After we'd finished seeing all the exhibits at the aquarium we headed for the exit, and I had to laugh (but only because I don't have kids) at the fact that in order to reach the exit one must first pass through the massive gift shop, which was a wonderland of high-priced irresistible toys, enchanted begging kids and their caving parents.
Aw, well, I guess all the money the aquarium brings in does go to keeping the aquarium critters afloat. Still, I'm glad I didn't have to try to make it through that gift shop with kids in tow.
After the aquarium we decided to seek out some lunch on the levee, where we came upon what
Theresa swore was one of the best eateries in Cincy (but not in Cincy, of course, as we were still in Kentucky), Tom + Chee, a fast-foodesque (you order up front then they make it and bring it too you) restaurant that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches.
There are probably a dozen different kinds of grilled cheese options on the menu, though Theresa and I opted to split a tom+chee, the store's $4.95 signature sandwich which is cheddar, mozzarella,
tomatoes, and a really tasty garlic seasoning on sourdough bread.
We also split a large Caprese Salad (I think it was $8.95), which was a beautiful-looking (and tasting!) salad of tomatoes layered between slices of mozzarella on a bed of greens and generously garnished with basil leaves with balsamic vinaigrette served on the side.
However besides fancy but structurally normal cheese sandwiches, Tom+Chee also has a substantial menu of these grilled-cheese doughnut concoctions:
So we caught the matinee of "Lucy" a science fiction film starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. "Lucy" had gotten pretty good reviews, but I gave it a zero, as in not positive, not negative, just, well, zero. Theresa liked it, though, so I guess I was missing whatever it was that made people like this movie. I'm often missing whatever it is that makes people like some movies.
After the movie we headed towards home but stopped first at a half-price book store near Theresa's neighborhood since Theresa needed some reading material and I wanted to look for an Italian grammar book and dictionary as I'd decided to start learning Italian from CD's while driving around in my car. So far I can say "Hello", "Good-bye," "My name is Patti" and "There's an exhibit on Leonardo da Vinci at the museum". (C'e una mostra su Leonardo da Vinci al museo"). Which will come in handy just in case anyone wants to know where there's exhibit on Leonardo da Vinci. All I have to do now is figure out where the museum is.
Anyway, I did find a dictionary.
Theresa suggested that for dinner we go to an authentic Cincinnati chili joint called Blue Ash Chili that had recently brought Cincinnati more acclaim by appearing on the TV show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives". Of course, this place wasn't actually in Cincinnati, either, it was in the suburb of Mason.
It was a cute place, though, with a kind of retro motif:
So Theresa had a pulled pork sandwich, which she said was really good, and I ordered a gyro salad which was, eh, okay:
To be continued....