Absence makes the heart grow fonder....right?

Well, after a five-month hiatus I am back on the blogging track. Main reasons for my absence include: work, yucky weather and my involvement in the Oxford Area Community Theatre's production of The Pirates of Penzance. Now that I have more free time and the rain and snow have temporarily subsided, I have returned to my regularly-scheduled adventuring.

Today I decided to venture into Clifton, one of Cincinnati's 52 neighborhoods. It reminded me vaguely of the East Side of Milwaukee, but it was less hippie-ish and there were no crazies around damning everyone to hell. Full of unique eateries and kitschy shops, Clifton has just the right amount of small town charm mixed with diverse city flavor.



Smoking = lame. If only Mr. Puffin agreed.



Skyline Chili is pretty popular here in Cincy, but this location in Clifton is particularly nostalgic - in part because Sarah Jessica Parker came here to film for the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? (which inspired me to finally dig up my own family's past, but that's not what you're here for so I'll spare you the boring details).



*Warning*: Photographer nerdiness ahead!

My husband could not, for the life of him, understand why I was taking a picture of a purple wall. I told him to just wait until he saw it on a larger screen. When we got home and I showed him the finished picture he immediately understood why his photographer-geek of a wife dodged traffic to capture this shot.




Fountain lady had a nice butt.



There were a wide variety of boutiques and shops along the main drag of Ludlow Ave. I can't remember the name of this particular store, but the cashier was friendly and was perfectly fine with me taking random pictures - besides, she was too busy worrying about the delinquent teenagers chewing (yes, chewing) and/or stealing merchandise in the backroom.



My friends would argue that this figurine describes me to a T.





We also found an eco-friendly store and cafe that sold books with some of the most interesting titles I've ever seen. Favorites include:

• Getting Old Without Getting Anxious (pictured below);
• Why Is Everyone Always Picking On Us?; and
• Yoga in No Time At All!

After exploring the area a bit our grumbling hungry bellies forced us to seek out a good lunch place. Came to discover that Clifton has not one, not two, but three restaurants that specialize in one of my absolute favorite cultural culinary specialties: Indian! We had a hard time choosing among them;"Should we try this one with no buffet? Or the two others across the street that smell ah-mazing?!" Eventually we settled on Amol Indian Restaurant, whose lunch buffet was absolutely glorious. I think we now know where we're going to satisfy our Indian food craving, and it sure ain't at Oxford's only Indian joint.

Shortly after lunch it started to get darker and drizzly (and we admittedly began to get tired and lazy) so we headed back. I definitely think I'll return to Clifton - but in the meantime, there are 40-plus neighborhoods in Cincinnati that are begging for me to explore them.

Off I go!

Gobble gobble.

I didn't know how popular my blog was until this morning, when a good friend of mine demanded that I update it. Well, little-miss-you-know-who-you-are, are you happy now?!

I just started a new full-time job at a Cincinnati public relations agency, so my free time to explore the area has been cut in half. However, I will still have the weekends to venture around, especially since I got a brand spankin' new camera (which means that I no longer have any excuse if my photos turn out crappy).

Anyway, enough of my excuses and babbling - on to the good stuff.

My parents and step-grandmother are coming to visit next week, so I have been trying to figure out where they should visit while they're here. I figured, "Hey, I've been around here for a few months now, I should know plenty of places for them to go!"

The locals and I therefore recommend the following:

1.) Eat lots of Skyline Chili. With mounds of cheese. Yum.


(photo credit: lbjsbrownbag.com)

2.) Visit downtown Cincinnati.



3.) Explore the Museum Center at Union Terminal, which has three museums (I think...), an IMAX theatre and a working Amtrak station.





4.) Go across the Ohio River to Newport on the Levee in Newport, KY to enjoy great dining, shopping and a wonderful view of the Cincinnati skyline.





5.) Eat the delicious ice cream at Graeter's (supposedly a favorite of Oprah's and many other celebrities - and now a favorite of my husband's).

Mmmmmm...ice cream.....*drool*

6.) Last, but not least, visit Jungle Jim's. Remember that place? I wrote about it here.

It should be a swell time for them, and a great introduction to the area. In the meantime, I need suggestions of places to go and things to do in the Cincy/Dayton/Oxford, OH areas, especially in the wintertime! So, those of you who want me to update more, now is the time to speak up and give me story ideas. :-)

Well, since today is Thanksgiving, I have a turkey and other baked goods beckoning for me to enjoy their deliciousness. In the meantime, may I present a preview of the awesome photo quality of my new camera, with one of my cats dutifully acting as a model.

Where Have All The Colors Gone...

I love Fall (as I'm sure you've gathered from previous posts), but I dislike that the gorgeous leaves stay on the trees for only a couple of weeks until the inevitable gusts of wind tear them away.

I'm typically not one to go hiking or do many outdoor activities after October, but the climate in southwest Ohio is much milder during the transition from Autumn to Winter than in Wisconsin. In honor of the wonderful weather yesterday, a Cincinnati friend of mine (formerly featured here) introduced me to Winton Woods.

At this picturesque park, we were greeted by a quaint lake, which during the warmer seasons provides opportunities for paddleboating, kayaking, and canoeing. Since we couldn't do any of the water sports, we simply strolled around and enjoyed what nature had to offer at this time of year.













The park even had a campground, which won major brownie points in my book. Who's up for a little winter camping in Cincinnati?

I'll have a runny chili with beans and onions, please

A few interesting Ohioisms I've learned so far:

1.) Instead of DMV's, Ohio has BMV's, which stands for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
2.) Everyone in the area has a twang. As in a southern, country twang. They say things like "ya'll", "git in da cah" and my personal favorite, "Chi-caaaaaa-gah".
3.) Cincinnati people love their chili, and there are two main competitors in the area - Skyline Chili and Gold Star Chili. Practically all of the locals I've spoken with so far prefer Skyline, but I don't want to make any judgments until I've gobbled some down from Gold Star.

A couple of weeks ago, my fiance and I made the trek to Cincinnati to see what all of the hubub was about. Home of some interesting tasting chili and the Bengals, it was certainly nice to be back in a place that was somewhat familiar to my home turf. You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl - at least not right away.



They don't have a giant lake, but they do have a giant river with lots of cool-looking bridges!





We discovered an indoor mall that winds around downtown Cincinnati - similar to Grand Ave. Mall in Milwaukee, but much more upscale. Found an Oscar De La Renta dress there for about $1,000. Classy place, isn't it?



Duke Energy is really big in these parts. So much so that the company has its very own convention center.



Cincinnati Reds and Bengals paraphernalia are everywhere. I don't think they're as rabid as, say Packers or Bears fans, but I can still feel their pride.



We saw some riverboats (like in the musical Showboat) across the river, so we decided to cross one of the bridges and see what they were all about. Turned out that just over the river was:



I looked for a KFC, but I didn't find any (yet). I'll have to go back and continue my search so I can tell people I've had real Kentucky Fried Chicken. After getting lost five times in the streets of Newport, KY, we finally found our way to the riverboats, which were a lot bigger than they looked from the Ohio side of the river. If you look in the background, you can see where the Cincinnati Reds play.



And now I must leave you with another funny cat picture. Enjoy!