Luggage Tag...

It's A Jungle Out There

2012-01-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

We left the cloud forest mid afternoon and headed to the jungles surrounding the Arenal Volcano. Even though Costa Rica is tiny it is a mess of mountains, volcanoes and in this case a big ole man made lake turning the relatively short 85 mile distance into a 4+ hour drive. Instead of one long car trip we chose a multi- transportation excursion that I so mysteriously love.

First we were picked up in a 4 wheel drive vehicle and for 1 1/2 hours drove past coffee plantations, up and over crazy steep mud roads, made a quick stop at the drivers' house (so he could grab a snack), and finally were deposited lakeside, the only thing we could see in either direction was a small coffee shack.

We watched the hummingbirds dart around while we waited and once a few more vans arrived with more passengers we boarded a boat and took off across the lake. It was cloudy and a tad stormy so we were not rewarded with views of the volcano as we had hoped, but it was still a pretty 40 minute ride.

Once we landed on the opposite shore we were picked up in a van and taken to the Arenal Observation Lodge. It was about a 20 minute ride on a very bumpy dirt road and we ended up arriving after dark, always a surprise for the next morning! The other surprise, as we checked in, was that we were told that our rooms in the Casona was 500 meters downhill from the main lodge. Did I mention that it was dark? And that we were in a jungle? Luckily one of their crew members had just dropped some guests off from a day trip and offered us and our luggage a ride down. He even waited for Dayne to grab a bucket of ice, it was past happy hour after all!

The Casona was a large building with 5 rooms and 2 shared bathrooms. It also had a great big outdoor porch which was perfect for relaxing. We did have quite a hike up to the restaurant for dinner that night (and each morning for breakfast) but the views of the volcano and the grounds were lovely.

The next morning after breakfast we were picked up for a full day of excursions. We scored by having just one other couple with us and also with our super knowledgeable and passionate guide Marcos! For our first adventure of the day we headed to Arenal Hanging Bridges. But before we even got into the reserve Marcos spotted Howler Monkeys so we stopped on the road and watched this momma and her baby hang around!

Shortly after that we were queuing up to pass over the first bridge that led into the park. There were huge parrots right by the parking lot!

This was the beginning of 3 hours of Marcos spotting an incredible amount of wildlife, birds and flowers. The jungle was amazing, it was hot and steamy just like you think of. The bridges were all lengths and heights and even though there was quite a line up when we first entered we soon were on our own for much of the morning.

Eyelash Viper, only about 3" long

We spotted Helmet Iguanas, an Eyelash Viper, a Tarantula, lots of birds like Macaws, Parrots, Hummingbirds, Motmots, Vultures, Woodcreepers, Warblers, other various snakes and lizards. And these crazy Leafcutter Ants which are quite amazing to watch!

The variety of plants, trees and flowers was stunning! The hike covered paths and 16 hanging bridges including this one that was over 70 feet up!

We finished our hike and piled into the van to head to our next destination- La Fortuna Waterfall. Again, beautiful lush surroundings and as we started down the 500 steps to the bottom we immediately spotted a tree with about 5 Toucans in it!

We hiked down to the gorgeous falls and relaxed by the banks, being misted with water for a while before heading back up... 500 steps!

After a wonderful lunch at Don Rufino in La Fortuna we set out again, this time with an additional 4 adults and 2 kids (groan). We headed to the slopes of Arenal Volcano to walk along the lava flows. Marcos is studying to be a vulcanologist so along the way we learned about the eruption of Arenal and witnessed the regrowth of sugar cane and other plants. We spotted a very rare orchid that only blooms once a year for 24 hours and another huge crazy spider!

Our final treat of the day (now evening) was a trip to The Springs (fans of the show The Bachelor might recognize this as the hotel/hot springs featured on the show). With all that volcanic activity hot springs are a big thing and it was just the thing we needed after a day trekking through jungles and volcanoes.

With over 35 various sized hot pools we had no problem finding one all to ourselves. We relaxed in the hot water, full of healing minerals, with guara sours! We only saw The Springs at night but it looked really nice and was on a huge estate. After an hour or so of soaking we had dinner at their buffet (this was all included in our full day booking) outside on a pretty terrace. When Marcos came to pick us up we invited him to share a bottle of wine with us and got a chance to hear more of his amazing knowledge of wildlife and the area. He knows 150 bird calls and can spot over 500 birds. Throughout the day he recorded everything we saw in his guides, next to their photo with notes about the area we were in. There is no way we would have seen everything that we did without him and I can't emphasize enough the need to hire a guide while hiking in Costa Rica. People would come up on us and see us looking at something but without a trained eye telling you exactly where to look and what to look for everything is camouflaged!

Our long day was finished up with nightcaps on our porch (after we finagled a ride to get ice at the bar and then a drop off back at the Casona from Marcos)!

All photos Monteverde and the Arenal areas can be seen here

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Up Up in the Cloud(forest)

2012-01-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

Our first trip to Costa Rica, I've wanted to come here for years now! We flew Seattle to Miami on a red eye & then Miami to San Jose on American. when we arrived in San Jose we had arranged a car service to take us to our first destination - Monteverde. We'd been told it was a 3 hour drive on a dusty twisty road so we figured we'd hire a car & relax. We used Anywhere Costa Rica to book almost all our transfers and tours and couldn't have been happier with their service.

Our driver stopped so we could grab beers and bags of chicharrones for the car trip. We were heading towards the high altitude cloud forest but started our drive right next to the sea. The country is so small you can practically see side to side and tip to tip. The roads varied from 2 lane highways to 1 lane steep dirt roads, we were happy to let someone else do the driving!

Driving higher and higher up into the mountains we spotted an Emerald Toucan, our first wildlife spotting! here the roads were also a bit hairy, full of potholes and lined with steep drops.

We arrived in Santa Elena, the tiny subset town of Monteverde, and we're immediately in love with our lodgings, the Hotel Acor Iris. We had a cute cabin with a porch, living room and two bedrooms each with their own bathroom. The grounds were gorgeous and the whole thing was tucked off the main roads.

Not that that would matter much as we found, walking into the tiny town, it was literally only a 3 block circle. We checked out the grocery store, made a mental note of some bars to check out later and concluded the walk back to our front porch where we enjoyed a few martinis and the amazing weather.

Since we were only going to be in this area for 1 night I had booked us a night hike in Hidden Valley (also thru ACR). We were picked up just before sunset & by the time we got to the ridge of the valley the sky was crazy beautiful.

We set out in small groups each led by a guide and outfitted with flashlights. Almost immediately we came across some Agouti. Continuing on in the dark jungle (which was a bit unnerving) we came across a huge spider web which was home to the crab spider. Our guide demonstrated the strength of this massive web and also told us that by morning the spider will have taken the whole thing down.

Next we came across coati which are raccoons with long snouts that they poke in the ground and in trees and bushes looking for bugs and such. They run in small pacts and we'd come across this group again before the night was over. Our guide also spotted different birds sleeping in the trees- toucans, parrots and the such. The wind was quite strong and it was funny to see them all tucked in and swaying precariously on the branches.

At a small rise of earth our guide asked us to step extremely quietly and as we crouched around the opening he tempted its house mate out for us to see... A tarantula!

Ok then! They are blind which is why they are so tuned in to the vibrations of the ground. It was big and a bit unreal which was good as I didn't run screaming!

Also on the creepy meter was a fruit bat we passed under, hanging upside down from a tree branch sucking on a guava. Cute (not)! We crossed paths with the coati again and then we were back on the ridge. A successful first hike in Costa Rica I'd say!

That night we had dinner at Morpho's, named after the amazing blue butterflies of the country. The food was good (CR isn't really a foodie destination) and well priced. Kate, Dayne & I headed out after for some Guaro sours, the national drink, at The Treehouse.

In the morning we headed to breakfast (included) at the hotel & got quite a show from the White Faced Monkeys who were also at breakfast!

Then we were picked up and driven higher into the mountains to the Sky Trek Park where we started the day with a hike in the cloud forest. The park has a series of 5 hanging bridges suspended just above the forest floor, at mid level and high above the canopy. The longest is 984 feet across. It was very cool and a bit scary for this acrophobic!

The morning was quite cool and when our guide spotted (smelled their fresh poo actually) a few howler monkeys high up in the treetops they were very still and huddled together. Exciting for us non the less!

This was my first time in a actual jungle and I was in awe of the variety of trees and plants; the size of the leaves and fronds; the sounds of exotic birds and animals. We spotted quite a few beautiful birds (no quetzals for those of you in the know) and even the world's smallest orchid.

We finished our 2 hour hike and Dayne, Forest & Kate got suited up for some zip lining. I'd already checked this off my bucket list in Puerto Vallarta and once was enough for me. We all took the Sky Tram up the mountain together, I just didn't have on as much gear.

The views on the way up were amazing, you get to a point where you are straddling the continental divide and the winds from either coast are battling each other. As Team Zip Line made their way down via dizzyingly heights and breakneck speeds on 10 zip lines, I rode back down in the tram and went on a little hike through the hummingbird garden.

And so ended our 24 hours with our head in the clouds...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

¡Feliz año nuevo!

2012-01-08T13:31:00.001-08:00

Happy new year! We're on our way home after about 2 weeks in Costa Rica with our friends Forest and Kate which was fabulous. Warm sun, sand, jungles, animals, birds, surfers & hikers. It was a completely relaxing vacation and more physically active than most we take. We drove ourselves to our New Years Eve destination of Tamarindo from the volcano area of Arenal (more on that in an upcoming post). It was a winding & sometimes tense drive but the scenery was stunning.

Beautiful Tamarindo is a tiny surfer/party town on the Pacific Coast. We rented a condo called Gran Mirador from Vacation Rentals of Tamarindo. The property was great, a huge 2 bedroom, 3 bathroom condo on the 4th floor of a relatively new building slightly up a small hill from the craziness of the beach front. The building had a pool, gated underground parking garage and an elevator that opened up right into the condo. One entire side was balcony looking out on the ocean.

We spent the majority of our time on the patio, including the afternoon of NYE when shortly after noon as we were finishing our brunch of Cuban sandwiches and tacos from a few stands in town, Kate went to open the slider (kept closed as we had the ac on inside) and found it locked. The security bar had fallen into the track inside and it was doing its job perfectly.

After checking the slider to our bedroom and also finding it locked we realized we were trapped on our luxurious balcony! 1st world problems. Luckily Dayne's phone was outside (the only one as the rest of us just had our laptops and iPads) & he called Jonathan our property manager to come rescue us. We were dying laughing and Jonathan told us later he thought for sure we were playing a joke on him! Oh we'd do well at Survivor for sure ;)

During the afternoon beers switched to white wine which switched to delicious rum daiquiris made by Dayne. We grilled sausages, Forest made a lovely salad and black beans and we ate watching the sunset.

Later we drank champagne while playing round after round of trivia before finally setting out with every other person in Tamarindo to watch the fireworks on the beach. On our stroll down the hill we first came upon a crazy big scary spider that Forest almost stepped on. Luckily that thing moved fast and we all ran away from it. Come to find out it seems to have been a Wandering Spider- highly venomous. Next on our road we came across a large snake with a full belly, a Boa Constrictor! Holy Hell this was some nature walk alright.

After surviving our trek we found a spot on the beach to sit, watch the fireworks, drink more champagne and enjoy the incredibly warm evening. There were bon fires and floating lit lanterns lighting up the sky, it was quite pretty and very fun.

Afterwards we took a cab home, we'd seen our share of wildlife for the night!Wishing you all a wonderful 2012 and hope that you were able to spend your holidays with those you love. More on Costa Rica (& still more on last years trips) soon.- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Flying through Amsterdam

2011-12-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

After years of flying through Amsterdam and never staying to explore, we've now been 3 times in the last 3 years. We love it and given the opportunity to fly though again on our way home from Germany we jumped at the chance to stay a couple of days.

We booked into T'hotel where we stayed on our first trip, even getting the same canal view room. Immediately we set out for a Genever tasting at Proeflokaal de Ooievaar near the red light district. Proeflokaal means tasting room and this one is "sponsored" by the Ooievaar distillery. The tiny bar has been open since 1782 making it one of the oldest in the city. The building tips crazily out towards the street making you think maybe it's tipsy on it's own liquor.

We are really in love with the Indonesian food in Amsterdam and ate at one of the best restaurants for it, Tempo Doeloe. The food is amazingly flavorful- sometimes it can get over the top spicy. And the service is wonderful even with the constant crowds of people rotating through their doors. Go if you have the chance, be sure to make reservations!

We were also happy to check out 2 nice cocktail bars- Door 74 which has had a lot of press over the years and the newer Vesper. I have to say that we weren't impressed with Door 74. There was a lot of attitude from the servers and the customers. The bar itself was messy and the drinks were just ok. We loved Vesper. Very friendly crew and wonderful cocktails- anyone been recently to say if they are still doing a great job?

After fueling up on the best fricken stroopwaffles in town at Bakery Lanskroon we spent a lovely morning at the History of Amsterdam Museum. It's overflowing with paintings, armory, furniture, even recreations of houses and their rooms. The stroopwaffle had worn off by the time we left so it was onto Vleminckx for some of the best frites in town!

As we were walking around town we stumbled upon a treasure chest of antique silver and crystal at Gastronomie Nostalgie. Take a look at the video on their site to get just a glimpse of everything that is packed into this teensy tiny shop! Dayne just said to me the other day that next time we are near Amsterdam he wants to go back there.

We stopped in at another Genever tasting house called Proeflokaal Wynand Fockink. This one dates from 1679 and has a standing room only tasting room next to the distillery. Here you can learn the proper method of slurping the "filled to the brim" glass of liquor.

And no visit to Amsterdam would be complete in my book without a trip to DeKaaskamer for a little cheese shopping!

We were able to hook up with our friends Klary, Dennis, Mark and Mara for great night of drinks at De Gouden Reael followed by a very lovely dinner at Marius. I just sent friends to Marius and they reported back that it is still a very good meal; small, casual and chef owned and operated.

All photos from Amsterdam here

Eating Berlin

2011-12-18T17:17:00.000-08:00

While in Berlin our friend gave us a copy of a book called Berlin Bites that is filled with great info on everything from fine dining to neighborhood bakeries. It doesn't seem to be available online but if you know me and are headed to Berlin anytime soon feel free to borrow it.

The first day we met said friend at Fischers Fritz, a 2 star Michelin in the Regent hotel where he had secured us lunch reservations at. 3 courses will run you 47€, you can take less but really why would you? Look at this beautifully poached egg that was my first:

And this second, a stunning seared cod:

And this dessert of stewed pineapple in butter carmel & vanilla ice cream:

If you feel like treating yourself I highly recommend Fischers Fritz. They've had their Michelin star for 5 years and the food and service were spot on.

We also had a very nice meal at Cafe Einstein which I would recommend especially if you are going to check out drinks upstairs at Lebensstern. It started as a coffee house, they still roast their own beans, and expanded to a nice casual bistro with a menu of traditional Berlin fare.

Another friend of mine had suggested Rutz Weinbar which happened to be just down the street from our hotel, so we walked over one night expecting a casual wine bar. Instead we found a swank 2 story building housing both a casual eatery and upstairs a formal coursed menu- completely full with us not having reservations. The hostess found us a table in the more casual area, surrounded by shelves of bottles and glass wine cellars holding over 1000 wines. The food here was fantastic and I would go out of my way to eat either up or downstairs here again. But I'll make ressies next time!

While sightseeing one afternoon we had lunch at the very old and very popular Borchardt. It's been around for ages and attracts politicians, actors and the wealthy. It's a huge, scene and be seen type of bistro. Fun if you like that type of energy (and service) with good if overpriced food.

Our last meal was at Stadtklause which could not be more authentically Berlin. It's filled with locals and manned by a funny German who looks like Grover with his googly eyes. No one speaks much English and everything on the menu sounded so good that we completely over ordered. No worries though as everything was very inexpensive (making us believe that the dishes were small). Go here for a big hearty meal like Strammermax- caraway rye bread, eggs, prosciutto, lardon, ham hock shreds & a pickle. YUM!!

I remember this being a cash only place but I can't be sure of that. I do remember really liking the vibe and the beer.

And of course you can't go to Berlin without trying Currywurst which is said to be invented here. It's all over town but we ate ours near Checkpoint Charley.

all Berlin Photos

Berlin Sightseeing

2011-12-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

When you aren't drinking up Berlin there are plenty of things to see and do. Too much really unless you're around for a couple of weeks which we weren't.

We stayed at the Arcotel Velvet in Mitte which we both really liked. It was easy to get just about anywhere with the Bahn around the corner and the tram running right out front. Our room was small but seemed more spacious by the lack of internal walls, using just sheer curtains as partitions.

The only downfall of the hotel was their breakfast which was included. It didn't go very late in the morning and consisted of basically some hard rolls, yogurt and fruit which was not replenished as it was taken. But luckily there is a nice little coffee shop next door which had free wi-fi and well made latte's and breakfast goods.

You can rent a "classic" East Berlin relic, the Trabi and take a Trabi Safari Tour of Berlin but we chose to do a lot of walking instead. The best way to start is with a stroll down the grand Unter den Linden where all the embassy's are located (amongst Bentley dealership and high end boutiques) until you reach Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstat (Parliment Building).

One day we took the train out to the Stasi Museum. On the outskirts of Eastern Berlin in the bleak, 70's building complex of the former Stasi sits this relic to all things GDR. There are communist leader artifacts, stories of the secret police units, surveillance equipment that looks like early James Bond equipment and even the "command unit" from the office of the Chief.

Staying with the GDR theme we made our way back to the Friedrichstadt area of Berlin to Check Point Charlie. You can walk along where the Wall was and see pictures of how it all looked during the Cold War. There's also a museum which showcases all the methods of escape people tried, many dying in the process. It's an amazing area if somewhat overwhelming.

Having reached our limit of Communist history absorption for the day we headed to the stunning area of Potsdamerplatz. Crumbling Cold War buildings are replaced in this "new Berlin" area with glass skyscrapers and modern art sculptures. It's a "Time Square" of sorts but clean and modern and inviting. There is a small section of the Wall that you can explore but for the most part this area is about the future of Berlin.

Back near our hotel in Mitte we stopped in at the Kunsthaus Tacheles, an interesting building dating from the early 1900's. Built as a department store, it became a Nazi prison for a short time, was used for some movie shots and was taken over by an artist collective shortly after the Wall came down. It's an interesting space housing all kinds of modern art but they are continually being threatened with evacuation so if you're interested go before it's too late!

On another morning we went to the new Holocaust memorial. It consists of 2711 concrete slabs spread across a few city blocks. The slabs are all different sizes and the paths under them are uneven. As you walk thru you feel as if you're in a cemetery of sort. As I walked I experienced feeling peaceful and then lost and then stressed. Dayne shot an interesting video which gives you a bit of an idea of the experience.

Under the memorial there is the amazing Information Center which highlights the fates of some individuals and families during the Jewish persecution. Gut wrenching but beautifully done, it is a not to miss site.

Continuing on our somewhat macabre morning we headed to the Topographies of Terror which is located next to a piece of still standing Berlin wall. This use to be the location of the Gestapo, SS and Reich Security main headquarters. Now it's an open air exhibit which gives a timeline overview of the Third Reich.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the beautiful and historic Mitte area including a stop at the Bebelplatz where in 1933 the Nazi's hosted a book burning, destroying over 20,000 books.

East Berlin is filled with gorgeous old buildings, different from the West with it's modern glass structures. Another mark of the East are the crosswalks signals called Ampelmann, which is a beloved character and was actively saved as a reminder of their own style. Besides seeing it on the streets in the East you can find all sorts of souvenirs in the Ampelmann shops.

As I mentioned there is just so much to Berlin, a true onion with layer after layer of history. I spoke to our friend Mike about his family and their history being Berliners. He told me that his mom was in a parade once, part of a group of little girls all lined up to welcome Hitler. She was photographed for the newspaper handing him a flower! Mike told me many family stories and how the separation literally divided his family members, many never reconciling.

It's an amazing city and I hope to go back again!

There's many more photos of Berlin here.

Boozy Berlin

2011-11-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

We wrapped up our German adventure with 4 nights in Berlin, a city I had been eagerly wanting to see for years. The city's juxtaposition of buildings survived by the war and modern glass architecture, starting with the train station, was stunning. The east & west sections now open to each other continue to have distinct personalities. We saw a lot which I do plan on posting about but one of the things that shone most brightly about Berlin was its incredible cocktail culture.

Thanks to our friend Mike Meinke we were in for quite a tour of the cities best bars. It started on our very first night at Mike's own TrioBar. Trio is a secret museum of liquor with an unpublished address and open only a few days a week. To gain entry you'll need to call the number and answer some questions. If you gain admittance you'll be wowed by the staggering inventory of over 900 (many old and rare) bottles of things like the original Kina Lillet, 100 year old Old Tom Gins, Black Tot, etc. There's no menu, this is the ultimate candy store for cocktail nerds.

Mike invited us over along with another friend of his who was entertaining some guys in from San Francisco, one who turned out to be the CTO of Mozilla. Rare liquor & techy big wigs? Dayne was in heaven to say the least.

Our Tasting of Rare Old Tom Gins

There's a small connecting room that Mike co-owns called Rum Club which is a members only type of set up. Serious collectors of either establishment can rent lockers for their prize bottles and visiting bartenders can work one night a week or so in exchange for a free room.

The next night we did a mini bar crawl starting at Lebensstern which won the award for World’s Best Drink Selection at Tales of the Cocktail in 2010. This comfortable little bar upstairs from Cafe Einstein has not only a delicious cocktail menu but the glass display cases of liquor are lovely to browse and they are also all for sale. Shop & sip? I like it!

Mike then had our cab take us to Fasanen 47 which even though he told us not many people knew about, was packed with fun loving regulars. At one point the tiny bar ran out of ice so Mike called his bar & had them send over some in a cab! Turns out almost none of the bars have their own on site ice machines instead buying it from others and then keeping it in their freezers.


The Boys Plotting...

We left Fasanen 47 and walked a short way down to Rum Trader where Herr Scholl has been in command for quite some time. After buzzing in to confirm we had a reservation we were allowed entry to this tiny 20 seater. Delicious drinks crafted exceptionally in the small kitschy bar with some seemingly unspoken rules gave it a " Soup Nazi" feel that I enjoyed (I do realize that may not be the best analogy to give but fans of Sienfield should understand). Gregor Scholl is actually an ultimate host and has one of the best professional bartender reputations in town.

Another night we met Mike at Becketts Kopf, a quiet classy little place doing perfectly made classics. The owners are a wonderful couple who give their bar manager full reign and enjoy just being customers.

And perhaps my favorite bar of the week was the wild west themed Stagger Lee. Outfitted like an old fashioned saloon with its swinging doors, collection of antique whisky bottles and peanuts in the shell for cracking. Stagger Lee offers an awesome cocktail menu with over 40 choices, somehow us American's felt right at home there.

Even our hotel bar at the Acor Velvet served up delicious drinks once we started chatting with the bartender. We made it a habit to stop in nightly before turning in to speak to Uwe about our day and our evening and the various places we visited. He was so excited about our interest that he gave us a "friends and family" discount each night and on our last sent us up to pack with minis of champagne on the house.

I would venture to say that Berlin is one of the best places I have visited for cocktails in the last 5 years!

All Berlin photos here

Hamburg, Take Two

2011-11-19T12:14:00.001-08:00

We left Bavaria behind and took the train from Frankfurt to spend the weekend in Hamburg. We had reserved in advance but when we boarded the train we found someone else in our seats, they had been double booked. Dayne used his high school German with the conductor and soon we were in 1st class. It wasn't all clear sailing though as the conductor told us that if someone boarded in one of the other cities with our seats we'd have to move again. Luckily that didn't happen and soon we were checking into the über hip hotel The George.

We grabbed a few pre-dinner drinks in the hotel bar which does more than a just passable cocktail and then headed to Carl's out on the harbor for dinner. I really like this area of Hamburg, it's actually very similar to what's going on in London's Dock Lands (post coming). And the food at Carl's was a nice change from the big heavy Bavarian dishes we had been eating for the past week+.

After dinner we met our friend Cirsten at The Four Seasons in their "Luggage Room" Bar.

This tiny, 2 level bar tucked inside the elegant hotel is rumored to have once been a luggage storage area. Not a lot of people seem to know about it (besides the locals) and it's got a real speakeasy feel without being one at all. Great service and cocktails- Dayne took this photo standing in the doorway.

The next morning we went and did a bit of shopping at Weinquelle Liquor Store. This store was amazing, carrying a huge selection of things we can't find in the states and even giving us tastings (at 10:30am) of rare gins and whiskeys. Among other things Dayne picked up an amazing bottle of gin aged in Isley Scotch barrels.

We then met Forest who came over from Paris to join us for the night. And after lunch another friend Liz, met up. Unlike us this was Dayne's first time in Hamburg so we went for a little sightseeing cruise around the harbor area.

One of the ships we saw was the Eclipse, the world's most expensive yacht being built for Roman Abramovich. It's 558 feet long, has nine decks, pool, cinema, 20 onboard jet skis, 4 boats, 2 heli pads and supposedly a missile defense system. All that and more for $500 million.

Also in port at the time was the Maersk Sheerness which at 1,099.1 ft and carrying 8,000 20 foot containers, is one of the largest cargo ships in the world.

After the cruise we strolled around charming Hamburg for the rest of the afternoon.

That evening Forest, Dayne and I met our friend Cirsten at the wine shop she use to work at for champagne before before heading out to dinner at VLET. This is a wonderful restaurant which puts a modern spin on many classic German dishes and also uses some French influences.

No trip to Hamburg is complete without cocktails at Le Lion, where we headed to after dinner and stayed late into the night/ or early into the morning- however you like to look at it!

All photos from Hamburg are here.

Romantische Strasse

2011-10-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

And speaking of Germany... After leaving Munich we spent the day driving along the Romantic Road, a motorway connecting 27 medieval towns. It wasn't feasible to try to stop in even a handful of the towns so we chose just three.

Our first stop, Landsberg am Lech, was just a bit south of Kaufering, where we had been staying. Landsberg is a lovely walled town dating back to 1800BC. We spent the morning exploring, taking in the buildings which are hundreds of years old and are mingling with more current things like satellite tv disks and IKEA delivery trucks.

We chose a little restaurant right on the river and had lunch outside, enjoying the sunny fall day.

And then it was off to our next stop- Augsburg. Augsburg is the 3rd largest city in Bavaria so we had to narrow down what we wanted to see. We chose to visit the Fuggerei which is called the oldest social settlement in the world. It was established in 1521 as a neighborhood for the needy. Rent for one of the 140 apartments is still just one Rhine gilder (.88 Euros) a year and three prayers a day for the founder and his family.

It's a really interesting settlement, the alms houses are the originals and one is set up so you can see how small they are inside. Since there was no electricity back when they were built each door has a rod which activates the door bell and the handle of each rod is unique so people could feel which one was theirs. The whole neighborhood is a little town within the city and is walled off with private entrances for the residents.

After enjoying a beer in the Fuggerei cafe we were back on the road to our final destination of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This is perhaps the most popular of the towns along the Romantic Road as it is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Germany.

We were staying 2 nights at The Burg Hotel which is built right into the town wall and has amazing views of the valley. We had been warned about the day trippers who clog the tiny streets so we were looking forward to having the town emptied out during the evenings. That evening was spent dining outside under huge trees with glowing gas lamps. Not the best meal of our trip but great atmosphere.

We spent the entire next day enjoying the town. We climbed the tower at the Rathaus. This was the scariest view ever. You climb up a rickety wooden spiral staircase and literally have to crawl out the hatch onto the bell-tower walk. The circular platform holds 4 at a time and is barely wide enough for one. But the views were gorgeous!

After lunch we walked the city's wall- you can go almost completely around Rothenburg although for Dayne it was a bit uncomfortable as the ceiling beams were just shorter than he is tall which meant he had to cock his head!

Rothenburg is also known for their Criminal Museum. It's filled with all means of implements for torture and punishment including chastity belts, drunk tanks, racks and weapons. We got quite the education in medieval torture.

And, although it's not as grand as the Glockenspiel in Munich there is a clock and sundial on the outside of the "Councillor's Drinking Room" where every hour two figures appear at the chime drinking steins of beer.

We took advantage of the lovely terrace at our hotel, some leftover gin and cheese from the house in Kaufering and had aperos at sunset outside.

The other big attraction is the Night Watchman's tour. This takes place at dusk when the watchmen use to go around lighting the gas street lamps and locking up the entrances to the city. Although a bit hokey there is a lot of history and it's quite a fun walk. It just so happened the night we went was the largest attendance he'd ever had, what happened to all the day trippers leaving at night?

After the walk we had a delicious dinner at Zur Holl which is in the oldest original building in town, dating from 900.

The town is just impossibly cute and we were really glad we decided to stay a couple of nights to take it all in.

The next morning we drove to Frankfurt to catch our train to Hamburg. I drove 180km on the autobahn. It was a serious thrill, and this was in a crappy Opal rent a car. If only I'd had my Saab!!

Lovely photos of the Romantic Road area here.

More to Munich than Beer and Lederhosen

2011-10-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

In 2 days it will happen again. Huge kegs will be tapped and millions of people will gather in massive tents to sing and drink and party. Oktoberfest! I'm thinking back to last year when we were just 2 of over 6 million who celebrated the 200th anniversary of this event.

But of course there is more to Munich than just Oktoberfest. Bavaria is a stunning region with lots to see and do. We spent one day driving out to see the castles in Schloss. On the way we stopped at Wieskirche, litterally the church in the meadow. What had started out as a tiny little chapel for travelers to worship in has grown into a much larger church, but still in the middle of a meadow.

On to Schloss to see the magnificent, if somewhat crazy, castles of Hohenschwangua and Neuschwanstein. You buy your combined tour tickets, which are timed 2 hours a part. We visited Hohenschwangua, had some lunch and beers and then took the horse and buggy up the mountain to the fairy castle of Neuschwanstein. Our horses were so slow that we were late to our tour and luckily were let in to another- the last of the day. As we left the castle doors were locked behind us!

One day we took the train out to Dachau. When we got back in town we climbed to the top of St. Peter's tower where we got our first real look of Munich and how large it is. We had beers at an outdoor bar in the Marienplatz and were treated to the show that the beautiful Glockenspiel puts on. And also the show of all the tourists who jostle to see it in action.

We really loved exploring the Viktuallenmarket with it's many stalls and vendors selling fruits, meats, liquors, seafood, plants, etc. And the area had lot's of restaurants with tables in the sun to choose from for lunch.

We visited the crypt where the royal tombs are kept in St. Michael's Church, saw the Devil's footprint outside the front of the Frauenkirche, walked up the grand Maximilianstrasse to see the theater and opera and even stopped in the Odeonsplatz where the Nazi's first gathered and demonstrated before sitting and taking in the beauty of the Royal Gardens. And then we had cocktails at the famed Schumann's Bar, not beer but delicious classic cocktails.

But on our last day the lure of Oktoberfest was too strong and we headed back to the Theresienwiese. We wandered around the rides, had beers outside at the Lowenbrau house and finally entered the Augustiner Tent.

We made friends with Otto who let us share his table, a table he has had a standing reservation at for 13 years. He explained that his wife had passed away as had many of his friends but he continued to come and enjoy the music and the beer and remember the fun of his past. Other family members joined him as the night went on and he let us stay all evening with them. And this time we ate our roast chicken early. The rest of the evening we hoisted steins and sang and danced. Prost!

More photos of Munich and the area here

Summer Camping

2011-10-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

Oh summer I miss you and you've only been gone 1 week! As with every year, a weekend favorite of ours is to go camping. This year we broke in Dayne's new tent down at Moss Creek Campground which is basically across the river and up in the hills from Hood River, OR. This is a long drive for a Friday after work (6 hours with traffic!) but we had a reservation so we didn't worry about rolling in after dark. It did lead to the "I can't wait to see this in the light" situation that we've had so many times in so many places. This turned out to be a very pretty (and quiet as the weather had threatened to be horrible) campground.

Saturday was gorgeous so we jumped in the car and headed across the gorge and up to Mt. Hood. We'd never been and were interested in seeing the Timberline Lodge. Built in 1937 the lodge really evokes that rugged PNW feel. The mountain and the surroundings are stunning! Sunny summer day and snow on the ground? Cool!

As we enjoyed a bit of happy hour back at our campsite later we saw and heard an owl in the trees above us and then a deer walked thru the grounds by our site. Yeah! Wildlife spotting :)

Our plan was to visit Mt. St. Helens the next day on our drive home but the torrential rains finally arrived so we skipped the "two mountains, two states" plan.

On our second camping trip friends Matt & Jen came along and we picked the much closer Cle Elum River on a hot sunny weekend. Jen and I went out earlier in the day and landed a nice camp spot right on the water. The boys arrived in time for happy hour.

We spend most of Saturday on the "yachts" floating around the river, spying herons, ducks and huge osprey.

And of course no trip to Cle Elum is complete without a stop at The Brick in Roslyn, WA's oldest continuously operating saloon complete with running spittoon. Roslyn has a little farmer's market on Sunday that we hit on the way out of town also.

Back at our waterfront site we watched the sun set and fended off the mosquitoes, Matt especially put his foot - or should I say thumb- down on those little pests and then watched as the sky filled with stars!

Oh summer! Oh camping! Can't wait to do it again next year!

All camping photos here and here

Friday Harbor, On Saturday and Sunday Too

2011-09-12T04:07:00.000-07:00

One of the many nice things about riding the trains around Europe is I have time to catch up on some posts. Other nice things about the trains in Europe... THE TRAINS IN EUROPE!

On a very sunny & beautiful weekend in July Dayne & I left Seattle late in the afternoon and drove north to the Anacortes ferry dock. Securing a place in line for the next ferry (2 hour wait in the summer) we left our car and walked up the hill to where there use to be a restaurant and bar. Closed. Wtf? How are you the only resto/bar in the ferry area and you can't stay in business?

Back to the car and with 2 hours to wait we busted into the Thomas Keller fried chicken I had made & pasta mango salad Dayne had made (well we made them to share with our friends that evening!). Dayne also had a case of booze he was carting up for the festivities so a "trunk tiki drink" was crafted to go with our meal. Seconds were made on board the ferry which we dubbed "The Elwah"

Upon arriving in Friday Harbor we checked into the cute Bird Rock Hotel before meeting our friends at host Mark's fabulous house over looking the Sound. Being the last to arrive to the party we tried our best to catch up!

The next morning Dayne and I enjoyed a very nice breakfast of fresh scones, fruit & yogurt on the patio of the hotel. We then wandered around town, doing a bit of shopping (cute boutiques!), checked out the farmers market & scored some rare(ish) DeLille rose at the grocery store before heading out to Mark's for lunch.

Our friend Wayland had made amazing roasted duck sandwiches with cashew butter & jam (which I've forgotten which kind). Rose was poured, the potluck of cold salads, fried chicken, etc were put out and we sat on the deck enjoying the views. Ahhhhhh.....

Camp counselor Mark had arranged for us to tour the San Juan Distillery in the afternoon (he's good like that) so we loaded in the cars as he and his brother stayed behind- secretly putting the finishing touches on that evenings extravaganza & the raison d'etre of the weekend, THE DINNER PARTY.

SJD tasted us through their ciders and their gins, explaining the uniqueness of their products. We all found something(s) we liked and especially enjoyed the passion and sincerity these guys bring to their products.

We all met back later for Mark's big event. A culinary feast! Mark had been working for days (weeks?) on an amazing menu combining molecular gastronomy, local/in season ingredients & wine from his fantastic cellar. Mark took the dishes inspirations from sources such as "Alinea", "Modernist Cuisine", "Ideas in Food" and his own tinkerings.

10 course and dessert all flawlessly paired with beautiful wines. As someone who throws a dinner party from time to time let me just say this was a huge feat and a huge success! We're lucky and grateful to have been included.

Some of my favorite dishes of the night were:

- exploded Delice de Bourgogne & strawberries
- bacon, apple, salted caramel
- champagne grapes
- smoked quail w/ cherries, asparagus stuffed w/ garlic caper cream

But really my favorite thing was spending time with such great friends, some for whom this food was quite new and interesting. And of course our wonderful wonderful host!

After glasses of 1905 D'Oliveras Verdelho Madeira (ok I'm kind of just rubbing it in at this point) we all left to sleep off the food coma. The next morning those of us who don't own a home on the island met for lunch before buying some bottles of Rosie and heading to our ferry.

Sometimes it doesn't have to take too many miles to transport you to a relaxing mini break (I even bought a magnet!). Good friends and good food (especially when made by the former) is a special get away in it's own.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

IcelandAir Sega Class

2011-08-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

I've cashed in some miles to meet Dayne in Europe while he works for a month in London. I'm sitting in the first class of Iceland Air which is basically like being in first class on Alaska Air - same plane I think, absolutely the same configuration.

But there are differences of course. Before boarding I was able to sit in the first class lounge which they share with British Air. Free wifi, free wine or cocktails, snacks, etc. Your basic first class lounge & very relaxing to hang while waiting.

Once on board I was welcomed with a glass of champagne, fuzzy blanket, pillow (don't see those anymore) & a Bally toiletries bag with some little treats. I plugged my electronicals into the jack in my seat. Next came the complimentary to borrow noise canceling headphones. Oh yeah, this I like!

We take off & it's happy hour. Gin & tonic for me accompanied by a dish of spicy peanuts/wasabi peas/soy beans. Shortly there after menus in leather covers are passed out announcing the evenings meal- salmon sushi rolls, steak with red wine reduction sauce, cheesy risotto, green beans, cheesecake with berry coulis & a chocolate truffle. A Barossa is poured in my glass. With the exception of the overcooked steak this is all very good & makes for a hearty meal.

The wide seats recline about the same as the seats on Alaska Air (they really are the same planes) only these have foot rests also making it much more comfortable to grab a few z's.

In Reykjavik it was a quick transfer as the airport is quite small. My flight to Paris was 3 hours and there were 3 of us in the 1st class cabin, the rest was empty! Total relaxation as I spread my stuff out, had a little omelet for breakfast and then took a 2 hour snooze.

When I went to pick up my bag I noticed that they had them marked so that they came off first also. Handy. IcelandAir certainly isn't super swank and the seats in Sega don't have massage settings like some but I was happy to have the extra comfort and will look forward to my return flight in Sega Class also!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Paris, France

24 Hours Lummi Island

2011-07-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

For Valentine's Day this year Dayne gave me an overnight & dinner at Willows Inn on Lummi Island, it had been in the press a lot since the sous chef from Noma made his move there. Due to a number of things we needed to postpone the getaway but finally went a couple of weeks ago. We drove up on a Sunday morning & returned the next day, both making it home in time for 3pm conference calls.

Everything on Lummi is tiny it seems, starting with the 20 car ferry, which on our sailing held just 6 vehicles. It's a short 8 minute trip to the pretty island, population 800 (which I really think might be a high estimate!). The drive to Willows Inn took us past the only other restaurant on the island, the post office & lovely waterfront homes. The Inn itself is unassuming, rustic even, with a large front porch looking out to the water.

Dayne had rented us electric bikes which we took out while our room was made up. These were so fun, I'd love to get one at home! We did a loop around the island, stopping to take in views of the sound, Mt. Baker, multiple deer, the beaches and have lunch at said other restaurant.

Arriving back at Willows we wandered around checking out the grounds, the other rooms/cabins, the bocci ball court and the hot tub. It's a perfectly quiet and lazy way to spend a day.

We had the Sans Souci room (extra credit if you know what that means without looking it up) which was very comfortable & even had a cute little stove/fireplace. I will say the room also could stand an update, especially the bathroom, nothing serious but telltale signs of wear and tear could easily be handled.

Happy hour at the Inn starts at 4pm, these people have class, and although there were no advertised snacks we were offered some very nice marinated cheese & bread to go along with our drinks (the white sangria was especially refreshing, the cocktail made with sorrel looked hideous).

The main attraction here is the dinner of course. We were seated in the spare but comfortable dining room and a selection of fun amuse dishes were delivered. These little bites definitely set the stage for the tone of the entire menu. A wooden box arrived which when you lifted the lid smoke escaped revealing beautiful bites of salmon. A basket filled with fresh from the garden lettuces and radishes (sprinkled with "dirt") was delicious dipped in a pot of green goddess.

The dinner progressed with every plate looking like it had been on it's way to a garden/flower show. Edible plants of all types not just for garnish but holding center court with gorgeous selections of seafood. Everything local, most everything picked that day. 11 plates total, some 1 bite some a bit more, paired with wine. And they kicked this in at no extra charge:

Additionally we ran into 2 friends of ours just there for the night and a romantic little get away, we ran into them 2 days earlier in Seattle too. Goes to show what a small world it is even on an island.

The next morning we had breakfast back in the same dining room. House made English muffins, poached eggs, bacon and hollandaise sauce was included in our room charge.

Additional photos of food and fauna here

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th! I think it's my favorite holiday (which is saying a lot since there are no presents involved!). Even as a kid it was the one day that my parent's seemed happy. Dad loved to set off fireworks and mom loved to bake and have a potluck.

Dad and I would go to the grocery store parking lot fireworks stands and I'd try to talk him into buying the biggest box of boom on the shelves. I'd get to light things like Magic Black Snakes, Smoking Log Cabin and Sparklers. As I got older and we would go out to the reservation to buy our fun I'd get to set off bottle rockets out of Pop Shop bottles (cream soda being my favorite). All the neighbors would put their fireworks together so it seemed to last all night.

In high school there were parties and treks out to Coeur d'Alene for the big show on the lake. When I moved from Spokane to Seattle in college there were more parties and big shows in Bellevue, Lake Union and Elliot Bay (I miss the Fourth of Jul-Ivars). When Dayne and I met we would head to his friend's houseboat every year for a BBQ and show watching from the roof.

Last year we were in Paris for the 4th. Obviously there were no fireworks or flag cupcakes but we did have a lovely day. First up was a delicious brunch at a friend's house. Next came a really enjoyable afternoon spent picnicking at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont with more friends we don't see very often. And later we partook in delicious cocktails in the American style cocktail bar Prescription Cocktail Club.

My perfect way to spend the 4th is a half day at the beach followed by a party and then viewing of a big show. We'll be back on a Lake Union houseboat with friends tonight and it's sure to be a great time. The sun is shining, there will be drinks and grilling and when those big pyrotechnics go BOOM I'll be feeling like a kid again!

I hope you all are spending the day exactly how you like it too! Happy 4th of July!

A Mini Apple Weekend

2011-06-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

Before we left for Europe last month (posts to come sometime this year) we spent a quick weekend in Minneapolis. Sadly it was for the burial service of Dayne's aunt Sue who passed away last winter. But looking on the up side it was a chance for me to see parts of Minnesota where Dayne's family have lived and get a chance to meet his cousin's aunts and uncles.

We stayed in downtown Minneapolis at the newly opened Kimpton Grand Hotel. This is a fabulous hotel right in the center of things. And on top of the rooms being so awesome The Six15Room is arguably one of the best bars in town. I don't even have a picture of it as I was always holding a cocktail while in it but take my word and stop in if you are ever there.

Our first night in town we checked out another of the city's best bars (I think there are only 3) called Bradstreet Crafthouse. The decor is a bit Moroccan and the cocktails were fantastic. The bar (again in a hotel) started us off with a small amuse drink while we perused the large menu, I'm a sucker for that!

seemed in focus when I took it ;)

Dinner that night was at Haute Dish, how could I resist the name? The restaurant serves takes on... you guessed it! Both my Tater Tot Haute Dish and Dayne's Lamb X 5 were excellent. It's casual and upbeat, housed it what seems to be an old tavern.

We had a 2 hour drive out to Kettle River the next morning for Sue's service. Let me just go on record saying that there is very little to see between Minneapolis and Kettle River. I didn't take a picture but the cemetery is a tiny little square of land right on the edge of town. Sue's family still lives in the area and there was a very nice family lunch at her sister's house after. Lots of stories of small towns and families. Very nice.

After the 4 hour round trip drive we were happy to get back to the Kimpton and enjoy a Mint Julep while watching the Kentucky Derby.

Dinner that night was at the much lauded Restaurant Alma. One note, we were offered and took the Kimpton town car service to dinner which ran us $20. A cab back was $10. I don't really mind that except the town car guy told us it would be the same price, boo! Anywho the dinner was good but maybe not all together memorable.

The next day we drove to St. Louis and saw the King Tut exhibit at the Science Museum (thru Aug). I had never seen it and I thought it was awesome! Unfortunately no photos were allowed so I don't have anything to show you, but if you haven't seen it and you come across it somewhere go! It's worth the (expensive) ticket price.

Photo by fmerenda via Flickr

Vancouver Weekend Getaway

2011-06-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

Since Dayne wasn't able to attend "Mini Tales" with me in March and I still had a fantastic Living Social deal for the Pan Pacific we headed north Easter weekend just to do a little eating and drinking.

We checked in to the Club Lounge and they upgraded us to a Harbor View room which was very nice. The weather was looking awesome for the entire weekend and the views of the mountains, sea and city were gorgeous!

First stop for the weekend was L'Abattoir where we met friends for a few cocktails before having an outstanding dinner. I ate here on my last trip also and just loved it! A definite favorite in Gas Town. L'Abattoir does a couple of barrel aged cocktails which I was excited for Dayne to try but unfortunately none of them were ready when we were there. Next time!

Cocktails continued at Calabash Bistro where the drink menu boasts some seriously delicious rums from Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Cuba, etc. I had the Cohiba Rakston which was the clear winner of the evening! Havana Club 7 year old, coco nib infused Appleton VX, Late bottled vintage port, agave syrup and bitters, stirred and strained into a chilled glass coated with Cuban cigar and vanilla pod tincture. Thanks to Shawn at Clive's for the tip on this spot!

Making our way back to the Pan Pacific we noticed PourHouse was still open and for the first time since our initial visit 3 years ago it wasn't packed. We stopped in for a very nice nightcap and enjoyed the near empty bar.

The next morning, as we were heading out of the elevator, we ran (almost literally) into Rod Stewart! I never recognize stars but there was no mistaking the aging crooner. Star sighting! :)

We spent our day poking around the Vancouver Flea Market, checking out Vancouver photographer Brian Howell's "Shopping Cart" exhibition at the Windsor Gallery, eating poutine at Fritz and drinking beers at Granville Island Brewery and then walking it all off with a stroll around the sea wall at Stanley Park. It was just perfect weather to be out and about (Canadian accent please).

We started our evening with dinner and drinks back in Gas Town at Benato. Another cute little place doing both cocktails and food excellently. We really enjoyed it here but both of us thought we liked L'Abattoir a bit better overall.

A quick taxi afterward to China Town and we bellied up to the bar at The Keefer. Quirky, dark and a tad mysterious the drinks were delicious here as well. We both loved the apothecary ambiance, grim x-rays, test tube lights, house made tinctures and infusions. This may be my favorite bar in Vancouver right now.

No weekend in Vancouver would be complete without soup dumplings at Lin Chinese on Broadway (for me at least!). We met our friends there the next morning for a delicious brunch of green onion pancakes, Beijing meat pastries, soup dumplings & honey prawns.

Love Vancouver!

All photos here

Team Oslo

2011-05-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

Our last few days in Norway were spent in Oslo where Matthieu & Violaine (of team Cuba & partial team Japan) joined us from Paris. Before celebrating New Year's Eve we walked around the city and tried to check out the changing of the guard at the fort but for reasons we could not figure out it never happened. We continued our walk down Karl Johan, past the skating rink on the way to the King's palace.

Caitlin and I prepare to knock on the King's door

The next day was stunningly bright, sunny and cold. We boarded a sailboat for a cruise around the harbor. The ship was decked out with reindeer pelt covered benches and hot glogg. We cruised past the very cool Opera House with it's roof that you can walk on & "floating" iceberg sculpture.

Then on to Viking Ship & Kon Tiki museum. During the cruise we spotted a dolphin in the harbor. It soon was chasing and performing for the ship. Sadly one of the deck hands told us that every year dolphins get lost in the harbor & can't find their way out. He also told us that within the next few weeks most of the water there would be frozen over, the temperature of the water making it almost impossible for the dolphin to breath, he'd most likely die. Sad and way to bring down the ship Mr!

Trying to find someplace open for lunch that wasn't already packed was difficult at best. We finally had to succumb to having beers and snacks at a TGIFridays of all places. This is the curse of holiday travel sometime.

Keeping with the American theme we headed out that evening to The Nighthawk Diner, which is known to have a great cocktail and burger menu. The drinks did not disappoint and the burgers got good marks too. Filled with locals this is quite a fun spot to go to if you ever find yourself in Oslo, holiday or not.

The next morning Caitlin headed back to London and the rest of us grabbed the subway, headed to the Munch museum- small but really great in showing his evolution of style. You should know if you go that " The Scream" is not housed here, it's in Oslo's National Museum but there are some really amazing pieces and I'd dare say nowhere else in the world would you find such a collection of his work.

Now losing Matthieu & Violaine back to Paris, Dayne & I headed off by bus to the Kon Tiki museum. I didn't know much about Thor's sea excursions before visiting it but I was really impressed with the rickety rafts he built and sailed the seas with. The museum has the original and also a replica. I still can't understand how these people survived multiple ocean crossings- Gilligan & crew should have taken note!

We met Forest for a last aquavit at the famed Grand Cafe before all grabbing our bags and taking a bus out to the airport Radisson Blu since we had an unfathomably early flight out the next morning. Pre-dinner martinis and an ok dinner at the hotel wrapped up this awesome Nordic experience.

Gingerbread Man Christmas Tree at Airport

Things we learned that are exclusively Norwegian to us include:

- if there are lit candles outside a restaurant or bar it's open
- Norwegian hotels serve the best and most massive breakfasts we've encountered so far (Stockholm and most of Japan are close)
- we have never encountered so much free wifi in anyplace in the world! If you go don't waste your money on a data plan, you won't need it if you pick your hotels right
- very little is open during the Christmas holiday (week between new years), it's a very family oriented time with even just a handful of restaurants and bars being open
- Norway has very strange liquor laws making it difficult at best to purchase beer, wine or booze outside of an actual bar
- of the 15 brands of aquavit made in Norway I had 10: Line, Gammel Opland (fav), Gilde Maquavit, Trondheim, Bergen, Antarctic, Hammer, Loitens Line, Taffle & Oslo
- Norwegian aquavit is NEVER served chilled since it is aged in oak barrels
-skiing was invented in Norway

All Oslo photos here

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Norway in a Nutshell

2011-04-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why I think it's so fun to schlep around on multiple forms of transportation but I do! Similar to the loop in Hakone Norway is quite famous for their "Norway in a Nutshell" tour which cuts across the country and showcases spectacular views.

Snowy Countryside Outside of Voss

We left Bergen at 8am and took a pretty standard train to the small ski town of Voss. Here we boarded a bus for a scenic drive to Gudvangen. Since we were traveling on very snowy winter roads we bypassed the 22 some odd hairpin turns that the old highway has and arrived at the mouth of the Nærøyfjord in just under an hour. We passed our first of many frozen waterfalls we would see that day, they amazed me! And then we pulled up to this:

Everything was still and quiet and sooooo beautiful! There is pretty much nothing in Gudvangen except for the small ferry that comes a few times a day. The captain told me there wasn't much on board as far as food goes so we walked a short way to the gas station and loaded up on hotdogs, chips and chocolate! Arriving back in time to board the boat we grabbed a table and settled in for the ride.

For 2 hours we cruised through the Nærøyfjord, an arm of the Sognefjord. It's one of the narrowest fjords in all of Europe, at one point it's only about 820 feet wide, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And it is stunning! The water was so cold it looked viscous.

At one point the ferry pulled up to a small town and a family disembarked. They had told us that they were vacationing there for the week and had to bring everything they would need as there was no store, phone, tv, etc. Their kids did not look happy but the adults were excited to ski and relax.

We continued on to the town of Flåm which boasts all of 400 people and left our tiny ship, grabbing $25 beers (for 2!) to wait for our next mode of transportation.

The Flåm Railway has pretty old style wood walled cars and is one of the steepest railway lines on normal tracks in the world. For the next hour we climbed up the mountain, peered down on tiny villages, went through 18 tunnels and saw the Kjosfossen waterfall, normally falling over 305 feet down and now frozen solid.

We arrived in Myrdal which isn't really a town but rather a train station in the middle of no where, around 4pm. It's used by most to change from the Flam rail to the Bergen rail which goes into Oslo. There was a small group of us at first but quickly a train came headed for Bergen which they all got on. And then there was just us & one other couple, a completely closed and locked up train station, a hot chocolate machine, Scrabble on the iPad and a few flasks of rum- waiting 2 hours for our train to Oslo.


Scrabble Competition


Outside the Myrdal Station

Our train finally came, a 4 hour ride to Oslo allowed us all to doze after the busy day. We had sent our luggage ahead so it was waiting for us when we arrived at the Hotel Bristol where we had stayed our first night in Norway. It was 11pm.

Official mode of transportation count, 3 - 3 trains, 1 bus, 1 ferry (if only they would have had a funicular or a pirate ship!!)

Full set of photos here

The Rest of Walla Walla

2011-04-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

Even though Walla Walla is such a great wine region you still have to sleep, see, eat and even (try) to partake in other libations. Here's the rest of what we did and what I thought of it during our wine weekend:

Sleep-

Holiday Inn Express - B
Because of the Cayuse Release it was a very busy weekend in Walla Walla, meaning slim pickings on hotels at expensive rates. After many ideas and recommendations from friends we booked at the Holiday Inn Express for about $130 a night. Clean and very well located, free parking & internet this was a fine location for us. The hotel has a large breakfast room which is seriously stocked in the morning: pancake machine, cereal, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, etc. Early evening they offer cookies and milk. It doesn't have a lot of ambiance but if you are out and about and really just sleeping here I'd book it again. Right next door our friends booked the Comfort Inn which they were also happy with.

See-

Monteillet Fromagerie- B (only for price of tasting)
If you love cheese this is a great little destination just north east of Walla Walla toward Waitsburg. The adorable farm boasts dairy flocks of fuzzy lambs and curious goats as well as 2 Great Pyrenees, a Boarder Collie, ducks, chickens, cats, etc.
The cheese tasting is $10 per person but the cheeses really are delicious. We all purchased different styles; in our case a soft goat cheese divided by a layer of vegetable ash & deliciously stinky as well as firm goat cheese marinated in olive oil, garlic and herbs.
You can go into the pens with the animals and generally frolic around the grounds. Warning- this cheese will make you think you put a goat in your car ;)

Eat (besides the cheese)-

T. Maccarones- B
There are only a few restaurants in town so when TMacs (as the locals call it) said they could get our table of 6 in on a Friday night I jumped. And it was fine. The restaurant is actually quite small, located on the ground floor of a office type building. A tiny bar was offered to us to wait in (which served not very good drinks- pass) until we were finally sat at our table- upstairs in a private dining area. We all felt happy to be out of the crush of noise in the main room below but couldn't help but feel a bit in Siberia in this room.
Food was all fine, some even quite tasty. Portions huge (easily should have shared a few things) and service frazzled but nice.

Brasserie 4- A
On very cute Main Street Brasserie 4 is casual & fun. You can choose your wine from a rack a la retail style. The menu is bistro style French (yummy escargot) and uses local/seasonal ingredients a lot. Sauces were plate lick able. Salad portions were huge, easily sharable. All was good and we had a great time here.

Clarette's- B+
Everyone told us this was the place to go for a greasy spoon breakfast and they weren't kidding. I expected Alice to pour our coffee while mentioning something about grits and that's just about what we got. Although the service was sloooowwwww the food was good in that diner type of way. They offer crispy hashbrowns either covered (melted cheddar and bacon) or smothered (sausage gravy) 'nough said. And our part time vegetarians found lots of options too. And it's cheap!

Colville Street Patisserie- A
Dayne and I had been before but got there too late and were left with not much to choose from in the case. This time we arrived around 10am on Sunday and the cases were loaded with delicious bakery items. Cinnamon rolls, Pan au Chocolate, Croissants, Financiers, Quiches, even gelato. All was absolutely scrumptious!

Miner Burger (Union Gap/Yakima)- B (only because it feels guilty to love it)
Matt had fond memories of eating at Miner Burger in Union Gap as a kid so we headed in for a burger on our drive home. Holy hell! Burgers are smash patties and thin but as round as a damn dinner plate! Crispy onion rings! Huge thick milkshakes! And about 20+ different condiments. We ate and then we all swore we wouldn't eat again for a week, and then maybe just a salad!

Cocktails-

Marcy's- B
We tried to go to the bar at Whitehouse Crawford but they were packed to the gills. The hostess suggested Marcy's and gave us directions. As soon as we pulled up I recognized it from the (now defunct) Luscious by Nature restaurant.
Super friendly staff, serviceable cocktails. Most had the life shaken out of them but turned out fine (even a super shaken Manhattan!) You might want to stay away from the Old Fashion however, it was "Nicole Brown Simpson'd to death" (insert wildly stabbing/muddling movements here).

Jen was thirsty!

The Marcus Whitman- B
After a tough day of wine tasting and driving around trying to get a damn cocktail (see next entry) we finally were welcomed to the Vineyard Lounge at this very pretty historic hotel. We grabbed a table by the fireplace, moved chairs around and ordered a bunch of things not on the menu. Our waitress smiled and returned quickly with our drinks. Ahhhhhh! Again, shaking seems to be a thing in Walla Walla but the drinks were fine and it was nice to be able to sit in the comfortable room and order as many as we wanted...

Jimgermanbar -D (only because I know others who have enjoyed it, & it stands for "Dead to me")
Not in Walla Walla but in cute Waitsburg, this bar had been recommended by many friends. So after a nice day of wine and then cheese we made our way to Waitsburg for promised delicious cocktails. I had even called, said we'd be in around 5- a party of 6. We arrived at 5:30 with confusion to if we had a reservation or not (I had not been offered one). Finally we were seated at the communal table in the next door private room. It was gorgeous! And we were happy with the menu and our first round of cocktails.
And then... we ordered round two. Nothing crazy. Martini's, Manhattan's, Smoky Vesper. We were told that shots and beers would be up first as it was getting busy. One person changed to a beer. Server leaves. Comes back 5 mins later with a beer. Leaves again. And then...
Appears with our tab and informs us that they are busy, they have a group of 20 who just called and are on their way in. They won't be able to make our drinks and in fact need us to pay and leave. Oh, but they comped us some olives and almonds.
Holy Hell!!! I'm not going to continue to report on what we discussed all evening...


When we were happy...

And something else...

Imbibe Wine Tours - We didn't do this but we saw them at Longshadows set up with a picnic table and having a nice lunch in the sun. How cool is this stretch Checker Aerobus? Turns out they are friends of Elisabeth, check out their site if you are interested in a tour.

Great weekend! Photos here

Walla Walla Wine Report

2011-04-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed east to Walla Walla with friends Jen, Matt, Elisabeth and Gary to relax and do a little wine tasting. The catalyst of the excursion was the Cayuse Spring Release Party. I had been on the Cayuse wait list (the only way to buy their wines) for about 5 years before finally being allocated a very small parcel of 3 bottles of futures in 2009. Purchase made I then had to wait until just last weekend to pick them up.

The party was good fun and a chance to taste all the 09's which I'll have a chance to pick up next year. Elisabeth went to school in the area and introduced us to Trevor Dorland the GM of Cayuse who was nice enough to explain the interesting rocky vineyards, very similar to those in Chateauneuf de Pape.Then she introduced us to owner and winemaker Christophe Baron who, while we all sipped on the 09 Bionic Frog, told us about the name and generally charmed us as the French are known to do.

Cayuse Spring Release Party- A+ (based on wine and my years of waiting to attend!)

Here's where else we tasted at in Walla Walla:

Longshadows - A
Although a bit on the pricey side the collection of wines at Longshadows is gorgeous. The lineup here is actually a partnership of a group of amazing winemakers, each doing the style they love the most. On this tasting I really loved the Bordeaux Blends- Pirouette and Pedestal. The tasting room has a stunning collection of Chihuly glass and beautiful views of the neighboring farm land. The entire building is very modern and is built part way into a hillside. Everyone left with a bottle or 2 from here.

Gramercy Cellars - A (group fav of the weekend)
I've loved Gramercy wines since our last trip to Walla Walla. This visit found them in their brand new tasting room, the old location of Amavi. The space is super casual and comfy with HUGE leather couches, a friendly dog and of course amazing wines from Greg. Everyone loved the Tempernillo, the Syrahs, the Grenache, the Cabs. It's tough deciding what to buy (or rather what not to buy) at Gramercy.

K Vitners - A
Can you even go to Walla Walla without a stop at K? I know that most of the wines are easily found around town but this tasting room is rocking, literally! No tasting fee, gorgeous syrahs, fun tasting room and beautiful grounds. Everyone loves K!

Waters Winery - A
Another place we've visited before and continue to love the wines. They had just released a pretty rose that we all snatched up along with their Syrah- the Forgotten Hills is always my favorite.

Basel Cellars- B
This winery is on crack. As you drive up the massive winding driveway, finally spotting the grandiose estate which is also a resort (only for wine club members). It's part Hansel & Gretel, part Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a little Leavenworth thrown in. Confused? So were we.

The wines were fine, mostly underwhelming and simple. But not bad and actually most at really good prices. It was just the crazy over the top setting that had us all going WTF??


An eagle swoops from the sky as we hold onto our ponies...

L'Ecole No 41 - A-
I love l'Ecole wines, as do most. The only reason I gave them an A- was that I felt very rushed going thru the tasting. Maybe it was just me, and they were busy, but I don't like feeling rushed through things. Having said that the wines are all so good it's another tough decision on which of the many wines to buy. This is a great first or last stop as it is right on the edge of Walla Walla.

Alexandria Nicole Cellars- A
Not in Walla Walla but in Prosser, we stopped here to break up the long drive. The wines were all quite lovely, lots of Rhone styles and even a wonderful Merlot! Super friendly tasting room staff and good prices.

more photos...

Beautiful Bergen

2011-04-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been someplace that was so pretty it just took your breath away? I felt like that as we exited the funicular car at the top of Fløyen mountain and took in the stunning beauty of Bergen and the fjords laid out below us. It was freezing cold, but I wanted to stand there with the light of dusk showing off this pretty little city for as long as possible.

Bergen, Norway is one of Seattle's (many) sister cities. In fact we live right by Bergen Place here in Ballard. It's Norway's second largest and was one of the most important Hanseatic League cities. We stayed at the First Hotel Marin which was the perfect central location for our sightseeing.

Along the waterfront is Bryggen, the oldest part of the city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The funny row of merchant buildings date back to 1360. Also near by is the Fish Market, much smaller in the winter but still a great place to check out all the different live fish, smoked fish, dried fish, lobsters, caviar, etc.

In the center of Bergen is a lovely lake, frozen solid in the winter and used as a pathway across. Small sections are cleared by the city for ice skating and one area is kept from freezing over by swimming flocks of birds. A Christmas tree stands in the middle. Although our hotel manager told us she thinks it's crazy that everyone walks across it! But still, if this doesn't look like a Christmas card I don't know what does!

Surrounding the lake are the various buildings of the Kunstmuseum, housing the works of Munch, Picasso, Miro, Klee, Dahl, etc. As we wandered through the galleries we couldn't help but notice the lack of security, I think I saw one the entire time. You'd think they would tighten things up since they seem to have an ongoing problem with this around the country.

During the holidays Bergen has the World's Largest Gingerbread City on display. This cavern of sweet smelling creations included amongst other things, an aquarium, a brothel, trains and even Michael Jackson's Neverland. Last year there was some issue with a man, aquavit and midnight hunger... the gingerbread police seemed to have everything under control when we were there though.

We enjoyed a very nice dinner at Bergen's best restaurant Potetkjelleren, the best of our trip. Meaning "potato cellar" it's in the cellar of a house, the stairs leading down to the dining room quite steep and the doorways being quite low (cute video of the space on their site). Monkfish ceviche, Jerusalem Artichoke soup, duck breast and an amazing selection of cheeses. All perfectly paired with wines chosen by the sommelier.

And of course we found Bergen's best cocktail bar, Biblioteket Bar where JP warmed us all up with Blue Blazers!

I really enjoyed Bergen and I'm sure it's just as beautiful in the summer, but this little city really charmed me with its holiday spirit and I'm glad I got to experience that.

Lots of pictures of snow, sleds, and gingerbread here.

Tales of the Cocktail- Vancouver Edition

2011-03-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

For the first time Tales of the Cocktail decided to do a mini event and they chose Vancouver, BC for the location. Lucky for me as it is super close, I have friends to visit up there and it's a great drinking and eating place to go. Luckier for me some of the LUPEC ladies and their significant others decided to go too!

Instead of having seminars over multiple days, this mini Tales had you choose 3 seminars all on the same day. Here's what I went to on Monday March 14th.

10:30am: Famous New Orleans Cocktails. A really nice history of the cocktails that were born and bred in NOLA as told by Chris McMillian (bar historian extraordinaire) and Philip Green (descendant of the Peychaud's family) from The Museum of the American Cocktail.

We started the morning with a Sazerac and learned that it was one of the (if not THE) very first cocktail originally "prescribed" by pharmacists to cure what ails ya. Next we were served a Julep along with information of the Juleps and Sherry Cobblers being the original ice drinks. America was first with the building of ice houses and thus America invented the first ice cocktails. In pre Civil War times the Mint Julep was made with Brandy or Rum (to be honest that is still my preferred Julep).

Moving on to the Ramos Gin Fizz we learned of Henry Ramos, the most noted bartender in New Orleans. His bar was not a loud and brash joint but a very upscale retreat for gentleman (ladies weren't allowed in bars at the time). His Gin Fizz was a beloved cocktail and he made it and other libations until Prohibition came into law. On that day he closed his doors and people have been messing about with the original recipe since. There is a great article that was discussed posted here (along with the original recipe). And as part of our education on Mr. Ramos we all shook up a Gin Fizz for our 3rd drink of the morning.

During Prohibition we learned of Izzy & Moe, the notorious alcohol enforcement agents who would dress up in elaborate disguises to find illegal booze and the bartenders/speakeasy's who were providing it. Of course these hard working agents relaxed in their off time with beer and whiskey.

And last but not least we learned the sad tale of the Hurricane. A once delicious cocktail developed to use up the mass quantities of rum that a certain Pat O'Brien bar owner had in his inventory. Marketed to whiskey loving New Orleaners by serving it in a big fancy glass it became a hit. No one knows how it evolved to the slushy regret abhorrence of today, but a real Hurricane is still a great cocktail!

Noon: cocktail count 4

1:30pm: The History and Importance of Ice in Cocktails. Hendrick's ambassadors Charlotte Voisey and Jon Santer's seminar had the best swag ever. Seriously! Hand made Lewis Bags from Allison Weber of Portland and gorgeous wood muddlers to use with them.

Charlotte started by telling us all about Fredrick Tutor, the first person to harvest ice for business, to build and control ice houses to store the blocks and take ice to Havana (as well as other warm weather places). He was a man of great vision and without him we'd probably be drinking warm gin and tonics as the Europeans still do! She discussed refrigeration and it's importance to the time period as well as how ice is actually harvested.

Jon then stepped in and gave us a little lesson about Nathaniel Wyeth, an ice harvester who created just about every ice carving tool still used today. Jon demonstrated how different ice (of both size and shape) dilutes and what size is better for various drinks.

We were served two Cobblers, both without ice but using our new Lewis bags we crushed ice and heaped it into one of them. The other got just a few pieces. After a bit we tried both to see how cold and dilution affected this classic drink. And we learned that if you looked at the the crushed bits of ice they looked like cobblestones, hence the name.

Then Jon pulled out his chain saw and cut up a huge block of crystal clear ice. People donned plastic rain parkas. Of course he did and of course they did, this is Tales after all. Fun tip from the seminar; fill balloons with water and freeze, peel off balloon for different sized ice. I'm making balloon animal ice for our next party.

3:00pm: cocktail count 7

4:00pm: Who's Your Daddy? A Mai Tai Paternity Test. Jeff Berry, the most passionate and dedicated Tiki drink historian around, finally answered the question of who invented the Mai Tai. We listened to "testimony" about Harry Owens, Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber while sipping on various Mai Tai recipes. There weren't any objections and the court most certainly was not in order but the slide show was full of vintage recipes, vessels, bars and island girls.

At the end of it all we came to the conclusion that Don the Beachcomber created something called the QB Cooler which may have influenced Trader Vic in his mixing but the Mai Tai is all Vic's.

Original recipe from the 1940's:

TRADER VIC’S MAI TAI

2 oz Wray & Nephew 17 Year Old Rum
.5 oz orgeat
.5 oz orange curacao
.25 oz simple syrup
Juice of one lime (approx. .75 oz lime juice)

Mix all ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a glass over crushed ice. Garnish with lime shell and a sprig of mint.

5:30pm: cocktail count 9

Of course Tales isn't all seminars and notes. There were parties, cocktails and bar crawls, soup dumplings and midnight croquet, delicious dinner and tasty cochon de lait lunch. Laissez les bon temps roulez, eh?

Evidence

Japan On My Mind

2011-03-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

When we went to Japan 2 years ago I fell in love. With the cities, with the people, with the food, with the culture. You name it, I loved it. I hadn't expected to become so enamored although I was very excited to be going, but it happened.

And now of course I've been watching the news since the earthquake earlier this month, in awe of the swaying buildings in Tokyo and the awesome power that moved them. The tsunami and it's aftermath in Sendai has been horrifying to watch. And now the nuclear plant, radiation and the growing dread of what will happen in Japan and beyond haunt me.

I just read an amazing story about being trapped on Mount Hakone. It reminded me of the much more enjoyable 2 days we spent in Hakone. We even took the same cable car trip. I can't imagine what they all went through, it must have been so scary- and COLD!!!

I'm just giving Japan a little shout out today, hoping for the best for both the country and the people. There's a lot going on in the world and we tend to have a bit of ADD, paying the most attention to whatever is most current. I know some friends of mine have friends and family over there, some in the areas hit the hardest. I'm hoping you all receive good news.

There are many sites/products/agencies you can give to to support Japan. If you feel strongly about one please feel free to put it in the comments.

LA...when???

2011-03-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well it's been 4 months since we were in Los Angeles so I guess I should get a post up. That's nothing really, considering that we were in Germany 6 months ago and I've still got loads to post on that! But as some of you know I travel with a handy moleskin that I fill with daily notes, collect lots of business cards from the places I loved and take a shit load of photos to always remind me of what we saw.

So as I was going through a stack of business cards on my desk today I came across a few from LA and thought- wow! I must have caught some super procrastinator bug from our gracious host Chuck cuz I still haven't posted a thing about that great weekend!

Chuck & Wes being the über professionals in all things drinking & eating picked us up from Burbank airport and immediately whisked us to Dayne's all time favorite, In n Out Burger. Off to a good start!

Dinner over we headed downtown to check out The Varnish. This is a fantastic cocktail lounge in the back of Cole's French Dip and we were lucky enough to have Eric Alperin & Marcos Tello behind the bar. The space itself is retro dark wood and brick, low lighting and set up more like a restaurant with lots of semi private tables and booths. We planned to only have one cocktail each so that we could also make it to 7 Grand before closing but with these experts in the house we just had to stay for a few rounds, it was absolutely worth it!

We spent the next sunny day exploring Silverlake. Bar Keeper was recommended by many and did not disappoint. A great shop with an amazing collection of bitters, glassware, booze and bar tools. It's like a toy store for cocktail geeks!

(*update 3/21 I just heard this great interview with Joe Keeper on KUOW today!)

This was the night I was really looking forward to. We had dinner reservations at Osteria Mozza where I had wanted to eat at since they first opened. Batali & Silverton? Count me in! Funny their other location of Mozza is in Singapore, good to know!

The meal was delicious! The famed mozzarella bar lived up to the hype. The space is pretty and sleek and just the right amount of noise. And the best thing about dining out with other food loving peeps is that we got to taste a hell of a lot of food! From the grilled octopus to the crispy pig trotter, gnocchi with duck ragu to the ricotta and egg ravioli & the short ribs- everything was so good! And Nancy Silverton was even in the house! In the words of Charlie Sheen: Winning!!

A little dessert, an Amaro tasting at the bar and then we were off to La Descarga Rum Bar. All I knew was that Chuck said we had 10pm reservations that we couldn't be late for. And that they served rum. And that there was some type of a show.

We entered the building and checked in with the hostess who led us to a coat closet. Upon opening the closet doors it was revealed to be a "secret" entrance to the bar where we followed along a cat walk and then down a spiral staircase to the main bar. Above us a small band played fantastic Cuban music, the bar's walls weathered to look like crumbling walls in Havana. In the back there is another bar that has the feel of being made of corrugated metal walls. All very cool.

My friend Aaron joined us and we all enjoyed some seriously good rum cocktails. The music changed and a spotlight appeared on the cat walk above, a woman dressed in a Latino inspired skirt and blouse started to dance. Fun! And then she really got into it and did a bit of a Cuban burlesque if you will! It was awesome (and I'm sure that most of the men in the bar would use other words as she was quite attractive!) and totally unexpected! There ended up being 2 shows, the second being quite a bit saucier and the woman dancing right on the bar!

A great night out on the town! The next day we wrapped up our very quick weekend with a delicious brunch at Alcove where we sat outside (in November!) and had yummy breakfast cocktails made by Juan Sevilla who Dayne and I had met earlier in the year at Tales.

Great to see our friends and finally get down to LA. We'll be back! (you know I'm using the gubernator's voice...)

flickr photos

Cruising with the Hurtigruten

2011-03-10T14:54:00.000-08:00

After taking advantage of yet another huge smorgasbord breakfast at our hotel (Norway definitely has the best breakfasts of any country we've been to and it was always included in our hotel cost), we packed our bags and walked about 10 minutes to the Port of Trondheim to board our ship the MS Nordlys.We were heading south to Bergen on an overnight cruise and very much looking forward to more gorgeous scenery, this time of the ocean and the fjords.

The Hurtigruten line started over 100 years ago and were the only means of transportation of people and freight north to south in Norway. Although they are working ferries the ships are quite popular as small cruise vessels; offering cabins, meals, "entertainment" (yes, I meant to put that in quotes) and shore excursions. The entire journey roundtrip from Bergen north to Kirkenes and back is 11 days and has 34 ports of call. Many consider it to be "The World's Most Beautiful Sea Voyage."

The majority of the passengers were doing the entire trip and were happy to have new people to talk to. We heard lots of stories about the trip north, the days of only a glow of light but no actual sun, sea eagle spottings and the variety of seafood offered at lunch. There was one elderly man who cornered us soon after we boarded and proceeded to tell us about the amazing display of Northern Lights he had seen the night before- which was a lie. And others on-board were calling him out on it. Scandal on the high seas!

There isn't a lot to do on board except cozy up with a book and take in the scenery. It was a perfect relaxing day and a half. We went outside frequently, bundled up against some seriously cold wind, to see the beautiful sky and fjords and islands. At 3pm there was the most amazing sunset!

Of course we had our evening happy hour before joining the rest of the passengers for dinner. Dinner was an ok 3 course meal of reindeer starter, halibut and a berry soup for dessert.

After dinner we had aquavit in the lounge and went outside on a search for the Nordlys (Northern Lights) but never saw them. The only disappointment of the trip (now planning for Greenland! ;) We did however see lots of stars, shooting stars and constellations.

The next morning was another gorgeous day, sunny and bright. We would be arriving in Bergen around 2:30 in the afternoon. After a big smorgasbord breakfast we packed up our bags and handed them to the the porters who would make sure they were taken off the boat and ready for us to pick up.

We sailed through a small gathering of rocky islands, they were soooo close to the ship! As we came closer to Bergen there were more and more small towns nestled along the fjords. We even saw steam rising off the water in one bay!

For lunch we decided to have Weinerpølser (hotdogs) and fries from the cafe (seriously hotdogs are the national food of Norway, everyone eats them!). But when we went to order we noticed that there was a choice of either a hotdog with a brod (bun) or a hotdog with fries. When we asked if we could have our Weinerpølser with a brod AND fries the man looked at us like we were crazy!

Goodbye MS Nordlys, hello Bergen!

Lots of pretty, pretty cruise pictures here

Over the Roof and through the Woods...

2011-02-24T17:56:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we packed up our bags, said good bye to Lillehammer and grabbed the train to Trondheim. We tried to buy some beers to bring with us but Norway is very tight with their rules for selling alcohol- only government run liquor stores can sell it and Lillehammer only had one, it was closed for a week over the holidays.

For 4 hours we traveled in our comfy (if not overly warm) train seats, sharing our 4 set with a Norwegian teacher who pointed out many things we would not have know about otherwise. The forests again were beautiful with their heavy covering of snow. And as we climbed higher and higher into the mountains our teacher explained that the route we were on followed the pilgrim's route between Oslo and Trondheim. High up in these frigid mountains people would trek, even in the winter. There are mountain stations throughout the land where people can rest and stay for a bit. BRRRRRRRR!

The forests soon gave way to bushes and scrub. The light again was fantastic. The train slowed to a stop and we were told we were atop the Dovrefjell. It's considered the midway point of the country, dividing north and south. It's also part of what they call the Roof of Norway. The highest area in the middle of the country.

The train stopped so that they could change conductors and for about 15 minutes we gazed out at this beautiful if not barren land. It was quiet and still and stunning.

Just as we started up again I glanced out my window and saw wild reindeer running! Of course the camera was turned off and they were only in view for a moment but yeah! Reindeer! On the roof of Norway! Surely this is where Santa is from :)

The train was filled with skiers (natch) and we stopped at various ski resorts letting them off. In the restaurant/bar car there were floor to ceiling picture windows where you could sit in lounge chairs and take in the scenery.

It was dark when we arrived in the port city of Trondheim (3:30pm) and we bundled up for the short walk to our hotel the Rica Nidelven. A business hotel of sorts but modern and very nice with a little bar (that closed at 6pm) and right on the water. Trondheim is the 3rd largest city in Norway with a population of about 170k people (compare that with Seattle at around 640k just in the city proper!) and the most north we would get in Norway. From the end of May till the end of July the sun never sets on this cute little town.

After settling in to our hotel we went out to explore. Once the capitol of Norway and founded in 997 (!) it has always been a place of shipping and trading. We passed by the cute old warehouses now refurbished as condos, restaurants and shops along the river.

We came upon the Nadaros Cathedral, strikingly lit. It's the largest church in Norway and the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world! Surrounded by it's graveyard (as we noticed other churches in Norway have) it was both beautiful and spooky.

By now we were feeling the cold, around 10F (it's so much warmer near the water, ha!) so we headed back to our hotel. Through town, past the Christmas tree in the center and the cheery holiday lights. We may have stopped at a 7-11 for a chocolate covered waffle snack... as you do.

Our friend Caitlin was flying in from London and as we waited for her we sampled some of the local aquavit at our hotel bar. Dayne then made us martinis for our traditional happy hour and later we went out and had a great dinner of Norwegian style tapas at Bakgarden Bar.

Additional photos here!

A Walk Through Lillehammer

2011-02-15T20:00:00.001-08:00

We took a beautiful train ride from Oslo to Lillehammer on Christmas day 2010. Sitting in our own compartment, enjoying free wifi & looking out at the amazing scenery was a perfect way to spend the morning. The trip took about 2 1/2 hours traveling northwest of Oslo & followed a really long lake much of the time.

Upon arriving in the tiny town of Lillehammer we walked 4 blocks to our hotel. It was cold, like minus 5F kind of cold! I had to stop and exchange my leather gloves for my ski gloves. That was the last time I'd wear the leather gloves on this trip.

Our hotel was perfectly situated right in the center of town. We checked in and found our rooms, both with small balconies and views of the lake. Then we bundled up & went out for a walk around before the sunset (3pm).

The streets were empty except for a handful of people & 3 cars. Snow was piled high in yards, on fences & on trees. The light and the sky reminded me of a watercolor, our cameras didn't do it justice. We passed cozy houses almost all with pretty Christmas lights in the windows & smoke rising from the chimneys. The town is really small & quaint.

We headed up to the Olympic Park, home of the '94 winter games. Although the center was closed there were still some interesting sculptures outside as well as the 2 big ski jumps to see. Some kids sledded on small hills while others played hockey on an outdoor rink.

By the time we got back to the hotel the sun had set and it was way too cold to be out. We got cozy in our room, opened our Christmas gifts and started happy hour. Soon after we took a bottle champagne (that we had chilled on our balcony) down to the lobby where they had a big fire going. The smell of burning birch was so homey!

Since the only restaurant in town that was open was in our hotel we had a short commute to dinner. A little dinner, some aquavit & a nightcap or 2 back in our room. The next morning we were off on another train ride headed just north of the arctic circle!

By the way, isn't Lillehammer just damn good fun to say?

More pretty pictures here

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Whidbey Island Weekend

2011-02-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

Well a bit more than a weekend really. A friend celebrating a milestone birthday generously invited Dayne and I along with 6 others to enjoy 4 nights in a private house rental on Whidbey last month.

The house was awesome! Right on the beach with fantastic views of the sound. There were 3 1/2 bedrooms in the main house along with nice living room, sun room, dining room and big kitchen. Just below the house on the path leading to the beach were 2 more guest houses. Hot tub, deck, wi-fi, the works!

We had such a great time! With sweat pants the official uniform of the weekend it was a very relaxing occasion. We had a small outing to Langley one afternoon for lunch. And another day Dayne, Jan & I went for a nice little hike on the beach and in the woods.

Other than that the days were spent movie watching, book reading, star gossiping & playing games.

Each night we had a feast in which everyone got involved. The first was an epic crab dinner served with artichokes and Jan's homemade mayo. The house didn't have crab crackers so a large ladle was used for whacking shells open. There was crab a flying and we had quite a little shell mess at the end of the evening.

The 2nd night we had a huge choucroute garnie dinner complete with Lauren's awesome sauerkraut, pork belly, sausages, hot dogs and pretzel rolls.

The 3rd night we used our mad skills to make tamales. A first time for all of us & a really fun group project. They were DELICIOUS and we'll be making more again very soon.

Before dinner each evening there was an official happy hour in which co host Paul made up a drink of the day.

And every night after dinner there was a dance party/sing along in which yours truly DJ'd when I wasn't too busy getting my groove on.

We watched eagles in the trees and tankers in the sound and the amazing scenery and how it changed daily.

On the last evening we had a big fire on the beach and lots of champagne which was just a perfect way to wrap up our little mini break.

And of course there was the birthday!

Just a damn fine getaway spent with damn fine friends! Thanks and cheers to Lauren and Paul our amazing hosts!

To see the rest of the photos click here

Settled in the South of France

2011-01-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

In June of 2008 we joined 21 friends in Provence for a week’s holiday in a grand chateau east of Avignon. Now a week might not sound like a terribly long time to be someplace, but for us as Americans our vacations are so limited that 2 days here and 3 days there is the norm.

Châteauneuf de Gadagne is tiny! Two bakeries, 1 bar/pizza shop and the post office. That’s it. The chateau sits atop the hill gazing at the town below. Each day we would stop at a neighboring village’s outdoor market and pick up fresh strawberries, a chicken, some sausages or salad makings. And wine; lots and lots of wine.

I guess I haven’t mentioned that these friends of ours (us included) are “foodies”. Serious, serious foodies. Many of us have been known to travel the globe just to eat at a certain restaurant or by a certain chef.

But this time we never went out for dinner. Not even once! In an area with Michelin- starred restaurants peppering the region we stayed at home. We enjoyed watching the sunset each evening from our patio over plates of local cheeses, olives and bread. And then on the last night all 23 of us created an amazing 5-course dinner and toasted our wonderful holiday.

The week felt luxuriously long and we felt like we had a home in Provence. Slowing down and settling in connected us not only with the town but also with each other.

This post has been entered into the Grandtourismo HomeAway Holiday-Rentals travel blogging competition

Fireworks in Oslo

2011-01-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

The new year started with a bang for us, literally! In Oslo for our annual trip the 6 of us began the night with champagne, foie gras & Wasa crackers in our room at the Hotel Bristol. The price of drinks (& everything else!) in Norway was quite high so we packed a lot of our own booze in. Unfortunately both Forest's and Matt's bags were relieved of their bottles of champagne while leaving CDG so we had to make due with just the one we had picked up in Amsterdam duty free.

Earlier in the afternoon while exploring the city we had come across this very popular fireworks stand people were lined up at. Little did we know that what they were selling were not traditional fireworks like we get but boxes of mortars that would rival the city's show.

We had heard that the city puts on a big fireworks display so after dinner we headed out towards the waterfront and for the first time in a week saw actual crowds of people. The holidays seem to be a very private affair in Norway, spent at home with families, so we hadn't really seen a lot of people until this night!

Locals were setting off their pre-show which easily equaled some professional ones!

And then right at midnight Oslo put on a really big show. The fireworks were beautiful! And lasted much longer than expected. What is it about fireworks that bring out the kid in us?

Afterward we headed back to the hotel bar where they were selling bottles of Veuve Cliquot for over $300, you don't even want to know what the Dom Perignon was going for...

I persuaded them to sell us a bottle of Prosecco ;)

2011 - A New Decade

2011-01-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! We've just returned from our annual "ring in the new year" trip, this time in Norway. It was 10 years ago that this little tradition unofficially started. Dayne and I were just dating and Forest was getting ready to move to Annecy, France to study. Along the way her and some friends were heading to Italy and we all decided to meet up in Paris for New Years Eve. This would be Dayne's and my first trip together!

We started the evening with dinner at Au Pied de Cochon with Forest, Jeff and Tim (who's birthday it was also). It was very cold in Paris and we were planning on being outside at midnight so we made our dinner last probably longer than the restaurant would have liked. We then bundled up and headed out, bottles of champagne stuffed in our backpacks. Every bridge on the Seine was lit up with the new Euro symbol and the flags of each participating country were raised and waving. We made our way to Place de la Concorde where a huge crowd of people were gathered to watch the fireworks at midnight. Having drunk all of our champagne we bought beers from vendors with little tables set up for the occasion, toasted and kissed at midnight and then paraded down the Champs- Élysées with the rest of Paris.

We would later stop at a cafe, drink the rest of the night away and pay our tab with some of the first Euro's to be dispensed from an ATM in Europe!

A few years pasted with us having parties at home or heading out for dinner with friends for the occasion. But we missed that experience- how do others celebrate the new year? How do the cities look all decorated for the holidays? How many places can we drink Champagne in? And so in 2005, with 8 others we headed off to St. Petersburg, Russia and rang in the new year with vodka and live music on Nevsky Prospekt.

2006 took 4 of us to the Big Apple, possibly the world's best known New Years celebration. We chose not to stand in Times Square but went to one of those big ticketed party's, made our own fun and then headed to Pegu Club right after midnight.

In 2007 we were just 3 and we toured all over South Africa finally landing in Cape Town to see the new year come in with fireworks at the waterfront.

2008 would also mark my big 40th and we were off to Japan! Myself, Dayne, Forest and new year eve tripper first timer Matthieu would spend the evening at the Yasaka shrine in Kyoto with thousands of others. We drank beer and Saki while watching as people practiced the traditional first blessing of the year with prayers to Buddha before lighting a dried twig from one of the many lanterns in order to make the years first soup using flame from the temple.

And in 2009 we traveled illegally to Cuba, welcoming the new year with aged Havana Club rum and canon shots in Havana's harbor. Besides the normal 3, team Cuba included Matthieu for the 2nd time, Violaine and a different Tim.

And of course that brings us up to date with myself, Dayne, Forest, Matthieu, Violaine and new comer Caitlin watching some crazy ass fireworks and drinking Aquavit in Oslo Norway which I'll write about in a separate post.

I'm excited to see where the next 10 years will take us, what we'll see and experience and who will come along to share it with. It's been a hell of a decade, here's to the next!

From Hammersley with Sun

2010-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready to go to Norway this week and it's going to be cold. Really, really cold. As in 5F kind of cold. I'm excited about it!! I've got a big puffy coat from when we went to Russia for NYE back in 2005, a new touke with ear flaps and new shearing lined boots. But as I get ready to pack tonight for the frigid weather I can't help but to think about the fun in the sun we had all summer. And that makes me realize I never posted about our summer weekend at Hammersley Inlet (as well as many other places I'm behind on, natch!)

Doesn't that look just about perfect? It was! Our very nice friend Leslie invited us to use her family's summer house out by Shelton for the weekend. The drive was really pretty and once we crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and headed southwest of Bremerton it was un-chartered territory for us. Hammersely Inlet is just one of the many arms of water leading out to Puget Sound. They are very well known for the geoduck farms that sit just under the surface of the water. And of course the oysters and clams that come from this area are delicious. We also witnessed the biggest tide changes I have ever seen.

The weather was just hot enough to encourage swimming and eating outside. The first night after dinner we enjoyed the warm night sitting down by the water and watched shooting stars.

Waking the next morning in almost total silence and sunshine was amazing. There were only 6 other people in the area and those we only saw from a very far distance. Our only neighbors in fact seemed to be 2 otters or seals (how sad that we are such city folk we don't know the difference?) who kept an eye on us all weekend.

The few days away from noise, traffic, house chores, computers, etc was just what we needed. There wasn't a lot of planning before and the only sightseeing to do was paddling around the inlet. Nothing to do but soak up the rays and watch shellfish spit water to the sky like mini Bellagio Fountains.

So as I head off to pack silk long-johns, fur earmuffs and wool socks I'm remembering how it feels to wear flip flops while holding a cold beer lounging around the south sound. Thanks Leslie!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

more pics...

"...the significance of this name will never be erased from German history."

2010-12-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

[I'm taking a turn posting this time. -Dayne]

"Dachau - the significance of this name will never be erased from German history. It stands for all concentration camps which the Nazis established in their territory." -- Eugen Kogon

Twenty-eight or so years ago I traveled to Germany with my family and visited the Dachau concentration camp. Even at the age of 13, it made a large impact on me. I can remember several years later writing about my visit for more than one writing assignment in high school (those writings seem to have not survived; too bad, I would like to re-read them).

My memory of the place was almost all black and white, no doubt due to faulty memories significantly influenced by WWII newsreels and movies. Still, it came as somewhat of a surprise when Wendy, Della, Greg and I arrive via train on a sunny September day to see the verdant green trees lining the camp; I was half-expecting nothing but shades of grey.

Actually, I was even surprised by the town. I knew intellectually that Dachau was located in a town of the same name, and that the townspeople have been highly criticized for their apparently-willful ignorance during the war, but I had no slightest recollection of seeing Dacha-the-town before, having edited that out in the post-production of my earlier memories. It turns out that Dacha is now a small, attractive and modern Bavarian city, but we had to wonder what it's like to live there. For better or worse, Dachau will never really be known for anything except the camp, and I have to believe that casts a pall over living there.

From the train station we took a short bus to the camp and memorial. It turns out that almost every aspect of the modern visitor experience is pretty new; with few exceptions, the plaques, visitor center, and museum displays mostly built in the past decade or so. Whatever remnants I had of the post-war additions were completely irrelevant, but I was glad to see that there continues to be funding for significant updates to the facilities.

One thing that hasn't changed at all is the grim greeting above the front gate through which so many passed on the final journey of their lives. Arbeit macht frei ("work liberates", or "work will make you free") -- the last cruel joke of Heinrich Himmler's "Final Solution".

Very few buildings at Dachau still stand. Only a few of the former barracks, including one where some of the most heinous human medical experiments were conducted, remain in the grid where thirty-four once stood. The crematorium -- surprisingly small for the volume of grim work that went on there -- has been kept intact, and the former administration building is now the on-site museum.

The barracks themselves, once the site of suffering and inhumanly cramped living conditions, are weirdly sterile and empty. The bunks are all recreations, which accounts for some of that; I think the other part is that the suffering of Dachau was deeply personal, even though carried out with Teutonic efficiency; without those that were affected, ultimately the buildings mostly revert to simple wood, iron and glass, devoid of human emotion.

We spent a fair amount of time in the museum, but in all honesty it's a bit overwhelming after a while. The history of the place is well-documented, and the modernity and thoroughness of the displays lend a somewhat clinical feel to the whole operation. On the other hand, the sculptures that have been commissioned for the memorial are much better ay conveying what actually happened in the minds of the inmates.

Would I recommend a visit to others in the area? Absolutely. However, we did overhear one family whose children (maybe about 10 and 11?) had no interest in seeing more after a while, because of the nightmares it was going to give them.

A good map of Dachau can be found at http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Dachauscrapbook/DachauCampMap.html and http://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/memorial/topography.html -- the official visitor site is at http://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/english.html

The full set of our pictures from our visit is here.

Living Like Locals

2010-11-17T17:07:00.000-08:00

As New Years Eve 2010 approaches and we gear up for another annual trip with friends I think back to our 2009 adventure. Going where we were certainly welcomed but not allowed by our own country, Cuba seemed a tad scary, mysterious and difficult to get to.

We chose to stay with a local family in their casa particular. It’s a unique way to experience how many typical Cuban families live while at the same time helping them to earn an income.

In our week with our hosts they opened their home to us, told us stories, talked frankly of politics, introduced us to their family and friends and spoke of the future. We invited them to partake in our nightly cocktail hour, sharing various treats we had brought from the states and gin martinis made with “real French vermouth” as they happily noted.

One day they held a big party for their family and friends and graciously invited us to join. They filled our paper plates with mounds of treats they had splurged on and prepared for the special occasion- roasted pork, tamales, cake, etc. We passed out the only thing we had a lot of: home baked Christmas cookies. The guests took it upon themselves to give us salsa lessons making it even more fun!

On New Years Eve we invited them to share in our champagne. We noticed the empty bottles were saved as souvenirs. My own wonderful souvenir is the memory of that truly unique experience!

This post has been entered into the Grandtourismo HomeAway Holiday-Rentals travel blogging competition

Houston- One Night Only

2010-11-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

When you use miles to travel the airlines like to play little games with you like "let's see how far in the opposite direction we can make them go from their final destination". Our game started with us flying from Seattle to Houston to Amsterdam and finally to Munich for our recent trip to Germany.

Some might feel slighted or put out but not us. Not when Anvil, one of the country's best bars, is smack dab in Houston and without this layover we would most likely not be drinking there as we don't find ourselves in Texas very often (ie: never).

So we checked into the Alden Hotel which had a great big room, big bathroom and a cool view from our windows. The hotel looked quite hip and boutique-y but the service just didn't quite match up. All in all a good place but not a great place, although I don't know if there are that many options in Houston.

After a few drinks in the bar we headed out to dinner at Hugo's. Yum. A big boisterous place which is just plain fun to be in. Fantastic service, drinks & food! Highly recommend a meal here if you are in the area.

And the location couldn't have been better as it was just blocks from Anvil!

I loved Anvil. It's got everything I like in a bar. A great mix of people, fantastic bartenders who don't act like stuck up assholes, an amazing list of cocktails, a big long bar with lots of action on both sides and beautiful glassware.

We were lucky to be there when Mindy was shaking, full of sass and ready with a smile the girl knows how to make a drink! And it was just a perfect evening out with amazing libations. If you find yourself in Houston you should absolutely find yourself a bar stool at Anvil.

24 Hours Victoria

2010-11-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

The Victoria Clipper has been offering great overnight packages to Victoria, BC. Round trip Clipper tickets and a nice hotel for $115 pp, I got an additional 10% off for "liking" them on Facebook making our weekend getaway under $200 total. Clipper tickets are usually $139pp roundtrip and the hotel rooms start at $120 so I thought this was a great deal and I had never been on the Clipper!

We got up early Saturday morning and boarded the Clipper I right before sunrise. It was super foggy as we pulled out into Puget Sound so the vessel was moving a bit slower and continuously blowing the fog horn. But once we got up into the islands it was bright and sunny, a beautiful fall day.

A bit of breakfast, some mimosas, a little light reading and 3 hours later we pulled into Victoria Harbor. As our hotel was literally across the street we walked to the Grand Pacific and were pleasantly surprised that our room was ready for us so early and that we had a bit of a view of the outer harbor.

Taking advantage of the weather we headed to Red Fish Blue Fish which had been highly recommended. This little seafood grill housed in an old rebuilt wharf container didn't disappoint! My fried halibut & chips were delicious and Dayne's Tuna Belly sandwich was so meaty and smoky. Little did we know that we were there on their 2nd to last day of the season and are now closed until Feb 1st. The place was packed with locals, tourists and seagulls the size of Mini Coopers. One dive bombed the table we were at and stole my coleslaw container!! Luckily my fish and chips were well guarded.

The rest of the afternoon was spent leisurely strolling around town and shopping. It's a very cute little town, smaller than I remembered and easy to walk around.

Delicious cocktails later that evening at Clive's. They have a unique program called the Dead Bartender's Society where they create a menu of drinks based on the mixology of someone late and great. Hugo Ensslin was in the spotlight last month. Shawn and his team are really passionate about their libations, I'd highly recommend this as a "must stop" for a drink.

On to Stage for a delicious dinner served up to us by our friend Stephen. Awesome charcuterie and seasonal delicacies. They've got this octopus that is poached and then fried with rice flour. I've never had anything like it! And the gnocchi was light as pillows, yummm. Visit with friend and amazing food = WIN!

We started our next day with a swim at the indoor pool at our hotel. It's huge and housed in an atrium style room so it's bright and filled with light. This was also the last day that the pool/sauna/hot tub was to be open before they started a remodel project.

A long relaxed lunch at Bon Rogue and a bit more shopping and our little excursion was about over. We stopped at Pig BBQ to pick up pulled pork, fried chicken, beans, slaw and cornbread for dinner on the Clipper and then it was time to go. Our return voyage was on the Clipper IV which was much newer and nicer. Tables at all the window seats and video maps to follow along with the ride.

A really nice weekend getaway made even better by the gorgeous weather and awesome food and drinks, thanks Victoria!

Photos

Prost! Oktoberfest Day 1

2010-10-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

Oktoberfest. I'll admit it, the word brings to mind the scenes in National Lampoon's European Vacation. I really didn't know what to expect and now that I've seen it/done it I know there is no way I can ever come close to really explaining it to you. I have a lot of friends who grew up in Germany and they tried to prepare me for it but in the end you have to go and experience it for yourself. And you should, it's possibly one of the most fun experiences we have ever had- and we've had a few!

Let's start at the beginning. Our rented house was in Kaufering, a small Bavarian town about 40 mins by train outside of Munich. We road in at 10:30am on a train packed full of locals from other outlying towns dressed in their lederhosen & dirndl, drinking bottled Radlers and Colabier (yep, half coke half beer- tastes strangely of cherry coke). You could tell everyone was having a great time and in a good mood- it was opening weekend of Oktoberfest, the 200th anniversary.

We started our day at the Riflemans & Costume Parade which is a 2 hour fashion show of the Bavarian people's dress, bands, weaponry and of course beer. It was really cool to see all the different regions represented, the decorated lederhosen & dirndl and the huge horses pulling carts loaded with beer barrels.

After a nice lunch we headed to the Theresienwiese on the bahn. A man asked me if it was my first time and when I said yes he replied "you'll never forget it". Amen. We exited off the train in a crush of people all heading up the escalators towards the light finding ourselves face to face with the huge fairgrounds and approximately 300-400k people. Holy hell!! I think we were all in shock for a minute. We walked around trying to take it all in but it was impossible and completely mind boggling.

We found our tent- we had reservations at the Haufbrauhaus Tent which is the largest tent at the festival holding over 9k people inside, upstairs and outside- and found the guy who's table we were buying seats at. There were 12 of us total and he led us inside and through the maze of people to our table. It was a MADHOUSE! And it was only 4pm. We were so happy to sit and just take it all in, an incredible site.

The tent was gigantic and beautiful. There was just a constant din of noise even when the band wasn't playing. But as soon as the music started all 6,000 people inside started to sing and bang steins and stand on their benches. Controlled mayhem as I've never encountered. I literally had bruises on both my hands from holding heavy steins all night.

Our table mates were all Americans, this wasn't their first time as it was ours and they were a blast to be with. The steins of beer kept coming and the band kept playing and all of a sudden we realized we had committed the biggest sin at Oktoberfest, we hadn't ordered or eaten our 1/2 chickens! Our lunch was long gone and as day turned to night there would be no opportunity to eat with every person now on their benches and tables. Duh! Rookie mistake.

The table of German's next to us were fun and friendly and the girls taught Dayne the words to the German song Ein Prosit and me the words and dance to Fliegerlied. Of course everyone knew the words to the American songs that were so popular- Hey Baby, Sweet Home Alabama, Bohemian Rhapsody, What A Feeling

We left to catch our 10:30 train and ended up sharing seats with a group of local kids who had also been there. Their way of staying awake on the train ride home after drinking all day? Snuff! They all had their own snuff tins and the girls were very proud that they had apricot flavored while the boys had menthol. Crazy.

Beautiful Marseille!

2010-08-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a heck of a busy summer, which of course is my excuse for having not posted about our June trip to the south of France. That and an unfortunate situation in which our camera memory card went missing and a weeks worth of photos from Marseille & Provence were lost. Only a few random shots captured on our iPhones remain. And those that our friends nicely sent to us to help with our loss. Let me tell you, I don't wish that experience on my worst enemy. It was heartbreaking to say the least. But as Dayne said we are lucky to have our amazing memories and so with that, on this cold and rainy Seattle day, I am going to dive into a little recollection of the sunny weekend we spent in Marseille.

As mentioned it was tough to get here but once we did we were charmed. Our room at the Grand Tonic Hotel was perfect! A large, corner room looking right out onto the port was just what we had hoped for.

Setting off to wander the port, the evening was warm and sunny and it was time for a cocktail! We grabbed a table on the sidewalk at Om Cafe which had both gin fizzes and whiskey sours on their cocktail menu. This would not be our only time ordering refreshing and well made gin fizzes from Om.

Next up we spent a wonderful evening at the well known Restaurant Miramar feasting on the local specialty- Bouillabaisse. The huge bowls of seafood were presented to us first followed by the even larger bowls of broth which was incredibly rich and filling. We could barely make a dent in ours (after 1st courses of foie gras and a crab, mango and avocado millefeuille) but watched the rest of the diners sop up every last bit with toasts.

The following day was all about sightseeing! We strolled past the fish vendors, their catches set up on card tables. The local chefs and housewives inspected their goods- most still alive or so fresh they were stiff with rigor mortis. A public bus took us through the city and up to Notre Dame de la Garde. The cathedral sits on the highest point in Marseille offering amazing views in every direction of the city, the port and the beautiful blue sea. After lunch we stumbled upon a wedding and then went tasting pastis at Le Maison du Pastis. Finally just as the day was the hottest we set off on a 2 1/2 hour cruise of the Calanques. These incredible limestone cliffs cut deep back into the land creating little coves of clear blue water which visitors anchor their boats in. The calanques are jagged and steep and many people hike and rock climb them. It was really stunning and unlike anything I've seen before!

There was a big street festival going on that evening and we walked past the stages set up for music and dance on our way to Chez Entienne. This small, family run grill has no menu and they don't speak English but they are quite well known for their cheese and anchovy pizza. We started with that and some pastis followed by a pavé of beouf for two which came perfectly cooked and accompanied with salad, roasted potatoes and penne in tomato sauce. Our dinner with a bottle of wine, espresso and shared creme caramel came to only 68€! Unfortunately they only take cash, which we were shy of, so a fellow patron explained to Dayne where the nearest "distributor" was. I finished the wine and espresso and hoped they wouldn't put me to work washing dishes :)

It was a perfect little weekend, although rough in the start and too short over all. I'd go back to Marseille in a minute!

I tried Black Tot -- have you?

2010-07-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

[Dayne here...]

It's not often that I get to try a $1200 bottle of rum.

Only an eyedropper-full, but still...

As a special treat at the end of the At Full Sail session, two bottles of Black Tot, the bottled remnant of the daily ration of the British Navy, were served to attendees. I don't have too may words other than WOW to describe it.

I'm starting to figure out how I can justify acquiring a bottle... (if Wendy is reading this...hey look over there, something shiny!)

(More information on the release is available from an article here: http://www.examiner.com/x-15885-Rum-Examiner~y2010m5d20-Black-Tot-rare-reserve-rum-to-debut-on-Black-Tot-Day)

Location:Royal St,New Orleans,United States

Like tuna fish to a cat

2010-07-23T14:20:00.001-07:00

Review of the Tales session "At Full Sail -- Spirits at Proof, Navy Strength and Overproof in History and Application"

[Dayne here...]

I've discovered that late nights, "early" mornings, spotty or non-existent Internet access, and high proof spirits don't make for rigorous note-taking or timely blogging. Any mistakes in the following review can be blamed directly on one or more of those conditions.

Wendy and I (and seemingly everyone) attended a seminar on high-proof spirits that we'd previewed on this blog a few weeks ago. The panel was moderated by Eric Seed and consisted of Audrey Saunders, Britt Chavannee, and Wayne Curtis.

I had to have a stern talk with my liver, who tried to flee for the exits when he saw the menu of gimlet (using Plymouth Navy Strength), Royal Million (with Lemon Hart 151), a single barrel cask strength bourbon, and a Newark (from Death & Co. I think???) with Laird's Bonded.

Wayne kicked things off with a Proof in History segment, where he talked about what proof is (ABV % times 2), who's historically cared (sailors and tax collectors), and then discussed the evolution of the daily tot in e British and other navies. Since water, beer, and wine would go bad in casks, rum was a stable potable liquid with which to appease sailors (Wayne didn't go into buggery or the lash, the other two staples of the British Navy. Wrong conference, perhaps.)

Other topics included the evolution of the hydrometer (Syke's supplanting Clarke's), the change from alcohol by weight to alcohol by volume, the Bottled in Bond Act in the States, and the gradual lessening of proof in even well-know spirits (e.g. Jack Daniels) in fairly recent years.

Britt talked about her family distillery business, from where such treasures as Red Hook rye have come. Sorry Britt, I don't have too many notes from your portion (Liver was revolting again and had to smack him down).

Audrey covered some of her early experiences with high-proof spirits (can you believe that only 5 or 6 years ago, Rittenhouse Bonded was basically unknown in NYC???) and the success with which Pegu Club incorporated Rittenhouse into their house Manhattan and Laird's into their Jack Rose). Audrey mentioned that the current American palette is definitely leaning towards "boozy and bitter" and, like tuna fish to a cat, there's no going back!

Eric discussed the 3-tier system of taxing and the high accumulative cost of taxes on high-proof alcohol. I'm sure he said more but the previous night was taking it's toll at that point.

Finally Wayne concluded with a little experiment that definitely did NOT violate any fire codes. Using a little black powder, he had one control (no alcohol), and 3 other tiny piles on which he dropped Pama, Plymouth Navy, and Lemon Hart 151. Disappointingly the Plymouth-soaked pile didn't ignite, but the control and the Lemon Hart were quite satisfying!

I'll post some pictures of the event in a separate post!

Location:Royal St,New Orleans,United States

A single-sample measurement of the rotational period of the Carousel Bar at 29°57'15"N 90°4'3"W

2010-07-23T13:33:00.001-07:00

Unadjusted for temperature, altitude, or ethanol content.

Location:Royal St,New Orleans,United States

Questions Answered! The How's & Why's of Cocktails

2010-07-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about Tales of the Cocktail this week! Trying to find the time to attend all the seminars, tasting rooms, events and parties is a challenge but one I'm happy to tackle!

One of the seminars I'm really looking forward to is called The How's and Why's of Cocktails…an exploration of techniques, ingredients, and methodology. It's a seminar geared towards bartenders (which as you know I'm not) but it speaks to my "foodie" side which is how I got interested in cocktails in the first place. The same interesting layers of flavors that you create when you saute, roast and braise are what I find in those cocktails made by people who really know their craft.

And speaking of people who really know their craft the seminar features Harold McGee, Audrey Saunders and Tony Conigliaro!

Harold McGee may be best know for his book On Food And Cooking: The Science And Lore Of The Kitchen. A food scientist and writer he has been recognized for his studies and knowledge by the likes of the James Beard Foundation & International Association of Culinary Professionals. He writes a weekly column for the New York Times and articles for a slew of other culinary oriented magazines. His insights are going to be really interesting and I'm looking forward to his discussion.

Audrey Saunders is owner of New York's Pegu Club, an institution in classic cocktails and a pilgrimage for most who are serious about their libations. Audrey's ability to craft cocktails is no secret, her drinks are replicated by the world's best (I just had "Audrey's Gin Gin Mule at the newly opened Prescription Lounge in Paris, France last week!). Her thirst for knowledge is contagious and her ability to teach is impressive. Any seminar with Audrey is going to be fun, informative, fun, well researched and fun!

Tony Conigliaro is owner of 69 Colebrooke Row, one of London's premier establishments for original hand crafted cocktails. He has been in the industry for years and is know for creating drinks that are inspired and executed scientifically. His libation the No5 Champagne Cocktail has received much attention for it's ability to mimic the perfume of the same name.

Regarding this particular seminar (the only one Conigliaro is giving as far as we know) Tony mentioned to us that he's looking forward to discussing new and interesting concepts that will be simple and very usable by bartenders to get better use of their products. He's excited to work with Audrey and Harold "because I always feel I learn something as well". I think we'll all be learning a lot this this Friday!

At the time I wrote this there were less than 20 tickets left, grab one if it's not soldout!

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner...

2010-06-25T01:59:00.000-07:00

On our flight from Seattle to Marseille yesterday we had a stopover in Amsterdam, unfortunately that stop over ended up being a sleepover due to France having an all day general transportation strike.

Luckily for us we have friends who live in the city and were gracious enough to invite us over for dinner in their beautiful apartment. The evening was so warm and pretty that we decided to sit outside on their rooftop deck, the views of Amsterdam stunning.

We brought along some cold Taittinger champagne to start the night, Klary made a delicious dinner of cheesy baked penne, roasted broccoli and green salad with apples, prosciutto and mozzarella . There was dessert of yogurt, strawberry rhubarb compote and stroopwaffel (Dayne's favorite). It was a perfect and relaxing evening, catching up with friends we don't see often and getting to know them even better. To wrap up the evening Dennis held a Genever tasting with 3 very nice subjects- Schermer's Oude Jenever a light style at 36% made in Amsterdam; Filliers 125th Year Jubileum Graanjenever, a very whisky flavored Belgium spirit at 42% and finally Filliers 8 year old 50% Grand Jenever which was my favorite!

We feel lucky to know people in different countries and luckier still to call them friends. Klary and Dennis turned what could have been an overly frustrating situation into an incredibly enjoyable evening in a city we already love. Thank you and see you in October!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Amsterdam, Netherlands

Swim with the Fishes

2010-06-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

I've been in San Francisco a lot lately, I love it! I love the city, the weather, the food, the cocktails. So even though I had just gone with some European friends in Feb I went with my friend Della and her mom Sandy again in April. Della's mom has a time share in Union Square and had never been, Della hadn't been since college and I'm always up for a trip obviously!

One thing Sandy wanted to see was the aquarium. I hadn't been to the one there and it was very near the In N Out Burger (priorities people, priorities!) so off we went!

How cool are these jellyfish??? There were a few tanks of them and they were stunning!

Walking in the tunnel where the fish are next to and above you was amazing! Huge sharks, bass, schools of anchovies and octopus are all swimming around as we walked through.

Just outside the aquarium is Pier 39 where all the sea lions hang out. Really? How does that thing stay afloat with them all??

Anyway I really thought the Aquarium of the Bay was a great way to spend a not so sunny afternoon and walk off the In N Out Burger.

Antiquing Near and Far...

2010-06-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

Some girlfriends and I have done a couple of day trips north to Snohomish to check out the antique shops. It's quite entertaining since we are all searching out similar items: vintage cocktail glassware and the like.

I don't know much about antiques, I pretty much buy what I like, but I have to say that this is a little shopping past time that I have really began to enjoy.

Last September when I was in Paris my girlfriend Forest and I went to the most famous of all antique markets, Les Puces (literally translated as The Fleas). Over 2 centuries old this is also the largest market of it's kind in the world, attracting up to 180,000 visitors on a weekend alone.

With over 17 acres of shops it took Forest and I a full day to see it all. It's amazing the things that are for sale! There are separate areas for various kinds of dealers and each one has it's own store. Very different from the image in my head of a fair ground kind of situation with ware's strewn across blankets and tables.

One of the halls even had artists who were displaying works made from antique or vintage goods.

Back here at home Snohomish calls itself the "Antiques Capitol of the Northwest" and with good reason. Every business in the town seems to be dealing. Granted antiques in Snohomish are a bit different than what I found in Paris!

This very well could have been my complete set from my childhood!

Puppets Anyone?

Nickel a Ride!

2 years ago while visiting Provence we went to I'Isle sur la Sorgue which has a reputation as the antiques center of Provence. Most things were amazingly expensive but it was so fun to look at. I did find these funny little gadgets meant to hold your lamb chop bone while you ate it so that you wouldn't get your hands greasy. I loved them but didn't buy them and now I think of them all the time! I'm heading back to Provence this month and I think I'll be searching those out again!

i ♥ >40%

2010-06-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

[Wendy is the anchor that keeps this blog ship afloat, but every once in a while Dayne needs to contribute too. What follows is his attempt to keep up.]

The earth is flat. (And 6000 years old.) 640K ought to be enough for anybody. Your satisfaction is our priority. Size doesn’t matter. 80 proof is fine.

Whatever.

The vast majority of us live with a lot of myths, fables, untruths, compromises, self-delusions, and downright disappointments. The 80° (40% alcohol by volume) issue seems to be one of them. For the most part, the occasional gin aside and not counting ill-advised Bacardi 151 or Everclear experiences in the teen or college years, we're used to spirits bottled at the seemingly-arbitrary strength of 40% ethanol. It's always seemed strange to me that producers add water to their distillates to hit the same number for everything from the blandest of vodkas to aged cognacs and tequilas; how can that result in the best products? It's like saying that all chocolate recipes have to have the exact same amount of cacao. (Thankfully most gins don't seem to have fallen into that trap, with 94.6 proof or thereabouts being pretty standard for London dry styles.)

In a slight departure from some of our normal posts, I’m not going to talk about where we’ve visited or what we’ve done lately, at least not directly. Instead, I’m going to preview a session on strong spirits entitled At Full Sail: The History and Application of Spirits at Proof, Navy Strength and Overproof that Eric Seed will be presenting (and that Wendy and I will be attending) during this year’s New Orleans-based Tales of the Cocktail.

We had the opportunity to correspond via email with Audrey Saunders and Wayne Curtis, two of the panel members for that session, and have included their responses to a few questions below. With what what we’ve heard so far, we can’t wait to attend!

Dayne & Wendy: What was the first overproof spirit (> 40% ABV) that really made an impression on you?

Audrey: Rum for sure. I was too young to appreciate the flavor profile of whatever it was, but it made for one heck of a pyrotechnic show. And really, who doesn't love that?

Wayne: Lemon Hart 151. It wasn't just the heat, it was the intensity of the flavor that really came through and intriuged me.

D&W: What's your current favorite overproof spirit?

Wayne: Smith & Cross I like a lot. But I'm also really partial to Booker's.

Audrey: I don't have an overall favorite; they all serve different purposes. I can enjoy an overproof whiskey (with a splash of water), as much as an overproof rum (with perhaps as a float), or an overproof gin (either as a martini, or worked into a cocktail). They're all different animals. And then of course, there's Chartreuse.

D&W: If you could ask any one producer to move a product to a higher proof, what would it be?

Audrey: Cognac, for sure. All of the old recipes were done with 100 proof. Unfortunately many of today's cognac cocktails aren't as "zippy" as they potentially could be, it's that extra bit of octane that will give cognac drinks the spine and "umph" they need to maintain their structure.

Wayne: I'd be more inclined to ask Lemon Hart to crank up production on their 151, and make it more widely available. I think it's still easily found in the Pacific Northwest, but elsewhere it's hard to track down. And it's so essential in a number of great tiki drinks.

D&W: What interested you about this seminar topic?

Wayne: A simple question: why do so many overproof taste so good and so strikingly different than their lower-proof cousins?

Audrey: Eric invited me to participate. He has picked my brains occasionally over the years about different products he was developing, and asked me for my thoughts on 100 or 114 proof for Smith & Cross. I tasted them both, and felt strongly that he just go ahead and own it. The 100 was good, but the 114 was even better, and at that proof, really showed off the quality of the distillate. Everybody wanted a high-quality rum, and the 114 separates Smith & Cross from the boys. I've always been a real fan of his concepts.

D&W: What do you hope to achieve/ get across to the attendees?

Wayne: A bit of history, and a bit of science. How did most spirits sold in the US end up at 40 percent? And how does a higher-proof alcohol affect the taste of a drink?

Audrey: Not to be afraid of working with higher proofs, and a better understanding of what they bring to the table. For instance, the flavor profiles of the high-quality distillates hold up beautifully with some dilution!

D&W: Why do you they think people should attend this seminar? Who would get the most value out of it?

Audrey: Any professional, certainly, as well as people who are responsible for crafting cocktails.

D&W: Audrey, what's your favorite use for an overproof spirit?

Audrey: Google for a photo of "kill-devil cocktail site:urbandaddy.com" [D&W note: or just click here] ; you will see a photo of our Kill-Devil Cocktail, and the simple flaming garnish that we give to it. We simply invert a lime disc, and add a dropper-full of Elixir Vegetal de la Grande-Chartreuse (71% Alcohol). The drink has a rhum agricole base, and this works beautifully with it.

D&W: Wayne, have you ever tried lighting gunpowder after it's been exposed to Navy Strength rum?

[D&W note: You'll have to attend the seminar to get Wayne's answer to this one!]

Thank you Audrey and Wayne! Looking forward to seeing the both of you along with Eric and Britt at your Tales session.

A Walk Through Chinatown

2010-05-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

Back in February some girlfriends and I went down to San Francisco for a few days of fun. One had never been (Kate's in Geneva) and the other hadn't been in over 10 years (Forest's in Paris). We did the usual trolley rides, bar hopping and of course dining around which I love to do whenever I'm in the city.

drinks at Clock Bar

One day we decided to go on a self guided walking tour of Chinatown, something I had not done before. It's such a fascinating area, feeling very foreign in places yet also screaming "tourist trap" in others. This is the oldest Chinatown in the states and the largest outside of Asia. Armed with our printed map we let Kate lead the way!

We started at the Dragon's Gate and poked into the funny souvenir shops which line Grant Ave. Resisting the urge to buy umbrellas, statues, pot holders and the like we continued on in search of a snack. Past the ornate dragon streetlamps and under the strings of lights and flags crisscrossing overhead we found our place. Where better than Eastern Bakery where none other than President Clinton also stopped in for a bite as this picture clearly states!

"President Bill Clinton came to visit Eastern Bakery on July 23, 1996 from 5:00pm to 5:30pm. He shook hands with everybody inside our bakery. All of us, our customers and employees were thrilled and it was just like a short but exciting and memorable party!!!!" Hey if it's good enough for Bill, it's good enough for 3 ladies on a little walk!

Bao in hand we continued on to Waverly Place, gazing up at the interesting multi-floored temples and all their flags and pennants. Also called "the street of painted balconies" it is here where you'll find the oldest Chinese temple in the USA, Tin How.

Continuing on to Spofford Alley, once home to opium dens, brothels, turf wars and secret society halls. Now it seems tame and ordinary, cluttered with beauty salons and florists. We found number 36 where reportedly Sun Yat met and helped the Ghee Kung Tong (the Chinese Freemasons) plot and overthrow China's last dynasty, the Manchus. Established in 1849 this 100,000+ member clandestine organization has quite a history!

A stone's throw away and we turned down Ross Alley. Kate thought this was cool as her last name is Ross. I thought this was cool as we were headed into the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company. Here 2 women sit and hand fold fortune cookies as it's been done since 1962. The machines cook the wafers on what look like mini griddles and then quickly a fortune is inserted and the cookie is folded before cooling and hardening. A gentleman keeps the people moving in and out quickly as the shop is very tiny. You can have samples of the flat or broken cookies or purchase bags of the finished products. And if you take a picture, like mine below, it'll cost you 50¢. You're welcome.

We wandered back down to Grant Street and browsed many dried herb and other "healing" products in the shops. Passed by more souvenir shops and buildings with the classic Chinese architecture. Saw 2 crazy looking cocktail bars that I now hear to be quite the "regulars" watering holes- Buddha Bar and Li-Po (I really want to check these out some day).

We ended our tour at Portsmouth Square. It was a very nice little walk, one I'd do again soon with other friends and one I'd recommend to you.

Other recommendations from this trip: great tiki drinks were had at Smuggler's Cove, we had an awesome dinner at Boulevard Restaurant, and we took full advantage of our 3-day Muni passes on the trolleys and streetcars.

photos here

The Olympic Spirit

2010-05-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

How is it May? And how did I forget to post about going to the Olympics? No clue but as our motto obviously is- "better late than never!"

Our good friend Andrew lives up in Vancouver and generously invited us to stay with him during the Olympics so we drove up mid week, found no one at the border and decided to wander around town until Andrew got off work.

Even though it was quite cold and rainy the streets were alive with people dressed up in their favorite country colors. We passed lots of lines to get into various tents, houses and attractions as we made our way to the Olympic Flame which was surrounded by chain link fencing, not very welcoming!

this picture was taken thru the links

After taking a bunch of pictures in the rain we picked up our tickets for our event the next day and headed to Andrew's to meet him, our friend Jeremy who just flew in from Geneva and their friend Allison. A round of gin and tonics while catching up and then out on the town for the night made for a very fun evening of catching up.

The next day we visited a few of the Pavillions and took the water taxi from Granville to the waterfront (I even got to drive it! All you have to do is ask! haha!)

Soon it was time to leave the beer and hockey fans inside the Ontario House and head to Cypress Mountain for our event- Ladies Aerials Finals!

Since no cars were allowed up the mountain we took the ferry to north Vancouver and then caught a bus up to Cypress. The ferry ride was great, I had never been to that part of the city before- really beautiful views of the downtown area, the Olympic Flame and the Olympic rings.

You might remember that during the Olympics Vancouver had the least amount of snow ever! There was a lot of worry about the outdoor events and as we drove up to Cypress we fully understood why. There was literally no snow until we reached the very top and even then it was scarce. But more worrisome was the fog. Thick, thick, thick! As we lined up at the entrance the crowd discussed the possibility of the event being canceled due to it. It was announced that the committee wouldn't make the decision to cancel until the event start time so we tried not to worry about it. Armed with beers and hot dogs we joined the enthusiastic crowd watching hockey semi finals on the big screen, that is when the fog cleared enough to see the big screen!

As the women started to do their practice jumps we made our way to our seats. The committee decided to move forward with the event even though the fog stayed put. We found ourselves 9 rows back with an amazing view of the jumps and landing! The crowd was having a hell of a good time, everyone friendly and decked out in their country colors. Since my mother was Canadian and my dad American Dayne and I decided to show support for both countries, but he got Canada haha!

The women athletes were amazing! They flew so high, twisting and twirling and somehow (most) managing to land on their skis. The crowd was LOUD! Fans (including us) waved flags, cowbells, bear bells, etc. and enjoyed every minute, every jump.

At the end an Australian woman was in 1st and China had the 2nd and 3rd spot. There was one jumper left, the favorite from China. The crowd was going CRAZY!!! Everyone was stomping on the bleachers - I thought they might break apart! Would China take all three spots or would the Aussie hold onto gold? Finally the Chinese woman flew off the ramp, soaring incredibly high, twisting more than should be possible. The crowd remained awed and silent as she came down for the landing. She fell. It was just too big of a jump but she gave it all she could knowing it was the only way she could medal. The crowd cheered and gave her a standing ovation, it was well deserved.

And then the Aussie fans went insane! Their girl was bringing home the gold! But it almost didn't matter which country was on the podium. It was one of the most exciting things I've witnessed. I've attended many professional basketball and baseball playoff games where the level of competition is high but this was different in that everyone cheered for each other and the camaraderie was genuine. We really felt part of the world, not just our country or state or city. It was emotional and as I type this I have to admit I feel emotional again!

Our too short trip wrapped up the next day after taking in more of the attractions, tents and crowds with our friends. We were still on a bit of a high from the night before and I think Dayne was really contemplating competing in Sochi 2014

We felt lucky to have been able to experience the city, it's people, it's visitors and the games. All photos can be found here

By the way while in town we really enjoyed and would recommend Pourhouse for cocktails, Lin Chinese for amazing soup dumplings and Nando's for peri peri chicken that we brought home for dinner!

Seattle, Quack!

2010-04-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Caution... bad puns ahead:

Back in February we had a gaggle of guests from Paris and Geneva staying with us. I love showing people around Seattle because it is so freaking gorgeous! Since time was limited we decided to take the Ride the Ducks Tour. I won't lie, I was SUPER excited as I had never gone on the Duck. Generally I loathe tourist things but this had just enough kitsch to get me on board!

After fueling up on CFS and breakfast margaritas at Peso's on lower Queen Anne we boarded our Duck and with our Captain at the helm set out to see the sites.

The Duck made it's way along the Waterfront, past Safeco and Qwest Fields, thru Pioneer Square and Downtown. We then got onto 99 heading towards Fremont. It was as we were driving past Queen Anne that I said to Dayne "there is something wrong with this Duck, it is slowing way down!" Our Captain then yelled back to us that we were breaking down and immediately got on his radio to headquarters. Smoke started billowing out of the engine as we drove over the bridge, a lot of smoke! Finally we were able to pull over and had to make an emergency exit!

The whole situation was crazy! After a bit of waiting a new Duck arrived to pick us up and continue our tour. Our Captain was visibly shaken but was doing his best to get things back on quack. It was at this point where we were to drive into Lake Union, the vehicle turning into a boat of sorts. Not feeling overly confident in the workings of these amphibious trucks a few of us were noticeably nervous as the truck drove straight into the lake. But once we were floating around we were able to take in the amazing view of the city and our Captain even took us (illegally) close to the houseboat where they filmed "Sleepless in Seattle".

A bit longer on the lake and then back on land we drove into Fremont and past the Troll and finally back to the base on lower Queen Anne.

All in all the tour was fun albeit a bit long as the 90 minute ride turned into a 3- hour tour....

Quack!

Cuba Wrap Up, Adios!

2010-04-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

It's time to wrap this Cuba trip up. Have I told you everything? Of course not, but I've got other trips to write about and there's still so much to tell!

There were the dinners in Havana's El Barrio Chino. A strange Chinatown with no Chinese people and an equally strange blend of Cuban and Chinese food on the menus. Highly recommended by Luis one of the restaurants was actually quite delicious. Our only gripe was that when I asked if it was family style or we should each order our own plate we were told to order our own. There was enough food leftover to feed a small army! The other Chinese restaurant not only ended up delivering some of the worst food ever but had us waiting practically all night for it. Our normally quiet and well behaved French friend Matt stormed into the kitchen demanding they bring out what was ready immediately!

Matt giving the kitchen the "what for!"

And there was the very interesting Museo de la Revolution, housed in the old Presidential Palace and decorated by Tiffany's of NYC. Inside we found life size Che & Fidel figures, a history of Cuba, their struggles against the world (told with an incredible communist slant, natch) and the funny Wall of Cretans!

And also the Capitolio Building, a gorgeous domed structure resembling the US Capitol that use to house the Cuban Congress. It's full of beautiful offices, libraries, huge bronze doors, and even a 35 foot statue of a woman. In the center of the main floor is a 24 carat diamond from which all distances between Havana and other cities in Cuba are measured.

There was the day spent in Vedado with it's huge abandoned mansions, amazing Art Deco, Hotel National, Plaza de la Revolucion and the cemetery Cristobal Colon, including it's impressive list of residents such as La Milagrosa

And one of the most fun nights spent up at the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana where Dayne shook drinks on a cannon before we all sat and watched the festivities of the nightly 9pm cannon shooting, complete with guards in costume!

Besides staying in a Casa Particular we also stayed at the Hotel Sevilla, considered to be a moderately upscale hotel. In addition to the stories about other thugs, writers and celebrities Al Capone once rented out the entire 6th floor here. We enjoyed their large rooms, running hot water, outdoor courtyard, music and mojitos.

And there was New Years Eve, which was a quiet one this year since we had to get up early the next day. We started with champagne, shared with Luis and Luisa at their home, then had a nice seafood dinner by the waterfront where we watched fireworks at midnight. There were parties in the streets as we headed home, people dancing and having a great time. Unfortunately for Tim and Forest, there is also a tradition of dropping water balloons off balconies, which they experienced first hand.

So there you have it, our Cuba trip 2009-2010 in a nut shell. Lots of pictures of all these things and more are in two sets here and here!

Around Town in Havana

2010-03-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

In every city there is bound to be some sort of tour guide activity, giving visitors a glimpse of the town in a condensed amount of time. New York has their "hop on, hop off" buses, London has the double decker bus tours, even Seattle has it's Ride the Duck tours. In Havana you get a horse and buggy. They are everywhere, they all look the same. The guides call out to you offering their services. How were we going to pick just one? How would we decide who was going to get our $30CUC (split between 6 of us).

"there they are, how do we choose?"

Woman tour manager: "Hello friends, take a tour around Havana?"
Forest: "Ummm, maybe. We're not sure."
Woman tour manager: "Look, I know you don't want to but come on."

How can you resist this type of salesmanship? We couldn't and so the 6 of us piled into a buggy driven by Wilfred for a little tour and some history about Havana.

We actually did this on our groups first day together, it was a really good way to get the layout of the city, see some of the monuments and learn a bit of history. We rode past the Museo de la Revolution with it's outdoor exhibit of the Granma, surrounded by vehicles used and planes shot down during the revolution.

From here we rode along the waterfront to the beautiful Plaza de la Catedral. Cubans dressed in traditional costume pose for (paid) pictures, music fills the square. The large Catedral de San Cristobal de la Havana sits on one side, once the resting place for the remains of Christopher Columbus!

Next stop was the Plaza de Armas. This is Havana's oldest square, originally laid out in the 1520's. There is a huge used book market set up daily in the center; magazines, books, post cards and programs bring back memories of the years before the embargo and of course the Revolution.

The Castillo de la Real Fuerza is also in the square. Built in 1558 it's the oldest existing fort in the America's complete with draw bridge, a moat and cannons!

On to the small Plaza de San Francisco de Asis with its beautiful fountain where we witnessed a girl having photos taken of her on her quinceañera, this is a traditional "debut" of sorts as the girl is now considered mature and will be permitted to marry in the next year (at 16).

With all this bumping around in the carriage we were very happy about our next stop, the Havana Club Rum Museum. Complete with salsa band and mojitos there are little exhibits set up explaining the process of making rum and the history of it.

It wasn't the best mojito we had but it gave us a chance to buy Wilfred a drink and hear more about his life. When I naively asked him where he might want to travel to he looked at me like a child and replied "this is a communist country, we are not allowed to travel anywhere". Being the beginning of our time in Cuba I hadn't learned about all these rules and felt ignorant of my knowledge of their life but Wilfred was very kind and continued to answer our questions both over the rum and back in the carriage.

We continued on our tour, past the main train station where we saw the incredibly old trains still running on the tracks built in the early 1900's. In fact Cuba was the sixth country in the world to have a railway, not much looks like it has changed including the Hershey Train which still runs today!

As a side note, transportation is looked upon as a bit of a joke in Cuba. Forest and I watched the movie "The Waiting List" (Lista de Espera) which is a very cute comedy outlining transit issues. Check it out if you're interested.

Past Parque de la Fraternidad with it's busts of Latin and North American leaders (including Lincoln) , the cigar factory (which unfortunately was closed for the holidays) and China Town (who knew?) we finished up our tour at the Parque Central Hotel where of course we went in for a cocktail. Of course!

Many thanks to fellow traveler Tim as most of the photos in this post are his. We had some technical difficulties and lost most of our photos from the first 4 days due to a bad thumb drive. Thanks Tim!

To Do: drinking in Havana

2010-03-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that I love to-do lists, I love to write them out on my pretty Kate Spade Short List paper, I love to cross off each thing I've done and I love to complete my list- pull out a new sheet- and make a new list. I'm excited to cross of "write bar blog post" when I've finished this!

I consider a category of sites in a guidebook like a ready made list. If you flip through my collection of guidebooks you'll see sites/places/restaurants/bars that are circled; that means I want to go there. And you'll see sites/places/restaurants/bars that are highlighted in pretty green, pink or yellow; that means I've been there! I get very excited about adding more and more highlights in my guidebook as I re-visit places. For the places we have only visited once there only the few highlights that time allowed for.

As Forest, Dayne and I were consulting the "Drinking" section in our Lonely Planet Cuba Guidebook one afternoon we realized we had hit almost all the bars listed in Havana, why not set our goals high and hit them all since we had 10 days in the city? And so we did! Here is our review of LP's list; a bar crawl around Havana; and/or just us drinkers doing some bragging.

La Lluvia de Oro- I loved this bar on Obispo. It's been open since 1939. Loud salsa music spills into the street drawing us in. Who doesn't love a bar where the band gets the crowd involved, Forest was so involved she actually played with them!

And they had this adorable kid who was really quite good- a sure tip earner! This house band sang, danced and looked like they were having a great time. We only left when they stopped serving!

We've already covered La Bodeguita del Medio and El Floridita, so next up is Cafe Paris. As you can tell from the picture we literally stumbled upon this bar.

Tim and I enjoying our Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain...

Loud but not as charming as others, we stayed for one round and made our way out. Maybe they were having a bad night but the music wasn't as good as other places and the drinks weren't particularly good either.

We made a quick stop at Bar La Marina one late afternoon. It's an open air bar with a vine covered ceiling. They have an old hand cranked sugarcane juicer and offer a nice selection of fruit drinks as well as cocktails.

Bar Dos Hermanos- One of the oldest bars in Havana, it was opened by two brothers in 1894. It's large, has great old star photographs lining the walls and has been newly remodeled but even with all of that we couldn't love it. The service was really bad and we ended up leaving pretty disappointed. Dayne did take the opportunity to write a little note to our President while waiting on his cocktail however.

La Dichosa is unmarked but found on Obispo by listening for the music and watching for the crowd spilling from it's doorway. We somehow snagged a table one night and ordered big beers and pizzas. The band was good, it's quite a tourist draw and it was a very fun and lively stop along the way.

Cafe Taberna is in the gorgeous Plaza Vieja. Opened in 1772, it's a very pretty bar with a few outside tables. Every morning at 9am you can take free salsa lessons!

On the opposite corner of the square is the Taberna de la Muralla. They have a huge outside patio and a fairly descent house band. They are known for their "Giraffes" of home brewed beer, which was quite good. That's way more than we could say about the food, most was inedible. The cheese and crackers I had stashed in my purse came in handy that day! But I'd go back and just enjoy the music, beer and outdoor patio.

We were really looking forward to checking out El Baturro who's description in LP is "Part of a long tradition of drinking houses situated next to train stations, El Baturro is a rough-and-ready Spanish bistro with a long wooden bar and an all-male - aggressively so - clientele. Don't come here if you're looking for girly cocktails." Woohoo! Bring on the rough and ready men! Does this look rough and ready to you?

Dud.

Monserrate Bar, one of the first bars we went to on the advice of Luis (who just sent me a nice little email last week saying "hi")and one of my favorites. This is a great bar with a fabulous house band led by crooner William Valoy who, upon doing a bit of research on, turns out to have done some back up vocals for Company Segundo who you may be familiar with as he was a composer for the Buena Vista Social Club.

There was always a crowd here and many locals were perched outside listening to the music. Good cheap pizzas and excellent mojitos. An excellent bar.

There were other bars we tried, some listed in the book and some found randomly- hotel bars and rooftops bars and even a fake bar where they said the Buena Vista Social Club use to play. But without hesitation I can tell you that our favorite bar wasn't in the guidebook at all. Bar Castillo de Farnes attracts all kinds- locals, tourists and jineteros. It's open late and they have plenty of rum- about $1.50CUC for a glass of 7 year old Havana Club. But best of all they have Felix who makes the best damn mojitos in all of Havana. Oh and I also found out that Ché and Castro toasted the success of the Revolution right here at the Castillo. We stopped in every single night!

It's good to have goals and even better to accomplish them!

A 3 Hour Tour...

2010-03-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Early in the morning of New Years Day our group of 6 boarded a tour bus headed for the Valle de Viñales, a 3 hour drive from Havana. This area is known for their tobacco farms, haystack looking limestone mountains and general laid-back culture.

Originally our plan had been to leave Havana for a few days and travel to another part of the island but being the holiday season there were no cars to rent and no tickets for the passenger buses available. Also realizing that Havana was pretty closed up on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day- as far as sites go- we decided on a day trip.

Our first stop was to a tobacco farm where our guide explained the growing and drying process of the plants. She also explained how the cigars on the farm didn't have the paper rings on them because they hadn't been authorized by the government but were the same tobacco leaf that was used in the big name brands. The farmers were selling these in their own homemade boxes at a very good price. It's also another way for them to get CUCs from the tourists. Next to this farm was a little rest stop with a cafe, piña colada stand and gift shop. The highway was empty except for the occasional American classic car or lone cow and it's the only highway in Cuba, built originally to span the entire length of the island it falls short about half way.

The drive out to the Valle de Viñales is gorgeous! Acres and acres of lush, green farms being plowed by ox turn into green hills and finally mountains. When we turned off the autopista the road was very narrow and unpaved in parts. I was a bit worried that the bus would perhaps go off the cliff as it followed the twisting road over a mountain range. The road was so winding that the driver had to pull over quite suddenly for one of the passengers who was a bit motion sick. Ugh.

Tour stop #2- La Mural de la Prehistoria. On the side of a large cliff is a huge painting depicting the theory of evolution. It's a bit trippy when you look at it- snails, dinosaurs, sea monsters, people. The site also has a little bar boasting the best piña coladas around. It was at the bar with our guide that we got to talk to her about life in Cuba, work, America, fleeing relatives and the future. She was very open and direct with her opinions- surprisingly so- and we learned a lot about her life and her family, both the one's in Cuba and the one's who had left for America.

A short drive from the mural we stopped again and our guide told us we would be walking in an old Indian cave that was discovered in 1920. I think we all thought of a shallow cave with a big opening but what we got was an amazing tunnel of stalactites and stalagmites (bonus points if you know which are which!) complete with an underground river (which they now run very touristy boats thru, pointing out cave markings). I just loved this cave though! There was even one part where you really had to shimmy thru an opening to the next "room". Spelunkers!

After a really good lunch of rice, beans, salad and beers our group boarded the bus again and made it's way into the town of Viñales where we got to explore for a bit. It's a sleepy town full of casa particulars, hostels and houses with rocking chairs on their front porches.

As I was wandering around I went into the Casa de la Cultura which is the oldest building in Viñales. I asked the woman who looked to be working there if it was ok to go upstairs, she told me to follow her. She led me up to the rickety second floor and pointed out a couple of huge murals on the walls. She also took me into the theater and explained that it held party meetings as well as theater productions. She was very excited to reveal a hidden view of the valley behind a particular curtain. A few CUCs changed hands as I left, thanking her.

One last stop to take in more amazing views and then we had a 3 hour drive back to Havana.

We each spent $55CUC for the trip which was a great price for everything we saw and did, including lunch. I'd recommend Viñales for a day trip if you are ever in Cuba. More pictures of the area are here.

Hemingway was here...

2010-02-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

Some people really get around, you know? Italy, Paris, Africa, Caribbean Islands, Key West, Cuba... I'm not listing some of our travels (although we have been to all of those places!) but rather some of the locations that Ernest Hemingway traveled to and lived in.

Cuba was his home for 21 years and his last residence before moving to Idaho and committing suicide in 1961. It was here that he won the Nobel Prize in Literature and where he wrote his last novel A Movable Feast.

It's hard to walk very far in Havana without stumbling upon a bar or hotel where "Papa" hung out and we made our way to most all of them. Our first cocktail upon arrival in the city was at the now very touristy La Floridita where they have an honorary bar stool and bronze cast of him. La Floridita is famous for their daiquiris and also the invention of the Hemingway Daiquiri. There are many stories about the creation of this cocktail, one is that his fourth wife Mary Welsh urged head bartender Contstanino Ribailagua to create a drink without sugar as Ernest was diabetic. Knowing that his customer really liked to drink (he reportedly drank 16 one evening!) he came up with the Papa Doble or Hemingway Daiquiri, which replaces the sugar with maraschino liquor and includes a double shot of rum and grapefruit juice.

But Hemingway did not survive on daiquiris alone, there were mojitos. Lots and lots of mojitos served to him at La Bodeguita del Medio. And although we hadn't been to Havana before this was not our first time drinking at La Bodeguita.

Ernest's first year in Cuba was spent living at the Hotel Ambos Mundos in room 511. This is the view he looked out at as he wrote The Green Hills of Africa and Death in the Afternoon on the typewriter in the glass case. There is a very nice man who will give you a bit of history of the room and Hemingway's time spent in Cuba for a $2CUC donation.

In 1940 Hemingway moved to the southern outskirts of Havana into a beautiful house, Finca Vigia, in San Francisco de Paula. When he left for Idaho he left the house and all it's possessions to the Cuban people. The government sealed the house, brought his boat the Pilar to the site and reopened it as a museum.

We all thought the Hemingway house was a highlight of our trip, there is an amazing collection of nick nacks, wild animal mounts, trophys, records and approximately 9,000 books! Books everywhere!

You actually aren't allowed inside the house because there are so many things that it would be too easy for tourists to steal items. Instead the doors and windows are open and you can walk all the way around the house and see into each room, well almost each room. The kitchen and Ernest's bedroom are not viewable. Want to see some "secret" photos of them? Well lucky you!

One of the museum workers offered to take these pictures for me, just like so many Cubans it was an easy way for her to get a few CUCs as a "tip" from me.

Next to the house is a tower and at the top is an amazing office with an even more amazing view of Havana. The museum has also filled one of the tower rooms with a collection of fishing trophies and memorabilia.

The large swimming pool, now empty, was once the site of many famous gatherings of writers and actors such as Spencer Tracy, Errol Flynn, Jean-Paul Sartre and Ava Gardner (who repeatedly swam naked in it). Nearby the pool are the grave markers of 4 of Ernest's dogs, interesting to me as I had only known about his cats before (rumored to be around 57 of them).

And then of course there is the Pilar, the 38 foot boat that Hemingway not only competitively fished on but also patrolled the Cuban coast for U-Boats and allegedly ran the Crook Factory, a pickup spy network during WWII.

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."

Ernest Hemingway got around and so do we! Mix up a Papa Doble and view more pictures of Hemingway's Havana and the Finca Vigia here

Based on the recipe from La Floridita for 1 serving

2 jiggers Havana Club rum
(1 jigger = 1 1/2 ounces)
Juice of 2 limes
Juice of 1/2 grapefruit
6 drops of maraschino (cherry brandy)

Fill a blender one-quarter full of ice, preferably shaved or cracked. Add the rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice and maraschino.
Blend on high until the mixture turns cloudy and light-colored.

cheers!

Ticket to the Forbidden Island

2010-02-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot of questions about how we arranged our trip to Cuba so here's the scoop.

The United States first placed an embargo on Cuba in 1960. Since then there has been an economic, financial and/or commercial embargo in place in full or partially. Each President and each year brings changes either tightening or loosening the restrictions, recently the Obama administration has agreed to allow Cuban Americans with relatives in Cuba to travel to the country to visit family.

Since we don't have any relatives in Cuba we had to figure out another way in. And although Cuba wants tourists and has no problems with Americans entering the country they aren't able to accept US credit cards which throws a big wrench into trying to make hotel and air reservations.

This also meant that we had to take as much cash as we would will need for our entire vacation, no debit cards or ATMs are available to Americans. Additionally US dollars are being taken out of circulation there so the charge to exchange them is very expensive. We chose to bring both Canadian and Mexican currencies with us to exchange which seemed to work out well but did involve some pre-planning.

Most people assume that flying through Canada is the best way to go since Canadians can legally travel there but what many people don't know is that Canada shares flight manifests with the US. The best ways of entry are Mexico or the Caribbean Islands. We chose a non stop flight from Seattle to Cancun on Alaska Airlines. Earning mileage for travel to the Forbidden Island? Priceless! There are only 2 flights a day to Havana and since there is a 3 hour layover required to fly the same day, we chose an inexpensive hotel and spent the night. We flew on Christmas day, met Forest at the hotel and that evening was spent in warm Cancun, drinking margaritas decorated with gum drops and eating tacos and ceviche.

We took the advice from a friend who had gone a couple of years ago and had a really good experience using a US based travel agent who specializes in helping Americans into the country. Don't ask me how all this works, I'm sure we don't want to know! I really can't say enough about our agent Madison and all she did to help us out. She arranged our flights from Cancun to Havana and gave us options of sending a check or using a credit card that she would run through another agent in the Caribbean. She told us which counter to go to and the name of the person to ask for to pick up our tickets in the Cancun airport. I won't lie, this was the first time I felt uneasy and unsure, what if we got ripped off? Doesn't this all sound so clandestine?

But everything was just as she had said and our tickets and tourist visas were all there. The only glitch we encountered while checking in for our flight was that Forest had to pay a departure tax since she had been there for more than 24 hours which we still aren't really clear about.

On to lodging... our friend's sister had recently stayed in Havana at a private casa particular and had contacted her family. Although they didn't have any availability they recommended and contacted Luis and Luisa for us. We paid cash upon arrival for our room. Our travel mates Forest and Tim booked their casa online, also paying in cash upon arrival. We arranged for a driver to meet us at the airport and drive us into town using that site too.

Booking a hotel for our last couple of days proved to be a bit more complicated as no one could take a US credit card. We booked our stay at the Hotel Sevilla thru this site but had to use our French friend's credit card. Madison could have also booked our room but since it was the high season her connections just didn't have anything available in our price range.

Our return flight was uneventful up until the point when the Mexican customs agent stamped our passports. I had asked if we could go unstamped but he said no. Having two entry stamps to Mexico may have alerted US customs agents so we all spent the evening in Cancun devising stories, looking into alternative locations that we possibly could have gone too and in general worrying about our trip home the next day.

Our worries were completely unnecessary though, the passport control in Seattle barely glanced at our passport as he welcomed us home and customs agents waved us and our suitcases packed with rum through lickety split.

Hope this information helps! I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Life at casa Luis y Luisa

2010-01-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

The man who we had hired to pick us up at the airport and drive us to Havana, stopped to ask some people on the street about the address we were going to. As they pointed back to the direction we had just come from he put the old Russian Lada in reverse and backed up 3 blocks. Why bother to turn around when you can just back up, it's not like there is any traffic anyway. Another lesson in Cuban living.

We knocked at the tall wooden doors at number 28 in Central Havana. The street was dark, really dark. All the other streets were too. No one answered so we rang the bell. Our driver made noises, he didn't speak any English and I could tell he wondered if we knew where we were suppose to be. I showed him the phone number, he called the house and finally Luisa opened the door- unfortunately we could tell she was not expecting us. Her husband Luis came and spoke to us, I showed him our name on his reservation book and we figured out he had mistakenly expected us the next night.

"It's no problem!" We would hear this over and over again. People here seem to expect the unexpected and just deal with it.

Cubans are allowed to rent out rooms in their house to tourists in order to make money if they get the proper license and pay special taxes. Luis handed each of us each a plastic drinking cup, poured us a glass of Havana Club and invited us to sit in the living room while they made up our room. We were to pay $25 per night and would be living in the family's home for 8 days. For $4 each we could have breakfast in the morning.

This large pork leg was with us in the living room, rubbed down with garlic and salt. We didn't know anything about the meat and pork situation yet but still found it funny that it was just hanging out. The next morning it was gone and we were sitting at the same table having breakfast (fruit, eggs, bread, juice and coffee) and talking to Luis about our plans for the day. He told us they were having a big party at the house at 3pm and we should come, yeah! we love a party! After doing a bit of sightseeing and enjoying a ridiculously cheap lunch of brochettes and beers we went to the dollar store for our host gift, 7 year old Havana Club rum. Our next stop was a convenience store near our neighborhood for some ice but the freezers were empty. We asked the clerk and he gave us a plastic bag and directed us next door to the hotel. Feeling a bit weird about just asking for a bag of ice we ordered a round of mojitos and enjoyed some music on the patio at the Hotel Seville.

Ice in hand we headed back to the casa around 3:30- fashionably late even in a 3rd world country. Luis and Luisa greeted us, graciously took the rum and made room in the freezer for our ice. The house was full of friends and relatives, the courtyard decorated with balloons and streamers. There was a huge table loaded with homemade tamales, croquettes, potato salad, rice, beans and roasted pork! The leg from last night was now center stage at the party. Luisa served us up on large Styrofoam trays like you find under your supermarket poultry and meat. You could tell they were very proud to be able to provide all this.

As Dayne mixed up martini's for everyone, Luis passed out plastic drinking cups and I passed out ginger snap cookies that my mother in law had sent along for us. The cookies were good and gobbled up but the gin martini's were a BIG hit! From then on out every day we came home from sightseeing Luis would call out "Dayne, my friend! Is it time for martini's?"

Everyone at the party was having a blast drinking and dancing. One of Luis' friends gave both Forest and me a salsa lesson and as the day turned to night everyone did the Electric Slide! We felt really lucky to be invited to see such a "real" slice of Cuban life (the other renters in the house were not invited).

Since we do have a tradition of having aperos before going out at night while on vacation and we knew that snack foods were going to be scarce we all packed some things and brought them with us. We purchased a set of 6 glasses (real glass!) for $5 (quite a splurge for your average Cuban) and each night as Dayne mixed gin, French vermouth and bitters Forest and I laid out snacks that we found in town or in our suitcases - pepperoni sticks, canned almonds, Goldfish crackers, Pringles, cheese & crackers, etc. We invited Luis and Luisa to join us and we chatted about the day, their life, happenings in the neighborhood, etc.

On New Years eve we gathered as usual and invited the family to share champagne with us. Our friends Matt & Violaine had brought a few bottles of Veuve Clicquot (as well as plastic champagne flutes) and I had brought a California sparkling from J Vineyards. Luisa especially enjoyed the champagne and was asking me about the different bottles. I'll bet these are on display in their house now.

And finally on our last night at Casa Luis and Luisa we came home from our daily outings to find the family in the kitchen, singing to songs being played on the computer and drinking beers out of the plastic flutes we had left them after new years eve. Immediately they hugged and kissed us, handed us cold beers and introduced us to their friend who was visiting from Canada, he was also Cuban. We all laughed at the mix of Cuban, French and American that stood in the kitchen.

Luis and Luisa have definitely found ways to make more money which allows them to have many more "luxuries" than most but it is still very hard as Luis told us. The government is always watching. The family gathers mainly in the back of the house where the kitchen is, 60 feet from listening ears that could be outside the front door. They worry about getting fined for renting out too many rooms, not reporting all income, having computers, internet, etc. They share with their friends and build a referral network for room renters, private drivers, dinners in homes, etc. And at the end of the day, no matter how much money you have there is still a huge shortage of basics available for sale so they take care of what they have and try to celebrate the little things in life.

When we checked out we gave them the glasses we had bought, Tupperware we had brought, a bag of things like Advil, toothpaste, toothbrushes, crayons, newspapers, etc. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a bit sad as I hugged them both goodbye. They are very nice people.

Salud to you Luis, Luisa and your family! Thanks for letting us into your home and into your lives, even if it was just for a week. And if you ever get the chance to have Luisa's homemade tamales you will count yourself lucky as they were so good Forest and I talked about them the entire time in Havana.

Farmers Markets, Cuban Style

2010-01-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

Since we visited our local farmers market today it got me thinking about the farmers market we happened upon in Havana Vieja. There are a few 'agros' around the city, generally they are in a permanent location and are run daily. There was even one right on the corner by our casa particular, it was very sad looking. But it is only at these agros that vendors can set their own prices, an experiment in capitalism that was started in 1980. Peeking into them whenever we passed by, we would see a few tables with some taro, potatoes and cabbage. Notice I didn't say "piled high". There isn't enough of anything to be piled high.

But this market was different. Set up on the busy Prado in front of the Capitolio there were signs saying this was a special holiday market. And just like here in Ballard there were many street food vendors selling croquettes, pan con lechón, and ice cream.

There was also a long line of old trucks full of unripe bananas, yuca, rice, malanga, cabbage & plantains. A very limited selection to say the least but more than at the agros. Each farmer just sold one thing. Customers lined up and had their vegetables weighed on old fashion scales, paying in pesos and adding things to the plastic bag they had brought with them.

One or two tents had tables set up and are selling pork. This really is a special holiday market as very few Cubans have the opportunity to buy pork. Lines are long, very long. It's the first time I am realizing that the Cuban people stand in line for a lot of things, it is a part of life here.

I'm sure that just like Dayne and I, when we left our farmers market today, people need to run into the grocery store for a few odds and ends. Only here it's quite a different situation as you can see...

This is how every shop looks. And to call these grocery stores is a bit of a reach since there is no produce section, freezer section, etc. There is little variety and little in general. Can you imagine if a Cuban citizen walked into a Costco in the states? Uh, wow!

Intro to Cuba

2010-01-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you go somewhere that is so foreign to your senses that you can't help but to stare at everything around. You can't ask enough questions or get enough answers to fill the voids of knowledge that confront you. As someone who has a pretty easy life you think "how can people live like this?" yet they do and you wonder if they even know how different it is. I'm talking about Cuba, Havana to be specific as that is where we spent most of our time. A city with almost 2.5 million people living amidst incredible architecture, although it's crumbling around their feet. Electricity is scarce here so the city at night sits in darkness for the most part. Store shelves are filled with the same thing over and over and over if they are filled at all. Music streams out of hotels and bars as locals sit outside to listen, they aren't allowed in most places and even if they were they don't have money for a drink. Ration lines for bread snake 3 blocks long. Neighbors sit in their doorways and call out to each other, behind them their homes are dark and empty.

I've never been to a communist country before. I've never been to a country with so many rules, one set for tourists and the other for the nationals. Different currencies, different shops, different taxis. Different.

If this all sounds a bit depressing, it can be. Some people are poor and hungry and dirty and without resources. But others are prospering. They wear designer clothes, they have laptops, digital cameras and pork. They are trying to run businesses and make money for their families and friends. They share everything they have- even with us. We experienced this time and time again. It's a classic case of the "haves" and the "have nots" brought on by a government who decided that two currencies- the CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) and the CUP (Cuban Peso) would somehow be a great idea.

You need CUCs to buy the better things- nice clothes, meat, better groceries, housewares, etc. The only way to get them is to work where you will come in contact with tourists. CUPs are used in the post office, with street vendors, in state run grocery stores. The average monthly wage in Cuba is $25, the average price of necessities- food, toilet paper, rum- is very similar to what it is here in the states. You figure out the math.

But there is so much more to Havana than crumbling buildings and grocery store shortages. There is so much history, pride and belief in a better tomorrow. All you have to do is ask and people will tell you about their families, their education and who they know who lives in the States.

Team Cuba (made up of 2 French and 4 Americans) spent 10 days in Havana and still didn't see everything. But what we saw, heard and experienced has made a lasting impression and I hope to share a bit of that here with you, stay tuned!

Exploring the 18th

2009-12-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

When I was in Paris in September Forest was in the process of moving to a small apartment in the 18th arrondissement, an area I hadn't spent much time in before but was excited to explore. The area is know mainly as Montmartre and is home to the gorgeous Sacre Coeur basilica and it's equally gorgeous views of the city.

Originally this area wasn't a part of Paris proper and it's inhabitants saw themselves living in a distinct and raucous village. It wasn't until 1860 that Montmartre was annexed and even today the area has it's own mayor. It's been home to many famous artists such as Picasso, Dali and Toulouse Lautrec. With artists comes nightlife and who isn't aware of the nightlife that was the Moulin Rouge? This is also the area that the Russians occupied in 1814 during the Peninsular War. Many believe the term bistro came about from the Russian word bystro which means quickly- therefore referring to the restaurants here as places to get a quick bite.

Enough of the history lessons! The 18th today is jammed with tourists at the base of Sacre Coeur where Forest's apartment is. Con men have their tables set up in the street to entice you to try your luck at finding the disc that has the white bottom (like a ball under the shell routine). Souvenir shops line the road from the metro stop to Square Willette park. You step outside Forest's front door and are immediately in the mass of guided tours, people taking pictures, vendors hawking goods- they seem surprised that you just emerged from this little door that no one had noticed until then.

When we went to Le Tres Particulier we climbed the hill on it's west side. As we left we wandered the streets north and east, climbing up to it's tip top and ending up on Rue Norvins. This is a lively area and beautiful at dusk. The very old and famous restaurant (once cabaret) Le Consulat greeted us.

We continued across the top, finally walking behind the basilica and started down the east slope. Our destination was a little cafe with a wonderful outdoor terrace called L'ete en Pente Douce. This little spot is at the top of the stairs on Rue Paul Albert and was recommended to me by my cab driver when I arrived from the airport- she lives in the 18th also. We stopped here with friends after dinner and enjoyed cognacs outside, the night still warm but starting to have the feel of fall chill.

The area is filled with boutiques, wine shops, bistros, bars, fromageries, the well know Marche St Pierre, and even an American style diner. And of course the Moulin Rouge. It is really interesting for exploring and I would recommend anyone who hasn't veered off the beaten path in the 18th to take some time and do so.