Christmas 2011

A quick trip to Minnesota for Christmas with family. Most unusual weather-no snow and not even truly cold!

This was my traditional Christmas-great dinner, fun white elephant, singing, presents, almost exactly as we have done if for all the 40 years I can remember. E- has learned to love it all, but especially the day after.  December 26th-visit the Mall of America for lunch, gift returns and a visit to the Peep store.  Yes, a whole store dedicated to sugar covered marshmallows.  They manage to fill the store with extras-plushies, keychains and candles.  The really fantastic thing is that they are giving out free foam hats and almost everyone in our group of 12 gets one...and proceeds to wear them throughout the mall for the next couple hours.  We are quite a site-if you were there that day you could not miss us!

December 27th we take a special trip to the SPAM museum in Austin, MN.  A movie, some history, a practice factory, and samples!

Each Golden cube is an empty SPAM can.

 SPAM Craft

SPAMburger

Movie theater entrance

They have Monty Python on a loop. Everybody can learn the words to SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, Eggs and SPAM

Hearst Castle, Presidents's Day Weekend, 2012

The long weekend gave me a chance to see Hearst Castle, which has been on the list a long time!  We did actually try before, but were blocked by a rock slide on 1, the Pacific Coast Highway.  Turns out that happens a lot and if you are planning on driving it, better check out the status before you leave the house.

Drive down
Nothing eventful on the drive down-we took 101 down and got to see the wine region near Paso Robles before stopping in Cambria for lunch.  Cambria is a very sweet, sleepy seaside resort town where the food could be hit or miss, so we planned ahead and got brunch at Robin's.  Great reviews online and we weren't disappointed-an international twist with fresh local food (chorizo, avacado and egg in a sandwich, and lox and egg on naan).

After lunch we visited Seekers Glass shop just across the street.  It has been around since the 80s and one of the group remembers going there as a teenager!  Decorative glass objects in every style you can think of, but the dragon with hotdog took the cake for whimsy!

Hearst Castle
You can see it from the highway and you know that you are in for some great ocean views. The system is well designed-plenty of parking, giant visitors center with everything to keep you busy for more than an hour-movie, snacks, extra exhibits, gift shop and an outdoor patio.  Don't arrive after noon without reservations, the tours sell out!  Buses take you up the hill and give you a nice introduction to the estate and as a bonus it is narrated by Alex Trebek, though no one on the internet knows why.

Most people on their first visit would start with the Grand Rooms tours, but we went with the Upstairs Suites.  I find the more intimate parts of a fancy house can be more insightful.  What we find out is that Hearst was eccentric (if you are poor you are odd, but when you have money you are eccentric).  Changed his mind about everything, mixed and matched originals with replicas and wanted a house filled with lots and lots of ornate stuff.

Wow, what an uncomfortable place to live-too many things competing for your eyes.  This was his 'office'.

And a strange style, super fancy spacious rooms, but many narrow unfinished hallways and stairs.  After your official tour, you can wander the grounds to see the famous pools and guest houses.

 Outdoor Pool

Indoor pool-I think this is the best room in the estate.

I really enjoyed the fruit trees but there is no picking the fruit and they don't even harvest it themselves.  It is a lost money making opportunity!  They do sell the Hearst Ranch beef because it is still a working farm and folks would love a bag of oranges, or better, marmalade!

After all that grandeur he managed to add something tasteful as well.  The outdoor floor tiles are simple but pretty with a cohesive yellow/orange and blue color scheme and themed but not identical.

Drive home
We don't dilly dally because we drive back up 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) in order to see the ocean and the sunset.  It is worth it every once in a while, just be prepared for a slower drive, what with all the curvy parts and stopping for the view.

 

Final stop is dinner in a funky taqueria in downtown Monterey.  Thanks to yelp for the good reviews and my friends for the day out and their photos!

Labor Day weekend 2011

Remembrance of a summer weekend.

Sunday hike in the Redwoods
A hike in Big Basin is a fantastic plan on this Labor day weekend...but we know from past experience that it will be BUSY.  So being clever folks we get up earlier than we would like, hustle over to the park and it works like a charm.  We have no problems parking and are planning our hike by 9:30 am.

Since we are here early, we decide on a longer hike-the 4 mile loop hike to see Semperviren Falls.  On the way out we pass a bunch of campsites and a few groups on the dusty trail, but it is mostly quiet as we walk under the giant trees.  The falls is not all that impressive since it is the end of summer, so minimal water flow.  But it makes a lovely sound that is a nice change from the quiet of the forest.

The next part of the hike is right along the creek that comes out of the falls and it occurs to me that if we are going to see a banana slug, this is the place!  I love the banana slug-they are icky and fascinating at the same time.  They are only near the Pacific coast and are the mascot for the University of Santa Cruz.  Sure enough we turn the corner and right there in front of us are 2 banana slugs-bonus! They are a circle, head to tail, moving slowly and it looks like they are biting each other.  Huh.  That is odd, what the heck is going...ohhhh...could it be?  Maybe?  After we get home I look it up and sure enough they were mating-how cool is that!

The last section of the hike has information on some of the families that lived here in the 1800s.  Wow, it is not easy to get here in today, the isolation back in the day must have been extreme-not my idea of fun!  As we get back into the car around noon it is starting to get hot and crowded-score one for the early birds!

Monday visit to the Aquarium
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the best in the world and is a stellar way to spend a day.  They are able to keep sharks in captivity longer than any other aquarium but it only happens every other year or so.  They usually get ones that have accidentally been captured by fishermen, keep them until they are too stressed out and then release them. This time they have one that they caught on purpose-a male juvenile great white. 

Again we get up early so that we get in as the doors open, yup, everyone is coming to see the shark.  If your main thoughts of sharks are of Jaws or Mega-Shark, the real deal may be underwhelming.  In the big ocean tank he is totally at home, just another one of the guys slowly swimming around, checking stuff out, totally not eating everything in site.  Graceful and calm. The biggest crowd reaction was not even to the shark, but to the sardines.  The sardine school entered stage left and when they were front and center made a quick dive down and back to the corner.  The whole crowd gasped in unison, it was just so cool.

Of course the rest of the  day was wonderful, sea dragons, seahorses, jellies, rays, flamingos and spoonbills and yummy sustainable fish at the restaurant.    Maybe I shouldn't wait for a shark for the next visit!

World's Largest Puzzle and Thanksgiving 2011

2011 Thanksgiving had people traveling to us, rather than us traveling!

Wednesday night was epic-we put together the 24,000 piece puzzle that I have been putting together over the last year.  I put it together as 4 puzzles of 6,000 pieces each and this was when it got  put together into one piece.

We started Thursday with our local Turkey trot-we walked rapidly through downtown on the lovely slightly foggy morning.  Then we came back and cooked our little hearts out so that we could eat until our bellies were not so little.  Here are a couple highlights-stuffing in the pumpkin, fully dressed tofurkey, and the pie table!

Brief visit to Crete, in Opera format

I saw Idomeneo, a Mozart opera, that takes place in Crete, at the San Jose opera this fall season.  The staging was fantastic-they had gotten some extra money and it showed.  They used Minoan art to inspire the set design.  See the bull vaulting fresco for a great example. Now, I still want to visit actual Crete, but this was a nice way to get a taste.

Work trip to Europe October 2011, second half

No photos since this was so work focused.

Lazy weekend in Budapest.  Dinner at Nobu (yes, that Nobu-he has 20 restaurants around the world) with the sake tasting menu.  All the fish is amazing, but OMG the wagu beef cubes-like butter!    Wine tasting with friends.  12 Hungarian wines, 6 white, 6 red, tasted by 13 people, basically a bottle a person except for the post-tasting bottles, call it a bottle and a half.  Now I definitely need the next day to be lazy and recover.  Ate a chocolate covered cottage cheese stick.  It was a firm cottage cheese, not the liquidy stuff on salad bars, almost a mozzarella stick, but with the hint of sour-surprisingly good for something with such a bad description.

Trip to Sweden!  As we land in Stockholm, it is damp and grey, the same as Budapest.  But the Arlanda airport makes me want to move to Sweden.  Hardwood floors, all glass windows, clean, organized, and welcoming.  The drive to the outskirts also feels friendly to me because it looks just like the best of the midwest, rolling hills, cut away rocks, evergreens and birch.

Our transportation for the evening is a cruise ship!  We hop onto the Gabriella and sail into the Baltic Sea.  For the first hour or so we are going out past the shore and it is incredibly picturesque.  Cute homes along a well manicured shore-all propped up with stone walls, green grasses and trees all over the place.  On the cruise there is of course the buffet-but we are cleverer than that, we opt for NOT the buffet so that we don’t overeat. So clever…we order an appetizer each and a main entre to share.  And since we are sharing we go a little extragavant and order the seafood platter, with lobster…except there is confusion and we get the platter for two-oh well, the best laid plans!  The first part of the journey is relatively choppy and we fall asleep to the rocking of the boat.  In the morning though it is completely calm and I spend a little time on our balcony watching the little waves.  There are 2 other cruise ships, 3 non cruise ships and an oil drilling rig-spiffy!  Pulling into the port of Helsinki was much faster, it is right on the sea edge and the view is more rugged-little islands run right into the water.

In the port of Helsinki we spend a few hours in the lobby of the Grand Mariner hotel for a little coffee and internet access.  The countryside is lovely and green, but we are barely here and then off to Sweden again by more conventional plane-Molndal outside of Goteburg.

By train from Goteburg to Copenhagen-it is worth an extra $20 to get the first class seats where there are fewer people and it is quiet.  4 hours of green countryside….I nap!  The best part is the bridge over the water to Denmark-a whole line of the windmills we have been seeing, but in the water.  There is a capsizing boat-oh no!  but then the guy in a nearby seat says it has been there for awhile.

Copenhagen-hotel on the doorstep of the train station and Tivoli.  Tivoli is decorated for Halloween and there is a line to pay and go in, so we don’t and instead walk along the pedestrian walkway to the habor.  Lovely theater building overlooking the water.  Wander around the area looking for a wine bar or Italian restaurant but they are not quite right until we find THE spot.  It is clear it is the place to be-it is a busy oasis in a quiet desert!  Mojito and a cider, mussels and a burger.  M has been putting up with my American-style eating, so I practice being European and eat it all with a knife and fork-it is impossible to get a bite of everything at once, but I must admit it is neater. 

Manchester-all these tiny little roads with no shoulder to speak of, no visibility because of all the high green hedges and just a bit disconcerting to be on the wrong side of the road.  But the pub food is good-sweet potato fries!


Off to a little vacation after the worldwind work travel!

Work trip to Europe October 2011, first half

I've been in Europe with a coworker M for two weeks and was able to visit quite a few new-to-me places.

Non-stop SFO to Frankfurt, I realize that I have been flying Singapore Air recently, and standard economy is…less good…wow is that seat in front of me close!  But our row of five has two empty seats-bonus!  I get my vegetarian meal super quick and am falling asleep before most others are finished eating.  Quick flight to Catania airport in Sicily, but we arrive late and the luggage is slow and I have missed all the shuttles-most expensive cab ride ever.  But when I arrive M and I get dinner.  The beachside restaurant is barely open-we are the only ones there.  But they let us order pizza and prosseco which we eat by candlelight while listening to the waves-nice!

We have a little time before the conference gets going so we hang out at the beach.  This is my first ‘European’ beach experience.  Basically there are lines of deck chairs for the folks staying at the hotel.  The women love bikinis, and love to lie with the straps off to avoid tan lines.  It feels very eighties to me, aren’t we all about sunblock now?  The beach is not sand but little rocks making the waves sound lovely.  I visit the water briefly, but the rocks are not super comfortable and the temperature is between northern and southern California-nice, but not long term nice.

We visit Taoromina, touristy seaside town on the hill.  First stop is the Wunderbar, to drink Campari and orange while overlooking the ocean on one side and the tourists on the plaza on the other. Classic Italian waiters charm their way into our photo.

Wander the town, eat gelato.  Visit the Greek theater, but it closed 5 minutes ago-eat gelato to console ourselves.  Visit the public gardens just in time for sunset.  The plant variety is almost exactly that of northern California-fancy that since they have a similar Mediterranean climate ;)  

One more drink at a little café before heading back to dinner at the hotel.  The beach restaurant is closed for a private party so we are in the fancy restaurant, and in the middle of my anchovy appetizer (fresh, not salty) we see the fireworks from their party-festive.

One more set of drinks and snacks at the more casual beach bar before the conference begins. 

The best thing about my hotel room is that it has an ocean view and I sleep with the balcony door open to listen to the ocean while sleeping.  In the mornings I often saw the cruise ship of the day, and sometimes at breakfast a horde of folks due to be on the cruise ship later that day.  During the week we encountered more memorable waiters.  At O’Neils the head waiter had a penchant for singing as he dashed back and forth and as he set you plate in front of you ‘and especial for you’.  I even try a whole local fish-lovely.

Within the conference we get an afternoon tour of Mt. Etna.  So, imagine you have a major tourist destination.  It is so impressive that 50 bus loads of tourists come every day.  Obviously you think-lets make the buses drive through the narrow ancient streets that have 4 consecutive 90 degree turns. Obviously!  I understand, it can be difficult to build a new road in hilly ancient towns, but if ever you are going to do it, 50 buses per day sounds like the time!  The Mt. Etna tour itself if fun, but not thrilling as we do not get to go near any molten lava.  After the easy stroll around the edge of the accessible crater I join the folks who want to climb to the top of the nearby, less accessible crater.  Ugg, worse than a stair-climber, but a view that can't be beat!