Location:Blowing Rock, NC
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Southern Living Idea House 2012
We ventured out to see the Southern Living Idea house today... turned out to not be such a great idea. It was closed, but we got to peek in a few windows. Here are a few teaser shots before the magazine hits the shelves:
Before we turned the corner and saw the "closed" sign.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Before we turned the corner and saw the "closed" sign.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Senoia, GA
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
OIB 2012
The Bentley Family met for the 29th (or 30th?) year in a row at OIB last weekend. We stayed in a new place, although it seemed familiar. The weather on Saturday was perfect beach weather. I read a rather interesting story about swashbuckling pirates and treasure hunting. It was the classic novel Treasure Island, something a 29 year old should read. Being 29 and mature, I was able to read it in one sitting. Mom, Rachel and I walked to Poo Babe (Is that really how it's spelled?). We had a wonderful Mother's Day dinner at Robertos. Mom especially loved the Texas Toast, and the salads were worth writing about so they will forever live on in blog history.
Family 2012
Dad ordering meatball (w/ spaghetti).
Parents these days with their cellphones at the table...
An amazing read
Saturday, May 12, 2012
2nd Annual Golf Outing
Me and the boys had our 2nd annual golf outing a few weeks ago at Myrtle Beach. After our successful inaugural trip last year, everyone wanted to get in on the action. We increased the group from 4 to 10. Cody's father-in-law has a condo in Barefoot Landing and he let us stay there for free which was nice. Unfortunately it only slept 4, but we made it work with a few air mattresses and some good attitudes.
Pat and Alan showed up early and we played a practice round in Raleigh on Friday. In Myrtle, we played two courses, the Wizard and Man-O-War. They were very nice courses, which we got a good deal on through our friend Jeff. Adam won the Saturday round with a 92, I came in second with a 94, and I think Bobby placed last with a 120 or so... but looked good doing it (see pic). After the round we relaxed at the pool before heading to eat and play some mini golf. At about 11pm we called it a night which was surprising for this crew, but we did have an early tee time, so I won't blame it on old age yet. On Sunday me and Adam tied for first place with a 101... it was a tad tougher and we were all pretty tired. I think high scores were in the 140s... yikes!
We all had a real good time, and can't wait for our next group event. Looking forward to the 5th year trip to Pebble Beach! Sean should have his PhD by then, so we'll have him finance that one ;)
Group photo before our second round began... from left to right: Alan, Adam (worked with Sean), Pat, Sean, Cody, Jason, Me, Bobby, Jeff (from Greenville, friends with Bobby and Pat, and fan and frequent attendee of 6 Inch Voices shows), Ricky (lived in the townhouse off Kaplan with me and Bobby during the summer of 2003).
Bobby dressed stylishly for our first round. Too bad it didn't shave off any strokes from his game.
Pat, Cody, and Jason on Sunday
Sean and Jeff.
Cody, Adam and Bobby enjoying some Mini Golf
Group photo at the finish.
Pat and Alan showed up early and we played a practice round in Raleigh on Friday. In Myrtle, we played two courses, the Wizard and Man-O-War. They were very nice courses, which we got a good deal on through our friend Jeff. Adam won the Saturday round with a 92, I came in second with a 94, and I think Bobby placed last with a 120 or so... but looked good doing it (see pic). After the round we relaxed at the pool before heading to eat and play some mini golf. At about 11pm we called it a night which was surprising for this crew, but we did have an early tee time, so I won't blame it on old age yet. On Sunday me and Adam tied for first place with a 101... it was a tad tougher and we were all pretty tired. I think high scores were in the 140s... yikes!
We all had a real good time, and can't wait for our next group event. Looking forward to the 5th year trip to Pebble Beach! Sean should have his PhD by then, so we'll have him finance that one ;)
Sunday, April 8, 2012
the patio
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Here is the patio---I put the before picture at the end and I don't know how to move it to the top. |
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
London, Day 14, The End
Today was our final day in Europe... It's been a long adventure.
We started off the day slow again, but we really didn't have much of an agenda. It was a nice blue day out, but cold in the low 50's. We started out by heading over to the National Gallery which is London's free version of the Louvre. We were pretty much done with art from the early periods so we headed to the galleries of Monet and Van Gogh. They had about 7 or 8 paintings from each. There were also a few Rembrant's that were easy to spot... colorless portraits (all were confirmed authentic). Next we headed to the Tower of London. We traveled by metro again. All of the metros have been very nice compared to what the NYC subway looks like. We got in line for tickets which were £21 a person! As we were waiting, a nice gentleman came up and asked if we wanted a buy one get one free coupon. Being wary of strangers, I declined. He looked very surprised, shrugged, and threw the coupon in the trash can. At that point I realized he was just a nice guy, so I did a little dumpster diving... Made one pass, spotted the coupon, second pass I nonchalantly threw away some paper while reaching in. Surely no one saw me... :) It was genuine and we saved £21 which was nice! We listened to the free tour by the Yeomen that live and work there. It was very interesting and entertaining. After the tour we headed in to see all the sights; the crown jewels, the armory, and a few of the towers.
We crossed the Tower Bridge and then headed back to the hotel. We went to our new favorite Italian restaurant that we discovered in Italy, Rossopomodoro. They have 8 locations. 5 in Italy, one in London, NYC, and Tokyo. It is truly the best pizza.
So that is it, we are done. Our transfer agent picks us up tomorrow at 8:50 and we head home. It will be sad to leave, but I'll be glad to get home.
The train station
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben at night.
Our hotel... Super nice.
We started off the day slow again, but we really didn't have much of an agenda. It was a nice blue day out, but cold in the low 50's. We started out by heading over to the National Gallery which is London's free version of the Louvre. We were pretty much done with art from the early periods so we headed to the galleries of Monet and Van Gogh. They had about 7 or 8 paintings from each. There were also a few Rembrant's that were easy to spot... colorless portraits (all were confirmed authentic). Next we headed to the Tower of London. We traveled by metro again. All of the metros have been very nice compared to what the NYC subway looks like. We got in line for tickets which were £21 a person! As we were waiting, a nice gentleman came up and asked if we wanted a buy one get one free coupon. Being wary of strangers, I declined. He looked very surprised, shrugged, and threw the coupon in the trash can. At that point I realized he was just a nice guy, so I did a little dumpster diving... Made one pass, spotted the coupon, second pass I nonchalantly threw away some paper while reaching in. Surely no one saw me... :) It was genuine and we saved £21 which was nice! We listened to the free tour by the Yeomen that live and work there. It was very interesting and entertaining. After the tour we headed in to see all the sights; the crown jewels, the armory, and a few of the towers.
We crossed the Tower Bridge and then headed back to the hotel. We went to our new favorite Italian restaurant that we discovered in Italy, Rossopomodoro. They have 8 locations. 5 in Italy, one in London, NYC, and Tokyo. It is truly the best pizza.
So that is it, we are done. Our transfer agent picks us up tomorrow at 8:50 and we head home. It will be sad to leave, but I'll be glad to get home.
The train station
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben at night.
Our hotel... Super nice.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
London, Day 13
No wi-fi again so no pictures, and hopefully this works. We made it to London by way of the Eurostar through the Chunnel. We thought our trip was only an hour, but we changed time zones so it was actually 2 hrs. We arrived at the train station and were met by our transfer agent. We made it to the hotel in a few minutes. It was a nice, after the last two travel days.
It was drizzling out when we got in around 1pm, so we headed to a Starbucks and read for a while. We headed out for a walk in the afternoon. We were close to Westminster Abbey so we stopped by for a few pictures. We headed over to the Parliament building and saw Big Ben. Next we headed to Trafalgar Square, where a St. Patricks Day festival was taking place with live music. We checked it out for a little, but there were no bands that looked interesting so we kept walking. We headed through St. Jame's Park and up to Buckingham Palace. So we pretty much saw it all in an afternoon.
Tomorrow we'll probably head over to the Tower of London and London Bridge.
We headed back to the hotel and stopped by a restaurant recommended by the hotel. Unfortunately it was booked due to St. Patricks Day. We headed to the restaurant in the hotel and I just had a good ole burger and fries.
It was drizzling out when we got in around 1pm, so we headed to a Starbucks and read for a while. We headed out for a walk in the afternoon. We were close to Westminster Abbey so we stopped by for a few pictures. We headed over to the Parliament building and saw Big Ben. Next we headed to Trafalgar Square, where a St. Patricks Day festival was taking place with live music. We checked it out for a little, but there were no bands that looked interesting so we kept walking. We headed through St. Jame's Park and up to Buckingham Palace. So we pretty much saw it all in an afternoon.
Tomorrow we'll probably head over to the Tower of London and London Bridge.
We headed back to the hotel and stopped by a restaurant recommended by the hotel. Unfortunately it was booked due to St. Patricks Day. We headed to the restaurant in the hotel and I just had a good ole burger and fries.
Location:Caxton St,,United Kingdom
Friday, March 16, 2012
Paris, Day 12
We got off to a slow start today because we needed a rest. Unfortunately, we are only in Paris for one full day so we couldn't lounge around too long. We started off by viewing the Arc de Triomphe. I could have watched the activity in the traffic circle for hours. With all the scooters around and high speeds, I'm surprised we haven't seen any wrecks yet.
After the Arc, we headed to the Louvre. We spent a few hours there, but it was so massive there was no way to see it all, and unfortunately we had kinda reached art overload. The highlight to me was the hand sketches by Delaroche and the corresponding paintings. We saw the crowd favorites Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, but they just kinda leave you wondering why are they so famous compared to the others... some statues still had arms. I had a ham and cheese baguette at the museum and it was so good we found a sandwich shop for dinner as well.
After the Louvre, we headed to Notre Dame. The stained glass was incredible and looked good since it was another nice sunny day. The colors really came out in the pictures on the camera, not so much on the phone...
We walked a little to find "the best ice cream in the world" at Berthillion. It was very good, but did not live up to the description. We took a stroll down the Champ-Elysées and then called it a day.
We definitely needed more time in Paris... It's a very spread out city. We had to take the metro between every location and still ended up walking many miles.
We have really enjoyed all the cities so far. Maybe it's because it's out of the typical tourist season, but everything seems safe, uncrowded, and everyone has been extremely nice. The weather has been perfect as well. It's looking like rain in London, but we'll see...
After the Arc, we headed to the Louvre. We spent a few hours there, but it was so massive there was no way to see it all, and unfortunately we had kinda reached art overload. The highlight to me was the hand sketches by Delaroche and the corresponding paintings. We saw the crowd favorites Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, but they just kinda leave you wondering why are they so famous compared to the others... some statues still had arms. I had a ham and cheese baguette at the museum and it was so good we found a sandwich shop for dinner as well.
After the Louvre, we headed to Notre Dame. The stained glass was incredible and looked good since it was another nice sunny day. The colors really came out in the pictures on the camera, not so much on the phone...
We walked a little to find "the best ice cream in the world" at Berthillion. It was very good, but did not live up to the description. We took a stroll down the Champ-Elysées and then called it a day.
We definitely needed more time in Paris... It's a very spread out city. We had to take the metro between every location and still ended up walking many miles.
We have really enjoyed all the cities so far. Maybe it's because it's out of the typical tourist season, but everything seems safe, uncrowded, and everyone has been extremely nice. The weather has been perfect as well. It's looking like rain in London, but we'll see...
Location:Rue Boissière,Paris,France
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Paris, Day 11
We determined the optimal length for a stay in a city is 2 full days 3 nights... Anything less makes you feel like you don't get a break from traveling.
We had to wake up at 6:30 because the Rome airport is 20 miles away! We had our hotel book us transportation because we didn't want to get ripped off by a cab at that distance. We also had to forfeit our free breakfast because it didn't open until 7. We stopped at McDonalds to take care of that. During the flight we passed over the Alps again and had a connection in Zurich.
The Paris airport was also 45 minutes away from the city so we had to catch a bus to the metro and ride the metro (with our bags... ugh) to the hotel. It was an exhausting day of boring and stressful travel that lasted until around 4pm. Luckily our travel agent has got the rest of the transfers fixed so we should have stress-free travel from here on.
We got to the hotel and we're pleased to find it right next to a grocery store. We are gonna try and keep lunch and dinner tomorrow cheap. We were also only a 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower so we thought we'd check it out.
The sun was kinda in the wrong spot for that picture, but it was another really nice sunny day in the 60's. We headed to dinner nearby at a frou frou French restaurant that was highly rated on tripadviser. We were both a little new to French cuisine so we didn't know what to expect. Linz said it was the best salmon she's ever had, and my steak was good too. We got dessert also, to really send our bill through the roof, hence grocery shopping for tomorrow.
On our way back we debated going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower but it had gotten colder and we had no jackets. We also didn't have our matching berets with our names embroidered on them yet...
Tomorrow we'll use the metro to hop around to all the sites within the city. Unfortunately with only one full day, I don't think we'll have time to make it to Versailles :(
We had to wake up at 6:30 because the Rome airport is 20 miles away! We had our hotel book us transportation because we didn't want to get ripped off by a cab at that distance. We also had to forfeit our free breakfast because it didn't open until 7. We stopped at McDonalds to take care of that. During the flight we passed over the Alps again and had a connection in Zurich.
The Paris airport was also 45 minutes away from the city so we had to catch a bus to the metro and ride the metro (with our bags... ugh) to the hotel. It was an exhausting day of boring and stressful travel that lasted until around 4pm. Luckily our travel agent has got the rest of the transfers fixed so we should have stress-free travel from here on.
We got to the hotel and we're pleased to find it right next to a grocery store. We are gonna try and keep lunch and dinner tomorrow cheap. We were also only a 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower so we thought we'd check it out.
The sun was kinda in the wrong spot for that picture, but it was another really nice sunny day in the 60's. We headed to dinner nearby at a frou frou French restaurant that was highly rated on tripadviser. We were both a little new to French cuisine so we didn't know what to expect. Linz said it was the best salmon she's ever had, and my steak was good too. We got dessert also, to really send our bill through the roof, hence grocery shopping for tomorrow.
On our way back we debated going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower but it had gotten colder and we had no jackets. We also didn't have our matching berets with our names embroidered on them yet...
Tomorrow we'll use the metro to hop around to all the sites within the city. Unfortunately with only one full day, I don't think we'll have time to make it to Versailles :(
Location:Rue Saint-Didier,Paris,France
Rome, Day 10
Well I promised you a quick update, but we were so tired after dinner that we both fell asleep...
We started off the day by getting picked up from the lobby by our tour guide. It was a riding and walking tour which was nice. We walked around the streets and saw a few landmarks. Our first stop was the Trevi Fountain which is the largest in Rome.
We passed a few obelisks and government buildings before stopping at the Pantheon. We got to go inside and walk around, Raphael's tomb is there. The dome is apparently the largest in Rome.
After a few more government buildings, we bused over to the Vatican. Being a Wednesday and nice outside, the pope was addressing the crowd in St. Peter's square! I took a picture but we were kinda far back. He addressed the crowd in Italian, English, German and Spanish... Pretty neat.
Because of the activity in the square we couldn't enter St. Peter's Basilica for a few hours so we headed over to the Vatican museums. We spent a good amount of time checking out the statues, paintings, maps, and tapestries before walking into the Sistine Chapel. The paintings were surprisingly very crisp and colorful due to the restorations. We ate a quick lunch, our first of the trip, and headed back to the Basilica. The line wrapped around the square, but only took us about twenty minutes to get in. It was amazing for sure. We got plenty of pictures as it was one of the few churches that allowed them. We decided against walking up the 330 steps to the top.
By staying in the Vatican we had to forfeit the tour bus ride back into town so we experimented with the metro. We took the line straight to the Colosseum. We were a little surprised the "Classic Rome Tour" did not include this, but oh well... We walked around inside for a while and walked around the ruins located nearby. As you can see from the picture, it was a beautiful day out...
We did a search on Tripadvisor to find our restaurant of the night, Babbo's. It was a nice italian restaurant, Lindsay got what I got the night before, pasta and lobster, and I got one last pizza. The pizza was good, but not as good as in Venice. Tasted just like Cinelli's.
We started off the day by getting picked up from the lobby by our tour guide. It was a riding and walking tour which was nice. We walked around the streets and saw a few landmarks. Our first stop was the Trevi Fountain which is the largest in Rome.
We passed a few obelisks and government buildings before stopping at the Pantheon. We got to go inside and walk around, Raphael's tomb is there. The dome is apparently the largest in Rome.
After a few more government buildings, we bused over to the Vatican. Being a Wednesday and nice outside, the pope was addressing the crowd in St. Peter's square! I took a picture but we were kinda far back. He addressed the crowd in Italian, English, German and Spanish... Pretty neat.
Because of the activity in the square we couldn't enter St. Peter's Basilica for a few hours so we headed over to the Vatican museums. We spent a good amount of time checking out the statues, paintings, maps, and tapestries before walking into the Sistine Chapel. The paintings were surprisingly very crisp and colorful due to the restorations. We ate a quick lunch, our first of the trip, and headed back to the Basilica. The line wrapped around the square, but only took us about twenty minutes to get in. It was amazing for sure. We got plenty of pictures as it was one of the few churches that allowed them. We decided against walking up the 330 steps to the top.
By staying in the Vatican we had to forfeit the tour bus ride back into town so we experimented with the metro. We took the line straight to the Colosseum. We were a little surprised the "Classic Rome Tour" did not include this, but oh well... We walked around inside for a while and walked around the ruins located nearby. As you can see from the picture, it was a beautiful day out...
We did a search on Tripadvisor to find our restaurant of the night, Babbo's. It was a nice italian restaurant, Lindsay got what I got the night before, pasta and lobster, and I got one last pizza. The pizza was good, but not as good as in Venice. Tasted just like Cinelli's.
Location:Somewhere in Rome
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Rome, Day 9
I posted last night about day 9, but I had to post it over 3G and it failed and deleted it all... I just found out there is free wi-fi in the lobby so I'll try and remember what I wrote:
The travel agent sent someone to meet us in our Venice hotel lobby at 9 am. She walked us to a water taxi and took us all the way to the train platform. We boarded the train with no problems and began our 4 hr. journey to Rome. It was our first time traveling by train, and I really enjoyed it... traveling through the Italian countryside was nice.
We arrived in Rome and ran into a few hiccups. First, there was no one there to meet us... It was a little nerve-racking being in a crowded train station with no plan. After verifying we had no local transfer scheduled with the travel agent, we caught a cab to the hotel. I'm pretty sure we got ripped off with a scheme where I handed him a 20 and he did a quick turnaround and claimed I only handed him a five. At the time, I just laughed at my "mistake," but after thinking about it a while, I was pretty sure I handed him a twenty. I'll point at the number next time.
It was 3:30 by the time we got checked in, so we had time to kill before looking for dinner. We decided to walk to the Colosseum as it was the closest thing we knew within walking distance... It was pretty impressive. We didn't go inside because we had a tour planned the next day.
We ate at a restaurant recommended by the concierge and it was great. I had linguine with lobster and red sauce and Lindsay had some spicy pasta dish. They were great and the staff was super nice.
Look for blog post day 10 within a couple of hours... It'll have some good pics.
The travel agent sent someone to meet us in our Venice hotel lobby at 9 am. She walked us to a water taxi and took us all the way to the train platform. We boarded the train with no problems and began our 4 hr. journey to Rome. It was our first time traveling by train, and I really enjoyed it... traveling through the Italian countryside was nice.
We arrived in Rome and ran into a few hiccups. First, there was no one there to meet us... It was a little nerve-racking being in a crowded train station with no plan. After verifying we had no local transfer scheduled with the travel agent, we caught a cab to the hotel. I'm pretty sure we got ripped off with a scheme where I handed him a 20 and he did a quick turnaround and claimed I only handed him a five. At the time, I just laughed at my "mistake," but after thinking about it a while, I was pretty sure I handed him a twenty. I'll point at the number next time.
It was 3:30 by the time we got checked in, so we had time to kill before looking for dinner. We decided to walk to the Colosseum as it was the closest thing we knew within walking distance... It was pretty impressive. We didn't go inside because we had a tour planned the next day.
We ate at a restaurant recommended by the concierge and it was great. I had linguine with lobster and red sauce and Lindsay had some spicy pasta dish. They were great and the staff was super nice.
Look for blog post day 10 within a couple of hours... It'll have some good pics.
Location:Via Goito,Rome,Italy
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