Wednesday 6 July 2016

Summer!

We've had some very nice summery days recently, with the odd rainy, chillier day in between. Altogether, what is supposed to be summer according to the calendar has been much wetter than average and a lot less hot than last year's heat wave.

Yesterday after work, I met up with my sister for ice cream. I chose the "Baileys Cup" which was somewhat disappointing in that I couldn't really detect any Baileys in it. Have you ever tried a little splash of Baileys on top of ice cream? It works best with Maple Walnut, and/or with Chocolate flavoured ice cream.


It was still nice, just not what I had expected. Next time, I'll go back to my favourite Caramel Cup.

Friday night last week, my girlfriends and I had our regular get-together (usually the first Friday of the month). I had a bit of time left between work and meeting at the open-air restaurant, and decided to go for the scenic route and walk through the palace grounds on my way there.

It was beautiful, with the scent of roses and other flowers everywhere. Here are the pictures I took:











I am not sure I have ever showed you this part of the park, the "Alte Gärtnerei" - "old nursery". It is what it says, the old nursery for the palace gardens, nowadays a teaching garden. It explains about many different plants. The square raised beds are planted with herbs and other plants used for medicine and in the kitchen; signs explain not only what they are but also their use. School classes and other groups can book events in the buildings, with gardening experts teaching them about nature, gardening and environmental matters.

It was a most pleasant start to a fun evening with my friends, good for winding down after work.

27 comments:

  1. I don't eat sweet things but I think you ordered the sweet in the wrong order. A large Baileys, is that the alcoholic custard stuff, with just a scoop of ice cream would perhaps be better.

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    1. Good idea, I may ask the folks at the ice cream parlour to create a special "Librarian Cup" :-)

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  2. The palace grounds look lovely. I don't even know what Baileys is - or didn't until just now (looked it up, so you don't have to explain!)

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    1. I was introduced to Baileys at a fiend's 18th birthday party when I was 17, and found it was one of the few alcoholic drinks I liked. There is also a chocolate Baileys, usually out in the shops as a "special edition" around Christmas, and so expensive I refuse to buy it - but do not refuse to accept it as a gift :-)

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    2. I don't drink alcohol, so even though I have picked up many common names of various drinks from books and films etc, if I give something a "second thought" it usually strikes me that apart from the name I have very little idea what it really is - and what makes it different from something else... (I can tell red wine from white by looking at it, but that's about it!)

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    3. My approach to wine is similar to yours, Monica - apart from being able to tell red from white by looking at it, I can tell whether I like a wine or not, and that's about it! :-)

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  3. Lovely summery feel to those garden pictures. It's nice hanging out in a park in the early evening, when the sun is still high in the sky. I always think you need more alcohol in these icecreams that say they have liqueurs, etc. in them. They give a tiny taste but it actually takes quite a lot :)

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    1. It was lovely there, Jenny, especially since the hordes of day tourists (they are brought in by the bus load) were gone by then, and most of the people I came across were just locals using the park to get from A to B in a nicer manner than through town.

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  4. Lovely lady in Ireland introduced us to Baileys and ice cream, still a favorite of ours.

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    1. Good to know I'm not the only one to like that!

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  5. Oh dear, my comment just disappeared! Try try again. I am sorry your ice cream was not all you'd hoped. I'd love to know more about your Librarian's Cup. If I were designing something for myself it might be pistachio ice cream with elder flower liqueur splashed on top. Not sure if I would actually like that, but I'll have to try some time. How lovely your walk was through the palace grounds to meet your friends. I'm sure it was much nicer without so many tourists about.

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    1. Pistachio with elderflower sounds rather nice; I'd definitely give "Cup Kristi" a try!
      I don't mind the tourists; they bring money into town and spread the word (I hope) about Ludwigsburg. But I avoid the times when there are many of them around, as on weekends, or at the Christmas Market on Advent Sundays - I can go there whenever I want and am not limited to those times.

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  6. Hello again Miss Arian. Sorry I have been away so long. Lovely pictures of the palace grounds. Sounds like your summer has been as shy as our English summer but surely soon there'll be a proper long spell of summery weather. The Atlantic weather systems seem to have been against us.

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    1. We've had a summery but not too hot week; Saturday (the day after I took the pictures for this post) was chilly and wet, but since Sunday it has been nice throughout.
      I hope it won't be too hot and humid by tomorrow evening when O.K. and I will be running the City run.

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    2. And welcome back, of course!

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  7. Oh! The palace grounds in summer are lovely! Did I tell you this...on my moonlight hike at Panola Mountain, there was a couple from Germany! The man was from Hessen, he told me. (The woman didn't speak English as well, so she didn't understand me when I asked where she was from!) He was such a nice guy and I told him that I had a friend in Germany and that in your area, I very much wanted to see the Palace and the winter market and the pumpkin festival...and then, I said, "You get the idea"! And then, I laughed and he laughed with me. It was pleasant to walk behind them on the trail as they chatted quietly in German.
    Your photos of the gardens are lovely, I DO wish I could see them! :-)

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    1. How nice for the couple from Germany to be able to go on a moonlight hike in your beautiful area during their vacation! I bet they will not forget that night anytime soon.
      Yes, the gardens and parks are lovely this time of year. Actually, they are lovely all year round, each season with its own characteristical beauty.

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  8. Bailey's and ice cream make a lovely treat. I also love like Grand Marnier and vanilla ice cream. A few strawberries with it make a particularly delicious dessert!

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    1. I don't think I know what Grand Marnier tastes like, but I trust you that it is delicious on vanilla ice cream and strawberries :-)

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  9. Interesting ice creams - lovely.I have just made one batch of blueberry and one of blackberry.Now to raspberry and strawberry concoctions.Might blend two of the four or perhaps just a scoop of each for contrast and colour

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    1. Oh, you make your own ice cream? How wonderful! My Mum does that, too. I am sure a blend of four - "Summer Berries Blend" - will be fantastic!

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  10. Hi Meike, thank you for the visit! I haven't been posting much in the last few years, but I still enjoy visiting and posting from time to time.

    We've had some very cold weather recently, thankfully it turned warm again! I mean, it was soup & sweater weather! LOL

    Yes, sadly my country is having race problems again. It's as if it's the 1960's all over again. It hit a little closer to home today. There was a problem at an Ivy League school, Dartmouth College in New Hampshire had a problem. While we may be a couple hours away, that type of tension spreads quickly.

    On another note, try putting Bailey's in your coffee! Yum! :)

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    1. I've had coffee with Bailey's once or twice in winter at a café, to warm up after a shopping expedition in town - it's nice :-)

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  11. Oh, one more thing, I did make the pies - strawberry rhubarb, cherry, and wild Maine blueberry! Those five gals are all my beautiful accomplished nieces & my nephew-in-law!

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    1. Thank you for coming back and replying to my comment on your blog. It's nice to see you again after what feels like a long time, but I know what it's like - sometimes our offline lives take over, leaving us little space, time and energy for the online part.

      I should not have read your description of the pies before breakfast... :-D

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  12. At last 10 days after your post I've managed to read it. In those 10 days I could have done with some of your summer. I suppose yesterday was as bad as it gets with gales (really) and torrential rain but at least it was warmer than it has been (at 14℃).

    As I was looking at the photos the thought struck me that it really has been a long time since I travelled to and through Germany. I've always taken my car but somehow the 700 mile drive from here to Dover gets less appealing with every passing year. I drove down to Italy via Switzerland a couple of years ago and apart from the Mediterranean coast road from Italy into France which was manic the driving was very enjoyable.

    Which brings me to Baileys and ice cream. If I'm honest I can think of few ways of spoiling a lovely vanilla ice cream more than by putting Baileys on it! Mind you as I'm not a great lover of sweet things I tend to be very boring with my choice of ice cream. I do like the occasional choc-ice though: I love the textures.

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    1. It has been so cold this week that I had to wear a coat to work; 11 Celsius one morning. And this is supposed to be July! Yesterday, summer came back, though, with 23 or 24 Celsius, and a bit warmer (up to 27 I think) today. It would be nice if it lasted for a few days before the next dramatic drop.

      Vanilla ice cream on its own tends to be a little too bland for me. Otherwise, I am very boring with my choice of food in general - muesli (of the same brand) every morning, bread and cheese for staple food, the same salads or raw vegetables with hummus... it is the main reason why recipes appear so rarely on my blog.

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