Ithaa, an Undersea Restaurant, is real, albeit unusual. It is one of the restuarants you can choose at the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa Rangali Island. I start this entry by stating the restaurant is real because when I received an email with photos of the restaurant, I thought it was a hoax, a digitally created urban legend. However, after searching snopes.com (where I often check the “absolutely true—I swear it!” emails I often read which are, in fact, absolutely untrue!), I discovered, Ithaa (pronounced eet-ha) exists! As much as I am dying to sample the wonderful resorts of the Maldives, this “trendy” attraction doesn’t make it to my “must see and do” list—too much of man manipulating nature in an area where human intervention is generally minimal. So there!

My most unique dining experience was probably dinner at Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower; second would be the chicken soup I attempted to eat while the Silver Cloud navigated the Chilean fjords in 20++ feet swells Thanksgiving night, 1997. And the most unusual place you’ve eaten is?

I’m devastated! I’m crushed! I’m so disillusioned! Before I explain why, let me give you some background:

Today is April 13th, Friday, April 13th to be exact and it started out being a “Lucky” day! Michael and I winged our way from Kansas City to Rochester, New York to attend Krista and David’s renewal of their vows (aka an official wedding post Iraq!). I blogged about Krista and David on March 25th (once again, I present the Cliff’s Notes version of a past blog: Krista is our niece; she met David in the Reserves; they got engaged; Krista’s unit was called up to Iraq; they were married by a priest prior to deployment; Krista is back, toting Purple Heart and Bronze Star; now we’re having the “official” wedding; Krista is being redeployed to Iraq…). It is very cold in Rochester—still not an unlucky thing—we left brrrrr cold KC. We attended the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, and we planned to go to…………….drum roll, please…………WEGMANS!!!

You remember Wegmans, don’t you? (See Feb. 23 blog) I salivate just saying the word, Wegmans—-Wegmans, Wegmans, Wegmans—oooohhh! Six of us plan this exciting outing–Michael, me, Sandy and Chuck (Michael’s sister and brother-in-law), and John and Diane (cousins). Six normal looking adults, of apparent sound mind and body, headed out to Wegmans. You may know Rochester for Eastman Kodak, Rochester Institute of Technology, or proximity to Corning. I think Rochester’s biggest claim to fame is being the birthplace of Wegmans! Based on a recommendation from a local Rochesterian, we eagerly drove (thank you John for having a GPS) to the food mecca. We raced inside and there it was…

…a not particularly clean, boringly stocked (i.e. no pretty displays), large supermarket. Greeting us at the front door was the produce section with a display of broccoli remnants and a few tomatoes. Nobody was stocking the display. It just sat there–forlorn, neglected, alone. “Oh no!” cried the grocery goddess and food know-it-all that lives in my head, “Tell me this isn’t so!” “Not to worry!” the hopeful child inside admonished, “Let’s look at the yummy pasteries in the bakery!” Off we went to explore the bakery section. Adults, please, if you have a child reading this, you may want them to look away because the next words may be offensive and graphic—-the doughnut trays were half *#h)ptH  *#)$& empty!!! Okay, there I’ve said it. I’m not proud of my reaction and yet I have to be honest! Even the flower section was paltry by Wegmans standards.

The average person, not already used to the high quality of food and displays at the Wegmans in Hunt Valley, MD, may have been impressed (except for the barren broccoli display). After all, we were still in a very large, well stocked supermarket, but it just wasn’t that over the top, oh my God I want to shop there, aesthetically spectacular experience I remember. It was just another supermarket and who wants to roam around a grocery store after dinner on a Friday night? Wegmans, what happened to you? Are you experiencing PMS (plain, mediocre supermarket)? Is this a temporary situation or is Thomas Wolfe correct, “You can’t go home again?”

Dust bunnies—what’s the origin of that phrase? I know what they are  and this morning I “swiffered” many of them to a new home in the trash can—but why dust “bunnies”–bunnies are cute, as in Easter and flop-eared, but dust bunnies—help me out, here! Ah, I just used another pop cliche, didn’t I?

 Today’s New York Times Travel Magazine had an article dubbed “The Talk”, featuring three words: grass-roots, ur-, and tradical. I like “grass-roots”–it fits with the whole “local is better, more energy efficient, free from the craziness that dominates the world” movement. I like grass-roots—Queen King allows it to stay in her vernacular.

Next is “ur-”—some confusion there, I think. NYT claims it is a prefix that means original or prototypical…Points up the obsesssion in travel with finding the ultimate…” Ultimate, that I understand, for example “uber–”, kind of “super” on steroids. So the ur-baguette referred to in the article about France suggests (to moi) “uber” or epitome.

 Tradical will not be discussed because I don’t like the word, too trendy, and, besides, this is my blog. I can write what I want (she offers maturely!). So, there you have it, Barbara’s thoughts on words today. Your turn, Stephen Colbert!

Check out www.goodburgerny.com and find out about the newest and best entry in burger restuarants in New York. We ate at the 54th and Lex location (near the Benjamin–which is one of the most comfortable hotels I’ve experienced in NYC). How fun it is to happen upon an “in” place to dine!

Not much else to report! I’ve heard people say that all the trends hit the coasts first and then trickle down to the Midwest. I’ve just experienced a trend that I hope stays on this East coast. Apparently, in keeping with moving daylight savings time earlier, New York has moved April Fools’ Day up a couple of weeks, too. That is the only logical explanation for the icy, snowy, rainy, cold, windy, sleety day we had Friday, the frigid blast on Saturday, and the contest today of wind versus sun—wind won—no contest really!

Continuing with this logic, if Friday was April 1 in the new and improved   calendar, then my birthday, April 9th, is really the former March 24th! So, it’s my duty to inform you that this coming Saturday will be National Let’s Eat White Cake with White Icing Day. It’s been a long tradition that I eat white cake with white icing (preferably baked by Hen House bakeries) on my birthday. Thanks to the new abbreviated March as mandated by New York, we get to eat white cake in 6 more days. Are you with me on this? For those of you a little slow on math, let’s review: If the 16th day of the 3rd month of this year, oh let’s call it, say, 2007, has been changed to the first day of the fourth month, same year (makes the math easier, don’t you think?), then today, what used to be the 18th day of the 3rd month, is really the 3rd day of the fourth month of 2007 (remember, we agreed to keep the year the same), then the 9th day of the fourth month will be the former 24th day of the third month of the year 2007. The importance of this date change should be immediately noted by all Hen House bakeries as the annual April 9th raid of white cakes with white icing will take place earlier than originally planned. Okay, students, did we all get the correct answer??? Are we ready to eat cake in 6 days and counting? (For those of you who dot your I’s and cross your T’s, please note that today is really 3/18/07 even though the date on the blog is 3/19/07–the time is set to Greenwich Mean Time on my blog even though it’s EDT here, and CDT at home—what’s a woman to do???)

 Amazing what happens to one’s brain when frozen in New York…and YES THE RAMS WON! GO RAMS!

After a whirlwind journey to St. Petersburg, Russia, we arrived home a little after 12:00 midnight. I’m still at work trying to ignore the reverse jetlag!

Our last night in St. Petersburg was an over-the-top event–a sit-down dinner at Catherine’s Palace, the summer palace of the tzars. Dressed in formal attire, we arrived by bus (an oxymoron?)—just me and 300+ of my closest friends. We dined on exquisite gourmet food and were serenaded by a variety of sounds—classical music, opera, Russian folk music, and gypsy music and our evening ended with a fireworks display in the palace’s courtyard. It was beyond elegant; it was decadent. I suppose we were treated much the same as the czars were and I easily understand why the Russian revolution occurred. My question is, “Why did it take so long?”

Catherine’s Palace is incredible and the restoration work is amazing! We originally toured the palace when we visited St. Petersburg in 2003 aboard the Crytal Symphony. It still took my breath away—especially the Amber Room, a room whose walls are paneled in an intricate mosaic of amber.

As tasty as the food was, as beautiful as the music sounded, as incredible as the experience was, I wished I had been given an option: Attend the event or have the amount it cost per person donated to a charity that might enhance the well-being of innocent, hapless children who are victims of poverty and disease. I know that my well-being would have been enhanced by a donation rather than by an evening of “self-congratulatory” decadence. Yes, my chosen career is to help people experience the world in a unique way—perhaps I need to add “meaningful” to that definition.

Just a quick note to tell you how wonderful it feels to be treated like royalty! We had lunch today, here in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the Ethnographic Museum. This was not a museum cafeteria type lunch! Rather, we entered the main hall decorated with round tables covered in starched linen clothes, white satin slipcovered chairs and crisp linen napkins. Each table was piled with delicious cold selections, salads, veggies, Russian pickles (green bean pickles are a hoot!), smoked fish, and wafer sliced beef. The main course was a moist chicken breast laced with a rich cream sauce and decorated with a pastry pocket of veggies and zucchini. Not succeeding in pacing myself, I skipped dessert (my waistline gave me an ovation!). Soothing music was provided by a chamber orchestra and we were serenaded by an acapella choir with incredible voices. Just another day of being pampered–definitely a meal fit for a King (my last name, you know!). Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!

Those of you who live in Upstate New York have kept a secret from the rest of us, but the word is getting out! Wegmans, a mixture of Whole Foods meets Dean & Deluca on steroids, is definitely neater than sliced bread! It boasts an amazing assortment of food, not as fussy as Harrod’s Food Hall, but equally impressive in its own way! As Wegmans has opened stores in the Northeast, people have the wonderful option to experience fine food presented in a breath-taking array.

 Last year we came to Baltimore for our son’s high school basketball tournament. Baltimore has several good places to dine (check out Blue Sea Grill) and I truly didn’t imagine I’d be recommending a grocery store for fine dining, BUT–we stumbled upon this treasure when, after a disappointing loss, we needed to soothe our pain with some Ben & Jerry’s. I am not a domestic diva nor do I routinely rave on and on about grocery stores, so believe me when I tell you that going to Wegmans is an unbelievable sensory experience! A few days ago we returned to Baltimore for this year’s tournament. We chose to stay in a Marriott that is across the street from Wegmans! I was a little nervous walking into the store—what if my memories were larger than the reality? What if Wegmans was just a “legend in my mind?” Not to fear! The past few days in Baltimore, which included daily stops at Wegmans, confirmed that this is truly an extraordinary experience!

This week I’ve tried Maryland soft-shelled crab sushi, Cracked Pepper coated ahi sashimi, Caesar salad (with just a hint of anchovy in the dressing), orange cranberry scones, an onion bialy, “doughnut shop” blend coffee, and Wegmans house brand Creme Brulee ice cream (yes, the boys suffered another ugly loss!).

 When I was a child and watched “Peter Pan” on TV, we were told that if we clapped real hard, Tinkerbell would live. Maybe, if I clap real hard, Wegmans will open in Kansas City??? Ya think?

Okay, I think I’m safe! It’s 10:18 PM and I had a wonderful dinner thanks to Michael’s wonderful cooking. I’m pleasantly full and feel almost sure I can venture into the realm of great restaurants without the urge to raid the refrigerator or binge on cookies!

At Great Getaways we’ve been collecting names of restaurants we’ve enjoyed when we we’re globe-trotting ( or just neighborhood skipping, for that matter!). I would love to create a list of all of our favorite finds—known or off-the-beaten path; however, I need your help! Please email me (barbara@greatgetaways.travel) or post a reply on the blog of what restaurants are your top faves.

I’ll start:

Trattoria 4 Leoni, Piafzza della Passera – Via dei Vellutini, Florence, Italy www.4leoni.com. A great casual dining experience a few blocks from Palazzo Magnani Feroni, a few minutes walk from the famous Ponte Vecchio. Great food and off the tourist route. Frequented by locals (so I’m told and so it seemed). Our dessert was most impressive—a flaky pastry that was decorated with our names written in script in delicious, edible chocolate! Be forewarned–this was not a regular menu item. Our host had called ahead to set up this surprise. What a pleasure it was to eat my words!