Amster-Damn, Are We There Yet?

A smooth (sleepless) night flight later (thanks to KLM’s yummy food and good selection of entertainment keeping us awake), we arrived in Amsterdam for a layover. Britt turned 31 in the air, continuing a longstanding tradition of being anywhere but Toronto on her birthday.

Where we stayed: At a hotel very close to the airport. There isn’t much worth reporting, except that it had three comfy beds to support the minimal sleep we got, and a bus depot across from it went directly from it to the airport, and from it to downtown.

What we ate and drank: We ate the best croquettes in Amsterdam and had delicious beers at the local watering hole where business people began to congregate in the afternoon dusking sun.  We enjoyed dinner on a patio for Britt, and had birthday ice cream in Nieuwmarkt with the smell of weed in the air.

What we did: We walked the streets and canals, taking in the buildings and bikes, and looking for food (mostly!). We tried to remember where we had been before in our previous travels, and retrace our steps – the place where JD burnt his tongue on too hot pizza, the place where we posed with an ancient Timex digital clock to show just how light it was at 10 pm, the innocent looking alley that we later learned was elite alley – where you can find the most expensive sex workers – all still there. Once we confirmed that Amsterdam hadn’t changed all that much, we were ready to move on to our next adventure.

Lessons learned: Try to stay awake on public transportation – even if you haven’t slept in 24 hours – or you may fall off your seat and look like a fool in front of the locals.

Some more questions for Kruger Park…

1) Will we see animals grazing right next to our lodge, like in all of the images you see online of safaris?

2) Will we see the big 5 – elephants, rhinos, leopards, buffalos, and lions – and which one will we be scared of the most?

Stay tuned!

This Time for (South) Africa

Ashley was accepted to present at the International AIDS Conference  in July 2016 (AIDS 2016) and so the conference groupies are at it again. We decided to make it a vacation, heading for the dusty savannah of Kruger Park and the cosmopolitan coastal retreat of Cape Town.

Before we head on perhaps our greatest adventure yet, some questions…

1) Will we get back on the plane in Amsterdam, after a 24-hour break from flying?

2) Will we be ‘those tourists’ that roll down the window to get a better picture of some type of wildlife that should not be within a meter of human beings?

3) Will we find any wildlife in Cape Town, or be wooed inside by the good food (and wine)?

Stay tuned!

Down By The Bay... Where The Appetites Grow

We ventured North from LA to San Francisco, arriving in one of the poshest airports we’ve ever seen, and travelling to one of the poshest hotels we’ve ever stayed in.

Where we stayed: The Donatello Hotel, in a huge room with a bed, a pull out couch, a kitchenette, desk, tv, and walk-in closet. It was the kind of place where they expect you have money and they try to get you to buy a time share… It was located right near Union Square, in San Francisco’s shopping and theatre district, and a short walk or cable car ride to the pier. The fridge served it’s purpose (holding beer and pizza), as did the bathroom (providing a quiet and private space for Ashley to practice her presentation).

What we ate and drank: We had a San Francisco culinary experience, starting with Hops & Hominy for salad, mac and cheese, black bean fritters, a local craft beer, and most importantly – cousin Greg! We checked out a downtown watering hole called Rick House… dark, yet light enough to see the illegal activity taking place in the back room. We ate at the pier, at several piers, actually, looking out at the surrounding bridges during both day and night. We put on our dressy clothes and tried a 5 star restaurant called Slanted Door and got the best table in the house for lunch at one of the most highly rated vegetarian restaurants in the city. How, you ask? When Ash called to move the reservation for David Boudreau (a name JD uses sometimes as it’s easier to spell than Jean-David), the woman emphatically responded that that was fine and she had saved him a great table. When we arrived she peered behind JD asking where David was, only to find out he was not the David Boudreau she expected – who is apparently a tech mogul. Suffice it to say she was likely underwhelmed by her tip, and we were overwhelmed by the amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge that we had from our table.  We took in the food truck frenzy that San Francisco is known for, attending Off the Grid, a monthly food truck festival with every type of food you could ask for, all the drinks you could buy, and live music. We loved the food truck experience so much that we later made a special trip down to Cod Mother for fish tacos and followed it up with custom ice cream sandwiches from baked Bear. We had some drinks with Greg at his place then ours, and then he went home like a responsible adult while we met up with many non-responsible vacationing adults to go out drinking and dancing in the Castro district (gay village)!

What we did: When we weren’t eating, which was, quite frankly, most of the time, Ash managed to get to her conference to present to a bustling crowd of three. We checked out all the piers, including Pier 39 with the sea lions – cuddling, fighting, and relaxing on the dock. We went down to Fisherman’s Wharf, walked up and down many a hill, through little Italy, Chinatown, to see the Painted Ladies, and through Haight & Ashbury. We took a tour to Alcatraz, and each plotted our own private escape. Luckily we made it to the ferry to head back so all our plotting wasn’t necessary. We left the city to check out Muir Woods, the big, beautiful trees not far from the city. Ironically, our tour guide didn’t believe in climate change. Exactly what you want to hear about as you’re heading to a nature conservation. On the way back into town we stopped at Sausalito, popped into fancy art galleries and dollar stores. We did another excursion – a wine tour to Napa Valley – with yet another interesting tour driver who had a personal vendetta against Robert Mondavi and yelled at people on the bus for chatting instead of listening to him. We stopped at Nicholas Ranch and tried a $50 bottle of red wine, Madonna’s Estate where California girls served us many drinks and taught us how to pronounce Gewürztraminer (Girls Are Meaner), had lunch in Yountown where we tried more wine and then went to Bouchon bakery for an éclair, and then went to one more vineyard – the worst for last – we can’t remember the name. What we didn’t do… ride the cable car or go into the Japanese Garden –  SO EXPENSIVE! Or see the Golden Gate Bridge – it was SO FOGGY! Oh well, we guess we’ll have to go back another time. We weren’t lured quite yet to quit our jobs and apply to Facebook, although one more vineyard or food truck and we might have been.

Lessons learned: Being day drunk is awesome, and if you sleep on the way back you don’t have to listen to your awkward tour guide!

That’s all for now! Turns out we are off to South Africa next for yet another conference for Ash and her conference groupies!

Stay tuned!