Old Salty Frog

After a fun but exhausting week in New York, I was thrilled to be heading south to Sarasota, Florida, for some sun, relaxation, and some home-cooked meals at my mother-in-law, Rosemary's house. Bryna and I said our goodbyes at JFK, and I hopped on a plane down to Tampa. Travers had arrived from Geneva a few hours earlier, and his mom and he spent those hours shopping and having dinner before picking me up at the airport.

We drove the hour from Tampa to Sarasota, and stopped at our favorite pub, World of Beers, before heading home for the night. Already the warmth of Sarasota was relaxing me, and I knew I was going to be able to recover quickly from my energy-consuming week in New York.

The next day we relaxed at Rosemary's house, spent some time with Nonnie (Travers' 101 year old grandmother), played with Schnitzel (the dog), and ran some errands in Rosemary's little convertible (top down of course)!  That night Rosemary took us to a delicious Cuban restaurant in St. Armands called The Columbia. Travers and I have walked past this restaurant several times before, and always thought about going there. So we were thrilled to get the opportunity!  We were sat at a great table by the window, shared a pitcher of delicious Sangria, and each had some tasty cuban dishes, something we definitely cannot get in Geneva!

Sunday was Mother's day, and we were so happy to be able to celebrate it with Rosemary and Nonnie. Mike, her fiance, had returned from a quick trip to Jacksonville, so the five of us were able to enjoy a nice brunch at home that morning. We made our traditional eggs, bacon, and potatoes, drank some tasty bloody mary's, and watched as Rosemary opened a few mother's day gifts.  The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house and ended with a delicious home-cooked meal (yes, Rosemary cooked on Mother's day. oops).

Monday, Travers and I went to the beach. We drove out to Siesta Key and spent several hours sitting in the sun, getting a little burnt, and enjoying the sound of the waves on the sand. We had some tasty ceviche and beers at a restaurant called The Cottage afterwards, which was a great way to end a hot day by the ocean.










For Christmas, Travers and I gave Rosemary and Mike tickets to a cooking class in town. They learned how to cook some really tasty dishes, so Monday night, Rosemary cooked one of them for us! And boy were we excited, because it was something you definitely can not get in Geneva - Enchiladas!  They were so tasty, with chicken and cheese, and a delicious sauce. Thankfully, Rosemary shared the recipe with us, so we will one day attempt to make them here in Geneva.

Tuesday started out with some time at the driving range. We spent just under an hour, went through one gigantic bucket of balls, and all walked away extremely sweaty and drained (apparently playing golf in Florida in the middle of the day is not the best idea). But we all made the best of it, and it felt great to get some exercise and know that I can still swing a club pretty well even though I haven't in a long time!

After golf, we drove to meet Rosalie, Rosemary's friend, at a yummy hot dog restaurant, Doggin' It. It was wonderful to see Rosalie and catch up with her over some delicious dogs, fries and soda, something we also cannot get easily in Geneva.

That night, we had a big night out at a fantastic Peruvian restaurant called Selva. The food was to die for, and the ambiance was perfect for one of our last nights in Sarasota.  We then ended the evening with drinks outdoors at Mattison's! Rosemary and Mike love to dance, and with the live band playing, they showed off their stuff!










As a small side note, we were staying at Mike's house, and when we got home that night, we were greeted by a tree frog that was sitting on the front screen door.  I don't like frogs. Never have. I had a bad experience once.  So I was terrified of this little thing, sitting quietly on the door. How were we going to get into the house? So Travers grabbed the nearby hose, and lightly sprayed some water at the frog until he jumped off the screen towards another wall, just enough so we could open the screen and sneak by him. My heart was racing the entire time, but we were able to get by and get inside before he got any closer.

By Wednesday we were getting sad that our time in Sarasota was coming to an end, but we made the most of it. Rosemary took us out to St. Armands for some shopping. We bought a fun sign that hangs in our kitchen now, and Rosemary bought me an early birthday present, a beautiful new top. We had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Old Salty Dog. We ate delicious hamburgers sitting outside on the deck, enjoying the views of the water and boats going by. 


After lunch, we went back towards St. Armands and after shopping some more, we just had to get some ice cream at Kilwin's, and pick up some brittle for Mike, his favorite. Now some of you may think that Switzerland has good ice cream, and I'm sure some people really enjoy it, but for Travers and I, its just not our favorite. Its never cold enough, and a little too creamy/soft for us. (Boo Movenpick). So we were thrilled to have some tasty pistachio ice cream in a cone from Kilwin's. 
That night Mike got on the grill, and we feasted on some tasty ribs! We lounged on the patio, had wonderful conversation, and played with the dog some more, knowing we wouldn't see the little guy for awhile.  We said our goodbyes to Nonnie, and headed back to Mike's for our last night in Sarasota.

Thursday morning, we packed and headed out the door to get to the airport. It was still pretty early in the morning, and we could hear the sounds of Sarasota around us, birds, crickets, frogs. Mostly frogs. And just as we're about to walk out the front door, Travers spies through the screen door, a frog sitting on the welcome sign, right next to the door, where we have to walk by! I immediately got nervous. I had this fear that as soon as we walked by, the frog would jump on me and get in my hair or something. My heart started racing, and I was on the verge of having a panic attack. Travers slowly opened the screen door, and as he did, another frog popped its head out behind the other one! There were two! He immediately closed the screen door again, and we peered out, wondering what in the world we were going to do. Then as we were peering, we spotted several more on the wall opposite the door. It was a whole family of frogs! At this point, I really didn't know how I was going to walk out that door. My heart raced, my breathing was rapid, and I was trying to talk to myself and calm myself down. After a few failed attempts, we finally decided to go out the back door and walk around the building. It was dark out the back, and there was no path to roll our bags on, but it was better than risking having frogs jumping all over us. So we quickly made our way, carrying our heavy bags all the way, and finally, safely, making it to the street to where the car was.  I think my heart didn't calm down until we were well underway to the airport!

So aside from the frogs, we had a wonderful time in Sarasota. We ate tons of delicious food. And although I was a bit worried I wouldn't fit into my bridesmaid dress for our friends' wedding that coming weekend, it was all worth it to eat some foods we don't get in Geneva, and to spend lots of time with Rosemary, Mike, Nonnie, and Schnitzel. And thankfully we get to see Rosemary and Mike again this October when they come to visit us in Geneva!  So off we flew up to Hartford, Connecticut to the wedding of our friends, Tim and Jess.