2012 New Year's Resolutions

Ok - first order of business is that I really tried to make my resolutions quantifiable. It was hard for me to determine if I did some of the ones I had last year so down with that madness.

• Travel Somewhere New - If you read my last post, you know this was one of my favorites from last year. It's also kind of a gimme because I've already been talking about going to a few different places this year. It's nice to have obtainable goals sometimes... I would like keep this one on my list until I've checked off more of the globe. 
• Save up a Nest Egg - What a weird phrase... nest egg... makes me feel like I'm having a baby or something. I should call it the "single girl's party fund" or "I don't need a man to buy me a house money" or something empowering like that. Either way, I think that I have all of the tools to make this one happen as well. No - I know it will happen.
• Pass the CFA - Yes, we are in the heart of "things I didn't do last year" land. I feel like I've come full circle on this one. After failing last year (yes, I like saying failing because I'm not going to pat myself on the back and say "nice try"), I was about ready to give up on the program. Then, I got a new job and I've been using the tools I was learning. It's nice to have that knowledge at my fingertips and I'm actually excited about the program now.
• Get back on a gym schedule - I think 2 days a week is realistic. 3-4 would be fantastic but let's aim for 2. I love when I go to the gym often and just feel so strong. I really want to get that back.
• Go out less - shoot, I guess one subjective resolution slipped in. A few weeks ago, a friend asked me how I have a 50 hour a week job, go to the gym, read books, have a social life, and do whatever else I do. Well, I don't really sleep, and I do have a to cut out a lot of me time. I love going out and having a good time, but sometimes I just want to slow down. A lot of my other goals are a little more academic and I'd really like to focus on that. 
• Do something adventurous - or maybe a little crazy. I want to really try something new like jump out of a plane, go scuba diving (not really that crazy... swim with a shark?), hold a scorpion, do a rain dance with head hunters, or some other just ridiculous adventure. A couple of years ago I went hang gliding - so I want something like that.
• Read an average of 2 books a month - When I was in high school I worked in a book store (great high school job) and I loved it. I was a kid in a candy store. I read books like they were my oxygen and frankly, I still own books from that time that I haven't gotten around to. I basically had to work 2 part time jobs because I pretty much broke even on the bookstore paycheck / books purchased equation. Well, ::insert shameless promotion:: the Kindle has gotten me to love reading again. Let me explain. Imagine you had a book that was small enough for you to carry everywhere. This book could become whatever book you wanted to read. If you didn't know what you wanted to read, it would suggest books that you might like based on your favorites. I could go on, but you get the point. Add a book clud in there and my affinity for sales and I'm pretty much hooked. I have such a back log of great books to read, and I even have a few hard copy books that friends have lent me as well. Basically, I'm back to being that teenager who devoured books and I need to make sure I keep that up. For my sanity, I will count a full CFA study guide as a book if the study/fun reading balance is uneven. 
• Frame all of the paintings in my apartment - On a couple of my trips, I picked up a couple of really nice pieces of artwork from some of my favorite places. It turns out - you can haggle the price of a painting but the framing is another story. At this point, I just need to bite the bullet and get them done.
• Get more organized - this one may be a shocker to some of you. If you've ever seen my hard drive, my photos on Facebook, planned an event with me, etc, you probably think I am one of the most annoying organized people ever. However, if you have ever seen my living or working spaces, you greatly disagree. I've been slowly trying to go through all of my stuff and de-hoard. I think the combination of that and some more adult furniture will really help me get the rest of my life as organized as my work ethic. I love the saying "a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind" and I can only imagine how much more I can get done if I find a space for everything. 
• Write 1 blog post a week (on average) - Maybe I'll finally get caught up that way?

So here we have it - 104 trips to the gym, 52 blog posts, 24 books, 4 framed paintings (and counting), 1 test, at least one new place, something crazy, and some spring (/summer/fall/winter/always) cleaning. Wow - sounds like 2012 is the year I become an adult...

Updates

Hi Friends! Just an FYI - I've updated all of the Archive pages so that browsing is a little easier. I've also listed out my new things through the present (on the Chronological tab) so if you've been curious as to what I've been doing since April, you can check it out. As you can tell, this was a busy summer. It also would appear that I have not been busy lately... The fact is, I've been a little lame and have only been doing old things or going to several holiday parties. I promise to pick it up but I was hoping that all of my July adventures have earned me some credit?

Week of April 25th 2011: Juhu Beach Club

Since you are all familiar with my love of all things Top Chef, it shouldn't be a surprise that I was eager to check out the pop-up restaurant in my neighborhood from Top Chef alum, Preeti Mistry. The menu was very straight forward with rotating daily specials. I decided to get the "Holy Slow Braised Cow" sandwich and the "Sassy Lassi." The sandwich was amazing. I made it a point to stop by a few times in the restaurants short life so that I could fill the cravings it left behind. The lassi was good but needed some sweetener.

Even though the pop-up is now closed on 11th st., it looks like Preeti will be popping up in other places around the city. Rumor has it that she is looking for a more permanent location as well.


Short but sweet post - Don't worry though. You get the next installment of New Year's Resolutions soon!

2011 New Year's Resolutions Revisted

So, almost a year ago, I posted my New Year's Resolutions. I better you wonder how that went for me... well, mostly pretty well and I'd love to share my results with you while I brainstorm for next year. Overall, this has been an amazing year for me. I had a ton of goals and no - I didn't meet all of them but I crossed off a lot of important ones.

Before I get started on the other goals, I want to address the one I didn't put. I really wanted more than anything to get a new job this year. I realized I had gotten to a point where I realized what I wanted to do and I wasn't going to do it staying where I was. Looking for a job isn't easy in this economy but luckily, I knew what I wanted. Once I wrapped my head around that, and how to explain why I would be good for that, I landed a job that fit my skills to a tee.

• Pass the CFA Level II - Well, I didn't pass this year. At first I was really bummed. I wasn't sure if I wanted to try again and I start evaluating how much I enjoyed working in finance. I had been looking for jobs in a research role but I started considering getting more involved in operations. That's about the time that my current position popped up. It was a hybrid operations/research role. I've only been there a couple of months but I've already seen a lot of CFA topics come up. A few weeks ago, I signed up again.
• Pass the lead climbing test - Eek, two fails in a row. I really dropped the ball on going to the gym as much as I thought I would. 
• Speaking of climbing... climb an 11.b or maybe even an 11.c - .Well, we got the 11.b out of the way early so guess it's time to shoot for the 11.c?
• Don't put a relationship before yourself - I don't think I'm the right person to judge if I succeeded at this but I did learn a couple of things. Don't be with someone because it's easy or nice, be with someone because it feels right and nothing less. Even if you find something that feels right, find a balance.Maybe that was the point I was trying to make with this one - If you start dating someone that's great but don't start ditching your friends, move to another country, join a cult, make some drastic career change or otherwise do something that you wouldn't have wanted to do otherwise. In that sense, I think I succeeded (unless you count traveling to another country... in my defense, I wanted to do that, but perhaps not at the exact time. However, maybe sometimes that's the encouragement you need?).
• Think before you speak -Yea, this one probably still needs some work. I try, but I'm really quite awful at it. 
• Pay off my car loan - Done! And what a relief too. 
• Build a little bit of a nest egg - But unfortunately, the point before and the two points after made this one really hard to achieve. However, I think I'm in a good place to be able to do this next year now that I've knocked out a really big expense in my life.
• Dress better - I guess this is subjective too, but I did make a strong attempt to buy nicer work clothes and shy away from some of the ill-fitting, stained or ripped clothes (that were oh so comfortable) that I'd had since the start of my career. I slowly started replacing some of those items and made a lot of donations to Goodwill and now I think my closet has grown up a little. I really bought into that "dress for the life you want, not the life you have" motto and thought that nicer clothes would give me the confidence to get the kind of job I wanted. Maybe it did, but then again, I ended up in an office where jeans are a daily option (but, in keeping with the spirit of the resolution, not an option I exercise every day).
• Travel somewhere new - I would like to think that the overwhelming success that I had with this resolution could make up for the others. I went to so many new places (about 4 of them being exceptionally high on my list, I'll star them for you because I know you're curious) that I really knocked this out of the park.I also just loved this idea. I think it's one I want to keep on my list for the next few years. The new places I went this year: Amsterdam*, Brussels, New York*, Washington D.C.*, Munich* and Vienna. The places I didn't go that I hope to next year: Chicago, Madrid, Lisbon, and Mexico.
• Be nicer - Again, one that's hard to quantify. I'm not going to put so many of these on my list for next year.
• Keep in touch with my relatives more - This is one that I didn't even need to try for - it just kind of happened. Like I said originally, the older I get, the more I appreciate my family and want to spend time with them. I think my family really needed to be close this year, but even aside from that, I made sure to visit a little more and appreciate the time with them.
• Keep up with my blog - I know I really failed at this the last couple of months. I realized that I'm getting to the point where I can't blame it on the new job... I think the changes I plan to make will help a lot because I do better when I write about the experiences that I really loved. I also like the idea of writing some posts just about where I am. The last year and a half have been crazy for me. I faced a lot of challenges and it was hard, but every one of them taught me something. There is a quote that I love - "Sometimes things need to fall apart so better things can fall together" that kind of explains it all. You appreciate what you almost lost, you learn to find something better when you're not happy, you see the world and discover things you never learned in school, you realize what kind of people you want to have in your life, and you figure out how to get over the little things. This is supposed to be a blog about the things I do, but I think the lessons learned and the experiences have been much more valuable.

Week of April 18th 2011: Conversatory of Flowers & the Wicked Plants Exhibit

I have literally had this post half written for a few weeks now. Normally when I procrastinate a post it's because the experience wasn't particularly memorable but that wasn't the case at all this time. I've had so many changes in my life the last 2 months and it's been really nice to just live in the present, get used to my new job, and have fun with new and old friends. It's nice to be in a place where I can worry a little less and work on making the things I enjoy doing a priority. However, I don't want to lose site of my blog and now that I've given myself the leeway to not write about things that aren't as interesting, I'm really excited to share all of my other new adventures with you.

The Conservatory of Flowers is a beautifully frosted greenhouse in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. I’d driven or walked past the building so many times (it’s near Stanyan, where Fell enters the park), but I never knew what was in it until a friend told me about the Wicked Plants exhibit that was going on. We decided to get a small group together and check it out.

As the name suggests, the Wicked Plants exhibit focuses on deadly or harmful plants, some of which are quite common. There are some plants you encounter every day such as tobacco, some that you’ve read about in history such as the Hemlock that was used to execute Socrates. The exhibit had big signs with stories about all of the deadly plants they were featuring.

There were also some interactive exhibits like one where you had to guess which seed wasn't poisonous (and they had caju so I got to tell them all about how the fruit tastes since it's so common in Brazil) as well as a stand to get temporary tattoos which my friends and I had too much fun with.

After checking out the Wicked Plants exhibit, we decided to walk around the rest of the Conservatory. We really enjoyed one of the rooms that had a pond in the middle and several Venus fly traps. At one point, I was trying to look into a Venus fly trap when a drop of water from the ceiling (it was raining outside) landed on my shoulder which caused me to scream and jump, much to the enjoyment of my friends.

We ended the night by grabbing a glass of wine and going back towards the exhibit to listen to some live music. It was a really fun and knowledgeable exhibit to check out - I'm just sad it took me so long to write this post since it just ended October 30th and maybe I could have encouraged some of my readers to go see it.

So - I guess this means I'm back. I don't make any promises but I do want to get back in the saddle and share my adventures with everyone!

New Layout!!!

So - I was going to put up a post about some new thing I've done, but I didn't have any of the pictures on me so instead you get a new layout! Look how fun and interactive it all is!

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

Nikki's New Things

I've been hemming and hawing on this one for a while. A little over a year ago, when I started this blog, I really needed some sort of drive to get me out of the house and exploring an area that I'd lived in for 6 years and really didn't know that well. By creating a concrete, measurable goal, I had instantly motivated myself to explore more.

It was pretty remarkable how quickly my perspective changed. Whenever I made plans I thought about what I hadn't done or seen before. I planned trips to explore new places or find new things in the old. I tried new restaurants. I made new friends. I changed my perspective. I think about the way I approach things now - the way I get excited about doing something new or different - and I love it. I couldn't imagine my life being any other way right now.

In the past year, I've written about 75 posts. Even if you take out the ones where I talk about my life or a holiday, it's still well above 52 - the number of weeks in a year - and the blog is only in April right now. It's become really clear to me that some weeks I do a whole lot of new things and other weeks I'm struggling on Sunday to think of a new thing to squeeze in. I love writing but I want to write about the interesting things I do, not just write a review on a place I didn't care for in order to meet a self imposed quota.

So - the bottom line is, I'm not getting rid of the blog, but I am getting rid of the "one thing a week" rule. I've also decided to enforce this on all posts going forward. It may seem like the easy way out but I think it will make the blog more exciting. I'm only going to write about the things that were really exciting - that made me think, got my heart racing, or just left me so satisfied that the memory has remained crystal clear months after the fact - which means the posts on here will be more interesting as well.

A Year of New Things, Part II

I'm sure you're all wondering why I would do a second post on the same topic. Honestly, it wasn't something I'd planned. I spent weeks writing and re-writing the last one and I think the end result summed up perfectly what my year had been like. That's the thing about looking backward - it's so much easier to sum up your experiences when you're looking at them a year, a month, or even a week after. I know what I learned, but this is still the beginning of my story.

As some of you may have noticed, aside from the other "A Year of New Things" post, I hadn't written much since early September when I had been putting something up every few days. Well, my life got turned around in a really exciting way. One of the resolutions I hadn't put up here was to get a new job, and I finally had. In less than a week I will be starting a whole new challenge and learning completely new things as I work on my real career. Between preparing for that and yet another trip, I've definitely had a stroke of writer's block.

But - this post is about being forward looking. Now that I've touched down on U.S. soil, I've been able to think about what all of this means to me. When I was in a state of job search limbo I didn't want to commit to anything long term since I hadn't limited my search to the Bay Area. The possibility of moving was another thing that had spurred this blog - I needed to do everything I wanted to do in this area in case I was leaving. Well, now that I'm staying, it's interesting to look forward about what that means. I can finally get the De Young membership that I wanted, or look for a real art studio. I will be around to see Mission Cliffs expand their gym. Some day I will go to Fleur de Lys. 

Those are all things that I hope to do in the next year, while still keeping up with this blog. However, I know this transition will take some time to get used to. As I adjust to a changing schedule and focus on new challenges, I think writer's block may start being a little more common for me. It's hard to look back when there is so much looking forward to do. I'm not leaving this blog by the wayside, but if you don't see a post from me for a little while just know that I'm still here adjusting, thinking, and planning new things to do. Hopefully it won't be long before I get my words back - I put enough of them in this post at least. 

A Year of New Things

Today is the 1 year anniversary of my blog. When I think of the person I was when I started this blog and who I am today, I am astonished at how far I've come. This blog like many pieces of writing or artwork came out of a painful experience. Without going into detail, I was frustrated with a lot of things in my life and felt that nothing was going well for me. In every direction, I had hit a wall.

And then something happened... in one experience I suddenly realized everything was going to be ok. For me it was as simple as making new friends at my gym. I remembered how social I could be, how easily I was able to meet people and fall into a friendly banter. Things were really bad for me and then, suddenly, they weren't. At some point you have to live your life again.

The idea for doing a new thing a week was my way of making lemonade out of my rough patch. It started when one day I wanted to go on and adventure and all of my friends were busy. I realized that I had to entertain myself. That being on my own was about to start happening with much more frequency, and that I had a laundry list of things I wanted to do and see the Bay Area. From there, my things to do changed. They became ways to connect with friends, fall in love with a beautiful city, meet people, make mistakes, learn that some people change, learn that some people don't, stay in touch, move on, and learn so much about the person that I am going to spend the rest of my life taking care of - me.

I've learned the most important lesson in the past year. Your life isn't going to get better unless you make it better yourself. It's hard for me to find the words to get the idea across. I know it wasn't about loving myself, confidence isn't something I lack. It was about independence. It was about making myself happy. I grew so accustomed to needing other people to make me happy. In the last year, I learned how to have a better outlook, not get upset so easily, and if there was no one to hang out with - learning how to enjoy a day or evening to myself. Once I learned how to do that, everything else fell into place.

I'm sure this post sounds like I'm ending things, but this adventure that I'm on is just beginning. This has been one of the most incredible years of my life and I can owe a good deal to what I've done here. As many things as I've done this year - so much of it was just putting myself in a better place to appreciate what comes next. It would be a shame to end this here because I think this next year is going to be really exciting.

Week of April 11th 2011: CSSC - Progressive Grounds

Two coffee posts in a row? Maybe I actually got some studying done! Well, tried to at least...

Taste - 2. This was the first coffee I actually didn't like. Not that it was horrendous... it just didn't come close to living up to the standard I'd gotten used to. I'd gotten to the point where I'd really started liking the taste of coffee and *GASP* that meant I was going to be a little more choosey. This was also about the time I stopped being able to drink the coffee at work every single day and found I need to stop at Starbucks or Peet's a once or twice when I was especially tired. But it was also when I realized....

Buzz - 1... that I didn't really love lattes anymore. If you've ever gotten coffee with me, you'll realize how huge this was. My cups of coffee where more like coffee ice cream than a beverage that is supposed to appropriately start your day. This was the cup of coffee that did it for me. I felt so sluggish and lazy after drinking it because the heavy dairy was just slowing me down. I actually went home and made myself a cup of Ritual coffee just to wake up from my Progressive Grounds coffee.

Presentation - 2. Standard latte in a glass cup. I almost feel like I should dock one for the glass cup thing... That weirds me up. Coffee belongs in ceramic if it's not in a cardboard to go cup. I don't pour beer into a coffee mug or wine into a blue party cup so don't put my coffee in a pint glass. 

Ambiance - 2. I was so excited to walk into a coffee shop where many people were working on their laptops. That was until I sat down and they all judged me because I was the only on that didn't have a Mac. Ok, maybe they weren't judging me but I got a distinct "Why are you in our coffee shop and why don't you have a Mac Book Pro or iPad like the rest of us?" feeling... Other than that - the shop was nicely decorated and had nice pillows to sit on and plenty of space. The people just didn't seem to warm. 

Food - 3. I got the gingerbread cookie you see to your right. It was tasty but maybe a little dry. This was another place that had a full sandwich/salad menu that I didn't take advantage of so it may be worth checking out for that.

Selection - 4. There was a full coffee menu and food as mentioned above so you definitely had choices in that regard. However, I don't think they had specific coffee roasts if you're into that thing (which apparently I am now. Great, I'm a coffee snob all of a sudden...)

Study - 2. It had all of the makings of a good study place but I just couldn't focus. I blame this half on what must have been a decaf coffee and half on the Apple glares.

Novelty - 4. It's starting to seem like it's harder to find a place with real food, plenty of space, and that welcomes people to hang out all day on their laptops (as long as you have a Mac). Sure, it wasn't for me but I don't discount that it may be more comfortable for someone else.

Overall - 2. I think I made it pretty clear that this place just wasn't for me, but I think there are a lot of people who would enjoy it. If you have a few hours and a device that runs iOS, I think you'd have a great time there... just leave a couple hours free for a nap afterward. 

Week of April 4th 2011: CSSC - Ritual Coffee

I didn't actually study at Ritual Coffee, but I did scout out the potential for it. Ritual coffee is where I met Tim for our most recent (which means we are long overdue) conversation. Below are our my observations:

Taste - 4. I was really excited that they had Brazilian coffee. It's actually really hard to find (I found out later that this is just because they don't make specialized blends like most coffee shops get and that Ritual specifically grows theirs). However, there were two options and I went for the slightly cheaper one which I think made a difference. It didn't taste quite as bold as some of the ones I've bought in Brazil. 

Buzz - 2. I don't remember how I felt that day but I did buy a pound of it for the house and it just hasn't woken me up as much as I've come to expect from Brazilian coffee. 

Presentation - 4. I didn't get a latte so I didn't get a decorative foam but Tim did and they definitely did a little swirl in it. 

Ambiance - 5. The feel was really nice. There was a friendly, happy feel in the space. The table next to us had a little girl who was dancing and spinning and I know Tim, being a parent, loved that the coffee shop was so welcoming to the girl. 

Food - 4. I got a yummy almond croissant. It was pretty good and I was happy with it.

Selection - 4. They had a decent choice in a beans for a regular roast or a variety of options for how you wanted your coffee prepared.

Study - 3. I didn't study here but I could definitely have seen the potential too. I'd like to head back in the near future and see how easy it is to read for a few hours.

Novelty - 3. Maybe if this was my first coffee shop it would have gotten a higher score but I'm starting to see that a lot of them are similar. They do get an extra point for the Brazilian coffee. I think they change them up too so maybe I am under cutting them.

Overall - 3. Like I said, I would love to go back and check it out with a book, but I think generally it is a great little coffee shop with a lot of unique blends but possibly not too different from some of the others. I would definitely prefer Four Barrell for taste, feel, and proximity. 

Week of April 4th 2011: Sharks Game

Of all of the professional sporting events I could have attended as a kid who grew up in Los Angeles, the only one my family and I really went to were Kings hockey games. My brother loved hockey and had posters of Wayne Gretzky all over his room and because he loved the sport so much, my dad took us to a couple of games. So, I knew that I would eventually have to make it to a Sharks game. When my friend Joe asked if I wanted to attend to the Sharks-Kings game, I knew I had to go.

Unfortunately, since I'd just gotten home from a vacation I couldn't leave work too early to get a head start on the traffic so I showed up to the game a little late. While the Sharks had the lead when I got there, the Kings had just scored a couple of goals so my friends were a little worried that perhaps I was a good luck charm for my home town team.

However, the Kings decided that would be a good time to stop playing the game. The final score ended up being 6-3 and Joe told me I was welcome to attend any Sharks-Kings game I wanted as I was obviously better luck for my rival.

Week of March 28th 2011: Dolores Park

The weekend after my big trip, I realized I had a lot of studying to do and I still hadn't done my new thing so I decided to grab my books, put on my skates (yes, skates. Some people still use those) and make my way over to Dolores Park.

Distance is a funny thing. For the first year and a half that I lived in my very central apartment, aside from trips to the supermarket or gym, I made way into the Mission so infrequently. However, starting this project has shown me how close and easy to get to the Mission is. It was one less barrier to exploring the city. The reason I had never gone to the Mission before was because I always wanted to drive instead of walk and the parking situation made that impossible. Getting over that laziness was essential.

So, I found a spot up on a hill in the park and made myself comfortable - so comfortable in fact that I put away my study guide and took out my Kindle. It was too nice of an afternoon and I wanted to something I enjoyed.

I don't know how long I sat up there reading and people watching, but it was long enough to do a lot of both. The cherry on the top of the afternoon was the guy who rode his speaker-covered bicycle through the park blasting "Paradise City." There were so many different people in the park that day but almost all of them seemed to be entranced by the music. It's the little things that always seem to bring the diverse residents of San Francisco together.

Traveling Revisted

While this post will tie out my most recent trip to Europe, I can guarantee that there are more posts on traveling coming your way (eventually). When I was in Europe, I wrote the first traveling post while sitting under a tree in St. James Park. I was fully engulfed in travel mode at the time and while I made some adjustments before posting it, the entry was really in the heart of what the trip was for me.

It’s been many months since my most recent trip to Europe and several years since my first time on the continent or the last time I went to Brazil. Despite that, I feel like the things I’ve seen are a big part of me. It took the littlest thing to remind me of it too… I love gyros and tatziki and I’ve really only found one place that lives up to my impossible standard for them… because it tastes like what I had in Greece, the first time I ever tried either. The first time I had sashimi, a must for any order I make when I get sushi, was with my cousins in Brazil. Maybe traveling has made me a bit of a snob but I wouldn't give up those tastes for anything.

Traveling has shaped who I am. It’s more than just a hobby or an addiction; it lies deep in my interests and my knowledge. It’s helped me discover my favorite foods and artwork. It's helped me visit friends and have several nights I'll never forget and a few that I'll never remember. I’ve seen and done a lot of cool things on my trips and I’ve become much more open minded about trying and seeing new things. If my first post didn’t encourage you to travel more then maybe this one will.

I think it's time for my blog to go back to my real life for now but don't worry, I will have lots of fun posts about my trips to SoCal, New York and DC to write about soon. I'm also a few weeks away from jetsetting again. I'm finally living out a big travel dream and going to Munich for Octoberfest as well as Vienna and back to London. And I can't wait. 

Week of March 21st 2011: Euston Tap (London)

My last night in London, we decided to go check out a bar that Kevin’s roommate had recently read about in a magazine. With about 30 beers on tap and over 100 bottles, we knew we’d be able to find something for each of our pallets.

Euston Tap is located in a very small building near the Euston tube station. We actually walked past it a couple of times before we realized where it was. Kevin ran off to an ATM and told his roommate and I to order his first beer. Since neither of us had really seen Kevin too drunk, we decided to order him a pint of Brew Dog Hardcore IPA – the strongest beer they had. When he asked what it was, the roommate made up a genius story about how he just asked for three random beers… even though the two of us managed to get the same one.

Since Kevin loves a challenge, we spent the whole first drink saying that he should try the 9.2% beer to see if he could handle it (little did he know that’s what he already had…). Of course he took us up on it, but he accidentally ordered a half pint so it came in a different glass. He then started telling us how much better his second beer was. It got even better when he got his 3^rd beer, another full pint and then told us how he knew the whole time that it was the same beer all along.

Anyways, without going into a ton of detail, we succeeded in our mission of getting Kevin drunk and we definitely pulled one over on him. Even though I didn’t get to go to the ice bar and we just spent the night telling jokes in a local pub, I couldn’t think of a better way to round out my trip.

Week of March 21st 2011: St. James Park and Hyde Park (London)

Near the end of my trip, once we returned to London, I noticed two things were happening. I was getting a little burnt out from going to museums and London was having exceptionally nice weather for March. I decided to take advantage and spend a couple of days just walking around the city and seeing the greenery.

For being a fairly large and industrial city, London has a large number of really big and well kept up parks. I had wanted to see all of them, but just in case it wasn’t possible, I asked Kevin for his recommendation. He said his favorite was St. James Park so I decided to check it out first. The park literally looked like it came out of a painting. There were daffodils blooming all over and little children running under the shade of the trees. It was just nice to sit and soak up the scenery. I found a nice try to sit under and wrote the first draft of my post on traveling and then decided to read for a bit. While in the park, I also took the opportunity to take some really pretty pictures of Buckingham Palace which is a few blocks away.

The next day I decided to make my way to Hyde Park. Having only seen it on a map, I assumed it would be like the large American parks (having my only reference of one those be Golden Gate Park…) which have several fields and ponds and things separated by groups of trees and paths. Hyde Park, contrarily, was a big open field with a large lake in the middle. It did have smaller recreational areas and stages, but it just wasn’t as segmented as what I had been imagining. By the time I got to Hyde Park, I’d done quite a bit of walking and just really wanted some water. Due to its sheer size, I had to walk a while before I found any refreshment stands, but it was nice to sit for a while and just read once I had gotten settled. I also had my macarons with me so I was able to enjoy a few of those… I only saw a little part of Hyde Park but it didn’t strike me as particularly impressive. The only thing I wish I would have done is go horseback riding but I’m not exactly sure what you need to reserve in order to do that.

Overall, I’d have to agree with Kevin, St. James Park was the nicest. I hadn’t been expecting that since it’s not very big and it’s in a very busy area but somehow they managed to create a really serene escape from the busy city.

Week of March 21st 2011: National Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam)

After the Van Gogh museum, we went to the National Rijksmuseum. The museum was under construction so only parts of it were open. The museum puts you on a pretty natural progression through Dutch works. The first few rooms showcase paintings of Dutch history and famous battles and also include some artifacts. From there, the museum leads you into a room filled with giant, beautiful antique doll houses.  The first floor ends with some Dutch ceramics which is known for its blue and white patterns. I remember a Dutch friend of mine having several ceramics of that style in her home when we were kids.

The second floor was more focused on art and paintings. The first couple of rooms had a variety of still life paintings. I had never thought these were that interesting before but seeing them up close was really remarkable. The paintings were so detailed and realistic, it was pretty incredible. The museum then led you into the rooms with paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jan Steen and many other famous Dutch painting. However, they still didn’t have the Girl with the Pearl Earring. Spoiler alert – I’ve been to a ton of museums this year and still haven’t seen it so finally I gave up and did a search. It’s in the Hague. I came so close but didn’t go to the right part of the Netherlands…

The last room had Rembrandt’s most famous painting, the Night Watch. It took up a whole wall in the room and there were little guides all around that told you things to look for. It was really cool to find some of the secrets of the painting. One of the most interesting facts was that the painting used to be even larger but was cut to make it fit in a former home.

The museum isn’t particularly large. I know it is being remodeled so it is possible that not all of the paintings are on display. However, I really liked the layout. The museum guided you through room by room and it was very linear. While it is nice to openly explore some museums, it’s also really easy to miss exhibits that way. I probably wouldn’t have tried to see the still life paintings if I didn’t have to walk through them, but they ended up being some of the works I remember the most.

Week of March 21st 2011: The Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam)

I think there are few things more enjoyable than when you get to use a piece of knowledge you once learned and didn't appreciate at the time. I've mentioned before that my art classes in junior high were filled with information on famous impressionist, cubist, modern, classical, and pointillism paintings. The body of knowledge we learned in those three years was extensive.

However, I always hated that we were told to copy famous works of art. While it helped me to learn about them, it seemed stifling to our young creative minds to have to copy something that had already been made. We were then graded on how accurately we could finish the masterpiece in the one hour we were allotted. An hour was never enough time and very few people did well in the class.

Since I've spent much of the last year in and out of museums, I've often wondered whether my opinion was right or the teacher's was. Was the art history lesson worth the sacrifice of freedom of expression?

Well, I found my answer in the Van Gogh museum. The museum itself is pretty remarkable. It is laid out as a timeline of his painting career,  which only lasted for ten years. It went through where he drew his inspirations from and then which artists were inspired by his work. We were led from room to room and watched how his paintings changed as he became more skilled and responded to changes in his life.

The most wonderful thing about the museum was how imperfect Van Gogh's paintings were. Many of them lacked perspective or showed impossible angles, the strokes were rough and uneven, and in many cases the canvas was still showing. Yet all of the paintings were still remarkable. It was the imperfections that made them so unique. It became clear how his work wasn't appreciated during his time but is now celebrated for being so vibrant and distinct.

On one wall, there were two paintings of the same image. It was of a woman working at a well. The first painting was by one of the artists Van Gogh drew his inspiration from, and the second was by Van Gogh himself. Although they were the same image, they could not have been more different when it came to style and technique. One was done in fine, exact detail, and the other showed Van Gogh's rough, expressive brush strokes - and they were both beautiful.

So it got me thinking about those art classes. Even though our teacher was very appreciative of Van Gogh's work, she missed the point of his art. He never wanted to copy other artists - he wanted to be inspired by them, but to make art in his own way. If we had been taught about the different art masterpieces and then asked to paint something that was inspired by one of those paintings, I think there would have been a greater lesson there. Grading young students on how well they can copy art is stifling and uninspiring, but encouraging then to draw inspiration from masterpieces and create their own works of art - then you are really teaching something.

Week of March 14th 2011: The Grand Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Estate (Versailles, France)

Although I had been to Versailles before, I hadn't wandered too far from the Palace and the main gardens. While the Palace is extremely beautiful, I wasn't too excited to go back. It tends to be very crowded and seeing extravagant room after extravagant room gets very tiring. However, Kevin had never been and I knew it was a must see for a trip to Paris.

Since I am a notorious over planner, I spent the week before my trip trying to figure out what I wanted to see. While talking about my plans and the day trip to Versailles with friends and co-workers, I started hearing the same thing over and over again - check out the rest of the gardens and Marie Antoinette's estate.

After a couple of days in Paris, Kevin and I (joined also by Lindsay), went on our day trip to Versailles. I was lucky that they felt similarly to me about the Palace. While it is incredible to see, it's very hard to spend a lot of time in and soon we were on a lovely stroll through the gardens to the Petite Trianon, Marie Antoinette's home away from the Palace.

I had been mostly looking forward to seeing Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet which is located in the gardens behind the Petite Trianon. The Hamlet looks like something that fell out of a Disney movie… in fact, I’m pretty certain that Belle’s house was designed after one of them. Lindsay and I had a blast looking at all of the little structures and picking which one each of us would live in. I loved the one with the balcony and spiral staircase. Lindsay made a wonderful tour guide too. She explained that each of the buildings had a different purpose and acted as a different room in a house so there was a kitchen, coop, bedroom, etc.

We continued our walk around the gardens (and by that I mean we got terribly lost… like, got to the end of the estate and had to back track) until we got back to the Petite Trianon. We decided to walk through it and I really enjoyed the relative (relative to the Palace) modesty of it. However, like the rest of Versailles, there was still quite a bit of extravagance. I was pretty entertained by the over sized billiards table we came across. We all tried to figure out how people a foot shorter than us would be able to play on it. There was also a caption saying that they had been planning a renovation the dining room that would allow the table to be stored in the kitchen so that the servants could cover it with food and then raise it up through a hole to the floor above where the diners would be waiting.  

After that, we checked out the Grand Trianon as well but our feet were aching and there weren’t many rooms open to the public so there wasn’t a whole lot to see. Lindsay had said there was a blue and gold theater somewhere nearby but after looking for a bit we realized it was way out of our way and decided to skip it since it was getting late and Kevin and I still want to go to the Louvre (our 2 day museum pass was expiring!!). That’s the problem with short trips – too much to see and never enough time. Lindsay and I didn’t even get to take Kevin up on his offer to rent a row boat for us so we could paddle through the canals! Next time…

So, if you go to Versailles, don’t get caught up in the extravagance of the palace – make your way around to the rest of the estate. It may sound cheesy, but I would also recommend watching Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. A lot of the film was filmed in Versailles and it will give you a bit of the history behind what you’re seeing.

Week of August 15th 2011: Trapeze Arts

A friend told me recently that I was fearless – not exactly the words I would use to describe myself but it got me thinking. I’m afraid of a lot of stuff… almost comically so. However, that’s never stopped me from living my life. I still love adventures and trying new things. I still love traveling even though the slightest bit of turbulence has me clutching my arm rests and picturing myself plummeting to the ground. It reminded me of a quote I saw once. I can’t remember it exactly but I narrowed it down to one of these:

"Being FEARLESS isn't being 100% Not FEARFUL, it's being terrified but you jump anyway..."

— Taylor Swift

"To me, Fearless is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, Fearless is having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death."

— Taylor Swift

“The ads all call me fearless, but that's just publicity. Anyone who thinks I'm not scared out of my mind whenever I do one of my stunts is crazier than I am.”

— Jackie Chan

“I tend to think you're fearless when you recognize why you should be scared of things, but do them anyway.”

— Christian Bale

So when I was standing up on that platform, 25 feet above the ground with barely anything to hold onto, I knew there was only one option. No one climbs back down the ladder. So with my heart racing, I reached out and grabbed the bar… and jumped! I swung back and forth once and then the instructor told me to pull my legs up and wrap my knees around the bar, just like I had practiced on the ground. I swung one more time before he told me to let go of the bar and swing upside down, reaching behind me. Finally, the momentum was fading and it was time to reach up, unhook my legs and drop onto the net below. My heart was racing for a long time while I sat on the bench and waited for my next turn, but I’d done it. The next couple of turns were much easier and I realized that I had an easier time dangling from the bar than most people.

After we’d all had a few turns, the instructor told us that now we were going to be caught by another person. We would do the same first steps but this time we would swing into the instructor, he would grab our arms, and we would unhook our legs from the bar and swing by our interlocked forearms. For some reason, this idea got me scared all over again and it didn’t help that the girl before me wasn’t able to complete the exercise. However, on my turn, I was able to dangle again (albeit, a little more hesitantly) and when I let go of the bar and reached behind me, there was the instructor ready to catch me.

The feeling of literally flying in the trapeze class was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done – more amazing than hang gliding or a roller coaster or doing a tough climb. There was some combination of all of those things though that made it so much more superior… there was the thrill of course, the concept of working with another person, and of course, the challenge of needing to trust your body to go push itself in the most unnatural of situations.

I bought the Groupon for Trapeze Arts on a whim, but I have a feeling I’ll be making my way back there as soon as possible. 

Week of March 14th 2011: Les Invalides (Paris)

I didn’t really know what Les Invalides was before this trip to Paris. On my first trip, I had seen it on a map and gone past it but I just thought it was a big park a few blocks away from the Eiffel Tower. This is what you get when your tour guide tries to distract you so that you can have an epic moment of realizing you are right underneath the famous landmark.

So – after seeing Musee Rodin, we knew we would pass it on our way to have lunch near the Eiffel Tower (something we knew was incredibly cheesy but so is riding a Cable Car and I try to do that every now and then because I live in San Francisco and I can). Once we found a map, we saw that Les Invalides was made up of several buildings containing such things as World War museum, the church of St. Louis, and Napoleon’s Tomb.

Napoleon’s Tomb was the first thing we decided to see as it is clearly marked by a grand entrance with large gold doors. In fact, the doors are so large that they have smaller, more reasonable doors cut out of them. When you go through the doors, you are actually on the second floor of the tomb where you can look down onto it from above. Now, if you’ve never heard the term “Napoleon Complex,” just seeing a picture of his casket should explain everything for you.

After the Tomb, we went to go see the military museum. It was a really cool collection of military armor and weapons ranging from several different countries. It was definitely cool to see the progression of several tools and weapons. I probably took about 20 cannon pictures yet for some reason I didn't upload any of them to Picassa...

 From there, Kevin and I split ways. Since we were both really hungry, we decided he would go see the World War museum (because guys love war and stuff) and I went to check out the church of St. Louis since he is the namesake of the high school I attended. The church was very beautiful but there were a lot of signs discouraging visitors and photography so I decided to be respectful. I figured Kevin wasn’t done with the museum so I went to go meet up with him.

Not surprisingly, he wasn't too far into the World War museum so I looked at the end of WWI and then we moved onto the WWII exhibit. The exhibit was really well done and I thought it gave a very unbiased and detailed  history on the war. As someone who didn't pay enough attention to history in high school, it was interesting to see more about what actually happened.

Week of March 14th 2011: Musee Rodin (Paris)

I’ve been in love with The Thinker since I was in elementary school. This may become evident in future posts, but I was really lucky to go to private schools up until college. Because of this, my education was filled with a lot of fine arts and I always gravitated to the art classes. At my elementary school, it was well known that the 8^th graders got to make a replica Thinker sculpture and that a good portion of the year was spent studying Rodin and making sketches of his work in order to understand the sculpture. I was so excited to do this and then my 8^th grade year was the first time they didn’t do the project. Since then, I’ve had such a big fascination with the statue, the project I never got to work on it.

So I knew I had to go to the Musee Rodin on this trip to Paris. The museum is mostly outdoors in a garden surrounding a chateau. The most famous of Rodin’s sculptures are hidden around the garden. Our first stop, was the Thinker statue where we took our stereotypical touristy, pensive pictures in front of the statue. The statue is well placed near the edge of the garden so you can see the dome of Les Invalides behind it.

We continued around the garden seeing other famous works like Rodin’s Muse and a fountain with several statues around it. Eventually we made our way full circle through the garden and came across another very famous piece, the Gates of Hell. This isn't the best picture but this piece of artwork is truly incredible. It is so detailed and large, I can only imagine how much work went into it. I also did not know until I saw it that many pieces, such as the Thinker, were created as part of the Gates of Hell and then became more famous on their own. 

In the middle of the garden, is an old house. The house stores more of Rodin's delicate, easy to stain marble pieces. It also holds several paintings of his as well - basically, anything you wouldn't want kept in a garden. I took so many pictures in here but a few pieces stood out. There was one of a large hand that was incredibly detailed. I also really loved this passionate scene between a man and a woman. It was a little frustrating because I wanted to get a good look at it but it was blocked by a tour group who wasn't even looking at that particular piece. That kind of thing really gets on my nerve, be respectful of the other visitors. Eventually, they moved on and I was able to get a snapshot.

I'd love to return to this museum when it's a little nicer out. The weather was a little chillier than an SF winter day so it was tolerable but I could only imagine sitting on the lawns on a summer day with a sketchbook and really enjoying the unique set up of the museum.

Weeks of March 14-21: The Food (London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussells)

Ok, as we both know, I am have a lot of posts to write... I'm going on a 5 month lag here and am in the middle of a series on a two week trip I took. I've been trying to think of the best way to organize all of this and since it's hard to remember the exact order of things when you're so far behind, I have decided to do one massive post on the food. So get your eyeballs and stomachs ready because this is going to be a long post about a lot of delicious adventures. I didn't write about every food experience, mostly because I don't remember the name of every place, but here are some of the highlights!

Week of March 14th 2011: The British Museum (London)

Kevin realized it would be easy for him to meet me for lunch most days so he suggested that we go to the British Museum as well. The British Museum is built around historical artifacts that have been stolen collected by the British Empire.

Rosetta Stone

Their prized exhibit is of course, the Rosetta Stone. When I first learned about the Rosetta Stone, I figured it was something that could be carried easily, maybe the size of a large laptop. Boy was I wrong, this thing is about the size of a large child. And made of stone. No one is carrying that thing anywhere. It is always surprising to see these things in person just for that reason - to put a tangible scale to it. If I didn't travel I wouldn't know that Mona Lisa is tiny and the Rosetta Stone is huge. It may seem unimportant but that kind of thing makes these incredible artifacts real.

But I digress... After seeing the Stone, we continued on to the other Egyptian artifacts. Egypt has always seemed a little magical to me. I always loved learning about Pharaohs and pyramids, Egyptian gods and hieroglyphics so I have to admit that its always the first thing I go see in museums. I don't know, maybe its just the mutual love for cats? Anyways, it is always amazing to see giant caskets, tombs and sculptures. It's even more incredible to know that there is a distant land with even larger artifacts that I just can't wait to visit one day.

Sculptures from the Parthenon

After seeing Egypt we went to Greece. The British Museum is also known for having the largest collection of artifacts from the Acropolis outside of Greece. I have been to Athens and seen the Parthenon and Acropolis so I wasn't really expecting much from the exhibit. However, I didn't realize how much it had been missing. Greece has had a slightly tumultuous history with people constantly trying to conquer them and they always start with the highest peak. The Parthenon has seen many conflicts and a few bombs so it's not in the worst shape. When I went to Greece, they were trying to repair it as much as possible while still keeping the original work intact. Part of the problem is that many of the pieces are currently at the British Museum. I'm not going to say who has rights to what but the museum did do an amazing job of displaying the pieces with descriptions, models, and videos so that the veiwer could really get an idea of what it looked like before all of the destruction. I've seen the Parthenon but I had no frame of reference as to what it was supposed to look like until I went to the British Museum.

This was about the time Kevin had to go back to work but I was far from done with my exploring. History was never my strong point in school. It just never interested me then. However, now that I've been traveling more, I love it. I really regret not paying closer attention because I see a lot of things and dont have a huge point of reference. I spend as much time reading the panels as I do looking at the objects because I'm so eager to learn about everything I'm seeing. I could have spent days in that museum, but with a lot of other things to see I didn't have that much time. I did make it through most rooms although not with the same amount of attention. As with any person, I spent more time on the things that interest me.

Modern Money

When I found a special exhibit on money, I felt the need to spend a little time checking it out. It was actually really cool to see how currencies have developed throughout history - from metal to paper to plastic. The best part was that they had a special exhibit where you could handle ancient currencies. Some were big heavy metal bracelets, others were prickly sticks. Its a,azing how currency itself develops to the needs of the people using them. Don't have a wallet? Well, maybe your currency has a hole in it so it can be strung around your neck. Did you know the first pennies were itty bitty? The curator recommended I check out Wells Fargo's museum in San Francisco to see more interesting American coins. I need to get around to that...

Pharaoh skeletons

The other thing that caught my attention really made me kind of sad. I found a second wing of Egyptian artifacts. Thee were smaller items but along one wall they had some actual mummy corpses. While I know these were probably the bodies of some evil Pharoah who built his tomb at the price of many slaves' lives, it still seemed wrong to have them on display in a museum. They were still people who were buried and deserve to stay buried. There is just something disturbing about the idea. Anyways, the British Museum is a really fascinating place. I think it is definitely a spot I want to see again on my next trip to London.

Week of March 14th 2011: National Portrait Gallery (London)

Well, I'm in the middle of a big post on some of the places I ate in Europe but tech genius Nikki can't sem to find a way to edit it on my tablet. Seriously, if anyone has the blogger app for Android - can you edit posts that you started on a computer or only ones you wrote on the app?

Anyways, I'm somewhere between New York and Virginia (possibly Delaware) and I figured that instead of watching Nightmare Before Christmas for the 50th time, I should probably update my blog. Don't worry, its on in the background so I can listen to the music... oh yes, about the museum -
The National Portrait Gallery in London is located in Trafalgar Square which is a sight to see on its own. In fact, when I was there they had a giant ship in a bottle and a countdown until the London Olympics next year so that was fun to check out. Kevin thought it would be good for me to meet him in the Square so we could see the museum together during his lunch break. Many of the museums in London are donation only so you don't have to worry about spending a small fortune to go wander through the galleries if you only have a short time.

We entered the museum and weren't sure which hallway to go down first and decided left seemed as good of a direction as any. After we'd been through about half a dozen rooms and a dozen paintings of John the Baptist with Jesus we figured we were probably in the Christian wing. Kevin explained that England has more Christian paintings than most countries because they were sent there to avoid being destroyed when other countries went through religious persecution. A lot of them were really incredible and spanned the height of an entire wall. It was interesting that a lot of artists chose to create the same scene (as I mentioned above, the scene of Jesus's baptism was a common one).
From there we wandered through Dutch paintings and then later European portraits. Around this time Kevin had to get back to work and I was getting a little antsy so i wandered around until I found my favorite paintings, the impressionists. Here was what I had been looking for! I wish we had gone through the right down when we entered because it would have been nice to see those paintings with Kevin.


If you like art, I definitely recommend seeing the National Gallery but try to go in with a plan. I think I would have enjoyed it more if i was able to see my favorite paintings first and then wander to everything else after.

Week of March 7th 2011: Sherlock Holmes Museum & Regent's Park (London)

I don't think a lot of people know this but I really love mystery and suspense stories. I love solving problems and I've often found that I can guess how a story is going to end so I love finding ones with a twist, unexpected turn, or more complicated solution. A couple of years ago I started getting really into Hitchcock movies and the original Sherlock Holmes stories - it was great to find more complicated, intellectual mysteries. So when I was looking for things to do around London and saw that there was a Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker St., I knew I had to visit.

Luckily for me, my host was also a big Holmes fan and he was just as excited to go as I was so we decided to make it one of my first stops. We got on the circle line and soon were at the Baker St. stop. Honestly, this was one of the best parts of going to the museum. The Baker St. stop is one of the oldest tube stops in London and it was just really cool to see it. I wish I could have taken a picture, but as there was significant construction (to prepare for the Olympics) during my time there, I was swiftly moved along.

At the entrance to the museum, there was a man dressed as an old London police officer. You could take a picture with him while wearing a Sherlock Holmes style cap. Then, he took your tickets and let you into the museum. The interior of the museum was more or less what you would expect from a museum based on a fictional series. The first two floors were set up to look like Holmes and Watson's apartment based on how they are described in the books. The top floor had several wax figures and props from the books.

I think the most surprising thing about the museum was how small the rooms are. Obviously, London is a big city and flat space is at a premium, but I just always got the impression that the sitting room was larger than it was (or maybe I watch too many Robert Downy Jr. movies...). Then again, I suppose the smaller size better explains how some of the visitors "filled the room with their presence."

Even though it was a little cheesy, it was still fun to look at all of the wax figures and props in the other rooms as well. Having read most of the stories, I really enjoyed trying to figure out which story each one was from. Here's an easy one:

After the museum, we decided to walk around Regent's Park since it was at the end of the block. Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London and it's huge. In it there are several gardens, sports fields and a zoo. Since it was such a large park, we didn't walk through the whole thing. We mostly checked out the Queen's Garden. While very beautiful, the garden was a bit of a maze and once inside, it was very difficult to find our way out. At least I got some nice pictures first.

Weeks of March 7th thru 21st 2011: Traveling

A new acquaintance I recently made, really got me thinking when they told me that they never got the itch to travel. As someone who personally loves to visit foreign countries or new cities, I had trouble grasping this concept. It led me to wonder - why did I like to travel so much?

I think some of it may have to do with the fact that I was lucky to be exposed to travel from a very young age. As a dual-citizen with a foreign parent, I was made several trips to Brazil to visit extended family while I was growing up. Traveling became a way to connect with more of my extremely large family and was always filled with happy thoughts of a 90 degree Christmas, white New Years, a hanful of aunts, and more cousins than I could count. It also showed me from a young age, what life is like on another side of the world where dancing and enjoying yourself is more important than material possessions but where you need to hug your bag a little closer to your side when crossing the street. Spending that time on the other side of the equator as a child, gave me a different perspective.

I suppose the traveling itch is just like any other - the more you scratch it, the more you feels its pangs. There is something about seeing the places you've read about in novels or textbooks, walking through or touching a place you've seen in movies, tasting the food, experiencing the weather, listening and dancing to the music, touching the different currency, and watching the people that doesn't lose its fascination. The more I move forward, the more I move back - the more I want to re-read those books, re-watch those movies, delve deeper into history, try that food again, and keep dancing that dance. And just because you've seen a place, that doesn't mean you're done. I've spent enough return plane, train and bus rides planning my next visit that I know there is no cure for the travel bug.

The next series of posts will all be about my most recent travels. I hope that for those of you who haven't traveled much, that maybe it gives you a little bit of that itch. I only saw a tiny sliver of the world on my most recent trip, but it contined to open my eyes to how incredible the world is and how much I want to see the rest of it. See the world - and then tell me about it.

Week of March 7th 2011: Johnny Walker Whiskey Tasting

A few days before taking off for Europe, I got an email about a Johnny Walker Scotch tasting. I figured it would be a fun way to hang out with Shannon some more before taking off for a few weeks.

The tasting was held at Fort Mason and after checking in, we were escorted into a large lounge area. As part of our admission, we were given tickets for a free Johnny Walker drink. The choices were an Old Fashioned, some cocktail I don't remember, or just Johnny Walker black on the rocks. As an ode to my father, I got the Old Fashioned (he got it once when we were out to dinner and I remember liking it) and Shannon got the cocktail. Man, I'm kicking myself for not remembering what it was.... this is why I need to get caught up.
After we got our drinks, we hung around the lounge and nibbled on the array of finger food they had.

Once we'd had our fill, and finished our drinks, it was time for the real show. We were led into another room with seats making a U around a small table covered in a variety of Johnny Walker varieties. At each seat, there was a place mat that a circle for each whiskey we would try - two for black, and one for red, gold and even blue. We were excited.

As everyone got their seats, the emcee came out and showed us a really well made Johnny Walker video. Then they brought out the red and black. We learned that black actually came out first and was designed to be sipped on the rocks. Red on the other hand, is a cheaper, younger blend that is better for cocktails. We got to try the black by itself, with ice, and with water. The red we got to try on its own, and then with some mixers. It was cool to have the opportunity to try the options.

Next they brought everyone a frosted, chilled glass filled with Johnny Walker gold. This was easily our favorite. It was lighter and sweeter than the other blends and Shannon was already picturing which cupcakes she would pair with it. It definitely would be a nice bottle to keep in the freezer for an after dinner drink when guests are over....

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for came - Johnny Walker blue. This is definitely the top shelf of their blends and you could taste it in the strong, deep, smokey flavor. I did still think though that the lighter gold was more fitting for my pallet. I'll have to pick up a bottle some day.

Week of February 28th 2011: Bisou and the Castro Theater

I suppose it's fitting that I write about the Castro Theater during Pride in SF. The Castro Theater is one of many incredible landmarks around San Francisco. The Theater plays lots of classic, old movies so when it was suggested that I check it out for my blog, I knew I had to pick the perfect movie to be my first there. So when one of my favorite classic movies - a timeless tale of love, family, and transformation - came along, I knew I had to go. That's right - I went to The Little Mermaid Sing-Along.

But let's back track a couple of hours. As a belated birthday present, I decided to take my friend, Shannon, to an endless mimosa lunch. We decided to go that day so we could see the movie together as well. After some Yelping and Google Searching, we came across Bisou, a cute French inspired brunch spot. It was a great choice. We were lucky that we beat a lot of the Sunday brunch rush (although there was already a table filled with another group of Shannon's friends) so we got great service the whole time. In addition to our endless mimosas, we got incredible food. I got some crab eggs benedict and she got a croque madame and they were both super tasty. To top it off - our waiter topped off our mimosas even after we finished eating.

However, we couldn't stay and hang out too long because we had to make our movie! After getting our tickets, we were handed Little Mermaid goody bags for the show. They were filled with bubbles, crowns, necklaces, glowsticks, and dinglehoppers.

The whole movie experience was so fun. I think the best part about the theater is that ability to see a movie that came out before you were born (or in this case, when you were just a little kid) and have the chance to see it on the big screen again or maybe the first time. I definitely recommend that everyone check out the theater's calendar each month and try to make it to one of your favorite old films. I'm sad that I didn't look at June a little earlier. They played my favorite movie, Vertigo, for 3 days straight. It would have been wonderful to see that on the big screen.\

And now I'm finally through the February posts! It only took me three months to get through February and a lot more went on in March - I'm never going to catch up am I?

Well - I have another vacation coming up. I'm going to spend a week or so in Southern California visiting family and taking it easy. I have a few new things planned but if you're in LA, SB, or SD - I'm headed your way and would love to see you. If not, that's more time for me to write.