Lupita and Bonnie Visit ~ Train to Heidelberg

As promised, Lupita came to visit us in Germany. As soon as she knew we were moving here she said she'd come...not knowing when exactly but last September she made the trip. She and her friend Bonnie spent 3 weeks touring Germany and France. Their first stop was our house...we couldn't wait to see them.

Leave it to Lu to get ice in Germany!

After a day of recovering from jet-lag we headed up to the Landstuhl Castle (Burg Nanstein) so they could experience their first castle and catch a great view of the area.

We took them to one of our favorite local Restaurants, The Porrbacher Hof. We love this place. The food is amazing and the service is excellent. For anyone who comes to visit...this is where we will take you.

This is a view of my neighborhood...

It was time we visited a real castle. We decided not to drive into Heidelberg but to take the train out of Kaiserslautern instead. It's about a 2 hour ride on the regional train but it's a great way to travel and this way I wouldn't have to worry about parking.

Once you arrive into the main station in Heidelberg you can walk out to the the Visitors Center and buy a bus ticket to the cable car that takes you to the top of the hill where the castle is located. The people who work there speak English and are very helpful.

Legend goes...if you can bite through this door-knocker the Heidelberg Castle is yours to keep. I wasn't successful.

This one is for Gabe Molina!...LOL!

And then Lupita was done. It was time to head home.

After a great visit, a home cooked Mexican meal and a wonderful dinner with a longtime friend of Lupita's in Saarbrucken, it was time to say, "Good-bye."What great memories with two awesome ladies!

I finally wrote it down as she made it this time...Here is the recipe:

Lupita's Mexican Rice

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Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or chicken  
• 2 cup Long Grain Rice
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 32 oz Chicken Stock
• 5.5 oz V8
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tbsp garlic minced
• 1 tsp cumin (more or less)
• Handful cilantro
• chicken bouillon cubes (optional)
• 1/2 cup celery
• 1/4 cup carrots
• 1/4 cup green peppers
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas

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Instructions

1. Brown meat or cook chicken as desired. Leave a bit of grease in pan if possible. (meat optional)
2. Heat oil in pan. Test with rice - if rice spatters then it's ready.
3. Brown up the rice. Add more oil if necessary.
4. Sprinkle rice with cumin
5. Add onion, celery, carrots, green peppers. Make sure vegetables are as dry as possible
6. Add meat and petite diced tomatoes
7. Add chicken stock. Make sure it's warm or room temperature.
8. Add V8, tomato sauce and bring to a boil
9. Add a bit more cumin, salt and cilantro, garlic and pepper
10. Add 1/2 cup frozen peas to the top
11. Bring back to a boil
12. Cover 15-20 on Medium heat stirring one time half way through cooking

 :D

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