Travel Journal 07: Washington, DC - La Tasca

Evenings were dedicated to gastronomic adventures. Our first dinner was at a Spanish restaurant La Tasca. We had paella valenciana which we hardly have, and tapas. It was a treat!

Travel Journal 07: Washington, DC - Acadiana

On Dad’s birthday, we went to Acadiana which highlights a contemporary interpretation of New Orleans cuisine. It did not disappoint. The food was presented very well, the spice just enough for you to appreciate but not overwhelm the palette and the service impeccable.

Here's to Daddy!

Travel Journal 07: Washington, DC - 12/29/07

On our last day we used the day-pass to a local health club for a sauna and steam bath. Mark tried those deep Japanese soaking tubs while I played in the shower with those pump dispensers that dispensed what smelled like fruit jellies but were actually soap, shampoo and conditioner. I wanted to spread them over my buttered toast.

Travel Journal 07: Washington, DC - 12/29/07

Our last pictures were taken at a landmark historic Victorian hotel, the Morrison Clark Hotel.

I think I celebrated Daddy’s birthday with panache and hope to do the same again next year!

TGIF in 811 - Mark the King of Epicurean Bargains

Mark is the king of epicurean bargains. Above are his spice collection from Carrefour in Dubai. We consolidated the spice collection in beautiful old glass jars for only $10 from the thrift shop. On the Friday before Christmas, he bought about 2 pounds of ham plus the bone for soups and stews for only $10 at Zabar's! We had so much ham for the holidays at a bargain price and we had a good soup base thanks to the ham bone!

TGIF in 811 - Channeling Martha Stewart

I love the kitchen that Mark designed for 811. It's a small kitchen but it has lots of counter space to lay things out and cook! You can see me whisk up a dressing for the Waldorf salad while behind me is the slow cooker (my favorite kitchen equipment) slow cooking my signature pot roast. Cooking both this main dish and appetizer are easy, ingredients are readily available and recipe always on-hand if you email me!

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel!

This is a local Nativity Scene - Arles version taken from our trip to "Vincent Van Gogh land" (Arles, south of France) in January 2007. Take note of the local Arlesian woman (with the three kings), some school boys and milk maids in the horizon. Come one, come all!

2007: My Calgary Travel Journal

Calgary Reunion: 11/22/07 - Thanksgiving Day

The main purpose of our trip was to get away from the Thanksgiving crowd and celebrate the event with family. So we jetted ourselves to Calgary via Denver to spend time with family – to celebrate Thanksgiving and the begin the holiday festivities with Butch in Calgary.

Mark and I left for Calgary on a beautiful quiet Thanksgiving morning. Our trip began 3 blocks for our apartment beginning with a bus ride to La Guardia Airport. From there, it was a plane ride to Calgary via Denver. This was one of our shortest overseas trip – 5 hours minimum, the second being our trips to Geneva. Below is the flag of the Alberta province.

While the flight was totally uneventful, what got us a little worried was the public transport in Calgary. We decided that we would do on our typical travels, take public transportation to the airport and back. But because we were not familiar with the Canadian transportation system and the web did not provide us comprehensive details, we took a chance taking a bus (#57 Airport / Erin Woods at Stop 20) to the main train station (Whitehorn) and a train to the City Centre (1 SW or Olympic Plaza stop). It was a breeze.

By 6:30 pm we immediately phoned Butch for a get-together in an hour. We planned to meet up at the hotel room (Butch was coming from Edmonton via the Greyhound) and have dinner at the upscale Thomson’s Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency in Calgary where we were staying for four days.

Calgary Reunion: 11/22/07 - Setting up "base camp" at the Hyatt

Our hotel room offered us a view of the southwest area of Calgary. We saw the mountains on the horizon and just like Dubai, there was a lot of construction all around. But not as tall, loud or disorganized. There seems to be a quiet calm around the city. And it was not a hectic pace at all. Quite relaxed considering we were on vacation.

Calgary Reunion: 11/22/07 - Thanksgiving Dinner

Thomson’s restaurant, one of the "Top 10 Places to Dine" in Calgary, occupies the 1893 Thomas Brothers Block, where the well-spaced tables are surrounded by a historic setting of brick columns and stone arches coordinated with high-back leather chairs, rich wood wainscoting and ornate metal chandeliers.

The trio, Mark, Butch and myself, ordered Canadian regional cuisine. We all gave thanks and had a wonderful dinner. The brave men had their bison steaks (horns optional) and I ordered a petite and demure tenderloin steak. The Canucks know how to eat steak – they eat it large, and an average of about 1” inch thick and really hefty. My petite steak could serve 2 Medina sisters easily. But I noticed while the Canucks were generous with their meats, they were a little bit shy about their veggies. I’ll tell you about that on the following evening’s dinner.

After dinner, Mark went up to sleep while Butch and I walked around Stephen Avenue, up and down the avenue. Butch and I lost no time to bond and talked well into the midnight. He showed me the “hot spots” and interesting architecture, the sandstone and brick materials, the restoration involved to bring it back to its original state and overall, the history of Calgary while the “new” Calgary symbol – the Calgary Tower hovered a block from where we walked. We planned to climb the Tower during our visit. But first things first, we caught up with each other with many, many stories until 1 am. I walked him to Stephen Avenue and at the corner where he would head home. I hated to see him (the last time I saw him was four years ago) go but we agreed to meet for coffee at Second Cup, banking at CIBC and sight-seeing (everywhere!) tomorrow.

Calgary Reunion: 11/23/07 - Walking Tour of Calgary

After a quick coffee and muffin at Second Cup which became our meeting point outside of our Hyatt Regency base camp, we went to the bank and requested information on the gold Canadian maple leaf. At that time, the US currency was weak and gold was strong. Since that time and the publishing of this blog, gold has increased in price. Oh Canada!

We explored TD Square. TD Square is an urban shopping centre located along Stephen Avenue in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta. It is connected to the Calgary Eaton Centre (West), Scotia Centre (East), and Bankers Hall (South) where went earlier to inquire about the gold maple leaf.

The TD Square is part of the busiest artery of the +15 skywalk system, which links most major office complexes, hotels, attractions and public buildings with climate controlled bridges.

What is a +15? To connect many of the downtown office buildings, the city also boasts the world's most extensive skyway network (elevated indoor pedestrian bridges), officially called the +15. The name derives from the fact that the bridges are usually 15 feet (4.6 m) above grade. (Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary%2C_Alberta)

Going back to the hotel, we walked along Stephen Avenue and saw the CalgaryTower and Sears Building.

Calgary Reunion: 11/23/07 - New York and Edmonton is so close!

From New York, we brought Butch a used laptop he purchased from Mark “all in.” When we returned from “the core” where he bought himself a new headset and cycloptic web camera, Butch spent time in his new laptop.

He’s been hooked ever since. We Google Chat and Skype each other every night and it’s like we’re just neighbors. We’re never that far apart and we can see and hear each other clearly.

Calgary Reunion: 11/23/07 - Spirit of Christmas in the Hyatt

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Hyatt Regency with a 25 foot tall , gorgeously trimmed Christmas tree. It was a perfect backdrop for a photo-op to use for a Christmas card.

Calgary Reunion: 11/23/07 - Dinner at Saltlik

Located on the Stephen Avenue Walk, Saltlik is an elegantly designed steakhouse. They serve hearty dishes and the boys ordered their meats once again and I opted for a salad with alight dressing. When the plate arrived, we were all surprised to see a 4 oz. grilled hanger steak on top of my salad. I guess it was garnish. Wow, I wanted to ask the waitress: “Can I have a side order of white rice, please?” Yikes!

Calgary Reunion: 11/23/07 - Present from New York

Mark and I gave Butch a small book of postcards of New York City icons to guide him on his future visit to the Big Apple. Love that grin!

Calgary Reunion: 11/23/07 - The Walk to Butch’s Calgary flat and back

As we walked Butch home, we hatched a plan that part of our gift to Butch is a road trip to Edmonton to ferry out all his personal belongings from Calgary. This will save him time and money moving his possessions over the winter season. Tomorrow was the big day and Mark and I had to orient ourselves with the area since we were picking him up in his flat.

On our way back we were amazed by the clear air in Calgary that you can actually see the cloud formations at night. The only other place I can remember where it was this clear (but we don’t have pictures) is in the North Island in New Zealand.

Calgary Reunion: 11/24/07 - A Memorable Road Trip: Calgary to Edmonton and back

Calgary Reunion: 11/24/07 - On the Road

We woke up to a clear day as we headed out to the airport to pick up our rental car, a Chrylser Sebring followed by Butch in Calgary. We planned to drive in shifts along the TCH. We figured a 4 hours drive back and forth with stops along the way.

People across Canada (less so in Ontario and Quebec) generally refer to the highway as "The Trans-Canada Highway" ("Trans-Canada", "T-Can", or "TCH") rather than by its number(s)". In Calgary, it is 16th avenue N, or "Sixteenth". The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins all ten provinces of Canada and is, after the Trans-Siberian Highway (in Russia, where else?) and Highway 1 (Australia), the world's third longest national highway with a distance of 10,781 km.