It's been quite a while since I last updated! I've been very busy this month. My grandfather passed away on November 10, and my family took a weekend trip to New Jersey for his funeral. I grew up in Paramus, NJ, a town of shopping galore, autumn leaves, busy streets, and memories. I spent fourteen years of my life there until I moved to Clermont, FL after 8th grade. My friends Tina, Deep, Lais and Ashley made plans to see me while I was in Paramus. I haven't seen them in five years, and I missed them terribly. We kept in contact over the years, and Skyped a bit. It was a bittersweet time, with the sad funeral of my grandfather and the joyous reunion of my best friends.
On friday morning I woke up at the insane hour of 4 AM to drive to Orlando International Airport to catch a flight to Atlantic City, NJ. As we neared our destination I gazed out of the window next to my seat and was greeted by endless waves of autumn trees. I missed the changing leaves in the fall, Clermont has next to none, instead their place is taken by palm trees. When I walked outside the crisp cool 40-degree weather rushed at me, a far cry from the 80-degree weather in Clermont. I was happy though, I missed the cold, and was tired of the endless warmth. My family hopped into our rental car and drove to my uncle's house in Forked River.
My uncle and cousin talked with us for a while, and I ducked downstairs to pet their beautiful cat, Marie. Marie sat on a couch and purred the entire time I pet her, and she had dazzling green eyes and soft, fluffy fur. She looked like my own cat, Tigger, only Tigger is short-haired with gray fur. I have a soft spot for cats. My cousin was visiting as well from Michigan, and brought his adorable children along, Abigail and AJ. My grandma caressed AJ while I went into the kitchen to check out the food. They ordered Subway for us. A giant spread of sandwiches, cookies, salads and condiments covered the table.
I munched on a roast beef sandwich, then we drove to my aunt's little store, The Hippie House. It's a tiny store full of tye-dye shirts, peace sign necklaces, records, jewelery, and hippie culture memorabilia.
After visiting Forked River, we began the two-hour drive to Paramus. I looked out the window and reveled in the sights of places I've visited. Memories came flooding back to me all at once, and I missed this town more than I once thought. Paramus and Clermont are radically different. In Paramus, there's shopping centers everywhere, small businesses around every corner, delicious bagels, three giant malls, people are always on the go, never stopping, always going, going, going, the streets are alive every minute, trucks and cars zooming past at night when you're asleep, crisp, cold weather, snow in the winter, falling leaves in autumn. Clermont is quieter, slower, more tranquil, less small businesses, more Walmarts and dollar stores, more chain restaurants instead of bakeries and pizzerias, Publix in place of Shoprite, dead roads at 2 AM, crickets chirping at night, lush green fields instead of urban buildings, the nearest mall thirty minutes away. I longed for the endless shopping, the busy life, the local joints instead of the giant chain corporations.
At night we ate at On The Border,a tex-mex restaurant next to Chili's. I ordered a pork tamale and chicken enchiladas with black beans and rice. Our table had tons of nachos with dipping sauces. I fell in love with tamales right then and there. They have an interesting taste, of corn and pork, soft, almost creamy, a texture change from the usual tortillas that I reveled in. Afterwards we decided to see what the Bergen Mall looked like. Five years ago, when I left, it was a dead mall, almost abandoned, and Tina told me how they were fixing it up and adding new stores. I laughed at the thought of this empty brown building being crowded and popular. I would eat my words when I saw the modern building with Target, Bobby Flay's Burger Palace, Whole Foods, new clothing stores, and people rushing in and out. I think my jaw dropped at that moment. They really did revamp the entire place. I walked into Target and bought a blue leopard-print flat iron for my hair, and my father ran into a friendly face from his old job at King's Supermarket. At night I slept soundly, even with the rushing traffic outside my hotel room.
In the morning the funeral service was held at Washington Memorial Cemetery, and afterwards lunch was served at Lieto's Italian Restaurant. The waiters poured soda into our glasses and served soup, salad, and the main course of our choice, along with desert.
I ordered the chicken Parmesan, sprinkled cheese over my pasta, and watched my niece Jessica run around the restaurant. I was eagerly waiting for the arrival of Tina and my friends after lunch, and excitement ran through my veins. The chicken parm was tender and delightfully cheesy, a true classic. Desert was served afterwards, a little round ball of chocolate and vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream.
I was standing in the middle of the restaurant when I looked behind me to see Tina grinning at me.
Needless to say, we both screamed in happiness and embraced each other, my eyes brimming with tears over the sight of my best friend. I was truly happy in that moment, the smile on my face could never be wiped off, every single thought on my mind was that of joy and shock and anticipation. We scrambled to Deep's car, where I hugged her and Ashley, and we drove to Lais's home to pick her up along for the ride. Our plan was to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the new movie theater in Garden State Plaza. The entire car ride was a nostaliga wave, with me pointing out our old middle school, parks we used to walk along, the library Tina and I visited over the weekend, my old house, the Shoprite my sister and her husband worked at and met, the KFC Tina and I frequented, the bank where in 4th grade we took a field trip to visit and count pennies in that amazing machine. I was in awe of everything.
We made it to GSP and rode the escalator upstairs, shoppers strutting past in peacoats, bags in their gloved hands. We grabbed tickets and snooped around a few stores before we made it in time for the movie, complete with popcorn and soda. After the movie, Tina and I headed to Bobby Flay's Burger Palace to eat dinner.
I ordered a Napa Valley burger, complete with a medium-well beef patty, watercress, goat cheese, and lemon honey mustard. Tina ordered the Bobby Burger, which had blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. We skipped on the crunchified option, which puts potato chips on your burger of choice, but nordered french fries. We found a table outside of Whole Foods and ate our din-din an chatted about college life.
The Napa Valle burger was delicious. I had never had goat cheese before, and I enjoyed the creaminess of it, and the watercress was a welcome addition instead of the usual lettuce. After eating, we strolled around Whole Foods. There's a Whole Foods in Orlando that I've been to twice and loved, and I am quite jealous of Tina for having a Whole Foods so close to her home.
Turkey and geese for the holidays! We happened to stumble upon some rather amusing bottles of wine.
The next morning we drove to a little bagel shop. Now, New Jersey has far superior bagels to Florida. I believe it's the water that makes them so amazingly light and soft. I used to have a salt bagel for breakfast when I lived in Paramus, and I deeply missed the bagels of NJ. The Florida bagels cannot compare to these masterpieces. So, I ordered a fresh, hot buttered salt bagel.
BEST. BAGEL. OF. MY. LIFE.
After eating that God-Tier bagel, we bought some flowers t put on the graves of our loved ones. I stumbled upon this amusing piece of art.
Teehee.
My brother wanted to take a walk around Dunkerhook, so I took my camera along and snapped photos of the autumn scenery.
We then drove to Hackensack to pay a delicious visit to B&W Bakery. Inside, a girl at the counter complimented my camera while I made the hardest decision of my life: which delicious treat to buy?
I opted for a mini cannoli. Flaky and creamy in a cute little package.
My brother wanted to show his wife these historic homes and a very historic bridge nearby. History lesson ahoy!
George Washington crossed that bridge. I walked upon a piece of history right near my home town. Talk about awesome.
I flew back to Clermont Sunday night. I wish I could go back, stay longer, see more people, explore old places. I miss Paramus.
, in the scene where Julie makes this stew, I knew then and there that I had to make this dish. I am so glad I did! The smell cascaded through my house while it cooked, and my mother and grandmother loved it! I could taste the red wine in the sauce, the beef was tender, moist and delicious, and the onions were soft, smooth and cooked to perfection. Truly an amazing stew. Thank you, Julia!
