Pan

Finally, Solomon's advice in Proverbs 23:14: So, beat all the ingredients together. Rod optional.

I haven't been to Caravan of Dreams in a long time (since they canned a jazz group of friends of mine that I used to sit in with), but I think they're vegan or at least vegan-friendly. They're on 6th St. between 1st and A.

Oh, I see. I simply had no idea it meant anything.

I wouldn't even think of buying a durian so far from its source. It would be best for you to go to the east coast of Malaysia during durian season and have it there. Just keep in mind if you do get durian in the U.S. that you might want to be cautious about judging the fruit on that basis.

So "ghoti" means something other than George Bernard Shaw's spelling of "fish"?

OK, Gautam. Sounds interesting. Feel free to PM me if you like.

Malaysians use a parang to cut it, just like they do with durians, which have sharp thorns and are comparably sappy, I think.

I wonder why they don't use parangs (machetes).

I'm picking this up late. Indians don't use curry powder, except in dishes called "American." (I read on some thread in the India forum about a dish made in Delhi that called for curry powder and I think butter and was called "American Chicken.") For best results with curries, get Indian recipes and follow them. You will need individual spices such as cumin, coriander, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, cinammon, cloves, cayenne pepper, black pepper, mustard seeds, and amchoor (unripe mango, which usually comes powdered in my experience), as well as onions and garlic. They will usually be cooked in a tarka (fried in oil) in a particular order for a particular amount of time. If you want recommendations of good Indian cookbooks to start with, I can give you a link or two to threads on the India and Indian Cuisine forum, but for the time being, I can recommend Madhur Jaffrey's An Invitation to Indian Cooking.

Another thing: I don't "check off" places. When I visit a church or a museum, I spend time there and look at everything. I've never seen the point of visiting anyplace just to take a picture in front of it and go to the next place.

pedalaforte, in no way am I suggesting for someone who's visiting Florence for a limited amount of time to go to all the places I mentioned! The idea was simply to give information, so that Schielke and his bride-to-be have interesting choices. But as for staying longer than a guidebook recommends as optional for Florence, I have no idea about that but would say that my first trip to Florence lasted 10 days, and at the end of the 10 days, I could easily figure on major things to do that would last another 10 days. Now that I've spent something like 20 days in three separate trips to Florence, a lot still remains for me to see. All of which supports your main point, which is that it is both futile and inadvisable to try to see "everything." Figure on coming back.

I've been to the cubicles painted by Fra Angelico; I just don't love them. I like Fra Angelico's earlier work better because it's more human to me. But sure, it's worth a mention. That sucks about the Boboli Gardens. They're beautiful and pleasant but not worth going to if the fee is expensive. Fortunately, there are other parks in Florence, albeit smaller and without great views.

They're long cubbies, it looks like.

Is Tsuyu a kind of thick soy sauce?

What on earth are capsule hotels? Do they take off, and do they call for another thread?

Sorry about the crossed wires, and thanks for the summary.

Craig, it made me laugh (and smile) when I saw that this had been moved to a thread with my name on it. These are just a few suggestions. There are other things I didn't mention. Indeed, the next time I go back to Florence, I plan on going to places I haven't yet been to, like the Museo Stibbert (which I think was closed when I was last there), Firenze Com'Era (the museum of Florentine history), and the Museo Nazionale di Antropologia e Etnologia. By the way, here is a useful site for information about museums in Florence and environs: Musei fiorentini Much of the information is available in English as well as Italian.

John, could you please give us a brief summary of what he wrote about that?

Any guidebook will recommend the Uffizi and the Duomo and (I hope) Baptistry. These recommendations are well-merited but the crowds may be excessive. The last time I was there, it was possible to go to an office and buy a ticket for the Uffizi in advance. But you also have other options. The Pinacoteca at the Pitti Palace is also a great museum, and it is likely to be a good deal less crowded than the Uffizi. (If you walk across the Ponte Vecchio to get to the Pitti Palace, stop in at the church of Santa Trinita, where immediately to your right on entering, you will see some weird, wonderful frescos by the Mannerist artist, Pontormo, but you have to look for them.) Also, the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo is not to be missed. It's across the street from the back of the Duomo and contains originals of a whole bunch of great sculptures that used to stand in the Duomo. It may be that the tour bus routes still haven't reached that museum. The Bargello is also a great scupture museum and is liable to be less crowded than the Uffizi. Unfortunately, as of 1998, the Accademia, where there is a great series of sculptures by Michelangelo, was already crushingly crowded. It's also worth visiting other churches. At a certain point, I decided that my favorite church in Florence was not the Duomo, though it's great and should not be missed, but Santa Maria Novella, across from the train station. Have a look and see if you agree. Among the artworks inside is a Trinity by Masaccio. There's also a separate entrance for the cloister (chiostro). If it's open when you're there, it's worth going to. There are weird, great frescos of the Story of Noah by Paolo Uccello, a radical Mannerist. Another great church is Santa Croce, which includes frescos by Giotto. They also have a Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, where you can see a flood-damaged but still beautiful Crucifixion by Cimabue, Giotto's teacher. Also part of the admission fee to that museum is a trip to a perfectly symmetrical neo-Classic Renaissance building, the Pazzi Chapel. I found my trip to that chapel very meditative. Finally, while you're in Florence, you must go to the Piazzale Michelangelo on the Oltrarno side, for the view. After looking at the view from all angles, climb up higher and go to the top step of the church of San Miniato al Monte. The view is even better from there. Then, go into the lovely church. Look around and then go upstairs. On the right side of the 2nd floor, you can enter a room (or was it two rooms?) that contains a great fresco cycle by Spinello Aretino. Another lovely thing to do is to have a picnic lunch in the Boboli Gardens, but I remember they instituted a fee for forestieri (out-of-towners) at a certain point. Some other less-traveled and worthwhile things to do include: A visit to the Cenacolo (Last Supper) di Santa Apollonia, a fresco cycle by Andrea Castagno, for which there is free admission! If you like Last Suppers, there's also a lovely one by Andrea del Sarto at San Salvi. You could also take a bus to one of the Medici Villas. The one with the best artwork is in Poggio a Caiano, which has a room of frescos by Pontormo. The trip is pleasant, as is the villa. Otherwise, walk around a lot, and if you have enough time, you could do a whole lot worse than taking the bus that goes to Fiesole (don't expect an absence of tourists there, however). Your view of Florence will be more distant than from Piazzale Michelangelo and may be affected by haze, but Fiesole is the ancient Etruscan hill city that was there before Florence existed, and the archeological museum and ruins and the old church are worth looking at, though not "must-sees" in the context of a city that's just chock-full of things to see. Everywhere in Italy, be careful about checking in advance to see whether a church or museum will be open, and even then, be prepared for some surprises. If you're going somewhere just in order to visit a church or museum, consider checking ahead or asking around.

Well, it worked.

First of all, Congratulations! In terms of things to see in Tuscany, just driving around the beautiful countryside is a great thing to do. I happen to love Siena (which is worth 3 days at least but also worth visiting for a shorter time just to get a taste of it) and San Gimignano (which can be "done" in a few hours but has a totally different feel at night than during the day). And while Pisa itself isn't a beautiful city (it was heavily bombed during WW II, so much of it is in a kind of institutional postwar style), the Campo dei Miracoli is extraordinary. If you go, even though you're on a honeymoon, don't overlook the Camposanto (sacred cemetary) because it includes the remains of The Triumph of Death, a great fresco by Traini. I actually think the Tower is the least striking thing on the Campo, though it's quite beautiful. Do you want any suggestions of things to see in Florence, or do you figure your guidebooks pretty much take care of that?

But Bloviatrix, you're in no apparent danger of becoming fat. I love good bread, too, but people do have different body types.

How do you figure that? How could the critic for the New York Times know that "nobodies" would get bad service with an attitude?

Bon appetit, Pim! I'm shocked that the food in First Class was lousy!

What do you reviewers think in terms of differences in service between people perceived as "nobodies" and VIPs? I recall extremely supercilious service at Lutece when it was 4-star and an attitude from the server that we were to blame for considering a duck dish to be mediocre, watered-down burritos at Chanterelle when it was a 4-star. (To be fair, I did have good service at Bouley, though the meal was a disappointment, but I've had better luck with service at 3-stars.)