Verona Craft Beer

We actually found some craft brewed beer while walking a marketplace in Verona. They had four kinds of beer – Sausa Pils, Weizen, Red Moon, and a Stout. Babs and I each had a Sausa Pils on draught. ABV was about 6%, which made dealing with the jet lag more tolerable. It was very tasty. You could also buy cheeses and cured meats that were hanging in vendors tents. I avoided this at first, but succumbed to it later. The provolone, prosciutto, ham, and salami were great (especially for breakfast)! We walked to the Arena di Verona while drinking our beer. The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheater which is famous for the opera performances given there. Unfortunately, there were no operas being performed at noon. So we just enjoyed the beer and took many photos.

A pretty good selection for wine country

George Clooney enjoying a local brew

The Arena was built in AD 30 and could host more than 30,000 spectators. A major earthquake in 1117 almost completely destroyed the outer ring. After restoration, and because of its outstanding acoustics, the building now lends itself to musical performances.

Babs thinks these were added after original construction

There is Beer in Europe

Babs and I just returned from Italy. We passed through London on our way there. We landed at Heathrow and then had to take a bus to Gatwick to catch our connection to Verona, Italy. I'll be darned - they do drive on the other side of the road in England (but not in Italy)! We stopped at an airport restaurant called Garfunkels. I thought it only right to order a couple of "pints" while on layover in England. Well, I ordered the pints and Babs, being the lightweight, had the smaller servings. I believe that I had a couple of glasses of bitter, while she had the standard Stella. Both were served on draft and were very tasty. The temperature of the brew was perfect at around 45-50 deg F. Babs, of course, thought this was not cold enough. I'm still training her. I had a version of sheperd pie for my meal, and I can't remeber what Babs had. Attribute the lack of detail to the jet lag. Our bill came to 23.35 pounds, because they don't use the euro in England. I thought that was strange. You can use euros at the airports only, but all change is converted to pounds. There is no line on your credit card bill for a tip. They don't tip in Europe. I gave them cash for the tip. That's what my grandfather taught me to do.

A work in progress

Tired but happy

Back to my Beer Roots

I graduated from Texas A&M University in 1979. Whenever I wasn't studying to maintain my benchmark 2.3 GPA, I thought about studying while drinking beer and playing dominoes at the Dixie Chicken. The Dixie Chicken was THE beer joint on the Texas A&M campus, and after all of these years, it still maintains its status as the no. 1 hangout for the beer drinking Aggie college crowd.

Babs and I visited the Chicken today while on our way back from a wedding in Cameron, TX. The beer is still served in longneck bottles pulled directly from a trough filled with ice. They've added a kitchen and a back porch also. It was good to see the college kids playing dominoes and drinking Shiner beer and enjoying life in Central Texas.

Ask Elizabeth if she ever spent time at the Chicken...

Some views of the "new" Chicken

My old hangout

Babs and my friend Jack, who was visiting from Spokane. Babs was thirsty in the Texas heat.

A good Texas Longhorn