>wine notes + sands casino + br>>

So, after 24 hours, I am finally home, in the comfort of my comfortable bed. I began Friday night with a pit stop at Blue Ribbon with my good friend and soon to be French tutor "Vil" for a taste of our much anticipated Beef Marrow/Foie Gras combo (+ cava); then 4 subway transfers later, home for 1.75 hours of sleep; up at 6am to catch the Transbridge bus from Port Authority to go to the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where a shuttle bus picked us up to go to a wedding at Hotel Bethlehem; then back to the Sands Casino to gamble off the $30 they gave us when we got off the bus when we arrived that morning; then back on the bus while I ate an entirely regrettable "5th Avenue Pie" from Sands Casino's "Carnegie Deli" (they also gave us all $5 food vouchers which I couldn't let go to waste); then back on the 1 train, and home again.

I was so tired last night I dreamt about it.

Anyway, I had two quite tasty sparkling wines this week. The first one was a Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde, Branco from Portugal. David bought it the other day and for $7, it wasn't bad at all. A nice champagne alternative, even better than a lot of cavas I've tried.

The second one I had was a Verdi Spumante, Bosca. Even though it was a little on the sweet side, I thought that it actually was a champagne and a rather good one at that. But when I asked the bartender what it was that I was drinking, he showed me the bottle and to my surprise, it was a malt beverage, not even wine at all! David said that if I thought it was champagne, and at good one at that, my palate has a long way to go. But I disagree, I thought it tasted perfectly quite nice. It's not something I'd want to drink on a regular basis, but perfectly suitable as a "toasting champagne." $8.

(But I did have 2 Biancos and one Gin martini prior to it, so maybe my palate was a bit dulled...)

But anyway: All in all, as tiring as it may have been on me, it was a very good 24 hours. And this, my friends, makes for a very happy, sea otter.