a mistake. I was studying the routes on the wall of the train, and I noticed down the line the track splits, with one going to Pompeii/Scavi, the other going somewhere else. I said to Kristin that I bet the 9:40 was the one that actually goes to Pompeii/Scavi, and sure enough, I was right. So this train took us in the wrong direction at the split. We got off, waited 20 min. to catch a train back, then waited another 15 min. to catch the train in the right direction--what a waste of time!
Pompeii, an ancient city that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption from nearby Mt. Vesuvius, was fascinating. Some observations: The city was huge, and protected by a big wall. I can't imagine collecting all that stone! ... None of the dwellings had any doors. In fact, every building had a big opening as an entryway ... seeing the bodies that were trapped in the lava was pretty cool ... I was disappointed we couldn't get into the coliseum (known as the amphitheater) ... after a while, it got to be somewhat painful to keep walking on the stones (I'm sure many people have twisted ankles walking around) ... there were dogs everywhere, and I'm pretty sure they were dead.
After a few hours, we headed back to Naples. We walked around for a long time, mainly because there are so many unmarked sidestreets that didn't correspond with my map. I wanted to eat at Michel's, supposedly the BEST pizza in Italy, but like so many European businesses, it was closed for the last two weeks of August. Instead, I magically found this other pizza place that was highly recommended. I ordered a pizza with various toppings I for some reason can't remember, and Kristin had a pizza with anchovies (she didn't realize ahead of time). Total cost was 7.50 Euros, plus with my huge glass of wine for only 1.50, it made for a cheap lunch. In fact, we thought we were only getting a slice of pizza until they brought us each a big pizza. Man, the pizza was great! Plus, it only took five minutes as it was thin and the oven was obviously very hot.
We continued walking for a while but then headed back to the ship. Before we got back, we bought a bottle of wine.
That night, we didn't have any reservations at any restaurant, which was unfortunate because they were all at capacity. Consequently, we had to eat at the main dining area again, which we weren't thrilled about. So to prevent a repeat, we made reservations for Friday and Saturday. We turned in pretty early that night because of our early morning (6:45) the next day.
Thank God I read out guidebook, which said most people mistakenly take the train to Pompei (one "I") instead of Pompeii/Scavi (two "I"s). So we were in line for tickets, and I asked the person if this was the correct train to get to Pompeii/Scavi, and he said we had to take the Circumvesuvian train downstairs. There, we bought tickets to Pompeii/Scavi instead of Pompei (yay book!). The driver told us to take the train at 9:40.
We looked at our tickets and it said "1 40 min." Kristin and I did not want to ride a train for 1 hour, 40 min. each way, but after asking a security guard, we found out it's only 40 min. (thus, I'm not sure what the "1" was for).
At the train stop, we took the 9:30 train, and that was a mistake. I was studying the routes on the wall of the train, and I noticed down the line the track splits, with one going to Pompeii/Scavi, the other going somewhere else. I said to Kristin that I bet the 9:40 was the one that actually goes to Pompeii/Scavi, and sure enough, I was right. So this train took us in the wrong direction at the split. We got off, waited 20 min. to catch a train back, then waited another 15 min. to catch the train in the right direction--what a waste of time!
Pompeii, an ancient city that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption from nearby Mt. Vesuvius, was fascinating. Some observations: The city was huge, and protected by a big wall. I can't imagine collecting all that stone! ... None of the dwellings had any doors. In fact, every building had a big opening as an entryway ... seeing the bodies that were trapped in the lava was pretty cool ... I was disappointed we couldn't get into the coliseum (known as the amphitheater) ... after a while, it got to be somewhat painful to keep walking on the stones (I'm sure many people have twisted ankles walking around) ... there were dogs everywhere, and I'm pretty sure they were dead.
After a few hours, we headed back to Naples. We walked around for a long time, mainly because there are so many unmarked sidestreets that didn't correspond with my map. I wanted to eat at Michel's, supposedly the BEST pizza in Italy, but like so many European businesses, it was closed for the last two weeks of August. Instead, I magically found this other pizza place that was highly recommended. I ordered a pizza with various toppings I for some reason can't remember, and Kristin had a pizza with anchovies (she didn't realize ahead of time). Total cost was 7.50 Euros, plus with my huge glass of wine for only 1.50, it made for a cheap lunch. In fact, we thought we were only getting a slice of pizza until they brought us each a big pizza. Man, the pizza was great! Plus, it only took five minutes as it was thin and the oven was obviously very hot.
We continued walking for a while but then headed back to the ship. Before we got back, we bought a bottle of wine.
That night, we didn't have any reservations at any restaurant, which was unfortunate because they were all at capacity. Consequently, we had to eat at the main dining area again, which we weren't thrilled about. So to prevent a repeat, we made reservations for Friday and Saturday. We turned in pretty early that night because of our early morning (6:45) the next day.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Mediterranean Cruise Day 3: Messina
Our first shore excursion! It was just amazing to wake up and look out the window and see an entire city's landscape.
Kristin and I did not purchase a tour package for this city, so we were on our own. The first thing we did was walk to a church-like building we saw way up the hill (it was the Shrine of Cristo Re). After a long hike up a steep hill (the entire city is built into a mountain side), we arrived only to find it was not open for tours. However, the view of the city was beautiful, and a tour bus stopped by to also enjoy the view.
From the shrine we decided to head into the rest of town, but we ended up going way, way south of where we wanted (it included a stop at the Royal Palace Hotel so I could use the restroom). When we finally looked at a map to see where we were, we discovered we were not even close to where we were headed. For your perspective--and I wish we had remembered to buy pedometers--we walked about .47 miles west to the shrine, .45 miles southwest to the hotel, then .57 miles southeast, then .11 miles northeast to the bay and then .34 miles to get back to our docking point (altogether at least 2 miles in hot weather).
Along the way, we stopped at a cafe and sat outside--I had an espresso, and Kristin had a coke. Then we did some shopping--and I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I bought a speedo that was on ultra clearance for 5 Euros. From there we went to another small shop for some gelatto, then we backtracked to the Norman Cathedral with the world's largest astronomical clock (many other tourists where here). It was at this plaza that we had lunch: wine and a margherita pizza. Thus in one day we had espresso, gelatto and pizza, three food items for which Italy is known.
Finally, it was time to call it a day. Back on the ship, we sat out at the pool for the rest of the afternoon, then we had dinner at Chin Chin's (an Asian restaurant). Earlier we had discovered "happy hour," which takes places from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and gets you 1/2 off the extra charge at the premium restaurants (that would have been nice to know for Cagney's the day before). So we ate at 6 p.m. with just a few other people in the restaurant, but at least we saved some money.
If memory serves, we saw a magic act that night at the theater. This guy is a two-time world-champ, which begs the question, why is he on a cruise ship? Well, he brought this up during the show, and he said he didn't like Vegas much and prefers the intimacy of a cruise. I thought he was entertaining, but his show was too short (less than 1 hour).
After the show, we had a drink and then turned in.
Kristin and I did not purchase a tour package for this city, so we were on our own. The first thing we did was walk to a church-like building we saw way up the hill (it was the Shrine of Cristo Re). After a long hike up a steep hill (the entire city is built into a mountain side), we arrived only to find it was not open for tours. However, the view of the city was beautiful, and a tour bus stopped by to also enjoy the view.
From the shrine we decided to head into the rest of town, but we ended up going way, way south of where we wanted (it included a stop at the Royal Palace Hotel so I could use the restroom). When we finally looked at a map to see where we were, we discovered we were not even close to where we were headed. For your perspective--and I wish we had remembered to buy pedometers--we walked about .47 miles west to the shrine, .45 miles southwest to the hotel, then .57 miles southeast, then .11 miles northeast to the bay and then .34 miles to get back to our docking point (altogether at least 2 miles in hot weather).
Along the way, we stopped at a cafe and sat outside--I had an espresso, and Kristin had a coke. Then we did some shopping--and I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I bought a speedo that was on ultra clearance for 5 Euros. From there we went to another small shop for some gelatto, then we backtracked to the Norman Cathedral with the world's largest astronomical clock (many other tourists where here). It was at this plaza that we had lunch: wine and a margherita pizza. Thus in one day we had espresso, gelatto and pizza, three food items for which Italy is known.
Finally, it was time to call it a day. Back on the ship, we sat out at the pool for the rest of the afternoon, then we had dinner at Chin Chin's (an Asian restaurant). Earlier we had discovered "happy hour," which takes places from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and gets you 1/2 off the extra charge at the premium restaurants (that would have been nice to know for Cagney's the day before). So we ate at 6 p.m. with just a few other people in the restaurant, but at least we saved some money.
If memory serves, we saw a magic act that night at the theater. This guy is a two-time world-champ, which begs the question, why is he on a cruise ship? Well, he brought this up during the show, and he said he didn't like Vegas much and prefers the intimacy of a cruise. I thought he was entertaining, but his show was too short (less than 1 hour).
After the show, we had a drink and then turned in.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Mediterranean Cruise Day 2: At Sea
Monday was a day of travel only (no port). We slept in until 10 a.m., then went to workout. The fitness room was on the 12th floor, and one side is all windows with a gorgeous view of the sea. A lot of the people in the fitness room didn't seem like they had ever been in one; it was more of a novelty to them (esp. the non-Americans).
We then had lunch in the main dining area, then relaxed a long time in the pool area (once we finally secured some chairs, which took a long time since everyone wanted to hang out at the pool). Each day a Caribbean cover band played (as in, they played covers with a Caribbean sound), and they were quite enjoyable. We swam a bit in the adults-only pool, which was filled with salt water, and also sat in one of the four jacuzzis, which were not nearly hot enough.
Today was an optional dress-up night, so we did (dress for Kristin, suit for me). Before dinner, we took free salsa dancing lessons. Then we had dinner at Cagney's, a steakhouse. This required an additional fee of $20/person, so we ordered a LOT of food to compensate (multiple appetizers, filet mignon, prime rib, dessert, side). God, we were stuffed!
After dinner we went to one of the many bars and had one martini each (that's all we could afford!). I then did some light gambling in the casino (I may have done this in the afternoon--I can't remember when). Then I bought a cigar in the cigar lounge and smoked in on our balcony while staring out at the sea with a beautiful moonlight.
We then had lunch in the main dining area, then relaxed a long time in the pool area (once we finally secured some chairs, which took a long time since everyone wanted to hang out at the pool). Each day a Caribbean cover band played (as in, they played covers with a Caribbean sound), and they were quite enjoyable. We swam a bit in the adults-only pool, which was filled with salt water, and also sat in one of the four jacuzzis, which were not nearly hot enough.
Today was an optional dress-up night, so we did (dress for Kristin, suit for me). Before dinner, we took free salsa dancing lessons. Then we had dinner at Cagney's, a steakhouse. This required an additional fee of $20/person, so we ordered a LOT of food to compensate (multiple appetizers, filet mignon, prime rib, dessert, side). God, we were stuffed!
After dinner we went to one of the many bars and had one martini each (that's all we could afford!). I then did some light gambling in the casino (I may have done this in the afternoon--I can't remember when). Then I bought a cigar in the cigar lounge and smoked in on our balcony while staring out at the sea with a beautiful moonlight.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Mediterranean Cruise Day 1: Barcelona
I must start by saying that Kristin and I ate a lot. Take our first day, for example (really two days). Beginning with Saturday, Aug. 25, we got breakfast (doughnuts) at Lane's Bakery around 9 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., we had lunch at the Great Dane in the airport. On the flight from Detroit to Amsterdam, we had dinner (surprisingly good chicken) and breakfast (cheese and egg biscuit sandwich). On our flight from Amsterdam to Barcelona (this is now the next morning), we had two mini sandwiches (I ate the tomato, Kristin had the chicken). In Barcelona, we split a open-faced prosciutto sandwich. On the ship, we had dinner at Tsar's (somewhat Russian-like), then at 11:30 p.m. (just before one of the cafeterias closed), I grabbed a huge plate of food (breaded cod, jerk chicken, lots of other stuff) along with a decaf cappuccino.
To summarize a very long paragraph: Approximately eight meals in 31 hours (9 a.m. CST to 11:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time).
Barcelona was nice, but we only got about 1.5 hours before we had to board the ship. We went to a place called Las Ramblas, a pedestrian area with lots of stores and cafes. I bought a soccer jersey (Real Madrid), one of my shopping goals I made prior to the trip.
At the cafe, I wanted some sangria, but it wasn't on the menu, so I ordered a beer instead. Then someone else ordered the sangria, so I was extra disappointed.
After the meal, Kristin and I walked to the boardwalk, which I noticed was missing something vital: stores! No where to buy snacks, drinks or souvenirs. Before catching a cab to the ship, we also took some pics with the statue of Christopher Columbus.
The ship, the Norwegian Cruise Line's Jewel, was HUGE. It dwarfed other cruise ships we saw at various ports. The first thing we did was unpack, then napped for an hour before we had our emergency drill (basically how to put on your life jacket and where to go in case of emergency). After that, we took another nap, then we went to the casino (we didn't gamble, though; they were giving away free drinks). I felt a little woozy at this point, so I put on the motion-sickness patch I got from my physician.
After dinner, we walked around the ship, sent a few e-mails to our parents, then relaxed a little bit.
And no, we weren't really hungry, but we wanted to take advantage of the all-you-can eat, so that's why I got that plate of food. My God, we ate a lot.
To summarize a very long paragraph: Approximately eight meals in 31 hours (9 a.m. CST to 11:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time).
Barcelona was nice, but we only got about 1.5 hours before we had to board the ship. We went to a place called Las Ramblas, a pedestrian area with lots of stores and cafes. I bought a soccer jersey (Real Madrid), one of my shopping goals I made prior to the trip.
At the cafe, I wanted some sangria, but it wasn't on the menu, so I ordered a beer instead. Then someone else ordered the sangria, so I was extra disappointed.
After the meal, Kristin and I walked to the boardwalk, which I noticed was missing something vital: stores! No where to buy snacks, drinks or souvenirs. Before catching a cab to the ship, we also took some pics with the statue of Christopher Columbus.
The ship, the Norwegian Cruise Line's Jewel, was HUGE. It dwarfed other cruise ships we saw at various ports. The first thing we did was unpack, then napped for an hour before we had our emergency drill (basically how to put on your life jacket and where to go in case of emergency). After that, we took another nap, then we went to the casino (we didn't gamble, though; they were giving away free drinks). I felt a little woozy at this point, so I put on the motion-sickness patch I got from my physician.
After dinner, we walked around the ship, sent a few e-mails to our parents, then relaxed a little bit.
And no, we weren't really hungry, but we wanted to take advantage of the all-you-can eat, so that's why I got that plate of food. My God, we ate a lot.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre
Ah, nothing draws out American nostalgia like the drive-in theater, a dying breed among entertainment venues. On Friday I checked out the Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre (www.highway18.com), about a 30-min. drive from downtown Madison. To get there, take the Beltline east and follow until you hit Hwy 18, then turn left. The theater will be on your right.
Like most theaters, this one doesn't allow carry-ins. In rare instances they will actually check your car. Tickets are $7 at the door for two movies, a steal in this day and age of $8 movies. Bring lots of cash, because they don't accept credit cards anywhere on premise, nor is there an ATM.
Once you get in, most any spot will be a good one for viewing. Just be forewarned, the best spots will be taken up by 8, so plan on arriving early. The first movie doesn't begin until it gets dark (in the summer, past 9 p.m.), so bring cards or other items to keep you busy.
Otherwise, hit the bar. On the top of the hill is an older building that the theater opened recently as a bar (in fact, it opened for the first time when I was there). Prices are moderate; I was able to get a tap of Bud Light for $1.75 (they don't serve Miller products because their "distributor is an ass"). This bar, like everything else, is cash only. Other than some bar stools, there isn't any seating, and the bar is sparsely decorated save for a foosball table--I would assume this all will improve over time.
Unlike typical drive-in theaters, you don't have to use the audio box to get sound from the movie. That's because they also pipe in the audio via 93.1 FM (its broadcast range is just enough for the theater area). With the use of the radio, many people put out blankets and lawnchairs in front of their cars and watched the movie outside their car. It does get chilly at night, especially during the second movie (midnight+), so bring a light jacket.
This theater is very family oriented; you'll see more little kids running around than you will teenage couples looking to make out all night. With of all the kids, the lines for the bathroom are extra long, because parents have to take kids with them to the very small bathrooms (the women's restroom line was often around 30 deep). So think twice before you drink that 32 oz. soda.
Speaking of food, I ate dinner ahead of time, so I didn't purchase anything. However, I did see the concessions menu, and beyond candy and popcorn, it includes burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, chicken strips, nachos, fish, onion rings, mozzarella sticks and other snacks.
I certainly enjoyed my experience at this theater, and I plan on coming back some day (once the movies change, about once a month).
Like most theaters, this one doesn't allow carry-ins. In rare instances they will actually check your car. Tickets are $7 at the door for two movies, a steal in this day and age of $8 movies. Bring lots of cash, because they don't accept credit cards anywhere on premise, nor is there an ATM.
Once you get in, most any spot will be a good one for viewing. Just be forewarned, the best spots will be taken up by 8, so plan on arriving early. The first movie doesn't begin until it gets dark (in the summer, past 9 p.m.), so bring cards or other items to keep you busy.
Otherwise, hit the bar. On the top of the hill is an older building that the theater opened recently as a bar (in fact, it opened for the first time when I was there). Prices are moderate; I was able to get a tap of Bud Light for $1.75 (they don't serve Miller products because their "distributor is an ass"). This bar, like everything else, is cash only. Other than some bar stools, there isn't any seating, and the bar is sparsely decorated save for a foosball table--I would assume this all will improve over time.
Unlike typical drive-in theaters, you don't have to use the audio box to get sound from the movie. That's because they also pipe in the audio via 93.1 FM (its broadcast range is just enough for the theater area). With the use of the radio, many people put out blankets and lawnchairs in front of their cars and watched the movie outside their car. It does get chilly at night, especially during the second movie (midnight+), so bring a light jacket.
This theater is very family oriented; you'll see more little kids running around than you will teenage couples looking to make out all night. With of all the kids, the lines for the bathroom are extra long, because parents have to take kids with them to the very small bathrooms (the women's restroom line was often around 30 deep). So think twice before you drink that 32 oz. soda.
Speaking of food, I ate dinner ahead of time, so I didn't purchase anything. However, I did see the concessions menu, and beyond candy and popcorn, it includes burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, chicken strips, nachos, fish, onion rings, mozzarella sticks and other snacks.
I certainly enjoyed my experience at this theater, and I plan on coming back some day (once the movies change, about once a month).
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Osteria Papavero
I ate at Osteria Papavero yesterday. It's that new Italian restaurant on Wilson Street near Restaurant Magnus. The restaurant, which is tiny, has a bar and outdoor seating (only three small tables for two). It's owned by Brian Haltinner, who also owns Maduro and CocoLiquot.
For hours and menus, check out http://www.osteriapapavero.com/.
I had the special, stuffed pizza with three meats, and my companion had another special, rolled up pasta with prosciutto. The pizza was quite dry; it seemed like a dry calzone that needed marinara sauce. Still, it was good, but not overly filling. I also had a side green salad, which had yellow peppers (cooked) and black olives.
The rolled up pasta (imagine a flat piece of pasta that is rolled up) was pretty good, though it could have used more prosciutto. It also wasn't filling. For the price we paid ($9 for the pizza, $7 for the pasta), we could have at least gotten some bread or something.
Though the lunch and dinners menus aren't lengthy, there are several items I would like to try later down the road. And I would like to try some of their wine; they have a good-looking list.
Our service was less than stellar. After our waitress took our order and delivered our food (only 10 min.), we never saw her again. Eventually, I went inside and asked the bartender for our bill. The restaurant was only moderately busy at this time--I think she simply forgot us.
For hours and menus, check out http://www.osteriapapavero.com/.
I had the special, stuffed pizza with three meats, and my companion had another special, rolled up pasta with prosciutto. The pizza was quite dry; it seemed like a dry calzone that needed marinara sauce. Still, it was good, but not overly filling. I also had a side green salad, which had yellow peppers (cooked) and black olives.
The rolled up pasta (imagine a flat piece of pasta that is rolled up) was pretty good, though it could have used more prosciutto. It also wasn't filling. For the price we paid ($9 for the pizza, $7 for the pasta), we could have at least gotten some bread or something.
Though the lunch and dinners menus aren't lengthy, there are several items I would like to try later down the road. And I would like to try some of their wine; they have a good-looking list.
Our service was less than stellar. After our waitress took our order and delivered our food (only 10 min.), we never saw her again. Eventually, I went inside and asked the bartender for our bill. The restaurant was only moderately busy at this time--I think she simply forgot us.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Janesville Armory
I checked out the Janesville Armory to see the dinner musical, "Cabaret" (my favorite). For those who don't know, the Armory was built in the 1930s and was used as a World War II training site for the Janesville 99. A few years ago, it was converted into a restaurant, lounge and theater.
Located in downtown Janesville, Wis., the Armory has plenty of parking with a lot across the street (plus some street parking), all for free. Plus, next to the Armory is a residential neighborhood, so the parking lot isn't competing with many other businesses.
When you walk to the main entrance from the parking lot, you pass the outdoor patio, which seems like it would be a great place to have a drink in the summer. Once inside, you see the dining room and a big bar. Although I didn't eat in them, the more-upscale Lieutenant's Restaurant serves American and French cuisine, while the Bunker & Patio serves "regular" restaurant food and offers live entertainment every Friday in the summer.
The theater is not large, but it's big enough so you don't feel like you're in a second-rate room, and it's small enough that there's really not a bad seat in the house. Ticket prices include a prix-fixe menu; you select an appetizer and entree (plus you get dessert) when you arrive. You can also upgrade the appetizers, entrees and desserts for a small cost. Soda and alcohol are not included.
Thus, for the ticket price of about $70, you get a full meal plus a musical. The food was good, and I thought this was a pretty reasonable price for everything. It was a little annoying that they ask you to arrive 1.5-2.5 hours in advance. It certainly didn't take more than one hour to eat, so the rest of the time you're just sitting and waiting.
A few notes:
--The stage is tiny, without much room for set changes, so don't expect lavish productions.
--The sound quality is excellent, esp. since it's not a large theater as mentioned.
--In this particular production, some of the actors, in character, talked to the audience before the show began. I thought that was neat.
--The bathrooms are a bit of a hike (near the main entrance, then downstairs). However, they are big and clean.
--The dessert is served at intermission. I thought it was weird that the bill (only for add-ons and tips) was given out before the show began. What if I wanted to order a drink at intermission?
--If you're just a table of two, you and your guest's table will be about one foot away from an adjacent table for two. It reminds me of being in France, where all tables are this close.
More info at www.janesvillearmory.com
Located in downtown Janesville, Wis., the Armory has plenty of parking with a lot across the street (plus some street parking), all for free. Plus, next to the Armory is a residential neighborhood, so the parking lot isn't competing with many other businesses.
When you walk to the main entrance from the parking lot, you pass the outdoor patio, which seems like it would be a great place to have a drink in the summer. Once inside, you see the dining room and a big bar. Although I didn't eat in them, the more-upscale Lieutenant's Restaurant serves American and French cuisine, while the Bunker & Patio serves "regular" restaurant food and offers live entertainment every Friday in the summer.
The theater is not large, but it's big enough so you don't feel like you're in a second-rate room, and it's small enough that there's really not a bad seat in the house. Ticket prices include a prix-fixe menu; you select an appetizer and entree (plus you get dessert) when you arrive. You can also upgrade the appetizers, entrees and desserts for a small cost. Soda and alcohol are not included.
Thus, for the ticket price of about $70, you get a full meal plus a musical. The food was good, and I thought this was a pretty reasonable price for everything. It was a little annoying that they ask you to arrive 1.5-2.5 hours in advance. It certainly didn't take more than one hour to eat, so the rest of the time you're just sitting and waiting.
A few notes:
--The stage is tiny, without much room for set changes, so don't expect lavish productions.
--The sound quality is excellent, esp. since it's not a large theater as mentioned.
--In this particular production, some of the actors, in character, talked to the audience before the show began. I thought that was neat.
--The bathrooms are a bit of a hike (near the main entrance, then downstairs). However, they are big and clean.
--The dessert is served at intermission. I thought it was weird that the bill (only for add-ons and tips) was given out before the show began. What if I wanted to order a drink at intermission?
--If you're just a table of two, you and your guest's table will be about one foot away from an adjacent table for two. It reminds me of being in France, where all tables are this close.
More info at www.janesvillearmory.com
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Prom Recap
It was a stressful three months, but in the end, it was worth it to see everyone have a lot of fun (some had too much fun) at prom.
THE BEGINNING
In February, I got to thinking how nice it would be to have a chance to go to prom with my wife. Being a highly motivated person, I decided to throw one. The initial surveys of whether anyone would even go were encouraging; all thought it would be a good idea.
In March, I began calling hotels for pricing. I chose only downtown hotels--Doubletree, Edgewater, Concourse, Hilton and the Inn on the Park--for their proximity to bars and where many of the guests were coming from. The Edgewater was the priciest and had the smallest space. The Doubletree, despite me knowing their banquet manager, was still pricey, and they required hiring security (further driving the price up).
At the end, it boiled down to Inn on the Park and the Concourse. The problem with the latter was the lack of knowledge by their staff. I must've talked to someone who just got hired, because she did not know anything (room availabilities, price, bar setup ... seriously, NOTHING), and took forever to look it all up and get back to me. They were only in the running because they were the cheapest room, but I had a lot of apprehension with them and didn't want to work with someone so inexperienced. That leads me to Inn on the Park. I got to work with their banquet manager, who was extremely knowledgeable of their policies, and after seeing the room, I was hooked.
I put a tentative hold on Friday, April 6, then I sent out an interest e-mail. The responses were bad--I forgot to take into account that was Easter weekend, so most people were going to be out of town. So then I got the only other available date, Friday, April 27, and sent out another e-mail. This drew a much better response, so it became official ... well, almost. I had about 10 days to make sure enough people would come, since I had to pay the entire room fee upfront. Eventually, I got the feeling that I could draw at least 40 people, so I booked the room. Now, it was time for the invites.
THE MIDDLE
I set up a Web site (www.geocities.com/nightshade23/prom07.html), so people could get up-to-date info, submit song requests, submit photos for the slide show and vote on the candidates for prom. But as I came to discover, PEOPLE ARE LAZY! (I will reference that point again later.)
--No photos were submitted in two months, so I canned the slide show portion.
--Despite much interest in being on prom court, no one submitted their entry, so I just elected everyone myself.
--Except for one person, no one sent song requests until the day before I had to submit them to the DJ, and only after I personally contacted people.
I thought it would be cool to have tickets for prom. They would also make my job of collecting money from people easier if I could give them something in exchange. When I was creating the ticket's design, I realized that prom needed a title. Since my hold on the banquet room at Inn on the Park was "Brian Lee's Prom," I decided right then and there that "Brian Lee's Prom" would be the official name. It's boastful, I know, but what other name could I have called it?
Inviting people was the biggest pain in the ass. I literally spent two or more hours every night calling people (this was because no one ever got back to me on e-mail). Why every night? Because no one called me back. I think most people viewed prom as just any old party, something that they didn't need to decide on until much later. This is why I sent an e-mail in early April warning people that there's a lot to do to prepare for prom (renting a tux, buying a dress, ordering flowers, making dinner reservations, etc.). This helped some people get the point, but I was still waiting to hear back from people even during the week of prom!
The next problem was collecting money. Even after people said yes, it took forever to get money from them. I tried to make it as easy as possible for them; I offered to drive out to wherever people lived and deliver the tickets in person. Surprisingly, this didn't help that much.
I should probably mention that around early April, I had a minor panic attack because I honestly didn't think I could get more than 40 people to come to prom. Not only would I lose a lot of money, but also, who would want to come to a half-empty room to party?
On the issue of money, I decided to try to get nearby bars to advertise at prom for a fee. In return, we would visit their establishment afterward. I wrote letters to each bar and gave demographic information, then I made follow-up calls. The no's: Bar #1 said they have so much business that they usually have a line out the door (I have NEVER seen that there--keep dreaming!); Bar #2's owner is very spacey (for lack of a better adjective) and said something to the effect of having trouble understanding things on paper, thus needing an oral explanation, then forgetting everything that was told to him, and so on; Bar #3 spent all of its ad budget already (but the owner was super nice in telling me this); and a local newspaper really only does trade advertising. Fortunately, I had takers in Genna's and the Opus.
The DJ was another major concern. I had so many leads, and most fell through. One guy offered to do it for a certain price, which I thought was very high, until after more investigation I found his price was very fair. Ultimately, I went with the same DJ that did my wedding.
My next problem was finding an arch. Menards and Home Depot sold them, but they cost more than $100, and I didn't want to spend that. Meanwhile, A to Z Rent All had them for $50, which was a joke. Fortunately, a friend suggested the Hobby Lobby, and I found an arch there for a reasonable price (though that increased significantly to buy all the decorations for it).
The last item on my to-do list was to hire a photographer. Luckily, one of the guests is an excellent photographer, so I asked her to shoot for half-an-hour at prom, with the promise that people could order photos directly from her.
By the way, during all of this I also bought a tux, helped my wife find a dress, ordered our flowers, made hotel reservations and made dinner reservations for my group.
THE END
I was told the banquet room (named the Madison Room) would be unused Thursday night and all day Friday, so I could set up Thursday night. Unfortunately, there actually was something for Friday morning (a conference), so when my wife and I arrived Thursday night to set up the arch and balloons, we discovered we couldn't. As a Plan B, we set up the arch in a utility hallway adjacent to the room. The only thing we couldn't do was decorate the tables (since they weren't even in the room yet).
Before my wife and I left, we saw the bulletin board in the lobby that listed all of the events, and it read, "Brian Lee's Prom." That made us excited!
On Friday, I got out of work early and checked into the hotel at 2:30. After dumping my bags in my room, I headed to the Madison Room's side hallway only to discover all the helium balloons sank. I was promised by Hallmark's staff that the balloons would last 48 hours, but they obviously died after less than one day. So I called Hallmark and explained the situation, and they made new balloons for free. The only snag was that it added another errand for my wife to take care of after she got out of work.
While I was waiting for her, I moved some of the tables around and moved the arch to its place. I also put out all of the 50 or so ads from Genna's and the Opus. When my wife came, we put up the balloons, and then we were done on our end with setup.
My wife took a one-hour nap. I tried to take a 20-minute power nap, but two phone calls messed that up. One of those calls was from a friend that was helping to supply the booze for the post prom party. I was expecting a lot of people; I think everyone naturally assumed I would have an a-bar, and it didn't appear that anyone else was going to have one.
When I ran outside to get the beer from my friend, the traffic to get in the parking ramp was a nightmare. Not only were people trying to check in, but people were also trying to park for a talent show taking place at 7 p.m. on the eighth floor of the hotel. One of those cars trying to park was my DJ; it was good to see him early.
Back in the room, getting dressed, I found out that the flower shop didn't include a pin for my boutonniere. Are you fucking kidding me? Fuck you, George's Flowers.
We had dinner reservations at 7 p.m. at the Tornado Steak House. It was crowded and it was good that they could accomodate two late add-ons to our dinner party. A few people were late due to the parking. Consequently, we didn't order until 7:25 p.m. Then it took a full 30 min. for our salads and soups to be served. Our entrees didn't arrive until 8:25 p.m., a full hour after ordering. I took a few bites of my steak and then left to do last-minute prep for prom. Everyone else stayed to eat. My wife's steak was raw and uncooked, so she had to send it back. This happened to me the last time we were there. As a result of two uncooked steaks in a row, and absurdly slow service, we will never go back to the Tornado Steak House, and I recommend you do the same.
At the Madison Room, everything looked great. The DJs (three of them) had set up and they had a great display. I met the bartender and warned him he was going to be busy. I asked the banquet manager for a pin, and she found one for me. One of the DJs also had a pin, and so finally I was able to wear my boutonniere.
Slowly but surely, people started trickling in. I got a call from one of the members of prom court, who said he thought prom started at 10 p.m. but realized his error and was on his way. He made it about 10 min. before we introduced the court (at 10:45 p.m.).
I was impressed not everyone felt they had to come fashionably late (though many still did). The room looked pretty crowded by 10 p.m.
It was hard to enjoy prom fully and be the host at the same time. There were many walk-ups, so I had to keep collecting money. Also, I had to kick out some party crashers.
I was extremely flattered when one of my friends toasted me for throwing a prom. I think a lot of people then realized how much effort it took to throw a party of that magnitude.
A lot of people told me they saw "Brian Lee's Prom" on the marquee outside. I saw some of the pictures, and I thought it was totally cool!
THE END, PART 2
After prom, we took some pictures in front of the marquee. I just thought it was the neatest thing to see that!
Many guests were too drunk and/or tired to even make it to the bars. We had about 15 people go to the Opus, with another 15 going to Genna's. Just six from the Opus group made it to Genna's later. Still, we spent a shitload of money at both bars, much more than they paid for advertising.
My post-prom party went from 20 people to just four. Maybe that was a good thing, but we had a lot of leftover booze.
The next morning, I couldn't believe it was all over! I managed to get out of bed by 10 a.m. to watch the start of CrazyLegs from my window, then sat in the hot tub for 10 min., then went eat at a sidewalk cafe near the Capitol, then went to Farmer's Market, then took a big nap.
On Sunday, I wrote thank-you cards to the banquet manager, the DJ, Genna's and the Opus.
FINAL THOUGHT
Will I ever do this again? Never say never, but I can't imagine going through this hassle again!
THE BEGINNING
In February, I got to thinking how nice it would be to have a chance to go to prom with my wife. Being a highly motivated person, I decided to throw one. The initial surveys of whether anyone would even go were encouraging; all thought it would be a good idea.
In March, I began calling hotels for pricing. I chose only downtown hotels--Doubletree, Edgewater, Concourse, Hilton and the Inn on the Park--for their proximity to bars and where many of the guests were coming from. The Edgewater was the priciest and had the smallest space. The Doubletree, despite me knowing their banquet manager, was still pricey, and they required hiring security (further driving the price up).
At the end, it boiled down to Inn on the Park and the Concourse. The problem with the latter was the lack of knowledge by their staff. I must've talked to someone who just got hired, because she did not know anything (room availabilities, price, bar setup ... seriously, NOTHING), and took forever to look it all up and get back to me. They were only in the running because they were the cheapest room, but I had a lot of apprehension with them and didn't want to work with someone so inexperienced. That leads me to Inn on the Park. I got to work with their banquet manager, who was extremely knowledgeable of their policies, and after seeing the room, I was hooked.
I put a tentative hold on Friday, April 6, then I sent out an interest e-mail. The responses were bad--I forgot to take into account that was Easter weekend, so most people were going to be out of town. So then I got the only other available date, Friday, April 27, and sent out another e-mail. This drew a much better response, so it became official ... well, almost. I had about 10 days to make sure enough people would come, since I had to pay the entire room fee upfront. Eventually, I got the feeling that I could draw at least 40 people, so I booked the room. Now, it was time for the invites.
THE MIDDLE
I set up a Web site (www.geocities.com/nightshade23/prom07.html), so people could get up-to-date info, submit song requests, submit photos for the slide show and vote on the candidates for prom. But as I came to discover, PEOPLE ARE LAZY! (I will reference that point again later.)
--No photos were submitted in two months, so I canned the slide show portion.
--Despite much interest in being on prom court, no one submitted their entry, so I just elected everyone myself.
--Except for one person, no one sent song requests until the day before I had to submit them to the DJ, and only after I personally contacted people.
I thought it would be cool to have tickets for prom. They would also make my job of collecting money from people easier if I could give them something in exchange. When I was creating the ticket's design, I realized that prom needed a title. Since my hold on the banquet room at Inn on the Park was "Brian Lee's Prom," I decided right then and there that "Brian Lee's Prom" would be the official name. It's boastful, I know, but what other name could I have called it?
Inviting people was the biggest pain in the ass. I literally spent two or more hours every night calling people (this was because no one ever got back to me on e-mail). Why every night? Because no one called me back. I think most people viewed prom as just any old party, something that they didn't need to decide on until much later. This is why I sent an e-mail in early April warning people that there's a lot to do to prepare for prom (renting a tux, buying a dress, ordering flowers, making dinner reservations, etc.). This helped some people get the point, but I was still waiting to hear back from people even during the week of prom!
The next problem was collecting money. Even after people said yes, it took forever to get money from them. I tried to make it as easy as possible for them; I offered to drive out to wherever people lived and deliver the tickets in person. Surprisingly, this didn't help that much.
I should probably mention that around early April, I had a minor panic attack because I honestly didn't think I could get more than 40 people to come to prom. Not only would I lose a lot of money, but also, who would want to come to a half-empty room to party?
On the issue of money, I decided to try to get nearby bars to advertise at prom for a fee. In return, we would visit their establishment afterward. I wrote letters to each bar and gave demographic information, then I made follow-up calls. The no's: Bar #1 said they have so much business that they usually have a line out the door (I have NEVER seen that there--keep dreaming!); Bar #2's owner is very spacey (for lack of a better adjective) and said something to the effect of having trouble understanding things on paper, thus needing an oral explanation, then forgetting everything that was told to him, and so on; Bar #3 spent all of its ad budget already (but the owner was super nice in telling me this); and a local newspaper really only does trade advertising. Fortunately, I had takers in Genna's and the Opus.
The DJ was another major concern. I had so many leads, and most fell through. One guy offered to do it for a certain price, which I thought was very high, until after more investigation I found his price was very fair. Ultimately, I went with the same DJ that did my wedding.
My next problem was finding an arch. Menards and Home Depot sold them, but they cost more than $100, and I didn't want to spend that. Meanwhile, A to Z Rent All had them for $50, which was a joke. Fortunately, a friend suggested the Hobby Lobby, and I found an arch there for a reasonable price (though that increased significantly to buy all the decorations for it).
The last item on my to-do list was to hire a photographer. Luckily, one of the guests is an excellent photographer, so I asked her to shoot for half-an-hour at prom, with the promise that people could order photos directly from her.
By the way, during all of this I also bought a tux, helped my wife find a dress, ordered our flowers, made hotel reservations and made dinner reservations for my group.
THE END
I was told the banquet room (named the Madison Room) would be unused Thursday night and all day Friday, so I could set up Thursday night. Unfortunately, there actually was something for Friday morning (a conference), so when my wife and I arrived Thursday night to set up the arch and balloons, we discovered we couldn't. As a Plan B, we set up the arch in a utility hallway adjacent to the room. The only thing we couldn't do was decorate the tables (since they weren't even in the room yet).
Before my wife and I left, we saw the bulletin board in the lobby that listed all of the events, and it read, "Brian Lee's Prom." That made us excited!
On Friday, I got out of work early and checked into the hotel at 2:30. After dumping my bags in my room, I headed to the Madison Room's side hallway only to discover all the helium balloons sank. I was promised by Hallmark's staff that the balloons would last 48 hours, but they obviously died after less than one day. So I called Hallmark and explained the situation, and they made new balloons for free. The only snag was that it added another errand for my wife to take care of after she got out of work.
While I was waiting for her, I moved some of the tables around and moved the arch to its place. I also put out all of the 50 or so ads from Genna's and the Opus. When my wife came, we put up the balloons, and then we were done on our end with setup.
My wife took a one-hour nap. I tried to take a 20-minute power nap, but two phone calls messed that up. One of those calls was from a friend that was helping to supply the booze for the post prom party. I was expecting a lot of people; I think everyone naturally assumed I would have an a-bar, and it didn't appear that anyone else was going to have one.
When I ran outside to get the beer from my friend, the traffic to get in the parking ramp was a nightmare. Not only were people trying to check in, but people were also trying to park for a talent show taking place at 7 p.m. on the eighth floor of the hotel. One of those cars trying to park was my DJ; it was good to see him early.
Back in the room, getting dressed, I found out that the flower shop didn't include a pin for my boutonniere. Are you fucking kidding me? Fuck you, George's Flowers.
We had dinner reservations at 7 p.m. at the Tornado Steak House. It was crowded and it was good that they could accomodate two late add-ons to our dinner party. A few people were late due to the parking. Consequently, we didn't order until 7:25 p.m. Then it took a full 30 min. for our salads and soups to be served. Our entrees didn't arrive until 8:25 p.m., a full hour after ordering. I took a few bites of my steak and then left to do last-minute prep for prom. Everyone else stayed to eat. My wife's steak was raw and uncooked, so she had to send it back. This happened to me the last time we were there. As a result of two uncooked steaks in a row, and absurdly slow service, we will never go back to the Tornado Steak House, and I recommend you do the same.
At the Madison Room, everything looked great. The DJs (three of them) had set up and they had a great display. I met the bartender and warned him he was going to be busy. I asked the banquet manager for a pin, and she found one for me. One of the DJs also had a pin, and so finally I was able to wear my boutonniere.
Slowly but surely, people started trickling in. I got a call from one of the members of prom court, who said he thought prom started at 10 p.m. but realized his error and was on his way. He made it about 10 min. before we introduced the court (at 10:45 p.m.).
I was impressed not everyone felt they had to come fashionably late (though many still did). The room looked pretty crowded by 10 p.m.
It was hard to enjoy prom fully and be the host at the same time. There were many walk-ups, so I had to keep collecting money. Also, I had to kick out some party crashers.
I was extremely flattered when one of my friends toasted me for throwing a prom. I think a lot of people then realized how much effort it took to throw a party of that magnitude.
A lot of people told me they saw "Brian Lee's Prom" on the marquee outside. I saw some of the pictures, and I thought it was totally cool!
THE END, PART 2
After prom, we took some pictures in front of the marquee. I just thought it was the neatest thing to see that!
Many guests were too drunk and/or tired to even make it to the bars. We had about 15 people go to the Opus, with another 15 going to Genna's. Just six from the Opus group made it to Genna's later. Still, we spent a shitload of money at both bars, much more than they paid for advertising.
My post-prom party went from 20 people to just four. Maybe that was a good thing, but we had a lot of leftover booze.
The next morning, I couldn't believe it was all over! I managed to get out of bed by 10 a.m. to watch the start of CrazyLegs from my window, then sat in the hot tub for 10 min., then went eat at a sidewalk cafe near the Capitol, then went to Farmer's Market, then took a big nap.
On Sunday, I wrote thank-you cards to the banquet manager, the DJ, Genna's and the Opus.
FINAL THOUGHT
Will I ever do this again? Never say never, but I can't imagine going through this hassle again!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Subway Diet - Conclusion
As I mentioned in Day 5, I went out for some drinks at night. At 1:15 a.m., I decide the diet is officially over, so I order Pokey Sticks and pepperoni rolls from Gumby's. At 2 a.m., I pig out, and I'm sure I had as many calories in that one sitting as I had in the entire day.
Weigh-in: 95.8 lbs., which means I lost 2.0 lbs. from yesterday, despite my binge eating and drinking. I haven't weight this "little" since last summer (but at that time, I gained 5 lbs. in muscle).
Final statistics: 6,466 calories, 78.1 grams fat, 27.5 grams saturated fat. This averages out each day to 1,293 calories, 15.6 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat.
Total weight loss: 3.4 lbs.
Basically, if I cut out the drinking, I could have saved a lot of calories and perhaps lost more weight. Of course, this is unrealistic for me.
Thanks very much for reading along!
Weigh-in: 95.8 lbs., which means I lost 2.0 lbs. from yesterday, despite my binge eating and drinking. I haven't weight this "little" since last summer (but at that time, I gained 5 lbs. in muscle).
Final statistics: 6,466 calories, 78.1 grams fat, 27.5 grams saturated fat. This averages out each day to 1,293 calories, 15.6 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat.
Total weight loss: 3.4 lbs.
Basically, if I cut out the drinking, I could have saved a lot of calories and perhaps lost more weight. Of course, this is unrealistic for me.
Thanks very much for reading along!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Subway Diet, Day 5
I had a premonition, I think. Some time in the middle of the night, I was worried that I gained weight. But I knew this couldn't be possible, since I ate less than 3,500 calories (= 1 lb.) on Thursday. Either way, I was quite nervous getting on that scale.
Weigh-in: 97.8 lbs. WTF?! I gained 1.2 lbs.! How is that possible? It must be water weight, I convince myself, but I don't think I drank that much yesterday. What gives?
7:05 a.m. - After 10 min. of being extremely incredulous, I go read the newspaper. I do NOT eat anything.
8 a.m. - I make a pot of coffee. I guess I'll put something in my stomach just to get my metabolism going.
10 a.m. - I of course feel hungry, but I don't even drink any water because I'm punishing my body for making me gain weight.
11:50 a.m. - Time to buy my last lunch sub. I come full circle and purchase an oven-roasted chicken breast with lettuce, tomatoes, sweet peppers and mustard on Italian (toasted), with Lay's Light and a diet Coke.
A lady behind me in line purchases a mini-sub. I think it's a three-inch kiddie sub and can't be that filling. This is all she orders.
Noon - I'm still a little miffed about gaining weight. I decide to eat this sub at a regular pace. This sub tastes WAY better than the one I had on Monday.
Lunch statistics: 390 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat.
4 p.m. - One of my coworkers says she is going to a fish fry tonight. Oh how I miss fried foods!
5:05 p.m. - I get a couple of drinks with another coworker. It's nice that there is no free food calling out my name. I have one Stella Artois and one PBR. I certainly do not recommend this transition. Imagine eating a juicy, tender prime rib, then eating poop. This is the taste equivalent of going from Stella to PBR (more or less).
6 p.m. - I bake my other foot-long sub from last night. It's a roast beef with lettuce, tomato and sweet peppers on Italian. This sub tastes great. The fat from the beef sorta melts into the bread, making for a great flavor. I'm glad I'm ending this diet on a high note.
Dinner statistics: 580 calories (sub) + 120 (milk) + 340 (beer) = 1,040 calories, 10 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat.
I admit, after dinner, I went out for some drinks, but I'm not counting calories anymore.
Friday's statistics: 1,430 calories, 15 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat
I'll recap the week and give you the final results in the Day 6 blog.
Weigh-in: 97.8 lbs. WTF?! I gained 1.2 lbs.! How is that possible? It must be water weight, I convince myself, but I don't think I drank that much yesterday. What gives?
7:05 a.m. - After 10 min. of being extremely incredulous, I go read the newspaper. I do NOT eat anything.
8 a.m. - I make a pot of coffee. I guess I'll put something in my stomach just to get my metabolism going.
10 a.m. - I of course feel hungry, but I don't even drink any water because I'm punishing my body for making me gain weight.
11:50 a.m. - Time to buy my last lunch sub. I come full circle and purchase an oven-roasted chicken breast with lettuce, tomatoes, sweet peppers and mustard on Italian (toasted), with Lay's Light and a diet Coke.
A lady behind me in line purchases a mini-sub. I think it's a three-inch kiddie sub and can't be that filling. This is all she orders.
Noon - I'm still a little miffed about gaining weight. I decide to eat this sub at a regular pace. This sub tastes WAY better than the one I had on Monday.
Lunch statistics: 390 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat.
4 p.m. - One of my coworkers says she is going to a fish fry tonight. Oh how I miss fried foods!
5:05 p.m. - I get a couple of drinks with another coworker. It's nice that there is no free food calling out my name. I have one Stella Artois and one PBR. I certainly do not recommend this transition. Imagine eating a juicy, tender prime rib, then eating poop. This is the taste equivalent of going from Stella to PBR (more or less).
6 p.m. - I bake my other foot-long sub from last night. It's a roast beef with lettuce, tomato and sweet peppers on Italian. This sub tastes great. The fat from the beef sorta melts into the bread, making for a great flavor. I'm glad I'm ending this diet on a high note.
Dinner statistics: 580 calories (sub) + 120 (milk) + 340 (beer) = 1,040 calories, 10 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat.
I admit, after dinner, I went out for some drinks, but I'm not counting calories anymore.
Friday's statistics: 1,430 calories, 15 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat
I'll recap the week and give you the final results in the Day 6 blog.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Subway Diet, Day 4
I know I haven't lost that much weight, but I think I actually look a little skinnier. I'm regretting not taking a "before" picture, so I can compare it to the "after" picture in which I'll be holding up a pair of my "old" pants (which would be the same pants I still wear now).
Weigh-in: This morning the scale read 96.6 lbs., so I dropped 1.4 lbs. from yesterday. Geez, in three days on this I've lost 3.2 lbs. I see why Jared dropped 250 in one year.
6:55 a.m. - Same old tropical fruit cup, although this is the last from a four-pack. I think tomorrow I'm only going to drink coffee for breakfast.
10:35 a.m. - I'm not really hungry or thirsty, but I get a glass of water. I'm concerned that my stomach has indeed shrunk, and that I'm getting used to eating in much smaller amounts. I reminisce about all those times I have over-engorged myself at a meal, almost like a pride thing to prove that I could eat that sixth slice of pizza, or make another trip to the buffet line, or whatever.
Funny thing, by the way, is that I read a Q&A in the paper today about if it's really possible to die by drinking too much water. The answer is yes, but an adult would have to drink about 15 liters to die. By comparison, the 144 oz. of liquid I drank on Monday is equivalent to only 4.2 liters.
11:50 a.m. - I head downstairs to Subway, and while standing in line, I decide to get my sub toasted, maybe to trick myself into thinking I'm getting something different.
I get the Lay's Light again, as well as a ham sub with lettuce, tomato and green peppers on wheat and a diet Coke.
12:02 p.m. - I will attempt to eat this meal as slowly as possible.
Before I start, I notice the nutritional info on the cup, and it says that mustard is just five calories (on six inches, I presume) with no fat. I think I will have mustard on tonight's sub, just for some flavor. If I laugh really hard, I can burn off the 10 calories I need to cancel the mustard.
12:50 p.m. - I did it. I managed to eat a meal that would normally be five or six bites to me and prolong it over 50 minutes. I'm actually somewhat full as a result.
Lunch statistics: 365 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat.
2:30 p.m. - Somewhere outside is the smell of either beef shishkabob or philly cheese steaks. This is not fair.
4 p.m. - H to the Izzo.
5:30 p.m. - I go with a friend to a happy hour. It's free alcohol and food. This is pure torture! I start with a pint of Blone Doppelbock, and then move on to a 34-oz. mug of Miller Lite. While I drink the waitstaff is constantly bringing out more and more food, faster than people can eat it. There's pizza (the bacon & pepperoni looked outstanding), chicken wings, onion rings, nachos, mozzarella sticks and more. This makes three fucking days where I can have unlimited food but have to turn it down. Ironically, I'm sure next week I will not have any such encounters.
I make it the 2.5 hours I'm there without eating a bite. I'm hungry and I'm angry, which is a bad combo. Plus, I could have drank a lot more.
8 p.m. - I meet up with some friends for a birthday outing. I actually feel pretty drunk (doppelbock + 34 oz. = 58 oz. = ~ 5 beers on an ultra empty stomach), so all I can muster is two glasses of water.
9:30 p.m. - The party breaks up, and I worry that all the nearby Subways are closed. Fortunately, the one on State Street is open until 10 p.m. I would think it would be pretty dead inside, but someone is checking out as I enter, and two people walk in behind me. C'mon, who craves Subway at night? Nearby there's Jeff & Jim's Pizza, Asian Kitchen, Real Chili, Cold Stone and more. Don't those sound more appealing?
This Subway also has a special, but it's two foot longs for $9.99, a dollar more expensive than the one on Randall Avenue--better than nothing, I guess.
9:40 p.m. - I eat one of the footlongs, a turkey with lettuce, cucumber, onion, jalapenos and mustard on honey oat. I don't take my time with this one; I polish it off (with a glass of milk) in no time.
Dinner statistics: 570 calories (sub) + 120 (skim milk) + 468 (beer) = 1158 calories, 9 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat.
I mostly survived this tough, tough day!
Thursday's statistics: 1,523 calories, 14 grams fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat.
Weigh-in: This morning the scale read 96.6 lbs., so I dropped 1.4 lbs. from yesterday. Geez, in three days on this I've lost 3.2 lbs. I see why Jared dropped 250 in one year.
6:55 a.m. - Same old tropical fruit cup, although this is the last from a four-pack. I think tomorrow I'm only going to drink coffee for breakfast.
10:35 a.m. - I'm not really hungry or thirsty, but I get a glass of water. I'm concerned that my stomach has indeed shrunk, and that I'm getting used to eating in much smaller amounts. I reminisce about all those times I have over-engorged myself at a meal, almost like a pride thing to prove that I could eat that sixth slice of pizza, or make another trip to the buffet line, or whatever.
Funny thing, by the way, is that I read a Q&A in the paper today about if it's really possible to die by drinking too much water. The answer is yes, but an adult would have to drink about 15 liters to die. By comparison, the 144 oz. of liquid I drank on Monday is equivalent to only 4.2 liters.
11:50 a.m. - I head downstairs to Subway, and while standing in line, I decide to get my sub toasted, maybe to trick myself into thinking I'm getting something different.
I get the Lay's Light again, as well as a ham sub with lettuce, tomato and green peppers on wheat and a diet Coke.
12:02 p.m. - I will attempt to eat this meal as slowly as possible.
Before I start, I notice the nutritional info on the cup, and it says that mustard is just five calories (on six inches, I presume) with no fat. I think I will have mustard on tonight's sub, just for some flavor. If I laugh really hard, I can burn off the 10 calories I need to cancel the mustard.
12:50 p.m. - I did it. I managed to eat a meal that would normally be five or six bites to me and prolong it over 50 minutes. I'm actually somewhat full as a result.
Lunch statistics: 365 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat.
2:30 p.m. - Somewhere outside is the smell of either beef shishkabob or philly cheese steaks. This is not fair.
4 p.m. - H to the Izzo.
5:30 p.m. - I go with a friend to a happy hour. It's free alcohol and food. This is pure torture! I start with a pint of Blone Doppelbock, and then move on to a 34-oz. mug of Miller Lite. While I drink the waitstaff is constantly bringing out more and more food, faster than people can eat it. There's pizza (the bacon & pepperoni looked outstanding), chicken wings, onion rings, nachos, mozzarella sticks and more. This makes three fucking days where I can have unlimited food but have to turn it down. Ironically, I'm sure next week I will not have any such encounters.
I make it the 2.5 hours I'm there without eating a bite. I'm hungry and I'm angry, which is a bad combo. Plus, I could have drank a lot more.
8 p.m. - I meet up with some friends for a birthday outing. I actually feel pretty drunk (doppelbock + 34 oz. = 58 oz. = ~ 5 beers on an ultra empty stomach), so all I can muster is two glasses of water.
9:30 p.m. - The party breaks up, and I worry that all the nearby Subways are closed. Fortunately, the one on State Street is open until 10 p.m. I would think it would be pretty dead inside, but someone is checking out as I enter, and two people walk in behind me. C'mon, who craves Subway at night? Nearby there's Jeff & Jim's Pizza, Asian Kitchen, Real Chili, Cold Stone and more. Don't those sound more appealing?
This Subway also has a special, but it's two foot longs for $9.99, a dollar more expensive than the one on Randall Avenue--better than nothing, I guess.
9:40 p.m. - I eat one of the footlongs, a turkey with lettuce, cucumber, onion, jalapenos and mustard on honey oat. I don't take my time with this one; I polish it off (with a glass of milk) in no time.
Dinner statistics: 570 calories (sub) + 120 (skim milk) + 468 (beer) = 1158 calories, 9 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat.
I mostly survived this tough, tough day!
Thursday's statistics: 1,523 calories, 14 grams fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Subway Diet, Day 3
I didn't feel great last night. I learned that drinking three doppelbocks, which have twice the alcohol content as regular beer, while hardly eating anything will mess you up quickly. In fact, only several hours after consuming the beer, I was hungover.
This morning wasn't fun, either. My sinuses have been acting up again, and when they do, they often mess up my equilibrium, causing me to be dizzy. My stomach is burning right now because I took a Wal-Phed (or something similar) without much food to help absorb it.
Weigh-in: I dropped another .6 pounds to 98.0 in this morning's weigh-in (as a reminder, I started at 100.2, obviously a fake number).
6:50 a.m. - I eat my tropical fruit cup in about 40 seconds.
7:30 a.m. - After showering, I start to really feel dizzy. I wish I could go back to bed.
10:16 a.m. - Mmm, water.
12:05 p.m. - Time for lunch! I eat the rest of the sweet onion chicken teriyaki sub from last night; it's actually not too bad the next day. I take off the jalepeno peppers because I don't want to sweat too much at the office. I try to take at least 10 min. to eat this sub to trick my stomach into thinking I'm fuller. After the sub, I eat a medium-sized red apple. I wash it all down with some caffeine free diet Mt. Dew. Boy, this is one tasty meal!
Lunch statistics: 415 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat
3:30 p.m. - Another glass of water. I realized I haven't had the hunger pangs that I had on Monday and Tuesday. Maybe my stomach has shrunk?
5:55 p.m. - I had a hair cut and now am driving home. On route, I see a Pizza Hut delivery car and contemplate pulling over and giving the driver a twenty for whatever he has in hand. I think next week I'm going to really pig out. That's delayed gratification for you.
6:15 p.m. - I heat up the other 12-inch sub from last night in the oven. When I put it out, it smells really good, like the same smell that wafts into my office throughout the day.
6:17 p.m. - Smells can be deceiving. Normally I can stand pickles, but these pickles are just God-awful. On top of that, the black olives (which I hate) that I forced myself to get as a topping do not make the sub appetizing. You know that feeling when you're so hungry you could eat anything? Well, it was sorta like that as I choked down the first half of the sub. On the second, I had to pull off the pickles and olives.
I'm quite certain Jared couldn't have eaten a foot-long veggie sub every night. First, I don't think I could eat BBQ ribs, something I love, every single day. Also, what man in hell likes a sandwich without meat?
7 p.m. - I got to a meeting that happens to be serving sundaes and root beer floats. I don't have a sweet tooth, but since I didn't have much of a dinner, I bet I could pour one of the two-liter bottles of root beer into the gallon of ice cream and make a big dent. As a result of my temporary insanity, I've come to the revelation that life is one temptation after another--it's the ones you avoid that shape your character (fuck I'm hungry!).
Dinner statistics: 580 calories (sub) + 120 (skim milk) = 700 calories, 10 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat.
Like I said yesterday, I promised I would behave today! (Tomorrow is another story: I have a happy hour and two b-day parties to attend.)
Wednesday's statistics: 995 calories, 15 grams fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat.
This morning wasn't fun, either. My sinuses have been acting up again, and when they do, they often mess up my equilibrium, causing me to be dizzy. My stomach is burning right now because I took a Wal-Phed (or something similar) without much food to help absorb it.
Weigh-in: I dropped another .6 pounds to 98.0 in this morning's weigh-in (as a reminder, I started at 100.2, obviously a fake number).
6:50 a.m. - I eat my tropical fruit cup in about 40 seconds.
7:30 a.m. - After showering, I start to really feel dizzy. I wish I could go back to bed.
10:16 a.m. - Mmm, water.
12:05 p.m. - Time for lunch! I eat the rest of the sweet onion chicken teriyaki sub from last night; it's actually not too bad the next day. I take off the jalepeno peppers because I don't want to sweat too much at the office. I try to take at least 10 min. to eat this sub to trick my stomach into thinking I'm fuller. After the sub, I eat a medium-sized red apple. I wash it all down with some caffeine free diet Mt. Dew. Boy, this is one tasty meal!
Lunch statistics: 415 calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat
3:30 p.m. - Another glass of water. I realized I haven't had the hunger pangs that I had on Monday and Tuesday. Maybe my stomach has shrunk?
5:55 p.m. - I had a hair cut and now am driving home. On route, I see a Pizza Hut delivery car and contemplate pulling over and giving the driver a twenty for whatever he has in hand. I think next week I'm going to really pig out. That's delayed gratification for you.
6:15 p.m. - I heat up the other 12-inch sub from last night in the oven. When I put it out, it smells really good, like the same smell that wafts into my office throughout the day.
6:17 p.m. - Smells can be deceiving. Normally I can stand pickles, but these pickles are just God-awful. On top of that, the black olives (which I hate) that I forced myself to get as a topping do not make the sub appetizing. You know that feeling when you're so hungry you could eat anything? Well, it was sorta like that as I choked down the first half of the sub. On the second, I had to pull off the pickles and olives.
I'm quite certain Jared couldn't have eaten a foot-long veggie sub every night. First, I don't think I could eat BBQ ribs, something I love, every single day. Also, what man in hell likes a sandwich without meat?
7 p.m. - I got to a meeting that happens to be serving sundaes and root beer floats. I don't have a sweet tooth, but since I didn't have much of a dinner, I bet I could pour one of the two-liter bottles of root beer into the gallon of ice cream and make a big dent. As a result of my temporary insanity, I've come to the revelation that life is one temptation after another--it's the ones you avoid that shape your character (fuck I'm hungry!).
Dinner statistics: 580 calories (sub) + 120 (skim milk) = 700 calories, 10 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat.
Like I said yesterday, I promised I would behave today! (Tomorrow is another story: I have a happy hour and two b-day parties to attend.)
Wednesday's statistics: 995 calories, 15 grams fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Subway Diet, Day 2
I think I may be overhydrated. After dinner last night I lifted weights and jogged, and not at any point did I ever feel thirsty. That's because I must have drank at least 12 glasses of water throughout the day to battle my hunger.
I know in Day 1 of this blog I left off my weight. Just for mathematical purposes, let's say yesterday my weight was 100.2. This morning's weigh-in put me at 98.6, a difference of 1.6 pounds. I know for a fact that it couldn't have been all water weight that I lost, because as I mentioned, I drank a LOT of water yesterday.
I'm considering splitting my 12-inch sub to two six-inch subs, so that I will be eating four meals a day (breakfast then three sub meals). That way, I can keep my metabolism up and possibly lose more weight. We'll see if I have time during the day.
6:45 a.m. - After the weigh in--and I have to admit, the results were somewhat surprising--I eat another tropical fruit cup. Normally, I am not hungry at breakfast and only eat to wake up my metabolism. Today, I could probably eat the Tremendous 12 at Perkin's, then polish off a Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's.
9:20 a.m. - I make a pot of coffee at work, not because I'm sleepy and need the caffeine, but because I don't want to drink another three glasses of water in the morning. Plus, I think the coffee will fill me up a bit more. Fortunately, coffee is low in calories; with the sugar I added, the cup is only 50 or so calories.
10:15 a.m. - Now I'm starting to have hunger pangs. How the hell did Jared, a 300+pound guy, eat so little for a year? I'm convinced he must've had his stomach stapled.
Time another cup of coffee. It's just half-a-cup this time, plus no sugar. Should just be about two calories.
11 a.m. - I have to go run an errand, so I grab lunch on my way to the parking ramp. Today, I get a six-inch Subway club with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and pickles on wheat bread. I was looking for the Baked Lay's when instead I came upon Lay's Light. Not only is it fat free, but it's half the calories (just 75), so it's even better for you (so to speak) than their baked counterparts.
11:04 a.m. - I eat the chips in the car. I'm worried that the Olean they're made with will give me the runs.
These chips are actually pretty good. They taste just like regular Lay's.
11:06 a.m. - I've developed some sort of film on the roof of my mouth. I wonder if it's the Olean that has coagulated in my mouth.
12:10 a.m. - I wait until after I get back to the office to eat the sub. This one tastes a lot better than that "oven-roasted" chicken breast that I had yesterday.
Lunch statistics: 395 calories (with chips), 6 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat
3 p.m. - I'm of course hungry again, but not as painfully so as previous times. I decide I can tolerate this pain and not even drink any fluids! Is it possible to be sick of water?
5:20 p.m. - Here's where things get really tricky. I go to the Big Ten Pub's customer appreciation day, which has free food along with $1 taps and rails. I drink three Capital Brewery Blonde Doppelbocks because 1) They're damned good and 2) a six pack costs $10, so they are expensive beers that I'm only paying a buck for.
The food looks sooooo good. There's burgers, BBQ ribs, shrimp cocktail, mac & cheese, cocktail wieners, tons of desserts and more. I eat one shrimp, one rib and later I sneak a mini-burger (it's about a quarter the size of a real burger). Otherwise, I live vicariously through my two friends, whom I kept encouraging to eat more on my behalf. Seriously, do you know how hard it is to resist free food? I could have eaten at least four plates of ribs alone before I even attacked the other foods.
As a result of all the drinking, I'm actually not too hungry afterward (usually, drinking makes me hungry), so I don't go to Subway rightaway.
7 p.m. - Instead, I meet up with other friends for a going away party at the Great Dane. I swear to God all I had were four glasses of delicious water. The waitress was super nice about my lack of ordering anything real, and I offered to buy her a drink, but she said she wasn't allowed (but otherwise would've said yes ... at least that's what I daydreamed she meant).
8:30 p.m. - When I decide to leave, I realize I could probably go the rest of the night without eating, but I still want to go to the Subway on Randall Avenue in order to get their deal, which I vaguely recall from a drunken night about a month ago.
8:40 p.m. - Yes! This Subway on Randall and University does indeed have a special, and it's a good one: Two foot-longs for $8.99! I order a 12-inch ham & turkey with black olives (even though I hate them), pickles, sweet peppers and onions on honey oat bread, and a 12-inch sweet onion teriyaki with jalepenos, tomatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes on Italian herbs. These two subs would have cost $12+tax otherwise; I paid just $9.48.
9:11 p.m. - I debate for a long time whether I can/should eat any of these subs. I figure, I didn't eat that much today, and besides the beer, my calorie count was pretty low. Plus, when you have two feet of fucking subs sitting in front of you, it's hard to resist. So I "grudgingly" decide to eat six inches of the sweet onion teriyaki sub with--what else?--a glass of water.
The good thing about putting jalenpenos on anything is that it makes you thirsty, so I have to pound a couple more glasses of water to help cool my mouth; that in turn makes me more full.
Dinner statistics: 120 calories (rib, rounded way up) + 60 (mini burger) + 8 (shrimp with a little sauce) + 370 (sub) + 510 (beer) = 1,068 calories, 13.1 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat.
Tuesday's statistics: 1,463 calories, 19.1 grams fat, 7.5 grams saturated fat.
Now I realize I didn't count breakfast either day. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel the need to count those 50 or so calories. I just want to see the calorie count from the Subway diet alone. Today I counted the beer, rib, burger and shrimp because they "substituted" for six inches of sub.
Tomorrow I'll be better, I promise!
I know in Day 1 of this blog I left off my weight. Just for mathematical purposes, let's say yesterday my weight was 100.2. This morning's weigh-in put me at 98.6, a difference of 1.6 pounds. I know for a fact that it couldn't have been all water weight that I lost, because as I mentioned, I drank a LOT of water yesterday.
I'm considering splitting my 12-inch sub to two six-inch subs, so that I will be eating four meals a day (breakfast then three sub meals). That way, I can keep my metabolism up and possibly lose more weight. We'll see if I have time during the day.
6:45 a.m. - After the weigh in--and I have to admit, the results were somewhat surprising--I eat another tropical fruit cup. Normally, I am not hungry at breakfast and only eat to wake up my metabolism. Today, I could probably eat the Tremendous 12 at Perkin's, then polish off a Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's.
9:20 a.m. - I make a pot of coffee at work, not because I'm sleepy and need the caffeine, but because I don't want to drink another three glasses of water in the morning. Plus, I think the coffee will fill me up a bit more. Fortunately, coffee is low in calories; with the sugar I added, the cup is only 50 or so calories.
10:15 a.m. - Now I'm starting to have hunger pangs. How the hell did Jared, a 300+pound guy, eat so little for a year? I'm convinced he must've had his stomach stapled.
Time another cup of coffee. It's just half-a-cup this time, plus no sugar. Should just be about two calories.
11 a.m. - I have to go run an errand, so I grab lunch on my way to the parking ramp. Today, I get a six-inch Subway club with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and pickles on wheat bread. I was looking for the Baked Lay's when instead I came upon Lay's Light. Not only is it fat free, but it's half the calories (just 75), so it's even better for you (so to speak) than their baked counterparts.
11:04 a.m. - I eat the chips in the car. I'm worried that the Olean they're made with will give me the runs.
These chips are actually pretty good. They taste just like regular Lay's.
11:06 a.m. - I've developed some sort of film on the roof of my mouth. I wonder if it's the Olean that has coagulated in my mouth.
12:10 a.m. - I wait until after I get back to the office to eat the sub. This one tastes a lot better than that "oven-roasted" chicken breast that I had yesterday.
Lunch statistics: 395 calories (with chips), 6 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat
3 p.m. - I'm of course hungry again, but not as painfully so as previous times. I decide I can tolerate this pain and not even drink any fluids! Is it possible to be sick of water?
5:20 p.m. - Here's where things get really tricky. I go to the Big Ten Pub's customer appreciation day, which has free food along with $1 taps and rails. I drink three Capital Brewery Blonde Doppelbocks because 1) They're damned good and 2) a six pack costs $10, so they are expensive beers that I'm only paying a buck for.
The food looks sooooo good. There's burgers, BBQ ribs, shrimp cocktail, mac & cheese, cocktail wieners, tons of desserts and more. I eat one shrimp, one rib and later I sneak a mini-burger (it's about a quarter the size of a real burger). Otherwise, I live vicariously through my two friends, whom I kept encouraging to eat more on my behalf. Seriously, do you know how hard it is to resist free food? I could have eaten at least four plates of ribs alone before I even attacked the other foods.
As a result of all the drinking, I'm actually not too hungry afterward (usually, drinking makes me hungry), so I don't go to Subway rightaway.
7 p.m. - Instead, I meet up with other friends for a going away party at the Great Dane. I swear to God all I had were four glasses of delicious water. The waitress was super nice about my lack of ordering anything real, and I offered to buy her a drink, but she said she wasn't allowed (but otherwise would've said yes ... at least that's what I daydreamed she meant).
8:30 p.m. - When I decide to leave, I realize I could probably go the rest of the night without eating, but I still want to go to the Subway on Randall Avenue in order to get their deal, which I vaguely recall from a drunken night about a month ago.
8:40 p.m. - Yes! This Subway on Randall and University does indeed have a special, and it's a good one: Two foot-longs for $8.99! I order a 12-inch ham & turkey with black olives (even though I hate them), pickles, sweet peppers and onions on honey oat bread, and a 12-inch sweet onion teriyaki with jalepenos, tomatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes on Italian herbs. These two subs would have cost $12+tax otherwise; I paid just $9.48.
9:11 p.m. - I debate for a long time whether I can/should eat any of these subs. I figure, I didn't eat that much today, and besides the beer, my calorie count was pretty low. Plus, when you have two feet of fucking subs sitting in front of you, it's hard to resist. So I "grudgingly" decide to eat six inches of the sweet onion teriyaki sub with--what else?--a glass of water.
The good thing about putting jalenpenos on anything is that it makes you thirsty, so I have to pound a couple more glasses of water to help cool my mouth; that in turn makes me more full.
Dinner statistics: 120 calories (rib, rounded way up) + 60 (mini burger) + 8 (shrimp with a little sauce) + 370 (sub) + 510 (beer) = 1,068 calories, 13.1 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat.
Tuesday's statistics: 1,463 calories, 19.1 grams fat, 7.5 grams saturated fat.
Now I realize I didn't count breakfast either day. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel the need to count those 50 or so calories. I just want to see the calorie count from the Subway diet alone. Today I counted the beer, rib, burger and shrimp because they "substituted" for six inches of sub.
Tomorrow I'll be better, I promise!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Subway Diet, Day 1
Preface:
I decided to partake in the Subway Diet. I was vaguely familiar with how it works; from the commercials, Jared Fogle ate the eight healthier subs at Subway every day. From my research, I found out that he ate a six-inch sub with Baked Lay's and a diet soda for lunch, then he had a 12-inch sub for dinner (specifically, turkey and vegetarian, respectively). Jared never added cheese or mayo to his subs.
The reason why this diet works is because altogether, Jared was only eating 1,000-1,200 calories a day, far below the recommended 2,000. Experts say that the diet is not nutritious, as it lacks vitamins such as calcium. Oh well, I think I can handle this diet for at least a week. Plus, Subway just added sliced apples and raisins to the menu, and I'll be eating fruit for breakfast.
This weekend, I binged on some foods that I thought I would crave/miss: Friday I had Culver's, Saturday I had KFC and Taco Bell, and Sunday I had BW3s.
I weighed myself this morning right after getting up. The electronic scale read 1XX.2 pounds (sorry, I thought I'd leave my actual weight off this blog).
7 a.m. - I have a tropical fruit cup for breakfast, with nothing to drink. Half-an-hour later, I'm starving.
9:30 a.m. - I'm starting to feel hungry again, so I have a glass of water.
10:45 a.m. - (See 9:30)
11 a.m. - I can start to smell the fresh-baked bread from the Subway below my office. God, I'm hungry.
11:45 a.m. - I meet my wife for lunch at Subway. Unfortunately, my slew of Subway coupons expired yesterday, so I have to turn to my Entertainment Book coupons. This one is for buy one six-inch sub and large soda, get one free.
I figure that since some of the eight subs have more calories than the others, I will order them as six inches and the other ones as 12 inches. Today, I got the oven-roasted chicken breast (with lettuce, tomato, onions and sweet peppers on wheat) and a diet coke. Knowing that the coupon did not include chips, I had my wife bring an apple for me.
At the checkout, I asked if this Subway restaurant had specials after 5 p.m., like most Subways. Unfortunately, they said no, so I will have to go to another Subway for dinner.
I ate the apple first, then I ate the ultra-tasteless sub. Apparently, "oven-roasted" meant boiled, because that was the only way this chicken was cooked as far as I could tell. I'm sitting on a bench near the Capitol, and while I eat, everyone around me is eating foods that look and smell way better. Also while I eat, I ponder if I tried the "Super Size Me" diet at McDonald's for one week, could I lose all that weight via the Subway diet the following week?
Lunch statistics: 355 total calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat.
12:15 p.m. - My stomach feels a little funny, probably because for the first time in a long time, I eat a meal with fruit, vegetables and no sauce/seasoning.
2:35 p.m. - Dammit, I'm starting to feel hungry again. Time for some more water.
5:30 p.m. - I can't believe I made it to this point--I'm sooo hungry! I drive to the Subway on Park Street; this restaurant also does not have specials after 5 p.m.
I order a foot-long roast beef on Italian with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers and jalepenos. I take it home and eat it with a 12-oz. glass of skim milk.
Dinner statistics: 580 calories (sub) + 120 calories (milk) = 700 calories, 10 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat.
I guess I'm done for the day!
Monday's statistics: 1,055 calories, 15 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat.
Not bad, I'd say. By comparison, the KFC Variety Big Box Meal I ate for lunch last Saturday was 1,325 calories.
I decided to partake in the Subway Diet. I was vaguely familiar with how it works; from the commercials, Jared Fogle ate the eight healthier subs at Subway every day. From my research, I found out that he ate a six-inch sub with Baked Lay's and a diet soda for lunch, then he had a 12-inch sub for dinner (specifically, turkey and vegetarian, respectively). Jared never added cheese or mayo to his subs.
The reason why this diet works is because altogether, Jared was only eating 1,000-1,200 calories a day, far below the recommended 2,000. Experts say that the diet is not nutritious, as it lacks vitamins such as calcium. Oh well, I think I can handle this diet for at least a week. Plus, Subway just added sliced apples and raisins to the menu, and I'll be eating fruit for breakfast.
This weekend, I binged on some foods that I thought I would crave/miss: Friday I had Culver's, Saturday I had KFC and Taco Bell, and Sunday I had BW3s.
I weighed myself this morning right after getting up. The electronic scale read 1XX.2 pounds (sorry, I thought I'd leave my actual weight off this blog).
7 a.m. - I have a tropical fruit cup for breakfast, with nothing to drink. Half-an-hour later, I'm starving.
9:30 a.m. - I'm starting to feel hungry again, so I have a glass of water.
10:45 a.m. - (See 9:30)
11 a.m. - I can start to smell the fresh-baked bread from the Subway below my office. God, I'm hungry.
11:45 a.m. - I meet my wife for lunch at Subway. Unfortunately, my slew of Subway coupons expired yesterday, so I have to turn to my Entertainment Book coupons. This one is for buy one six-inch sub and large soda, get one free.
I figure that since some of the eight subs have more calories than the others, I will order them as six inches and the other ones as 12 inches. Today, I got the oven-roasted chicken breast (with lettuce, tomato, onions and sweet peppers on wheat) and a diet coke. Knowing that the coupon did not include chips, I had my wife bring an apple for me.
At the checkout, I asked if this Subway restaurant had specials after 5 p.m., like most Subways. Unfortunately, they said no, so I will have to go to another Subway for dinner.
I ate the apple first, then I ate the ultra-tasteless sub. Apparently, "oven-roasted" meant boiled, because that was the only way this chicken was cooked as far as I could tell. I'm sitting on a bench near the Capitol, and while I eat, everyone around me is eating foods that look and smell way better. Also while I eat, I ponder if I tried the "Super Size Me" diet at McDonald's for one week, could I lose all that weight via the Subway diet the following week?
Lunch statistics: 355 total calories, 5 grams fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat.
12:15 p.m. - My stomach feels a little funny, probably because for the first time in a long time, I eat a meal with fruit, vegetables and no sauce/seasoning.
2:35 p.m. - Dammit, I'm starting to feel hungry again. Time for some more water.
5:30 p.m. - I can't believe I made it to this point--I'm sooo hungry! I drive to the Subway on Park Street; this restaurant also does not have specials after 5 p.m.
I order a foot-long roast beef on Italian with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers and jalepenos. I take it home and eat it with a 12-oz. glass of skim milk.
Dinner statistics: 580 calories (sub) + 120 calories (milk) = 700 calories, 10 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat.
I guess I'm done for the day!
Monday's statistics: 1,055 calories, 15 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat.
Not bad, I'd say. By comparison, the KFC Variety Big Box Meal I ate for lunch last Saturday was 1,325 calories.
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