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thecandywrites · 4 years

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Jewel Of The North Part 4

Ok, so in writing this part, I imagined that while there is an art of reading actual tea leaves, I saw a picture of this plate on the left edge and thought ‘man wouldn’t reading tea leaves be easier if each squigly section was part of something? Like this section is the life section, this is the money section, this is the love life section, so on and so fourth’ you know, make it even more complicated than it probably is.Also I love and adore Indian jewelry, because that is a gold temple necklace. It’s just...gorgeous. And in my mind, a priestess of Aura (who I totally made up for this story) would be wearing a fabulous shawl, that heavy gold jewelry and a head band that would match and have something akin to an Asian tea ceremony and depending on which tea people chose- told the priestess about them, kind of like what your favorite color says about you. Also, LOOK AT THAT GOLD DRESS. Hot damn. Also as an LMT, Vahva Kun is NOT a thing. Again, something I made up.

And of course a thousand THANK YOU’s to the fabulous and super fabulous and creative @monstersandmaw for sharing the concept of ice orcs with me. Me and my Alaskan born heart instantly fell in love with them. Enjoy!

Jewel of the North

Part 4

In the morning, you pulled yourself from the bed and you felt like it was noon. Thank the gods for the time difference, because it was only 9 there.

“Well good morning sleepy head, working miracles wear you out?” Taylor teased you as she handed you a cup of coffee.

“Yeah,” you nodded as you took it and drank it gratefully.

“So, what’s the plan?” Taylor asked.

“Massages today, working with Noah tomorrow, after that…” You shrugged.

“Happily ever after.” Taylor supplied.

“Hush or you’ll jinx it.” You shushed her in a whisper but her scheming grin was infectious.

It took all day but by 7pm, you had gotten everyone taken care of that you came to take care of and Taylor decided to get takeout for dinner and while at the takeout restaurant that was on the other side of town, the group of pilots came striding in.

“That’s them. The other pilots.” Taylor breathed.

“Who’s who?” You whispered back before she specified who was who before you had her shut up so you could overhear their conversation. They were going to get food here and then go for drinks at ‘the bar’ later.

“What bar?” You whispered to Taylor.

“Knowing them- it’s probably Goose’s, they have the cheapest booze around and it’s close to their apartment, like within walking distance.” Taylor answered.

“Goose’s is the seedy, underbelly place that I don’t want to go to the bathroom in? That has the awesome cheeseburgers?” You asked.

“Yeah,” Taylor nodded as an idea bloomed in your head.

“Are they attracted to women?” You nodded over to them.

“Oh yeah,” Taylor confirmed before one of them wolf whistled to a group of women who came into the restaurant. Ah. Those kinds of guys. Almost too easy.

“Could you take me there? I have an idea, it’s a dirty, underhanded idea though.” You whispered.

“That means it’s a fantastic idea.” Taylor grinned.

“What shoe size are you?” You asked.

“9.” She answered.

“Sweet, do you by any chance have any hooker heels?” You hinted.

“Wait, wait, wait, you won’t have sex with Noah but you want to go to Goose’s in hooker heels? Every guy in that place is going to fighting for the chance to take you home if not fuck you senseless in the bar’s bathroom, if not the parking lot.” Taylor answered.

“Oh trust me, the only one taking me home is you, I have a plan. How fast can you get dressed and dolled up?” You urged her.

“Oh give me thirty minutes tops.” Taylor insisted.

You got the food and barely ate two bites of it before you and Taylor quickly locked yourselves in her bathroom to get ready as you put on your most seductive makeup and a slimming undergarment under your sexiest dress that had the push up bra to end all push up bras as you brought and slipped into her hottest “hooker heels” while she wore the more sensible shoes you brought since you were the same shoe size as her.

“How do I look? She-wolf enough?” You asked her.

“Ah, I see, you’re going to eat them alive.” She realized.

“Yup, my brother’s mother in law- Olga is a priestess for Aura and is Yamalian which is near Siberia and she nicknamed me Zahnochka Volchitsa which means ‘she wolf that rises again’ and just like Beyonce has Sasha Fierce, Zara Kingsley has Zahnochka Volchitsa, and Zahnochka is going to get them so wasted, they won’t be able to fly tomorrow which is good ol’ fashioned sabotage and when they can’t fly the loads, Noah will be there to pick them up and save the day.” You revealed.

“Oooh, evil and diabolical but for the best cause ever- I love it.” Taylor nodded in approval.

“Just don’t tell Noah, I don’t think he’d approve of my methods or like Zahnochka very much because I haven’t used “her” in a long time.” You urged her.

“Lips are sealed.” She swore as she had you wear her fancy dress jacket to cover up so Greg wouldn’t see you or the kids.

“Honey, Zara and I are going out for a drink, we’ll be back later.” Taylor told her husband as she quickly ushered the two of you out of the house and drove to Goose’s as you got in your wallet and slipped money into your cleavage on the way there so you wouldn’t really have to get your whole wallet out and chance any of them seeing your business card or your real... anything. Then you prayed to the gods for courage and hoped this gamble would be worth the risk to yourself and hoped this wouldn’t backfire and blow up in your face or bite you in the ass.

Once in the bar you zeroed in the group of pilots sitting together at a table towards a wall, which was perfect and out of the way, just the way you liked it as a mischievous smirk danced on your lips.

And then you locked your smoldering and seductive gaze with one of them who froze and stared back in awe like a deer caught in headlights as he watched as you strutted and sauntered into the place, your heels clicking on the tile and slowly slipped out of your light jacket to reveal your gold silk dress and made sure that every guy in the place with a pulse knew you were officially on the radar. You had an ability which you had perfected over your life, you called it the ‘Marylin Monroe effect’ because she had this gift that she could ‘turn on’ and she could transform from normal house wife to blonde bombshell right before anyone’s eyes and you had a similar gift and you were about to use it again.

“What can I get you to drink Gorgeous?” The bartender John asked as he was grateful he was working tonight, and here he thought it was just going to be a normal week night with the same old regulars but low and behold, a brand new gem came walking in, you must have just come into town because you were a brand new face. Plus, you were clearly the hottest woman in the place, hell in the whole damn town and you were dressed to kill and obviously on the prowl and he was ready offer himself as your prey for the night.

“What kind of whiskey do you have?” You asked as John began going through what he had, feeling a little embarrassed that they didn’t have a ton to choose from and what they did have, didn’t seem good enough for the goddess you were.

“Give me some Jamie, that’s plenty good enough for me, on the rocks please.” You ordered.

“And you Sugar?” John asked Taylor.

“Same.” Taylor agreed before John poured two very generous portions into glasses over ice and served them to you.

“Thank you.” You thanked him.

“So I take it you’re a friend from out of town.” John hinted as he looked from Taylor to you.

“That’s correct, I’m Zara Zahnochka Volchitsa Kingsley.” You introduced yourself, rolling your r’s and taking on a slightly Siberian accent with the roll of your own name off your tongue as you shook his hand.

“John Wilks. Pleasure to meet you.” He shook it before it he took your hand and kissed it which got you to giggle bashfully before you pulled him towards you which caused him to lean as far over the bar as he could before you pulled a hundred dollar bill from your cleavage and slipped it into his hand.

“Give me the lay of the land.” You purred as you twirled your finger subtly to gesture to the bar.

“Uh, well, there’s…” He began as he listed off who was around the room, using the old ‘ 3 o’clock’ 6 o’clock’ method as you got the confirmation that all the guys at the table on the wall were the other pilots.

“Could you do me a favor?” You requested.

“Anything.” John offered.

“Get me the darkest beer glass you have. Empty it so I can use it as a chaser cause I have a feeling every guy in this place is about to buy me a drink and I don’t want to get too drunk and when it gets full, get me a new one.” You proposed, your voice dropping to a low murmur so that only John and Taylor could hear you.

“You got it.” John nodded in understanding as he got you the Milk of Dragon. Usually the beer is so dark and heavy it was black on it’s own but the glass was pitch black and you couldn’t tell except from picking it up if it had beer in it or not.

“Are you ready to see a show?” You breathed to Taylor who nodded before you got the glass and pretended to take a long pull from it before you turned in your chair and Taylor watched as you seemed to turn something on inside you- up full blast like seeing a Hollywood star light up on the red carpet, it was like you were a beacon of light, but you were all fire and flames, burning so hot you could set the stool you sat on- on fire and every man in the place just became a moth and every man couldn’t help but be drawn to you and you were practically swarmed.

"So what's your name Beautiful?" One guy asked.

"Zara- Zahnochka Volchetsia- Kingsley." You introduced yourself, giving the same flourish to the name and putting extra emphasis on the middle portion of your “name” while quickly rolling through the real parts of it which they all ate up like candy.

And instead of getting overwhelmed, you seemed pleased and basked in all the attention as you tried to give each guy in there just a few minutes of attention, remaining friendly and giving a little bit of your time to everyone so that no fights broke out for your attention, letting them spit game, each line greater than the last as your amused giggle filled the air and your smile lit up the dimly lit bar before the group of pilots came over and tried their luck and while their lines weren’t as clever as the others, you pretended to be the most affected before you offered your hand for them to lead you back to their table as you were sat down as the others grumped but watched on enviously as the group of pilots who weren’t all that handsome or all that impressive seemed to win your favor which didn’t make any sense to the rest of them maybe you just had a thing for younger guys. But you made your choice and they would respect it as Taylor sat next to you and just watched as the Zara she thought she knew was replaced by a full blown she-wolf. She didn’t know you had it in you but she knew why you were doing it and she had to respect the masterful way you were choosing to deal with the problem because no one else had the guts to do it this way. But it was genius.

“So are all of you pilots?” You asked eagerly as you sat at the table, putting on your best doe eyes and making sure you sat in such a way that your cleavage was heaving with every breath as they all undressed you with their eyes.

“Oh yeah, he flies…” Derek began to list off the different planes and you pretended to be impressed by it all as they ordered you drink after drink which was part of your plan, “chasing” it with your “beer” as you pretended to get tipsy, laughing at everything they said that was even slightly funny.

“So what do you do? Other than look sexy as hell?” Evan asked.

“Oh nothing much, just taking care of the estates and trust funds I’ve inherited when my grandparents died when I was younger, " You waived off and grinned when all their eyes practically got dollar signs in them and they were staring at you the way a hungry dog would look at a steak. Oh they would devour you the moment you let them.

Perfect.

“And I’m an LMT which stands for liscenced massage therapist, would you like a demonstration?” You purred.

“Hell yeah, my body is yours to do as you wish.” Evan offered before you took his arm and started massaging it and giggled when he groaned and moaned in pleasure before you got a brilliant idea.

“Well, as an LMT, I’m certified in using Vahva Kun, which all my body builder clients swear by and by using it, they build the biggest, most impressive muscles possible and it feels better than sex with the gods, would you like to try it?” You offered.

“Hell yeah,” they readily agreed as you went about using it on them as their moans and groans filled the small bar as you straddled their labs to get as close as possible to hit all these points in their bodies, leaving each of them feeling like a god themselves and the buzz they had already been feeling from the booze was amplified and they were feeling the most intense afterglow that did indeed surpass the afterglow after an orgasm as Taylor watched on curiously and only when you ordered another round of shots for the guys, this time of the 153, the strongest alcohol in the place, since you had massaged their necks and made sure to access their ‘sleeper mode’ muscles, then they took that last shot and promptly passed out and you used that to use their fingers tips to get into their phones and deleted the pictures they had taken of you in the compromising positions of their laps before you stood up and strode over to the bartender and slipped him another hundred dollar bill since by the time you were done, most of the other patrons had gone home for the night since it was past midnight and almost last call.

“Thanks for looking out for me tonight, you may need to call a taxi or an uber for them. They obviously won’t be able to drive home.” You nodded over to the table before you strutted out of there with Taylor and while you weren’t drunk on alcohol, you were definitely drunk on power and the thrill of what you just did because letting your inner she wolf out to breathe and feed for the first time in forever and it felt amazing.

“So what’s Vahva Kun?” Taylor asked as she drove you to her house.

“Vahva Kun is short for Vahva Kun Olen Hiekko. It means ‘strong when I’m weak’. Body builders pay me a grand each to do that to them a week and a half before competitions to make every muscle in their bodies’ bulge. In massage there’s only a few ways of doing things, and that is- pain now- pleasure later or pleasure now- pain later and Vahva Kun is as intense as pleasure now pain later gets. The reason it’s so pleasurable now is I use the body’s tendon organs to “turn off” muscles from the nervous system, this gives the effect to the brain that the muscle has become completely relaxed which feels amazing in the moment. But when you turn a muscle off, especially prime movers or major primes, the muscles that are responsible for your major movements, that means they can’t work anymore because you just told them, via their tendon organs to go the fuck to sleep and go on a little vacation and they become completely unresponsive and they feel lighter than air at first. So while they’re out in la la land, and can’t hear a thing from your nervous system who’s screaming at them to move. So that leaves only the synergists and the little assistant muscles to try to do the job of the major primes which they are ill equipped and too weak to do but they try their best. So they end up bulging by the end of it because they have no other choice because your body needs to move. However another thing happens when you do Vahva Kun, the nervous system freaks out. Now we all know how ecstasy works, it floods your brain with endorphins and other feel good chemicals to the point of overwhelming it right? Well Vahva Kun does the same thing initially. So what you’re left with is a brain who can’t feel most of the muscles in their body and is overwhelmed with pleasure and it freaks out and how it does that is it suddenly feels that the pleasure is actually pain and that you’re being attacked but it only does the switch once you succumb to the pleasure and pass out and the switch happens during your first sleep cycle.”

“So when they wake up tomorrow, they’re going to feel like they got hit by a mac truck and moving will be agony.” Taylor realised.

“Oh yeah, and when you do Vahva Kun you’re supposed to drink at least two liters of water or preferably an electrolyte drink before you take your initial sleep because in turning off the major primes, they release all their tension and everything that was trapped by that tension in particular all the “toxins” and acids and things stored in the muscles and when you drink a diuretic, like coffee or even worse- alcohol, the toxins can be released from one spot of the muscle but simply move and spread within the muscle belly instead of getting flushed out into your lymph system which then delivers it to your liver and kidneys to be removed from your body. And once the switch happens, the brain then sends fibroblasts into all the major primes which is a heavy duty messenger to make sure it’s still there period and the fibroblasts are like little explosions of protein and collagen and other substances into the major primes. Well imagine what an explosion looks like now imagine that inside a striated muscles, the fibroblasts usually go any manner of either outright perpendicular or just plain not in the directions of the striations in the muscles. Which again, make the muscles bulge. It looks awesome when you’re done, but it feels like you were in the worst bar fight ever. And for first time receivers of Vahva Kun it can take up to a month for your body to fully recover and your body aches the whole time and it can take several hours after just to get all the new knots out of the muscles and usually body builders, the first few to several days after- they can’t hardly move, they have all these huge bulging muscles that look incredibly strong but are jack shit for strength and that’s why it’s called Vahva Kun- strong when I’m weak. It means they look strong but they are in reality, very weak.” You explained.

“Vahva Kun was discovered by a prostitute, Jasmine Vahva, who was tired of being beat up by her clients and she found she could make a killing if she “massaged” them first using this technique, get them to pass out and steal them blind but then be gone before they could wake up and confront her. And she taught other sex workers this technique. But they only could ever do it to a client once and quickly word spread about the real “effects” of the massage and once the clients got wise to it it lost it’s “appeal.”, then the clients noticed that once they recovered, they physically looked amazing and so a few of them got into body building and then word spread and so you had the legitameate professionals going to Jasmine to learn this technique so that they could practice it on body builders which is a very lucrative discipline and her original friends who had been sex workers then got into the legitamate side of massage teaching Vahva Kun.” You revealed.

“So you fucked them over without dropping your panties an inch.” Taylor laughed.

“Yup, because those fuckers had the audacity to undercut Noah and put Noah and Sakura’s livelihood into jeopardy. A she wolf takes no prisoners when her den and pups are in danger. Even if she has to infiltrate another pack to do it.” You mused.

“Hot damn girl.” Taylor praised as she high fived you.

The next morning Noah came down the stairs to find his mother already there making breakfast.

“Good morning Mom.” Noah greeted sleepily as he shuffled over to the coffee pot before there was a knock and suddenly he was a million times more alert as he happily forgot all about the coffee to rush over to the door to open it.

“Good morning.” Noah greeted you happily.

“Good morning.” You greeted happily, sure that your dark circles under your eyes would scare the shit out of him but he didn’t seem to notice as he ushered you inside.

“Good morning Nana,” You greeted warmly.

“Good morning Zara.” Nana returned just as warmly.

“How do you like your eggs?” She asked.

“Over easy please if there’s toast.” You answered gratefully.

“Did Sakura take it easy on you guys yesterday?” You inquired hopefully.

“Yes, she didn’t wake up till 10, it was wonderful and you did such a fantastic job on the house, it was a really wonderful blessing.” Nana praised.

“Thank you, I did my best.” You nodded as you ducked your head. Appreciating the recognition.

“I know you did, and it’s really appreciated, you have no idea.” Noah added with a proud smile that was making wish you could ask him to try to show it but with his mother there, that wouldn’t have been appropriate.

“Go get ready Dear while I get breakfast finished.” Summer urged him and you saw the reluctant disappointment in his demeanor like a child who is told to go to bed when there was still company at the house and you could see he was about to argue but one look from her had his argument dying on his tongue before he begrudgingly pulled away and went back upstairs to hurry up and get ready as you got yourself a cup of coffee.

“So, I thought for sure that you would have slept in this morning from eating five men alive last night.” Nana noted once she heard the bathroom door shut upstairs and the shower turn on which made you choke on your coffee.

“Uh, how…?” You nervously asked as you tried to clean yourself up.

“The gods see all and only they could have revealed that to me. It takes a she-wolf with nerves of steel to do what you did, and to walk away without a scratch is a feat in itself. Don’t feel guilty about it, you ensured not just Noah and Sakura’s survival but the best chance for all of us to thrive too. But I need to tell you that you need to keep the she-wolf out today, embrace your Aura heritage, it won’t scare off Noah, it’ll surprise him but it won’t throw him off or intimidate him. Don’t lose your nerve or your courage. You’ll need it to make your mission complete. Use your bag and your magnificent mind and I’ll help you with your hair.” She advised you as she held your face in her aged but warm hands.

“Ok,” you agreed, feeling relieved yet validated and empowered before she kissed your forehead before you left just as Noah got out of the bathroom as you raced upstairs since you would need the bathroom’s larger bathroom counter to get ready and Noah looking like a god with just a towel around his waist was a delight.

“Everything ok?” Noah asked.

“Yeah, just had a really good talk with your mom, I need to finish getting ready though. Do you mind?” You asked as you gestured to the bathroom.

“Not at all, but we gotta get going in like an hour or so.” Noah answered, disappointed because here he thought he would have an hour or so with just staring at your beautiful face. Even without makeup you were gorgeous. You didn’t need makeup.

“Plenty of time.” You reassured him before Sakura woke up to the sound of your voice.

“Paradise?” She asked sleepily as she opened her door before she saw you and immediately went to you and hugged you tightly.

“Good morning Sweetheart, did you sleep good?” You asked her.

“The best, I had the coolest dreams!” She eagerly told you.

“Well I have to get ready for the day, but I need your bathroom up here to do it, you want to tell me all about them while I get ready?” You proposed.

“Yeah!” She agreed as she took your hand and led you into the bathroom before she shut the door, leaving Noah feeling a little jealous he couldn’t be in there too but he got dressed and let you have your time with Sakura as he went back downstairs.

“What did you talk to Para-I mean, Zara about?” Noah asked his mom curiously.

“I encouraged her to embrace all of herself with you, and not to be scared of showing you all of herself or fear it will intimidate you or put you off. Everyone always tries to put for their best faces and the best versions of themselves to people they like and are trying to impress.” Summer hinted with a scheming grin.

“And for that she had to put on makeup?” Noah questioned as he cast a look in the direction of the bathroom when he heard Sakura and you laughing.

“She’ll explain it to you better once she comes down. She has to show Sakura first and Sakura’s approval will give her heart and courage to show you and some reassurance that she has nothing to worry about will be all you need to give.” She insisted.

“But for now, eat, be patient.” She urged him as she handed him a plate of food before she continued to cook breakfast as Noah begrudgingly ate and drank his coffee as his knee bounced impatiently as his mother joined him at the table as Noah racked his brain trying to think of what it could possibly be.

“Stop, you’ll imagine it way worse than it is.” Nana lightly smacked his arm.

“Look, the only thing I can think of is she’s used to be a stripper or something like that.” Noah blurted before he got another smack, this one much harder than the first.

“I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, at this point it’s a bonus.” Noah conceded before he recoiled from the third smack, this one even harder than the last as he rubbed his arm.

“You’re going to feel like an ass once she comes down the stairs.” Summer chastised before right on cue you came down the stairs looking like a proper goddess. A heavy shall was wrapped around your shoulders and you were wearing gold and purple highlighter on your cheeks as your complexion was made to look much more amethyst purple instead of peacock teal it usually looked and your eyeshadow was a brilliant gold and purple and your jewelry was authentic priestess of Aura jewelry. He was dumbstruck by how magnificent you looked.

“May I introduce Zahnochka Volchitsa! A minor priestess of Aura!” Sakura proudly introduced you, her freshly brushed teeth gleaming as her fresh braids that you had put into her hair showed off her silken tresses.

“And what a stunning one at that.” Summer praised as she had you sit down to breakfast next to Noah as she got up and took your hairbrush from your hand and your special headband and beads from your hands.

“Wow,” Noah breathed. “So, what’s the special occasion?” Noah asked.

“Well, your mother wisely advised me to embrace my “she-wolf” and “Aura heritage” today. When I was 15, my older brother Gavin started courting his wife Natasha who we call Tasha, she’s Siberian and her mother Olga, is a high priestess to Aura and serves at the Sinai Temple in the Great Lakes, and the moment she met me, she adopted me and gave me a new name. The name she gave me was ‘Zahnochka Volchitsa’ Volchitsa is Siberian for ‘she wolf’ and Zahnochka means ‘she will rise again’. And she has insisted I was her new daughter and forbade her own sons from dating me because that would be ‘incest’ even though at the time her 13 year old son Nicoli aka- Nikki- had the biggest crush on me, but he’s married with kids and we’re friends so now so it worked out. But anyway, she taught me how to have teeth and claws and how to take no bull-er-crap from anyone and how to be a strong independent woman with all the spice and sass of a viper and if any man dared cross me or even take advantage of me in any way- how to eat him alive like a proper shewolf, how protect ‘my den and pups’ and how to turn other people’s stupidity into my own benefit and she taught me how to give blessings, read palms and tea leaves and all that. But it’s an alter ego for me, like how Beyonce has Sasha Fierce, I have Zahnochka Volchitsa. I thought if your clients saw how you were flying around a minor priestess of Aura, the goddess of gold, luck and riches, they’d be willing to do just about anything, including renewing contracts with a pilot they tried to undercut for the chance to get a blessing.” You hinted with nervous grin.

“You don’t have to…” Noah tried to argue even though he was incredibly touched and so impressed by it. This was ingenious. Although as much as he wanted a blessing, he also knew that priestesses could not bless family. And since he desperately wanted to be your family, he would be satisfied with your presence to be blessing enough.

“Yes she does,” Summer immediately countered. “And we deeply appreciate it and Sakura and I will pray for your success.” She insisted as she continued to fix your hair appropriately, braiding the headband into your hair and securing it so that you looked like a proper priestess with the traditional hair arrangement and no sooner had you ate than Noah got the first call from a client as you got ready by putting the shawl on to complete the look.

“Be good for Nana ok?” You urged Sakura before you left, giving her a big hug.

“Will do.” Sakura reassured you before you kissed her all over her face which made her giggle with glee before she did the same to you before you let go and hugged Nana goodbye, giving her a kiss on the cheek before you left.

“My new Mama is amazing.” Sakura fawned as she watched the two of you go from the window and get in Noah’s truck as she grinned to see her dad open your door for you like a proper gentleman.

“Yes she is. Now, come on, we got some prayers to give.” She urged her granddaughter.

Once in the plane, you settled into the copilot seat with your backpack securely between your legs.

“How much does all that weigh anyway?” Noah asked curiously as he eyed the gaudy gold jewelry as he got settled in himself.

“About a thousand pounds.” You laughed. “It’s all real and solid so it’s quite heavy.” You revealed.

“Could you do me a favor though?” You asked hopefully.

“Anything.” Noah immediately agreed.

“Could you wear this gold charm at least for today?” You proposed as you pulled the large gold charm on a masculine chain out of your velvet blessing bag that had previously held all the jewelry wrapped in the shawl and a tea set for a proper priestess tea ceremony.

“As long as you won’t give me a formal blessing with it,” Noah specified. “I know priestesses can’t formally bless family members but your presence is blessing enough for me.” He noted which melted your heart and made you want to kiss him. You were ready to offer him a proper place in your family. But perhaps he was referring to the way you were with Sakura and meant that endearment fairly innocently.

“That’s correct, but they can give gifts, if you wear this, your clients will assume I’ve already blessed you and will want a blessing of their own, a first link in the chain.” You proposed.

“Ok,” Noah agreed before you turned in your seat and put it over his neck and being so close, you could smell the soap he used in his shower and his aftershave and just him in general and your brain got hazy with lust. But you feared it would be inappropriate and settled for simply kissing his forehead and offering him an adoring smile which he mirrored as he glanced from your eyes to your lips before a message came on his receiver which pulled his attention away.

“Yeah,” Noah answered.

“Hey could you swing by Corporal? I have a load for you this morning.” One of his clients radioed in.

“Sure thing, see you soon.” Noah agreed before he hung up.

“It’s working already,” Noah laughed. “That guy hasn’t had me fly a load for him all year, must be a big one.” Noah revealed.

“Then let’s do his first.” You suggested.

“Ok,” Noah nodded before he turned the plane on and began to taxi it out of the hanger and towards the runway before taking off and you bit your bottom lip to keep yourself from squealing. Flying was so fun!

Once up in the air you put on your blood red lipstick with gold glitter gloss over it as you had Noah tell you about this particular client. Cranky old man type.

Perfect.

He landed the plane several long moments later and once taxied over to the loading area, you knew it was show time as you unbuckled your seatbelt and left the plane and grinned when an older gentleman practically came rushing up to you.

“Noah! Why didn’t you tell me you were flying around a priestess of Aura today?” Mick chastised Noah.

“Because most people are intimidated by priestesses. And since Noah has already lost so much already, I couldn’t chance him losing anymore, especially upon my account.” You easily answered for him.

“Of course,” Mick ducked his head as his cheeks blushed.

“This is Zara Zahnochka Volchitsa Kingsley. This is Mick Mullins.” Noah introduced.

“Pleasure to meet you.” You extended your hand and smiled serenely when he kissed it and pressed his forehead to your knuckles as he bowed respectfully.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He greeted back.

“Would you have time to take tea with me?” You asked Mick hopefully.

“Of course, of course, right this way.” He ushered you to the control tower where there was a lounge with a coffee maker and an electric tea kettle which he quickly dumped bottled water into it to boil before he has you sit in his chair, in his office since it’s one of the most comfortable chairs in the place as you pull out your tea set and your trio of teas, each tin a work of art before you laid them out before him and ceremoniously took the top off of each one and sniffed each one before you offered for him to do the same before he sniffed each one.

“Which one do you prefer?” You asked as he looked between them.

“This one.” He specified as you nodded and smiled serenely at his choice before the kettle beeped and he immediately got up like a shot to retrieve it and brought it back just as you finished scooping the tea into the little teapot before he handed you the kettle before you poured in the right amount of water.

“So, Mr. Mullins.”

“Please call me Mick - Priestess.” He urged you.

“Thank you for having tea with me. And thank you many times over for doing business with Noah. That man has suffered so much loss recently. That loss has touched me very deeply. And to hear how his regular clients have taken their business elsewhere has disturbed me greatly and they will only reap disaster and misfortune for doing so, the gods told me through the leaves under no uncertain terms. Grabbing selfish hands today make it impossible to accept blessings, even if the gods are more than ready and willing to give an overabundance of them. Someone with closed fists cannot be handed anything. Even one closed fist can impede the other open one, since they cancel each other out. Even when what the gods will to give them is greater than what they already have in their hands. It doesn’t matter what their hands are physically if mentally, emotionally, figuratively and especially spiritually, since all of those are interwoven- if their figurative hands are closed, there is no blessing for them. Only a malediction. If that pattern persists, I feel I must intervene further, as I have contacts at the military bases and my more financially blessed clients may have a need for a private pilot for their jets and things and they will be more than happy to make sure Noah is paid handsomely, enough to make a move there worth his while many times over and they will be immeasurably blessed for doing so in Noah’s sake.” You proposed as you as you set up your tea ceremony as you glanced up at Mick who looked particularly embarrassed like you just pulled his pants down and exposed him.

“But I don’t feel that will happen to you, because you are being generous and using the deserving and there is no one more deserving than Noah and you will be blessed for it. I can tell, it is written in the lines on your face and on the veins on the back of your hands.” You reassured him which had light returning to his eyes and a smile spread on his face before you poured the tea.

“Well then let me reassure you that I would be more than happy to help Noah in any way I can.” Mick swore.

“Please do not use pretty words in the face of a priestess just to gain momentary favor, do not say anything unless you mean the words with all truth and that you have cemented plans and will put those words into action.” You gently warned with a look of sorrow.

“No I swear on my life and the lives of my family, what I say is in all truth and I will absolutely follow through, I will use no one but Noah for the rest of the season and for every season after this till the end of my days and I will pay him very well for it, so that he and his family may be kept in safety and security.” Mick swore solemnly.

“Your words please me and the gods, may you feel peace and happiness and enjoy nothing but success with the fulfillment of this vow. May I give you a gift?” You proposed.

“I will accept anything you wish to give me.” Mick answered earnestly.

“I will read the tea leaves for you and wish to give you a charm.” You proposed.

“I would be honored.” He agreed before you pulled out the reading plate and swished the remaining tea in the pot around before you poured the remains onto the center of the plate and watched as the tea leaves flowed out into the plate as the both of you watched to see where the tea leaves fell on the plate before you used your extensive training to read them to him. Usually people paid quite a bit of money to have this done by Olga and people used the information as if it was doctrinal truth, above questioning or reproach and Mick seemed perfectly pleased and excited about what the tea leaves told on the plate.

No sooner had you finished before both of your phones chimed, messages that the plane was already filled with the shipment.

You took a few moments to rinse your plate off in the sink after both Mick and yourself took a picture of it and as you rinsing it, Mick was making sure to cut Noah’s check. Mick usually paid half upon arrival and loading and then the other half upon successful delivery. This time Mick would be doubling both payments and made a note to always do this in the future as he fingered the gold charm you had given him that he immediately put onto a gold chain around his neck before his own phone went off, suddenly he was getting payments and offers from new vendors as he felt elated as he quickly prayed for forgiveness for slighting Noah in the past by undercutting him before he rejoined you as you finished packing up everything so he could walk you back and hand his payment to Noah.

“Oh and Mick, I should warn you. If you ever break your vow, the charm will tarnish and you will lose what you gained and even would have gained will immediately go to your competition. And once it’s lost, it can not be regained.” You warmed him solemnly.

“Wouldn’t dream of it Priestess.” Mick reassured you as he walked you back over to the plane.

“May safety, security and blessings be with you Priestess,” Mick offered you graciously.

“And with you.” You answered before you nodded and turned to get back on the plane, giving Noah a meaningful look with a pleased smile before Mick happily handed over the folded check to Noah and an apology for not using him sooner but quickly set up a deal to use him at least every week and a reassurance that if Noah ever needed anything at all, to let Mick know.

“Of course, well, uh, I better get going, you have my number, just let me know what you need.” Noah returned before he got back into the plane and got ready to go before he peeked at the check before he put it into his payment bag.

“Well that went well, I would say he’s your new model client.” You smiled proudly.

“How?” Noah asked curiously.

“Manta Olga charges anywhere from 3 to ten thousand dollars for the kind of tea ceremony I just had with him and to get a tea reading with her is booked up anywhere from three to 9 months in advance because she is the high priestess at her temple. Minor priestesses and newbies like me usually make a tiny fraction of that. And honestly if all I’m out is a few scoops of my favorite tea, it’s worth it to me- to help ensure that you and Sakura especially will be ok and taken care of, long after I leave and can’t ensure it with my own hands.” You confessed as you fiddled with the fringe of your shawl because you suddenly didn’t have the strength to look at him.

Meanwhile the words were trying to eat their way out of Noah’s mouth to assure you and reassure you that you would be more than welcome to try. That he would follow you to the ends of the earth to give you as many chances as you wanted and needed to try. But then his radio went nuts trying to receive multiple messages all at once. All of these clients begging for his help to fly loads as you prepared yourself to repeat this process over and over and over today, as many times as it would take to make sure that Noah would be the most popular and sought after pilot the Frozen Tundra ever saw and prayed that your endeavors would bring Noah untold and unimaginable success.

Word spread quickly that a ‘priestess of Aura’ was with Noah and that she was giving free tea readings in exchange for business with Noah and Noah was getting money hand over fist as his payment envelope was close to bursting again, much like your bladder half the time because this tea, while beautiful and delicious, ran through you but you were getting better with every reading, like riding a bike and it was all coming back to you with ease. Like this is what you did all day every day and you had a lot of fun too and Noah made three loops around the state and flew from the morning till well into the night and every time you took tea with all these clients, they were more than happy to feed you a snack too. Mostly prepared by their wives to feed you and Noah and Noah counted himself lucky enough to sit in on a few of them while he ate lunch and dinner and gratefully drank some tea with you, enjoying the tea quite a bit.

On the final flight home, you finally got to take off the jewelry, your ears practically tears of joy that they weren’t weighed down anymore as your chest was much lighter without the necklace on it as you gradually took the beads and headbands out of your hair before you stretched your neck before you put it all away back into the blessing bag.

“There you are.” Noah murmured appreciatively, happy to see Zahnochka receed and his Zara come back to the forefront which made you giggle.

“Yup, here I am.” You answered before you got a makeup cloth out of your backpack and wiped off all the makeup and false lashes which were itching your eyelids.

“Did you really have to put all that makeup on?” Noah asked as he saw a ton of purple come off.

“Most priestesses of Aura are of Siberian and Eastern Europa descent where the indigo violet orcs and dark elves which are just about the same color-originated from. The closer I look physically to them, the more people believe my authenticity as one. My first tea reading didn’t go well because I didn’t look purple enough and the client thought they weren’t getting an authentic reading. Thanks to the wonders of makeup, once I was able to get my complexion purple enough, people stopped questioning my authenticity despite Olga vouching for me. Even now I’m listed under the priestesses of Aura website as a chastnyy, or private priestess. Which means I don’t “officially” serve at any one temple even though I am in the same order that Olga is in. It just makes it eaiser for me. Same thing with the accent, it just helps me play the part. It doesn’t make it any less real but there are theatrics that come with it.” You explained.

“Well maybe I’m weird but I’d rather have Zara with me in this cockpit than Zahnochka any day. She’s cool and all but I just like you better.” Noah confessed.

“Awww, thank you. Zahnochka is...I’ll be honest, she’s exhausting. She’s fun but tiresome after a while. But thank you for not getting annoyed or intimaded by her.” You confessed.

“Nope, not at all. So what are you doing tomorrow?” Noah asked.

“I don’t have any plans.” You answered.

“Well I actually ran all the loads today that I was supposed to run tomorrow. So technically I have tomorrow off and I would really like to take you fishing if you’d be up for it.” Noah offered, remembering his mother’s advice.

“YES!” You immediately agreed with a bright, nearly blinding smile. “I would love to.” You answered.

“We could even take Sakura too, I think with your encouragement, she might get over her squamishness with worms.” He added and grinned when your whole being practically lit up at the very idea.

“Perfect.” You beamed, feeling super excited for tomorrow.

#Jewel of the north #Jewel Of The North Part 4 #modern orcs #modern orc love story #ice orcs #jewel orcs #siberian amythyst orcs #so many #Noah and Zara #my new otp #orc boyfriend #monster boyfriend #orc reader insert #male monster female reader #modern fantasy fic #I would prefer this reality to my own ngl

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angryjellyfishtragedy · 3 years

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I am a typical teenager who always wanted to ride on a plane and get my passport stamped with the different countries that I might possibly visit at. I really love to go out and chase some excitements and adventures. But due to some problems in financial stability, I just have experience the fun that our country has to offer. And visiting the countries that are included in my bucket-list is still a dream.

One day, a Facebook friend noticed one of my shared posts which talks about travelling to place where you really wanted to go. This Facebook friend is not just a mere friend but also a family friend. She commented to my post “You want to go there?”, so I immediately responded with a big “YES”. Few minutes have passed, her name popped up as a messenger head. “Let’s go and have a tour. My treat, don’t worryJ” that’s what she said. I was shocked and a little bit teary eyed when I read her message. Due to my excitement, I went immediately to my mom and discussed it to her what just happen and got a yes as for her permission.

By the way, that family friend of ours is one of the beautiful flight attendants of the famous airline which is the AirAsia. She decided to take our trip when she goes back to work from her quick vacation. The destination of her duty was in India. So, even if it was not one of my dream countries, I still grab the opportunity for me to have an experience about India.

We took a 6 hour flight to Indira Gandhi International Airport from Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Indira Gandhi Airport is an outstanding and also the busiest airport in India. It was named after the former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi and it was located at the capital of the country which is New Delhi. We checked in at Red Fox Hotel for our stay. It was just a 2 km drive from the airport. We just had our dinner at the hotel and took a rest.

For our first day, we got off from the hotel early. We went to Hijackk Café to have our breakfast. It is a café where the customers can enjoy good food while taking a tour over the lanes of Ahmedabad (situated on the banks of Sabarmati River). It was an extraordinary café that I’ve ever been. Our next destination was the Taj Mahal. I was mesmerized to the architectural structures of the building which suits the talk of people that it is considered as one of the most beautiful buildings ever created. It is also known as the world’s most famous testimony to the power of love because it was named after the favourite wife of Emperor Shah Jahan. Next, we went to a thrilling place. We went to Bandhavgarh National Park and witnessed a true wildlife. The park gave me an opportunity to see leopards, deers, sloth bears, hyenas, wolves, and tigers which are quite rare in the Philippines. After that, we went to see some of the beautiful beaches of India. We had our lunch at the Palolem Beach. It was a perfect place to have a relaxation from the white sand beach, good food cuisines, and the people (tourists or locals) who are easily to deal with. Then, we decided to go to Select City Walk Mall to at least observe and somehow to experience how to do shopping to a mall by a different country. We went to every stall of the mall and had window shopping more. Before we go back to the hotel, we stopped by in a restaurant and had the chance to taste the savoury Chole Bhature which is popular in the city. It is fried baseball-shaped bread with stuffed onions and spicy chickpeas. India has really something to offer to people.

For our second day, we explored the beauty of India culture. Our first stop was the National Museum. It is the premiere museum of the country. It is a place where you can see the unique Indian antiquities and some collection of artefacts of the world. Truly, that the museum reflects the treasure trove of India’s history and heritage. Since my companion is fund of books, she visits at least one library of every country that she visit, we went to the National Library of India. The library is the largest in the country with a collection of 2.2 million books. And the library is designated to collect, disseminate and preserve every printed materials that are produced in India. My companion and I separate ways while we are browsing some of the shelves in the library. Since I do not have any ideas about the books or any story from India, I decided to go to the literature section. I grabbed a book and find myself a seat. The book is all about the history of Indian Literature. For the first pages, it discusses brief information about India. I came to know some facts about India at least. I was not able to finish the whole book because it may took some days to finish it but I was able to take down notes on my phone some of the important details that I was able to finish it.

Here are some of the details and observations that I got:

· Works before were passed by the word of mouth.

· Most of the pieces are in a form of poetry and these are about religion.

· There are inscriptions which are carved on stone pillars.

· Literary pieces are both to entertain and educate.

· Rabindranath Tagore as the best Indian author worldwide.

· Their literature adapting various languages through ages.

· The story “The Duel between the Elephant and Sparrow” is a remarkable among the several samples because it is about sacrifices and friendship.

After we got off from the library, we went to The Bombay Store. I bought Kolhapuri Chappals (hand-crafted leather footwear), spices (red chili, peppercorns, cumin, ginger, cardamom or garam masala) and ayurvedic oils (good for skin and hair), and some chai tea powder for souvenirs. And before we go back to the hotel, we just walked down the streets and appreciate the beauty of India at night by the busy streets, cars, and people. And the day after, while we were waiting for our departure time, I really cannot believe that I was able to witness the beauty that India has to offer. It feels like it was all a dream. It was a remarkable trip so far!

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truettkarsyn · 3 years

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Blossoming In Paris Through The Parisian Life

Being in Paris offers you a character of being stunning. If you are in a alley or on the key road or the pavement there are individuals with a character of elegance in them. Several cafes and restaurants would allow you to raise your appetite. It is the feel of being amidst history and modern fashion.

You will find mysterious unknown places to find out such as the Underground tunnels Catacombs with the impressions of world war two that's bones and skeletons aesthetically placed and its told so it has about 6 to 7 million peoples bones which were killed through the French revolution and features a look of a cemetery. You would have to wait in a point if you get a golden ticket booked previously on miss the line tickets section online. It costs about 40 US dollars but the place may be worth visiting Body Scrub Red Deer . This place is 20 meters below ground with a 14 degrees temperature It was build in the 12th century with lime stones and offers you an atmosphere of being in a mine we need to be there with a nearby TOUR guide.

If anyone gets the curiosity of where you can find a very good baguettes French bread and pastries around or desire to begin to see the Maison Kaiser the award winning bread maker who serves bread to the president. You will need to walk around the streets of Paris with a set of best bakeries.

Le Grenier a Pain is one of the finest bakeries in Paris and it's received several awards. There's a boulangerie in most corner of the city.

Traffic here is moderate but we may feel only a little noisy and crowded sometimes. There would be scooters and cars crossing one another from the alley and roads even though there are lanes. Overall, it is quite safe to cross the lanes through signals. There would be an electrical pole where you get the red and green button to push which will be for pedestrians and vehicles to avoid and wait at a periodic time there are cafes nearby where you can sip your latte with baguette and watch the folks go by. Like a cherry at the top, you'd look for a free WI-Fi around every restaurant and sitting areas so there would be lots of communication and uploading of videos and pictures together with your friends.

Chateau de Versailles features a fireworks show that has been previously banned. Louis the 14th the king of France loved to be called the king of the Sun and so the palace is filled up with equipment that seem like a sun and even the garden can offer you glimpses of it. Surviving in Paris could cost you a fortune. Lots of people go for really small rooms if you are a billionaire and want to invest your bucks. Try asking the French citizens who have lived here for quite a while for a reasonable living place just because a big room or a flat could cost you almost 300 to 400 Euros. It all hangs on the facility and area. The Champs Elysee is the most expensive area where a room could cost you 105 Euros with a separated kitchen and a big bedroom. SO choose wisely. Find a youth hostel or Airbnb through websites like couch surfing and book your place there on prior basis. Paris has lots of food varieties but obviously It is rich, it is colorful, it is tasty and is made out of the most effective of ingredients.

You will get loads in variety but the most effective is French onion soup with raisin bread, steak, seaweeds French fries and falafel. There's this item called Crepes and Croissant. It comes in varied varieties like chocolate to almond. Going to the Latin Quarter, you'd find items ranging from seafood duck breast fries sausages ham bacon eggs and simply stunning vegetables. You can have a 3-course meal menu with either ten or sixteen Euros option is yours. You'd have your choice of salad French fries and ham or sausage. (Only if you are a non-vegetarian) Never to your investment Baguette and cheese that goes along with a sit down elsewhere this place resembles a lot to the Indian street food area where we enjoy our spicy treats. Don't forget to try the Chocolate Fondue specially the egg bean with vanilla cream. You are able to learn the recipe from your hosts. Cheese is what'll melt orally having its flavor ranging from Parmesan to Mozzarella.

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indiaunpacked · 3 years

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The Many Faces of Pelling: From a Tourist Destination to a Melting Pot of Cultures

Pelling in Sikkim is a must visit for those who want to enjoy the best of culture and food in the north east of India. Pelling, a hilly town in Sikkim, is just the place for tourists who want to spend some time away from the fast-paced life that we get to witness in big cities. Pelling is a hill station that needs to be visited by all those who want to dive deeper into Buddhism. The place is just about ideal for all those who wish to try out a tourist destination that is not ‘mainstream’. Also, Pelling hotels are ideal for those who want to enjoy the best service in town while enjoying the bite-sized pleasures of life.

How to Reach Pelling?

By Road

All those planning to travel to Pelling via road from Delhi need to have a few drivers at their disposal. It will take close to 30 hours for people to reach Pelling from Delhi via road. Reaching Pelling is not straightforward as it is not well connected to other parts of India. Pelling can be reached with ease if you make your way to Gangtok. Booking a taxi to Gangtok to Pelling is going to be easy as there are various prepaid taxis waiting to be hired by people. Also, book Pelling hotels well in advance as the place attracts a lot of tourists. The best way to reach Pelling is by travelling till Bagdogra airport by air. Once you are there at the airport, hire a taxi and make way to the hotel.

By Air

As stated in earlier, the Bagdogra airport is the nearest airport for the people to travel to in case they are planning to travel to Pelling. Located at a distance of about 160 kms from Pelling, the place is known for its natural beauty. Also, book a taxi from the airport to make your life easier. Moreover, tourists will get to view some breathtaking scenes on their way to Pelling. Also, it is advisable to book Pelling hotels as soon as you finalise your trip to make things a little more organised for yourself.

By Train

Jalpaiguri is the nearest railway station and is located at a distance of about 50 kms from Pelling. It is the best way to travel to Pelling as Trains to Jalpaiguri are available with ease from all major parts of the country. Also, those wanting to spend some quality time with friends and family can take the long route to Pelling via train.

Where to Stay in Pelling?

Pelling hotels can be booked quite effortlessly as it is one of the most visited tourist places in India’s North-East. Also, there are various exciting properties owned by Oyo Rooms in Pelling. The staff members there are courteous and the services provided are second to one. Also, do remember to book budget hotels (or luxury resorts and spas) in Pelling before finalising your trip.

What to Eat?

Pelling is known for its rich and diverse culinary scene. There are various exciting restaurants in Pelling that need to be tried out by the visitors at least once in their life. Here are some of the top restaurants that need to be tried out without fail:

Hotel Kabur Restaurant

Hotel Kabur Restaurant is known for its Chinese, Asian and Indian cuisines. The place is known for its vibrant and lovely ambiance. Also, the seating arrangement is one of the striking features of this restaurant. Check out a Pelling hotel near this restaurant and you will have ample food on your plate at all times.

Melting Point Restaurant

Pork thukpas are a popular delicacy that needs to be tried out by the masses without any delay as the restaurant is known for this delicacy. It is one of the top restaurants in the region and is known to serve some mouth-watering delights. Also, the restaurant is suitable for vegans as well as there are a lot of options available. The hotel can be visited throughout the day as it serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is absolutely fine if you do not want to eat at the hotel, but do make it a point to book Pelling hotels without fail as they would make your travel and stay quite easier and convenient.

Roots and Shoots

Those who wish to eat Chinese and continental can try out Roots and Shoots, which is a fairly popular restaurant in Pelling because of its ambiance and food. Moreover, all those wanting to try out the local cuisine of Pelling are advised to visit this restaurant. All of the local organic delicacies are prepared using fresh farm produce. The place also serves excellent tandoori delicacies.

Where to Appease the Shopaholic in You?

Those wanting to shop in Pelling can come to the Lama Tenzing Wandak Place. Situated near a hotel, named Sonamchen, it is the ideal place to shop for Tibetan handicrafts and Thangkas (handmade). The pricing is affordable. Book Pelling hotels near the bazaar.

Some of the Major Attractions

Kanchenjunga Waterfall

Kanchenjunga waterfall is one of the most popular tourist attractions near Pelling. Known not just for its natural beauty, the place is also a delight for those who wish to enjoy a trekking expedition in India’s north east. Do visit this place during monsoons because it would provide the visitors with a highly ‘refreshed’ look and feel.

Visit the Darap Cherny Village

Those who love traditional homestays and trekking are advised to pay this village a visit. The village is home to the members of the Limboo community and is the ideal place to travel to in Pelling for those wanting to experience peace and serenity. Also, do make it a point to trek down the mountains in and around the village.

Kanchenjunga National Park

Wildlife safari lovers can give this place a try as it is a vast green expanse that contains rich varieties of both flora and fauna. Plus, you will get to see the likes of sloth bear, musk deer, red panda and a lot more in the national park. Do make it a point to visit this wildlife reserve without fail if you call yourself a wildlife enthusiast.

Happy journey, folks!

#Pelling hotels #Melting Pot of Cultures #Tourist Destination

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ultraheydudemestuff · 4 years

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Deer Creek State Park

20635 State Park Road 20

Mt. Sterling, OH 43143

Located in the heart of Ohio's agricultural country, Deer Creek State Park is central Ohio's vacation showplace. A collage of meadows and woodlands surround the scenic reservoir. This resort park features a modern lodge, cottages, campground, golf course, swimming beach and boating for outdoor Deer Creek State Park lies on the eastern edge of the great till plains of Ohio. These plains receive their name from the glacial debris, or till, which is a mixture of sand, silt and gravel that was deposited by the glaciers. As glaciers advanced across the northern two-thirds of Ohio, most hills and valleys were covered and filled in by the till, leaving this part of Ohio relatively flat. Today, these rich plains in the park's region support corn, soybeans and wheat. The first settlers to the area did not find these open fields. Except for a few small prairie openings, the region was covered by dense woodlands. A regrowth of the original woodlands can be found scattered along the ridge tops and creek bottoms of the park. Wildflowers abound in the fields and woodlands of the till plains. In spring, common flowers are Dutchman's breeches, rue anemone, trillium, spring beauty and bloodroot. Summer months produce thimbleweed, wild lettuce, jewelweed and daisy fleabane. In autumn, the most abundant flowers are aster, goldenrod and chicory, whose roots were used by settlers to make a coffee-like beverage.

The best known animals of the Deer Creek area include amphibians such as the chorus frog, spring peeper and American toad. Reptiles include box and painted turtles, black rat snake and eastern garter snake. Numerous mammals inhabit the park. Most of them are small and include the red fox, raccoon, opossum, woodchuck, skunk, rabbit, deer mouse and white-tailed deer. Deer Creek is known for its population of ring-necked pheasant. Other birds of the area include eastern meadowlark, song sparrow, cowbird, eastern bluebird, barn swallow and woodcock. On a long ridge that once overlooked Deer Creek and its valley, researchers have discovered evidence of a camp of an ancient Indian tribe. The nomads who camped here around 2,000 B.C. were hunters and gatherers and used this camp periodically throughout the year. Since agriculture was not practiced by the nomads, they moved on after they depleted the plant or animal food supplies in a locale. Burial sites near the camp indicate it was inhabited over a period of time. In more recent years, a cottage owned by Harry M. Daugherty, the attorney general under President Warren G. Harding, overlooked the valley. The rustic one and one-half story cottage was built in 1918. The President was said to have visited this cottage which now bears his name. The completion of the dam in 1968 created the lake with the park officially opening in 1974.

The campground at Deer Creek has 232 sites. All have electricity. The campground features showers, flush toilets and a dump station. Pets are permitted on designated sites. Four Rent-A-Camp units consisting of a tent, dining fly, cooler, cook stove and other equipment can be rented during the summer months by reservation. A group camp is also available by reservation. A horsemen's camp provides primitive overnight facilities for riders and a primitive group camp offers an area for groups. Twenty-five cottages offer overnight accommodations. The cottages have two bedrooms, bath with a shower, living room, complete kitchen, dining area and screened porch. The cottages sleep six people. The historic Harding Cabin offers a unique setting and sleeps 8. The lodge at Deer Creek has 110 guest rooms, many with a panoramic view of the lake. Lodge features include indoor and outdoor pools, sauna, whirlpool and exercise room. A restaurant, lounge, and meeting rooms provide additional accommodations. A spacious 1,700-foot swimming beach graces the shores of Deer Creek State Park. A concession area and changing booths are special features at the beach. Unlimited horsepower boating is permitted on the 1,277-acre Deer Creek reservoir. Two launch ramps provide access to the lake. A fully equipped marina offers fuel, boat rental and seasonal dock rentals.

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sky-on-blog · 7 years

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1. What’s the last thing you ate? Ice cream, I think, last night.

2. What’s your favourite cheese? Pepper jack.

3. What’s your favourite fish? Salmon.

4. What’s your favourite fruit? Pineapple, even though it hurts my mouth to eat it raw.

5. When, if ever, did you start liking olives? I’m pretty sure I’ve always liked olives -- at least, the black ones. I used to take them from salad bars and eat them by themselves when I was little. Green olives are okay. I dislike Kalamata olives, though.

6. When, if ever, did you start liking beer? Probably like, after I turned 21. I disliked it for a long time until I tried things other than my mother’s Coors Light.

7. When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish? I’m pretty sure I’ve always liked shellfish, too. I don’t understand how people can not like crabs?

8. What was the best thing your mom/dad/guardian used to make? Uh. Nothing, really. My parents are pretty terrible cooks. Do cookies count? Because I can make those, too.

9. What’s the native specialty of your hometown? I don’t know. Scrapple? Delaware doesn’t have a lot of “native specialties.” Apparently muskrat is a thing that people eat there, even though I lived there until I was 24 and never once encountered it (thankfully).

10. What’s your comfort food? Goldfish, or peanut butter Captain Crunch. Also peanut butter M&Ms. And Reese’s.

11. What’s your favourite type of chocolate? Milk. 12. How do you like your steak? Medium rare. I thought I didn’t like steak for basically my entire life because I only ever had it more well done.

13. How do you like your burger? Medium, I guess? I’ve never really compared.

14. How do you like your eggs? Over easy, and preferably atop hash browns.

15. How do you like your potatoes? Fried and crispy. Mashed potatoes are good, too, though.

16. How do you take your coffee? With flavored creamer, or cream and sugar if it’s just regular cream.

17. How do you take your tea? Depends on the kind of tea. I like iced green tea, but only if it isn’t bitter -- so like, not from a teabag. And hot tea is okay, but I mostly just drink that to help with my throat or to relax; I don’t really love the taste, or anything. When I do drink it, though, I just drink it plain -- with the exception of some honey if I feel really bad, but again, that’s less for the taste and more for the effects.

18. What’s your favourite mug? A fox-shaped one that I got as a gift.

19. What’s your biscuit or cookie of choice? Peanut butter chocolate chip.

20. What’s your ideal breakfast? Uhh. Depends on my mood, I guess. But there’s a place in Haines City that has these apple cinnamon waffles that are pretty amazing.

21. What’s your ideal sandwich? Those Italian, oven-baked sandwiches from Domino’s. They are amazing. Turkey clubs are great, too.

22. What’s your ideal pizza: Light sauce with pineapple and jalapeno. Red Baron’s frozen Mexican pizza is awesome, as well.

23. What’s your ideal pie (sweet or savoury)? Pumpkin -- sweet. I wholly prefer sweet pie to savory.

24. What’s your ideal salad? The one you get at Olive Garden. That’s the only salad I can actually get excited about. Oh, or black bean and corn salad, oh my god.

25. What food do you always like to have in the fridge? Something easily accessible. It’s not a “food,” but I always like to have soda. And onions, preferably red.

26. What food do you always like to have in the freezer? Again, something easy to make. Oh, and burgers.

27. What food do you always like to have in the cupboard? Goldfish, cereal, candy, coffee.

28. What spices can you not live without? Salt is the only one I could probably actually not go without, but cilantro and cayenne are pretty excellent, too.

29. What sauces can you not live without? Eh. I can live without most sauce -- I prefer things to be more dry. Does salsa count as sauce? I tend to miss that when I don’t have it.

30. Where do you buy most of your food? Walmart. It’s right across the street, and it’s cheap. But we also go to Publix pretty often, too.

31. How often do you go food shopping? Usually about once a week, but it depends on when Jeremy’s and my schedules line up and when we start to run out of food.

33. What’s the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own? ...I’m drawing a blank. Jeremy’s dad got us a frappuccino maker that we’ve never used in the pantry. Oh, there’s a Keurig in the closet, but it doesn’t work. Does that count? I mean, we have a microwave and an oven, but we don’t own those. Maybe the toaster oven?

34. What’s the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen? A coffee maker, when the Keurig stopped working.

35. What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without? The microwave, without a doubt.

36. How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients? Me personally, never. Jeremy, for both of us to eat...probably a few times a month.

37. What’s the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients? Chicken enchilada casserole. It wasn’t very good, which is why I don’t cook.

38. What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig and poultry? Lamb and deer are the only two I can think of. They have a lot of alligator down here in Florida, though, and I’ve been meaning to try that. Oh, I tried frog once, and it was awful -- but granted, it was at a pretty awful restaurant.

39. What’s the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor? Yesterday, a walnut fell onto the kitchen counter and I still put it in my ice cream. I probably ate something off the floor yesterday, too. It happens.

40. What’s the last time you ate something you’d picked in the wild? Years and years ago, when my friends and I went cherry-picking.

41. Arrange the following in order of preference: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Sushi – Sushi, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Indian. Although, I’ve only ever had Indian food once, and nothing there was very good except the naan. So maybe that place just wasn’t very good.

42. Arrange the following in order of preference: Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy, Rum – I haven’t had brandy in a while and I don’t really remember what it tastes like, so I’m going to leave that out of the equation. But probably rum, whiskey, vodka, although I like all three pretty well.

43. Arrange the following in order of preference: Garlic, Basil, Caramel, Lime, Mint, Ginger, Aniseed – I’ve never had aniseed. But otherwise -- lime, garlic, ginger, mint (as long as it’s in dessert), basil, caramel. If the mint is in something savory, then it goes at the very bottom; I really hate mint in savory things.

44. Arrange the following in order of preference: Pineapple, Orange, Apple, Strawberry, Cherry, Watermelon, Banana. – Pineapple, orange, strawberry, apple, banana, cherry, watermelon.

45. Bread and spread: What? Like, my favorites? I like pumpernickel bread, and...I don’t know. Mayonnaise? That chili spread -- the famous one with the rooster -- is pretty good, too.

46. What’s your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order? Probably Popeye’s -- spicy chicken, usually tenders, with red beans and rice.

47. Pick a city. What are the best dining experiences you’ve had in that city? Uh. Newark, in Delaware, has this pretty great Japanese buffet.

48. What’s your choice of tipple at the end of a long day? What’s a tipple?

49. What’s the next thing you’ll eat? I’m not sure. I might eat some cereal or Goldfish or something before work.

50. Are you hungry now? Sort of, but I don’t know what I want.

51. Do you eat your breakfast everyday? No. I’m never hungry when I wake up; I have to force myself to eat, like, a granola bar when I go to work.

52. At what time do you have breakfast? Whenever I get up and feel like it.

53. At what time do you have lunch? Whenever they give it to me at work, or just...whenever Jeremy and I get hungry.

54. What do you have for lunch? Different stuff. Usually burgers, hot dogs, fries -- something easy.

55. At what time do you have dinner? When I get home from work, so usually around 9:30-10.

56. What do you have for dinner? Again, different stuff.

57. Do you light candles during dinner? No.

58. How many chairs are there in your dining room and who sits in the main chair? There isn’t a dining room in our apartment, but there’s a table in the corner with four chairs. There isn’t a “main” chair; they’re all the same.

59. Do you eat and drink using your right hand or the left one? Right, usually.

61. Mention the veggies that you like most: Pickles, onions, jalapenos, tomatoes.

62. What fruit and vegetable do you like the least? Cantaloupe is my absolute least favorite fruit -- I can’t stand the taste. And my least favorite vegetable...probably Brussels sprouts.

63. You like your fruit salad to have more: Uhh. I haven’t had fruit salad in a long time. I guess strawberries?

64. You prefer your vegetable salad to contain more: Tomatoes.

65. What’s your favourite sandwich spread? Oh, I answered this earlier -- mayo or that chili spread. Admittedly, though, I haven’t had very many sandwich spreads.

66. What’s your favourite chocolate bar? Crunch.

67. What’s your favourite dessert? Peanut butter brownie sundaes.

68. What’s your favourite drink? I don’t know. I’ve been in a weird drink place lately where I don’t know what I want. Margaritas are pretty great, though.

69. What’s your favourite snack? Goldfish.

70. What’s your favourite bubble gum flavour? Just like, wintergreen, probably, or spearmint. I like lemony ones, too. They used to have a strawberry lemonade one that was really good -- I don’t know if it still exists. But I’m not a big fan of gum, and my teeth have like, no enamel, so I never chew it. Oh, I used to like Juicy Fruit a lot when I was little.

71. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? Green tea. I can only ever find it from Haagen-Dazs at some Publix. Oh, and brown sugar. Baskin Robbins has one that has brown sugar in it and it’s fucking incredible, but I’m pretty sure it’s seasonal.

72. What’s your favourite potato chip flavour? Sour cream and onion, or just regular.

73. What’s your favourite soup? Chicken tortilla.

74. What’s your favourite pizza? Jalapeno and pineapple.

75. What’s your favourite type of dish? Sushi, or Mexican.

76. What food do you hate? Cantaloupe. Peas. Brussels sprouts. Oatmeal. Applesauce. Anything mushy like that. Oh, and oysters/clams. And frog.

77. What’s your favourite restaurant? Hibachi.

78. Do you eat homemade food, food delivered from outside? I eat both, but I prefer food that’s not homemade, usually.

80. Who cooks at home? Jeremy.

81. What kind of diet (e.g. low-fat, high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, balanced diet etc.) do you have? Uh. A really unhealthy, salty, fattening one.

82. How do you keep yourself fit? I don’t.

#survey

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tandoornf008 · 2 months

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Red Deer Halal Meat

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justwravel-blog · 5 years

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Valley of Flowers trek

The stunning natural beauty of the Himalayan “Valley of Flowers” is unmatchable. VOF is at an approximate altitude of 3600 meters above sea level. This natural valley is also a Reserved Indian National Park situated in the timeless Himalayas. It is in the northern part of the Chamoli district, in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. The valley is home to rare, exclusive and even endangered fauna, and has the Alpine flowers that are endemic to the region. The region also has the endangered fauna, including the Musk deer, snow leopard, black bear, and the blue sheep. You can also find the colorful and high altitude birds here (including the Himalayan Monal Pheasant). The picturesque Valley is 2 kilometers wide and 8 kilometers long, with its area being approximately 87-kilometer square.

Discovery of the Valley of Flower.

The beautiful valley of flowers national park was unknown to the outside world till the year 1931, because of the inaccessibility of the terrain, and presence of no information/evidence about it. British mountaineers discovered it by the name Frank Smythe, R.L. Holdsworth and Eric Shipton. These mountaineers accidentally discovered the valley when they were returning from the Mount Kamet. The present name ‘valley of flowers” was also given by these mountaineers. An imminent botanist by the name Professor Chandra Prakash Kala carried out an extensive study and research of the flora of the valley of flowers. He listed 520 Alpine and wild plants that grow exclusively in this region only.

Region/Terrain of the valley.

While the valley came to be known to the outside world in 1930, it has been known to the local people since early history and ancient times. The World Heritage Site was declared a National Park in the year 1982. The region within which the valley situated is a transition zone lying in between the Great Himalayas and the Zanskar range. The valley of flowers in Uttrakhand forms a part of the upper region or expanse of Laxman Ganga or Bhyundar Ganga. Joshi Math (in the Garhwal region) is a major town near the valley. The broader valley region within which the exotic valley of flowers is situated is called as Pushpawati Valley. This region is quite close to the Nanda Devi Park (approx 20 km distance apart), which is also a part of UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The majestic and breathtaking Zanskar range is also a part of the Himalayas, and the highest point of this region and the valley of flowers is the “Gauri Parbat” that is situated at the height of 6719 meters above the sea level.

How to Reach the Valley of Flowers?

The valley stays beautiful throughout the year, and you could visit it at any time and at any season. If you want to see the maximum number of exotic and rare flowers in full bloom, July and August may be the right months. Those interested in capturing the splendid beauty of glaciers may visit it in June. The valley is suitable for trekking for beginners in India, as the trek has an average challenge level.

The trek to one of the best natural wonders of the world is of 17 kilometers. You will have to reach to Joshi Math, which is easily accessible through road connections. You can reach to Joshi Math via Dehradun or Haridwar, which are both around 270 kilometers from the hilly town. The actual trek to valley of flowers starts from Govind Ghat, which is around a one-hour drive from Joshi Math. The next major destination of the trek to valley of flowers is Ghangaria. The distance between Govind Ghat and Ghangaria is around 15 kilometers distance. The trek distance can be reduced to 11 kilometers as the road is motorable for the next 4 kilometers. This small and beautiful one-street town can also be reached through helicopter, mule or porter.

The fragrance of a variety of flowers will catch while reaching to Ghangaria itself, and you will find the wild strawberries, bush Roses and other flowers and plants during this trek. Ghangaria has several restaurants, hotels, and a Gurudwara as well. If you are looking free accommodation and food, the Gurudwara has it for you. The helipad of this region is also situated at Ghangaria. A significant pilgrimage point of Sikhism, Hemkund can also be reached through this trek.

Further trek and travel can only be accomplished once you get the permit to reach to the valley of flowers from the Forest Department, at Ghangaria itself. Trekking to the valley can be done during the daytime only, and the permit you get is valid for 3 days. You cannot camp in the valley of flowers but can stay at the hotels and accommodation available at Ghangaria. You reach to the valley of flowers after a trek of around 2.5 kilometers from Ghangharia. You will find a range of habitats in this region including meadows, small forests, riverbeds, valley bottoms, bogs, plateaus, moraine and stone deserts. More than 600 species of plant inhabit this small region, and some of the species are not even found in the nearby areas of the Nanda Devi National Park or anywhere else in the world. The flower carpet of the valley includes the anemones, roses (including the Himalayan rose), daisies, marigold, primulas, poppies, and orchids. Pink, white, yellow, red, purple...! There is all kind of colors that add to the glory and magnificence of the valley. The snow-capped mountains of the Himalayan range in the backdrop and their splendid beauty is also a feast for the eyes.

Things to keep in mind while traveling Valley of Flowers:

Here are some essential tips to keep in mind while trekking to the Valley of flowers.

●It is crucial that you carry your water bottles during your trek. You will find many dhabas and other locations where you can fill up the container.

●Ensure that you are in full good physical health, and get your health examined by a registered medical practitioner/physician before embarking on the journey and trek.

●Ensure that you have your raincoat, as mild drizzles or major rain showers may accompany your trek.

●Leave early in the morning to explore the valley fully.

●To prevent altitude sickness take generous breaks during the trek.

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sophies-surveys · 7 years

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601.

FOOD SURVEY

1. What’s the last thing you ate? A rice krispy treat. 2. What’s your favourite cheese? Probably gouda. 3. What’s your favourite fish? Flounder.

4. What’s your favourite fruit? Cherries. 5. When, if ever, did you start liking olives? I don’t like olives.

6. When, if ever, did you start liking beer? When I was about 22. 7. When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish? Idk, as a kid? I’ve never disliked shellfish. 8. What was the best thing your mum/dad/guardian used to make? My dad makes the best chili. There’s nothing better that I like to eat in the winter time. 9. What’s the native specialty of your hometown? There is no “native specialty” food lol. 10. What’s your comfort food? Totally depends, but usually ice cream. 11. What’s your favourite type of chocolate? Milk. 12. How do you like your steak? Medium. 13. How do you like your burger? Medium.

14. How do you like your eggs? Scrambled.

15. How do you like your potatoes? I like potatoes almost any way they come lol. 16. How do you take your coffee? I don’t drink coffee. 17. How do you take your tea? Sweet and iced. 18. What’s your favourite mug? A white one with gold polkadots that my boyfriend got for me. 19. What’s your biscuit or cookie of choice? Chocolate chip. 20. What’s your ideal breakfast? Chocolate chip pancakes or french toast. With bacon, fruit salad, and orange juice. 21. What’s your ideal sandwich? Roast beef and cheese. Or maybe turkey and cheese. 22. What’s your ideal pizza: Lots of pepperoni and mushrooms. 23. What’s your ideal pie (sweet or savoury)? Sweet. Apple pie. 24. What’s your ideal salad? Caesar salad. 25. What food do you always like to have in the fridge? I always want some kind of cheese. 26. What food do you always like to have in the freezer? Frozen broccoli. 27. What food do you always like to have in the cupboard? Peanut butter. 28. What spices can you not live without? Chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and crushed red pepper. 29. What sauces can you not live without? Honey mustard. 30. Where do you buy most of your food? Food Lion. 31. How often do you go food shopping? About once every week and a half. 33. What’s the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own? Umm I don’t own anything expensive. Probably one of the blenders or mixers I have. 34. What’s the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen? I don’t know. 35. What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without? Cutlery. 36. How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients? Right now probably twice a week. 37. What’s the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients? Fajitas. 38. What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig and poultry? Deer, alligator.. 39. What’s the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor? I don’t know. Probably not that long ago. 40. What’s the last time you ate something you’d picked in the wild? I don’t remember doing that ever lol.

41. Arrange the following in order of preference: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Sushi – Sushi, Mexican, Thai, Italian, Chinese.... I don’t think I’ve ever had Indian food so I can’t really rank that one. 42. Arrange the following in order of preference: Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy, Rum – Rum, whiskey, vodka, brandy. 43. Arrange the following in order of preference: Garlic, Basil, Caramel, Lime, Mint, Ginger, Aniseed – Basil, garlic, mint, caramel, lime, ginger, aniseed. 44. Arrange the following in order of preference: Pineapple, Orange, Apple, Strawberry, Cherry, Watermelon, Banana. – Cherry, watermelon, pineapple, strawberry, orange, apple, banana. 45. Bread and spread: What? 46. What’s your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order? This is such a difficult question for me. Right now my favorite is probably Chic Fil A. I usually get the spicy sandwich combo. 47. Pick a city. What are the best dining experiences you’ve had in that city? New Orleans. Over all the great cajun food we had there, the best food was acutally at some tapas place. We had truffle fries, a meat and cheese plate, fish tacos, pork belly sliders, and more that I can’t even remember. It was so good. 48. What’s your choice of tipple at the end of a long day? What? 49. What’s the next thing you’ll eat? I’m not sure. Whatever the volunteers bring for us. 50. Are you hungry now? No. 51. Do you eat your breakfast everyday? No. 52. At what time do you have breakfast? I usually don’t have breakfast. 53. At what time do you have lunch? Usually about 12:30. 54. What do you have for lunch? Either leftovers from dinner or a sandwich and some fruit. 55. At what time do you have dinner? About 6:00. 56. What do you have for dinner? It really depends. We try to mix it up and not eat the same things on a regular basis. 57. Do you light candles during dinner? No. 58. How many chairs are there in your dining room and who sits in the main chair? 4. There is no main chair. 59. Do you eat and drink using your right hand or the left one? Both. I hold my fork in my left hand though. 61. Mention the veggies that you like most: Asparagus, broccoli, corn. 62. What fruit and vegetable do you like the least? Umm... I can’t think of any that I actively dislike.. maybe peas and grapefruit? 63. You like your fruit salad to have more: Berries. 64. You prefer your vegetable salad to contain more: Idk, crisp veggies like bell pepper and cucumber. 65. What’s your favourite sandwich spread? I guess mayo is the one I use the most. 66. What’s your favourite chocolate bar? Kit Kat. 67. What’s your favourite dessert? Ice cream. 68. What’s your favourite drink? Coca Cola. 69. What’s your favourite snack? Chips, probably. 70. What’s your favourite bubble gum flavour? I don’t like gum. 71. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? Mint chocolate chip. 72. What’s your favourite potato chip flavour? Salt and vinegar. 73. What’s your favourite soup? Tomato. 74. What’s your favourite pizza? Pepperoni and mushroom. 75. What’s your favourite type of dish? Either something spicy or something cheesy.. or both! 76. What food do you hate? Olives. 77. What’s your favourite restaurant? A little Caribbean place where I used to live. 78. Do you eat homemade food, or food delivered from outside? Both. More often homemade though. 80. Who cooks at home? Both of us, but my boyfriend probably does more cooking than me. 81. What kind of diet (e.g. low-fat, high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, balanced diet etc.) do you have? Balanced. 82. How do you keep yourself fit? Eat normal portions, incorporate fruits and veggies and run.

#survey

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textales · 5 years

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“Fight for Your Right.”

“Who the fuck are you?” asked the leader of some band we hired to play that night.

Good lord, how could anyone have the audacity to be so disrespectful and rude? He had to have known this was the office where the check would come from as he was being escorted by the guy who hired them.

I stood there with my mouth gaping open, stunned like a deer in the headlights, then just like that he and his entourage moved on before I could scare up an answer.

My work-study job was more fun than most. While others were stocking shelves at the bookstore or washing dishes at the food service, I worked for ASUM Programming, the entertainment arm of “The Associated Students of the University of Montana.” A New Yorker named Erik curated concerts. A grad student picked the lectures. And there were three red-headed sisters – triplets no less – from a windswept town near some Indian reservation. One ran the performing arts program, one picked the movies, and one was the benevolent boss of all of us.

Working for the student government was an honor and a responsibility that I took very seriously, and figured it would pay off when I had to get a real job after graduation. Thirty years later I can say I was right – if not for me, at least for many of my co-workers who went on to become big deals. One girl got a gig at some software company in Seattle and was so successful she retired in her 30s. Our student body president became a senator. And that New Yorker responsible for bringing concerts to our college made a fortune when he sold the newspaper he founded to a big media conglomerate.

I did the advertising – a position that completely went to my head. Looking back, I was a pain-in-the-ass prima donna, but my intentions were righteous (or at least I thought so). Although we were in the sticks, I was insistent that our image be every bit as cool as those of giant schools like UCLA or Harvard. It was my personal mission to showcase how we were so much better than our redneck peers at MSU in Bozeman who offered washed-up has-beens filling dates between county fairs. As our community’s un-elected curators of cool, we presented performers on the cutting edge. Oh sure, occasionally we had a show a little past its prime, but we knew how to position it as the best thing to happen since the advent of electricity, and we’d sell out the biggest venues on campus every time.

I made ridiculous demands of our graphic artists and printers, maxed out every budget and milked my media partners for every last free commercial. I shamelessly coerced radio stations into selling us commercials for pennies on the dollar. I hired the most expensive television production house in the state and ground them down until they agreed to the pittance I was willing to pay. On broadcast TV, The Cosby Show was the number one hit in prime time (years before any controversy) and I demanded our commercials on the local NBC affiliate play “first in set” when the most people were watching. At $75 bucks a pop, I got our money’s worth and then some. I was making my mark, dammit, hell bent on proving this was no hokey small town operation!

The office was situated in the student union building known as University Center. The glass walls were covered with posters from past performers – everyone from Alabama to Van Halen had been through that town. I was proud of the bands we presented during my tenure there, including 38 Special, Cheap Trick and Corey Hart. On that cold winter day, a red and shiny silver poster hung on the front door to promote the music group who had just blessed our office with their presence.

After cooling-off for a minute I conjured a response to that obnoxious “up and comer” who wanted to know my purpose in the overall scheme of things. Given the chance, I would have shot back with something snarky like “I’m the reason you sold out your show here in the middle of nowhere, you stupid fuck.” But by that point the ungrateful bastard and his band were halfway across the snow-covered campus.

“I like Dick’s.”

Once a year, our team would make a trek to Portland to go shopping. We were looking for “the next big thing” and we’d find it at the convention of the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) where aspiring music artists, comedians and speakers would present themselves for hire by colleges in the region looking for entertainment options for their respective campus constituencies. The convention was held at the Jantzen Beach Red Lion, a big fancy hotel on the waterfront. Artists would do short performances for the crowd, then interested buyers would have an opportunity to meet with them and their agents at a conference room where deals were cut on the spot. At the conclusion of each three-day trip we’d come home with a pretty good idea of what the next year’s entertainment line-up would be.

I was fascinated with Portland – it was a “real city” (at least compared to Missoula) and traveling at the expense of someone else was cool shit for this 21-year-old college kid who at that point could count on one hand the number of times I’d stayed in a hotel or eaten at a restaurant with cloth napkins.

My first taste of fine dining happened on a NACA trip at a restaurant named the Couch Street Fish House. Knowing it would cost a fortune I was reluctant, but caved to peer-pressure as I was reminded such opportunities for fancy were nonexistent where we came from. Trying not to look like a total hick from the sticks I gawked at fish tanks in the lobby where you could pick a lobster or sea critter they’d kill and cook right then - ain’t never seen that before! Dinner was presented in a coordinated reveal as servers lifted silver domes covering the entrees of all patrons at the table, in unison, at the direction of the lead waiter. There were so many different forks and knives I had to ask which to use for what, and I recall being given a hot towel at some point, along with grapefruit sorbet which was to, according to the sharp-looking waiter in a bow tie, “cleanse the palate between courses.” Hardly an adventurous eater, I had a simple Sirloin Steak (AKA high-grade hamburger), but rest of the crowd went crazy with escargot, scallops and crab.

Split among us, my portion of the bill was $106. To put things into perspective, I made $290 a month before taxes, so this was absurdly high for this poor college kid, consuming over half of my take-home for the month. But I don’t regret it, and to this day that dinner over thirty years ago remains one of the fanciest of my life.

We went night-clubbing on Front Street at The Satyricon. This place was buzzing with sketch-looking guys with mohawks, tight leather pants, chain necklaces and tattoos. And there were women in fishnet stockings looking all slutty with black lipstick and winged eyeliner. A few emo kids and some nerds rounded out the crowd, which contained more diversity than anywhere I’d ever been back home. Oh sure, I’d set foot in The Top Hat and AmVets in Missoula, but never a gritty place like this. I recall a wall of black and white TVs showing nothing but snowy static…a wall of TVs just for decoration? This is nuts. It was literally on the edge of railroad tracks, complete with an angry punk rock band, a bouncer with bad teeth and bulging biceps, a coat check hosted by a girl who looked remarkably homeless, and there was a ridiculously high cover charge. The door person asking if my male co-worker and I were a couple. Before I could answer, Kevin blurted “yes,” knowing we’d get a discount. Still deep in the closet, I was mortified at the consequences of having my cover blown.

As college kids are known to do, we drank a lot of beer on those trips. In eco-conscious Oregon, with progressive recycling laws decades ahead of the rest of the country, empty bottles and cans could be redeemed for a refund of five cents each. On the way out of town, we’d stop at Fred Meyer to return the cases of empties. We were so proud of ourselves, having consumed so much beer over the weekend that the refund money was enough for beef jerky and bottled water for the nine hour drive back to Missoula.

In Spokane we stopped for burgers and fries at a drive-in. Without realizing how dumb it would sound, I proudly blurted “I like Dick’s,” as I stood there in acid-washed jeans and a pink polo shirt.

“He is so gay” the New Yorker exclaimed to the red-headed triplets. And here I thought I had them all fooled.

“Fight for Your Right”

Erik must have seen something promising when he hired the group of white rappers at the NACA conference that year. Yes, we wanted to be “cutting edge” and all, but white rappers? In Montana?! I didn’t see it…but what did I know? I was a fan of the fluffy pop I played on the radio, like Exposé, Bananarama and Madonna, which Erik considered the musical equivalent of cotton candy.

As it turned out, he proved to be a programming genius. When he signed The Beastie Boys months prior in Portland they were nothing more than an unknown opening act for Run-D.M.C., dismissed by industry pros as three obnoxious white kids from New York trying to sound black. Then they blew up…and it was like ASUM Programming hit the jackpot. The album “Licensed to Ill” was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 2, 1987 – just five days after their appearance in Missoula. This was an unofficial launch of the “License to Ill” tour, which started three weeks later.

Those Beastie Boys were obnoxious alright. And they were pissed, because just before coming to Missoula they were offered a show in Toronto and tried to cancel ours. Erik held their feet to the fire and threatened to file a lawsuit if they bailed on us, so they conceded and came to Montana in the dead of winter to do a gig for pennies of what they might have otherwise made in a bigger city.

They were nice to Erik at first, but told him once the show was on they’d have to portray the image of the obnoxious rebels their managers were so carefully crafting. They delivered on their promise to their management and then some. No wonder the lead guy was such a dick to me at the office.

We suspected they might be rowdy and cause a ruckus early on. Their contract required multiple cases of beer and bottles of whisky, and they wanted their dressing room stocked with a “rainbow assortment” of condoms. Such demands are not uncommon, and often ridiculous demands are written into the contracts just to make sure someone is actually paying attention to the small print. I’m not sure if we provided the condoms, but we definitely didn’t supply the beer and whiskey since University policy wouldn’t allow. So they brought their own, and sprayed two cases of warm Budweiser on the crowd as part of their performance. They encouraged the crowd to rip-up the seating in the first few rows of the venue, and they trashed their dressing room, which I suspect got charged-back to the promoter.

I recall not wanting to see the show….it was rap, after all, and I liked “the musical equivalent of cotton candy.” But I was curious about what made this group so popular, so I found my way to the University Theatre for the last few minutes of their show that snowy January eve.

I don’t remember much, other than the crowd went absolutely wild and most were certainly fighting for their right to party. I also recall fighting for my way to the bathroom, where dozens of drunk fellow college kids were using every available piece of porcelain all at once, including the urinal, toilet, sink, floor drain, and even the garbage can. It was filthy, but efficient.

The Missouri Lounge is located a few blocks from my home in Berkeley, California. I discovered this place after moving into the neighborhood over a dozen years ago. Sometimes referred to as “unassuming” or “low key,” truth is it’s a total dive. The bar and apartments above it were built in 1961 by a serviceman who retired to the area after doing his time in the Navy on The USS Missouri. I just learned the music video for Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” was filmed aboard that battleship. Now I love even more this bar named after the boat.

On the walls you’ll find pictures from the early days. Not unlike the black & white pictures I’ve seen of my grandmother playing pool at Reed’s Tavern in Great Falls, these framed photos are evidence of innocent local fun…people wearing paper hats and shooting confetti at a New Year’s party when 1962 rolled in… people not interested in going to the big celebrations across the bay in San Francisco…people looking for something comfortable and close to home.

The bar has seen many generations of customers and countless changes of ownership and décor. My first visit was in 2003, just a couple months after the then new owner had repainted in pretty pastels and neutral tones. Concert posters from famous folk like Janice Joplin, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones adorned the walls. And they had a brand new 48” flat screen TV hanging smack dab above the middle of the bar, presumably intended to lure sports fans hoping to see their favorite games in a venue more convenient than those in downtown Oakland or Berkeley.

After a few months the newly remodeled bar wasn’t doing so well, so a consultant was hired to “spruce things up” by “dumbing it down.” As she told me a dozen years ago, the bar was essentially “too nice” for the neighborhood, so she decided to make it look more like a pool room in someone’s basement. Down came the framed posters from historic concerts at the Fillmore and Cow Palace. Peach and pastels were covered over with battleship gray and brown paint. A tired old couch was moved in, and so was an old Zenith console TV that for years doubled as the DJ stand. The flat screen TV was moved into the corner, and they’d start showing classic horror movies with a Pulp Fiction feel. Whatever magic she did seemed to work, and the place became a goldmine that it is today.

Regulars at happy hour include Tim the glazier, Ian who works for the county, and Hans who owns a construction company. Later at night, once the pool table is covered and moved to the corner, a totally different crowd of college kids and younger neighborhood professionals come in to drink and dance. There’s a professional sound system and a proper DJ Booth, and the back patio which started out with a portable BBQ from someone’s back yard now features a commercial kitchen with permanent built-in stainless-steel sinks and a granite countertop. But still, honestly, the place is a total dive, with picnic tables and chain link, where a shot and a beer are cheap, and the bathroom walls are covered in graffiti (even if that graffiti was put there on purpose in the first place).

“I Played That Song When It Was New.”

One of the Disk Jockeys at the Missouri Lounge is a guy named Pat, who is around my age and plays lots of songs from the 80s. Whether it’s Thompson Twins, Prince or YES, he’s often spinning something that I can say I put on the air when I was a Top 40 DJ in Missoula.

One random Friday night I noticed Pat wearing a hat from some bar in Whitefish, a small town in Montana, which spawned a conversation about my college days. I learned Pat’s wife is from Missoula, and my world continued to grow smaller as he cued-up “(You Gotta) Fight for your Right (to Party).”

But as much as I was enjoying the conversation, I had to excuse myself (discount dive-bar beer like Olympia has a way of working its way through quite quickly) and headed toward the bathroom where I stood in line as polite millennial men took their turns one-at-a-time in a bathroom that has both a urinal and a toilet. “Why can’t these kids be efficient like at that Beastie Boys concert where they were using the sink, the toilet, the floor drain and a garbage can?” I wondered without saying a word out loud. Okay, I understand not peeing in the sink or the floor drain or the garbage can, but they can use the urinal and the regular toilet and cut the time in line in half. “Hurry the fuck up. I gotta pee, besides, I have to get back to my conversation with Pat.”

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in line, I returned to the DJ Booth where Pat told me the wife’s father founded “The Independent,” a newspaper in Missoula, and his business partner was a guy named Erik.

Yes, THAT Erik, the same guy from New York who brought the Beastie Boys to Montana for their first concert out west.

It’s a small world when the Missouri and Montana collide with the Beastie Boys.

#Missouri Lounge Beastie Boys Missoula

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surveystodestressme · 7 years

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20.

FOOD SURVEY

1. What’s the last thing you ate? some noodle dish at red lobster 2. What’s your favourite cheese? colby jack 3. What’s your favourite fish? tilapia 4. What’s your favourite fruit? kiwi or grapes 5. When, if ever, did you start liking olives? i have never liked olives

6. When, if ever, did you start liking beer? when i turned 21, lol 7. When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish? i don’t like shellfish 8. What was the best thing your mum/dad/guardian used to make? my mum makes really good buffalo chicken dip, it’s incredible. my dad makes a really good chocolate mousse 9. What’s the native specialty of your hometown? in the midwest, we make a lot of casserols apparently lol

10. What’s your comfort food? pretzels 11. What’s your favourite type of chocolate? kit kat bars 12. How do you like your steak? rare 13. How do you like your burger? idk 14. How do you like your eggs? over easy 15. How do you like your potatoes? i like the fried potatoes that my mother makes 16. How do you take your coffee? a lil bit of milk or creamer and a lil sugar

17. How do you take your tea? lots of sugar and sometimes honey 18. What’s your favourite mug? it’s this white mug that has a picture of a chick with sunglasses on and says biker above it (biker chick) 19. What’s your biscuit or cookie of choice? red lobster cheddar bay biscuits 20. What’s your ideal breakfast? biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage, toast, and coffee 21. What’s your ideal sandwich? i’m not a huge sandwich person 22. What’s your ideal pizza: classic pepperoni 23. What’s your ideal pie (sweet or savoury)? sweet 24. What’s your ideal salad? i’m not a huge salad person 25. What food do you always like to have in the fridge? fruits and veggies 26. What food do you always like to have in the freezer? pizza 27. What food do you always like to have in the cupboard? snack foods 28. What spices can you not live without? salt and pepper is all i use 29. What sauces can you not live without? mustard and bbq 30. Where do you buy most of your food? walmart and kroger 31. How often do you go food shopping? usually once a month lol 33. What’s the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own? idk maybe out knives 34. What’s the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen? i bought an oven mitt the other day 35. What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without? idk, silverware? 36. How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients? not very often at all. i wish we did it more often 37. What’s the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients? idk 38. What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig and poultry? i’ve had ostrich, alligator, deer, and a bunch of other stuff 39. What’s the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor? probably recently lol. i do it all the time 40. What’s the last time you ate something you’d picked in the wild? i don’t pick things from the wild

41. Arrange the following in order of preference: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Sushi. italian, sushi, chinese, mexican, thai, indian 42. Arrange the following in order of preference: Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy, Rum – vodka, whiskey, rum, brandy 43. Arrange the following in order of preference: Garlic, Basil, Caramel, Lime, Mint, Ginger, Aniseed – basil, garlic, lime, mint, caramel, ginger, aniseed 44. Arrange the following in order of preference: Pineapple, Orange, Apple, Strawberry, Cherry, Watermelon, Banana. – orange, strawberry, apple, cherry, pineapple, banana, watermelon 45. Bread and spread: i like white bread and... butter? 46. What’s your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order? probably noodles & company, but it’s not fast food... and i get either pesto pasta with parmesan chicken or penna rosa with parmesan chicken 47. Pick a city. What are the best dining experiences you’ve had in that city? san diego, we went to this really good chinese restaurant that served different kinds of ramen and it was sooo good 48. What’s your choice of tipple at the end of a long day? i don’t even know what that is 49. What’s the next thing you’ll eat? dinner 50. Are you hungry now? i just ate

51. Do you eat your breakfast everyday? not often at all 52. At what time do you have breakfast? if i do have breakfast, it’s usually pretty late. maybe 11 or 12 ish 53. At what time do you have lunch? 3 or 4 54. What do you have for lunch? it depends 55. At what time do you have dinner? 8 or 9 56. What do you have for dinner? it depends

57. Do you light candles during dinner? lol no?? 58. How many chairs are there in your dining room and who sits in the main chair? 4, we don’t ever eat at the dinner table 59. Do you eat and drink using your right hand or the left one? usually my right hand 61. Mention the veggies that you like most: asparagus, carrots, and celery 62. What fruit and vegetable do you like the least? i don’t really like limes. and i don’t like cooked carrots, or green beans or pear or beets. 63. You like your fruit salad to have more: uhh... i don’t know? 64. You prefer your vegetable salad to contain more: dressing lol 65. What’s your favourite sandwich spread? idk 66. What’s your favourite chocolate bar? kit kat. 67. What’s your favourite dessert? sherbet 68. What’s your favourite drink? coffee 69. What’s your favourite snack? pretzels 70. What’s your favourite bubble gum flavour? anything fruity 71. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? i like sherbet 72. What’s your favourite potato chip flavour? kettle cooked is delicious 73. What’s your favourite soup? potatoe soup 74. What’s your favourite pizza? pepperoni 75. What’s your favourite type of dish? hot wings 76. What food do you hate? mashed potatoes really make my stomach hurt 77. What’s your favourite restaurant? noodles & co 78. Do you eat homemade food, food delivered from outside? homemade 80. Who cooks at home? my mother usually 81. What kind of diet (e.g. low-fat, high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, balanced diet etc.) do you have? i’ve been trying to get more of a balanced diet recently but i’m not sure how well i’m doing 82. How do you keep yourself fit? i don’t... i really need to get on that

#questions #quiz #survey #bored

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alexmorrall · 4 years

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France Trip Nov 2019

Wednesday Nov 6, 2019

Flew with Mallory on Swiss Air to Zurich overnight from Boston.

Thursday Nov 7

Transferred to Paris and picked up our Renault 4-door sedan rent a car for the paltry sum of $150 for four days. Drove in Parisian rush hour through the outskirts of the City of Light on the highway four hours to meet Zack’s girlfriend Natalie in Angers. Formally the seat of the Dukes of Anjou, ancestors of the Plantagenets (Henry V.) Their descendants were the Lancasters of which George RR Martin’s Lannisters in Game of Thrones are based. Arriving in Angers that night, we had a wonderful dinner hosted by Natalie. She had two types if plain sausage prepared, one with mushrooms, as well as salad, cheese, wine and rabbit pate. Her hospitality was incredible the whole time we were there. She was very happy to have visitors too, as we brought a little bubble of America with us for Nat to enjoy. As we ate, Nat regaled us of having to deal with leaking bloody fluids from alcoholic medical patients in her study program in Angers’ Med School.

Friday Nov 8

Natalie’s parents’ apartment was very nice and we stayed on the pullout couch, sleeping late then wandering toward downtown Angers to experience local French culture for the first time. I ordered in French and surprised myself with how much of the language I could get by with. Throughout the trip, I proved fairly capable of ordering, and making my way along, asking where the toilet was, “Ou est les toilette?” etc. I ordered “deaux café, sil vous plait” (two espressos) which came with a little slice of banana nut bread neatly perched on the saucer. The café was colorful, its walls lined with local artists’ paintings for sale. There were brochures for local bands and comedy acts and a few local women hanging out. The French dressed incredibly sophisticated almost always and Mallory and I tried our best to follow suit. I wore dress shoes, black jeans, button up shirts and my peat coat the whole time while Mallory wore a collection of attractive sweaters, a wool headband, jeans and four different pairs of stylish boots.

It was early in our relationship to be traveling so far to Europe (I must say) but two weeks prior we had celebrated our three month anniversary and I had told her I loved her. It was an unforgettable experience for the two of us traveling so far outside our comfort zones. We frequented game shops where the owners scratched their heads at the prospect of us buying board games in French when we didn’t speak the language. Then we made our way to the river and a view of Chateau D’Angers from below. Later we would see it from on high and within but today we met Natalie for lunch at a sophisticated spot for lunch called Restaurant Sens. The server was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, speaking superb English and indulged me to order and ask thigs in French as well. We had a wonderfully buttery hazelnut and artichoke soup with great local red wine, braised lamb and another café for dessert. Next, we walked about Angers, past craft beer stores, whiskey stores, bars, restaurants, game and record shops. I scored some sweet French comic books and returned to Natalie’s to head out in her little snub nose cherry red Wingo Renault four door sedan to cruise up to “FL” vineyard in the Loire valley countryside.

Our sommelier guided us through four white wines and a red before allowing us to buy some (which Natalie informed us was highly encouraged after imbibing.) I snapped a photo of our sommelier with Bill Murray taken a few months previous and Mal and I bought a bottle of white each. Nat bough four for her family and we returned to Angers for dinner at Chez Remi, a chic, homey restaurant where we had veal, lamb and a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. We walked up to Chateau D’Angers that night, picked up some bleu cheese, truffle cheese, camembert and smoky cheese.

Saturday Nov 9

Made it downtown with Nat to see the bustling farmers’ market’s last hour of business. It was a great vibe, better than America by far and an eye-opening experience to see the vast varieties of food and care that went into their preparation and presentation. Normally I would feel some semblance of agoraphobia surrounded by so many strange people but here I felt at ease amidst the French locals. We tasted olives and marinated roasted red peppers on baguette from an Italian vendor and bought some ashy one-month aged cheese. I bought two jams for my parents and we purchased a plethora of pastries as well to add to our eventual dinner. For dejeuner (lunch) we had savory breakfast crepes (ham, sausage and cheese) with a bottle of chilled local cider poured into porcelain mugs. Apparently, the French drink hot wine but never hot cider.

Next, we went to Joker’s Pub and got caught in the rain after enjoying the massive mural of musicians behind our table, a couple IPA’s, including Hellfest and one covered in Vikings battling a giant squid (a scene right out of my current DnD campaign I was running with Eddie and other Viking employees.) Caught in the rain our flan got squished under all our goods in the market basked but we returned with beaucoup de (plenty of) food before heading back downtown for four dollar mojitos. We watched Julie and Julia (which I surprisingly enjoyed) that night over a bottle of wine, and fantasized about all the wonders of French cooking.

Sunday Nov 10

Mal and I headed to Chateau D’Angers for a tour of the amazing castle built originally in 970 but rebuilt in 1234 and many times since. There, we witnessed the largest tapestry in the world: the Apocalpyse tapestry depicting the “Fall of Bablyon” (a metaphor for any great civilization of the time.) The tapestry displayed many-headed lions and dragons facing off against crusader swordsmen and the ending resulted in a rapture-like deliverance to New Jerusalem. I scored some sweet photos of the Maine River, surrounding city of Angers and the gardens up on the walls of the chateau including roses and grapes for wine. We met up with Nat for local burgers that tasted more like steaks, less chewy and coarse than American burgers, paired with lightly-fried, buttery frites (fries) and mayo. Then we headed out into the country to Chateau Brissac, a beautiful castle, owned by the same family since the year 1500. In the stables, down some paths we found a menagerie of taxidermy animals: deer, boars, wolves and bears. Stags were very common on French coats of arms and I remarked via text to my friend Joe Quinn that it was like Baratheon land. The tour of the castle was twenty Euro each and all in French so we declined, opting to taste wine instead. They had two great roses and a sweet cabernet that was basically rose (of which we bought two, in addition to two “real” reds.)

Next, we wandered into the local village of Brissac for a café where they were celebrating the weekend of Armistice Day (which was the next day.) A bunch of locals (including the servers) were seated, drinking and laughing in the middle of the café. We ordered trois cafes on the back patio and discussed how funny it was that a donkey at the chateau took a serious liking to Mal (eating a fallen yellow leaf out of her hand.) We dubbed her the Donkey Whisperer. We got onto the topic of Dr. Doolittle and I asked Mal if the movie inspired her to become a veterinarian. She said no. Growing up with dogs and horses was most likely “why” and I love her golden retriever Baylor (he’s my phone lock screen and background) and Maine Coon mix Beasley.

Returning to Natalie’s abode, then hitting the town for beers and smoked sausage (saucisse) at Berthems bar then Delirium Brewing Company where we got a free round because the bartender screwed up (she mistook my request for the check as asking for another round, which I then paid for one round.) Walked out feeling pretty tipsy for Punjab, an amazing Pakistani-owned Indian style restaurant where all the servers were men in grey loose uniforms. The food was out of this world, easily the best Indian and some of the best overall food I’ve ever eaten: chicken masala, beef korma, and paneer with amazing garlic naan and half a bottle of vin rouge (red wine.) Returning to Nat’s apartment to drink a bottle of cabernet (rose) and watch “Our Planet” on Netflix while Mal slept on me (again, but I never mind because I find it adorable.)

Monday Nov 11 (Armistice/Veteran’s Day)

Awoke for French press café with Nat then hit the road in the rain for Paris (specifically CDG airport) to return the rental car. As I tried to fill up some gas early in the trip, I found all my cards were not working (Fraud alerts, credit limits or American Express which they just wouldn’t accept in France.) We continued on, able to pay inside a gas station for half a tank with my remaining Euro cash (it would have cost $100 US to fill the whole tank because of France’s gas taxes!) This explained the protest of the yellow jackets and those who have to drive on their daily commute into French cities.) Then, before us stretched a broad assembly of thirty toll booths. I chose one toward the right hand side of the road (but not far enough right as it would turn out.) Pulling up to the toll booth’s barred gate, none of my cards would work and I was now fresh out of cash. Defeated, I exited my car and approached the driver of the car behind me who understood my English. Then I went to the next one in line, a French woman who spoke no English. Eventually I got all five cars behind me to back up into oncoming traffic. Then we somehow merged at a perpendicular angle to the right, avoiding hordes of approaching cars. Reached a government office building next to the toll booths on the right hand side of the road and parked in front. I got out of my car and was about to approach the office before a woman on its second floor window closed the blinds on us. We had no other choice and merged back behind a car, tailing them to sneak through before the toll gate dropped on my rental car. We made it without a scratch!

Feeling a rush of adrenaline we sped on our way to CDG and dropped off the rental. Then we had to buy an RER train ticket to Paris. This I feared, especially when all three of my cards failed once more. But I added my Paypal account to Google Pay while standing at the ticket machine (not sure which account it was linked to but it worked!) Zooming into Paris, we arrived at Gare Du Nord (North station, same name of the Boston station I used on my commute every day of work at Viking downtown.) We took the Metro a few stops to Republique and exited for our first street view of Paris: teens skateboarding and hundreds of people milling about for Armistice Day. I considered visiting a battlefield this day but they were all northeast of Paris and we had to return the rental car by 2:30pm. Walking twenty minutes with our suitcases, from Republique to our Airbnb near Pere Lachaise (we could’ve used the Metro but walking was good exercise after enjoying so much extravagant food all weekend in Angers. Made it all the way to the Airbnb, hosted by Quentin, who was nowhere to be found.

Instead there was supposed to be a girl named Nastya waiting there for us (but not yet.) We went to a nearby café for an hour and I finally got my Bank of America account unlocked so I could get 100 Euro out of an ATM which was about the best feeling ever! I feel like I will always carry some local cash with me wherever I go after that… hopefully it’s true, haha. Nastya then let us in, a petite French girl in urban wear (sweatshirt, skullcap, skinny jeans) The apartment was small but nice and homey with plenty of Quentin’s 3D paintings on the walls. The bedroom was perfectly sized for us (Mal loved it!) A winding staircase that gave you a dizzy head (mal a la tete) or a too-tight elevator (where you basically had to make out with the person sharing it with you) separated the fourth floor from the first. We departed the apartment, leaving Nastya (who seemed surprised that we had immediate plans in the city) sitting on the living room couch. We were on our way to meet up with Anneli (newly “officially” engaged to Eddie, wearing a Sterling silver ring she had crafted with him on their recent trip to Dublin.)

We met in Jaures (northeast Paris) with Anneli at Paname Brewing Company on a little canal that was cute and hip, lots of dogs, families and joggers. We had a huge charcuterie (meat and cheese board), beers, plus a lamb burger and heavenly fries. Anneli regaled us with stories of a last minute Airbnb in Dublin where their host kept two different African wives and a son. We discussed if Eddie was really moving out to marry her and live together in an apartment outside Paris in either April, July or September or next year. Anneli and I agreed Sept. was the soonest possibility based on the fact that France requires proof of three month’s income in France and Anneli was graduated at the soonest in June. Returning to Pere Lachaise, we said goodbye to Anneli and found sleep.

Tuesday Nov 12

Our final full day in Paris (and France), we did all the touristy things. We took the Metro west to walk down past Notre Dame (which was under construction because of the fire a year previous) then headed to the Pantheon (a Greek-style building with beautiful statues, massive columns and Anneli’s favorite view of the Eiffel Tower: it was alright, not my favorite.) It was then that I realized just how amazing the architecture was in this city. What would dwarf the finest architectural marvels in many first-class cities of the world, these previously mentioned monuments I could tell were merely an “amuse bouche” to what wonders awaited us that day. The University of Paris was nearby (as well as a Pita Pit, a chain that was common to both my alma mater UMass Amherst and that of Mal) and I wondered what it would be like to go to school here. I could already tell Paris was the most impressive and old city I had ever seen in terms of beautiful, classical architecture and art.

We made our way down to Luxembourg Gardens, which was as Anneli said, “a little sad in November” but it was still a grand garden with elegant statues of kings and queens as well as a palace and fountain we photographed. Next, was our walk to the Louvre and lunch at a café, croque monsieur (ham and cheese sandwich) for Mal and croque madame (ham and cheese sandwich with egg) for me. It started raining super hard as we were at the café and droves of Parisians and tourists flooded inside, which our snappy and humorous server welcomed in and easily accommodated. The rain did not let up during our lunch and we decided to embark into the rain without hats, rain jackets or umbrellas, walking several blocks down the Seine River in a torrential downpour past chic luxury shops that sold clothes, furniture and art. Sheltering briefly in one woman’s clothing store, before a finley dressed manager asked if we could be helped and we shook our heads, taking that as our cue to leave.

We finally made it to Musee D’Orsay (France’s leading French art museum.) We saw a few Van Gogh’s originals (portrait of the artist and Starry Night II) as well as some Monets, Manets and Renoirs. My favorites were the Realist historical depictions of Charge of the Light Brigade, WWI, Burial of Alexander, the Spanish Inquisition, the Decadence of Rome, Moroccan Harems, Normans setting sail to conquer England, the Hunt for Diana and the excommunication of Robert the Pious. A Burial at Shanghai was featured and it was sprawling and powerful, taking up an entire wall. We also walked through the featured Degas opera exhibit then departed for Place De La Concorde (fortuitously buying two umbrellas from an insistent Indian vendor upon exit from the museum before hail dropped on our heads.) Walking along the Seine, we view the voluminous Louvre, and found a place to cross over to Place De La Concorde. It was now a massive rotary around a 3,300 year old central obelisk to Rameses II that was donated to France in 1829 by Egypt in front of the huge Greek-style Palais Bourbon, once a Royal Palace and now home to France’s National Assembly. Later we learned the place of the obelisk was where the guillotine was set up and King Louis XVI as well as Marie Antoinnette were beheaded.

The Place De La Concorde offered a straight-shot view all the way up Champs-Elysees to the Arc De Triomphe atop a sloping hall. We walked up Champs Elysees, seeing beacoup de cafes, cinemas and designer clothes stores including loads of tourists waiting outside Louis Vuitton. Then we backtracked a bit to the Seine and a ride on a bateaux mouche river boat to see all the monuments we had just walked to and more from the river. Sunset on the bateaux mouche under the Eiffel Tower was splendid, snapping lots of selfies of Mal and I. Then we returned to Champs-Elyssees (the so-called “most beautiful road in the world,” it was pretty nice but very commercial and crowded.) For my niece Tigerlily, I bought a Mickey Mouse shirt from the Disney store that said “Paris” on it and I bought a Paris St Germain soccer shirt for $40 US which was a little pricey but definitely cool. We checked out the Addidas flagship store which was awesome, including a treadmill to run in new sneakers before buying.)

Then we returned to the Seine for dinner aboard a stationary “Alexandre III” bateaux mouche (we had to because it had my name on it, and the other more hip one named Float was not yet open.) I had escargot, red wine, and local French steak frites and Mal had salmon. Then we walked over to the Eiffel Tower for a selfie of our two smiling faces directly beneath it, all lit up at night. At this point my phone died so we wandered about in search of bathrooms and the Metro. Little grocery stores had none and we found a café but were too afraid to use its bathroom which was through the kitchen after our server yelled at us for not ordering full meals. Back into the night, we found a free public toilet on a street corner with a little old woman inside. She was in there for about 15 minutes so I knocked twice and she emerged, berating me in a hilarious French deluge that I could not understand, merely shrugging. I peed while Mal held the door close because its automated function keep trying to open it but the toilet was so trashed and stinky that Mal refused to use it. We found the Metro soon after and returned to Pere Lachaise, however, I almost forgot our apartment access code and we were locked out in the cold for 10 minutes while I jammed in different passcodes… Finally I got it right and we retired after more wine to lighten the load in our suitcases.

Wednesday Nov 13

Woke up, got deaux café and observed a hectic rush hour before making it over to Gare Du Nord for the RER train to Paris and our return to Zurich. Overall it was one of the best trips of my life, top highlight being Natalie’s hospitality in showing us Angers, plus Mal and I loving every minute together. Mal was a perpetually calm, supportive, enthusiastic and appreciated companion who I cherish dearly. We watched four movies on the way back: the Art of Driving in the Rain, Guardians of the Galaxy, Yesterday and Stuber, staying up all night so that we could fall asleep on time with good old Boston EST and avoid jetlag.

Bon voyage indeed!

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