Book and Movie Date

Good Thursday morning!

The Gallery Pics are from Day Three of our Amelia Island Va-Ca. I know! I know! The stories and photos just keep coming. (Aren't you glad I didn't go on a two week cruise?)

AMELIA ISLAND

Day Three - I Think I Met a Gypsy!

And then there were four... Austin's beach time was over. Because we had to keep the wound clean, walking on the sand or getting in the ocean was out of the question. But he was fine with the new situation. With book and laptop in hand, he made his way to a big, comfortable chair in the lobby (conveniently situated in front of the big screen television) to relax for a few hours. The plan was to play in the ocean for a little while and meet back at the pool. (All five of us could play in the pool!)

We had learned from our many mistakes made the day before.

We didn't try to park on the beach; thus, we saved $10 in towing fees.

We only brought ONE umbrella, FOUR boogie boards and THREE chairs. We knew if someone else sustained a massive injury, we could carry all of our paraphernalia back to the van in only ONE TRIP.

Beach time was uneventful, but fun, as was our pool time. That was good. We needed an uneventful day.

We drove into the Historic District of Amelia Island which was charming, beautiful and filled with interesting little shops. But we only had one destination in mind. The ice cream shop. Since it was 100 degrees (literally... NOT a heat index), we wanted homemade ice cream and milkshakes. We were not disappointed, and we made our way back to our hotel room refreshed and ready for a little rest before our major dining experience that evening.

In the last year or so, I've enjoyed visiting restaurants which have been featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Before this trip, I had visited five of these restaurants... and they were all very, very good.

I was pretty sure there wouldn't be a featured restaurant on the tiny, tiny island, but in nearby Jacksonville we hit the jackpot. It was called 13 Gypsies. It was described as an European Bistro which seated only 18 people at a time. I made my reservations, and started Googling info about this little eatery.

The word "tapas" kept coming up. Thankfully, Mikie was cosmopolitan and sophisticated enough to explain the concept to me. You are given a menu and you order two tapas per person. (A tapas dish costs between $2 to $10, is very small and is meant to be shared.) EVERYTHING on the menu was new to us. (Code for TWO YEARS AGO, NONE OF OUR KIDS WOULD HAVE EATEN ANYTHING!)

When we arrived at 13 Gypsies, we were pleasantly surprised. It was in a rundown part of town, but it was a charming establishment.

Guess what we ordered?

Street Style Pork Kabobs (Probably the second favorite dish of the evening.)

Garlic Shrimp

Coconut Mango Curry Chicken (It was the color of a BAD diaper, but it tasted delicious!)

Angry Bull (Pan seared beef, served with pacheco sauce and crowned with crushed raw garlic and peppercorns.)

Cod Loin Mariscana (Pieces of cod loin cooked in a spicy Parmesan sauce. Who knew cod had loins?)

Shrimp Piri-Piri (Large fresh shrimp sauteed in a traditional spicy Portuguese ginger-lemon sauce. Go Portugal!)

Blackened Octopus (JUST KIDDING!)

Jibneh Arabieh (Pan seared cheese, scallion oil, roasted red pepper coulis. I couldn't say it, but it tasted like pimento cheese. It was excellent!)

Bread (Most definitely the FAVORITE... and one of the few menu items we could actually pronounce!)

If you are ever in Jacksonville, Florida, the Faulkner Five (and Guy Fieri) highly recommend this fun restaurant!

Blog Linkage - I hope you enjoy today's little list. I have something for people with an APPETITE for travel, an APPETITE for Italian food and some FOOD for thought. (Can you tell I haven't had breakfast yet?)

1. Go to www.bing.com/travel. You will find yourself on their home "Travel" page. In the Search Box at the top of the page type "50 Awesome Vacations." You will be taken to a list of websites with vacation information. Several of them will begin with "50 Awesome Vacations." Just click on one of those links and it will take you to a very interesting list of one vacation per state. It was fun looking through the list to see if I agreed OR if I had ever been to any of the places they suggested. (If you have unlimited funds, wouldn't this make a great "to do" list?)

2. If you need a quick, easy and filling dinner for the weekend, you need to go to Confessions of a Pioneer Woman under My Blog List. Click on Tasty Kitchen at the top of her home page. Look at the right-hand column of this page, and you will see the heading "A Tasty Recipe: Bowtie Lasagna." I made this last night, and it hit the spot. It received Five Faulkner Stars!

3. Go to Nitty.Gritty under My Blog List. Scroll down to Jody's post entitled "Because We Don't Know What to Expect" dated July 12. There is a lot of truth in this little post.

Book and Movie Date

The movie Ramona and Beezus will be hitting the theaters in a few short days, and for kids everywhere it will always be known as Ramona and Beezus... The Movie. But I remember Ramona and Beezus... The Book. Beverly Cleary was one of my favorite authors when I was growing up. I loved all of her books, but especially Ramona and Beezus.

If you are the mother of a young girl, buy or check this book out of your local library TODAY. Find a special place to curl up together for a little while each day to read this wonderful story aloud.

After you've finished this delightful book, plan a movie date and head to your local theater to watch the book come to life on the big screen. It will be time well spent!

Have a terrific Thursday. I'll end the week Friday with Weekend Happenings and more ramblings about our vacation which I have affectionately entitled Day Four - Will I Ever See a Manatee (or Tom Selleck)?

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda