Get yer ice lollies here

Magnet #1223 - Ice Cream

Ok, fine. Ice lollies are technically popsicles from what I understand, but this magnet my sister got me still fits. Because...

This. I have been craving this for ages now. But like, not the stuff I can run down to Food Lion or Harris Teeter to pick up.

All the freakin' NYC food truck tweets from @VLAIC and @CoolhausNY are driving me crazy, popping up on my TweetDeck, telling me where they're stationed every day. Makes me crazy because I can't get to them from here in NC!

If you haven't had Van Leeuwen ice cream before, you're missing out - my absolute favorite ice cream on Earth right now.

So much so, that it was actually on the Con list of quitting my last job, because their butter yellow truck is usually parked down the street from their building. In the end, the ice cream couldn't prevail...but it just means I'll have to walk further for it, I guess.

You got a Pisa my heart - Guest Bloggers, Save the World Couple

Magnet #670 - Pisa

I know! I have not one, but two (!) Pisa magnets! So I figured that I'd give Guest Bloggers newly wedded Save the World Couple a chance to write about their Pisa trip. I mean, hello, they totally got to visit and climb the 294 (or 296) steps of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Also, this magnetpost finally answers the question that ALL inquiring minds kept asking me: why STWcouple decided to marry in Italy. Finally.

- joy

____________________________________

While Joy was training it down to DC for the holidays, she asked us to guest blog for her about Pisa, Italy. The first time we went to Italy together, we used the train to get from Rome to Florence, Florence to Rome to Naples, and then Naples to Rome. We also did a lot of daytrips, including one to Pisa a quick hour train ride from Florence.

When we went to Pisa, we totally took advantage of the sweet ticket deal they’ve got where you get one ticket and you can see several of the museums and attractions. Now… Pisa is NOT big and all of the attractions and museums that tourists want to see are close by. We went New Year’s Eve day along with several hundred of our not close friends. All of whom wanted to take THAT photo. You know, the photo of a person looking like they are holding the tower.

Being December, we were surprised by how warm the day was (apparently, Gordon says it was “very pleasant day”) and how green the grass was. The area around the tower and baptistery is like big quad – nice, green grass (which we totally saw people making out on). On our trip into the tower, we were accompanied by a big group of Japanese schoolgirls (uniforms and all – very harajuku but with no Gwen). They were all excited about the tower and the huge bells at the top. We were too, but they were SO excited – like little Pokemons.

What we weren’t excited about was the gelato in Pisa. Gordon and I were on our first venture back into the western world (as we were in Uzbekistan for Peace Corps) and we were SO excited to have pizza and gelato every day (not kidding…every. day.). However, we were extremely disappointed in the gelato that we had in Pisa. So much so, that we still talk about it today whenever someone asks us about how we liked Pisa. We CAN, however, tell you of a GREAT gelato place outside of the Vatican (we went back for more after our first round!).

We were just in Pisa a few weeks ago after the wedding (the wedding of the century, in case you missed it). We took the train, again, from Florence to Pisa. And then flew from Pisa to Malta. (PS: There’s a very convenient bus right outside of the train station in Pisa that takes you directly to the airport). We intended to revisit the sites when we got back from Malta, but the weather was crap and we were still on our Mediterranean high.

That first trip to Italy, however, was what made us decide to get married there five years later. It definitely has a Pisa our hearts!

Best stuff on earth

Magnet #653 - Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour

Ok. I've mentioned how much I love ice cream - a visit to the Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour is pretty fun. Not only do I love behind the scenes stuff, but I love seeing the factory in action.

But, I think I've now gone twice to B&J's in Vermont, and not seen the factory actually in action - just get to see the empty floors and empty machines. Nothing sadder than a factory at rest. But, I will say that it's the place I first discovered one of my favorite Ben & Jerry's flavors - Dublin Mudslide. Mmmmmm.

I had to do an ice cream post, given that I've been trying to recreate all the gelato I had in Italy. They say you should have it twice a day - while I didn't live up to that, I did manage to have a lot of it.

My favorite gelato in any store, in any town? Nicciola - hazelnut. Best recreated by Ciao Bella's Nicciola sorbet. So. Freakin'. Good.

Even when it's 38 degrees outside.

A dairy great adventure

Magnet #557 - Fair Oaks Farms, Indiana

During that Chicago roadtrip earlier this summer, my sister and I pulled night-driving duty through Indiana.

No offense to Indiana but our impressions? Dark. Flat. Never-ending. Frankly, boring.

And where are all the people? Don't they have to live near highways?

So, then on our way back in the daylight, we were shocked. Shocked!, I tell you. Light. Flat. Never-ending. Frankly, boring.

That is, until we started seeing these superpunny cow billboards convincing us we needed to stop at Fair Oaks Farms. Not one, not two, but at least a few superpunny cow billboards. So, of course we had to stop.

After all, how could we resist cows double dairy'ing us to have a dairy great adventure?

Plus, ya'll don't know DC Sister. That girl is a sucker for a good pun - has been ever since the Juneau? Juneau? Juneau? Alaska! joke she (thinks) she made up when she was like five. (Or, in regular people's terms: "D'ya know? D'ya know? D'ya know? I'll ask 'er!" Yeah, that was never going to be funny written out loud.)

Anyway, we all piled into the little red barn, as opposed to the big red barn, and lined up for ice cream. They also had a locavore-ish bistro with cheese and cheese and cheese. And did I mention they had cheese? They even had a cheese-factory tour, but no one there - fairly well-produced videos had to suffice, as it was like 9:30 on a Sunday morning, and us having ice cream was kinda pushing it. (Though not really, if you eat as much ice cream as I do.)

I've now confirmed on their supercute and pretty darn robust site that what little we visited of Fair Oaks Farms was just the tip of the udder, because apparently, there's a thing called Mooville Adventure Center, plus the dairy barn tours, playareas and a birthing barn (ewwwwe) and a 4D theatre, some sort of cowculator, and it goes on and on.

And it's all supercutely branded by a dairy extraordinary marketing team. We were really glad we stopped in at Fair Oaks. These folks know how a create a branded experience - for that, I can forgive your extremely overpriced magnets.

Moo done, you!

I scream, you scream

Magnet #521 - Ice Cream

Dudes, did ya'll know it's National Ice Cream Month? Had no idea. But yay! Ice cream's like the best food in the world - and I'm hard-pressed to say my favorite flavor.

No matter what grocery or bodega I'm at, I end up in the ice cream aisle, trying to decide what new flavors to try. My problem is that a pint of ice cream might be too much for me - because I very quickly get bored. I love the descriptions, but then, when I actually start to eat them, I'm done within the first quarter of the pint. Which is how I end up with several flavors in my freezer at once.

And, I don't like fruity flavors or sorbets, either. In fact, outside of strawberry and the occasional mango, I'm pretty much done with the fruit realm. Which leaves me with chocolate, vanilla, pieces of chocolate, pretzels, any kind of nuts, chocolate-covered anything, etc.

Though, I have to admit, I've been craving a soft serve for weeks. I'm always afraid to go get ice cream from the ice cream trucks - for two reasons.

First, when I was about five years old, I heard the ice cream truck, and my parents said no...and I ended up furtively running throughout the house looking for change to go buy some. I did. But I got in a world of trouble for disobeying a direct order. I didn't get to eat the ice cream, either, if I remember correctly.

Second, we have one of those ice cream trucks on almost every other corner here in town, and every year, there's another newstory about them not always the being most sanitary of places to get your ice cream. Apparently, you have to go to the one with the longest lines, because that means they're busy, and their ice cream taps don't linger with dabs of germy ice cream that's been hanging there for a while. What? That's what they say!

Anyway, this magnet is one of a set of fast food magnets I just bought, which was part of a biiiiig Etsy magnet purchase I just made. Last week, I was on wefollow, wondering who else was out there twittering about magnets. And I found @KristinaMyers, this supernice lady who has a magnet shop!

Seriously, ya'll. She. Makes. Magnets.

And custom ones! I can't wait to show you more of what I bought from her - they're all supercool, and I'm superhappy with my Etsy purchases. In the meantime, check out her Etsy store and her blog! And buy some magnets! They're awesome.

Speaking of awesome. David Tennant during this introduction for the Torchwood/Doctor Who showing said (in his just terrible American accent) that that's what Americans say over here, premeeeres (instead of prehmiere) and awesome. At about the 3:54 mark, he said he loves awesome, and he's taking it back with him to London.

Hmph. I wish he'd take me back to London.