Results tagged “travel” from Phoebe Chuason Blog

These past few months have been quite a blur of events, including celebrating Christmas with my parents for the first time in eight years (yay!).  But in early December we were "Nawlins" bound, which is a fun little city even if you never left the French Quarter (though thankfully we did).

We visited all the standard places like Café Du Monde for their beignets and café au lait, and Bourbon street for its nightlife (as well as its less frenetic, more musically enjoyable counterpart Frenchmen street).  It was also oyster season so we ate chargrilled oysters to our hearts' content.

I also rode a fanboat for the first time, which was actually quite a fun way to explore the swamps.  The ear muffs were dorky but absolutely necessary against the deafening sound (I'm amazed that we didn't scare off every single bit of wildlife for miles around).  We even got to hold a little hatchling, as apparently life is quite challenging for baby alligators so they are sometimes raised to a certain size before being released into the wild.

There are also some truly beautiful plantations in Louisiana.  We got to visit the Laura Plantation (a Creole plantation) and caught a glimpse of the stately Oak Alley Plantation.

And then three days later it was back to Los Angeles, though not without a little hitchhiker in tow.

Several weeks ago I spent a few days in Half Moon Bay, which was a relief from the rash of hot weather  we'd been experiencing in Los Angeles.  We were at the Ritz Carlton for a very worthwhile benefit, but it was also a good time to just get away a little.  I love that Half Moon Bay seems perpetually shrouded in fog.  I hopped on a bike for the first time in seven years, and after a slightly wobbly start we managed to bike all the way down several beaches and back.  But I think I spent most of my time just curled up in an Adirondack chair watching the waves during the day and the glow of the fire pits at night.  

These are a few photos from a brief daytrip to Cordoba.  That the day the heat was so scorching it was quite a relief to duck into the cool, dark interiors of the Great Mosque.  Once a pagan temple turned mosque turned Roman Catholic Church, it's a fascinating series of layers and incongruous designs elements.

Floating along the Sognefjord watching fjord towns pass by like little toy houses...

A little peace and sunshine go a long way.

Hot chocolate and a late breakfast at the Attic on a chilly spring day also happens to come with a rather spectacular view.  You might even catch a rainbow or two.

In 2007, in my pre-SLR days, a few friends, Tony, and I joined a few travelers from the U.K. in the back of a rattling van that wound its way slowly through a tiny mountain pass in Norway.  We were on our way to Nigardsbreen, a tiny arm of Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in Europe.  The road was sometimes so narrow that two cars couldn't pass through it, so oncoming traffic had to hug the side and wait for the other car to pass.

When we arrived it was a little surreal.  A boat docked at one end of the glacier-fed lake ferried us across, and Nigardsbreen, that seemingly tiny finger of the Jostedal Glacier, loomed over us, larger than life.

Being southern California bred, I wore practically all my clothes for this one, because despite the tiny glint of sunlight, it was cold.  Our host wore "knickers" (which looked sort of like capri pants to me), and seemed impervious to the temperature.  The two photos of us below were taken by my friend Shu Ping.  We fancied that we looked sort of like an REI ad (or maybe the Village people).

We drank the fresh water from one of the streams and on our hike back we got a little lost and encountered some errant sheep  (pictured above) that followed us partway back.  After climbing a few hills (crossing private property, no doubt) and meeting a few puzzled locals, we made it down just in time to meet our host, buy blueberries from a local farm, and return home.  

History is everywhere in Rome.  We were fortunate enough to spend a brief three days there a few months ago, and catch a glimpse of this amazing city.

At the steps of Santa Maria del Popolo

The Vatican museum is covered in art from floor to ceiling, crammed full of things I had only seen in art history books.

St. Peter's basilica is rather awe-inspiring to look at from the floor, but it was even more amazing to view the 5pm mass from the dome.   We were on our way to the cupola, which affords one of the best views of Rome (and trust me, there are a lot).

Our drive started out as serenely as it could possibly be from Seattle.  It was my first time driving a car in the ferry as we took it across Pudget Sound to Bainbridge Island, a mere half hour away.





We watched Seattle disappear into the horizon.





I can't for the life of me remember the name of this bakery (a local Seattle bakery), but it was at the ferry cafeteria and it was surprisingly good.  Or perhaps I was just ravenous, I'm not quite sure.  This is a picture of my morning almond poppy seed muffin.



Nothing can quite capture the sheer breadth and vastness of the Olympic National Park.  Certainly not our short forays in nor my camera.  We took advantage of the excellent weather and drove up to hurricane ridge, which affords gorgeous views of the Olympic mountains, including the Carrie glacier.





We also did a short hike to Marymere falls.





Tony demonstrated his literal definition of the word "tree hugger" in this picture.



Our pitstop was at Forks, Washington.  If the name rings a bell then that means you've read (or watched) Twilight (you know who you are).  The town is crawling with Twilight paraphernalia, even shops are named after the book.  There are two camps to this, the ones who have embraced the teenie bopper phenomena and the ones who wish that they could rename their town.  Regardless, it's the only decent town at the halfway point between our hikes, so in Forks we stayed.



We made a brief pit stop at Rialto beach for "sunset," or what we could sort of see through the ever-changing layer of clouds.  The beach is littered with the bones of old trees, swept white and bare by the ocean.









I actually really liked our bed-and-breakfast, Miller Tree Inn.  When they have a little library with sections that say "innkeeper favorites" and "to trade or borrow," you know that it's a homey place.  And by constantly having a plate of fresh-baked goodies by the nook, they easily won over Tony.







Tony "posing" with the bear found in our room, pretending to read the copy of Twilight they left in our room.



People put pins on a gigantic world map, detailing where they are from.  The United States map looks like a pincushion.



Our entry into Hoh rainforest was slightly foreboding.  Pardon the drops of rain on the windshield.  The first bouts of rain came our way to the rainforest, which was oddly fitting. 


Hiking seven miles with chilly, periodic showers is a muddy affair.  However, the views were definitely worth it. 

I'm talking about Seattle. :)

About a week ago we drove almost 400 miles, stayed in a private apartment, a bed and breakfast, and two hotels around the northwest.  The first leg of our trip was Seattle.  Navigating by car in Seattle was hectic, expensive, and highly not recommended. 



When we weren't hampered by parking time limits and (sometimes) lack of parking, Seattle was a really nice place to walk around.  The weather was lovely.





Here are a few Seattle highlights:

*  Pike's place market



We've been here before, but I love the festive bustle of markets.  The "original" Starbucks is located here.  We went to Starbucks and ordered... tea.  I appreciate the smell of coffee as much as the next person, but when it comes to drinking it, I douse mine with so much cream and sugar that I might as well be drinking, well, milk and sugar.  Enough admitted.





We tried the cheese, onion, and garlic roll at Piroshky Piroshky, a very tasty Russian Bakery at Pike's Place.



*  Crab pot with Sean



From this picture it looks like Tony is planning on tackling the mess on our table with his bare hands, while Sean takes a slightly more civilized route with his mallet. :)  I'm ashamed to say that we couldn't finish it, I blame the baked rolls we had right before this.

*  We explored our Queen Anne neighborhood and found Kerry Park, which offers a lovely view of downtown Seattle.  Along the way we ran into a brightly lit house surrounded by several trucks.  A neighbor whispered to me that it was a new Toby Maguire film.  We were a little too tired to linger too long though.



*  Tea at the historic Panama Hotel
It was built by a Japanese American architect and is perfectly preserved in its original state from the 1950s.  Supposedly it also contains some unclaimed furniture that previously belonged to some Japanese families that went into internment camps during WWII.



*  Underground tour

This quirky, humorous tour takes you through the dark subterranean passages of what was once the storefronts and streets of old Seattle.









I totally should've thought of a headlamp!  Now if only my husband would be willing to walk around with me wearing it...

*  Tasty sandwiches at Salumi's roughly breaks even with the painfully long line it takes to get to that cramped counter to gasp out your order.  It certainly does make you appreciate it more though.  This is a picture of the Porchetta, we also ordered a platter of assorted meats and cheeses.  Don't get me wrong, it was really, really good.. but it was also a really, really long line.  Catch it at an off hour or order ahead and pick it up.



*  The duck tour was definitely a highlight, albeit I was originally very resistant to it.  But how often do you get to ride an amphibious vehicle that drives you along the freeway one minute then dives headlong into the Lake Union in another minute...?



Our driver, self-named "Cueball," donned many hats... and my favorite is the very last one, which he wore right before he drove us off the ramp straight into the water.



I kid you not when I said that we went into Lake Union, for at least 20 minutes.  We could see the house that Tom Hanks paced around in in the film Sleepless in Seattle.





Some locals thought to entertain the camera-laden tourists (the other folks, certainly not me) by waving at us then jumping straight into water.

*  Free museum Thursdays at the Frank Gehry designed museum, the Experience Music Project, is a concert and a sci-fi-fest all in one.  A local band was blasting music and I got to ogle my favorite section, the Science Fiction Museum.





Bathroom, anyone?



*  Visiting the Chens was a definite highlight.  Their kids are adorable, especially Noelle.  In this picture she is demonstrating her multi-tasking skills, how to drink water and wash your hands.  Impressive.  Her parents understandably did not think so.



Peek-a-boo with my camera.



And when she was instructed to bid me good night said, "G'nite camera."  Sigh.  I'm more than just a pretty black box, people!

All in all a good (packed) few days in Seattle.  Just a teeny, tiny drop of all the things that this beautiful city has to offer.

We just got back from Chicago. Tired, but oh so happy. I got a travelin' bug in me that just can't be cured. Chicago is a beautiful city. It is the lovely, unpretentious cousin to big city glitz. We enjoyed our trip a lot, despite the chilly weather. Yes, I know, we are weak, spoiled Californians... our friend met up with us in flip flops while we were shivering in gloves and boots. Very sad.
 
Even a less observant person than I would not be able to miss all the propaganda in Chicago's bid for the Olympics.
 
We ended up staying at an apartment complex on Lake Street, which was lovely. A lot of people there are actual residents, so our apartment felt more like a home-away-from-home than a hotel.

 
The awesome view from our apartment:
 
Granted you can't rival the shot from the lounge at the John Hancock building. What you don't see pictures was the toothsome tiramisu, which vanished very quickly thanks to my husband. :P
 
Our token tourist shot from the bean.
 
The inside is what I always thought a black hole would look like.
 
A definite trip highlight was the food. There's no skirting around the issue, we just ate a lot. Some friends showed us around, so we ate two dinners that first night. He insisted that we haven't tasted a real Polish dog until this place.
 
I admit, it puts Costco's to shame. :P We were also strangely addicted to Garrett's popcorn, the Mix, which is composed of cheddar and caramel. It's a bizarre combination that actually keeps you eating far longer than you otherwise would with one flavor alone. A highlight of the trip was a walking food tour. We walked through the Gold Coast, Old Town, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods sampling food from small, local stores. Who knew Germans were so serious about their tea? Our second stop was at Tea Gschwendner (try saying that!) for some Bossa Nova Oolong.
 
We also crowded inside the kitchen at the Fudge Pot and devoured some pretty good butter toffee. I just don't want to know what goes in it! This is a shot of third generation Fudge Pot owner Dave stirring some, you guessed it, fudge.

 
This is our tour guide Nikki explaining about the different spices from the back of the Spice House.

 

We saw the original Playboy mansion during our walk.
 
And finally, the king of Chicago's tasty but unhealthy specialties? The deep dish pizza.

 

We actually got it.. twice. My favorite place was on our last night at Quartino's, a very lively scene with lots of tasty tapas. This was Tony's best attempt to ignore me, he's gotten rather desensitized to my constant need to photograph what I eat.
 
The veal meatball sliders, caprese, and risotto were extremely tasty.

 

Ok, I think I ranted enough about food for one day. =)