Odds and ends

I've been mellow since last Friday, despite rushing around all that day to go out of town -- yes, driving in end-of-week rush hour traffic in the rain -- because we had such a nice time. I'd looked around for restaurants near the hotel, and thought it would be nice to try a Turkish restaurant. The Cazbar, on Charles St., in downtown Baltimore, was a gem. We were shown to a nook with couches and a long low table; everyone sank onto a couch and leaned back with a sigh of relaxation. The music was fun. The food was fantastic -- not just good -- and we all loved the manti (Turkish version of meat wontons in sauce). D didn't want any of the baba ganoush, which just left more for the rest of us. The chicken was grilled and still juicy; the Adana turned out to be essentially a spicy hamburger mix that was flattened out onto a kabob, and grilled. Yummy! The rice was superb; I'd eat that alone. The salad had some fresh mint leaves, which is an excellent idea and I plan to use it myself as much as possible. Dessert was small pieces of baklava, intensely sweet and tasty.

Saturday, I was mysteriously led to the Inner Harbor and surprised with a cruise on one of the ships that goes out to the bridge (I-95); the package included a buffet lunch, and entertainment, plus some dancing. Even though it was cloudy and occasionally sprinkling (or even raining), the air was mild, so we went out on deck to enjoy the view.

We dined in our hotel room that night, on stuff I'd packed: fresh bagels, some cheeses -- smoked mozzarella, havarti, and jarlsberg -- plus olives, Ginger gold apples, crackers, and turkey pepperoni. I picked up a microwaveable Alfredo for D, and we also had some nuts, raisins, and chocolates for dessert. I forgot about the popcorn, though, and we never ate it.

Sunday, we met for some coffee and bagels before heading home. The sun was shining on the trees, showing their lovely colors.

Today, even in the dark rainy afternoon, I could see the brilliant reds and yellows of the trees. It's still beautiful weather to me.