Bavaria

Last week I was fortunate enough to take my first trip to Europe.  It was a too quick, four day experience in Munich, Germany with a lot of work and a little bit of play!  I loved every bit of it…even the work!  I saw new things, met new people, and was awed by how easy it was to navigate, communicate, and just be a part of the city.  So hear is a little glimpse into what my camera saw as I relentlessly snapped away.  By the way, this was just from the afternoon and evening of day one!

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The Strawberry Fields

After a Cracker Barrel breakfast with the husband and father-in-law, it was off to the fields for me.  A solo trip to Beechwood Farms led me to fields of deliciously ripe strawberries begging to be picked.  As soon as I stepped out of the car, that familiar sweet smell engulfed me and I was in Heaven!  The plants were so full of ripe berries that I barely had to move to fill both of my 4-quart baskets.  Seriously…Heaven!

The little strawberry pickers took a hay ride in the Lil Covered Wagon while the farm pups ran alongside.  It brought back sweet memories of my once little picker here at this same farm way back when.  It was idyllic.

I love moments like these.  Moments that are simple yet put such a good feeling in my heart and a smile on my face.  Moments that bring back memories and create new ones.

Have you gone strawberry picking lately?

Rainer’s. I love this place!

I have found a new downtown love and it goes by the name of Rainer’s.

This quirky cafe/art gallery offers fresh, delicious options for lunch, dinner, or dessert and showcases fun art from local artists and from those around the world.  Almost everything is for sale!  The chairs you sit on, the table you eat at or the paintings on the walls!  They could all be yours!  Best of all…Rainer’s is cell phone free!  You must take your calls outside!  Goodbye rude cell phone people!  I hope to see other places follow suit!

On our maiden visit, I ordered the Pesto Tomato Panini with a side of Mediterranean Pasta while the husband settled for the Cuban with a side of fresh fruit!  Yum, yum, and more yum!  Unfortunately, we did not leave room for dessert but maybe next time, say…after The Lion King at the Peace Center …maybe?

Bang Bang Cauliflower!

My recent obsession with Pinterest led me to this amazing recipe from *That’s so Michelle, a blog that has my recipe “to try” list growing! 

Bang Bang Cauliflower!  Yep…That’s right!  You know the yummy Bang Bang Shrimp from Bone Fish?  Well this is that but with cauliflower!  I swear I could eat an entire batch of this by myself and I really don’t even care for cauliflower!

The guys loved it too!  Even anti-veggie grandpa was making yum-yum noises!  Yes, yum-yum noises!  Really.

So please try this recipe.  If you don’t, you will be missing out on one of the great wonders of the world!

*Thank you Michelle for the beautiful picture of these crunchy bits of heaven!