California

Since we had a wedding to go to in California, we decided to stay in the Golden State instead of returning to Boise and having to come back. So here is a run-down of the wonderful times we had awaiting Angela's wedding...

7/7 - Julie and Dina met us at hotel - had fun dinner at El Tarasco

7/8 - drove to Santa Barbara, picked up Nonni’s car. Over the next few days, we wound down from our trip - did laundry, hung out, saw Cyrus, had dinner with Julio and Madeline and Barbara, Scott, Caelun. Watched World cup with Stefan, had Sean and Jeannie over for a drink, went to dinner at Argentine restaurant - Stefan and Alex joined us, and Sean and Jeannie came back to the house afterwards. Went to Barbara’s house and had a BBQ - with some rain - joined by Rick, Billy, Amy and Nico, Gia and Lucca, and Scott’s kids - Seth and Skyler.

7/12 - got rental car, drove to Belle’s house. Had dinner at the Organic Café in Paso - Gary, Marian, Kathleen, Greg, Cody, Taylor and Sawyer joined us. Spent night at Belle’s.

7/13 - went out to the Vineyard for a lesson in Gary’s soil. After 4 hours, we drove up the Big Sur coast to Ronald and Cheri’s. She had a great Salmon dinner prepared for us. Nice evening. Next day, walks along the cliff, went looking for rings downtown S.C. and in Capitola… had lunch at Seabright Brewery - Salmon and chips and great beer. Had dinner at restaurant on Seacliff - Ronald’s birthday dinner - outdoors - very nice.

7/15 - Our anniversary! Had small breakfast with Kaplans, then hit the road up the coast to San Francisco. Crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and took a photo - another world landmark visited - stopped for a quick lunch at an organic café in San Rafael, and pulled into Ukiah late afternoon. Had dinner at Patrona’s - local, organic restaurant. Nice time, but Joanie didn’t like her meal.

On Friday, we drove to Mendocinco and walked around - looking for rings again. We then hooked up with Jaynie Beyer Blake and her husband Greg at her old café - Café 1 in Ft. Bragg.. Nice organic, local lunch and then went back to their house for a tour of their garden and pot green house. Pretty amazing. Drove back to Ukiah and then down to Hopland where we had dinner with Joe and Angela at the Crushed Grape. A great dinner, great wine on the deck - listening to the Russian River Ramblers - who played some great New Orleans Jazz. After dinner, we played Bocce on their championship courts. A fun night.

On Saturday - we took it easy. Hung out by the pool, had lunch at Mendocino Brewery - the first organic Brew Pub in the nation - good lunch and nice IPA. Then went to Nick and Angela’s wedding. A longish drive down a country road to a beautiful home - but it was way too hot for an outdoor wedding. Got some shade for awhile after the ceremony, but dinner was blazing for the first hour, then finally the sun set and a good time was had by all. A great couple and we got to visit with a long list of Joanie’s relatives. Got home late and went to bed cuddling - our last night on the road on this greatest of vacations!

Sunday – started off slow and then packed up for our final leg of our journey. We drove down to Hopland and had Brunch at the Crushed Grape, and played another game of Bocce. Great fun in the blazing heat of the morning. We then met Marc and his girls, Mariah and Amelia in Berkeley, and walked around and ate at this great little Mexican restaurant. After a fun time with them, we drove to the airport, returned the rental car and after a short flight home, Ryan picked us up. We went directly to Bitter Creek, where we sat outside and we all enjoyed excellent beers and some of the best fries on the planet. We then drove home, greeted our overgrown front yard and Kona and Guido, and went to sleep in our bed for the first time in about 35 days.

An incredible vacation… but we have a great home to return to.

Another Jolly Good Day in London - Our Last Day in Europe - 7/6

Yup, today is our last day in Europe - flying back to the States tomorrow. Even so, we decided not to cram the day with too much sight seeing. We started out walking to a breakfast place our hotel recommended, and it was great. I had corned beef and hash with eggs and Joanie had organic porridge… both were very good. We meet a couple there, that we had just seen at our hotel. They were from Canada and had traveled to South Africa for the World Cup. We had a nice conversation with them over breakfast.

Then, it was back on the Tube, this time to the Westminster in the heart of London. (by the way, the Tube has been fantastic. Rick Steves, the author of the guide books we’ve been using says it’s the “best people mover on the planet”, and it’s the best one we’ve ever been on.)

At Westminster, we took some great pictures of Parliament and the London Eye, and then we walked over the Thames to the “Eye” and bought our ticket. After about 30 minutes in line, we boarded the Eye for our 30 minute “flight”, as they call it. (The above photo was taken from the top of the Eye... with Big Ben in the background.) It was very cool - not scary or thrilling at all - but a great view of London, and fun smooth ride on this technological marvel.

We then walked across the Millennium Bridge and hopped on the Tube again - this time stopping at Hyde Park, where we went to the London Hard Rock café - the original one. And after lunch, we went to their onsite Museum to take in some legendary rock memorabilia… for example, the harpsichord that the Beatles used on “All You Need is Love” and on some other songs on the Sergeant Peppers Album. Very cool. We then walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace for some photos, then back on the Tube for a ride home.

Tonight, we’ll just go out to a local restaurant here in Kensington, and take in the last part of the Holland vs. Uruguay World Cup match. With our recent visit to Holland, we’ve kind of becomes fans and are both rooting for them tonight.

A simple, low key night as we wind down, as we’ve both been describing this, a trip of a lifetime. It’s been an incredible adventure. But again, we are both looking forward to being back in States.

Thanks for sharing our Blog with us - it’s been fun keeping a journal of this fantastic experience.

Love - Greg and Joanie

Hip Hip Hooray - London, 7/5

We’re still on the EuroStar train, just emerging on the England side of the Chunnel and I’m so happy! Road signs in English, train announcements in English - YAY! But just as I’m celebrating a return to normalcy - at least for me - I see cars driving on the wrong side of the road. Well, a couple more days before normalcy will really return. Looking forward to our two days in London, but now both Joanie and I are ready to be back in the States. More later…

When we arrived we took a cab to our hotel. However, on the way we asked our driver if he could drive us to Abbey Road, which he did. That was really fun for me - the Apple Studios right there, and then the famous crossing from the Abbey Road cover. Silly, but cool.

Our hotel is in Kensington, a “suburb” of London - nice neighborhood with a “Tube” station (subway) right down the block, along with lots of pubs and restaurants. And the hotel is very cool - inside an old townhouse, the hotel itself is very modern and comfortable… and a great hotel staff. We arrived too early to check in, so we left our bags there and walked down the street where I got some fish and chips and a Guinness, and before hand, Joanie and I both got a Starbucks.

We then checked in, and soon thereafter took the Tube to Leicester Square in London, where we purchased half price tickets to the play “Hair”, for that night at 8pm. We bought the tickets around 4pm so we had time to kill, and then bought our double-decker bus tickets for our London tour, and spent the next 2 hours on the top of a bus driving all around London. Another great tour, filled with all sorts of sights and “slices of life” of the Londoners and tourists below.

We then returned to Piccadilly Circus and had dinner (Joanie had some Asian food and I ended up with bad Asian food, so went down the street for a “jacket potato” and a beer. Joanie and I also split a sticky toffee pudding before walking down the street to the theatre.

Hair was fun, and actually the ending was a blast, but the theatre was so dam hot - unbelievably hot. We were fanning ourselves, I was even unbuttoning my shirt all the way and getting water from a water bottle I had, wetting my hands, and wiping down my body. Heck, with the nudity on stage, I was ready to join them. Wouldn’t that have been a hit!

Anyway, after the play we took the Tube back to Earl’s Court (our stop) and came home and both of us slept well. It was fun getting to know London.

A Beautiful Day in Paris - July 4th

We woke up to beautiful blue sky. Yay! On the first Sunday of each month, the museums in Paris are free, and guess what today is! So, early this morning we took a taxi to the Louvre and had breakfast at a café on that side of town. (Starting to miss my cereal and Big City Coffee!)

Anyway, we went to the Louvre and saw her Majesty, the Mona Lisa - a lot to do about a seemingly run of the mill painting. And the crowds that flock to it are amazing. We also saw Venus de Milo and many other statues and paintings from those time periods, as well as a good deal of African and Egyptian statues and artwork. The free day sure brought out the crowds, but going early made it tolerable - but after a little more than 2 hours - it was time to go. But memorable, and we’re glad we experienced it.

We then took our double-decker bus on another tour of Paris (again, this time with beautiful blue skies) until we got home. After a little break, we hopped our bus again for the short ride to the Eiffel tower, where we had a great picnic in the park. We then went for a scenic cruise on the Seine River, where we mostly saw the same sights but from a really nice, cool and breezy point of view. We decided, unfortunately, not to go up the tower because the line was way too long, so we just walked home from there.

Heading to dinner now at our local Bistro/Café/Brassiere/Whatever… for our last Parisian meal. (Got French Onion soup on my mind). Then early tomorrow morning we take the EuroStar through the Chunnel for old London Town.

Sounds like a simple day, and it kind of was, but it was a great, scenic, beautiful, sunny day in Paris!

Oh and by the way, Happy Birthday America! We love you and we miss you!

An Evening Surpirse 7/3

This is what we saw out of our hotel window, right before we called it a night. It looked incredible in person, so we thought we'd share this one...

Cloudy Skies in An Amazing City - 7/3

So, finding a new hotel and a cab to help move us was the easy part. Just a few kilometers away, we found the Hotel Victor Hugo - which was located between the Arc de Triumphe and the Eiffel Tower. And in fact, our nice room ended up having a really nice view of the tower - which was great to have.

However (yes, there is a “but” here), I forgot my Passport at the old hotel and Joanie forgot her back pack in the cab! Pretty lame, huh? The good news is that we called the cab company and for a small fee, they returned Joanie’s bag. And then of course for an additional small fee, they drove us over to the old hotel where I found my Passport right were I left it - under the mattress… even though the maid had already made up the bed for new tenants. What could have gone very wrong had a happy ending… and so our second day in Paris was off to an “interesting” start.

After picking up my Passport, we had our cabbie drop us off at the Orsay Museum. After waiting in not too long of a queue, we spent almost 2 hours there - admiring more Van Gogh and many of his buddies - Monet, Manet, Degas, Renior and many more. Just beautiful, magical paintings. My favorite of this has usually been Van Gogh’s landscapes, but there was a self portrait of him that was amazing - it seemed to come alive, as though it was in 3D. Really incredible to see these works of art in person.

After the Orsay, we purchased two tickets for the Paris hop-on, hop-off tour bus, like we did in Rome. Our first ride ended up being kind of short - in that we got off at the Champs Elysees and walked a few blocks (past all the high priced stores and cafes) to the Arc de Triumphe. Again, the size and detail of these European monuments is dazzling. From there it was a short walk to our neighborhood, where we stopped at our local café for some sweet crepes. Then after resting up back at our hotel… we hit the streets again.

Our hop-on, hop-off bus has a pick up spot very close to our hotel, so we went there to catch the next bus. And we then spent the next two hours touring Paris - seeing all the sights from the top deck. It was amazing!! And the weather was cooperating - after yesterday’s hot and muggy conditions, it had rained in the morning and the rest of the day was cloud cover and cool. A very relaxing, pleasant tour of Paris, taking tons of photos. After completing the 2 hour circle of Paris we were back in our neighborhood, where we had a fantastic Italian dinner, street-side of course - with a view of the Eiffel Tower from our table. A very “tre magnifique” day in Paris!

Hot Train and a Hot Time in Paris - 7/2

We left for the train station early this morning, and had a nice breakfast at the station - trackside dining. And that was the best part of the day. (Great Dutch Apple pancake pictured!) From that point on - hot, muggy and crowded.

The train from Amsterdam was hot, muggy and crowded - definitely the most (and only) uncomfortable train ride we’ve had.

When we got off in Brussels - to spend about 3 hours in the nearby Grand Place Square - the station was hot, crowded, muggy and confusing. Everything seemed hard to find. We finally found the lockers to store are bags, but didn’t have the energy to seek out and walk to the Grand Place, so we went to a nearby (air conditioned) restaurant and had lunch there.

Back on the train to Paris, we took the French Thales - their high speed train. For some reason, we were traveling on this train in 2nd class, but it was fine. This train was comfortable and (fast - pretty cool - but it was only an hour and 15 minutes before we arrived in Paris.

Wow - very crowded at the train station - standing in a fairly long line to get a Taxi. And when we finally got to our hotel, the air conditioning and the internet was not working. I could have gotten by without the internet, but the AC was only slightly cool, and our room was uncomfortable. And when it cooled down outside in the evening, we couldn’t open our windows to sleep because of the busy street below.

We left the hotel room for an evening stroll (cooler and less muggy now) and had a fine dinner on a sidewalk café. And sleeping in the room wasn’t too bad after a cold shower. But the next morning, when the hotel said they wouldn’t be able to fix the AC until Wednesday, we said we wanted to find a new hotel, and we did.

Amsterdam with a Friend - 7/1

We started our second day in Amsterdam at a local coffee house (not shop - only the “shops” sell pot). Anyway, we then hopped the Number 9 until it met up with the Number 3, which we took to the Van Gogh museum. We had purchased tickets online the night before and went to the front of the line, getting in before everyone else- it was great!

And the exhibition was also great! There were over 200 of his paintings there - some nothing much to speak of, while others were mesmerizing. I really love his work. There we met Anna Marie - an old friend of Joanie’s from her Chula Vista days. Anna Marie moved back to Amsterdam many years ago and it was the first time she and Joanie had seen each other in years. She was very nice and after the Van Gogh Museum, she volunteered to show us some more sights.

It was a casual, easy going afternoon. We took another tram to the Liendseplein - a “hopping” area of Amsterdam where we had lunch at another sidewalk café. Here we sampled Bitteballs - a meat “croquette” - little balls made of meat and flour and ragu, then fried in bread crumbs. They are a finger food… you dip them in mustard and enjoy - and we did. Then we went walking, by the canals, flower and cheese stores and throughout a cute little neighborhood known as the 9 Streets. After stopping for some lemonade and carrot cake (it was a fairly hot day - definitely hot by Amsterdam’s standards) we parted with Anna Marie, and returned to our guest suite where we took a little nap.

After our short nap and passing some time hanging around our Amsterdam home - we again took the Number 9 to Rembrandt Square (only about halfway to downtown) and had a great Indonesian dinner - coconut rice, satays, egg rolls, etc. Again, this was a sidewalk café on the very active square. After dinner, we needed to get rid of the leftover pot from the previous night. We went into another coffee shop on Rembrandt square and were able to purchase a small pipe for 5 Euros. We were going to sit at the coffee shop and I was going to take one final hit before giving my remainders to some “lucky” person… when we saw people smoking in the square itself. There were several policemen nearby, and I went up to one asking him what the law was. Indeed, smoking in public is okay - it’s only when you get out of hand that the police step in. So, we found a bench in the park and I took one more hit. It was surreal doing this right in the middle of the square. I found it awkward being so cavalier about this - but “when in Rome”. Even Joanie decided to partake in the “when in Rome” spirit and took a hit as well. Again, we both felt it, but very mildly - which is all we intended to do. I then gave my leftovers and our newly purchased pipe to these three guys that were already smoking - from a large bong- on a nearby bench. Another fun European experience for the books.

We then hopped on the tram for the short ride home, and called it a night- again arriving home just as it got dark - around 11pm.

Amsterdam was an amazing place. Everyone spoke very good English, with hardly noticeable accents. The town seems pretty young and is definitely a town on the move - with the constant availability of trams and buses and bicycles. Man, the bicycles are everywhere!!! I mean, you really have to be careful not to be hit by one - but it truly is an amazing site to see this towns reliance on bikes - it makes so much sense and was great to see. I have a pretty good collection of bicycle photos to share someday.

A fun and memorable time - our two days in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Here We Come - 6/30

In Bacharach we had a nice continental breakfast at our hotel, and then walked down to the Rhine River to catch our boat to St. Goar. (Eurrail passes can be used for these boats at no additional charge.) St. Goar is another town similar to Bacharach, about a one hour boat ride north. This stretch of the Rhine is one of the best for viewing castles - and we really enjoyed this scenic cruise. Upon arriving in St. Goar, we walked a couple of blocks to the train station. Today we only needed two trains, and about 4 hours, to make it to Amsterdam.

When we arrived we decided to take a Taxi to our guest suite - which is the third floor of a privately owned townhouse by Lidy and Rene - our hosts. Very nice people and great accommodations - we have our own little apartment.

After settling in and showering, and getting a quick primer on the transportation system (basically street trolleys) we took the Number 9 line to Central Station in Amsterdam… where we were going to find a place to get a bite, and walk through the Red Light District, and I was thinking of pulling a “when in Rome” kind of thing by imbibing a tiny bit of the legal weed in Amsterdam’s coffee shops.

We ended up having Falafels for dinner at a sidewalk café and then we did go into the Baba Coffee Shop. I made the minimum purchase - 8 Euros for a gram (way more then I needed) of what they called “White Widow” - I asked for the weakest “flavor”. A guy there then showed me how to use a vaporizer to smoke it, and I took 2 little hits, and I felt it just a bit. It was amazing to do this in public, and the buzz was subtle - so we left Baba’s and walked towards the Red Light District.

And this place was truly amazing and actually a bit seedy and sad. It was amazing to see scantily clad women in windows - knowing that they are openly available - for a “rental fee”. And that was also the sad part - having daughters and thinking of how these daughters are selling their bodies, was just sad. I’m sure every one of them would rather be earning a living in some other fashion. Despite how amazing it was to see - our walk through this part of town was fairly quick. We then caught the Number 9 home around 11pm - just as it was finally getting dark.