Frankfurt Adventures!

I have managed to complete basically an entire tour book in only a few days! I feel so proud - and also have walked at least a million miles in the past 3 days! I have been everywhere except the zoo and locals even recognize me on the street! (more to come about that in a minute!)

Where did I leave off? That's right, I was up super early and ready to go. I had breakfast with S before he went to work - and while our hotel may be a minihotel, let me tell you, the continental breakfast blows any US breakfast out of the water! I had toast with amazingly fresh strawberry jam, eggs that tasted good, sausage, a selection of cheeses, and some yummy juice - no cheerios or luke warm milk in sight! (Note here - I am missing the milk from Holland - omg still cant get over how good the milk is in holland - trust me - not the case in Germany - not sure why but I saw lots of cows in holland and zero in germany - i believe that has something to do with it...)

Then after breakfast I got dressed and ready for the day. I started in the old square and went from there - I went in tons of old buildings and churches - saw about 15 coronation "outfits" (for some reason can't think of the proper word - there were collections of crowns and goblets and all that jazz...what is the word? Not a thrown but the cape thing kings/emperors wear...silly me I just can't think of the word...) but in any case these "cape things" were beautiful as were all the jewels on the goblets...I somehow imagine little ceremonies where they crown the emperor and they take communion...I wonder what the little wafers tasted like back then?

Oh and I filmed everything...it must be hilarious to anyone walking by me - I just walk around and talk to myself...I love it!

One cool place I went in was where the government houses their constitution...they have an exhibit set up showing the building being built and rebuilt a few times...gotta love how good a few bombing raids are for the construction industry in Europe...and they even have awarded a few nobel peace prizes in the building! And if I got the gist right from reading German and some broken English of the tour guide - the "session" meets in this building still to this day...or at least that was what I understood...I could be totally wrong...

I then had a yummy lunch out in the city center - Potato Soup and some crazy cheese with vinegar and bread...sounds weird but was SO tasty...I had the same waitress that S and I had the night before...Germans somehow lack a fun sense of humor...or maybe they just don't like Americans who listen to ipods and drink wine at lunch? who knows? But let me tell you - this outdoor patio holds maybe 50 people so I sit down at a table at the end of a row where NO ONE is sitting...about 3 minutes later 4 old ladies...I know I will get flack for saying old but they were old bitty ladies...you will see...so they sit down at the table next to me...I find it weird since there are plenty of tables open and the American way is to give people their space but I could care less at this point...but it gets better...more old ladies come to sit with them and they sit AT MY TABLE! And let me tell you - there were PLENTY of seats in the row on the otherside so they still would have been by their friends...so I was like ummmm...."would you like me to move?" and of course they dont speak English because I am sure they do not like Americans or probably even people from the UK so I just get up and say all sweet and southern like..."here, let me give you more space..." I am sure I rolled my eyes but then they all did this weird bow thing to me as if they were suddenly Japanese and thanking me...very weird moment...but in any case this is the one and only rude experience I have had on the trip...rude old ladies would probably do the same thing in the US but it just happens that I have formed a sterotype in my mind because of the German lady down the street - Gerda - who repeatedly told my mom and me that we bombed her house and it is all our fault she lives in America...Duh, my mom and I certainly didn't run the war or the raids and further more were not alive...

Off my soap box now...and on with the fun!

So I get on this awesome double decker tourist bus for an hour tour around the city...saw EVERYTHING from the banking district to the Opera house to gardens to the Stock Market building to the museum district, etc...made friends with 2 French ladies - who speaking of stereotypes - were actually completely nice...we took pictures for each other - it was a mother and daughter - MOM - we need to schedule a trip to tour the UK! back to the story - the tour was awesome because I sat in the front row on the top - popped open a nice cold Coca Cola, had my camera on, sat back and put my feet up and just chilled and checked out the sites! Loved it!

After my tour I finished off the rounds in the old district and accidently ended up in the upper east side - or west side - as I just walked and wondered around until I suddenly noticed I was lost...so I bought a Chocolate Ice Cream cone and retraced my steps round and round until I found a subway stop I recognized...I enjoyed my "lost walk" because I saw some really cool neighborhooods. (I cant help but mention an old German lady tried to skip me in line for the icecream...luckily the icecream guy liked me more than her...so I am really trying hard not to dislike old german ladies in Frankfurt but it is becoming incresingly more difficult...maybe they are just mean if they are hungry...all the rudeness comes out when they are trying to get food...)

So I find my way back and Im exhausted and have about 45 mins until S gets back to the room so I take a nap...Im officially old because I am forming a nice relationship with naps...except they make me wake up in the night...but I still like 'em!

Then we go to dinner over in the applewine district. Apple Wine is this huge phenomenon in Frankfurt...its basically cheap wine made from Apples and tastes like dishwater - it is disgusting - another reason old ladies might be grumpy...But our dinner is amazing - I say amazing alot but goodness I have had some yummy food on this trip! I had a salad that had saurkraut on it...I couldnt eat it fast enough...so tasty for someone like me that loves that tart sour taste! Then I had some sort of pork - like a pork chop sortof - with potatos - just a heavenly meal - oh and it had sauteed onions all over it...yummers! I forgot what S ate but I know when I tasted it I loved it. So at this meal while we were ordering our drinks we made friends with these 2 guys - such a cute couple - one is a graphic designer (design Club Med publications...cool!...and the other a private Chef...omg I bet he can cook) so we made friends with them and when it started to rain moved to their table (after being extended an invitation...we did not intrude like old german ladies) and they shared the umbrella with us. Fun times!

Then we went to the Cocoon Club...the convention - IMEX - hosted a big celebration at this club so we had to go... whatever we wanted to go! So this club was SO COOL inside...the walls were like Coral shaped/web like and were white and then they did super neat light shows on the walls...and they had "cocoon" seating built in to the wall..and the DJ - who looked Spanish but wore a beret - played fun 80s music from the US and German rap/techno - I loved it! S and I danced and danced...it was fun!

Then we went home cause S has to be up for work at like 8 and I have to as well so I can see all the sites!

So Wednesday...I did sleep in a wi little bit...until 10! Then I went over to the museum district...walked a lot...had a yummy lunch outside again...and then went to a few museums...so let me sum up artists for you...they do lots of drugs and somehow always have extravagent houses...this one exhibit I saw was this Expressionist exhibit of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - and he was funny messed up little man - he would see a Picasso painting (they were buddies) and then go paint one like it except date it for 2 years prior and pretend like he came up with the movement...he did this to several artists...its like people knew he was lying but he threw fun parties in Berlin so they liked him...he ended up killing himself by shooting himself twice in the heart...so apparently it was not an instant death if he had time to take 2 shots...sounds terrible...but Hitler had taken all of his artwork and included it in the "degenerative art exhibit" and make a mockery of him so when the axis forces got about 10 miles from his vacation house in the alps (see...extravagant lifestyles..not always good...) that is when he decided to kill himself...he asked his longtime "companion" - this crazy dancer lady named Erna - to kill herself too and she said no...smart lady...

I also went to the museum of communication - super cool - my favorite part is when they put the Guttenburg Bible next to the Kindle to show how far communication has progressed - all that info from a giant book can be downloaded in 60 seconds...made some videos here to put on LCG website!

Then I came home...got to the room about 10 mins before S - we took a nap - gosh we are old...and then went to dinner...had Chinese...we were too tired to go further! Then hung out at the bar planning BoLo again and then to sleep!

So today I am going to - if weather permits - do a little boat ride around the city for lunch and then go to the IMEX convention...should be fun! Then dinner tonight on the Culinary Mile and then packing...