March 12th, 2010
Bitwrathploob went on a day trip to Salem, Mass. for a festive, but morbid, celebration of the Salem Witch Hunts, of all things.
There, he met Hell boy,
and some friendly witches and wizards
The ‘ploob was ready to pah-ty! So after having a delicious bee-ah
he played a some pool
and had a smoke
For our last outing, the ‘Ploob got to go on a road trip. What’s more American than a road trip? We went north to check out the one Great Lake bordering Minnesota: Lake Superior.
It was a gorgeous Minnesota late summer day, all sunshine and heat – even “up north” in Duluth. We headed to Canal Park, one of the best places to get up close and personal with Lake Superior, and a place to get a novel look at some seafaring vessels.
“Is it any wonder that Duluthians and Minnesotan’s love this magnificent lake so much?”
Some facts about Lake Superior that we learned from this plaque:
Feeling inspired, we decided to head down the boardwalk to the Aerial Lift Bridge, to see if we could see any big ships coming or going.
And we did:
This particular vessel was from St. Johns, in the Caribbean (it’s blurry in the photo, but trust me, that’s what it says).
It was a hot day and all of this being in the sun was starting to wear on the ‘Ploob and me, so we went to the Portland Malt Shop for one of the most fantastic chocolate malts I’ve ever had. It was about a 20 minute wait to get a malt, but once we got ours, we could see what all the fuss was about.
There was also a great view of the lake from up on the hill where the malt shop is located.
On the way out of town, the ‘Ploob got one last scenic view of Lake Superior.
It just goes to show that Minnesota isn’t all about delicacies-on-a-stick and giant malls.
And now, my husband and I bid a fond farewell to the Bitwrathploob and send him to his next destination – but I’ll let that be a surprise.
Minnesotans sure like our State Fair. It’s often cited as one of the most successful and well-loved of the dying breed of State Fairs in the US. It helps that it’s located in the heart of the St. Paul area rather out in the sticks somewhere, so we’re reminded of it all year long.
Last year, I said I wasn’t going to go back to the Fair for a few years because I’d had my fill of crowds, heat, and deep fried concoctions on a stick. But the fact that the ‘Ploob’s stay here coincided with this yearly event was too good to pass up. Not only that, but my sister was visiting from Boston and she was feeling the urge to take a trip to the Great Minnesota Get-Together. So we gathered up the fam and hopped on a park-n-ride.
I kind of thought my family would think I was nuts when I pulled the Bitwrathploob out of my bag. I’d explained the concept and they kind of got it – “sort of like a traveling garden gnome,” my sister said.
But maybe weirder looking.
The first thing we did after fighting our way through throngs of Minnesotans was to stop at a coffee stand and sample the Mocha on a Stick. Every year there are several new foods and much time in spent anticipating and debating the latest culinary offerings. The Mocha on a Stick was excellent, especially since no one got the idea to deep fry it. I’m sure that will happen next year.
The carnivores in the family also couldn’t pass up a pronto pup. I had to admit I had a fond memory for the pronto pups of my youth. Hopefully the ‘Ploob will have a fond memory of his time with Pronto Pup man. Don’t ask me why he’s wearing a sombrero (full-length view here).
On the way to the Dairy Building (home of the best ice cream at the State Fair and — most (in)famously — Princess Kay of the Milky Way), we saw a kerfuffle ahead. Al Franken, Democratic candidate for the US Senate, and well-known comedian/satirist, was speaking. The ‘Ploob got a boost from my dad so he (it?) could see better.
The unairconditioned Dairy Building was packed with a mile-long line of sweaty Minnesotans trying to get some of that fantastic Dairy Building ice cream. But we managed to shoulder in close enough to the butter sculpture area before spilling back out of the building and basking in the breeze.
The Princess Kay of the Milky Way butter sculptures are one of the most famous aspects of the Minnesota State Fair. Every year there’s a competition among the young women from Minnesota dairy farming families and a whole set of Princesses is crowned. Princess Kay of the Milky Way is like the prom queen of the State Fair. The entire royal court is sculpted in butter over the course of the State Fair. Since we went towards the end of the Fair, we got to see most of the completed sculptures.
It’s also not much of a trip to the State Fair without checking out some of the farm animal judging, and some of the handicrafts.
The goats and alpacas were particularly cute. I thought the ‘Ploob looked like a distant relation of these Suri alpacas.
We also checked out the Creative Activities building, where you can look at beribboned fiber arts, woodcrafts, and all sorts of other crafts.
Perhaps the ‘Ploob would like to try flying himself (itself?) to his next vacation spot?
On the way out of the fair, we stopped to take a photo at the Space Tower (which is its official name, though I think we all call it the Space Needle as though it could compare to Seattle’s famous landmark). If you were to take a ride up to the top of the Space Needle, you’d get a nice view of the Twin Cities.
It’s impossible to see all of the Minnesota State Fair. We didn’t even get to the Midway area. But the ‘Ploob got a taste of it. And was probably wondering how he got stuck here, and feeling a bit wistful for his days visiting beautiful European architecture or the lush landscapes of New Zealand.
The very next day, the ‘Ploob did get a chance to see a beautiful landscape unique to this part of the world. But that is a topic for another post.
It was a glorious day in the Twin Cities the weekend after the ‘Ploob took up residence in my household. My mom and I were registered for a yarn dying class in Linden Hills, one of the cuter neighborhoods in Minneapolis. I decided to take the ‘Ploob along and show him a little of the city of my birth.
Minneapolis is known for it’s Chain of Lakes, a series of lakes within city limits that are all accessible to the public. There are bike and walking paths all around these lakes, public beaches, marinas, rose gardens, bandshells, and paths connecting the lakes to each other.
Lake Harriet is my personal favorite of the lakes. I spent a lot of time there in my childhood. The BITWRATHPLOOB enjoyed meeting the ducks and did his (its?) best to not fall into the water. In retrospect, I should have taken the ‘Ploob to the elf house at Lake Harriet. I’m sure he would have found it refreshing to tower over a landmark, for once. Instead, he was dwarfed by the Lake Harriet Band Shell, a much-photographed landmark of the city.
After all this natural neighborhood beauty, it was time to take the ‘Ploob to see the crasser, more touristy side of the great north.
Yes, just like The Littlest Hobo, BITWRATHPLOOB has heard the call of the open road, and he must heed it. Having had his fill of Belgium ‘Ploob just had time for a long weekend in Exeter, where he admired the cathedral, which has the longest unbroken gothic ceiling in the world, apparently.
Nearby, Mol’s Coffee House.
And then it was back to Brussels to be packed into a box and posted off to…..ah, but that would be telling, wouldn’t it? Goodbye, Mr ‘Ploob. It was an honour to spend time in your company.
By the way, some of you may have noticed that this site was unavailable for a short time, and it’s only thanks to Erik’s mad hosting skillz that it’s back up at all (bar a few of the most recent comments). Respect.
Before the ‘Ploob heads off to pastures new I thought I’d take one last photo of him in front of a Belgian landmark, so off we headed to the Atomium, which had recently been spruced up in time for its 50th birthday.
After the obligatory snaps and a celebratory waffle, I suddenly remembered that Mini-Europe was next door. What a perfect opportunity for ‘Ploob to visit (kind of) monuments from all across the continent (as well as a few Belgian sites he’d missed out on) in one go. I’m not sure we got all 27 EU member states, as my four-year-old daughter was along for the trip and needed occasional distraction, but we managed most of them, I think. I’d never been before, but I was quite impressed by the quality of some of the models. Most displays had a big blue button which played that country’s national anthem when pushed.
So, in no particular order…
Copenhagen harbour:
Dinant (Belgium):
Leuven (Belgium) town hall:
St. Patrick’s Rock, Ireland:
Bath, UK:
‘Ploob the Royal Guard:
Sacre Coeur, Paris:
Porto, Portugal:
Seville, Spain:
Mnajdra, Malta:
Pisa, Italy:
Vesuvius. Press the blue button and it “erupts”:
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin:
Apparently the most famous sight in Luxembourg is a bridge with some lorries on it:
Prague on the left, Bratislava on the right:
Bucharest:
Budapest:
Ljubljana:
Melk abbey, Austria:
The Acropolis, Greece:
So there you have it: a tour of (most of) Europe in less than an hour. A fitting way to end his stay in the Capital of Europe, I think you’ll agree.
Next up is a long weekend in Devon before moving on to the next destination…
Yesterday I very generously sacrificed my lunch hour(s) to show ‘Ploob a couple of the main tourist atractions in the centre of Brussels.
First up was the Grand Place. Some say that this is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. It was hard to tell that day, as about a quarter of it was covered in scaffolding for renovation work, and the centre was a mess of cranes and trucks and seating stands as preparations were made for the upcoming annual Ommegang event. Still, I managed to get shots of ‘Ploob in front of the town hall…
…the City Museum…
and a selection of guildhalls.
We turned the corner and paid homage to one of Brussels’ most famous residents, the Manneken Pis. He’s disappointingly small, and although he’s often dressed in some sort of costume, usually donated by visiting foreign dignitaries, on this day he was au naturel.
Personally I prefer the little girl version, Jeanneke Pis, to be found a few streets away in the crowded tourist restaurant district. At least she has a smile on her face (plus she’s life-sized).
A stop for lunch, and ‘Ploob insisted on trying some more Belgian beer. I opted for a Hoegaarden, which is popular during summer for its lightness and refreshing taste.
We shared a cornet of frites, and ‘Ploob ended up with a mayostache.
He then drained the rest of the beer. Despite his well-documented love of this type of beverage, ‘Ploob has a tragically low tolerance for alcohol, and after one glass of blanche he was telling me that I was his “besht mate”, and asking to borrow my mobile phone so that he could call up all his old girlfriends.
I felt it only right and proper that the ‘Ploob, during his time in “The Capital of Europe”, should visit some of the institutions which represent him (born in Denmark, he’s technically an EU citizen).
Well, when I say “visit”, of course I mean “stand outside”, as inside they’re a fairly uninspiring collection of offices and meeting rooms.
First up, the European Council, or “Justus Lipsius” building. This is where all the ministers of the Member States meet to reach their decisions. It’s also where, twice a year, the heads of state come for a summit. Later this week it’s where the new Irish Taoiseach will cower in a corner of the room while the other 26 countries glower at him.
The European Commission, on the other hand, is housed in dozens of buildings spread across Brussels, but the headquarters, home to the Commissioners themselves, is the Berlaymont building, handily located across the road from the Justus Lipsius. It used to be full of asbestos, but it’s safe now. Really, perfectly safe (cough).
A short walk away is the seat of European democracy – the European Parliament. At least, one of them. The other one’s in Strasbourg, and they shuttle back and forth between them once a month. (Yes, I know it doesn’t make any sense, but I don’t see it changing any time soon). Anyway, in honour of our elected representatives, we stopped first for a little liquid lunch…
‘Ploob was hoping to meet some MEPs in order to lobby them about ‘Ploob rights, recognition as a distinct culture with its own traditions, and to demand that ‘Ploobese be granted status as an official EU language, but there was no-one around – they’re all in Strasbourg this week…
You know what wedding anniversaries are like. You take some time to plan it all out perfectly – grandparents visit and look after the kids while you slip away to a chic little guesthouse in a picturesque Flemish town, and an acclaimed restaurant in the evening.
And of course, you bring BITWRATHPLOOB along with you. What could be more romantic than sharing your celebration of five years of wedded bliss with a ‘Ploob?
He tried to grab forty winks nestled under the GPS on the 1hr 15 mins drive north from Brussels.
Once we’d arrived, he was refreshed and ready to soak up the olde worlde charm of one of Belgium’s prime tourist attractions, the UNESCO World Heritage site of Brugge. We fought our way through the crowds of geriatric tour groups, taking sanctuary in an establishment selling one of Belgium’s most successful exports. ‘Ploob seemed to feel right at home here.
More wandering, with many a scenic view to stand in front of.
Scenic and “Tourist Tat Shops” are what Brugge does best, and personally I’ve always preferred Ghent, but we usually choose Brugge for its proximity to several world class restaurants, so once we’d done a tour of the centre, we unceremoniously dumped ‘Ploob in our room, leaving him to gaze forlornly out the window while we went off to feed our faces.
We made it up to him the following day, though. Once home in Brussels the sun decided to come out. Like any other Northern European, our instinctive reaction to the sight of the slightest amount of sunshine was “BARBECUUUUUUUUUUUUE!”, so out came the charcoal, tongs and skewers. ‘Ploob lent a helping hand…
…and was rewarded with liquid sustenance.
Afterwards he felt a little light-headed and had to retire, and our daughter gave him pride of place on the shelf next to various other beloved playthings.
Next up: a boozy night out (do we see a pattern emerging here?) in Brussels centre…
