City Hall

One day, Dan and I drove by the castle/fortress that is Cincinnati's City Hall. Off-hand, Dan remarked: "We should see if they give tours of that building."


They do, and it's incredible. The only downside was that its business hours are our business hours: 9-5 during the week. This meant taking a vacation day to check it out. However, we had our own personal tour guide and were able to see the entirety of the building, including the mayor's office.

I learned a lot about Cincinnati's history and politics on this tour. I was also impressed to see how much artwork was all over the building, especially in the forms of stained glass and painted frescoes. Even if you're not into the political side, I'd highly recommend taking the tour just to hear about why each stained glass scene was included, what the characters represented to the designers, why art was infused throughout a governmental building.

A few photos to pique your interest:




By the way, City Hall was built like a fortress because citizens set fire to the previous City Hall. Most of this building is marble or granite... a bit harder to burn to the ground.

Our tour was over an hour long, completely free, and all of our questions were answered. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and nice, and the building is fascinating. (If you go, see if you can request William Dreyer.)

City Hall's tour information: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/pages/-10585-/

More photos from our trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rrrrred/sets/72157622647357217/

Guestblog & Flying Pig #6: Cincinnati Museum Center

My friend Amber sent me some pictures of a flying pig that I'd somehow missed last time I was at my beloved Cincinnati Museum Center. She was awesome enough to write up a post about "Animal House"-- thank you, Amber!

Being a mom of two young kids leaves me with a lot of "what are we doing today?"s. So my husband and I decided it would be more budget-friendly to buy passes to places we knew the kids would enjoy time and time again.

The first pass we bought was to the Cincinnati Zoo. That one was a given-- both of our kids love the outdoors and animals. As for another pass, because we had decided on buying two, we were stumped. Both our children are daredevils and love amusement park rides, but aren't tall enough to ride the majority of rides, so Coney Island and King's Island didn't financially make sense to us.

One Sunday afternoon we had planned to go to the zoo, but the weather didn't agree with our plan. So since we had already planned on being in the downtown area, I suggested that we go to Union Terminal. Well, needless to say, our kids instantly fell in love with it and it soon became our regular rainy day spot.

I had seen that Erica and Dan were documenting all of the pig statues that they were coming in contact with in their Cincinnati Re-adventure, and was über-excited when I came across this one in the Children's Museum on the lower level of Union Terminal. Since I'm pretty sure Erica and Dan have never been in the Children's Museum, seeing as they have no children, I figured I would take some pictures to share with them.

Upon more research on the web, I found out that this pig is named "Animal House" and was created by Tracey Antoun. In an article I found she explained that she just wanted people to look at the endangered plants and animals displayed on the statue and think about how we don't think enough about our environment.

Animal House's Pig Profile: http://cincinnati.com/bigpiggig/profile_102300.html
Cincinnati Museum Center website: http://www.cincymuseum.org/

Iris Bookcafe

My favorite random find of this entire project so far: Iris Bookcafe.

Dan and I ambled in when I saw a sign that mentioned BOOKS-- that's all it takes for me, to tell you the truth. I'm an easy mark.


And once inside I never wanted to leave. (Ask Dan.) A cute little cafe area, tons and tons of unique and interesting books lining every wall they have, a large selection of eclectic vinyl records, a courtyard with outdoor seating and an arbor, a friendly staff and a comfortable atmosphere. I immediately wanted to start writing a novel, just for the hell of it.

Pompilio's

Pompilio's and I did not get off to a great start.

It might have been the dull, white bread or the salty, too-hot potato soup... but I was not impressed right off the bat. I also think that many of the online reviews hype this place up too much-- it is not, in fact, like stepping back in time to some kind of idyllic Italian experience. It was more like stepping into a second-rate Olive Garden, if you ask me.

And when my meal showed up-- an Italian sampler, pictured at right-- you can see why I wasn't quite sure what I was in for. It felt like they were trying to hide something from me under Mount Marinara.

But my experience turned around as I plowed into the sampler. Underneath the red eruption hid meat ravioli, cheese ravioli, eggplant parmesan, Italian sausage, a meatball and their well-known lasagna. I devoured them all (less the sausage, which Dan ate) and was pleased with all of them. The lasagna was good... the eggplant was best.

I will eat here again. (As often as Dan and I have Italian food, we're bound to repeat restaurants from time to time.) It didn't shock and amaze me, but it filled me up with warmth and carbs and sometimes that's enough.

Pompilio's website: http://www.pompilios.com/

Atomic Number Ten

Atomic Number Ten is 1) a nod to the element Neon and 2) an awesome vintage store in OTR. I was finally able to visit, and I was really impressed by the wide selection of high quality (but low budget) vintage items throughout the store.

I only bought one item this time-- but it's hard to describe so I'll have to take a picture next time I wear it (whenever I figure out HOW to wear it).

If you need kitsch for your kitchen, funk for your bunk, the ironic and the iconic... hit up Atomic Number Ten. (Man, I should have gotten paid for that line. I accept chunky wedges and wolf shirts!)

Atomic Number Ten's website: http://www.atomic10.com/images/home.html

St. Peter in Chains Cathedral

It's amazing where you can find yourself, when you're killing time. Ever stepped inside St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, next to City Hall?





A few more photos (taken by Dan) here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rrrrred/sets/72157622771238078/
St. Peter's website: http://www.stpeterinchainscathedral.org/

Padrino

Noooo, we didn't undertake Padrino's "$30 Spaghetti & Meatball Challenge." I just thought you should be aware of it-- you know, for the next time you're in the mood for 3lbs+ of food. Hey, if you finish it, it's free!

This was not Dan and my first time to Padrino, but we did end up here again on a bit of a whim. We were celebrating 5 months together (yea!) and wanted something we already knew we liked-- ever been in that kind of mood?

Padrino is good Italian. We rolled in around 7:30 and ended up waiting a solid 40 minutes before getting a table, but the restaurant is comfortable and we were in no real hurry. There was a large reception in their private room, and the entire dining area was full of laughter and the smell of garlic. Good stuff, I tell you.

Dan ordered the lasagna (he just mmm'd at the thought of it, so that's a good sign) and I had the chicken and spinach manicotti (also mmm). Oh, a little heads up: order extra garlic knots. Their little bread garnish that comes with the meals is so addicting and delicious, you're going to want more of them.

The first time we visited Padrino, it was because we were curious about the "old Milford" area. There have been a lot of new businesses and restaurants popping up in this area, so we wanted to broaden our horizons a bit. Padrino was a great choice for pasta nuts like ourselves-- this will definitely be one of our staples, when we find ourselves in that "hungry for something I know I like" moods again.

Padrino's website: http://20brix.com/padrino/
Padrino's menu: http://20brix.com/padrino/menu.html