Tin or Aluminum

I’m sitting in a coffee shop called Fuel in Main Street, Great Barrington, The Berkshires, Massachusetts, enjoying a cup of Chai Tea Latte with honey while fighting off the greatest bout of Man Flu known to … er … Man.  I hasten to add (for any of my politically correct readers) that by Man I am in fact referring to those of the male gender.

Mrs G and I travelled up to The Berkshires yesterday in our “economy” hire car.  “Economy” turned out to mean a vehicle the size a small house.  The car has no hand-break and the indicators, wipers and beam are all on the same stick.  Took a bit of getting used to but it was a pretty straightforward two-hour journey through the pouring rain.

We’re here as part of our 10th wedding anniversary celebrations.  It’s quite a mind-blowing thought that I have been married to this wonderful woman for a quarter of my life.  We spent our Honeymoon in New England ten years ago: a few days in Boston followed by a few days in Jackson, New Hampshire.  While I struggle through my rising fever to keep y’all up to date Mrs G is celebrating by doing what she does best: shopping.

We managed to get a couple of days in Boston recently.  We stayed at The Bertram Inn and our room had a wonderful four-poster bed which was the size of our entire bedroom back in the UK.  A full breakfast was provided and I took great delight in making my own spicy pumpkin waffles (generously dosed with maple syrup).

We ate out at Jae’s Café and Grill both nights as it was just down the road from the Inn.  Jae’s provides authentic and cutting edge pan-asian cuisine that delights the senses (according to its website).  I have to admit that the food was most excellent.  I had Duck with Plum Sauce the first night and Hot Stone Bibim Bab with Beef the second.  The Bibim Bab was my first sampling of Korean food and proved to be a splendid choice.

Boston was much as we remembered and it was nice to just bimble about.  Ten years ago we went to the Cheers Bar, the outside of which was filmed for the exterior shots of the TV show.  Inside was completely different.  A new (additional) Cheers Bar has now been built by Quincy Market which is meant to recreate the TV bar on the inside.  In as much as this bar has a rectangular serving area in the middle and the TV bar had a rectangular serving area in the middle, they’re identical.  Other than that, not so much.  Or, in fact, not at all.

So now we’re in a different part of the State, staying in The Inn at Stockbridge (of Norman Rockwell fame).  We had a lovely meal last night at The Morgan House: New England Clam Chowder to start followed by Filet Mignon for me and Braised Pot Roast for Mrs G.  We may force ourselves to dine in style this evening.