Jules Thin Crust (as in Pizza)

If you want to control your carbs, go gluten free, and still enjoy excellent Pizza, head to Jules Thin Crust in Doylestown, PA, USA. This place serves the best thin crust pizza I’ve had to date, and that’s no small sample. Stroll up to the counter and here’s what you’ll see:

jules_counterThere is a wide variety of pizza on display, everything from a “Greek Salad” to “meat lovers” to “margarita” and so on. Let’s take a closer look at two of my favorites.

jules_pizza1Sort of your regular sausage on the left and meat lovers on the right. Here’s two more.

jules_pizza2The one on the left in the photo above is three cheese, extra garlic, and sauce. On the right you have that sort of Greek Salad one. I’ve never had anything but excellent food and service here at Jules. The ingredients are stunningly fresh, the crust cracker thin yet flavorful, and to have only two pieces is a crime. So, triple or quadruple your order! For fun here’s a look at the seating area.

jules_seatingPlenty of room for your family and friends inside as well as outside now that the weather is getting better. Finally, check out the menu. I’m sure you’ll find something you like.

jules_menuThere you have it: Jules Thin Crust, Doylestown, PA, on Main Street where you can’t miss it.

Aruba Panorama

My wife is an excellent photographer and created a beautiful 360 degree panorama of an Aruban landscape the other day. She took a series of photos then stitched them together with her computer wizardry. (Don’t ask me how this is done. I understand the darkroom but not the digital process.) At any rate, the final product is too large to put directly here on the blog. However, here is a link to it:

http://www.danielputkowski.com/main/aruba360/aruba_360.html

A viewer must use the link directly as you will not find it anywhere on my regular website. You can click on it above or copy and paste it into the address bar of your web browser. (Or so they tell me.)

So where was this photo taken? Well, we were headed out to the Natural Pool in “Old 918,” which would be my Chevrolet Silverado previously mentioned on this blog. The road to the natural pool gets gradually worse until you come to a sort of “last stop” for regular vehicles. Of course we proceeded up the worst hill as Old 918 never shies from a challenge. It climbed that hill like a roll through the mall parking lot. Now we were basically one ridge away from Aruba’s eastern edge; the windy side that is. We stopped for a look around. My wife hopped out with her camera and walked about 50 yards away. As she started taking photos, another truck, the red one you see, started climbing the hill. Naturally, he stopped to chat with a fellow pickup aficionado.

Back to the photo. As it loads, the extreme left of the photo would be looking south by slightly west. Scrolling to the right you gradually look west, then west by north, then north, then north by east, east, and finally a piece of south by east before turning west again. I think so, anyway. But check out that landscape? Hardscrabble rocks and cactus, Hooiberg (the haystack like mini-mountain), distant sea, tiny hotels far off, the WEB plant making smoke, it’s all there.

Enjoy and bon dia from Aruba.

Many thanks to my wife who is a genius at such things.

Published in: on April 5, 2009 at 10:49 am  Comments (2)  
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Hot Water, Aruba

Many homes in Aruba do not have running hot water. Some use small, point of use units to heat water used in the shower. These are typically electrically powered and draw quite a bit of current. However, the other day I spotted this solar hot water unit.

solarhotwater1This unit is actually quite sophisticated. It has a flat collector plate that captures the sun’s rays, transferring the heat to water piped through the collector area. Then the hot water is stored in an insulated tank you see at the top left of the unit. This way, even after the sun goes down, you have hot water on demand. Here in Aruba, where the sun is very strong, this unit can deliver enough hot water for a typical family of four. The best part is, after the initial investment of purchasing and installing it, there are no additional costs. This one is mounted at ground level for easy maintenance but they can also be mounted on top of the roof.

If you’re considering a home in Aruba, I strongly suggest a system like the one pictured above. It will save you money in the long run and thereby make your island home that much more affordable.

Bon dia from Aruba.

White Peacock, Aruba

In fifteen years rambling about Aruba, I thought I saw most everything there was to see. However, yesterday I happened upon a white peacock. Here’s a photo to prove it:

whitepeafowlMaybe they are more common than I know. Nonetheless, this is the first one I’ve ever seen in my life. I saw the colored ones many times in the same area as this one but never a white one. I was driving up through Jamanota on my way to San Fuego, which is just about the center of the island. There is a small farm-like area there, where all sorts of animals can be found. Sure enough, by the side of the road was the creature pictured above. Amazing.

You just have to take the fork in the road when you come to it. You might happen upon something fascinating.

Bon dia from Aruba.

Published in: on April 3, 2009 at 11:01 am  Comments (1)  
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