Breakfast in Milan: Zucca and Gallerie Vittorio Emanuele

{ February 10, 2009 @ 12:24 pm } · { Europe, Italy, Lombardy, Milan }
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Probably the most famous spot to have breakfast in Milan is Zucca, a cafe just inside Gallerie Vittorio Emanuele. This cafe has a wonderful view of the Duomo and the plaza, and one can watch thousands of tourists and Milan natives pass by as you enjoy an overpriced cappuccino and pastry. I sat for an hour, eating an amazing chocolate croissant, writing postcards and waking up to the idea that I was in Milan.

 

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The view out to the piazza is crowded with people, but nonetheless inspiring.

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Stepping inside the Gallerie Vittorio Emanuele, the glass ceiling takes all your attention. Despite it’s beautiful architecture, the Gallerie was really built as a shopping mall. And a mall it is, with stores so expensive I hardly dare to window shop.

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Further through the Gallerie you find a famous tile mosaic on the floor, the Taurus zodiac symbol. It is said that if you step on the bulls most delicate parts you will have good luck! All day long you can find tourists and locals stopping by to give the poor bull a stomp. Some of them do a dance, others twirl around a few times, and some just pause for a second, stomp down hard, and walk off as if nothing had happened! No matter what method you choose, you’ll be sure to have onlookers.imgp1650

My favorite runs, Taos Ski Valley

{ February 6, 2009 @ 11:29 am } · { New Mexico, North America, Southern US }
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Starting at the bottom of the moutain at TSV there are four lifts, although one is rarely operational. Rueggli is the childrens lift, and takes you up a small short hill that is normally filled with small children going to ski school. Lift 3 is the traditional ‘bunny slope’ lift, and takes you up a steeper but still small hill for a run called ‘Strawberry Hill’. Lifts 1 and 5 are your first real stops to Kachina Peak, and after you’ve warmed up they are certainly where you should go.
As an eternal intermediate skier, I stayed on greens and blues during my weeklong trip to Taos. Greens are understandably crowded, but if you can manage a few blue runs you will be very happy with the empty slopes and they are only slightly more challenging.
Most beginners, once they are ready to get off of bunny hills, start with Whitefeather. This relatively long run (about 30min) takes you from the top of Lift 1 back to the bottom of the mountain. On the way you can go up lifts 2, 6 or 8 for more lengthy skiing and longer runs.

Top of Lift 1

 
My favorite trip was to take Lift 2 or 6 to Kachina Peak- a beautiful vista and colder temperatures await you there. Take Honeysuckle down and admire the amazing view and huge bowls, and turn off at Lower Totemoff or Lonestar, or stay on Honeysuckle until you reach Winkelreid. Take Winkelreid down to Lift 4, then ride that up to go down Easy Trip, Japanese Flag and Lower Patton. Exiting Lift 4 can be a little confusing- you should ski all the way across the hill (get some momentum, you’ll need it!) to your left as you exit the lift. There you will find Easy Trip and some crazy skiers hiking to Hunziker Bowl.  Ski down Easy Trip, then all the way across the hill again under the lift to get to Japanese Flag. Lower Patton takes you to a lodge and a restaurant- a great place to stop for lunch if you don’t want to go all the way down to the base.

Kachina

Kachina

To get back to the base, take Rubezahl Run, a very long, almost completely flat trail through beautiful forest. This is a very peaceful run, almost always empty, and I enjoyed it immensely. Don’t go to slow though- take advantage of the momentum when you get it because you don’t want to end up walking! Rubezahl will spit you right back out at Lift 1 so you can do it all over again!

Of course Taos is a haven for expert skiers as well, as there are plenty of black and black double diamond runs all throughout the mountain, often right next to a green or blue counterpart. As you ride Lift 1 you will be treated to the good, bad and ugly of skiers going down a hill of challenging moguls on Al’s Run. It makes for an entertaining trip up!

Hiking the Cinque Terre: Part 5 – Vernazza to Monterosso

{ February 5, 2009 @ 5:35 pm } · { Cinque Terre, Europe, Italy, Liguria }
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Amazingly enough, eventually you will want to leave Vernazza and travel to Monterosso. One of the longest legs of this journey, this trip is graced by more gorgeous views, hikes through deeply forested areas, and this pretty, ice cold stream that offered me welcome refreshment about halfway through the hike.

Stream on Path to Monterosso

Stream on Path to Monterosso

Finally arriving, after thousands of stairs and about 5 hours of hiking, you will see beaches an your 5th lovely town.

First view of Monterosso

First view of Monterosso

Don’t be fooled, as I was, the town actually stretches all the way around the hill that you see onto the other side of the bay. The train station is on this other side, down a long boardwalk that is often filled with people shopping, going to the beach and having drinks or gelato. Spend some time wandering around Monterosso, especially in the spring or summer, because it is a really beautiful place with a lot of interesting architecture, shopping and an almost tropical mediterranean environment.

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When it was finally time to leave, I waited for close to 2 hours for a very late train. Luckily I was surrounded by friendly tourists and enjoyed these gorgeous flowers. I hope you do too!

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Ski Taos: Getting There

{ February 3, 2009 @ 12:23 pm } · { New Mexico, North America, Southern US }
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From San Antonio we drove to Taos. Yes, drove. Yes it was a long drive, and yes it was boring. I recommend passing through West Texas at night. For some reason it isn’t as boring at night, perhaps because there’s the constant fear that an animal will come out of the pitch black surrounding you and you will be forced to slam on your brakes. Vigilance is crucial, especially since hitting a deer at 70 or 80mpg could devastate your car- and the poor deer. There aren’t street lights out there, and the sky is so dark it seems like the stars have multiplied a million times.
The most eventful portion of the drive was the stop in Albuquerque for lunch. 66 diner, just a quick trip off of the freeway on Central Ave, was a nice stop. Breakfast was still being served so we had huevos rancheros, pancakes, an emormous omelette and oatmeal between the four of us. I regret that I wasn’t able to try a milkshake: flavors like ‘The Dreamsicle’ and ‘The Elvis Presley’ still make my mouth water. They also have a full line of desserts including sundaes in all shapes and sizes, multiple varieties of pie and double chocolate cake.66 Diner Albuquerque

There isn’t much that can rival perfect ski conditions. With luck, you too can experience them, even in New Mexico. We arrived one day after a fresh snow- with slopes perfectly groomed and the sun out again.
The trip up to Taos Ski Valley from Taos or Arroyo Seco takes 15-30 minutes, but it is not a steep climb. Most of the trip you are driving between two mountains, with a small brook on your right, so only the most fearful acrophobe will have trouble.

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Arrival at the resort anywhere near opening time will mean a bit of a wait to park in the icy, inconvenient parking lot. Don’t worry though- whether you are Gila Monster 11 or Deer 14, the shuttle will come get you, normally right at your vehicle.

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Riding the shuttle is a bit of an adventure by itself. The big trailer full of people, skis, snowboards and boots slides around the parking lot, bouncing, stopping and starting. But it sure beats walking! The shuttle drops you off in two locations- outside the Childrens Center or right at the lift ticket office. If it’s your first day at Taos Ski Valley, definitely ride to the ticket office to register for lessons, get lift tickets for the week, and just generally check everything out. Nearby are most of the restaurants, cafes, ski rental shop and travel office as well as condos.
There are not many ski in/ski out options in Taos, but the travel is worth it for great snow. There are tons of rental options in Taos village, including many homes with multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, internet, hot tubs- our rental house even had heated floors! So enjoy your stay, even inside away from the snow.

Pray for an end to abortion

{ January 25, 2009 @ 7:47 pm } · { General }
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In Search of Internet in Taos, New Mexico

{ January 15, 2009 @ 5:05 pm } · { New Mexico, North America, Southern US }
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This past Christmas vacation I was fortunate enough to go skiing in Taos, New Mexico. I will leave a discussion of the skiing for another time, but it was terrific. At the same time I was unfortunate enough to have some applications due Dec 31st and Jan 1st, and being the procrastinator that I am, they weren’t done when we arrived in Taos on the 27th of December.

Taos is a pretty town, especially if you appreciate Southwestern style, art and architecture. It has small town charm as well- there are tons of local shops, coffee houses and locally owned restaurants. It does not, however, have a whole lot of internet.

At first our rental home was supposed to have internet, but for some reason it had not been installed by our arrival. I waited patiently, but by the 29th I was anxious. Asking a friend over the phone to search for an internet cafe, he directed me to Wired, the only one listed online. After skiing one evening we sought to find the cafe and were shocked to find it closed, completely dark, at 6pm. Granted, the sun sets at 530pm, but to be closed at 6pm? I was appauled. Next I tried a place I found in a directory: it clearly said open until 10pm both in the directory and on the front door. Someone must be confused about when 10pm occurs because the coffee shop was locked, the room was dark and there were no cars in the parking lot.

On to the backup plan: a hotel lobby. Walking into one of the main hotels in Taos at about 7pm I found out where all the skiers went: out drinking. The lobby, bar and restaurant were packed with 20 and 30somethings warming up with beer and cocktails. Needless to say the hotel staff did not have somewhere for me to check my email.

Back at the house I kept my laptop out and searched for a wireless network. I found one accessible in the driveway: but not inside the house. I sat in the driveway working on applications until my laptop died about an hour later.

The next day I thought I’d get smart. We left the ski slopes a little early and tried the public library. A sign on the door read: Internet down, sorry!  Ok, let’s try Wired again. They’re open at 4pm, surely I will have success there.

Indeed Wired was open, so I went in, got comfy and ordered my coffee. By the time the coffee was ready I found out the internet wasn’t working- the barista cited a regional outage of the major provider in the area. Clearly I had found the ultimate internet dead-zone.

In the end we had internet installed in our rental house, for the last night we were there. So I had one night of application work and email bliss during my vacation, and the rest was frustratingly free of technology.

Rudi Lechner’s Oktoberfest

{ October 21, 2008 @ 6:01 pm } · { Houston, North America, Southern US, Texas }
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Houston isn’t my number one choice to celebrate Oktoberfest, but this year it will have to do. Just down the street from our humble abode is Houston’s most popular German restaurant, Rudi Lechner’s. And as far as authenticity, it’s pretty good.

We went on a Saturday night, meaning live music and a full restaurant but no wait. I don’t know if there’s no wait because it’s a little expensive, or because Houstonians don’t appreciate yodeling as much as they should. We had potato pancakes (a little too soggy) with applesauce, and they compared pretty closely to the wonderful potato pancakes we used to get a German festivals and outdoor markets in the fall in Frankfurt. I chose a quiche plate, because I wasn’t very hungry, but sampled my date’s weisswurst and bratwurst with spicy mustard. Delicious. I only wish it came with a brotchen as well! The pork steak (Rippchen) was perfectly cooked and thickly sliced, just like it came from our smalltown butcher in Martinshoehe. They have a reasonable selection of German beers, and you can indulge yourself and say ‘bitte ein Bit’ if you like.

The music was quite good, with typical favorites, German toasts and the whole restaurant was smiling and singing along. The crowd was very friendly, just as you would find in a beer hall somewhere in Bavaria. A tear almost came to my eye when the whole room rang out with “Ein prosit, ein prosit die gemüdlichkeit” 

If Germany isn’t quite in your budget this October, try it. www.rudilechners.com

All Inclusive in Nassau

{ August 20, 2008 @ 9:15 pm } · { Bahamas, Caribbean }
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Most of my travel is for business, but I do get to take the odd vacation as well. This past May I went to Nassau, Bahamas with two friends and my  boyfriend. We stayed at Breeze’s, an all-inclusive resort – alcoholic drinks included cinched the deal.

Now, don’t get your hopes up when you visit the Bahamas, like I did. Flying into Nassau is not wonderful. The main airline that services Nassau from the US is US Airways, which is a discount airline with a hub in Charlotte, NC. That meant that we had a connection in Charlotte, and a dirty, old plane with advertisements on the tray tables. But that couldn’t dampen the happy vacation spirit.

The airport in the Bahamas is also old and dirty, and it takes ages to get through the customs and immigration lines (both coming and going!) Parts of it smell like old urine and the band in the waiting area playing loud Bahamian music was not cute, it was just annoying. We couldn’t wait to leave the airport.

All inclusive means airport transfer too, so we waited for a good 20 minutes to get a van to our resort. I guess luxury has a different meaning on the island. Check in at the resort was nice however, we were greated with an unidentified but tasty fruity alcoholic drink. Breeze’s is 16 and up, so it was quiet on the Sunday afternoon and we spent an hour or two drinking champagne in our rooms and unpacking.

(to be continued)

Hiking the Cinque Terre: Part 4, Corniglia to Vernazza

{ August 4, 2008 @ 1:51 pm } · { Cinque Terre, Europe, Italy, Liguria }
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Back towards the main road to the path to Vernazza, here the challenge begins and the climb is surrounded in olive groves and vineyards. The path is very wooded and mostly consists of large stone steps downhill. I highly recommend starting from Corniglia for this path, unless you are looking for a real challenge- climbing up those steps is torture! There are beautiful views of Corniglia, hills covered in vineyards and lengths through forest.

Seeing the olive groves up close is really a treat- tied to the trees are nets that the workers spread out between the trees to catch olives when the season is right.
This is a difficult and tiring walk, and takes about 1.5 hours. When you reach Vernazza the fun isn’t over, as you will descend hundreds of steps to get into the town, passing a tower and overlooking the Castle Doria.

Castle Doria is well worth a visit if you have the time, but beware, a visit means even more steps straight up! The castle is open weekdays and Saturdays, and costs a few euros for entrance. Climb to the top of the castle tower for a terrific view of the sea. Vernazza is one of the loveliest and most popular of the Cinque Terre, take your time to explore its streets and enjoy the beautiful marina.

Staunton’s Gypsy Hill Park

{ August 1, 2008 @ 3:47 pm } · { North America }
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I was blessed to attend a wedding this summer in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The reception took place in nearby Staunton (about 30min South) and after a fabulous meal at Stonewall Jackson Hotel (this is the South after all) we stumbled upon a little park.
Gypsy Hill Park is on first glance, a small park in the center of town, near the intersection of Churchville Ave and Thornrose. Upon further inspection, the park actually extents to an impressive 214 acres, including a golf course, football stadium, swimming pool and more.
The Gypsy Express train is particularly charming, a miniature train which operates on Saturdays and Sundays for only $1 per ride, children will adore it

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Bring a bird lover, I enjoyed the duck pond, which was filled with ducks and geese during the summer months. The pond itself was overflowing with koi (kind of gross if you ask me), and food for the ducks and koi could be purchased at machines along the edge of the pond. It’s much healthier than feeding them bread!

On a Saturday afternoon the park was pretty quiet, with just a few groups with picnics and families taking children to see the ducks or train. It has an idyllic Southern charm that reminds visitors of the simple life possible in a small town.

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