wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

Such a beautiful sunset over Dayton, Ohio. It was a busy week with trip preparation and my birthday got pushed to the side. A couple days later Todd said, "We're going out to dinner. Where do you want to go?" It was a lovely fall day and I wanted to find outside dining. The AC Marriott is a new hotel in downtown Dayton and many friends have mentioned their rooftop restaurant so off for a new dining adventure. We caught a beautiful sunset and had a lovely, relaxing meal.

We departed from Cincinnati to JFK, where these travel quotes greeted us before catching our trans-Atlantic flight to London's Heathrow Airport. At Heathrow we scanned our passports electronically and I was disappointed not to get a stamp on my passport.

But Heathrow wasn't the last leg on this trip. On to Zurich, Switzerland, where I got the first stamp in my new passport. I was so exhausted but so excited when I heard the ka-chunk from the passport agent's stamper.

Zurich is a global center for banking and finance, which is right up Todd's alley, it's located at the northern end of Lake Zurich (Zürichsee) which has many lovely parks and a promenade along its edge, and the picturesque lanes of the central Altstadt (Old Town), on either side of the Limmat River, reflect its pre-medieval history.

We walked and walked around Zurich, just exploring and wandering without any plan. It was a good first day to get acclimated after the previous long day of travel. Todd noticed this bar sign. It's his philosophy than any place that has a sign that says "BAR," must be a good place to walk in to have a drink. And it was. Our server, Felipe, was from Portugal, and was absolutely delightful. He asked where we were from and we told him Dayton, Ohio, where the airplane was invented and is known as the Birthplace of Aviation. Felipe enthusiastically proclaimed, "The Wright Brothers!" A bond was instantly forged. He then shared that this establishment, The Old Fashion Bar, is the oldest bar in Zurich and has been in business since 1886. All the woodwork is original and it's ambiance is lovely. It's not a dive bar, like many of the bars we have explored just because of a sign that says "BAR."