tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71191306444442780012024-03-12T20:44:01.862-07:00Amanuensison the run from boredom since 1983Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger872125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-40862527123636138962014-06-14T09:01:00.001-07:002014-06-14T09:01:54.202-07:00Peace Corps China 2014-2016Google and, as such, Blogger, have a habit of being intermittently blocked by China's infamous firewall, so I will be neglecting this blog more than usual for the next two years and posting my China-ventures exclusively at Like China in a Bull Shop, http://chinakati.tumblr.com/. I promise to be more attentive to that than I have been to this.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-45585589582112902532014-05-08T19:47:00.004-07:002014-05-08T19:47:45.478-07:00Gumbo Zombie rap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zoCWPabDg3o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-77352757719933718692014-01-31T14:26:00.002-08:002014-01-31T14:26:25.050-08:00Dallas Buyers Club with dolls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DhcML0Ljvgo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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I thought I was getting a screener of this movie and offered to loan it to a friend when I was done. Sadly, I didn't get said screener but my friend still insisted I find a way to get her the movie. So I did. Enjoy.<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-52938294458640003152013-12-24T13:01:00.004-08:002013-12-24T13:01:52.500-08:00Monster dance video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Share with your family and friends.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-47243481189684075272013-12-04T09:39:00.001-08:002013-12-04T09:39:30.390-08:00New Zealand, very belatedlyI have no excuse for not posing about NZ, except that no one really reads this blog, so who am I hurting? But since I'm closing in on my Moscow-Budapest-Bratislava-Vienna trip, no time like the present.<br />
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Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Whole reason
I took this trip and not another was b/c Hawaiian started flying to Auckland
and had cheap under-800 rt fares from LAX, so I took that. Honolulu Airport is
fascinating. It’s open-air and on my way back I’m going to try to leave the airport
and go get lunch nearby b/c it’s friggin’ Hawaii and it’s lame to only
experience the airport and nothing else. Here’s what Hawaiian does right:
chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, blankets, seating. My legs never felt cramped
(particularly during the Honolulu-Auckland leg, where I had a four-seat row to
myself—this trip isn’t particularly popular yet, especially since it’s winter
in Auckland), which is a first. What Hawaiian does particularly badly: lack of
free entertainment. The rest of the food isn’t great either, but really a
nine-hour flight and we have to pay for movies/TV? Lame. Luckily, I had the
travel issue of Lucky Peach (best purchase I’ve made in ages), a puzzle book,
Swamplandia on my Kindle, audiobook of The Natural, and episodes of Top of the
Lake with me to keep amused.</div>
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By the way, Top of the Lake rocks.<br />
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My first night was at the Ibis Budget near the airport. Due
to a lack of info on the site and a lack of response to an email, I was not
aware of a shuttle that might take me from the airport to the hotel, nor did I
see one as I wandered around the Auckland airport after clearing customs. So I
used the free internet at the airport to find myself on google maps and walked
a sidewalk-free and dangerous walk in the middle of the night to this supremely
crappy hotel. It was not a promising start.</div>
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In the morning I got some chocolate, an orange, and dried
apple rings from the supermarket across the street, took a shuttle back to the
airport, and grabbed the airbus into the city. Then I walked the mile to PBL
because I’m a cheap bastard who won’t spring for a bus unless absolutely
necessary.</div>
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I dropped off my stuff and, with a brief stop at the
secondhand bookshop nextdoor, which is run by the sweetest old lady,
immediately headed down to the ferry building at Queen Street to take a trip
over to Devonport and climb Mt. Victoria. I wanted to do little hike/climbs and
lots of walking into the days leading up to the Queen Charlotte track so I’d be
in shape. Then I discovered the gelato place at the ferry building has free
wifi, so I spent a bit catching up on facebook—and then I got a hoki burger at
Dogmatic on Queen. Here’s the thing. I didn’t realize hoki was a fish until I
got the burger. It was pretty awful, mostly because I was expecting beef and
ordered cheese on it. Then I had a “melting moment” which was brick-hard. I
gave up and got on the ferry.</div>
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Devonport is just ten minutes across the harbor. There isn’t
much there, just a little village, the itsy-bitsy mountain, which is still
super cool, and, if you go the roundabout way, an odd Frenchy “antique” shop. I
wasn’t there for more two hours and then took the ferry back downtown. I then
proceeded to walk down Queen and do a bit of window-shopping (and get some
iodine pills for the track). I ended up at the Art Gallery, which was free
except for a California Design exhibit that I didn’t feel was absolutely
essential I see, considering. It’s a lovely gallery. See photos below.</div>
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After that I headed back towards my hostel, stopping to
chuckle at the fact that Sharknado is being released like an actual movie here
and marvel that somehow Carls Jr got here. How? How?</div>
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I had a hell of a time trying to find a place to dinner
where I could go alone, in fleece, and not look like an ass. All the
restaurants were either fancy or gross, and the local grocery store was
closing. I ended up at KFC. I’m not proud.</div>
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Then I went back to my place, tired and bummed, and watched
some more of Top of the Lake and read some more Lucky Peach. Then I went to
bed, the Civil Wars and Massive Attack sending me into a deep slumber.</div>
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Got up early this morning and had a shower in the
shared/across the misty courtyard bathroom and realized I had not brought only
one shampoo, which I had used at the Ibis. So I only conditioned my hair. And
now my hair looks stupid.</div>
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Took the bus to Queen Street b/c I was under the impression
from a misprint in one of my maps that La Cigale was on Chancery. It is not. So
I went to a bookshop, had a crummy croissant and hocho from Esquires (they’re
like Starbucks here, but also there’s Starbucks), then walked through Albert
Park and down to the Domain, where 100 young boys were in the midst of rugby
practice in their black clothes. It was weird. I walked over to the Museum and
learned a crap ton of stuff about the Maori and other Pacific Islanders, took
some photos, went to the weird second floor of the museum, which had nothing of
value for me except a creepy “moa,” which I believed was reformed with ostrich
or emu feathers. Am a bit glad these things aren’t extinct or I’d be a mite
more worried about my hike on Monday.</div>
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Utilized the free wifi at the museum and found out La Cigale
was in Parnell off St. George’s. So I went to the French market, had my first
Afghan biscuit (delish) and a chocolate croissant, then walked back up the hill
to Parnell and then all the way down Parnell to Khyber Road, then down Boston
Road, then down Normanby to Mt. Eden, which I climbed (best thing I’ve done so
far maybe, gorgeous), and then I walked all the fucking way back to my hostel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BUT a few blocks from my hostel on Ponsonby a
group of drunk lads made it difficult for me to get past on the sidewalk, and
one decided I could only get by if I waltzed with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was just trying to dance around so I could
get out of it, so my dancing wasn’t so great, and he insisted on going on and
on. We looked a right mess. Finally he let me go and demanded a kiss. I let him
kiss me on my zitty cheek.</div>
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That day was a 12.3-miler. The day prior was more but not sure how many. </div>
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Grand total of miles today: 12.3. Yesterday was more but I
can’t remember precisely how many.</div>
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The next morning I took a super early plane to Wellington and caught the ferry to Picton. BTW, the train station in Wellington is delightful. It has an amazing grocery store.</div>
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The Cook Strait can be choppy and nauseating. And it was so. They played such prime cinematic fare as Parental Guidance and Fast and Furious. When I got to Picton, I lugged my luggage to the Villa Bakcpackers Lodge where I was the last person to check in for my room (a six or eight-girl bunkbed share) and where I was forced to sleep on a top bunk. Now that I'm 30, this will not happen again. I refuse. The place was nice enough, but I was only there for one night. I got myself in shape for my hike, and the next morning grabbed the water taxi to the start of the QCT. On the way we got to chill with some dolphins and a tag-along seal. Kind of amazing.</div>
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First day was warm and sweaty and exhausting, and I had a bit of trouble finding my place--the Wool Shed. Because it was not marked. I asked the people at the camp across the way who directed me through some overgrown fields packed with chickens. </div>
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Positives: lovely hostess, fresh eggs, view, cheap.</div>
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Negatives: Oh, holy fuck, the bugs. They are everywhere, and they won't leave you alone. Insects everywhere. They're in the bed. It's awful.</div>
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The darkness. I left my flashlight in Auckland, and the bathroom was its own separate locale. I had to walk in the pitch black with my phone directed at the ground. More bugs in the bathroom. </div>
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Second day was short, but I was in a lot of pain b/c let's just say my boots were not right for the job. I got to Punga Cove Resort pretty early in the day (I left early, after making myself some egg whites, b/c I had to drop off my luggage for the taxi anyway, and I was afraid my heel pain was going to slow me down, and it's not like I got any sleep). I had not made my reservations there, b/c it's nice and pricey, but Noeline of Noeline's Homestay was ill, and the good people at Punga were taking her guests. I made out like a champ. Far fewer bugs in my room.</div>
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Now since my foot was killing me, I took off my boots, and, having no other shoes, walked down to the beach barefoot. Huge, giant mistake. I had 17 bug bites on my feet and a couple where my clothes weren't covering me. Sand fly bites are several times more itchy than mosquito bites. I sat on the beach stubbornly not knowing this for a few minutes that would haunt me for weeks.</div>
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Got an expensive terrible burger at the restaurant there. Disturbing convergence: no tomatoes, a tomato-shaped ketchup bottle, a dog with a bulging red eye, and Let's Call the Whole Thing Off playing on the radio. But general, fantastic gorgeousness.</div>
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Next morning I got up when it was still dark out. I had washed all my clothes the night before, but my socks weren't dry, so I brought them up to the kitchen and also tried to figure out a way to make my camel pak not taste like detergent. I met a great German girl named Lena, who gave me a bit of apple to fix the taste of the water (worked) and who suggested I microwave my socks (also worked). She had to wait for her lazybones companion to get up, so I didn't walk with her that day. I met a weka bird on my walk, which freaked me out (or was that the day before? can't remember), but this was by far the longest day--nearly 15 miles--and by the end I sat down in the middle of the trail and nearly cried. I had, after all, a deep wound in my heel that was only getting worse. Finally, after walking past a dead possum, I made it to the wonderful, spectacular, homey, cozy, bug-free, real working plumbing De Bretts. So wonderful. The whole place was mine for a bit. I decompressed and watched something called Wild at Heart starring Hayley Mills. Lena and her friend and a couple Australians showed up later, and Lena and I talked a great deal, and I found out she was a nurse. She gave me some skin bandage-type stuff for my heel, which helped a bit, but not a ton.</div>
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And then the next morning I left with Lena and her friend. It was cold and wet. We took a wrong turn. We were on the road for ages. We knew we had done something wrong, but we had no idea what to do. We all had a water taxi to catch (especially me--mine was early). Finally, we flagged down a truck, whose driver told us that we had indeed missed the entrance back on to the track and had basically been walking parallel and a bit away from it for a couple miles. He very sweetly drove us to the entrance at Mistletoe Bay (we basically skipped the hard Torea Saddle-to-Mistletoe Bay section, which makes me feel like I failed a bit, and we did all promise not to say anything about our misadventure, but it's the misadventures that make the memories, so I'm including it), and we stomped through the cold and wet and mud and rain to Anakiwa, stopping for some rainforest pictures and to whine. We were plumb exhausted, me most of all. </div>
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But Anakiwa, sweet Anakiwa. I'm going to name my first child Anakiwa. We could see the snow in the mountains at the end. I ate some Snickers pods and hard-boiled eggs I had made previously (tinned tuna and pineapple are super to bring on a hike, let me tell you, as well). I called to get my taxi early and bid farewell to Lena and... I want to say, Michael. Lena taught me the word Tollpatschig and suggested I check out the Light House Cuba in Wellington (one of these joints where you feel like you're sitting in a cozy living room). Girl was a boon to my trip.</div>
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Went straight from water taxi to ferry building where I killed several hours using free wifi (I had booked the late ferry crossing). I was exhausted and gross, and our ferry got in very late. I walked all the way from the terminal to Cuba Street when I got there and had to ring for entry. But my room had no bugs, and I had a nice, nice shower. I got mostly what I paid for, so it wasn't an amazing hotel room, or hotel for that matter, but it sure did the job.</div>
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Wellington: cable car to botanical gardens then walked back down to the city via the "flower" path, Te Papa, the outdoor market by Te Papa where I got a chimney cake and saw the fattest carrots I've ever seen, bookstores (found a complete Man Without Qualities at a used bookshop and bonded with the seller over Musil) everywhere boasting a not-yet-Booker-winning doorstop of a tome called The Luminaries by Kiwi ingenue Eleanor Catton, Weta Cave (didn't do the tour but watched the little movie), bad Indian food, walk along Owhiro Bay, crazy kindergarten-y bucket sculpture, hokey pokey ice cream bar (omg, the Whittakers Hokey Pokey chocolate is so good, it's criminal), two movies--Much Ado About Nothing at the Lighthouse and then something at the Embassy... What did I see at The Embassy? Elysium, I think. Not 100% sure, as the bathrooms are what made the biggest impression. There were Japanese screens. It was sweet.</div>
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I saw the Beehive. The name is more impressive than the architecture. </div>
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Finally, on my birthday (NZ time) took plane back to Auckland and said farewell to the world's most cinematic airport (Middle Earth, Wellington, I kiss you with my brain), picked up my bags from Ponsonby, and checked in at my final hotel, the Copthorne near the university. Then walked clear across town and got Malaysian food for first time. Chicken laksa was insanely spicy, and roti was the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten.<br />
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Last day (my birthday, US time), I went to Rangitoto and climbed it. Real lava fields! Great hike. I did it in my sneakers this time, because my heel was still recovering. I was basically back at the bottom, almost to the docks to take the ferry back to the city... and I fell. Left leg ate a whole hell of a lot of lava gravel. Scraped to kingdom come. To the point where, over 2 1/2 months later, it's still not fully healed. My ankle's still swollen and discolored. After all that hiking to bite it on my last day.<br />
<br />
The worst part was that my final gift to myself was a massage (including foot) at a spa in the SkyTower. I let my masseuse massage my bloody, swollen ankle and leg, and that was some serious pain, my friend. Way to start 30.<br />
<br />
Then I got some superb gelato and took an early shuttle to the airport where I ate my final cheese scone (one of NZ's great foodstuffs) and flew back to Hawaii and then California. NZ, man. What a trip.<br />
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To check out pictures from my trip, go to my Facebook page.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-47488819668978899322013-09-06T12:10:00.001-07:002013-09-06T12:10:29.223-07:00the ACTUAL best sports moviesWhenever I see a "best sports movies" list, they are inevitably male-centric and not my personal favorites. I think a great sports movie has to be a great movie, period, and be so for both genders and all races. With that in mind, the ACTUAL best sports movies (for me) are...<br />
<br />
10. Mighty Ducks 2<br />
9. Remember the Titans<br />
8. The Wrestler<br />
7. Bend it like Beckham<br />
6. Cool Runnings <br />
5. A League of their Own<br />
4. Million Dollar Baby<br />
3. Karate Kid (original)<br />
2. Raging Bull/Rocky (tie)<br />
1. The Cutting Edge<br />
<br />
I didn't include any dance movies because I feel like that is its own genre. Still there is no sports movie better than Cutting Edge. That is all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-37511825981876178932013-08-19T15:28:00.001-07:002013-08-19T15:28:38.494-07:00coming up...I haven't done any travel since my mother went back to CT, and my life has revolved almost entirely around hiking, running, writing, and Groundlings (Basic).<br />
<br />
Now Groundlings is over, I'm not exactly being swept away by any writing projects, and all my hiking training is done. What was I training for? The Queen Charlotte Track in New Zealand, silly pants. Are we only connected through this blog? How sad for you.<br />
<br />
I'm flying to New Zealand Wednesday morning (well, Hawaii on Wednesday, and I end up in NZ on Thursday night b/c of the International Dateline/time travel element of the flight), where I'll be staying through my birthday plus a day ('cause who wants to fly across the Pacific on their 30th birthday? NO ONE).<br />
<br />
So this ignored little blog will soon be filled with photos and tales from Wellington, Auckland, and Picton.<br />
<br />
AND THEN I'm going to Eastern Europe for Thanksgiving. UNEXPECTED for real. My Groundlings class wasn't exactly the life-changer I'd hoped for, but I did meet some amazing people including an opera singer who lives in Vienna most of the time and from whom I wrangled an invitation to visit. So I jumped onto getgoing.com, booked a cheap Thanksgiving flight to Budapest (with a layover in Moscow) where I'll spend two days, take the train to Bratislava for another overnight stop, and then end in Vienna for some Christmas market and classical music fun.<br />
<br />
But one major trip at a time. Keep an eye out.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-439130371806765412013-05-09T22:21:00.000-07:002013-05-09T22:21:36.123-07:00Monterey and Mom roadtripSo my mother came to town last Friday, and Sunday we headed up north to visit where she was born. We struck out early, grabbing breakfast from Noah's in Sherman Oaks, and not stopping till Santa Barbara where we hit Sambo's just to buy my grandmother, who is a mildly old person-racist fan of the book, a souvenir. Then we headed to Los Padres National Forest where we intended to visit the Chumash Painted Cave. Now, let me warn you, if you dislike heights AT ALL, you might have a major panic attack on this steep, barrier-less, 1 1/2-lane, blind curve-riddled road. My mom, God bless her, started whimpering and demanded I turn around, which I was not able to do until halfway up (because there really wasn't a place to turn). So, again, if you have any anxiety about heights at all, DO NOT ATTEMPT to go to Chumash Painted Cave.<br />
<br />
Adrenaline pumping, we pushed on to Solvang, this super strange little "Danish" village north of Santa Barbara. On the way, we came across Ostrichland. Yes. Ostrichland. My mother, who was so freaked out about the road to Chumash, jumped at the chance to feed the world's largest flightless bird and for my money the most aggressive. Emus are cute and less threatening, but ostriches look like they want to climb over the fence and peck you to death just for the pure joy of it. I have photos of my mother thrusting a pan of pellets at a group of competing ostriches as proof, but they're stowed away on my mom's camera, purely for private eyes. Sorry.<br />
<br />
Solvang had nothing to scare either of us, though it bugged my mom a lot that the village was as much Dutch or German or Swedish as it was Danish. We wandered the stores (I liked the store with all the cuckoo clocks best), had lunch at Chomp, a decent burger joint next to the replica of Andersen's Little Mermaid statue, and then went on our merry way.<br />
<br />
Our last stop before Marina (a town just north of Monterey that's far cheaper to stay) was the Avila Valley Barn, an orchard and shop in San Luis Obispo a roommate from college took me to once years ago. There I bought peanut butter yogurt pretzels. Though my mom and I scarfed them down, I'm not sure either of us know really if we liked them at all.<br />
<br />
We stayed at Best Western Beach Dunes Inn, which was a stone's throw from Marina State Park, and has make-your-own-waffles as part of the included continental breakfast. A beach and waffles are all I need in life to be happy, so I was pretty darn happy.<br />
<br />
Our first mission was to go to Fort Ord National Monument and sort of explore where my mom was born and (for a few months) raised. We sort of went the wrong way (because Google Maps doesn't have the young monument properly mapped yet) and ended up walking around the military roads, which are mostly used by bicyclists. We finally gave up and drove down to Monterey and Cannery Row. Had lunch at Bullwackers and talked to an Aussie couple who were on the last leg of a bus tour of the American West (sounded exhausting), bought a t-shirt that was insensitive to victims of shark violence for my stepdad that I subsequently decided to keep for myself and two pairs of adorable socks. Had middling cupcakes at Mrs. Delish and then...<br />
<br />
Point Pinos, the lighthouse at, wait for it, the end of Lighthouse Drive. We just happened to go when it was open. It feels less like a lighthouse than a lighthome. Looks over a golf course. Run by a sweet lady. Entered a raffle for a psychedelic quilt.<br />
<br />
Then 17-Mile Drive. Saw sea lions. Heard them first even with the fierce wind gusts. Lone Cypress. Ghost Tree.<br />
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If you can't see the Ghost Tree, <b>that's because it's a ghost.</b> Duh.<br />
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Then, because we're crazy, we decided the day wasn't over and went to Carmel-by-the-Sea. There is an amazing store called The White Rabbit, which sells a great deal of Alice in Wonderland-related paraphernalia. If I had the money, I'd overspend a lot at that store. They also had some Sherlock Holmes chess pieces ($20 a piece) that were calling my name, mostly in a taunting you-can't-afford-me way.<br />
<br />
THEN we went to Santa Cruz in an attempt to see redwoods before sunset, which we basically failed at, and then had a less-than-fab dinner at Kianti's. BUT we got some cookies from the Pacific Cookie Company, and I have to recommend the chocolate chip walnut. That's some good stuff.<br />
<br />
The next morning we headed to Pinnacles National Monument, and WE FOUND IT. After the luck we'd had the two days before, this was a miracle. We decided to do the easy 5 1/2-mile trip from Old Pinnacles Trailhead to Balconies Cave. It was gorgeous, and we saw a turkey and her babies, as well as a lizard. Only two other people on the trail, so we had it all to ourselves. When we got to the cave, there was what appeared to be a rock slide. My mom was over it and wanted to turn back, but I hated to get so close and not see the cave, so I scrambled over the rock slide, showing her it wasn't so bad, and then ditto going inside the cave. Here's the one photo I got with my phone.<br />
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We went under that rock near the bottom. I had to duck.<br />
<br />
After that we grabbed snacks and souvenirs at the camp store, and I mourned my jeans, which, what with all the hiking and walking over the last few days, I had destroyed. Then we tried to find a place to stop for lunch. This took FOREVER. We finally stopped in Paso Robles and ate at Margie's Diner. They serve breakfast till 4pm. This gave me some joy.<br />
<br />
Got back to LA before 8, which was amazing. Great, exhausting trip. Now to think about New Zealand...<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-56766452452971998222013-04-29T14:49:00.001-07:002013-04-29T14:49:06.516-07:00more awesome things<i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/verymarykate" target="_blank">Very Mary Kate</a></i> is hi-larious, and with three seasons under its belt <i><a href="http://screen.yahoo.com/burning-love/" target="_blank">Burning Love</a></i> continues to be amazing.<br />
<br />
Kazakhstan. I know, 'cause I read <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2135393.Apples_Are_from_Kazakhstan" target="_blank">Apples are from Kazakhstan.</a> </i>Now I want to go to Kazakhstan. Which brings the number of people in America without family from Kazakhstan who have heard of Kazakhstan and want to go there up to one.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/83873960/Couch-to-5K-Training-Schedule" target="_blank">Couch-to-5k</a>. I mean, I'm only halfway through, but I've stuck with it and didn't die. Basically, that's magic.<br />
<br />
Hawaiian Airlines for having an under-$800 RT fare to Auckland from LA. So guess where I'm going for my 30th birthday???!!!<br />
<br />
Larabars. Particularly, coconut cream pie and the Jocolat chocolate hazelnut. No added sugar. Crack. I've never eaten so many dates in my life (get your mind out of the gutter, you know what I mean).<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.sundancechannel.com/series/rectify" target="_blank">Rectify</a>.</i> Aden Young is like soft serve ice cream and fireworks and the shawl your grandma knit you and the devil priest from <i>Carnivale</i> all in one. Trust.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-15898386600511647842013-03-20T18:00:00.004-07:002013-03-20T18:00:54.262-07:00true thingWhenever I'm in a public restroom and someone else enters, I'm terrified for a nanosecond because my lizard brain thinks it might be the Terminator coming to kill me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-23541094998955977062012-11-03T22:50:00.000-07:002012-11-03T22:50:02.187-07:00VancouverYou're gonna read a lot about how awesome the UBC Museum of Anthropology is. BELIEVE IT. If you like totem poles, you will love this museum. If you like rattan motorcycles, stingray skin breast plates, and even more totem poles, this is the greatest place on the planet. I love it. Coolest thing about Vancouver.
Also excelletn: Stanley Park. Kitsilano. Seeing a Tim Horton's on every other block instead of a Dunkin' Donuts. The Wunderbar, a candy bar you cannot get in America. Canadians. Boy, do Canadians like to talk. Some store owners will chat your ear off, but you can't help but love 'em anyhow, those adorable Canadians.
Overall, Vancouver is a little more urban than I had hoped for, a little sharper around the edges than other cities of the Pac NW (Portland, Seattle), but a good place to visit, even when it's raining the whole time and you can't get a single decent photo.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-66182284459877281752012-09-23T11:35:00.001-07:002012-09-23T11:35:34.240-07:00Emmys 2012 hopes, dreams, whateversQuick best-of-all-possible-world predictions:
Comedy series: Someone invents time travel, goes back in time, and nominates Parks, Community, and Louie and one of those win instead.
Lead comedy actress: Amy Poehler and she gets up on stage and Will Arnett runs up from behind the curtains and says he wants to give it one more chance and the rest of the cast Arrested Development hoist the kissing lovebirds up in the air and carry them off stage.
Lead comedy actor: I don't have a horse in this race.
Supporting comedy actress: Don't particularly care here either.
Supporting comedy actor: Bill Hader. He's a genius, and Stefon has done so much for all of us. And how fucked up is this category? No Danny Pudi? No Nick Offerman? Are you kidding me with this?
Drama: Breaking Bad. Or Homeland. But probably Breaking Bad.
Lead drama actress: Claire Danes. Julianna's awesome, but she doesn't have that new car smell.
Lead drama actor: Cranston. Always Cranston. Sorry, Jon.
Supporting drama actress: Anna Gunn finally won me over this year, but I honestly couldn't shrug less about it.
Supporting drama actor: Nail biter! Last chance for Giancarlo and Jared, I guess. I haven't seen the past season of Mad Men, but I know what happens. How about a shared Emmy? Let's do that. (Seriously, though, how great are all the other guys, though? And Aaron Paul? Come on. That's never the wrong answer.)
Miniseries: Sherlock or Luther. 'Cause those are the only ones I've seen anything of, except for Hatfields, which I don't get the popularity.
Lead miniseries actor: Benedict or Idris.
Lead miniseries actress: No horse.
Supporting miniseries actress: See above.
Supporting miniseries actor: Martin Freeman. I friggin' love Martin Freeman. Who's excited for The Hobbit?
Variety: Ooh, tough one. Lots of deserving nominees. Stewart's got a ton, though, right? He probably doesn't need it. I'm good with either Colbert or Fallon.
Reality: Uggggggghhhhhhh. Who cares? Make this not a thing.
Host: See above.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-91353090270938803152012-08-27T22:40:00.002-07:002012-08-27T22:40:29.416-07:00Things I love right nowMy old virus-riddled laptop cracked at the hinges and became a desktop, so I finally had to suck it up and buy a new laptop. Got a 14-inch Acer Aspire Timeline X (or something like that), and I love it. Less than $500, and it's like an Ultrabook, but with a DVD player. The sound could be better, or I'm just not using it right, and I kind of hate Windows 8, but overall having a great experience with my new computer.
Watched the HBO version of <i>Mildred Pierce</i> recently. So good.
Sit-ups. I do those now.
Cashews and Chobani yogurt (not together). I eat those now.
Gavin DeGraw. Went to see him at the Greek, and he's both a very solid performer and, strangely enough, funny. Like, really funny.
Not having any more payments on my car. At last, the piece of junk is all mine.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-50602303050167645342012-07-05T12:39:00.001-07:002012-07-05T12:39:19.775-07:00SeattleSeattle is, like, four episodes of Friends reruns from Los Angeles on Virgin America, and I finally visited there last weekend. Flew up Thursday afternoon and got to see the Space Needle from space! Well, the air. That's cool. Met my friend Lucy and took the Seattle Link from the airport, which is absolutely the best and cheapest way to go from the airport to downtown Seattle.
Stayed in Belltown at Hotel Five, which is a nice, not-too-pricey boutique hotel next to Top Pot Doughnuts and a block or two from this.
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We took a cab to Volunteer Park in the middle of rush hour, which was perhaps a bit stupid and certainly pricey. We climbed up to the top of the Water Tower, which has a great, if latticed, and free view of Seattle and was fairly empty. Good stairs.
The first Thursdays at many museums, including the Seattle Asian Art Museum, are free, so we went inside the park branch of the museum and checked out some Uzbek robes. They were gorgeous. I bought a few cards and a dragon-reindeer ornament at the gift shop and took a picture of the Space Needle through the Black Hole Sun Chris Cornell was singing about in one of my fave songs.
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Then we walked down to Pike/Pine and had dinner at Quinn's Pub. I highly recommend the halibut (though I wish it came with more gnocchi) and pretzel with Welsh rarebit. Bought a signed copy of the new Peter Carey at the Elliott Bay Book Company and we got AMAZING custard at Old School Frozen Custard. Fantastic.
The next morning we had biscuits at Serious Biscuit on Westlake (Tom Douglas stop 1) and took the bus up to the Gasworks. No one there really, but just a cool view of downtown Seattle and a weird, awesome, crazy park. Love.
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Then we walked to Theo and had a chocolate tour. If you want to taste chocolate but not suffer through a sometimes dull hour, just check out their store, which is a bit of a sample heaven. Can I recommend getting the milk chocolate-almond bar? Delish. The s'mores thing is a bit underwhelming, so feel free to skip that, s'mores fans.
We took the bus back and walked through Pike Place. The giant poppies for sale were amazing, and I love a good peony, but the market wasn't really my thing. Lucy bought a pen, and then we had a margherita and a potato pizza at Serious Pizza, where a police horse tried to enter through the front door. After the late lunch, we took a break and just hung out in the room.
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Dinner was Palace Kitchen. Very dark in the back, but good food.
Saturday morning we grabbed a quick breakfast at Dahlia Bakery and then wonderful hocho at Monrorail Espresso and then headed to the EMP Museum via the monorail, which is a good way to arrive there, as you'll see.
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The EMP Museum is brilliant. The Icons of Sci-Fi exhibit had just opened up and had models and props from such films as The Matrix, Men in Black, Terminator, and so on, but the best part is the Sound Lab upstairs where you can learn hooks on the keyboard. Cool, playful museum for adults. Best activity in Seattle.
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There's also this guitar-nado.
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We had lunch at Steelhead Diner (I got poutine without gravy and pan-roasted broccoli, what?), and then we grabbed the ferry for Bainbridge. Little bait thingamajigs line the divider between tables at Steelhead. One with "jungle cock" sides was right next to me.
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It's a cheap ferry ride, and the ferry itself is pretty cool. On the trip over, we had to stop while they ran a man overboard drill because apparently some drunk guy had fallen off the week before. Then this guy stood in front of us as we waited to depart.
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Nice. Here's the deal: Bainbridge is cool. Ish. But the Winslow little village area is kind of dull. There's a nice bookshop and the ice cream at Mora's is good, but it's nothing to blog home about. BUT randomly at the marina there are these crazy rock sculptures everywhere.
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Can you dig it? I can. On the way back, the entire Bainbridge High class of 2012 as well as a bachelorette party were on the boat, but we managed to avoid both annoying groups altogether.
We had dinner at Fuji Sushi, which had really nice chicken Katsu, and walked a long way back to our hotel.
At some point we went to Olympic Park, which is small, but a good place to chill and take pictures.
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Sunday morning we had a leisurely breakfast at Dahlia Lounge, then walked to REI headquarters, which is impressive if you've never been to LL Bean in Freeport. Now THAT'S a flagship store. We had lunch at the TOTALLY GANGSTER Lunchbox Laboratory, which was quite delicious.
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Then we headed back to the hotel, took the Link back to Sea-Tac, and flew out. Great trip.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-68292780214909666242012-05-18T17:46:00.002-07:002012-05-18T17:46:22.153-07:00SoCal hikingI've been supporting my roommate these last two weeks by going on long hikes while she studies for her MCAT. Last week we drove way the hell down to Crystal Cove between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach and did a 2-hour, 6+ mile hike, which was low on tree cover and high on hilliness. There was one mid-hike incline that I found particularly unpleasant, and the views weren't really worth the long drive.
Today we did the Trippet Ranch to Parker Mesa Overlook hike in Topanga State Park as described at hikespeak.com (great site, btw, for LA hikers), which was about 6.7 miles and more like an interval-training hike. There was never a very long sharp ascent, but there were a lot of small hills, so your heart rate was never up to running level, but the level it was at it generally stayed at. It took us closer to 2 1/2 hours to do this one (the whole thing was 3, but we stayed at the overlook, which had a great view of the PCH to Santa Monica and beyond--you could even see what I think was either DTLA or Century City), but there was a bit more tree cover, it's much closer to Studio City, and the overall beauty of the hike was greater. And there were little lizards (and oddly red ants). Topanga Canyon is just great, so highly recommended, but bring a hat and a good amount of water.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-61301760877012448962012-03-23T19:33:00.001-07:002012-03-23T19:33:45.704-07:00The type of people who wear hoodies:High school students, college students, people who live in places where autumn happens, people who live in places where spring happens, people who experience warm winters, people who experience cold summers, sports fans, athletes, people who never exercise, construction workers, people who work in casual offices with tricky air-conditioning, and my entire family.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-81214371842764510702012-03-09T13:45:00.005-08:002012-03-09T14:05:31.454-08:00How I would have written AwakeOof. Sorry, guys. Know it's been a long time. Been writing A LOT. About halfway into a (disaster porn) feature, finished a Cougar Town spec, and have been doing a lot of reading of pilots vying for slots for this coming fall.<br /><br />Right now, I'm halfway through the second episode of Awake, the new show from the beleaguered but fairly brilliant Kyle Killen. At first, I thought the problem with the show was that every week it would be the same thing, nothing new, despite how high-concept it is. And now I realize the true problem--the car accident. How very Deus ex machina an event. It would be MUCH more powerful if the accident that killed one or both or neither of his wife and son weren't an accident but a Sophie's Choice situation. Some criminal with an axe to grind against our detective forces him to choose, and this is what follows. You'd have something at stake for the entire season--find the guy who made you choose. You have a bad guy. You have an arc, possibly with a Fringe-ish sci-fi element to it. You have a purpose for the show, high-concept WITH A REASON, not a mere cop drama with a split personality.<br /><br />But that's just what I would have done.<br /><br />****<br /><br />Just finished the episode. Never mind. Killen probably knows what he's doing. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-8102211414875208822012-01-01T15:51:00.000-08:002012-01-11T19:41:51.629-08:00Favorite new things of 2011TV: <br /><br />Episodes<br />Happy Endings (forgot about this when I was writing this list--thought it started in 2010)<br />Hart of Dixie<br />Homeland<br />Revenge<br />Downton Abbey (forgot about this too)<br /><br />Not my favorite, but Once Upon a Time has potential.<br /><br />Books:<br />I read a lot of great books this year, but the ones that stuck with me the most were the following non-2011 publications:<br /><br />Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell<br />Just Kids by Patti Smith<br />The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (rec'd to two people)<br />Netherland by Joseph O'Neill<br /><br />Movies:<br /><br />I loved Attack the Block, but past that I feel like I didn't see a lot of movies this year, and, more importantly, none of them blew my brain back. I preferred Source Code, Limitless, Another Earth to Descendants, Moneyball, and Midnight in Paris, all of which I thought were good but am hard-pressed to imagine as Oscar winners.<br /><br />I didn't really love anything I saw this year, but I probably enjoyed Crazy, Stupid, Love the most and Drive was probably the most striking. Bridesmaids was funny, but it didn't knock me out. Tower Heist, despite Brett Ratner's brazen dumbassery, was in my opinion a funnier film. The best female performance I saw this year was easily Keira Knightley in A Dangerous Method.<br /><br />Again, I still have a lot of 2011 films to catch up on.<br /><br />Music: <br />My favorite music of the year came from Florence + the Machine, Adele, the Black Keys, Foster the People, AWOLNation, Mumford and Sons, and The Naked and the Famous.<br /><br />Other stuff:<br /><br />ice skating -- I just skated for the first time yesterday, and now it's my New Year's resolution to learn how to really skate. Excited!<br /><br />Studio City -- my dream has come true. I am now a Studio City resident.<br /><br />Nicholl Fellowship -- 2011 I was a QF with my first-ever completed feature film script.<br /><br />Trader Joe's dark chocolate rocky road bars -- I eat an insane amount of that now.<br /><br />Portland, OR<br /><br />Lisbon and Sintra, Portugal; Valencia, Spain<br /><br />chocolate salami<br /><br />Overall, it was a decent enough year. Let's just hope 2012 is better.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-17941635768985300572011-12-19T19:46:00.000-08:002011-12-19T19:57:23.964-08:00Christmas spiritSo I live in an apartment building, and I have a parking space. This is not a dream parking space. It's a tight fit in an alley between my apartment building and the one next door. It is next to the (currently overflowing) garbage and recycling bins and right in front of our laundry room. There is no entrance to the apartment building next to us, so I'm not blocking any of them, but sometimes people in my apartment get irritated because they have to squeeze to get to the laundry. I have a compact car. There's only so much I can do.<br /><br />But it's a parking space.<br /><br />And now I don't have it. Apparently, the apartment building next door decided I was parking on a foot of their property, and, in the grand tradition of Christmas goodwill and sharing, put up cement posts in my parking spot while I was at work. Without any kind of prior notification or convo about it. My landlord just found out about this today. Classy.<br /><br />Now this apartment next door has a real parking garage under their building and cannot possibly get any use from this space. It might be a little easier for the DirecTV guy to put a satellite on their roof or for their energy consumption to be checked, but that's really it. Also, my landlords have been using this space for parking for something like 30-40 years without an issue. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y1t8BONWdR0/TvAHbdU5clI/AAAAAAAAAwg/cfJQA_4v31c/s1600/photo%252863%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y1t8BONWdR0/TvAHbdU5clI/AAAAAAAAAwg/cfJQA_4v31c/s320/photo%252863%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688054497679077970" /></a><br />The amount of space between the posts and the cabinet on the right is what they get. Seriously. Basically it accomplishes nothing but putting me out.<br /><br />So...<br /><br />Merry Christmas! I'd keep writing but I parked so far away I have to leave now to get to my car in time to go to work tomorrow.<br /><br />Damnation.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-40476241652815813082011-12-17T10:47:00.000-08:002011-12-17T11:43:38.900-08:00Portland (OR)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yIBLoBRjiuU/TuzwGvx2EHI/AAAAAAAAAwU/ZUvteA4xOeU/s1600/photo%252862%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yIBLoBRjiuU/TuzwGvx2EHI/AAAAAAAAAwU/ZUvteA4xOeU/s320/photo%252862%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687184428157505650" /></a><br />So I have now officially been bodily in AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IA, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, NE, NJ, NH, NY, NC, NV, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, UT, VA, VT, and WI. I think that's the lot. I may have traveled through (but not to) a few others and just don't remember that I, say, stopped in the St. Paul airport or something.<br /><br />Anyway, LOVED Portland. Minus an inexplicable seizure-like event in our lovely, inexpensive Courtyard hotel room around midnight the first night, I had a great time.<br /><br />PDX is a very easy, friendly, pleasant, not-crowded airport. You can take the red line to downtown. It's awesome.<br /><br />The first day, we flew in early and had a late breakfast at Fresh Pot because I'd heard they had Montreal-style bagels. I either remember Montreal bagels wrong, or these weren't them. In any event, it was okay, but not great. However, the elephant stamp is super cool.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tAemyuljNgY/Tuzv9KcqiQI/AAAAAAAAAwI/1Bkc5_Yc0jo/s1600/photo%252861%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tAemyuljNgY/Tuzv9KcqiQI/AAAAAAAAAwI/1Bkc5_Yc0jo/s320/photo%252861%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687184263517735170" /></a><br />Then we went to Finnegan's Toys and Gifts, then to Powell's, where we spent A LONG TIME because it's AWESOME, and I got a beautifully illustrated Travels of Marco Polo remainder.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4PUTDH8XCsU/TuztuEfIy9I/AAAAAAAAAuQ/-iFafLIjIDI/s1600/photo%252851%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4PUTDH8XCsU/TuztuEfIy9I/AAAAAAAAAuQ/-iFafLIjIDI/s320/photo%252851%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687181805196200914" /></a><br />By then, starved, we went to Clyde Common, where I had the egg sandwich, whites only, which was very lovely. I highly recommend it.<br /><br />We did a little window shopping, then went back to the room to rest, keen on going to the Art Institute of Portland later that night for a craft fair (which ended up being two tiny tables of stuff) and a letter press exhibit-thing (one room, lame). Pretty unexciting. We walked around the Pearl because all the shops were open late. Lucy bought some yarn for her mom, and I bought a shiny little green wreath craft thing that I subsequently managed to punch my thumb through and slightly ruin. As long as you don't look at it too closely, it's okay, though.<br /><br />We had supper at Gruner, which had AMAZING pretzel croutons. Like, so good, I asked for some more, and they brought me a free cup that I ate later. Everything else about the place was kind of meh.<br /><br />Back to the Marriott, which again was awesome. Seizurey thing.<br /><br />Next morning, we went to NE Portland via bus in order to brunch at Pine State Biscuits. BELIEVE THE HYPE. I had a biscuit with fried chicken and cheddar on it. It was INSANE. I want one in LA, along with these guys.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z2uZpe4JuKs/TuzvcZSuzkI/AAAAAAAAAv8/xp7YPFEAZUA/s1600/photo%252860%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z2uZpe4JuKs/TuzvcZSuzkI/AAAAAAAAAv8/xp7YPFEAZUA/s320/photo%252860%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687183700566920770" /></a><br />We shopped around that section of Alberta Street, bought coffee, and peppermint chocolate ice cream at Salt and Straw.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bo_kkgdljuQ/Tuzut_2jZRI/AAAAAAAAAvM/FgzfpAWVrYM/s1600/photo%252856%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bo_kkgdljuQ/Tuzut_2jZRI/AAAAAAAAAvM/FgzfpAWVrYM/s320/photo%252856%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687182903463863570" /></a><br />Then we walked down 15th Avenue all the way past Klickitat Street!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DBKOFuzzgTM/Tuzt3-_8AhI/AAAAAAAAAuc/pTXgKe0KrYc/s1600/photo%252852%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DBKOFuzzgTM/Tuzt3-_8AhI/AAAAAAAAAuc/pTXgKe0KrYc/s320/photo%252852%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687181975521853970" /></a><br />For those of you with sad childhoods, you may not know that Klickitat Street was the home of one Ramona Quimby, age 8. So, awesome.<br /><br />After an afternoon rest, we walked across the 405 to have dinner (accidentally) at Sweet Basil, which is a Thai restaurant entirely run by transvestites (except for the chefs). Between lip-sync'd disco hits, Lucy ate, and I tried not to feel creeped out about someone gyrating on a stage behind me to bad '70s music.<br />Then we went to McMenamin's Mission Theater, which is a moviepub, and saw The Rum Diary for 3 bucks! I had popcorn and was happy.<br /><br />The next morning, Luce went and had breakfast with a friend, so I checked out Voodoo Doughnuts and bought a dirt doughnut and a no name doughnut. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vv2KGG10JvE/TuzvPsu_DNI/AAAAAAAAAvw/Ueead25kkIs/s1600/photo%252859%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vv2KGG10JvE/TuzvPsu_DNI/AAAAAAAAAvw/Ueead25kkIs/s320/photo%252859%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687183482447400146" /></a><br />The no name (pb, rice krispies) was insanely filling, and I ended up giving the dirt doughnut to Luce. I also bought a vegan pumpkin muffin and a croissant from Pearl Bakery, which were uninspiring.<br /><br />Watched the last half of<span style="font-style:italic;"> Dinner for Schmucks</span> after just realizing we had HBO.<br />When Lucy returned, we went to the Portland Saturday Market, stopping by Stumptown on the way...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8-F2rqevhXc/Tuzu3_W44tI/AAAAAAAAAvY/sShbDKM7dNQ/s1600/photo%252857%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8-F2rqevhXc/Tuzu3_W44tI/AAAAAAAAAvY/sShbDKM7dNQ/s320/photo%252857%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687183075129746130" /></a><br />which is near Voodoo and opposite this wall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RAmtE4ML_MU/TuzuKKMzbEI/AAAAAAAAAuo/usaCd10PHkg/s1600/photo%252853%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RAmtE4ML_MU/TuzuKKMzbEI/AAAAAAAAAuo/usaCd10PHkg/s320/photo%252853%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687182287766252610" /></a><br />The market was SO COOL. If I had money and suitcase space, there's a paper tulip lamp and a wire sculpture I absolutely would have bought. Instead, I got my stepdad a t-shirt that said "Eat Locals" with a zombie chasing a farmer on a tractor. He best like it. We also learned a lot about the Portland bubblers from a guy who we sadly did not buy any wares from. Oh, well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vOeh3LpFqIE/TuzvEogQaKI/AAAAAAAAAvk/beIsODf8E3s/s1600/photo%252858%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vOeh3LpFqIE/TuzvEogQaKI/AAAAAAAAAvk/beIsODf8E3s/s320/photo%252858%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687183292333320354" /></a><br />We had lunch at Little Big Burger, where the burgers were, indeed, little. But I was full from breakfast, so I was fine. <br /><br />We didn't really know what to do after visiting the science side of Powell's, so we just headed toward PSU, taking a rather long break from the cold in the lobby of the lovely, historic Beacon Hotel, where Lucy had tea. And I may have possibly stolen someone's Do Not Disturb sign. Maybe.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FtOrTT8LAk8/TuzuTz41diI/AAAAAAAAAu0/4W8D_CbpnFI/s1600/photo%252854%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FtOrTT8LAk8/TuzuTz41diI/AAAAAAAAAu0/4W8D_CbpnFI/s320/photo%252854%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687182453575611938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a3sDala1WdY/Tuzui77NgGI/AAAAAAAAAvA/gvChuICK3aA/s1600/photo%252855%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a3sDala1WdY/Tuzui77NgGI/AAAAAAAAAvA/gvChuICK3aA/s320/photo%252855%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687182713431097442" /></a><br />BTW, Portland isn't just coffee. There are A LOT of chocolate shops. I did buy one green Michel Cluizel chocolate that ended up being oddly good.<br /><br />We wandered around PSU for 30 seconds while I talked to my dad, who told me he was about to be a great-granddad, but, oh, wait, actually already was. The things I don't know about my step-family are many.<br /><br />Finally, it was time to head airport-ward. We passed the itsy-bitsy Occupy Portland protest (which apparently grew after we left) and had a quick dinner at some food trucks near the hotel. I had some really good Korean spicy chicken.<br /><br />Then home!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-19225574540283250062011-11-25T17:17:00.000-08:002011-11-25T18:41:06.823-08:00LisbonSo I flew into Lisbon from Madrid (about an hour flight, minus the hour time difference, means you arrive about the same time you left) and stayed at the Clarion Suites near Marques de Pombal, a huge, trafficky roundabout at the northern end of the part of the city you actually want to visit. It was perfectly nice, especially considering I had prepaid for it through a summer deal and my one-bedroom suite ended up costing me about 40 bucks a night. Not a bad deal.<br /><br />Lisbon is fantastic and easy to maneuver in a way that Madrid just wasn't. The metro is easy to understand, and everyone speaks English. Everyone DOES NOT in Spain, which sucks. But Lisbon is generally friendly and calm. Or maybe it was just my sister's absence that led me to stress much less.<br /><br />The first afternoon I went down to the Baixa-Chiado area, which is a lovely little shopping district -- the shop Nicholas is frickin' adorable and I got my mom's Xmas gift there -- and tried to take the trolley thing up to the Castelo. But I took the wrong one, heading towards Estrela Park, cause I'm a moron, and realized it about halfway up into the Bairro Alto, which makes San Francisco look positively level. Finally I got the right trolley, but got off a little too soon and ended up walking to the Castelo. I got there just before it closed, and it was a truly lovely site. Kind of reminded me, in terms of the walk, of climbing up to Coit Tower in SF. But the Castelo is much more charming than Coit Tower and has equal views, especially since there's a Golden Gate-style bridge crossing the Tagus.<br /><br />View from the Castelo:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bqv6vJrJ5CE/TtBKbN0iEYI/AAAAAAAAApI/cUItuePtrNM/s1600/photo%252831%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bqv6vJrJ5CE/TtBKbN0iEYI/AAAAAAAAApI/cUItuePtrNM/s320/photo%252831%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679120961541116290" /></a><br />Archaeology in effect at the "back" of the Castelo:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DeMUcMznjSc/TtBKoYe_sLI/AAAAAAAAApU/P3c5qPAIBzw/s1600/photo%252832%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DeMUcMznjSc/TtBKoYe_sLI/AAAAAAAAApU/P3c5qPAIBzw/s320/photo%252832%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679121187741872306" /></a><br />Touristy neighborhood around the Castelo. I thought I'd wait to buy postcards, but I should have got them there. Best postcards in the city. Also, a helluva lot of Pessoa paraphernalia. He's like their James Joyce.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u1t8F9fI4IY/TtBK5qsZsRI/AAAAAAAAApg/GAuSr-le7GU/s1600/photo%252833%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u1t8F9fI4IY/TtBK5qsZsRI/AAAAAAAAApg/GAuSr-le7GU/s320/photo%252833%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679121484687716626" /></a><br /><br />I walked back down to Baixa-Chiado after the sun set and up to Restauradores where I had a roasted chicken dinner at a restaurant recommended in my guidebook. I think I was in somehow the wrong half, as it wasn't the chicken described in the book. Anyhow, I would avoid that area, if at all possible, if you don't like being harassed by the restaurant hosts trying to get you to eat in their restaurant. Really the only unpleasant thing about the city.<br /><br />After that I walked back up the Avenida da Libderdade to my hotel and called it a night. It's a huge Parisian-style boulevard like the Champs d'Elysee, though less fancy, and I felt perfectly safe.<br /><br />The next day I attempted to go to Sintra. It was gray out, and I walked down to Rossio to grab the train, but it was a week day so the drivers were on strike (to protest austerity measures? I don't know.). <br />This is the staircase at Rossio. Rocking, huh?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7RZ0ut-pW4s/TtBRd_TxawI/AAAAAAAAAss/GI48g53K1SE/s1600/photo%252834%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7RZ0ut-pW4s/TtBRd_TxawI/AAAAAAAAAss/GI48g53K1SE/s320/photo%252834%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679128705766615810" /></a><br /><br />In any event, it started pouring so I grabbed the subway to Parque das Nacoes. The Oriente station is lovely, and right across from a nice mall, and on the other side of the mall is the park.<br />Station:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o_SHR64SSl0/TtBRqaLK_lI/AAAAAAAAAs4/XK3bE_27yKY/s1600/photo%252835%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o_SHR64SSl0/TtBRqaLK_lI/AAAAAAAAAs4/XK3bE_27yKY/s320/photo%252835%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679128919136730706" /></a><br /><br />Mall:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kng9z3PZXfE/TtBL2jTr_AI/AAAAAAAAAqE/BtPXyNybuqM/s1600/photo%252836%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kng9z3PZXfE/TtBL2jTr_AI/AAAAAAAAAqE/BtPXyNybuqM/s320/photo%252836%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679122530677029890" /></a><br />So I loitered around the mall, went down to Continente, which is like a Portuguese equivalent of Target, to grab some fruit, and found triple chocolate cereal just like the kind I had in London (different brand name but same thing) seven years ago. I bought my fruit and went to check out the park, in the drizzle, which is semi-abandoned and weird and would have been cooler if I hadn't just come from Valencia and their amazing City of Arts and Sciences. <br />I took pictures of the sky cable cars and the Tagus and the music garden, but, honestly, I only really liked these fountains:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hv8wEhbGZHs/TtBMFzSBfkI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/lwPgm19Hbao/s1600/photo%252837%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hv8wEhbGZHs/TtBMFzSBfkI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/lwPgm19Hbao/s320/photo%252837%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679122792663055938" /></a><br /><br />So I went back to Continente, bought my cereal, and took it back to the apartment. I chilled at the hotel for a while watching TV that was canceled in the U.S. months ago (Chicago Code anyone?) and endless repeats of The Simpsons and Family Guy. It was nice to decompress.<br />This is just north of the Marques de Pombal roundabout. Not sure what's up, but I dig it. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HBvHSROsWSQ/TtBKCacBnuI/AAAAAAAAAo8/LCI8aRFPPbE/s1600/photo%252830%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HBvHSROsWSQ/TtBKCacBnuI/AAAAAAAAAo8/LCI8aRFPPbE/s320/photo%252830%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679120535431257826" /></a><br />Then I felt like a full-on lazybones (like right now, as I'm going to blow off Pilates), so I walked up to Campo Pequeno, a very pretty bull ring that, during the off season, is home to equally bloody spectacles like Panda goes to School: The Musical and Smashing Pumpkins concerts, I kid you the fuck not. There's also a mall underneath it.<br /><br />Interesting note: people will tell you Portuguese bullfighting is more humane because they don't kill the bull. This is not true. Yes, they don't kill the bull during the match, BUT they kill it immediately after, so the bull still isn't getting out of this shit alive. Just a FYI.<br /><br />Then I had dinner at Pizza Hut (I know, I know) and went to bed.<br /><br />The next day: Sintra! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d2J5XQzVfu4/TtBMhSNQhgI/AAAAAAAAAqc/ajMxUHWKjek/s1600/photo%252838%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d2J5XQzVfu4/TtBMhSNQhgI/AAAAAAAAAqc/ajMxUHWKjek/s320/photo%252838%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679123264821036546" /></a><br />Sintra is a fairly short train ride from Lisbon and totally worth it. <br />Look--a house that's also kind of a lighthouse. And it's inland!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r2Aka952IBw/TtBM6Kuvb9I/AAAAAAAAAq0/JVepmSJJKjs/s1600/photo%252840%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r2Aka952IBw/TtBM6Kuvb9I/AAAAAAAAAq0/JVepmSJJKjs/s320/photo%252840%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679123692310720466" /></a><br />Don't bother with any sights you don't have to hike to the top of the mountains to get to (or take a bus to if you're smarter than I am). I climbed something like 2,000 steps to visit both the Pena National Palace and the ancient Castelo dos Mouros. It's mighty tiring but both are very different and very worth it to visit. Might I suggest hiking boots, some water, and only going during the off-season like I did. I can't imagine the hell it must be in the summer or with major crowds.<br />Pena:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VWhWOdhw6M/TtBNSZXjQjI/AAAAAAAAArA/fo7gR2Tf_Ck/s1600/photo%252841%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VWhWOdhw6M/TtBNSZXjQjI/AAAAAAAAArA/fo7gR2Tf_Ck/s320/photo%252841%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679124108556845618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xbComQ6Tv6o/TtBNeAP9QxI/AAAAAAAAArM/Gx1jqTyWX8g/s1600/photo%252842%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xbComQ6Tv6o/TtBNeAP9QxI/AAAAAAAAArM/Gx1jqTyWX8g/s320/photo%252842%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679124307972539154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2uv63aypGys/TtBNrJyqtnI/AAAAAAAAArY/FvaYiNz1VW0/s1600/photo%252843%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2uv63aypGys/TtBNrJyqtnI/AAAAAAAAArY/FvaYiNz1VW0/s320/photo%252843%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679124533872342642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u03W-dqko5o/TtBN3Ylu3gI/AAAAAAAAArk/3qNuKa2vQLs/s1600/photo%252844%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u03W-dqko5o/TtBN3Ylu3gI/AAAAAAAAArk/3qNuKa2vQLs/s320/photo%252844%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679124744003051010" /></a><br />View from Mouros:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8JzWnbFs2BQ/TtBOFOB9qbI/AAAAAAAAArw/RVveStqzt_I/s1600/photo%252845%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8JzWnbFs2BQ/TtBOFOB9qbI/AAAAAAAAArw/RVveStqzt_I/s320/photo%252845%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679124981686839730" /></a><br />Mouros:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KY-lgIIpKlw/TtBOTcyY6oI/AAAAAAAAAr8/vkL_WUvizCM/s1600/photo%252846%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KY-lgIIpKlw/TtBOTcyY6oI/AAAAAAAAAr8/vkL_WUvizCM/s320/photo%252846%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679125226166217346" /></a><br />The train--notice the car is fairly empty. A bunch of screaming children came into the car I was in, a camp group, so all the unencumbered adults left that car and scattered through the rest of the train. I've been a counselor in that situation before, but I felt no guilt about leaving.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W2ci5_i44ss/TtBOezt38kI/AAAAAAAAAsI/zEX01g5sPvo/s1600/photo%252847%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W2ci5_i44ss/TtBOezt38kI/AAAAAAAAAsI/zEX01g5sPvo/s320/photo%252847%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679125421299855938" /></a><br /><br />Then I tried dinner once again in Restauradores, this time at Valentino, also mentioned in my guidebook, also not super worth the yelling hosts of that area. I did eat super early, though, so it wasn't so bad.<br /><br />Sunday, my last day, was a bit of a waste of time. Don't let the abundant automatic correos (little post office machines) littered around town fool you--most of them are out of order and will not dispense the stamps you waited till the last second to buy. It may very well eat your three euros, so be very wary.<br /><br />I took the train to Belem to check out the Torre de Belem and the huge-ass monastery (that's not very respectful, but it's fairly accurate).<br />This is cool. I should have paid the two euros to go in, but I decided to wait for the Torre de Belem. MIS-take.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_yo13B0beA/TtBPDi7FARI/AAAAAAAAAsU/AXJvfHlk3H8/s1600/photo%252848%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_yo13B0beA/TtBPDi7FARI/AAAAAAAAAsU/AXJvfHlk3H8/s320/photo%252848%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679126052446994706" /></a><br />The Torre de Belem, which is pretty but I'm not going to give you any photos of because I did not enjoy my time there, was a clusterfuck despite it not being the most spectacular day, probably because it's free to visit on Sundays until 2. It's small, empty, and there's only one narrow, winding staircase to the top that also is how you get down. No employee is manning this stair, and it's a dangerous, unpleasant thing to try to maneuver. If you are mildly claustrophobic, it's not worth it. The Torres in Madrid were much more enjoyable.<br /><br />I did like walking along the Tagus, and I did enjoy walking through Jeronimos, the monastery, after services let out, which was also free. It was actually too big to photograph well and trolley cables get in the way. But I got a couple decent inside shots.<br />Why does taking pictures in church feel so blasphemous? Probably because it is.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6eHKeTtZnkI/TtBPXmwZnpI/AAAAAAAAAsg/HvLQo4FVq_g/s1600/photo%252849%2529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6eHKeTtZnkI/TtBPXmwZnpI/AAAAAAAAAsg/HvLQo4FVq_g/s320/photo%252849%2529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679126397073333906" /></a><br />I then headed to Pasteis de Belem because, well, the guidebook said it was the ur pasteis place. But I'm not really a pasteis girl. I'm a queijada girl, so I headed to the other side of the block to a place that literally had queijada in its name.<br /><br />And the queijadas were mad shitty. HOWEVER, they had chocolate salame, and it was awesome! And then I realized they have salame everywhere, and that is a serious Portuguese dessert, but it was too late, and I lost my chance at salame.<br />So that sucked. But I'm going to make some for Christmas.<br /><br />Anyhow, I took the trolley back to Baixa-Chiado, then went to a coffee joint where there's free Wi-Fi (which was a joy) and sat for approximately two hours just rejoining the world of the Internet and continuing to be horrified by Penn State at-large.<br /><br />Then I walked back to my hotel, ate some McDonald's (I know! Shut up!), and got ready to go home.<br />Which I did the next day. Thankfully the cab was only about 10 euros 'cause Aerobus didn't run as early as I needed to leave.<br /><br />So now I'm back in LA and going to Portland next week. Gah!<br />I'm really glad I went, but I really do prefer living in a place to traveling there. Travel is brutal, especially when you don't know the language. You just feel like you're go, go, go, go. When you live in a place, you find the right restaurants and don't have to depend on a book. You don't have to fit in all the touristy spots at once. You know when the train drivers are striking, you know where the good Wi-Fi spots, you can just relax. You can really experience a place.<br />But for $500 rt from LA, I had to do it, so that's that.<br /><br />I'm just pissed I didn't get a Portugal passport stamp. Damn you, customs!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-57782484685017474912011-11-10T12:31:00.000-08:002011-11-11T12:09:25.717-08:00more Madrid and ValenciaI'm in Lisbon now, solo, but I'm gonna post about Madrid and Valencia before I totally forget what my sister and I did while we were in Spain.<br /><br />On Saturday morning, we hunted for Bodega de Ardosa, but the place we saw was not appealing so we got croissants (mm) and hot chocolate at a nearby cafe. Don't recall the name, but I thought going with the Nutella-esque hot chocolate was a good idea. I'm a dolt.<br />After that, I think we took a siesta. A long one? I'm having a bit of trouble remembering. What I do know is we headed back to the Mercado Mayor where I bought something called a salame, which was KICK ASS, for later, and we had some gelato. Then we found the tapas place my sister's friend had told her about, Turf. The chicken curry was awful, and I ordered a plate of potatoes thinking something would be done to them, but, no, just baby potatoes. Allie liked her plates, though, so what do I know?<br /><br />On Sunday morning, we headed to El Rastro, which is INSANE. It covers the entire neighborhood and is about 90% brass knobs, DVDs (legit??), and other random assorted junk. But the experience is something alright. Then on the walk back towards Atocha I got crazy hungry. Like, crazy psycho hungry. But there's not much on the road from Puerta Toledo to the Reina Sofia, so we had some Burger King, which has free WiFi that's actually accessible, unlike another nearby fast food chain (ahem, McD's).<br /><br />Then we went to the Reina Sofia, which was quite cool and free on Sundays, and then we went to the Parque del Buen Retiro to wile away the hours until we had to grab the train to the airport and take the plane to Valencia.<br /><br />But before we came back to Atocha, we ate at an Irish pub just north of the park--so nice to talk with people who speak English, but there was an exceedingly unimportant soccer game on and a group of young teen Irish girls at the table next to us pretending to be bratty Barbies, so it was a tad odd.<br /><br />Then we took a quick tour of Cibeles, which I expected to be a church, but is not, and watched weird tourists take inappropriate snapshots of themselves in a 9/11 photo memorial exhibit.<br /><br />Then we ducked into the Ritz to try to find a Do Not Disturb sign for my mildly naughty collection, but found nothing.<br /><br />Btw, Barajas is a devil airport and Atocha is a challenging train station if you have a lot of luggage. Just FYI.<br /><br />So we got to Valencia late and since we were staying at the Solvasa, which is east of the riverbed, and the Metro (I heard) closes at 11pm, we took a rather pricy cab drive to the hotel. If you like body pillows for beds, this is your hotel. If you don't, you might want to look elsewhere.<br /><br />The next day, it rained, but I got things off right by finding some amazing ensaimadas at a bread shop just behind the Solvasa (kind of worth the crap beds). After, we braved the storm and hit the Oceanografic, which is part of the City of Arts and Sciences, WHICH. IS. AWESOME.<br />My favorites from the Oceanografic:<br />1. sea dragons...<br />Who knew they existed? I feel like there's a Disney movie in this creature that needs to happen.<br /><br />2. walruses! They're huge and terrifying and breathtaking. Just the broad brown back breaching the water, you can sense the kind of power a walrus has and suddenly become very thankful you're not in the Arctic between that walrus and something it wants to eat.<br /><br />3. guitarfish! I think the name speaks for itself.<br /><br />Then we had a weird lunch of spaghetti, chicken, and French fries called the cabin boy meal. The tomato sauce tasted like and had the consistency of warm ketchup, but the rest of it was fine.<br /><br />After that, the rain had calmed and we walked back to our room for a siesta. That night, we walked back through the park towards Colon to try to find Fast Good again, but really that restaurant chain is gone, so SOL. On the way through the park, however, we found Gulliver, which is both a giant sculpture of the fictional hero and a playground. It was night, but the security guard still let us wander around and slide down his left sleeve. Anyway, we went to the Mercado Colon for dinner, which is lovely to look at, and I ate half a crappy burger at a crappy restaurant on the main floor.<br /><br />On Tuesday, we did old Valencia, sniffing around the Cathedral de Valencia, but in our cheapness not paying to actually tour the inside, but we did drop two euros each on the Torres de Serrano, which is a gate that you climb up and get a great view of the city. Then we had lunch at Cappuccino, bought a new converter at El Corte Ingles 'cause my old one blew both its fuses, and headed back to the homestead. At some point, we stopped at the Mercado Central, but we got there just as it was closing, so not much happened.<br /><br />Then we chilled out for the night, had some cheese, soda, ice cream, and store-bought tostadas at home for dinner.<br /><br />The next morning was all about the beach! We checked out the America's Cup Museum b/c it's free and the whole reason Valencia in that area is built up, and then we hung out on the playa, my sister dipped her toes in the sea, and then I swung on some swings for a bit. We considered having paella, and then decided to go back to Aqua, the mall across from the Oceanografic, and eat at Foster's Hollywood. It's like a bizarro American restaurant--its heart is in the right, artery-clogged place, but it still feels off.<br /><br />I bought socks.<br /><br />We killed some time, then headed to the North Station to take the high speed train back to Atocha, where we'd take the Cercanias to San Fernando de Hernanes and somehow get to the AC Coslada so my sister could take the free shuttle to the airport the next morning and grab her flight back to America and I could fly to Lisbon. This went wrong in so many ways.<br /><br />First, our train wasn't leaving from Norte. It was leaving from Joaquin Sorolla. Luckily, JS is a short walk from Norte and we had plenty of time to get there, but I only realized the problem by happenstance.<br /><br />The AVE, though, is quite lovely. I highly recommend it. Much less stress than plane travel.<br /><br />HOWEVER, Atocha sucks, and then when we got to San Fernando de Hernanes, we had a problem. No cabs were there, and no buses go to the hotel. It's an industrial, fairly creepy area, and from the Google map searches I had done, even though Google said you could walk to the hotel, by street viewing it, I realized there was an underground pass we'd have to walk through that had no sidewalk. We'd get slaughtered.<br /><br />So adventurously we set off, with vague instructions from some fellow Cercanias rider that cabs were to be found in the direction we were headed.<br /><br />It was dead nothingness for a while, and we started to get that icky feeling in our stomachs that our mutilated bodies would be found in the nearby brush or some abandoned building in the vicinity two weeks from now, but finally we hit a BP gas station and the lovely attendant called us a cab. If I ever win the lottery, I'm coming back to Madrid, finding her, and giving her lots of money.<br /><br />Other than that, the AC Coslada was a fine hotel--my sister really liked it--what with free minibar beverages, nice beds, and that free airport shuttle. Just make sure you know how to get there.<br /><br />Anyhow, I'll report on Lisbon when I can and I'm gonna do photos in a separate blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-33453199504681110442011-11-05T01:12:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:10:59.544-08:00MadridGot into Madrid early yesterday morning. Let me say, Barajas, the airport, is massive. We walked at least a mile to get to the Metro. If you're going to go, I suggest taking as little luggage as possible because it's sort of a pain to get to Atocha (or anywhere) from the airport this way.<br />In any event, we got to the station, finally figured out that street names are on the side of buildings, and found our way to the Hotel Agumar, which I wasn't sure was going to be any good, but is perfectly fine for our budget (and is very close to Parque del Buen Retiro and the Prado), if a tad too warm.<br />Couldn't check in for a while, so my sister and I decided to go get some breakfast at the Chocolateria in San Gines. Walked around a little unable to find it, so be aware it's down a little alley next to the San Gines church if you go. Personally, I thought the hot chocolate was great but the churros were a little gross.<br />After that, we stopped at the Mercado de San Miguel, but we'd just eaten, so we didn't get anything and will hopefully go back before we leave. This was on the way to the Conde de Miranda to get some cookies from this monastery.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qKi3n97UIMg/TrT9DtF8WUI/AAAAAAAAAng/mIxlD3F_G84/s1600/IMG_0216.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qKi3n97UIMg/TrT9DtF8WUI/AAAAAAAAAng/mIxlD3F_G84/s320/IMG_0216.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671436070852254018" /></a><br />Be aware: they don't speak English. I'm not sure what happened, but after some confused discussion they ended up giving us our money back as well as a bag of what I think is lemon shortbread. Who knows?<br />We walked back up the Calle Mayor to the Cathedral de la Amuldena, which is not your typical European grand cathedral in that it's very new and very... colorful. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qsdsB4xNEUc/TrT9qkcFAoI/AAAAAAAAAns/JQLs6XA5uUM/s1600/IMG_0219.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qsdsB4xNEUc/TrT9qkcFAoI/AAAAAAAAAns/JQLs6XA5uUM/s320/IMG_0219.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671436738544075394" /></a><br />Whatever. It's a sight.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O1jKWkoUoi0/TrT908NoivI/AAAAAAAAAn4/7RWiwTvkwxk/s1600/IMG_0223.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O1jKWkoUoi0/TrT908NoivI/AAAAAAAAAn4/7RWiwTvkwxk/s320/IMG_0223.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671436916724632306" /></a><br />From there we went north to the Royal Palace (Palacio Real) and snapped some shots, but didn't go inside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AlxsOC9NidA/TrT9-sSs30I/AAAAAAAAAoE/-BhF_zxE2Dk/s1600/IMG_0231.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AlxsOC9NidA/TrT9-sSs30I/AAAAAAAAAoE/-BhF_zxE2Dk/s320/IMG_0231.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671437084249612098" /></a><br />The line was wicked long and our budget is fairly tight. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_2nFTDePZlE/TrT-IDKEN3I/AAAAAAAAAoQ/X1Gr-WMK4YI/s1600/IMG_0226.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_2nFTDePZlE/TrT-IDKEN3I/AAAAAAAAAoQ/X1Gr-WMK4YI/s320/IMG_0226.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671437245006231410" /></a><br />We walked down to the Sabatini Gardens, then decided enough was enough and took the Metro back to our hotel where we showered and crashed (my sister in vice versa) until late in the afternoon. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YVT5XJaAcbI/TrT-V0q5FWI/AAAAAAAAAoc/D_UPofXy3_0/s1600/IMG_0235.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YVT5XJaAcbI/TrT-V0q5FWI/AAAAAAAAAoc/D_UPofXy3_0/s320/IMG_0235.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671437481635550562" /></a><br />A real unintended Spanish siesta!<br />The Prado is free from 6 to 8 on Friday nights, so we walked up to the Prado -- tip: if you're coming from the south, you have to walk all the way around to the Prado's north entrance to grab a ticket, then walk around to the east side of the building to enter.<br />We saw a lot of Catholic paintings, more de Goya and Velasquez than I think I've seen total in any other museum, and a single excellent Picasso.<br />After that we walked to Alonso Martinez (or Tirso Molina, can't remember) and took the subway up to Ruben Dario and the Calle de Juan Bravo in hopes of finding dinner at Ferran Adria's for-cheap-people Fast Good. It either wasn't there or we were as blind as bats, because we never found it, so, starving (all we'd eaten all day were some damn churros), we walked north to Cinco Jotas, which is apparently a ham place, and I don't eat ham. But they had chicken, so I was fine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g4X9Dzg5GPI/TrT-tv39uqI/AAAAAAAAAoo/pTocbebvzTg/s1600/IMG_0238.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g4X9Dzg5GPI/TrT-tv39uqI/AAAAAAAAAoo/pTocbebvzTg/s320/IMG_0238.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671437892665064098" /></a><br />The service was pretty slow for us Americans and pretty fast for our fellow Spaniards... maybe because they had to cook my chicken? Anyway, the food was fine, and we had to walk quite a bit out of our way to get to the Metro, since Ruben Dario was closed.<br />Then I got a little robbed, but it's okay because it was only a bit of American cash that usually goes to my gas tank, which I am not currently using. Since the bitch (I think it was the old woman shoving me into the subway) didn't take anything important like my phone, credit cards, etc., I should be okay.<br />Now I'm waiting for my sister to get dressed, so we can go get some food.<br /><br />Will try to post again in Valencia.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-2338797476291321262011-11-01T20:18:00.000-07:002011-11-01T20:30:16.620-07:00How Fiction WorksI'm reading the James Wood book, and I'm not too far in, but I already see a reading that I think may be a little strained regarding the following line from Henry James' <span style="font-style:italic;">What Maisie Knew:</span><br /><br />"Mrs. Wix was as safe as Clara Matilda, who was in heaven and yet, embarrassingly, also in Kensal Green, where they had been together to see her little huddled grave." <br /><br />Wood says the word embarrassingly is there as an indicator of Maisie's feeling towards having to go to Kensal Green with Mrs. Wix, the experience of seeing an elder grieving. And yet there is an equally if not more likely explanation for the word choice, especially since embarrassingly is placed where it is and not, say, somewhere in the last clause--the embarrassingly I read as referring to the duality of the afterlife--one's soul is beautifully in heaven and embarrassingly moldering in a cemetery. The embarrassment is humanity's at not being able to vanish body and soul into Paradise. Kensal Green, as far as cemeteries go, is perfectly lovely, so I don't see anything that would suggest that a visit to the cemetery itself would be embarrassing, which would also be a fair reading. If embarrassingly truly described how Maisie felt about going to the cemetery with Ms. Wix, wouldn't the sentence read:<br /><br />"Mrs. Wix was as safe as Clara Matilda, who was in heaven and yet also in Kensal Green, where, embarrassingly, they had been together to see her little huddled grave."<br /><br />or somewhere in that final clause? Wood may not be wrong, but I think embarrassingly is placed too vaguely to be sure, and he puts quite a lot on the word considering that.<br />Am I wrong? If so, why?<br /><br />No one cares, do they?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119130644444278001.post-51125052263676588192011-10-16T15:00:00.000-07:002011-10-16T15:12:01.810-07:00movies for the rest of the yearMovies I Want to See in Theaters:<br /><br />The Muppets -- it looks like Jason Segel did his due diligence and made a true-to-Henson's-spirit movie, despite knowing that so-called entertainment writers all over the world can't spell his five-letter surname properly and don't even try to anymore.<br /><br />Melancholia -- I hate Lars von Trier. Hate, hate, hate. And I don't get Charlotte Gainsbourg at all. But it still looks cool.<br /><br />The Descendants -- depends entirely on the reviews actually.<br /><br />Shame and A Dangerous Method -- Fassbender. Mmm.<br /><br />Ghost Protocol -- Yeah, I know.<br /><br />Movies I'll Probably Wait for on DVD/Netflix:<br /><br />In Time -- anyone but Amanda Seyfried and it might have been a theater movie for me<br />The Rum Diary<br />Martha Marcy May Darlene<br />Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy -- don't think I'll be able to read the book in time<br />Arthur Christmas -- unless it gets rave reviews<br />Sherlock Holmes -- don't think I'll be able to do this AND Ghost Protocol in theaters.<br />The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- unless I finish the book in time.<br />New Year's Eve -- probably a double-header with Tattoo. I hear New Year's Eve kills off its entire cast but Ludacris.<br /><br />Am I missing anything?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0