It's Țuică. It's the pride of any Romanian household. And frankly, it's terrible. There's a reason I had a whole bottle of it. And now a whole bottle minus a few shots. More for next time Reg!

The weekend with Reg and his friend John was a delight. John is (seriously) both the quintessential New Englander in both his accent and his stories he told. I'm so glad I got to meet him and hang out.

Our dinner with David was at a little authentic Turkish restaurant. We ordered a few plates and shared around. Drank some gin fizzes. David was simply known as 'Dave' around the place. He told us he ate there a few times a week. And maybe plays chess there as well.

Afterwards - we spent a few hours in David's writing / research / music flat. He told stories. We asked questions. He played guitar. And we enjoyed the time to relax and absorb the space where he worked on and finished his novel. The highlight was the Albert Einstein note tucked away in a tattered guest book of the Baerwald's from the early 20s!

The rest of the weekend - as Reg mentioned - included a concert at Levon's Barn Studio in Woodstock. And that's where this picture was taken - jumbled around the equipment at Levon's place.

Thanks Reg for the invite. Thanks David for the hospitality. And John - enjoy your trip to Ireland.