May 2005 Archives

Since 1929, Harry's Bar has been a popular watering hole and elegant eatery for writers, artists, celebrities, and aristocrats. It's most famous patron was Hemingway. Now while I don't consider myself a great fan of "Papa" and I'm not exactly known for my exotic palette, I'd say I was both interested and excited at the prospect of eating at one Venice's swankier restaurants that had a literary legacy. What I did not realize was just how much I would pay for the experience, fiscally and physically.   The average meal at Harry's consists of an appetizer, a first course, a main course, and a dessert. I chose the Minestrone Soup which was amazing, especially considering it cost 19 euro (which is about $24 US given that 1 euro was about $1.30 US during our trip). I skipped the first course and selected a main course, the Sole Calabresi, which was 57 euro ($74 US). Total, the meal cost me the 85 euro I had in my wallet, and I had to borrow a few dollars from the other members of our group. It was embarrassing, but they were very generous.

Here's a picture of our group of fine diners outside the entrance of Harry's following our meal:

(Left to right: Tom, Barbara, Beth, Dakota, Jill, and me)

So tonight I had dinner celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the Iguana Cantina in Waltham. While it's not unusual that I ate at the Iguana, it was a little different that I had musical entertainment:

Despite the offers to embibe one of the many wonderful Mexican beers, I resisted.

I just returned from a 9-day vacation in Italy. It was a tour with 30 people through Rome, Florence, and Venice. Here's a few photo highlights, I'll have more from each city over the next week or two.

Here I am at St. Peter's Square in Rome following our tour of the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's.