Christmas Eve Skiing

Extension of ski vacation, Part 1.

Well too much fun to be had to go back home to sea level.

Today was warmer than the previous three until after lunch.

Emergency Gondola wardrobe addition necessary.

Two minutes till the top:

Sixty seconds:

Aaaand ready:

We hi-tailed it to the backside:

The views aren't too shabby:

Last run and lots of time on our hands:

This is a pose, not a fall:

Waaaaay too much time on our hands:

Again, on purpose:

Time for a margarita. Ho ho ho

Mammoth

Our first ski trip of the season.

It's awesome staying at Juniper Springs.

The first day was really windy and it started snowing around 2:30.

C-c-c-c-cold.

Still getting our ski legs.

With almost 10 inches overnight, the lift line started forming a good 20 minutes before they even opened. This is our view.

Heaters in our gloves became a necessity. Frozen digits, not good.

At some point, my camel back froze over. I almost passed out from trying to clear it. Oh, no that was just the altitude.

After a hard day on the slopes, Mark literally collapsed right when we got in the door. Actually, his boots were so cold, he couldn't get his feet out.

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Being in our snow cave is nice. We brought enough food for a week but not enough wine. Ain't that always the case?

Baaacon!

These are two girls after my own heart.

Amelie is big on french fries, nutella & peanut butter, and any sort of chip.

Josephine is a cheeseburger, pizza and fruit kinda gal.

They are both bacon lovers.

Motorcycle mama

Finally did it.

For years I've wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle. Heck, Mark has ridden for ever and although I am an excellent passenger, I want to go solo.

A new outfit was the perfect fit: Westside Motorcycle Academy.

The classroom section was the day I landed from Chicago. Despite feeling a bit ill, I went.

For three hours, we went through the handbook and I only missed two out of 50 questions on the test.

Learning to ride was over two days, five hours a day. The 1st day was miserable. Rain rain and more rain. If I was starting to feel better, that put me in reverse.

The bikes were, to be expected, crappy and in 2 days, I was on at least 3 bikes due to bike failure, non-starts, and complaining students. One guy was crying that he was too tall for his bike for so for some reason, they took the bike from the smallest person (and only girl) in class.

The test after the second day I thought I breezed. Wrong. I heard the instructor say to keep all the cones on your inside, so I did. She was wrong and I "went off the cliff" i.e, past the faded yellow marks. I had the option of returning that night to retest and I did and passed. This time the instructor (someone different) actually walked her class through the obstacle. Uh yeah, that would have been helpful.

There was another student from my class who had to retest but he did not pass. What a bummer.

Here are the bikes we rode. Kinda reminded me of being in Cambodia. Just needed a family of four on one of those things.

The bike I rode the 2nd day. The first day, I was on a Honda Virago with twice the engine power.

Now all I need to do is take the written test at the DMV.

Misc happenings since October

Ah pasta. Mushroom ravioli with garden sage tossed in butter and olive oil and topped with fresh ground pepper. Simple and delicious.

Our magical pineapple plant appeared again this year. Out of 2 big pots, we had about 4 pineapples. This was by far the biggest.

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Solar Conference, Anaheim 10-26

Seeing as we were going to be in Anaheim for 2 days, instead of booking a room at the Sheraton or Westin, we stayed at the happiest place on earth. Ah Disneyland, the Grand Californian. For kicks, I told them it was our anniversary. I know they are fast and loose with special occasion mementos and aside from the big "Happy anniversary" buttons, the two queen beds ended up like this:

You'd think one bed would be more romantic....

The next morning, we were having breakfast with our business partner but it's a bit hard to concentrate with the life size chipmunks harassing you every 5 minutes.

Truth be told, the breakfast at Storytellers Cafe was good and the best part were the mickey waffles. Even Mark was impressed. And he hates mice.

I made my rounds of the convention on the second of the three days. That evening, we had dinner at Napa Rose and then attended the private party at the park. Too bad the Indiana Jones ride was down. That's the best one, I think.

The next day, my plan was to visit the Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus Outlets. That was interesting. I ended up with my first pair of Louboutins. Yeah!

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Thanksgiving

What a great day. Workout, massage, dinner at Anisette with the in-laws and then Kooza at the pier. An amazing Cirque du Soleil experience. Go go go if you can.

The weekend was spent in Las Vegas. Eating and drinking punctuated with sleep and tennis.

Aureole, B&B, red square, verandah, kapit bahay, my new favorite bar Parasol Down at the Wynn. Highlights include

fresh donuts at Vernadah, white truffle pasta at B&B, not having by throat close up completely at B&B after drinking the first oz of wine from a new bottle (scary) and kare kare at kapit bahay.

On Saturday, we booked a tennis court at Ballys for two hours and that was great fun.

Whenever we check into the Four Seasons, they leave kid welcome things for us. That's left over from when my sister and her family came to Vegas with us. I don't want to correct them, cuz it's fun to see what they come up with.

Friday night at Aureole

Brenda & Jet at Aureole

Nelson & Kiddy

After Dinner, we ended up at Rum Jungle to shake a few tail feathers. This was the virgin outing of the aforementioned Louboutins and they were fighting back. Thank goodness I carried a pair of flipflops in my purse. Oh the pain of fashion.

Post B&B and then a nightcap at Parasol Up. (Down was closed)

This will stay in Vegas.

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Chicago 12-02-09

In lieu of traveling to Chicago during the nutty holidays, I decided to visit in between but also for Frances's birthday.
Asusual, the kids were super cute.

They even put the tree up. Hey, Santa hasn't been here yet!

On Frances's actual birthday, I made pasta imported from Santa Monica. Troppo tartufi just like I like it. I even brought in my truffle shaver. To hell with TSA!

The next night, Jun was kind enough to babysit while the girls went to Bon Soiree. I had read about their 13 course tasting menu and by golly, I wanted to try it. We were told to be there by 6pm and I thought that was way too early. I was wrong. We didn't roll out of their until past 11. Five plus hours and 14 courses later.

Here is a small sampling of what we had:

This was a marshmallow scallop. Or was it scallop marshmallow? Either way, if you overthought it, it would be lost on you. Just eat, don't think.

Did I mention the place is BYOB? I would love to come back here with a few more people and really wine taste at the same time.

In any event, it was a great dining experience. The service was perfect and unbeknownst to us, our server had been pointing us out to other diners impressed with the ease with which we finished each dish. Yup, we are pigs, check us out bee-atches.

The next night, Justin and Melissa were on kid duty so Jun, Frances and I could go out.

We ended up at Otom.

TRENDY.

The food was hit and miss. Mac and cheese-too salty. Short ribs-delicious.

The best part was the miscommunication between the servers and the bartender. As a result, we ended up with three free glasses of wine.

The plan was to go hear some blues after but wouldn't you know it, we ended up at Margies Candies and had hot fudge sundaes.

Scratch that, I also ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. I needed to try one. Old school. It reminded me of eating at Wags when I was in gradeschool.

Yes, Wags, the diner attached to Walgreens.

Saturday night, was the cousin party. Good times.

Our vacation part 1

Well it's been about two weeks since we got back from Europe and yes, I am still a but depressed. I love being home but Mark and I had such a wonderful time. I think I want to move to Rome, maybe Umbria for at least 6 months. Must. Work. On. That.

It all started in mid August when Mark told me there was a tech convention in Amsterdam that he may go to. Did I want to go? Let-me-think-about-that-yes-and-for-how-long-can-we-stay?

So began my hours of research. We hadn't been to Europe since 2002. The dollar is much weaker now and I was worried about what kind of lodging we could find. But first we had to decide where, exactly we wanted to go. The convention was in Amsterdam so that was a given. We had never been to Prague so that was a top choice. I knew I wanted to travel by train at least part of the trip so some other choices were Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Germany. Italy was of course to be on the itinerary. The winner, was Paris. We had both been but never together.

The trip was roughed out as 3 days Amsterdam, 3 days Paris, 7 days Rome. Seven days in Rome is a nice chunk so I asked Mark if he was interested in renting a motorcycle for a few days while we were there. Like offering crack to a junkie.
He found a place that was out of BMWs but they did have a Honda v-Storm for the time we needed. OK. As we got closer to departure, a Ducati became available. Yay!

As far as more planning, I wanted to just play the Italy time by ear. There were places I had in mind: To the north of Rome, Umbria and Tuscany. To the East, L'Aquila. To the South, Sperlonga, Gaeta and so on.

Next up was booking tickets. We have a lot of frequent flyer miles and with a little, OK, alot of gentle persuasion, we were able to book Business class tickets. Yay Yay!

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Packing was a week long ordeal. The weather reports kept changing in Rome: rainy and cold to warm and sunny so I kept amending my luggage. In the end, I should have packed empty suitcases. That would've been a no-brainer if the dollar was stronger but I didn't want to spend $ on basics I have at home. In the end, we ended up with three rollers and we shipped out motorcycle gear fed-ex.

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The flight to Amsterdam stopped in Atlanta and both legs were pleasant. I watched "La Vie en Rose" and "X-Men, Origins" between glasses of wine and ice cream sundaes. Mark slept.

We arrived on a Sunday around 8:30 and I figured by the time we collect our bag and take the train to Central Station, it would be close to 11. Gosh-darn Dutch efficiency, we were in town by 9:30 and had to walk around in a daze for a few hours till the apartment was ready.
The apartment we booked was not available when I started looking but everyday, I would check the calendar and low and behold, it opened up for the time we needed it. Persistence pays off.

Super cute.

We ended up at a bakery called Bertram brood. We would eat there each morning, well at least each day. Then we went to a cafe called De blaffende vis. We swung back around and we're told 1 more hour. Alrighty then, next cafe, t'Smalle:

What a great cafe. Actually, a brown cafe though there is no smoking allowed anymore. Only in "coffee shops".

By this time we were a little loopy even after 3 cappuccinos each.

After checking in, we hopped on the bikes that came with the place and headed out to the RAI convention center. It was already past two by the time we left. For about 3 hours, we walked around. By this time, I was thirsty, hungry, jet-lagged and bored. We forgot to take Euros with us so we couldn't buy anything. Luckily, some of the big vendors had their own cafes set up and we were able to procure more caffeine and some cheese/sausage.

Mark had planned to meet up with an associate from Seattle and the three of us had pizza at a restaurant close by. This was our 1st dinner. I have come to the conclusion that 1st and 2nd breakfast, lunches and dinners are necessary on vacation.

After a tidying up at the apartment, we hopped back on the bikes and rode around until we stumbled upon something that struck our fancy. We ended up at a place called Envy. Very cool place. Lots of small plates and quite hip.

I have to add this biking around Amsterdam is fantastic. The city becomes much smaller on 2 wheels. I can't count how many times we would pass by our destination because we were just cruising.

We ended up going to bed after 3 and Mark had a 10am meeting planned back at the convention. Well the next think we knew, it was 2:30 in the afternoon. We had slept through the gamut of alarms. woops

After a quick brea-I mean lunch, Mark was off. I decided to explore on my own. I thought I might go shopping but I ended up serpentining my way through canal after canal. It was great.

Amsterdammers are jokesters...

and rebels.

I had read about a place in the Jordaan that had the best pizza in Amsterdam. Since it was in our hood, I had to go.

La Perla It was a nice pie. And yes, I ate the whole thing myself (my 2nd lunch). Mark and I met up a little later and planned to meet Nils for dinner. Tapas Catala and Lucius.

We ended up at this bar each night in Amsterdam. Of course I can't remember the name but the bartender there was great. He was about to move to the Caribbean. What a change of scenery.

Happy biker

The view out our door.

After three days, Paris was next. High speed train=very cool.

Breakfast at 140mph.

Cushy seats. I slept almost the whole 4 hours; Too much partying in AMS!

Our Paris apartment:

It was located in the Montorgueil and despite the prostitutes (old, should be retired prostitutes),

I really liked the place. It was in a great location and I slept like a rock there.

Our first day and Paris, we just walked. And walked. And walked. So much to see, eat, drink. It was lovely.

The papparazzi

Ah Paree

And a little bit to eat:

Le Pain du Sucre

Monsieur Smith

Mark ate all sorts of animal products. By choice.

The weather was a mix. Sunny, warm, drizzling, warm. It was never that cold despite the rain.

Each day, we just wandered. There were a few things we wanted to see: the museum of modern art, the science museum, but we really had no schedule and that was nice.

Food was my main barometer. We never made it to any chichi places, in fact we stuck to hole-in-the-wall bistros and bars.

After our walking marathon, Mark needed a massage. So while he was prone, I wandered alone.

I came across a photo shoot in the middle of the street:

I also came across a place that made me so so happy.

We sat just in time and wow what a great lunch!

Foie gras in Paris is just so right.

After lunch I walked from the 3eme arr to the 6eme to check out Le Bon Marche. I had stopped a shoe store but the ones I liked were Spanish.

On the way, I passed Christian Louboutin and it was filled with tourists from all over the world trying on $$$ shoes and boots. I did a quick in and out and continued on my way.

After about an hour, I found the store but I wasn't wowed. I did like the food shop very much though. It dawned on me looking at the many offerings that one could buy almost all of the packaged foods at home. It was a bit sad and a bit comforting. All I ended up buying was sea salt.

I met Mark at the Canal St. Denis. Beautiful:

The lighting was amazing.

Dinner was a huge plate of charcuterie and a bottle of wine.

We were tempted to rent Velib bikes our last night but Paris is not Amsterdam and we like our legs attached to our bodies.

The morning was spent on the rue montorgueil eating our last Paris goodies.

The view from our window.

Next on the agenda, Rome.

We had never flown easyJet but it was fine.

I don't know what it is about Italy but it is the place I could return to again and again, specifically Rome. The history, the food, the fashion, the people- all amazing.

Renting an apartment was the way to go.




One flight above Via del Babuino, it was noisy but great. We arrived on a Saturday just in time for la passagiata. The streets were jammed

with people and I couldn't wait to meld with humanity.

Ferraris

Smart cars

Citroens

and big, bad motorcycles.

We spent hours walking and shopping and just looking. This was a shoe store. High drama.

Mark was possessed by a teenage girl and became an insatiable shopper. From socks to glasses to jackets, he was a on-man credit card wrecking machine. I could not keep up.

A rare moment in Rome with no shopping bag.

I did manage to find a pair of boots. It was love at first sight.

For dinner our first night we returned to Enoteca Antica. A great wine bar full of tourists and locals alike. It was so good we returned for lunch and dinner the next day.

Street art

life-sized lego tables

Sunday morning, we picked up the Ducati and had a heck of a time maneuvering back into the city. So many one-way streets, pedestrian streets, it was stressful. For two days, we left it parked safe and snug between two planters.

Which is the hotter ride?