Palestine Public Librarys Landscape Gets A Facelift

Some very noticeable changes are being made to improve outdoor aesthetics at the Palestine Public Library this week — changes that will make the library more convenient and pleasing to its patrons.

“Our new look is fresh, attractive and inviting,” library director Carol Herrington said. “Every day, at least one library patron comments to me about how much they like it.”

The project includes the construction of steps and a paved walkway from the rear parking lot, the removal of shrubs around the building and the addition of butterfly and friendship gardens to the library’s landscaping.

A new irrigation system also has been installed; and the removal of the bushes in front of the building created four new much-needed parking spaces near the library’s main entrance.

“Since I have been director here, about 90 percent of the suggestions I have received included the need for additional parking spaces,” Herrington said. “So I know patrons will appreciate getting those additional spaces out of this change.”

The new set of steps and pavestone walkway also have been a long-time need at the library — providing directionality to its patrons.

“We have had people park in the rear lot and not know where to come in,” Herrington said. “The walkway and new signs will make a big difference.”

To give its patrons a sense of ownership, Anderson County Master Gardeners included the “Friendship Garden,” in their landscaping design. That garden, located at the front of the building, will be filled through a bulb exchange event set for June 7.

“We want patron to bring bulbs from their garden to plant here at the library and to exchange with other gardeners,” Master Gardener and landscape design coordinator Nancy Waggoner said Wednesday. “The goal is to have people to walk by and say ‘that bulb was from my garden.’

“We want them to have a sense of pride and identity when they visit the library,” she added.

The butterfly garden, located at the rear of the library, will be included as a means to educate the patrons about plant and animal life. A new curved pavestone walkway will allow visitors a full view of the area.

“We have designed the landscaping so that there will be something blooming all season,” Waggoner said. “And as the plants mature through the years, I think it is only going to get better.”

According to Herrington, the project came about after learning about the cause of the library’s ongoing flooding problems — the large shrubs around the building were holding water against the walls.

“The Library Board decided to go forth and develop a new landscape design for the library,” Herrington said. “The library board took bids for the design, which was developed and won by the Anderson County Master Gardeners.”

Also winning bids for the landscaping project were Jo Ann Pigeon Landscaping, Blackstone Irrigation and Palestine Concrete & Tile. A community work squad from the local Gurney Unit has provided much of the labor.

“City Engineer Ron Sullivan was able to bring the Gurney crew in, which saved us a significant sum of money,” Herrington said. “Warden Karen Brown and her crew have done and great job. We could not have done this without them.”

Funding for the project has been provided by a $15,000 matching grant from the Palestine Economic Development Corporation, with the Friends of the Library and the Library Memorial Board contributing the initial funds.

“The library appreciates the efforts and cooperation of all the participating entities to make the landscape project come to fruition,” Herrington said. “It is amazing what can be accomplished when people work together for a common goal.”

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Saturday, May 31st, 2008

Landscaping Design No Comments

Downtown Design Plans For Edmond Up For Discussion

The board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Planning and Public Works Building #104 at 10 S Littler.

Board Chairman David Forrest said the city’s plans for the way building exteriors, landscaping and streetscaping should look in the future needs to be obvious to potential developers of the downtown district.

That’s why the board plans to discuss how to make the downtown design guidelines more, as Forrest said, “user-friendly.”

To achieve this, Forrest said the board will discuss adding some diagrams to the guidelines to “more fully detail streetscape requirements.”

The board also plans to discuss two board suggestions made during an April 14 workshop with the city council and report whether the council chose to adopt the suggestions.

Forrest said the first suggestion was that a design group be asked to make more specific recommendations for the redevelopment of an area on S Broadway between Second and Ninth streets.

The other suggestion was for a design group to review recommendations made in the 1998 master plan regarding plans to develop a number of “sub areas” around downtown. A sub area, for example, would be similar to Oklahoma City’s Gasoline Ally, Forrest said.

One such sub area that the group should consider, Forrest said, would be plans for an arts district around the Rodkey Mill south of Second Street, west of Broadway.

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Friday, May 9th, 2008

Landscaping Design, Landscaping Services No Comments

Planning Board Gets Feet Wet In First Large House Cases

Six months after the controversial Large House Review bylaw passed overwhelmingly at Town Meeting, the first three houses to trigger it are making their way through the process. And so far, according to Planning Board Chairman Tom Frisardi, everything is going “extremely smoothly.”

Three properties — 29 Standish Circle, 56 Cypress Road and 69 Windsor Road — are guinea pigs of sorts, the first Wellesley houses large enough to have required review by the Design Review Board and the Planning Board. All three have already appeared before the DRB and once before the Planning Board; all three will appear once more before the Planning Board this month, hoping for their stamp of approval.

“So far it’s going very well,” said Frisardi, whose board found the comments from the Design Review Board “very helpful.” All three homeowners have been asked to implement some of the suggestions of the DRB before returning to the Planning Board for the second time.

Overall, the board has been “very pleased” with how things are going, Frisardi said. “After all that work — with something so new for the town, I think we were all nervous, but it’s gone very well.”

Frisardi attributes the smooth implementation of the bylaw in large part to the procedure the Planning Board developed late last year. “We’re not improvising anything,” he said.

He was somewhat surprised, though, to discover just how well the board was “able to get a feel for how the proposed new house would fit into its surroundings,” he said. “We’ve been getting very useful information from the applicants.”

That information, required with the Large House Review application, includes site plans for both the house and the landscaping, and photographs of other homes in the neighborhood, among other things. All three applicants have “done a great job” putting together presentation materials, said Planning Board member Barbara Lehmann.

Both Frisardi and Lehmann found the applicants to be cooperative throughout the process. “I thought we had a good dialogue with everyone,” Frisardi said. “We are obviously getting different reactions to it, but we had civil dialogue with all three.”

Of the three houses, only 29 Standish Circle really raised any concerns for board members, in terms of the size. The proposed house, which would have a 6,108-square-foot Total Living Area plus Garage — significantly larger than the set 4,300 TLA for its district — is surrounded by other large houses on its side of the street, but sits across from homes that are significantly smaller. For four of the five Planning Board members, that was cause for concern.

But, Lehmann said, the plans for the house were “very well done. They made a real effort to make it attractive and make it interesting. And they worked a lot on the landscaping.” It was clear, she added, “that they were making an effort.”

The other two houses are both in larger Single Residence Districts, and are in neighborhoods that generally have larger homes. The proposal for 69 Windsor Road, which is currently 3,413 square feet, would increase the house to 6,138 square feet, or just over the set 5,900-square-foot TLA for the district. Also in a 20,000-square-foot district is 56 Cypress Road, which, if it gets the green light, will be 7,002 square feet.

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Friday, May 9th, 2008

Hillside Landscaping No Comments

Nsrwa To Host Free Lecture Series This Spring

Landscaping Services A free lecture series, sponsored by the Greenscapes program and supported by North and South Rivers Watershed Association,

Mass Bays Estuary Association and 11 towns on the South Shore, will take place from 7 to 9 p.m., Mondays, at South Shore Vocational Technical School auditorium, 476 Webster St., Route 123, Hanover. For information, call Debbie Cook at 781-659-8168 or visit debbie@nsrwa.org.

The Benefits of Plants and Landscaping – April 28, 7 to 9 p.m., with Steven R. Tomasi, president, A.J. Tomasi Nurseries.

Well-designed landscaping adds beauty to any home. However, landscaping can provide so many more benefits, such as providing natural air conditioning and protection from wind, trapping and filtering air pollutants, screening noise and unsightly views to name just a few. Landscaping Services Learn how to use landscaping techniques and plantings to make a yard a healthy oasis.

Tame a Water-Consuming Irrigation System – May 5, 7 to 9 p.m., with Ted Moriarty, owner, Smart Watering Co. Irrigations systems abound on the South Shore, but many of people do not know how to use or maintain them properly.

This can lead to water overuse, which can hurt landscaping and the environment. Irrigation systems can help conserve water when designed, maintained and used properly. Learn some simple, effective ways to take control of an irrigation system, and develop a season-long water conservation strategy.

Growing Green – Landscaping Services Using Fewer Pesticides by Knowledgeable Plant Selection – May 12, 7 to 9 p.m., with Deborah Swanson, extension educator, Plymouth County Extension. Swanson,

will highlight plants that have few insect and disease problems, and yet are beautiful in the landscape. Many of these plants are native and often overlooked. Learning what they are and where to plant them will go a long way in reducing pesticides in the landscape. Many of these trees, shrubs and perennials are also drought-tolerant, once established.

Landscape Design Ideas for Success – May 19, 7 to 9 p.m., with Chris Kennedy of Kennedy Country Gardens.

Kennedy will offer solutions to the toughest of gardening dilemmas. Hear suggestions that can increase the value of a property while reducing the work to maintain a beautiful yard and garden. Kennedy will explain how to improve thorny landscaping issues in a yard and how to match the right type of lawn and plants with existing conditions.

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Monday, April 7th, 2008

Landscaping Services No Comments

Witnesses allege greenstone theft

However, Red Boat Cruises general manager John Robson said he had no knowledge of claims that some of its staff took greenstone from the bay late on Tuesday afternoon.
He said yesterday he found the accusations hard to believe, would be mortified if they were true, and would be looking into it.
All greenstone is under ownership of Ngai Tahu and cannot be taken from the land without Ngai Tahu permission.
Grant Webster, chief operating officer of Tourism Holdings Ltd, which owns Red Boat Cruises, said the alleged activity didnt fit in with the way it operated and he was flabbergasted by the accusations.
%26quot;The key thing is its clearly not something that is condoned in any way, shape or form or fits into the way we operate,%26quot; he said.
The company, which had a good relationship with the Department of Conservation and Ngai Tahu, would be investigating the claims, Mr Webster said.
Mr Robson said Red Boat Cruises went to the Anita Bay area once a year for a staff social gathering, which they did late on Tuesday afternoon. Some staff had stayed on the big boat to swim off it while about 15 were ferried to shore in several trips in a smaller boat, with the attraction being a stone whalers cottage, he said.
Eye-witnesses have told The Southland Times when the Red Boat Cruises staff got to shore, a number had begun gathering greenstone and put pieces in their pockets, and in a couple of instances, bags. The staffers were picked up by the small boat and taken back to the big boat about an hour later, on nightfall.
Mr Robson said any suggestion they had gone to Anita Bay to collect greenstone was totally untrue. %26quot;If anyone got greenstone I would be mortified and I will be checking with my staff.%26quot; Runanga o Ngai Tahu Kaiwhakahaere (Chairman) Mark Solomon said it condemned the illegal taking of pounamu (greenstone). %26quot;We had no prior knowledge of the incident in question before being contacted by the media, but if these types of activities have been going on we would be very concerned and will consider what action to take after further investigation,%26quot; he said. %26quot;It is encouraging to see there is a growing awareness by the public that Ngai Tahu owns pounamu and that laws exist to protect those ownership rights.%26quot; Department of Conservation Te Anau area manager Reg Kemper said Anita Bay, which was part of Fiordland National Park, was DOCs responsibility but the greenstone in the park was owned by Ngai Tahu as part of the claims settlement act.
%26quot;Its not a mineral owned by the general public, its owned by Ngai Tahu.%26quot; Taking greenstone without Ngai Tahu permission would be like taking someones car without the owners permission, he said.
The type of greenstone found at Anita Bay is bowenite, which is also under ownership of Ngai Tahu, a Ngai Tahu spokesman said.
Bowenite is described as a rare type of pounamu on the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand website, Te Ara. The natural pebbles (known to Maori as tangiwai) were valued by Maori for adornment, the site says.
In 2000, Museum of New Zealand staffer Graham Wilson described bowenite as originating in Anita Bay in Milford and was used for jewellery before Maori discovered pounamu or greenstone.

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Saturday, March 29th, 2008

Garden Landscaping No Comments

Competition has bright future Southland boss says

The New Zealand Rugby Union held a two-day forum on Wednesday and Thursday in Wellington to discuss the challenges New Zealand rugby faces and the possible shape it would take in the future.
One of the hot topics at the forum was the future of the 14-team provincial competition, which Rugby Southlands flagship team the Stags are involved in.
Clark said the talkfest wasnt set in place to make decisions but was more a chance to discuss New Zealand rugby in general.
Despite no decisions being made Clark was confident from what he had heard that the Air New Zealand Cup would remain a permanent fixture in a similar format to that of the current one.
That was despite suggestions before the meeting that a major revamp would be in store for New Zealands top provincial competition.
Clark said there was an agreement the current Air New Zealand Cup structure wasnt financially viable for the unions but there was also a consensus the competition had proved a success on the playing front.
Cutting the salary cap right back to allow the unions to operate within their budgets and also remain competitive was the logical conclusion, Clark said.
He said It was a conclusion the majority of people at the meeting agreed with.
%26quot;I came away from (the forum) feeling positive and upbeat that Southland will be taking part in a competitive and even competition in the future,%26quot; he said yesterday.
While the Air New Zealand Cup may not get a dramatic overhaul in terms of the format, radical changes may be in store for Super rugby with a number of options being pondered, including the possibility of opening up the competition to other parts of the world.
It was about creating a professional competition with worldwide interest that excited players and fans, Clark said.
The next step for the NZRU was to form working groups to make decisions on where they want to point the Air New Zealand Cup and Super rugby competitions while taking into account the discussions from the meeting in December and the two-day forum in Wellington this week.
Clark expected the fate of the Air New Zealand Cup for 2009 and beyond to be revealed in August.

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Saturday, March 29th, 2008

Garden Landscaping No Comments

I Love German Wine and Food a Mosel Qualitaetswein

If you are looking for fine German wine and food, consider the Mosel region of central western Germany on the border of Luxembourg. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Qualitaetswein (read inexpensive) Riesling.

The Mosel Valley is felt to be one of the most beautiful river valleys in the world. This region, previously called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer in honor of its three rivers, is famous for its Riesling wine. Some of the greatest Rieslings in Germany and in fact in the entire world come from the Mosel Valley. Experts can often identify Mosel Rieslings because of the slate in the local soil, which may impart a taste of flint. The slopes are among the steepest in the wine-producing world, and sometimes attain 70 degrees. The soil is so precious that every spring local workers lug pails of soil up these steep slopes, temporarily reversing the effect of the rains that wash the soil down every winter.

Mosel ranks number five among the thirteen German wine regions when it comes to both vineyard acreage and total wine production. Slightly over three quarters of the regional wine is classified as QbA and somewhat less than one quarter is higher quality QmP wine. Only one percent is table wine. More than half of Mosel wine is Riesling. The German hybrid white grape variety Mueller-Thurgau represents about 20% of the wine production. In third place is the historic Elbing that dates back to Roman times. Only about 2% of Mosel wine is red.

The Mosel Valley pretty well stretches from Koblenz which isn’t far from Germany’s former capital Bonn to the city of Trier sitting very close to the border with Luxemburg. These two fine cities are linked by the Mosel Weinstrasse (Mosel Wine Road) which is approximately 140 miles (224 kilometers) long on the eastern side of the river and somewhat less on the western side. Of course, you could take the autobahn to travel between Koblenz and Trier at breakneck speed. If you do, you’ll miss the interesting little towns and vineyards along the way.

Cochem lies about one third of the way from Koblenz to Trier. It’s a fine little Mosel River Valley town. This medieval town is long and narrow. You should take a boat trip as well as a walking tour. Outside the town gate is the Kaiser Wilhelm railway tunnel, which at 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) is the longest in all Germany. After about a fifteen minute walk you will reach the Reichsburg (Imperial Fortress), a thousand year old castle that overlooks Cochem. The castle hosts a medieval banquet which features period costumes and music on Fridays and Saturdays but you must reserve in advance. North of the city is a larger castle, the Burg Eltz a few miles inland from the Mosel.

Before reviewing the Mosel wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Aalsuppe (Eel Soup). For your second course enjoy Rolladen (Beef rolls with Bacon and Pickles). As a dessert indulge yourself with Moselweintorte (Chocolate and Wine Cake).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Moselland Bernkasteler Kurfurstlay 2005 9.5% alcohol about $8.50

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Pale straw yellow colour; citrus, mineral and dried apricot aromas and flavours; balanced with crisp acidity in the finish. Serving Suggestion: Serve chilled with pork, turkey or appetizers. Spicy asian dishes.

My first pairing was with a homemade pizza with lots of tomato sauce, vegetables, and cheese but no meat. This wine displayed refreshing acidity that worked well with the pizza sauce. It had good fruit and was surprisingly long.

The next meal included a barbecued chicken marinated in a commercial Mediterranean-style light sauce, red-skinned potatoes, and a somewhat spicy Turkish salad. The wine’s acidity cut the fat very well and yet complemented the tomato’s own acidity which largely defined the salad. This little and lightly alcoholic wine (9.5% when 13% plus seems to be the new norm) was quite assertive, especially with the potatoes. And yet it was somewhat flat with dessert, some orange fruit-juice candy.

The final meal was whole-wheat pasta in a sauce that started out with your basic commercial pasta sauce. I livened it up with a fried medley of garlic, red onions, red and green peppers, topped with anchovies and shredded (local) Asiago cheese. The wine was light and fruity and the combination was quite tasty. I was happy that this Riesling was low-alcohol (and inexpensive) so that I could drink quite a bit without any negative effects, including to my pocketbook.

The initial cheese pairing was with a mild Italian Pecorino Fruilano. The wine was sweet but didn’t impress me very much. Then I tried it with a nutty Dutch Edam cheese. Once again the wine was sweet but it was round and the combination went quite well.

Final verdict. Great bargain. The wine really goes well with simple food. I didn’t get a chance to try it with gourmet specialties but wouldn’t be surprised if it did as well as many wines including Rieslings at twice the price. If I weren’t saddled with so many wines to taste (talk about problems) I’d buy half a case and drink one every two months or so. Then I’d try one from the next vintage and hope to repeat the process.

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Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Landscaping Idea No Comments

Creole Home Decorating Ideas to Try Out

Of all the styles of architecture and decorating around the world very few have taken the best of all the others and made it a little bit better in quite the way that the style often referred to as “French Creole” has managed to do. The truth is that while this style of architecture that New Orleans is famous for is really heavily borrowed from many other cultures and yet uniquely New Orleans at the same time.

Creole architecture for many brings to mind intricate wrought iron work, long shutters (to cover the windows during hurricanes originally), huge windows and doors (these were designed larger than typical homes in other parts of the country in order to create breezeways for the wind to come through in the sweltering hot summer months), and bright colors that you aren’t likely to find in most million dollar neighborhoods. This style of architecture and home décor is also famous for huge balconies-also with wrought iron railing.

The amazing thing about the Creole style of home decorating is that there is no one identifiable feature that labels a design style as decidedly Creole. Lagniappe is a term that people here quite often in and around New Orleans. For those who do not know, it means “a little something extra”. From an extra donut to a freebie bookmark and many things in between, that little something extra has a long history in New Orleans from the architecture to the music there always seems to be a little something extra that you couldn’t get anywhere else.

The interior design style of the Creole is also very similar. Some consider it gaudy but the locals consider it that little something extra and it is. You may find a little Gothic style, a little bit of Jazz, and a whole lot of Mardi Gras in one room and it s quite all right because you are getting all that and just a little bit of lagniappe too. Home decorating in Creole country is an art form that defies logic and yet makes perfect sense for the rich culture and heritage that it encompasses.

For those that need a little inspiration who would love to incorporate a little Cajun or Creole spice into their living spaces, perhaps the following suggestions will prove to be helpful.

1) Red peppers. Nothing says spice quite like a red pepper. There are all kinds of items you can find with red peppers in them these days from wallpaper borders to hand blown glass peppers, jar toppers, pot holders, kitchen towels, strings of lights for patios-even kitchen canisters decorated with red peppers. There are all kinds of options available to incorporate this theme into your home or one room of your home.

2) Music notes. Most people cannot think of Cajun country without thinking of the music that calls this great section of the country home. Music notes are a great way to symbolize the music that made New Orleans famous.

3) Mardi Gras Masks. Many people find that New Orleans symbolizes Mardi gras in their hearts and minds though New Orleans is not the birthplace of Mardi gras. The masks are a way that people from around the country can bring the ’spirit of New Orleans’ home with them and decorate their homes with that attitude that can only be referred to as Creole in many hearts and minds.

4) Food. Believe it or not the food is as much a part of the Creole home as any other design element. For this reason a French Creole style kitchen is often the way to go when it comes to home decorating in the Creole fashion. The kitchen is the heart of a Cajun home and food is what makes it that heart. Use jars of beans, rice, pastas, and other lagniappe as part of the overall design and you might just be amazed at just how Creole the room begins to look.

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Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

Landscaping Idea No Comments

Custom Surprise Birthday Party Invitations for Adult Birthday Party Celebrations

Surprise Party Celebrations for Adult Birthdays and Other Surprise Party

Many people enjoy a good party and birthdays are often just a reason to have another celebration. All too often people can feel neglected as they get older and birthdays are not celebrated in quite the same way as they were when they were younger. On the other hand these same people may resist suggestions that they have a party for their birthday because they are trying to ignore the fact that they are getting older, or in the case of much older people, generally female, they don’t want to make a fuss. This is when the surprise birthday party is most often used.

Planning a surprise birthday party can be more difficult than planning any other type of party because of the need for secrecy, especially if you are planning the party for a husband or wife. In order to keep such a party quiet families have to resort to what might be seen as underhand methods, so you need to be prepared to feel a bit sneaky during the planning phase.

If they are honest, most people actually love the fact that people care enough to go to the trouble of planning a surprise birthday party in their honor, they may not appreciate all the undercover work that went into making the birthday party a success at one level, but on another, they are often delighted that it is going to happen.

The time when many families will want to keep party plans a secret is when they are planning an over-the-hill surprise birthday party. Often this will involve a party themed around a particular decade. Many people like to hark back to times that as they grow older become a sort of golden age so the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80, and even the 90s were the best time to be alive in their opinion. If you plan this type of over-the-hill surprise birthday party it could be tricky getting the birthday boy or girl to get dressed in the style of that decade without arousing their suspicions.

Sometimes people have to learn to be a bit creative with the truth if they are planning an over-the-hill surprise birthday party. It is often easier to preserve the surprise element if you hold the party at an outside venue otherwise you might have to make alternative parking arrangements for guests as thirty cars parked along your street could raise suspicion that something is going on. There are many online sites that offer unique surprise birthday party invitations cards.

Planning a surprise party can be a lot of fun, as well as a lot of work. Ordering personalized surprise birthday invitations, getting friends and relatives not to mention the event before it actually happens can be tough going, but they are part of the business of planning a successful surprise birthday party. You may decide that you want to give a themed surprise party that includes themed surprise over-the-hill birthday invitations and decorations. If you plan to hold a surprise party at home then you may have to get the person out of the house in order to get the house ready for guests. You will have to be quite sneaky here if you want the party to remain a surprise but when you see the happiness your actions bring then you’ll probably decide that it was all worth it.

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Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Landscaping Idea No Comments

Stretching sinking dollar abroad

Guidebook writers like to advise travelers to picnic in their hotel rooms as a way of saving money, but Americans will need to do more than eat bread and cheese to beat the higher costs of foreign travel.

The dollar’s fall against most of the world’s currencies mean it’s more expensive to travel almost anywhere, including Canada, where the “loonie,” as the Canadian dollar is called, has been hovering at par or just slightly below the U.S. dollar.

How bad is it? Consider that five years ago (Jan 1, 2003) a hotel room priced at $200 Canadian cost $126 when it took just 63 U.S. cents to buy one Canadian dollar. Now the same room costs $200 U.S., a 60 percent increase. If the room was 200 euros, the cost in American dollars was $210 at an exchange rate of $1.05 to one euro; now, with the rate at $1.47, it’s $294, up 40 percent.

Even India is shunning the greenback. Worried because this year the dollar slid more than 12 percent against the rupee, the government started requiring tourists to pay for entrance fees to monuments in the local currency instead of dollars.

What’s a traveler to do besides stay home and calculate the cost of a car trip with gas edging toward $4 a gallon?

Here are a few suggestions:

%26#8226; Skip the in-room picnics and dine like a local by turning a corner or walking a few blocks away from the major tourist attractions.

Visit the Tower of London, for instance, then hop a bus or walk across the Tower Bridge to Southwark and join the office workers grazing through the Borough Market (www.boroughmarket.org.uk) for grilled lamb burgers and samples of English cheddar.

Climb the Eiffel Tower, then when it’s time for lunch, wander the little streets in the Paris neighborhoods behind the Parc du Champ de Mars instead of the pricey brasseries fronting on the river.

Eat ethnic: A growing immigrant population means you’ll find Ethiopian restaurants in Paris, Turkish pizza in Amsterdam and Chinese and Indian food just about anywhere. London’s hole-in-the-wall Italian sandwich shops serve cappuccino and panini for a pound or two ($2-$4).

Indian restaurants are great deals worldwide. You’ll often find them on the upper floors of buildings where the rent is cheaper. In Bangkok, recently, on a hot, humid evening, my husband and I found the India Palace on the second floor above a tailor shop. We ate in quiet, air-conditioned comfort for $16, including beer.

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Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Landscaping Rock No Comments

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