Tuesday in Frankfurt!

What a busy few days! Where did I leave off? That's right - I need to fill you in on Sunday through today...

Sunday, as I mentioned previously, was our All American Funday Sunday Grill Out! Our menu was:
Drumsticks
Steak (from the Turkish Butcher)
Mashed Potatoes (with butter milk garlic and chives)
Spinach (Brittany's famous overly garlic spinach)
salad
Vla (yep - that is the name of the yummiest pudding/icecream/yogurt concoction known to man - or at least to the Dutch peoples)

So we started cooking/grilling around 130ish and ate about an hour later outside on the deck...all of the food was super yummy - but I did hear the word Garlic alot...and we literally all had to brush our teeth after dinner...I saw seconds being dished out on the plates so im confident everyone enjoyed the meal!

Then we went to the town where S went to undergrad...looks like it was a fun place to go to school...I mean not as fun as FSU but pretty close...and I heard hilarious stories about S trying to get fresh bread at 4am because he could smell the baker's smells from his house...funny and perfectly in character for the S I know! Then we went to the Casino...and may I saw a Casino in Holland smells much better than a Casino in Vegas...reason number 1 - you cant smoke inside in Holland whereas in Vegas you are free to do whatever...so automatically I liked this Casino. As you know I don't gamble cause I can't stand not winning...but Steven started me helping him and then I sorta got good at it! On one slot machine we were up 40 euros (or around there) and then we went to Roulette - we did pretty good there and won either 20 or 40 euros there...at one point I was like "Steven, I have a gut feeling - trust me" ...and being the great man that he is...he trusted me to put our bet on one number in roulette and that is all we played...now as he was explaining to me this is just about the worst thing you can do because the odds of winning are next to nothing - but if you do win then you win big...

Yes...

We won! Lucky number 19 won us 72 Euros on one play! so from one euro to seventy two euros! pretty cool!

...and yes...we kept playing and then I was cocky and we ended up leaving ahead but not quite as ahead...hilariously fun and entertaining! Marrit ended up about 20 euros up I think - not too bad either! S's parents didn't speak of their not so big winnings so that remains a mystery forever more! (aka We are pretty sure they didnt win lol)

Then Monday morning we woke up super early...PS we have been sleeping to around 10ish everyday...oh so heavenly! ...and went to the train station to leave for Frankfurt. I had so much fun in Deventer it was sorta sad to leave...But Frankfurt is proving to be awesome, too! We first got in to the city and checked in to our hotel...it is a 4 star hotel but in Europe everything is smaller...so its sorta like a room on a cruise ship...again - the fact we still like each other must mean we really like each other because I'm pretty sure at any place in the room we can still reach out and touch the other one...it is pretty small! ...oh and get this...my American self cant even order room service beacuse they dont have it?!?! What is this about...y'all know I always order room service... I love hot chocolate in bed!

But anywho...

Monday afternoon we went to the IMEX conference - that is the conference Steven is here to participate in...and let me tell you it is HUGE! Take the Chicago International Quilt Festival and multiply it by 4 and you get how big this is...yes I filmed it so I will be able to share it...I was just blown away by how impressive the Visit Florida and all the other countries/states booths were. Steven made sure everything was set up right - I wandered around looking at everyone else setting up - pretty fun to do! And then we went to the supermarket to get snacks and drinks for the guests who come to his booth...again a funny moment was pushing a grocery cart through a ginourmous (yes i made that word up) conference center...so all is well and this morning he starts the conference with everything ready to go...

Then we went back to our minihotel and showered and changed for dinner. We went to this awesome place in the city center - the old district - and had Jagersnitzel and Bratwurst - both super traditional meat and potato meals from Germany - and they were heavenly. yes, I filmed our food, too! We enjoyed a little beverage and just sat for several hours talking and also planning BoLo Bash! We had a great time out there just hanging out - the waitress was super nice - a true German lady who is straight to the point - sorta like a brown haired Gerda from down the street. LOL! Then we went back to our hotel and we met Elke (elk-a) a lady from the UK Visit Florida office who works out of Holland and is here to help with the conference. Steven probably wont do this conference next year since it is 1. cheaper to send someone by train through Europe than by plane from America and 2. because he has tons of other responsibilities at work that have been added so he just doesnt have the time to plan it all. So this lady is sorta training this year under Steven so she can make it happen next year...I will say though, if our states tourism is riding on the person selling the state then personality is WAY important...and this lady just doesn't quite have it...You have to be fun to sell Florida and I think she may not cut it...and she has only been to florida once...that is like me trying to sell the state of utah...been there once and only in the airport...

So now I am up wayyyyyyyy early this morning - can't sleep - thinking about all the work I need to do for Love Consulting - so I have been awake and working since 6am! Wild...poor S is just a snoring away sleeping...I took an hour nap before dinner yesterday, though and naps always make me not sleep well...

So we are still loving our trip and having fun! I'll post more later!

Love you!
B