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Awesome – Boy was I glad I went. Check this out.

More cool stuff about Seoul


We’ve been here almost a week – and I’m still amazed at the stuff I see/hear/do here in Seoul. This is one incredible city. In fact – I’m beginning to think that it rates right up there with Laos for coolest place to visit. There are great museums, wonderful parks, excellent shopping, and friendly people. What’s not to love?

And it’s easy on the tourist. The food is great, the place is clean – there are lots of toilets – and no you don’t have to stay in hostels – there are lots of very fancy hotels if that is what makes you happy. And the shopping is so good – we’ve run into tons of Japanese who come here just for that.

Anyway – enough of the Seoul travel agent – here’s a list of some more cool stuff about Seoul.

1. There’s music on the metro. They use different tunes at each station to announce an incoming train. It’s rather neat.

2. Shop keepers will sometimes give you free tastes – this lady was determined we try 2 each of her cookies – and even gave a bag full to take with. They were great for lunch – and we’ll drop back tomorrow to get some for the ‘road’.

3. I’ve mentioned before and I’ll mention again. It’s amazingly clean. We were even here on garbage day – so yes – there were piles of garbage on the street when we went to bed – but it was neatly stored in bags – and gone by morning. But it’s not the lack of garbage – it’s the lack of trash in general. People don’t drop stuff on the floor – I saw a lady on the metro turn around and dust off her seat when she got up! She was leaving and cleaning up. It’s a bit hard to find garbage cans – but it might be that I don’t recognize the pattern yet. Oh – and they are big on recycling – even in the hostels.

4. There are no sidewalks on lots of streets. The major streets have huge sidewalks that are beautifully paved (and they get snow here – pay attention Montreal) – but off the main drags – the streets are extremely narrow (one parked car, one moving car – max) – and there are no sidewalks.

5. Water filters are everywhere – hot and cold. It’s neat.

6. It’s not super common – but you will see severely bent over elder men and women. Jill thinks it’s the lack of dairy in the diet – and I have to say – I don’t see milk, yoghurt, or even cheese really. Plenty of protein, lots of fruit and veggies for sale – but diary is not that common. That said – the younger Koreans don’t seem to suffer from the problem – so it could also be from the restrictions during the Japanese occupation. Hard to tell, and of course – impossible to ask.

7. Cross walks are not at the corners on the major streets. Instead they are up a bit – about 5 car lengths. This gives cars room to get right up to the intersection – and I think makes it a lot safer for pedestrians. I’m impressed – Good idea there, Korea.

8. I knew that Cherry Blossom time would be done when we got here – but no one warned me about the Azalea Season. The flowers are simply outstanding. I’ve attached on of my favorite shots – Jill in front of a Japanese maple (red leaves) and a flowering Azalea. It doesn’t get close to capturing the size of the azalea bushes – they can be easily house size – but it does capture the wealth of color.

9. Last but not least – no one ever mentioned Rush Hour. The term ‘Moving against the Tide’ so richly describes the impact of attempting to get to a metro car just as the car has arrived at the station. The flood of humanity that leaves the cars has to be seen to be believed. There is literally nothing you can do but put your back to a wall and wait. Once the flood passes – you can continue moving forward. I’ve been in Japan and seen rush hour there – and I’m telling you. This is impressive.

So that’s it for now – after we visit the DMZ tomorrow – we head out of Seoul for the country side. I’m sure there are more surprises in store.

Signing off – The Soup Lady and her side-kick – the Intrepid Traveller.

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DMZ – Scarier than you’d think…


As a tourist in South Korea – you can’t miss going to the DMZ – and apparently that’s true for Korean school kids as well! We were told that there are 800,000 visitors a year to the DMZ – about 70,000 of whom also visit the JSA (Joint Security Area). Naturally – I opted to do both, and the Intrepid traveller didn’t put up a fuss. She’s a history person – so seeing the DMZ was high on her list too.

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Some surprising facts – 1 out of 100 of South Korea’s population of 50 million serves in the army – and 21 months of service is mandatory for all men. Generally, men do their service between their sophomore and junior years of college – and as our informant told us – leave as kids and come back as adults. In North Korea (as explained by Grace, our lovely English South Korean Guide), the numbers are very different. 1 in 25 of North Koreans are in the military (1 million out of a population of 25 million), and men must serve for 10 years. Women serve for only 7. But they are serving between the ages of 17 and 27 – prime child rearing age – which in my book goes a long way towards explaining the smaller population in North Korea.

Back to the DMZ.

Our trip started in Seoul. After a passport check (you have your passport – good), and a clothing check (no pseudo military looks allowed – and no nose rings), we headed up Highway 1 along the Han River – the 2nd longest river in Korea. The river is considered a favorite infiltration point for North Korean Spies – and is completely fortified. Every 50 yards there is a guard station, manned and armed of course, and there are frequent patrols. There is even a system of flag turning that is used by one patrol to another to clearly keep track of who has passed most recently. Given that the river is extremely wide and that there are rice paddies between the observation posts and the river itself, survaliance must be a challenge. But they take it seriously none-the-less.

I think it’s pretty important to mention here that there are have been very few incidents since the war ended in 1953 – that’s 60 years ago! During the cold war – the North Koreans built at least 4 infiltration tunnels – we’re going to visit tunnel #3 today – and there was a debate that turned bloody over a popular tree in the 1970’s.

And this entire complex was built in the days of tank warefare. Today consider the uselessness of the idea of a DMZ – A single missle launched from any where in North Korea could take out Seoul. What’s the point of 4 km of space between 2 countries at war?

Some more facts – From 2000 to 2008 – the time of warmest relationships – the South Korean’s – hoping for reconciliation like that of East and West Germany, built a railroad station just south of the DMZ – and in North Korea built 132 factories. Employees were selected by the North Korean government, and given princely wages of over $200 a month. Primo salaries by North Korean standards. These factories were employing 50,000 North Korean workers until just 30 days ago – when they were shut down due to rising tensions.

Speaking of rising tensions – you wouldn’t even know there was a DMZ – let alone rising tension in Seoul. Even our guides – when directly asked – said it’s just hot air and posturing. Apparently despite the desperate press in our country – the South Korean’s think this is all just a lot of bad-smelling wind. (you know what word I’d be typing – right?)

Anyway – back to the fortifications. Once you get close to the DMZ – you can see some of the steps that have been taken in case North Korea does decide to attack. There are dynamited tank traps, mine fields, double rows of barbed wire, manned observation posts, and the like. On the DMZ tour – we visited 4 areas – First up was Imjingak park (part amusement park with kiddie rides, part memorial to lost Korean lives, part moving plea to Re-Unification) near the freedom bridge – where the exchanges of prisoners have happened in the past. From there we boarded different buses that were authorized (and I’m guessing – inspected) to enter the Civilian Control Zone – which is 2 km beyond the DMZ, which is 2 km from the line dividing the 2 countries. This distinction is important – only the JSA tour actually crosses into the DMZ – the more popular, and cheaper by far, DMZ tours do not cross into the DMZ – they just go pass the Civilian Control Points. I didn’t actually know this prior to making our arrangements – and it’s not clear in the marketing materials – so buyer beware.

2nd stop was the Dorasan Station – the railway station renovated in 2000-2002 and dedicated by George W. Bush. The South Koreans hope that someday this station will be the start of the trans-Siberian Railroad. If they can convince North Korea to build the missing track. Until a month ago – it was the staging area for materials coming from the factories built by South Korea in North Korea, unfortunately now both the factories and staging areas are empty. Oh well.

3rd stop was the Dora Observatory. I particularly liked the 3D map of the area with the locations shown under a huge glass window that looked out over the DMZ and into North Korea. You could clearly see the ‘fake’ village on the Northern side with its giant 170 meter (that’s 510 feet) tall flag pole, and the counter point of the populated village on the South side with its 100 meter (that 300 feet) tall flagpole. There were binoculars like you see on tall building all along the wall – and through these you could see people working in the fields in the North. You could see the buildings of the Industrial area – but of course there were no people there. According to our guide – the military can see 27 km into North Korea from this location.

Curiously – we were not allowed to take pictures. There was a yellow line about 20 feet from the edge – and if you lifted a camera beyond that line – they confiscated your sim card or film. That pretty much convinced everyone to not take pictures.

4th stop was the most interesting, and I agree with other reviewers – you don’t want to miss this. It’s the site of the Third Tunnel (discovered in 1978) – and on the left is a movie theatre and an exhibit hall. To the right is the entrance to the Third infiltration Tunnel. The movie was a professional overview of the DMZ – in English. If you wanted to listen in Korean (or any other language) you needed head phones. After the movie, there was the exhibit hall – which Grace rushed us through to be sure there would be enough time to walk the 350 meters down to the tunnel – then the 270 meters of tunnel open to the public – and then the 350 meters back up. Jill opted to stay out of the tunnel – but I gamely put on a hard hat and began the walk. The entrance to the tunnel is wide and easy walking, just highly graded. So down, down, down to the level of the tunnel I went. Not the fastest walker, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that I arrived last – just after Grace finished her introduction speech. But the advantage was mine. Since I was last to arrive – I was first to enter the actual tunnel – and thus had the very best view at the end. Grace pointed out that we were finally in the DMZ – albeit underground. The tunnel starts in North Korea – goes under the demarkation line, and 3/4 of the way across the DMZ. It ends just 52 km from Seoul – and easy hour drive for a tank.

The tunnel built by the North Koreans is apparently 1.3 km long, and roughly 2 m (6 feet) wide and 2 m (6 feet) tall. But to add ventilation, the South Koreans have added pipes and bracing – so the effective height is under 5’6″ – and I’m just 5’4″ and hit my hard hat – hard – twice.

Tall guys beware – you are going to be walking bent over!

According to Grace – South Koreans are sure that there are more tunnels – but they have only found 4. In this one, the North Koreans had painted black lines – and later claimed that the tunnel was drilled to mine coal. No one believed them of course.

I exit the tunnel eventually – and walk past a group of about 50 Korean eight year olds – quietly (NOT) waiting their turn. Our timing was perfect – just imagine being trapped in a 4 foot wide tunnel with 50 screaming kids. But there’s a problem – Jill is nowhere to be seen. Grace refuses to let me look for her (guess she didn’t want 2 lost little old ladies) and she leaves to search the rest room and gift shop. I finally tell her that Jill is much more likely to be in the exhibit hall – and she has me make an announcement. “Jill Guedon – your bus is leaving” – sure enough Jill had been in the exhibit area chatting up Korean veterans that had come to the DMZ for a re-union. They observed that while there are very few US veterans of Korea still alive, there are many more Korean Veterans. This they felt was due to the much healthier diet of the Koreans.

Tour group now complete – we get back on the bus and retrace our steps to the Imjingak Park. From there, Jill and I are dropped off at a very touristy restaurant for a not great lunch of Bulgogi, and then our 2nd tour gets started. Our leader this time is Gina – and the group is much larger – around 20. But this time we are going into the DMZ – and all the way to the demarkation line in the JSA (Joint Security Area). This is the ONLY place that Civilians – or even Officials from either country can legally enter. It is the only neutral area of the entire DMZ.

We again enter the Civilian Control Zone, and proceed past the observation point to Camp Boniface. This is the UN military camp that provides soldiers to the JSA. We have to fill in forms (the UN is not responsible if we’re injured – we’re entering a military zone and know it, that kind of thing), and wait. We must be assigned a solider to guide us, and we must be led into and out of the JSA by a miliary vehicle. And the timing of these is totally up to the powers that be at Camp Boniface. Meanwhile we get to watch 2 helicopters land and ‘deplane’ a general or two, and we see the soldiers practicing with hand-held rocket launchers. Really reminds you that this is, in fact, a war zone.

Assigned our guide – we drive past the gates, around the various barriers, and up into the camp proper. There is a building there, very modern, with a theatre and a gift shop, plus bathrooms with bidets built-in. Very nice. Gina gives us a quick briefing of what we’ll be seeing, reminding us of the incidences that have occurred (all 2 of them), and warning us that we will see North Korean soldiers. We are not allowed to wave at them, gesture at them, even speak to them. This is strictly off-limits. We can take pictures only when permitted to do so – and that puts all of the DMZ between us and the JSA off-limits. We can not point our cameras towards ‘our’ side – only towards their side. I ask why – and am told – them’s the rules.

It’s hard to defend the JSA – it’s even hard to explain it. I’ve been there – and I’m not sure I totally understand the point. As far as I can figure – the current situation is that North Korean can not go any closer to the line that divides the 2 countries than 2 km – except in the JSA. And the same is true of South Koreans. Even in the JSA – there is only one building (its the size of a double wide mobile home – and painted bright blue) that ‘crosses’ the line – and if a group from North Korea is in the building, the door on the South is locked. If a group from South Korea is in the building, the door to the North is locked. When we were inside – there were 2 guards on duty – one guarding the door to the north, one standing at attention along the line of demarkation. That line is indicated by a line of microphone stations on an oak conference table.

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This room is very sad. A conference room where no one meets to talk. Where one side is locked out at all times. Visited only by tourists with cameras under heavy guard.

There is one North Korean – with binoculars watching us from the front of their building. According to Gina – there might be more soldiers inside – but we can not see them. On the South Side – there are soldiers watching the North side to be sure nothing happens to us. So our pictures are just of their backs. There are UN forces, there are ROK (Republic of Korea) forces, and there are MP’s. It’s all very very proper.

We enter ‘Freedom’ House – which is the one place that crosses into North Korea, and are allowed to take pictures. We then form 2 lines, and march back onto South Korean soil where we are allowed to take pictures of the guy watching us.

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From there – it’s back to the bus. We stop twice more – at the sites of the 2 ‘incidences’ – and then there are no more pictures until we are back at the Gift shop.

My feelings – these guys are armed – and stand all day facing down an enemy that is also armed. They all wear sunglasses – even at night – so that eye contact can not be made (that was determined to be too dangerous). They take their jobs very seriously – although according to our guide – a large part of their job these days is to find and de-fuse all the land mind that were planted in the DMZ – over 90% of which have not been found.

It is a very sad place. I’m personally not proud of what happened here – and I can only hope, like all the South Korean’s I spoke with – that some days, some how – re-unification happens. Over 10 million families were separated when the DMZ was created. The personal agony is considerable, but the South Koreans have hope that the resolution will come in their lifetimes.

Getting Flushed in South Korea – More then enough about Seoul Toilets!


Little old ladies pay attention to Toilets – you just never know when you are going to need one – rush. So here’s the down and dirty on the toilet situation in Seoul.

In a word – it’s great. Seriously. We should take a lesson. There are toilets everywhere, even in the metros! I mean who ever designed the Montreal Metros as a toilet free zone should be eternally cursed with diarrhea – it would serve him right.

And there are always western (flushing with seats) toilets available. And at the Lotte Hotel – the public toilets even have bidet’s attached. That’s service.

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Sometimes both the stand up kind and the sit down kind are provided – but I’ve never seen just the stand-up kind in Seoul.

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And that includes in the metro, in public parks, at the Museums, in the restaurants, even in malls. Toilets are plentiful, Western Style, have Toilet paper, are clean, and are easy to locate. Amazing. And perfect for traveling ladies of a certain age!

Even better – they think about the kids.

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I know if you are a parent – you’ve had this problem. Your underage son has to pee – and you (the Mom) definitely don’t want to take him into the boy’s room. What to do? Well the Korean’s have 3 different solutions that I’ve seen so far.

Solution 1: A kids only bathroom in the lady’s room. Is this the cutest thing ever. And don’t worry – Jill wasn’t going to use them!

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Solution 2: A completely separate bathroom – labeled for families. I didn’t peak inside, but Im guessing there are miniaturized toilets for both sexes inside.

Solution 3: This cracked me up – a mini kid sized urinal in the lady’s room! The entire thing came just to my knees – prefect for a little boy – and hardly offensive to the ladies.

My discussion wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t discuss the Toilet paper. There is always toilet paper in the stalls and it is soft – a miracle I think. I’ve never been to an Asian country that took their toilets this seriously. But if the dispensers in the ‘chambers’ should run out – there is a dispenser on the wall by the entrance – you just help yourself before you enter – or ask someone to hand some over.

One tiny complaint – they put the dispenser for toilet paper a lot further back toward the rear wall then we are used to. That means you have to twist to get the paper. I don’t know if they notice the difference – but for me it’s just a bit awkward. Maybe they can get away with it because Korean women are more flexible than us. Who knows?

One more curiosity related to toilet paper – they love to use toilet paper for paper napkins on the tables of the hostels. Gross – but there you are. The cute thing – they don’t just set a roll on the table – there are dispensers that look like onions designed just for the purpose of hiding the toilet paper. Too funny. And trust me – a bit of a surprise the first time you ask for a napkin and get pointed to an onion.

Good job Korea! You win the Montreal Madame’s seal of Approval for taking public toiletting seriously!

12 Unexpected (but cool) things about Seoul


1. I didn’t expect people to make a fuss about The Intrepid Traveler and myself. I mean people are constantly coming up to us – asking if we need directions, if we know where we are going, asking where we are from. We finally figured out that the issue is that we’re alone. No tour group. I gather that ladies of a certain age (ok – over 65) – just don’t wander the streets of Seoul alone. It’s not that we’re in danger – it’s amazement that we are the kinda folks that would do that.

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2. I didn’t expect there to be so few ‘North American’s’. In the Namu – our adorable hostel, there are no other North Americans. There is one guy from Edinburgh, (you are not allowed to call him English) – all the other folks are Asian or Indonesian. Interesting eh? We were waiting for a light in the Financial District – Downtown Seoul, and standing in a crowd of 30 to 40 people. Only one other person was Caucasian, and I didn’t ask where he came from.

3. I didn’t expect all the help. We went to a Korean BBQ restaurant – and they literally fed us. They spoke no English, we speak no Korean – so they gave up trying to explain how to cook the food – and did it all for us. That and wait on all the other tables. They even had to demonstrate how to take the leaves they gave us and wrap the cooked meat in them – my favorite – Mint leaves I think. And the BBQ sauce was yummy. Actually – the meal was Delicious – and would have been 5 stars if I hadn’t felt a bit like a 5 year old learning to eat!

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4. I didn’t expect everyone to be busy. In most of the other countries we’ve visited – there are always groups of people, generally male, just hanging around. Playing board games, smoking cigarettes, lounging here or there. But not in Seoul. Everyone – from 2 years old to 81 (we asked – he told us) is busy, busy, busy.

5. I didn’t expect all the food stalls. I think I should have – in Bangkok – that was one of the things I most remember. But here they take it to an entirely different level. We have seen Fish counters – with ice chests full of fresh fish – set up on the shopping street around the corner. The gal doesn’t lack for customers either. Trucks drive along playing songs and selling food – right off the truck. We saw a chain of street stalls – vendors wearing identical uniforms (beige jackets – cute hats) and pushing carts with bottles of yogurt and milk. And there is the cooked food. In many cases – they actually cook to order while you wait. Fried dough, sauteed fish, I saw one cart that had deep firers with fish on skewers. You ordered a skewer – he dunked it into the firer for you. Now that’s cooked to order. We even spotted a lady with a machine for making creme filled Doughnuts while you waited. I even saw an ‘Expresso’ Van, a Coffee House on wheels.

6. Speaking of coffee – I totally didn’t expect all the coffee houses. Reviews from a year or so ago mentioned the challenge of getting coffee in the morning – while not any more. There is at least one coffee shop a block – a smattering of Dunkin Doughnuts and Starbucks (we export the best, eh?), but mostly clearly Korean owned and operated. Signs that say ‘Best Standing Coffee’, ‘Coffee by Stand and Drip’, ‘Coffee and Bean’ speak to local control and sign making. And they are expensive – signs outside announce prices in the 2500 to 4000 Won ($2.50 to $4.00) range – pricey even by our standards.

7. I am intrigued by the gender roles. In our guest house – the cleaner is the male host – he washed the dishes and vacuumed the floors. The guides at the museums are all women, the waitresses all female, the cooks all male. I don’t know if I’m drawing a conclusion based on insufficient observation or not – but it does appear that while everyone is super busy – there are assumed roles.

8. Did you know that Koreans take off their shoes when they walk into a house, a restaurant, etc.? All the traditional places, including our guest house, provided a space for you to put your shoes before you enter the house. I’m really glad I brought my Slippers. And I went out and bought seriously cute socks to put on if I don’t feel like carrying my slippers.

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9. All (99.5% at least) of the women wear long sleeves. Now it’s fairly cool in May here – 70 degrees during the day – but the school girls are all wearing long sleeve shirts – and short short short skirts. So it’s not the weather. Even walking around downtown, we never saw a woman’s elbows. Beautiful suits, drappy skirts with uneven hemlines, plenty of short skirts with or without tights underneath – super nice fashion – but always long sleeves.

10. I didn’t expect all the English in the Museums – and the audio tours have been fantastic. All the museums and Palaces we’ve toured so far have English signs on many of the displays – and they all offered an audio tour – sometimes free. These were excellent. And they clearly post the times of English tours. We’ve taken 2 – once was just us – another was with about 20 other people – from a tour group of course. But not a ‘North American’ tour group – They were clearly Asian. So the languages here seem to be Korean – and English. I have seen signs in Chinese and Japanese – it’s easy to tell which are Korean – but always there is English.

11. The cars are amazing – not just the number of them for a city with tiny roads and NO parking – but the size. The two biggest brands are not surprisingly Hundai and Kia – but there are BMW – 7 series no less – and SUV’s. I mean there is no parking. None. People put cars everywhere – if there are rules – I couldn’t figure them out – it’s amazing. Very few bikes, not many motorcycles – just cars and buses everywhere.

12. The metro system is wonderful. It’s modern – there are elevators at every station – there are signs in English – the exits are numbered – and put on the maps – so it’s easy to figure out where you will be when you take exit 5 for example. Just Outstanding. Montreal – take a lesson. Interestingly – there is a wall of glass doors between you and the metro cars. When the metro arrives – the doors on the train line up with the doors on the station – and they both open. It’s rather like the subways in the airports. I know there is talk of doing something similar in Montreal – and frankly – I think it’s a good idea.

Ok – that’s enough cool stuff for one Post. Tomorrow I’ll continue with more cool things I’ve discovered about South Korea.

Signing off – The Soup lady and the Intrepid Traveler.
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Fried Oysters at the Oyster Shell – Oh My!


Confession – up until last night, the best fried oysters I’d ever had were in New Orleans – and I’ve spent years trying to find fried oysters like those – plump, juicy, slightly salty, and totally no fishy flavor.

My husband, knowing my desire to try some fried oysters here in Florida, carefully picked out the Oyster Shell because other reviewers really liked it – not because it won awards, not because it was well located, not because it was large, not because of the classy view – but because it had some of the most consistent good reviews of all the seafood restaurants in Fort Myers. And he picked a winner.

Don’t be surprised by the location. The Oyster Shell is a truly for locals only – there are probably no more than 6 tables – and only one chef and one waitress. But between them – they got the job done.

And the oysters at The Oyster Shell truly impressed me. Really some of the best I’ve ever ever had. So good I ate way too many of them – so reader alert – portions are huge – go small and consider sharing. Which explains why I not only had my oysters – I got a whole soft shell crab to myself. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

Quick note about freshness – they were out of Grouper the night we ate there – why – because the chef wasn’t pleased with the quality the fisherman had brought him that day. So rather than serve fish below his standard – the waitress had to carefully explain to all the dinners that there was no Grouper. Impressive.

Also impressive – the pecan pie. It was delicious – a fabulous combination of light crust, sweet filling, and tons of pecans. Oh – I do so love a good pecan pie and this one didn’t disappoint.

Definitely a winner among so many losers here in Florida. Check it out.

Oyster Shell on Urbanspoon

Oyster Shell the on Foodio54

Best new wine – Ever!


Best new wine – Ever!

A single glass of this new wine could mean a peaceful, uninterrupted night’s sleep. New wine for Seniors, I kid you not!

Clare Valley vintner in South Australia, which primarily produce Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Grigio wines, have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic. It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night. The new wine will be marketed as

PINO MORE

Life in a Double Wide – Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!


Some of our best friends bought into a ’55+’ community in Florida called the Brookridge Golf Community – 2500 double wides strategiclly located around a club house – an 18 house golf course – and a huge swimming pool.

And we dropped by for a visit.

Confession – while I’ve been in moblie homes before – generally at country fairs where it’s popular to set up a visitation center, I’ve never been inside a double wide. In fact, I’m not sure I knew before today what the difference was between a moble home and a double wide.

Well – I’m here to tell you – there’s a ton of difference. A double wide is a whole lot nicer and has a lot more potential than the fanciest moblie home I ever saw. Its actually really large and open inside. There’s a full size kitchen – and in my friend’s case – an island in the middle for prep work, there’s a very large, very open living room, with a proper media center (a 47″ flat screen TV for starters), 2 full sized bedrooms, 2 reasonably sized bathrooms, and 2 oversized walk in closets. In the master bedroom – which stretched across the entire width, the walk in closet even had his and her sides.

And with this comes a lani or florida room, a garage for 2 golf carts (you need 2 golf carts – this place was huge), and a covered car port.

There’s not a lot of land per home – which means little mowing or gardening, but you aren’t too close to the neigbors either. And the gated development on the whole has lots of green space with fully matured trees. Many of the streets are actually divided parkways.

The community offerings were wonderful. In addition to golf (of course) there is line dancing, arts and crafts, an RV club, even a drama group. In a community of 2500 homes – there’s a ton of variety of owners and ample opportunities to find friends. A monthly magazine is required to keep everyone up to date.

I have to admit to a touch of envy. I don’t know my neighbors – and they knew people on every corner. We even played a few holes of golf (they played – we watched) and ran into some of their buddies.

As my friend said – you have to think of it as a house on a lake – without the lake. I loved it.

Pretty cool. Next time you are doing the open house tour thing – Check out the double wides. You will be amazed.

El Gaucho Inca – Awesomely good – and they know it! (Fort Myers, Florida)


We ‘googled’ Best Seafood in Fort Myers – and the top restaurant according to Urbanspoon, Yelp – and Tripadvisor was a place called ‘El Gaucho Inca’. Interesting – the best restaurant isn’t a chain, it isn’t fancy, it isn’t expensive, it isn’t even well located. Sounds like my kind of place.

So we called to make reservations – and got told – we don’t take reservations after asking our name and phone number. Is that odd or what? But at least that meant we didn’t have to rush off the beach to get there. And given the distance from the beach (an over 35 minute drive) – that totally worked.

Location – it’s in a strip mall (no surprise there) – in what can be kindly called a residential area. Personally – I think it’s in the sticks – but you can call it what you want – this is not downtown. The current space is tiny – seating for just over 100 people – max. But the super friendly Peruvian waitress told us that they are moving in just 2 weeks to a larger location in the same strip mall – doubling their seating capacity to over 200.

Just a thought on this plan – can the chef keep up with twice as many diners? I’m thinking not without help from at least a couple of sous-chefs. Which will make for a different dining experience. Just a mutter there.

Our dinner was very very good. As other reviewers have said – the dipping sauce for the bread – a startling green – was positively yummy. We cleaned the bowl – and would have licked it if we’d been at home.

For appetizers we ordered the Conchitas a la Parmesan – it was amazingly good. Perfectly cooked Scallops served on the half shell with a three cheese melt on top. I ate every bite. I never eat every bit – just saying. My husband’s appetizer, while way too large – was equally delicious. It was the Ceviche del Inca – a trio of Ceviche – fish, shrimp and squid. He was offered a choice of spice level – and opted for medium. Plenty spicy for me I’ll tell you. I loved the fish ceviche – liked the shrimp version, and thought the squid was a tad on the chewy side. But the amount of flavor packed into each bowl was memorable. I really loved the two types of corn used as ‘decoration’. Surrounding the bowls were crispy corn nuts, and stuck on toothpicks were Latino corn nibblets that had been steamed. Definitely a winner – but reminder to self – next time just stick to the Fish Ceviche – less money and the better bet,

For main courses – I thought mine was far better than my husbands – and his was very good. When I was in Argentina several years ago – a butcher explained how they cut their meat – starting with a side of beef. I mention this because they use a completely different system, and the cutting changes the way the meat tastes. I ordered the ‘beef ribs’ after the waitress explained that the chef gets his meat flown in from Argentina. That meant that the cut would be the traditional one – and it was. And it was delicious. So unique.

My husband had the Pescado a lo Macho. At $16.99 – his one complaint was that the portion was too large. The poached fish was in a sauce very similar to that of butter chicken with lots of tomato and cream. There were mounds of shrimp and squid on top of the fish along with 3 delicious black mussels. For a starch, they added plain white rice. He ordered a side of pan-fried sweet plantains that were the best I’ve tasted in a long time.

For dessert we got the Peruvian Fruit cake – which other reviewers have loved, but I thought was overly sweet. I also ordered one of their Peruvian style cookies – which i adored. It was very similar to the Christmas Crescent Cookies our German friend used to make, a soft dough with a filling of dulce de leche and covered with powdered white sugar. A completely delicious way to end a very yummy meal.

El Gaucho Inca on Urbanspoon

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Hard 8 is the Best BBQ ever – Bad news – it’s in Dallas Texas!


You arrive in a strange city – and you are hungry. How do you find a great place to eat? Frommers? Fodor? Insight? My problem with guides is simple – they are by default dated. The reviewer went there – liked it – left, reviewed it, than a year – or more – later, it got published.

Zaggat, Yelp and Urbanspoon – which are on-line restaurant review sites are much better – but somehow – I always forget to check before I leave – and then arrive without internet access.

My go-to solution – ask a local. And my 2 favorite places to find those locals are either at gas stations (hey – gas station attendant have to eat too), or at the car rental counter. Actually – I prefer to ask the guy giving me the car. More often than not – I get good advice. And this time – the advice was amazing.

We’d just arrived in Dallas, TX – and it was lunch time. BBQ sprang to mind. Our question was – best BBQ that is not a chain. We’d rented thru Enterprise (Hi back at you guys) and the efficient Enterprise agent thought for a second – then asked if we wanted fancy. When the answer was no – we just wanted awesome BBQ – he said – Hard 8. He even ‘text’d’ the address to my husband’s cell phone. Now that’s service.

We followed the GPS to what must easily be the best BBQ I’ve ever enjoyed. We knew we were in the right place when we saw that the line stretched out the door!

Hard 8 is in a huge building – about 40% of which is devoted to the BBQ pits, and the smokers. You stand in line until you get your turn in front of the open-pit and are faced with a simply mouth-watering display of BBQ offerings. Signs everywhere warn against ordering too much – but the free taste of bacon wrapped BBQ chicken with a jalapeno Pepper put us in the mood for food.

Everything is cut and sliced to order – so you want Brisket? The pit boss will gesture at the brisket – and chop until you stay stop. Ribs? How many do you think you can eat. The only things not sold by the pound beside the roasted and steamed whole corn on the cab – were the BBQ chicken (1/2 or whole) and the pork chop. Both looked completely yummy – but I wanted ribs.

Of the 3 of us – my grand-daughter took the prize for restraint, just ordering some slices of home spiced and home smoked Kielbasa. I got ribs, my husband got carried away and ordered a bit of almost everything, from brisket to a sirloin kebab. They weighed our choices – then pointed us into the restaurant itself to get drinks, dessert, and add-on’s like mac and cheese or sweet corn with jalapeno’s.

From there – it’s on into the dining room. Well – dining room is a bit generous. More of a cross between a bar and a barn – with a huge heated ‘patio’. Tables are ‘the share with your neighbor’ variety – and on each section are rolls and rolls of paper towels – which speak to the messy nature of eating proper Texas BBQ.

There’s a boiling pot of ‘all you can eat’ beans, more BBQ sauce in case you feel the need – and stacks and stacks of to-go boxes. Yup – we probably aren’t the first – or last – that order too much!

I totally adored my ribs – and ate 2 of them – plus all my grand-daughters Kielbasa. She ate the rest of my ribs – and then gobbled up her share of the brisket that my husband got.The Mac and Cheese wasn’t great – but what were we thinking to even order it. I can’t say I liked the Kebab at all – but again – what were we thinking to order it in the first place.

The creamed sweet corn with Jalapeno was not particularly spicy – but it was sweet. Not nearly at the same – you MUST eat this – level as the ribs, bacon wrapped chicken or the Brisket, but very interesting.

How good was the ‘Hard 8’ – well – my husband is planning on going back today. Yes – that good.

So – if you find yourself in Dallas – and craving a no frills BBQ pit dinner – Hard 8 has definitely got you covered.

Hard Eight BBQ on Urbanspoon

Hard 8 BBQ on Foodio54

Closer – Not for kiddies – but so very good


Saw a fantastic piece of Theatre at Mainline last night – and best of all – it’s on until the 27th of April. Plenty of time to get tickets. And you definitely want to see this one.

http://www.mainlinetheatre.ca/en/spectacles/closer

I generally enjoy the productions that happen at Mainline. Put on by tiny, yet professional companies that have a creative itch they must scratch – the plays are interesting, well rehearsed, and well produced. “Closer” (as in getting closer) is no exception. The story line – that of 4 people (2 men, 2 women) who meet, become lovers, find out information about each other that disappoints, and try again – is intensely disturbing, profoundly interestingly, well-presented and very well performed.

There’s a scene of an on-line ‘date’ that is extremely funny – particularly for the older generation (like me!). Karine Kerr – who plays the part of the stripper Alice – is strikingly beautiful, and while she never strips completely, she does strike the pose – and hold it extremely convincingly. I also found the 2 men very appealing, Alex Gravenstein is so attractively scruffy as Dr. Larry it’s hard not to want to reach out and ruffle his curly hair.

My complaints are very minor – I dearly wish that the ‘professional’ photographer had used a more appropriate camera. The one she uses is a joke – and for anyone with knowledge of photography, very distracting. No professional would use a camera like that, finding one that fit the role better surely wasn’t that hard. And I was rather alarmed at the very distinct lack of audience. I’ve never ever seen Mainline so empty – granted it was only the 2nd night, but still. This is a very good play – why weren’t there more people there to enjoy it?

And I have one caution – the topic revolves around sex – and while you don’t ‘see’ any – there are lots of pretty descriptive sections. So don’t bring your pruddish cap – come open-minded and you will truly enjoy yourself.