September 2 2026

September 2, 2026

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Whitehall Apartments 6C

Good morning. It was an acceptable night’s sleep, but nothing special. The bed consists of a medium soft foam mattered and a somewhat unimpressive flat pillow. A good quality blank and fairly heavy comforter, neither of which are necessary when you have the air conditioner set at 70 and it is working hard to get there. The overnight temperature in Kansas City was 77. Spent most of the night on top if the bedding.

Woke up about 05:30. Before bed the opening hours for Messenger’s Coffee was checked. Messenger’s Coffee is one of the best places in KC to get coffee. It is located on Grand Ave near 17th Street downtown. The streetcar runs down Main Street two blocks West of Grand and there is a stop, Kaufman Center, at 16th Street. It’s easy to spot, there is a Starbuck’s Coffee on the ground floor of the Hampton Inn and Suites (Downtown Crossroads) at the corner of 16th and Main.

Leaving Whitehall you walk west towards Main Street. At Main you take a left and walk a hundred meters to the streetcar stop. This is the Plaza streetcar stop. The streetcar is every ten to fifteen minutes, no not much of a wait. Nine stops later you disembark the streetcar at Kaufman Center. From there, you simply walk south on Main a few meters, turn left of 16th Street, walk two blocks and take a right on Grand. At the end of the next block is Messenger’s. It was disappointing to arrive at the door at 06:29 believing Messenger’s opened at 06:30, as was indicated by the all mighty internet. The sign on the door told a different story, opening at 07:00.

Nothing to do, so it was back to Starbuck’s for the early morning cappuccino. There is nothing “special” about Messenger’s cappuccino; yes, it is good and maybe better than Starbuck’s, however they serve it in a ceramic cup rather than paper. So why go to Messenger’s? Well Messenger’s is located inside or in conjunction with Ibis Bakery. Ibis Bakery make the most excellent croissants, rolls and breads in Kansas City.

In Torino it is worth the extra effort to go across town to Panificio FICINI on Via Claudio Luigi Berthollet near Piazza Madama Cristina (where the best vegetable market is) for that excellent bread, or to Torteria 40 on Via Giuseppe Mazzini for that really good cappuccino. It should be noted that Torteria 40 also has excellent bread, but FICINI has a much wider selection. It just so happens that in KC the good cappuccino   and the best bakery are together.

After a coffee and cappuccino, it was a quick walk back to the streetcar, a a short ride back to the Plaza. From there a short walk to Whitehall. Mary was still sleeping upon my return. The smell of the coffee brewing woke her up. While at Messenger’s I also purchased one of there really good cinnamon rolls for Mary. I heated it up in the microwave, poured her coffee and she sat down at the desk to enjoy both and read her email.

Mike’s test results comeback positive so the fall 2027 Africa Trip is back on. “We” volunteered to watch Leander from September 26 to October 2 while Taylor and Rachel go to Scotland for their 20th anniversary. This of course conflicts with the dates for Africa. So, bring Leander along to Africa, or adjust the dates. An email was dispatched to Jana at NextAdventure to inquire about the cost of bringing him along. We shall see. It may prove more prudent to move that dates for the Africa trip.

Just before it had gone half past 11 Mary and I walked to O’Dowd’s Irish Gastrobar on Pennsylvania Avenue on the far side of the Plaza for lunch. We got there just before it went noon. We were the only patrons in the restaurant which was a little unnerving. It is really a good sign to be the only patrons, but it had just gone noon. It was also already 90 degrees outside, so most people wouldn’t even had had an appetite yet. We decided to risk it; to be honest we didn’t want to go back out into the heat.

We ordered lunch. The obvious choice for me, once I verified they did indeed have malt vinegar, was the fish and chips. Mary chose the cranberry walnut salad (fresh spring mix salad tossed with a raspberry vinaigrette and topped with bleu cheese crumbles, candied walnuts, and dried cranberries). We both drank water to keep hydrated in this heat. A few more patrons arrived while we were waiting and being served lunch, but the place was very quite.

After lunch we called an Uber to take us to the Whole Foods at East 51st Street near Rochelle and IV’s house. There we pickup a bottle of vodka, as requested by Rochelle, then we walked up East 51st Terrace to their house. Mary stayed there while I took and Uber to Dieble’s Sportsman’s Gallery and Cigar shop where I purchased two Padron 2000 Murdo. Purchasing two cigar gives me access to the lounge area. I enjoyed my two cigars, did my Italian lesson, read emailed, looked at tours in Vienna, which still need to be planned, and then just before it went 15:00 I walked the kilometer back to the Whitehall.

I got back about 15:00 or a little later. Mary was still at Rochelle and IV’s, so it seemed an opportune time to take a nap. Which I did until 17:00. Dinner was planned for 18:00 at Rochelle and IV’s house with Serra, Pietro and the girls. Oliver and George being at football practice. Dinner was from ordered from Meddys. It is eastern Mediterranean cuisine developed form Alex Harb’s mother’s traditional Lebanese cooking. I wasn’t privy to the ordering so I can’t accurately describe the various dishes. There were a lot of vegetables, of course, soft flat bread, hard pita bread, yogurt, a very nice beef dish and a good chicken dish. It was actually very nice.

After dinner I sat out back and had an after-dinner cigar, the Mary and I headed back to Whitehall. Harry IV and Rochelle drove us back. Mary and I played a game of canasta before calling it a night. All in all, it was a very nice day.

Buonanotte and Ciao,

Enrico and Maria