Like many people these days, I try very hard to have a life outside of work. In years past this was not so easy, but I think I'm getting the hang of it! Below are links to things of interest to me and I hope you'll find interesting too...
Plymouth
America's Homepage - This site is dedicated to historic Plymouth, MA. It includes links to Plimoth Plantation, community links, news and other local Plymouth-related sites. This site and those linked to it have proven helpful to me & my husband as new members of the Plymouth community.
Plymouth Colony Winery - They're a cranberry bog just off the old Route 44 in West Plymouth (a.k.a. Carver Rd.) where a local couple has set up a cranberry winery. They make some excellent fruit wines - cranberry, blueberry, peach, grape - that are delicious. The cranberry wine is surprisingly tasty. They also have jams and jellies, and other wine & cranberry paraphernalia. They're located on Pinewood Road, just off of the old Route 44 (on the left if you're heading west, on the right if you're heading east). There's also Plymouth Bay Winery that has similar products, but we haven't tried them yet.
Nantucket
Cisco Brewers, Nantucket Vineyard, and Triple 8 Distillery - Cisco Brewers is a terrific brewery on Nantucket. They share a location and website with Nantucket Vineyard and Triple 8 Distillery. We found the vineyard while tooling around the island on rented scooters one weekend. The brewery has a variety of home brews, and the vineyard has various wines and a hard cider. The distillery makes rum and vodka, both of which are excellent. The brewery offer their beers, and the vineyard their wines, for tasting if you're so inclined. The wines went very well with the cheeses we bought from Fahey & Fromagerie, a food, wine and cheese shop we found on Pleasant Street that unfortunately is no longer there. One year we bought lunch there, instead of just cheese, and enjoyed it on the beach at Brant Point Light with some Nantucket Vineyards Merlot (mmmmm....).
Italia
Chianti Turismo - This is one of many sites dedicated to tourism in the Chianti wine region in Tuscany, Italy. I have a special place in my heart for this as I'm very fond of Chianti wines, the region is unbelievably beautiful and it's where my husband and I were married. Here are some related sites: Your Way To Florence, ChiantiNet, Villa Vignamaggio, Italy On Line.
Panzano in Chianti and Greve in Chianti - The first link is for the town in which we stayed during our vacation in Italy. The second link is for the next town over, which is considered the unofficial capital of the Chianti Classico wine region.
Oltre Il Giardino - This is an outstanding, beautiful restaurant in Panzano that we ate at twice during our stay back in 2001. The atmostphere was cozy and friendly, the food was the best we'd had, and the people were so wonderful. We're looking forward to our next visit... Maybe then it'll be warm enough to eat out on the terrace.
Gallo Nero Enoteca - Another fabulous place we ate at during our stay. This restaurant is just off the main square in Greve in Chianti, the heart of the Chianti Classico wine region. We had several wonderful meals here and we hope to have several more. They make a wicked pepper steak!
ItalyWeddings - This is the service we used to help us complete our wedding arrangements in Italy. It's run out of the home of a British man who lives with his Italian wife just outside of Florence. He speaks perfect Italian, and of course English, and can help you plan your wedding from soup to nuts - including all the paperwork that needs to be filed, stamped, sealed and whatnot both before and after the ceremony.
RentVillas - The villa we rented on our vacation in Italy we found at this web site. The people were very helpful, the prices were reasonable and the properties are beautiful. They have villas in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Great Britian.
Food, Wine, & Beer
Silvan Ridge and Hinman Vineyards - This is a vineyard in Eugene, OR about a mile away from where my aunt lives. Many times we've enjoyed the walk to the vineyard for tastings, and purchases of course, and the lazy walk back. My favorites are the Early Muscat, Merlot, and Gewurztraminer.
Formaggio Kitchen - Finally! They're web-enabled for your shopping and browsing pleasure. This is an outstanding cheese shop and gourmet grocery about a mile outside of Harvard Square. If you're a fan of cheese, this is the place to go. I ran into Bob Vila there once. His son used to work behind the cheese counter! They've also opened a new shop on Shawmut Ave. in Boston.
Neals Yard Dairy is the best cheese shop in Central London, from which Formaggio Kitchen purchases many of their European cheeses. In addition to the web site for this shop, they also have a site for their natural products store that's fairly comprehensive. Neals Yard Dairy is around the block from Neals Yard Remedies, in Covent Garden on 17 Shorts Gardens (that's the street address).
Cape Cod Beer is a local brewery based out of Cape Cod (duh). The brewery is located in Hyannis at 1336 Phinney's Lane. We know the Brewmaster, Todd Marcus, through Nova - Todd is the dad of one of her friends from her days at the Y in Barnstable. Although we don't drink as much of their beer as we'd like, it's great stuff - we highly recommend it!! Pay Todd a visit at the brewery, and be sure to leave with a growler or two... or three...
Blues & Music
The Love Dogs - One of my favorite local Blues acts. A little blues, a little swing, and always a ton of fun.
Susan Tedeschi - Another one of my favorite local Blues acts, but she's gone national! Boy, can she belt out a tune. She's a live act you shouldn't miss.
Monster Mike Welch - Yet another one of my favorite local Blues acts. I haven't seen him since I was in college, but his recent albums are awesome.
Michelle Willson and the Evil Gal Festival Orchestra - And here's another one of my favorite local Blues acts. I remember her best for turning me on to classic blues women like Big Maybelle and Dinah Washington.
Billy Joel - You can't grow up on Long Island and not love this man. He's like a part of my family. OK, not really but pretty close! My sister, at least when we were growing up, was the ultimate Billy Joel fan. She even got her picture taken with his motorcycle (funny story, ask me sometime!).
Miscellaneous
Briggs Hill Orchids - Not only do I enjoy orchids, but I have the pleasure of having relatives in the business. My aunt and uncle grow and sell orchids from the home-built greenhouse on their property in the mountains of Eugene, OR. Their business has flourished (no pun intended) over the years and I couldn't be more proud of them.
The Best of Times - Certified Master Watchmaker Tom Gref is the only person on the planet I trust with my watches. Not that I have so many, but I have a beautiful 1930-something wrist watch and a pocket watch dating back to the late 1800's. He repairs, restores and sells antique watches - and more. He is by far the best in the business. Ask anyone that knows, that's what they'll tell you.
Oceanic Research Group - A friend of mine from college started this non-profit organization with some friends out of his love for diving and underwater photography. And sharks. This is a great site chock full of all sorts of cool educational resources and other information about our underwater world.
King Richard's Faire - If you enjoy a good Renaissance fair, this is the place to go. They've got human chess, blacksmiths, and jousting to the "death". You can throw knives and axes, shoot arrows, eat a big ol' turkey leg or bread bowl with chowder, check out the tiger cubs (one year they had bear cubs, too), or get lost in the maze. Of course there's also Smee and Blogg the singing executioners. I've been to this fair 6 years in a row. It's just a tiny bit different each time, but it's always a load of fun.
Sachem On-Line - Ah yes, my alma mater grade school. They have an alumni directory of sorts where you can post messages with your email address & photos and try to catch up with old friends. It's fun to look at, as I do on occasion. Go Flaming Arrows!!
Wallace and Gromit - This is the official homepage of Wallace and Gromit, made by their creators Aardman Animation. By far my all-time favorite animated characters! They have 3 feature films out, each one I like better than the next. There's nothing quite like British humor....
