On the Road Again

I feel like the Littlest Hobo today... "Down the road, is where I'll always be."
I'm in Vancouver right now, stop number 2, and the longest one yet. Killing time, waiting for that last flight home. I can't wait to get over with it, and have a nice hot shower.
The rest of Singapore was good. I'm already missing the heat and humidity, not looking forward to the snow and mucky mess that awaits me at home. But I will be glad to be home.
Last night we went for dinner (supper) at the Jade Palace. The food was wonderful, and the company excellent. Of the new and exciting things that I tried. Scallops, still attached to the shell (at least a new experience), and Peking Duck. Delicious! Watch for the pictures coming soon.
I also managed to squeeze a little Orchard Road shopping in before supper, even finding some cute shoes for the wedding.

O-Town

Tonight, we visited downtown Orlando. It is waaaaay different (and better!) than touristy International Drive and points beyond. I liked it way better. Ian, I saw the Orange Blossom Special comin' down the line! There is a portion of Church St., which the city is revitalizing. There is an old train station, authentic Orange Blossom Special locomotive and boxcars, and new restuarants scheduled to open soon. However, there is a little shady money business going on right now. Some local scammed about $100million from Florida residents, and ran his operation from the Church St. district. But, once its done, I think it will look pretty cool!

Not much else to say. This guy named "Shorty" toured us around the downtown, recommending restaurants. We finally chose a tex-mex place with outdoor seating. The food was pretty good, and there was live music. I thought the restaurant across the street "Slingapour" had a pretty clever name which deserves recognition.

I can't walk I ate so much.

It is 30C here every day, and I'm in a tradeshow hall during peak heat hours. Sigh. At least the evenings are pleasant.

I am most disappointed, we tried to go to Universal Studios and check out the rides, the but park closes at 7pm, as we are now in the off season. Pay $70 and you only get to ride the rides for an hour. Not worth it. but we walked around, and enjoyed that sun and heat.

Remember when I said yesterday that I am going to gain 15 pounds here... well tonight I ate the best meal I've had since my Keg steak in Toronto. Texas de Brazil is my new favourite restaurant. Veggies and starters are all served buffet style, but it was by far the most exotic and unique salad bar I've had. Tons of fine cheeses, sushi, lentils. Only 2 small bowls with lettuce. And lobster bisque.. yum... Once finished the first course, each person has a little disc; red (STOP) on one side, and green (GO) on the other. Flip it to green, and the cooks who have prepared beef, lamb and chicken on sword skewers, start lining up at your table to serve the meat portion of the meal. And wow, it was some of the best meat I've ever had. If it hadn't been too weird (as some friends have told me). I would have taken pictures of all that food.

If you ever have the opportunity to eat there, do!

Home again, home again, jiggety, jig

Whirlwind trip 2 complete, I'm safely home again.

My meeting went well yesterday. Short and to the point. I managed to spend an hour in a peaceful park, under a tree, in the sun, in +25C weather... doing work ;) Took some time during the late morning to visited the Gateway Arch, downtown. Quite an impressive structure, really. Unfortunately I did not have time to learn about it, just admire.

If you are ever in St. Louis, try the Rooster. It was a really great restaurant. Atmosphere was trendy, very downtown in feel, and the food and service are fantastic. Though famous for their crepes, I opted for a delicious sandwich.

After work hours, I met up with a friend who recently moved to St. Louis. He offered to take me around to all the cool places. First stop, Forest Park. This park (where I spent some of my afternoon working in the sun), was created in the late 1800s as a place for families to gather. Located in the park are the Zoo, the Art museum (check out Javier Mendoza, who gave a free concert there last night), History museum, a golf course and acres and acres of green space. And everything is free (except some of the parking). I'm a big fan of urban parks as a means of escaping city life, and Forest Park is perfect for that.

We then went on a tour of the trendy districts, including Delmar Loop, which is filled with great restaurants.

I have apartment envy, as my friend lives in a really cool downtown apartment with asymetric walls, a roof-top pool and games room and great views, as you can see in the above picture.

It was good evening!

I have become one of those travelers who no longer remembers when flights are, or where they go. I thought my flight home was at 11am, and planned my Saturday morning accordingly. Nope... it was at 3:15pm. We had missed going to the zoo last night, so I hopped in my rental, and headed to the zoo. What a great way to spend a Saturday. Once again, the weather was beautiful, and it was good to just be outside. According to numerous personal sources, the St. Louis Zoo is the second best zoo in the country, and it didn't disappoint.

Though a little fuzzy, this is my favourite picture. This little boy just wanted to hang with the ape man.

Verdict on St. Louis. Nice midwestern city. Big, yet its like Saskatoon, in that the pace of life is easier to manage, and people aren't jaded big-citiers.

Can she post a picture?

Let's find out. We had a totally random conversation at work about durian... the King of Fruits. Rumours have it that it smells like hell, but tastes like heaven. All I can say, sweaty, onion-juice soaked gym socks, with the consistency of soft butter. yum?

Now... Dragon fruit. Completely different story. I highly recommend its addition to fruit salad. Its a definite conversation starter in North America.