I found some fresh strawberries so I made a great set of pies for me, my sister and our neighbor came over fore tea and pie!
Homemade Strawberry Coconut Pie
Category Cuisine and Beverages
A way to Finnish the day, Finnish Musician
A special treat awaited for me in Kensal Green, London. A young man from Finland willing bestowed a lovely song up our music loving group, performed by him, sung in Finnish, entertaining the whole group. Lots of fun, a great way to enjoy the accommodations!
Portraits of those before us, and more, National Gallery, London
Culture is in the eye of the beholder and the artists of old captured the essence of all things great in the centuries before us….and viewing them is free at the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square in downtown London.
A fabulous aspect of the National Gallery is the general entrance is free, which is great for those traveling on a budget like myself. I attended/viewed the Gallery a total of 3 times to get through all the exhibitions (not fully shown here). The exhibits are large, spacious, and overly awesome to boot. Why? The National Gallery offers era’s from classical to Renaissance to Modern, DaVinci to Rubens to Van Gogh to Monet to Post Modern Art. It is all very wonderful.
The Gallery also sets on Trafalgar Square, which in its own ways is always awesome, a full day or two of free adventures all in one wonderful location, well worth checking out and very friendly on the wallet (post cards of must of the art work is also available for those without a photographic eye or wanting to play “Where’s Waldo” postcard style).
Old High Church and Kirkyard, Inverness, Scottish Highlands
Discovering Inverness with New Found Friends
Adventures are always more fun when you make new friends and discover things together! Wandering around is always a new way to experience things!
Crathes Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (near Banchory)
Crathes Castle is a place that dreams are made of and fantastical stories are written about-an abundance of beauty, history and a stunning gardens, well kept and outstanding!
It’s on the National Historical marker and “free” when you purchase a historical place (well worth the money to buy one!) I wouldn’t have known about this stunning secret if I hadn’t purchased the historical pass.
I tried stuffed tatties for the first time in my life at the cafe inside the castle, also awesome! The place offers the perfect get away and is an easy walk from the bus stop (the regional bus driver knew where to drop me off when I inquired!)
Wear comfortable shoes as the gardens are extensive, as is the castle, stretch out and enjoy all the beauty this castle has to offer! I absolutely love it here yes, while my article here does sound like an “advertisement’ to sell this place as an adventure, it’s all true (and no, it’s not sponsoring me, I am just seriously enjoying the place and want to share this secret with others!)
It’s a historical treasure that I would love to call home, assuming I won the huge lottery and it was for sale (which it’s not because it’s on the historical treasury!)
Cromarty Firth with Raki, Splish Splash and Food
Dancing our way to dinner, High Street, Inverness, Scotland
You never know how you are going to meet people, over coffee? Perhaps, but dancing while dinner finishes so we can all eat family style, speaking many languages never was so easy as dancing before dinner—where we all made food and brought it to the table.
The accomodation hosted a kitchen with many small stoves and lots of counter top and all of us were hungry so each of us made a small platter of goodies and passed the platters around to eat as one! Blessings come in many forms.
Portabello Salad, Super Easy-Super Filling
Slice Large Portobello mushrooms in long strips, including stems/stumps. Put in a large skillet, sauté in EVOO over medium heat with one toe of garlic, thinly diced.
Wash/Rinse Salad base mix
Layer salad together, sprinkling with slivered almonds and bleu cheese crumbles
Finish it all off with a honey balsamic dressing and top with sautéed Portabella’s
Cornerstone Coffee… Autumn Delights and hot Cider
Cornerstone Coffee, Main Street, Akron, CO 80720
Autumn comes alive in downtown, Akron, Colorado at Cornerstone Coffee, located conviently on Main street, with lots of available parking, it has quickly become my home coffee shop of choice. The lovely ladiens that run Cornerstone Coffee are not only excel at offering a delicious selection of baked goodies and sweet, they own the shop, an extra nice perk (I am a huge fan of supporting and frequenting locally owned businesses, especially in smaller towns and villages.)
Autumn here in Colorado is beautiful, colorful (truly proving the “Colorful Colorado” motto) and darn right chilly, especially when the wind howls. The hot apple cider is a really lovely autumn treat at Cornerstone Coffee…the house brew is also a tasty way to cut the chill with a soft caffeine kick.
Cornerstone Coffee also offers free Wifi to its customers, which is a super perk as well as having many tables and seats avsailable for those wanting to socialize over their brew and baked goods or the daily breakfast and lunch specials. Overall, this place is a “must” for those traveling through Northeast Colorado or living in the region. Located 2 blocks north of HWY 34 in Akron on Main street, check it out, you won’t be disappointed.
PS The turkey, swiss and bacon on toasted rye is amazing!!!
Sparkling Clean Housekeeping
My Travels 