home slice

I've mentioned before how easy it is to make friends here. It's kind of like going to a new college, where everyone is thrown into a contained, unfamiliar space with no prior contacts. Your guard is down, there are no pretenses, and you feed off of others' outgoing energy. I've never been so friendly in my life. It's healthy. I'm loving the instant sense of community.

In addition to meeting loads of accountants staying in Sunshine Suites within our first few weeks, we met another couple not yet on the island in a fairly untraditional way - through a blog! I've heard of people meeting through online dating sites, but meeting someone face to face through a blog connection is a new method for me. Our new friends BK & KK hail from Cincinnati, and after emailing KK (before they arrived), it seemed like we were going to hit it off. My instincts were dead on. We volunteered to pick them up from the airport last week, and we had an instant connection. I think it's a combination of our similar upbringings and compatible interests. Oh, and she has the exact same camera as me - a true sign of instant friendship. At any rate, these two are fun, cheery, first-rate people.

photo credit: the maitre d' on KK's camera

On a double date; more on this (and the bird) below.

Another fun fact surrounding our newly-found friends is that, unbeknownst to me, one of my best friends (who will be visiting in less than two weeks) has been following KK's sister's blog for a while. She saw a post on said blog regarding a girl and her husband moving to the Caymans and then sent me a tongue-in-cheek message asking if we might know this couple. I almost did a flip in my oh-so-crowded hotel room while furiously typing back, "We just picked them up from the airport last night!!!"  Cliche alert: What a small world.

This weekend, we went on a double date at Ristorante Pappagallo - an Italian restaurant tucked into a corner of West Bay right on a pond.  I can confidently recommend the Catch of the Day (I had red snapper) grilled with olive oil on garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. Oh, and the creme brulee trio (mango, vanilla, and coffee.)

NS was quite pleased that the dessert menu also offered a peanut butter pie.

photo credit: KK

Besides the scrumptious food choices, R. Pappagallo has a whole host of exotic birds. We only got to see one, as there was a private party going on in and around the bird cages. But the one we did see was quite friendly. Here are some shots from our double date with B&K.

"What? He hasn't pooped all day??"

BK and NS, Bird Handlers

I call him Greyson. He calls himself Humphrey Bogart.

The best of pals.

Me and a slice of home.