All the Wine I Drink

All the Wine I Drink

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink, I feel shame! Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out of work, and their dreams would be shattered.Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver" — Jack Handey...
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Lebanese Cuisine: A Love Story

Lebanese Cuisine: A Love Story

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw *In the winter of 2004, I had the brilliant idea to take a trip to France.  I thought to myself, "Sure... this'll be great.  I'll go out there all alone.  I've been talking to that French guy on the Internet for the past few months... yeah, this is a good idea."Ok... so it was a little wacky.  But, my gut said that it was a good idea, even though my head was making fun of me constantly, using words like "careless" & "daft".But, hell... since when do cautious & rational have all of the fun?It was November.  The plan was set for me to spend 2 weeks in France during April of 2005.Fast forward to April in Paris.Skip ahead to me & him, in his apartment in Montmartre."I rented a car," he said.  "I thought that next week, we'd take...
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Mountain Valley Home

Mountain Valley Home

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
Most people, when they think of Estes Park, Colorado, think of The Shining. If they don't know any better, then they just assume that going to the Stanley Hotel means that they'll be staying in that swanky hotel that they saw in Kubrick's movie.Okay, this place is in Oregon, not Colorado.If one were to stay at the Stanley Hotel, what they would actually get is an overpriced room overlooking the McDonald's and the Safeway parking lot. It's there. You can see it if you squint.As tempted as we were by the grandeur of the golden arches & the wildlife milling about at Safeway, Olivier & I instead spent a night of our U.S. tour at Mountain Valley Home B&B.We came in and got comfortable... ...uh, well...really comfortable......like, Tony Montana comfortable.Then we headed down to the Tuscan Wine Room - which I'm sorry that I don't have pictures of, but it can be seen on their website.Olivier and I, along with a...
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The Bouillabaisse Binge

The Bouillabaisse Binge

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
Okay... most people are aware of the fact that the food here in France is fucking incredible. I mean, they can even make this nasty, slimy thing taste good.Naturally, if you head down south toward the Mediterranean coast, there are countless places serving seafood. Fresh seafood. Since I'm from Colorado, which happens to be a bit inland, I tend to get over-excited about eating seafood that didn't have to travel on an airplane, or that isn't being served at the Red Lobster.There is one place in La Grande Motte that my husband I & like to go to - they have an awesome bouillabaisse there. You have to order it earlier that day, or the day before because it takes that long for them to make it just for you.In case you don't know, bouillabaisse is just a type of soup that is made with different kinds of fish & shellfish.So, we get to the restaurant...we have some wine...... &...
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