Shopping in Paris

I just ran across Paris Shopping website from the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau (PCVB). I guess we're missing the January sales but I was just thinking that I need a nice felt hat. My Italian one from Sym's lost its shape in the rain on the Camino. Maybe something along these lines.

It also appears, from the ParisInfo.com website, that the Marais is a "trendy" area. Is that good or bad?

Les Marchés: Rues Commerçantes

As opposed to periodic open air markets that only set up a few days a week, rues commerçantes are streets that have a concentration of boulangeries and patisseries, supermarkets, produce stores, poultry stores, fromageries, triperies, boucheries, and charcuteries. The Paris Traveler lists Ten Street Markets and says there are "just too many" to list them all.

1st Arrondisement
Rue Montorgueil
Metro: Les Halles
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-6pm and Sunday morning

5th Arrondissement
Rue Mouffetard
Metro: Censier-Daubenton
Hours: 8am-1pm, Tuesday to Sunday

6th Arrondissement
Marché Rue de Buci - wide variety of produce and seafood, Open daily.
M° Mabillon, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Odéon

7th Arrondissement
Rue Cler in the 7th towards the Eiffel Tower
Rick Steves: Rue Cler - The market is at its best Tue–Sat 8:30–13:00 or 15:00–19:30, Sun 8:30–12:00, dead on Mon.
Slow Travel France: Rue Cler

Sablaise Poissonerie, Rue Cler - a video advertisement for a popular fish market, practice your French!

12th Arrondissement
Marche d’Aligre
Metro: Ledru-Rollin
Every morning except Monday, 8am to 1pm. This is also listed in the Marche Volant section. "The market area radiating off the Place d’Aligre is one of the most diverse in the city. It’s a mix of Parisian food market, North African bazaar and flea market, where young and old Paris collide. There are clothing bargains aplenty and classic cafes such as Le Baron Rouge for sitting and sipping. Expect a cultural adventure."


17th Arrondissement
Rue Poncelet

Best Croissant in Paris

So I'm looking for croissants and this search is an effective way to pull up food blogs. First one being David Lebovitz who sends me to Le Figaro's article with a list of the highest rated croissanteries and also to Chez Pim's map of the best croissants in Paris. Chez Pim says "What I usually do when I find myself in a new apartment or hotel in Paris is scout the neighborhood (online and on foot) for a few nice looking places..."

Chez Pim led me to Contest results de la Chambre Professionnelle des Artisans Boulangers-Patissiers, in case you want to find the best almond cake, the best baguette, the best croissant, the best brioche, the best apple tart....

But the Chambre isn't the only one with lists of the best patisserie/boulangerie. Check these out!

• Travel & Leisure: Best Boulangeries in Paris
• New York Times: The Best Croissant in Paris
• NY Times: Flaky Croissants: Finding Paris's Best
• Savoring Chicago: Best Croissant in Paris? - more on Paris from this blog
• More google results...

Paris Visite

The Paris Convention and Visitors Office offers online purchasing of museum and transit packages. Their Paris Visite page offers a 5-day transportation pass for 29.90 euros ($40). The pass allows unlimited travel on the bus, metro, tramway and RER networks in Paris and its suburbs (Zones 1-3). One can purchase it online (although I'm not sure how it is sent to you). A single metro ticket costs €1.60, and can be used for one journey, including all connections. This ticket, valid for zones 1 and 2, allows you to travel anywhere in Paris. On the buses, you use the same tickets as in the metro, with no limit of distance (including suburbs), except on the Balabus, Noctilien and routes 221, 297, 299, 350 and 351. But on the bus, your ticket is only valid for a single journey, with no connections. Looks like it would be simpler to just get the Paris Visite pass, even if we don't use $40 worth, since it covers the whole public transport network (metro, RER, bus, tram, suburban train, Montmartre funicular). These travel passes can be purchased in main metro and RER stations, in SNCF train stations in Ile-de-France and in Paris airports. Certain passes are also available at the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau.
AND THE TRAVEL PASS MUST NOT BE PUNCHED IN THE MACHINES ON THE BUSES. JUST SHOW YOUR CARD TO THE DRIVER AS YOU GET ON.

Montmartre

Which I always confuse with Montparnasse... Remember Amelie, Montmartre. We need to go the the Funicular. RATP says we need to take the #69 bus west on Rue Rivoli to Rue du Pont Neuf. Then take Bus #85 north to ROCHECHOUART-CLIGNANCOURT, which goes along Rue de Clignancourt, to the east of the Sacre Coeur, and crosses Rue Rochechouart. Now, where did Amelie live?
Fernando talks about the Moulin Rouge but what about Au Lapin Agile?
Why, we could follow In the footsteps of Amelie Poulain!

Les environs de la rue st. paul

Well, we need to see where the nearest 7-11 is! Here's a bistro that has a Happy Hour from 5 to 8 pm: Le Preau. Its beers are 5 euros ($6.63) so maybe we will be buying liquor at a grocery store. Another apartment rental site has a comment that mentions: "Boulangerie Malineau on 25 Rue Saint-Paul is the closest “boulangerie” (bakery) to the apartment. They open at 7 AM and are perfect for croissants and “pain aux chocolate”." So we won't have to go far for a patisserie in the morning.

Paris by Train

Thinking about how to get from the airport to the apartment on Rue St. Paul, I came across this site, Paris by Train which gives the directions from the airport to Paris, although it was posted in 2008.
The RATP ParisVisite page recommends the RoissyBus ("RoissyBus is the most direct and easiest mean of transportation from Charles-de-Gaulle Airport to the center of Paris.")
The RER train takes the same and looks more straightforward. Take the RER to Chatelet-Les Halles and then the #7 Pink metro line to Pont Marie (Cite des Arts). More info at Aeroports de Paris.

I also downloaded the iphone app from RATP, which allows you to search for a route from one station (bus, RER, Metro) to another, which you can also do on the RATP website. We just have to remember that our metro stations are Pont Marie on the #7 Pink line and Saint Paul on the #1 yellow line. And, oh my god, the RATP gives you your carbon emissions for the trip: Les émissions de CO2 pour cet itinéraire sont estimées à... And we can remember that there are also many buses that stop at "Saint Paul": BAL, N11, N16, 69, 76 (which you take east to the Pere Lachaise cemetery, and 96. They offer a map of Paris with the bus routes which I wish I could print out (but maybe they offer it in print form?).

Paris by Pastry

This small book follows the tastings of Jeanette and Georgette as they "stalk the sweet life on the streets of Paris." The way that Georgette (Joyce Slayton Mitchell) writes, you'd think she was a young blogger but she's written 34 books and there is a photo of a pair of middle-aged women on page 162 which I assume are the author and her sidekick "Jeanette". Though not slender they are nothing like the roadtripping Jane Stern so they mustn't be visiting 12 patisseries a day.

Marais

If all goes well, we'll be staying in the Marais quarter of Paris, the 4th arrondisement. Here are some links to more information.

• GoParis@about.com
• GoParis: Paris in March
• A Cheapo day in the Marais

Forever

Last night we watched the documentary film about the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and it was worth its 95 minutes. It isn't a travel film but a study of people and burial customs, I guess you could say (they even interview an embalmer and show him touching up a beautiful corpse -- was she really dead?). Sure, they visit the tombs of famous people like Modigliani, Chopin, Marcel Proust, and Oscar Wilde but it is the relationship that living people have with these tombs that the director concentrates on. And, yes, it makes me want to go visit the cemetery, although it was filmed in the spring or summer when it was bright and sunny and when we go in March it is bound to be a bit grayer. I'm not sure that it inspired me sufficiently to read Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu but the comic strip version of it sounded like a good idea. One of the cemetery's visitors was Stéphane Heuet, the graphic artist that illustrated it. And the film did make me want to find out more about the Iranian wrtier Sadeq Hedayat. The director Heddy Honigmann did a very good job, even if sometimes she focused on the interviewee enough to make him/her squirm, although I suppose even that was rehearsed.

Rick Steves also has a walking tour of the Pere Lachaise cemetery. I'd like to go see where Edith Piaf was buried and maybe Abelard and Heloise. To get there from Rue St. Paul, walk up to Rue Rivoli and , and take Bus 76 west in the direction of LOUISE MICHEL to CHARONNE-BAGNOLET.

Paris

SHOOT!!! I just saw that the weather in Paris was 28 degrees!! Jesus Christ that's cold! Almost as cold as Pittsburgh.
So Fernando, Penny and I are definitely going to Paris in March for Fernando's spring break. We are waiting for a response from Vacation in Paris about the apartment and then we'll buy the tickets. Nonstop from Delta or Air France.
Naturally I am trying to immerse myself in all things Paris and naturally beginning with books:

• Paris
• The Piano Shop on the Left Bank
• Hungry for Paris (102 best restaurants - which we probably can't afford so we'll do the shops and markets instead)
• Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris
• Markets of Paris
• Paris by Pastry

And Films

• Travel with Kids: Paris (not that we are taking Isabel just yet but it has a tour of the Paris Sewers. Actually it started out well, they took the chunnel from England to Paris but then the DVD got stuck. Too scratched.)
• Forever (A tour of the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris)
• Impressionists on the Seine
• Paris, je t'aime - I didn't realize that we'd already seen this one
• Six in Paris
• Paris

Speaking of film lists, here are 8 Great Movies for Paris Travelers from Enduring Wanderlust. Not the greatest list so let's try this one from the Alliance Francaise of San Francisco: 20 Films in Paris.

Rutas por España

The Don Quijote newsletter highlighted this website for travel in Spain: Donde Viajamos. It is in Spanish but you can find a location you are interested in on a map and then read the article.
For instance, you can learn about the Fiesta de la Lamprea in Arbo, if you like Lampreys. Or you can browse through their 13 Ruta Gastronómica destinations. Or you can check out the Festivals.

Planning a European Trip for Spring Break

So now I really do hope to get to Europe next year in March during Fernando's spring break (March 5-13). I'm looking at some Italian walking tours along the Amalfi coast like this self-guided one from Mac's Adventure except that they say from April to October. So there are also walking tours of Tuscan Hill Towns and Umbria. I'll peruse them and go from there. They don't seem to offer any of France.
Then there is Girasole which specifically offers walking tours in Italy, and you can choose varying levels of accommodations. They have both guided and self-guided (which is what we'd be more interested in) and they begin in March. Maybe the small inns don't open up until then. Or maybe it is just too cold and rainy for walking in March, even in Sicily!
Perhaps I'll investigate this British Hooked on Walking site and see where we could possibly go in March. March might be too early for walking anywhere. Well, there is this one for Madeira available from January 10th...and then there is this one in the Alentejo area of Portugal beginning in February.

Cruise Round Up

There wasn't much at Costa Maya like I thought but we did go to a Mayan ruin two and a half hours away by bus. All in all I did enjoy the cruise: one didn't have to think about where to eat or where to stay and the food was very good, both the OceanView Cafe buffet for breakfast and the Grand Epernay dining room for dinner.

Third Stop: Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico

It doesn't look like there is much here except beaches and a reserve.

• Royal Caribbean Costa Maya

Second Stop: Cozumel

OK, let's see if this is any better than Cancun in 1994!

• A Walking Tour of San Miguel, Cozumel
• Los Cinco Soles - Mexican artesanias
• Supermercado Mega on YouTube - 1/2 mile south of ferry pier

First Stop: George Town, Grand Cayman

First stop is George Town on Grand Cayman Island (oh, oh, here's my chance to be a real tourist). We dock at 7 am and leave at 4 pm.

• Fodor's Cayman Islands
• Cayman Islands Street Maps - an interactive map where you can get details on Georgetown, where the Solstice stops
• Cayman New Resident Food and Drink - Seven Fathoms is their rum
• Cayman NR Shopping and Services - locate a mall
• Cayman Craft Market - government sponsored
• Cayman Good Taste Restaurant Guide - includes maps
• Chicken Chicken! - roasted chicken
• Champion House II Restaurant - where the locals eat local food (curried goat, oxtail with broad beans, turtle soup, and heavy cake); 43 Eastern Ave., George Town

Caribbean Cruise: Cayman Islands

That's right. Paris has been temporarily sacrificed to a Caribbean cruise so we can spend quality time with our son, daughter-in-law, their family and friends and learn how to play Mah Jong. It's a Celebrity Cruise to the Western Caribbean and I better find out a little about what I'm visiting. Here's the schedule:

• Sun, Sep 26, 2010: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Depart: 04:30 PM
• Mon, Sep 27, 2010: At Sea
• Tue, Sep 28, 2010: George Town, Grand Cayman (Tendered); Arrive: 07:00 AM; Depart: 04:00 PM
• Wed, Sep 29, 2010: Cozumel, Mexico (Docked); Arrive: 09:00 AM; Depart: 06:00 PM
• Thu, Sep 30, 2010: Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico (Docked); Arrive: 08:00 AM; Depart: 06:00 PM
• Fri, Oct 01, 2010: Roatan, Honduras (Docked); Arrive: 08:00 AM; Depart: 05:00 PM
• Sat, Oct 02, 2010: At Sea
• Sun, Oct 03, 2010: Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Docked); Arrive: 07:00 AM

Paris and biking

We'll never get to Paris at this rate! The Washington Post just ran an article on Paris and then biking the countryside: Couple plans to tour Paris, then cycle through nearby parts of France. It includes some useful links but the tab for 10 days is $6,000.

Google Maps Paris

I've got a list of Paris market streets here that I'll have to enter on a google map of Paris.

Paris Bakeries

Oh, my! I haven't told anything about our trip to Hong Kong!! We had a wonderful time and I'm ready to go back. I'm going to have to get a baby laptop so I can post things while I'm away. Presently I'm only using the blog to prepare for the trip, not to tell about it.
So on to the next destination: Paris! Penny suggested that and also that I brush up on my French.
In preparation, here is my first list: ten bakeries to visit by Dan Lepard.

Sai Kung

I was checking out the Kowloon Motor Bus Company schedule for Route 92 that goes from Diamond Hill to Sai Kung. It leaves every 15 to 20 minutes and takes 41 minutes travel time. It makes 28 stops and since the website uses google maps you can click on each stop and see what it looks like and even go to a street view! Should I check out each stop before we go? NO! Juan will say. You need to leave something to see when you finally GET to Hong Kong.

Pedestrianisation

You didn't know there was such a word, I bet! You can read all about the Hong Kong Transportation Board's plans for Pedestrianisation to promote walking and to improve the overall pedestrian environment. They also show the streets blocked to vehicle traffic in the different neighborhoods which will give us a good idea which streets we want to walk down.

10,000 Buddha Monastery

We haven't told Papi about this one in Sha Tin. Do you think he would like to go?

Streets in Mong Kok

I have to remember which streets in Mong Kok I want to walk down. The Ladies market is on Tung Choi Street which is closed to traffic south of Argyle Street, a major thoroughfare that is hard to cross -- both for pedestrians and traffic.
Another interesting street is Canton Road near Shantung Street to the west of Nathan Road. At that intersection there is a Japan Home Centre. Canton Road goes north for a block or so and then seems to stop at Nelson Road which also looks like it is closed to traffic. This is right next the the Langham Place mall so maybe we can zip over and walk the area, along with Shanghai Street.
And it is definitely 239 Reclamation Street that has the store with lots of baskets, just north of Waterloo Road.
When we walk down to Ladies market or to Nathan Road, I think we should take Fa Yuen Street since it looks like it is closed to vehicle traffic and full of stands at the upper end where it meets Prince Edward Road. We can walk down Fa Yuen to Mong Kok and then cross over using the elevated pedestrian walkway. And then after Argyle Street take Tung Choi Street (if you can find a place to cross Argyle).

World's Greatest City

And as I continue browsing through CNNGo, there's an article on 50 Reasons Why Hong Kong is the World's Greatest City, and the number one reason is the public transportation.
Then some other interesting tidbits:
8. It has the best "soy sauce Western" food.
9. Hong Kong has the highest density of 7-Elevens in the world.
11. You don't need cash in Hong Kong, just an Octopus card that makes a "doot" sound when you run it through (just doot it).
15. Bird market, sneaker street, ladies market, goldfish market, flower market … all centered in the bustling Mongkok neighborhood within walking-distance of one another.
18. The tastiest embryos
Thick, fluffy and moist, with an even, lemon-yellow tone -- such are the seraphic scrambled eggs at Australian Dairy Company served between two slices of white bread with the option of toasting. Add a splash of chili sauce and we’re in comfort-food heaven. 47 Parkes Street, Jordan, Kowloon.

CNNGo: Dried Seafood Street

CNNGo has an article on shopping for dried seafood for Chinese New Year. "Dried Seafood Street" stretches along some 200 shops on Des Voeux Road West from Queen Street to Centre Street in Sheung Wan (Western) on Hong Kong Island. In this article there are instructions for preparing dried abalone, dried fish maw, dried oysters, black moss, dried scallops. And they even mention dried sausages, although not exactly seafood...

12 Hours Time Difference

It's unsettling to look at my weather widget for Hong Kong and realize that they are half a day ahead of us, so that it is 6 pm there tomorrow while I am writing this at 6 pm today. I don't know if I'm going to be able to stand 14 hours and 35 minutes on a plane without being able to lie down. I don't suppose they'd appreciate me stretching out in the aisle...

Kowloon City Market

Surfing through the Hong Kong Streets with Google Maps street view got me to the Kowloon City Market which is near the park that they turned the Kowloon Walled City into. I thought I wrote all this stuff down somewhere but I can't find it. Or maybe I was just surfing. In any case, one needs to cross Prince Edward Road early because it is very difficult to find a crossing further on. Sort of like crossing a freeway. Cars can't even do it. The Kowloon City Market Cooked Food Center is open from 6 am to 2 am every day.
At the base of the drive that goes from Prince Edward Road to the Royal Plaza Hotel there is a crosswalk that will take you to the other side of Prince Edward to the Flower Market.

Streets of Hong Kong

As I'm clicking along Hong Kong streets in Google Map's street view, I'm looking up things about them, for instance, Portland Street which runs parallel between Shanghai Street and Nathan Road. Because it has little shops, it looks interesting but Wikipedia says that it is also a famous red light district between Dundas and Argyle Streets. Good to know I suppose although it looks pretty innocuous in the Google street view early in the morning.
North of the swanky Langham Place mall, there are tile and building material stores. Perhaps we can go down Shanghai Street and then up Portland Street and then down Nathan Road. After all, Portland street is only 3/4 mile in length.
It might also be interesting to take a look at the "shop houses" or tong-lau on Shanghai Street. The wikipedia article led me to Hong Kong University's Hong Kong Heritage Stories. Fantastic! more for me to read!
Now I am at Yin Chong Street near Fa Yuen (Sneaker from Soy Street to Nelson Street) Street and going east it is full of fruit and vegetables stands. There is a waffle shop at 95 Fa Yuen just before Argyle Street, but then you can't cross Argyle street so I'll have to take a right. It is quite easy to navigate the street view if you make it full screen and then use the up and down arrows to move forward and back ward and the right and left arrows to change direction. After the right on Argyle you can take the next left on Sai Yee Street and at #121 there is a Lei Garden Restaurant. That is where CNNGo Top 40 article says to go for Chicken Feet. Then take a left on Fife Street and back to Fa Yuen. A right on Fa Yuen will take you another block or so but then you are foiled again by Mong Kok Road but that is near the Fa Yuen Street Complex with a wet market inside and a Mong Kok footbridge network overhead. Evidently the Mong Kok footbridge is the only way to cross Mong Kok Road, and it is also hard for cars to cross it. Tung Choi Street seems to be one of the few streets that goes through. Evidently the photos taken south of Bute Street were taken later in the day since all the store fronts are open. But north of Bute Street, Tung Choi is very deserted with store fronts closed up.
If you keep going north on Tung Choi you eventually run into Prince Edward and if you hang a right, you get to the Royal Plaza Hotel. If you keep going beyond the hotel, there is a right on Kadoorie Avenue which winds up into a residential area that is very pretty and quiet (and probably quite expensive) and would make a nice morning walk to get away from the hustle and bustle of the shops. This is a very wealthy and thinly populated area so I don't understand how they could say that Kowloon is the most densely populated area in the world. Kadoorie Avenue loops around the hills and then down to Argyle Street.

CNNGo: 40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without

I came across this article looking for tofu pudding. The subtitle is "Street-style comfort foods, reptiles, and a lot of pork -- here are our picks of the most delicious and iconic food items of this foodie's paradise". So there are 40 items we should try (or maybe not, I'll pass on the stinky tofu, chicken feet, snake soup and cow offal). Juan and Mandy, which do you recommend?? Maybe a wife or sweetheart cake?
And I notice that OpenRice.com has an iphone app but alas it is in Chinese.

BC Magazine

I still haven't found out what "BC" stands for (British colony?) but BC Magazine includes restaurant reviews. In this issues Urban Delights, they mention the neighborhood of Sai Ying Pun, sandwiched between Sheung Wan to the east and Shek Tong Tsui and Kennedy Town to the west on Hong Kong Island. The MTR doesn't go there so you'll have to go by tram or bus.
They mention the Ba Yi Restaurant: Flavours of the West, that sounds interesting: Specializes in cuisine of Xinjiang province of western China. Their specialties are the roasted lamb skewers ($30/5pc) and Xinjiang noodles ($23); camel, mutton or beef with pancake wrap, traditional Xinjiang salad, fresh cold yoghurt drink. I put it on my google map.
Another issue has an article on summer desserts, and they mention Honeymoon Desserts, which has a Thai Black Glutinous Rice and Mango in Coconut milk that sounds good. Some of the other ones I'd like to taste (Durian Glutinous Dumpling, Red Bean & Green Bean Soup, Sweet Ball & Sesame Soup & Walnut Soup, Mango Pomelo & Sago Grass Jelly with Sweet Soup). There's a branch in Langham Place.

GOOGLE MAP NOW HAS STREET VIEWS OF HONG KONG

Wow!!! It just happened!
Now we can drag the little guy for a street level view of Hong Kong
Check it out on my google map!
Is this in conjunction with the Google China move to Hong Kong?? Evidently it happened March 15th.

36 Hours in Hong Kong

On Sunday, The New York Times ran a 36 Hours in Hong Kong. Of course, most of it recommends night clubs and drinking holes we would never go to, upscale stores (T-Shirts for US$120) and chic restaurants we can't afford. One really has to look hard for information that we can use, like maybe the great views from the urinals in the Peninsula Hotel.
Although maybe we could afford the Dim Sum at City Hall Maxim's Palace and they do recommend getting off the Midlevel Escalators to visit Cat Street. However they link to sites for "serious antiguities" and "contemporary galleries" rather than simple chinese arts and crafts and odds and ends, but then those types of stores don't have websites. And the second day, they send you to Stanley, the tourist haven for souvenirs. No Temple Street Night Market or Mong Kok or Yau Ma Tei.

Maotai, Mooncakes & Monks

Currently I'm reading a book by expat Hong Konger Jessica Bellas about her experience living in Hong Kong, to which she moved in 2006. It was printed in Hong Kong and the only reason I can figure that the Green Tree Public Library had an autographed copy is that the author was born in Library, PA, in the South Hills. It is fairly interesting even though it is supposedly a compilation of emails she sent home, essentially a blog. One thing becomes clear: there is a large expatriate community in Hong Kong which appears to operate independently and quite separately from the Chinese majority. Bellas ostensibly moved to Hong Kong to get away from George W. Bush but the choice of Hong Kong, run by big business and government bureaucracy with little input from the people, seems like a weird alternative.

Arts and Crafts and Souvenirs

This is a collection of figures from Cat Street on Hong Kong Island taken by Laszlo Ilyes, an engineer from Cleveland. They remind me of the Ekeko god of abundance from Peru and the Caga Tío from Barcelona. I definitely need one of them to round out my collection.

City Between Worlds

So that I don't forget the name of this book on Hong Kong that I enjoyed because it was well written and informative, here are the details:
City Between Worlds: My Hong Kong
By Leo Ou-Fan Lee

Time Out Hong Kong

At last!! The layout of Time Out Hong Kong is normal and navigable!! Or maybe it is only normal in IE8. Whatever the case may be, I am having fun exploring it, especially the Big Smog Blog. Big Smog has "streetwise" feature articles that explore an individual street in Hong Kong. The tributaries of Jordan sound like something we might want to check out!
Oh, Oh, Juan. There's an Ikea in Sha Tin: "Pots and pans
If you can’t resist a little shopping, head up the street to Homesquare. This three-storey mall specialises in homeware, including an outlet of quirky Italian brand Alessi. For those whose budget is more student than tai-tai, the whole of the third level is taken up by a branch of the ever-popular Ikea."

Where Juan and Mandy want to take us

Dinner
1. Peak Lookout
2. Chubby Little Sheep (hotpot)
3. Banquet at boathouse in Sha Tin (seafood)
4. Seafood at Sai kung
5. Temple street (outdoor street market)
Breakfast
1. Dim sum in Sha tin with mandy's grandparents
2. Australian dairy company
3. Congee in Cheung wan
4. 7-11 for bakery stuff
And for lunch....or snacks
1. Tofu pudding in kowloon city
2. Thai in city plaza (sha tin) or kowloon city
3. street vendor waffle (sooo good) Is this the same as mini egg-puffs?
4. Big Buddha vegetarian restaurant
5. Dessert place in Western market (Honeymoon Desserts?)
Wait, Juan, you have forgotten the Noodles.

Ding Ding

Making my google map of Hong Kong I ran across the Ding Ding Tram Guide Map from the Ding Ding Hong Kong Tram Guide from the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Hong Kong Food

I was browsing YouTube for Hong Kong Wet Markets and came across Hong Kong Street Food which led me to South China Morning Post's site on YouTube.

• Dim Sum
• Hong Kong Street Food
• Dim Sum at Lok Yu Tea House

And then there are others, like Le Gourmet TV:

• Main Hong Kong Page
• Le Mong Kok Street Food
• Light Vegetarian Restaurant in Kowloon
• Seafood on Lamma Island
• Egg Tarts
• Maks Noodle in Central
• Stinky Tofu Chinese Cheese
• Clay Pot Rice
• Snake Soup
• Kowloon City Market Food Court

And Trip Film and Anthony Bourdain (the TV show chopped up into 10 minute segments). Anthony Bourdain says that the street food stalls have been moved indoors to "food courts".

• Dim Sum In Wan Chai
• Anthony Bourdain: 1/5 Temple Street Night Market
• 2/5 Hand made noodles in Tai Po
• 3/5
• 4/5 (Alvin's deconstructions)
• 5/5 (Dim Sum)
• Anthony Bourdain: Dim Sum in Hong Kong

• bamboo steamers
• Happy Cow Guide to Hong Kong Vegetarian Restaurants

And then there are feature articles on Hong Kong food:

• Taste.au: Hong Kong Specialties
• Travel & Leisure: Eating in Hong Kong

5 Things to do in Hong Kong

Since we will be there Monday to Friday, I'm making a list of things I want to do, so that we can coordinate. These are detailed only so that I know which public transport to take and in which direction to walk.
1. Take the Airport Express (Round Trip Ticket - Kowloon Station HK$160) to Kowloon station and then the complimentary shuttle bus (K5) to the Royal Plaza Hotel. Take the train to Sha Tin.
2. Kowloon: Since these are in the neighborhood, we could do these things any day. Visit the Yuen Po Bird Garden & Flower Market (7am-8pm) and Goldfish Markets across Prince Edward Road. Then walk down Fa Yuen Street (lined with stalls) to 123A where they have a municipal building with a wet market and public library. Walk over to Langham Place Shopping Mall and visit Seibu and Muji. Go to the nearby Bird Market. The Ladies Market is on Tung Choi Street to the east of Nathan Road between Argyle and Dundas Streets. Walk down Nathan Road to Waterloo Road and then west to Shanghai Street and shop for kitchenware. Go down to the Jade market on Battery Street (10am-4pm) And maybe go to the Temple Street Night Market for dinner.
3. Hong Kong Island. Walk over to Prince Edward Station and take the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui Staion. Walk past the Peninsula Hotel and take the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island. See the IFC Building. Take the tram to Sheung Wan, the Western District of Hong Kong Island. Maybe do the Central and Western District Walk. Take the midlevel escalators uphill after 10 am. Go down via Peel Street and visit the wet markets along Graham and Peel Streets down to Central Market. Can we take the Tram to Victoria Peak the same day? If so, do we want to take the 15C bus from the Star Ferry to the Lower Terminus of the Peak Tram, go up to Victoria Peak, come down and do Sheung Wan afterwards? Depends on when the skies are clearest?
4. Catch the MTR at Prince Edward, get off at Wong Tai Sin and visit the Wong Tai Sin Temple. Then take the MTR to Diamond Hill and visit the Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian Garden.
Or go to Lantau Island. Do we want to spend the time seeing the country side with a ferry trip from Central to Mui Wo, a bus trip to Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery and a walk back down to Tung Chung? But do we want to take the Ngong Ping Skyrail? Do we have time for this?

Discover Hong Kong on Flickr

The Hong Kong Tourist Board (discoverhongkong.com) has a presence on Flickr where users can contribute photos of Hong Kong. There is one contributor Briyen that is creating "One Year in Hong Kong" and has nicely annotated photos that really show the fast-paced life there.

Once a Week

Golly, it looks like I only post once a week. Today I made reservations for the flight from PIT to LAX using our dividend miles, and since it was cheaper, I chose first class, which means that for 100,000 miles we are flying first class to LA, with a stop in Phoenix because nonstop is not an option with "award travel". At least Fernando cannot say I'm not using the miles. If only the trip were to Paris...
Today I picked up an Insight FlexiMap to Hong Kong, so I can easily pick out where we are staying and where we want to go. I have become fairly familiar with the layout of the city by now and I am also pretty familiar with the main tourist attractions. I spent about an hour at Borders looking at their Hong Kong books - actually I probably only really looked at one of them - and I can't even remember its name...(Oh, it was a DK Top Ten Hong Kong) I've been looking for a Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, or Moon handbook for Hong Kong but really haven't come across one. At home right now I am reading a Culture Shock book that has the most interesting section on history that I've read so far. Some history can be pretty dry.

Hong Kong Transport

There are so many different ways of getting around in Hong Kong that we'll have to try each one. And to make riding them easy, maybe we should get the Octopus card at the airport so that the fare is deducted automatically. The transports below marked with an asterisk take the octopus card.

1.* The Tram on Hong Kong Island.
2.* The Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island.
3.* The Peak Tram up Victoria Peak.
4. The Midlevel escalators on Hong Kong Island
5.* Take the MTR.
6.* Take the Kowloon-Canton Railway/MTR to Sha Tin.
7. Take the Mui Wo Ferry* to Mui Wo and then the New Lantao Bus to Ngong Ping* (read this travel account) and the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island.
8. Or take the MTR* to the Tung Chung station (from Prince Edward take the Tsuen Wan (red) Line to Lai King and then switch to the Lai King (yellow) Line to Tung Chung) and catch the Ngong Ping Skyrail (74 HK$ one way) up to the Tian Tan Buddha. (Here's a YouTube video for the connection. Check out the other "Walk Me 2" videos on getting around in Hong Kong.)
9. Walk from the Tian Tan Buddha down the Wisdom Path, then walk down to Tung Chung Fort and back to Kowloon on the MTR*.

Hong Kong Department Stores

Fodor's lists various department stores as good options for picking up souvenirs and kitchenware. Plus there are branches in various parts of the city and Fodor even mentions the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, "decidedly off the tourist trail". Festival Walk in residential Kowloon Tong (20 minutes from Central on the MTR) is a Fodor's Choice for malls. I'm not one for malls unless it is raining but I do like to pop into foreign department stores, and I must admit that I enjoyed the malls in Bogota, not as much as the mercados of course. The Royal Plaza Hotel is connected to a mall (Grand Century Place) with a Sincere Department store. Fodor's also mentions Wing On for household items.
Other department stores are Chinese Arts and Crafts and Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium.
And then there is always the Japanese department store Seibu, one branch of which is at Langham Place in Mongkok. There used to be a Seibu in Los Angeles when I was in high school. It had lovely fabrics but the store did not last long. Seibu also runs Muji and there is a Muji at Langham place and also at the airport.

Hong Kong Neighborhoods: Sheung Wan (Western)

I'm reading through Fodor's Hong Kong and want to remember what I'd like to see. What better way than to enter them here so I can pull them up on my iphone. I should try reading this blog on the iphone...
Fodor starts out the neighborhoods with "Western" (Sheung Wan) -- "Western has been called Hong Kong's Chinatown" -- and since I've always loved San Francisco's Chinatown, that is reason enough to visit. Sheung Wan is on Hong Kong Island, to the west of Central and it has the Midlevels Escalator. Its iconic structure is Western Market, alas no longer a produce market, but the narrow streets to the west of it are trade streets: herbal medicine on Ko Shing Street and Queen's Road West, dried seafood on Wing Lok Street and Des Voeux Road West, ginseng and birds' nests on Bonham Strand West and chops (engraved seals) on Man Wa Lane. There are flea market items (aka antiques) on Upper Lascar Row (Cat Street) and a long narrow stair called Ladder Street (just like Pittsburgh) that you can take on your way to Man Mo Temple. Hong Kong Tourism Board has a Central-Western walking tour that covers these sites.
But Fodors says that to the west of Man Mo Temple is a "sleepy area filled with small shops" called Tai Ping Shan (the Chinese name for Victoria Peak and one of the oldest residential districts) and the Sheung Wan Wet (produce) Market at Sai Ying Pun and Centre streets. I'll be on the lookout for wet markets.

Walking in Hong Kong

Most of what I'm learning about Hong Kong is where to eat! So, naturally, I need to create a walking itinerary so I don't gain TOO much weight.

• Hong Kong Tourism Board Hong Kong Walks

Nan Lian Garden

This Tang Dynasty style garden located in the north of Kowloon has a vegetarian restaurant where the meals are prepared by the Chi Lin Nunnery. From the photos it is really a beautiful oasis in the middle of a city. Check out Carol Abroad's Blog. She has 3 postings on the Garden and lovely photos.
So after we walk around the garden for an hour we can treat ourselves to some vegetables!
Vegetarian Restaurant at Nan Lian Garden

Hong Kong Restaurants to Try

I've been reading some of the blogs on Hong Kong posted below and am making a list of some interesting sounding restaurants:

• Australian Dairy Company for scrambled eggs on bread and steamed milk pudding
• Kung Wo Soybean Factory for Tofu Fa (silken tofu soup)
• Sunsing Teahouse for tea and teaware

Happy New Year

It's time I got back on the Hong Kong travel trail, now that Fernando has applied for a passport renewal. Here are some Flickr albums of Hong Kong.

• Hong Kong 0911
• Hochit's Hong Kong Collections
• The Wamphyri

And here are some blogs on Hong Kong

• KampungBoyCityGal
• TastyTreats
• Big in Hong Kong

And here are some videos:

• GeoBeats
• YouTube: Hong Kong Revealed
• Hong Kong Eats
• Hike to Stanley
• YouTube: Hong Kong Wet Markets
• YouTube: Hong Kong Street Food

Shopping in Hong Kong

Of course, when I say "shopping" I mean for food, kitchen implements and handicrafts rather than for clothing, purses, jewelry and electrical appliances.
Discover Hong Kong has a shopping page on Chinese Authentics Clusters or Chinese Foods, Antiques, Arts & Crafts, so I will review it and add it to my google map.
There seem to be a lot of interesting Chinese markets on Hong Kong Island, for instance, Tai Yuen Street/Cross Street in Wan Chai, which you can read more about in Hong Kong Fun in 18 Districts and Western Market, formerly Sheung Wan Market.
We should also check out the temples for some peace and quiet.
And we won't want to miss the flower, bird and goldfish markets.

Getting Around Hong Kong

MTR is the transportation site for Hong Kong. They have a Journey Planner in English that is a flash application.

Hong Kong

I'm getting ready for the prenuptial trip to Hong Kong in May.
First I'm making a google map so I can keep track of what is where. Then I've gone to the Hong Kong Tourism Board site: Discover Hong Kong.
We'll have to go to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island for the Funicular and the view. To get there, take the Peak Tram from the Lower Peak Tram Terminus on Garden Road (Bus 15C from the lay-by outside Central Pier 6 or walk from MTR Central Station Exit J2).
We'll also have to take the Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, just to see the harbor.
And then I'm searching through Flickr to find some good photo galleries of Hong Kong by tourists.
And then we did some exploratory searches for flights from Pittsburgh to Hong Kong. The best one right now is on United, either via Chicago or San Francisco, at $972.

Heavy Rain (Showers)

So the forecast for Saturday is "Heavy Rain", worse than Friday which is only "Heavy Rain Showers". You can check out what the weather in Glasgow looks like with the St. George Square webcam or with this streaming video of Buchanan Street. (On my apple, I have to depress the mouse button with the cursor on the side scrollbar to keep it from flickering on and off - maybe it is different in windows.)
The Evening Times has traffic webcams. They also have a video tour of the West End called "A Walk on the West Side" (except it is not playing on my apple). I'll check out the rest of the West End videos at work on a Windows machine. The Evening Times layout on the mac is all screwy as well and some of their links aren't active.
OH WAIT!! I just rechecked the weather forecast and now it says that on Saturday there will be "Sunny Intervals" and the "Heavy Rain" has been pushed off till Sunday.

Walk It

So there's another route calculator besides Transport Direct. This one is walkit.com but it seems to work best from landmarks rather than street addresses. For instance, you can put down restaurants or schools but not just an address. The results will give you walking directions (no public transportation) and uses directions like: "You’ll soon pass GAMBA Restaurant and then PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS Business Facility." This could be handy, if you don't have a map.

scottish dialect

Apparently Sauchiehall Street is pronounced "Sucky hall Street". And Glasgow is "Glazgo". Here's a bit of Scottish Identifiers:
ARE you Scottish?
You know you are Scottish if (edited).....
1. You can properly pronounce Sauchiehall Street, St Enoch, Ecclefechan, Milngavie, Auchtermuchty and Aufurfuksake.
2. You actually like deep fried pizza from the chippy
3. You're used to four seasons in one day
4. You know what haggis is made of and you still like eating it
5. You arnae surprised to find curries, fish and chips, pizza, kebabs, fags, and nappies all in the one shop
6. You know irn-bru is a hangover cure (a soft drink with a unique combination of 32 flavours). Is that related to Iron City? In the movie The Crow Road, they really do use Irn Bru for a hangover!

Edinburgh

I imagine the best time to visit Edinburgh would be on Sunday when Papi can come with us. One can take the Scotrail train from the Queen Street station at 9:30 am and get into Edinburgh's Waverly Station at 10:28. I'm not sure what the fare would be since they have a variety of ticket types.
edinburgh.org, the official tourist website, says the Edinburgh Art Festival runs from the 5th of August to the 5th of September and the Edinburgh International Book Festival runs from the 15th to the 31st of August. They say Edinburgh is hopping in August and hard to get a room in. And the Edinburgh Military Tatoo festival runs from August 7-29th. I'm thinking now maybe we DON'T want to go on a Sunday! Then there is the Fringe Festival (initially those who weren't selected for the Art Festival) from the 7th to the 31st of August.
They say a must see is the Edinburgh Castle but I think I'd rather spend the 13 pound admission ($21.50) on dinner instead. Although for "Concessions" (aged 60 and over) is only 10.50 ($17.40). I wonder if foreigners qualify for concessions.
I'd like to go to the Royal Botanic Garden but there probably won't be time. I think just wandering around the old town, having lunch in a pub and maybe going to the National Galleries of Scotland should fill up a day. They have an exhibit on Spain: From Goya to Picasso that we might enjoy, except that it has an admission fee of 8 pounds...

The Barras

Now that I have rescheduled our flight from Pittsburgh to Newark for an earlier one at 11:29 am, I can move on to other plans, and don't have to continually check its performance.
When we arrive on Saturday, if we are not too pooped, we might want to go the The Barras in the East End. This is Glasgow's largest weekend flea market (Sat and Sun 10 am to 5 pm). The Rough Guide calls it an "offbeat diversion from shopping mall banality."
The TripAdvisor has some reviews of it. One says "Theres rows and rows of jars of old fashioned sweets, tablet macaroon, chelsea whoppers, spanish gold, lucky tatties! Sweets i havent had since a wee girl and didnt know existed anymore!" That's at the Sweetie Stall. And she's right: Aniseed and Cinnamon, even something for Fernando. Plus there is another sweet shop called Glickman's.

Another local said: "If you are a tourist then I would recommend that you buy your Scottish souvenirs from here, as you will find that they are a lot cheaper than other shops within the city centre." And another posting: "Great for a Saturday out, try the whelks and mussels, hot doughnuts, browse stalls, great atmosphere, part of the real Glasgow. Must visit for any tourists."

Flight Delay Information

I just discovered the FFA's Flight Delay Information website. It's because the Continental flight we will be taking to Newark (3:15 pm) was 5 hours and 33 minutes late!!! It's because of thunderstorms on the east coast and because this particular plane does shuttles to and from Newark, and also because this particular flight is ALWAYS late. This Continental flight sucks.

Free Wifi in Glasgow

Although our apartment is supposed to have free wifi, it never hurts to have alternatives as backup.

• Glasgow Wifi
• Locate a McDonald's with free wifi

Weather Snippet

City of Glasgow

The City Government has some information for the visitor:

• What's On
• See Glasgow

And others that are just interesting:

• Glasgow Allotments - community garden plots

Getting around Glasgow

OK assuming we make all the connections and arrive at the Glasgow airport at 7:30 am Saturday morning, how do we get into town?
If you go to Transport Direct, you can plan your route. They give you options for Bus (Arriva 500) and Coach but both are Arriva 500. They leave pretty much every 10 minutes from 6 am to 8 pm. The first bus leaving Glasgow is 5 am, then 5:30 and 5:50. That's for our return flight at 9 am on Friday, August 28th. It supposedly takes 17 minutes.
And if we lived in Scotland, the trip would be free since we are over 60!!

First Group is supposed to provide the city's bus service. They have a map of the bus stops in the city center. Most places we can walk to but to get to the Burrell Collection one needs to take a bus. Maybe the #45.

Weather in Glasgow

I see that it is 66.2 degrees with drizzle. Here it is 70 degrees and overcast so there's not much difference. I definitely will have to look for a better weather widget for the blog. Why do I want to know New York's weather? Maybe Wordpress has better offerings.

36 Hours in Glasgow

My sister just sent me the link to the New York Times travel article on Glasgow that appeared yesterday! 36 Hours in Glasgow.
It looks like there are a few places I haven't considered so I'll add them to my google map, especially since I am weak on the West End sites beyond the Botanic Garden.
The nytimes recommends our Continental flight to Glasgow from Newark. As if it wasn't already crowded enough!

Shopping in Glasgow

Maybe we can pick up a kilt and some bagpipes.

• Hector Russell Kiltmakers
• James C. Begg Bagpipe Shop

I'll put a lot of these on my google map of glasgow, of course.

Glasgow Subway

The underground in Glasgow is called the subway and there's a website where you can plan your journey: http://www.spt.co.uk/subway/

Things to Do in Glasgow

• Glasgow Museums
• The Lighthouse - Centre for Architecture, Design and the City. Free on Saturdays.
• Charles Rennie Mackintosh House - Free on wednesdays after 2 pm
• Glasgow City Council: Visitors
• Burrel Collection

WiFi Access

I had to make sure the apartment we booked had wifi access. This is what Booking.com says about it:
Located in Glasgow’s city centre, within the financial district, these modern apartments are within easy reach of the commercial district and all of the bars, shops, restaurants and visitor attractions.

Providing 25 stylish, contemporary fully furnished apartments, with one, 2 or 3 bedrooms, Glasgow Centrale Serviced Apartments offer the very best in city centre living. All apartments come complete with an open-plan lounge area and fully-fitted kitchen. Furthermore, they boast digital TV and complimentary Wi-Fi access.

The perfect location for both business and leisure guests, Glasgow Central Station is just a short walk away, providing access to the rest of Scotland and England, and Glasgow’s Queen Street Station is also nearby, with an express service to Edinburgh.

Things to eat in Glasgow

Well, first, we have to find a source for Haggis. Maybe McKean's of Scotland. Good Golly Miss Molly! They even have a vegetarian alternative!
Maybe we'll stick with restaurants:

• Gamba - best restaurant in Glasgow. seafood and expensive
• Mussel Inn - kilo pots of mussels, Fodors Choice
• Gamba
• Pulcinella
• Sannino Pizzeria
• Fratelli Sarti $19.75 pre-theater, Fodor's Choice
• Rogano - Fodor's Choice, seafood, fixed-price lunch menu (2 course 15 pounds, 3 course 20)

I've been using google maps street view to scope out the apartment's neighborhood. Very downtown and not too many shops. At least we won't have to worry about drunks leaving the pubs at closing time. By the way, where are the nearby pubs? Good gravy! I did a search for pubs near the apartment and the map came up positively pockmarked, peppered with shrapnel.

Walking Scotland

So I am back looking at walks for Sunday, August 23rd.

• Walking Scotland

The ScotRail train from Glasgow to Wemyss Bay leaves at 9:50am, arrives at 10:52 am, taking about an hour. One can return at 20:50 (8:50 pm) and arrive in Glasgow at 21:40. For the 3 of us it costs 20.25 pounds ($33) for off-peak travel. Now I have to see how far we can walk along the coast and how many pubs we can visit.

Glasgow Hotels

While we are waiting to see whether Fernando has his session on August 28th before we make plane reservations, I am scoping out the hotels. EUSIPCO has a list of hotels near Glasgow, G2 3NY, UK on Google Maps.
Booking.com, a sponsored site on Google Maps, has a good collection of hotels, better than the American booking sites, which is to be expected I suppose. Here are some possibilities:

• City Apartments
  
• Library Apartments
• Glasgow Centrale
• Albion Hotel - This is a bit further away from the city center.
  
• Victorian House Bed and Breakfast
• Alba Lodge Guest House - I must admit I like the west end better than the Center City but the rooms look tight for 3 people
• Alamo Guest House - the superior triple looks nice

Evidently both can be accessed from Glasgow Hotels and Apartments, The McQuade Group that offers hotel and self catering accommodation to the west of the city centre of Glasgow. I've created a Google Map with some of the hotels and the venue location.

Scotland

I'm trying to check out the possibilities in Glasgow and thought I'd investigate rambles. There's one long walk along the coast of Scotland to the Southwest called the Ayrshire Coastal Path. It might be interesting to take a train down to Largs and catch a part of the trail north or south. Or find out which of the seafront towns might be interesting and start from there. They say that "From Ayr northwards to Largs, most of the walk is easy and suitable for all age groups - along natural beach terrain, cycle paths and pleasant coastal town promenades." Other sections of the trail are difficult and rocky, or depend on the tides.
Evidently ScotRail offers service to the region from Glasgow.

Walk to Lawrenceville

On Sunday (3/22/2009) we did our training on a walk from the University of Pittsburgh to Bloomfield and then down towards the Allegheny River to Lawrenceville. On Butler Street we picked up an Italian hoagie (we had to wait 15-20 minutes for it!) but it was worth the wait. While we were waiting we checked out a bead store (much better than History on Craig Street). I'll have to go back to select tools and material for a necklace. From there we went to Allegheny Cemetery (but didn't run across Stephen Foster's grave), where people drive way to0 fast for the dead. On the way back to Oakland we had to hightail it since Fernando wanted to see the Pitt game at 2:30 pm.
Here's the gmaps route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2657901

Aftermath

We walked the 8 miles, give or take, and then regained any of the calories that we burned at D's Six Packs and Dogs with a large order of fries and beer. Fernando also ordered a chili dog to top it off. I had cole slaw with my Great Lakes Blackout Stout but I still stuffed myself on the fries. I told Fernando to only order the small fries...
Now we are back home recuperating. It is 5:40 pm but looks like 3 pm. I do not like starting daylight savings time so early and would rather have my light hours in the morning when I am fresh and feel like getting out and gardening. Right now I am absolutely pooped, although I took a hot bath to soothe my aching legs. All I feel like doing is reading.

Practice Walking

This lack of postings will never do!
We are practicing walking on the weekends. Today we will do 8 miles. This is not in preparation for the Camino but for the Pittsburgh Marathon May 3rd when we will walk 13 miles in the half-marathon. I didn't think Fernando would go for the 26 miles and so didn't push it. He's been very cooperative and, although he complains that his GPS says we are walking more miles than the gmaps pedometer route says, he continues to accompany me.

The first week we did 6 miles in the strip, essentially following the marathon route. Last weekend we did 7 miles through the South Side from the Hot Metal Bridge to the Smithfield Bridge and then back along the city side on the Jail Trail. This week my planned route starts in Edgewood, goes through Frick Park up to Reynolds Street and along Reynolds to Mellon Park, then back on Beechwood Boulevard to Aylesboro, past where Will used to live with Mike, into the Homewood Cemetery and around it (we have never been inside the Homewood Cemetery) and then back to Reynolds Street, back through Frick Park and back to Edgewood.

Eating in Lausanne

OK, I haven't been checking my blog for new posts and it appears that you've already discovered that the weather in Lausanne will be in the 70s while we are there. The lows are still in the 50s so I won't go in shorts.
I'm checking out affordable don't miss eateries -- not the michelin starred ones. There ought to be lots since Lausanne has a high student population. Hey! Do you think we are "hip" enough to go to the Cave du Bleu Lezard? Should I bring my black skirt? Ooof. Their prices don't seem to be student prices. Maybe we'll have to go for dessert. This sounds good:
Mojito glacé au lime, menthe et rhum blanc. Oh gosh, everybody is using this phrase in their restaurant descriptions so I'm afraid it is canned: "hip café-restaurants like Le Café Romand and Nyff Nyffenegger". I wonder if we qualify as "hip" if we went to college during the hippie era?
The Cafe Romand has fondue feasts, mussels, choucroûte (sauerkraut), sausages and, according to Fodors, the prices are cheap (why don't they have a cent sign on keyboards?). I like their website with the old film, probably from the turn of the century (20th, not 21st) - since 1951 they say (don't you all of a sudden feel ancient?). Their menu begins with a lot of ham and egg dishes. I remember in Vienna in 1969 that was all we could afford because we were running out of money. I've printed out the Cafe Romand menu so I can identify the dishes and make an "informed decision".
Then there is " À la Pomme de Pin" which is reviewed in Frommers and has
roasted pig's trotters served with rösti. Fernando might like that... Or we could go to Pinte Besson and have horse steak grilled and served on a slate stone -- or maybe not as it is closed in August according to Frommers but the restaurant's website doesn't mention that. But at least I wouldn't feel so old: it was founded in 1780. They serve Saucisse aux choux, et son papet vaudois (Traditional dish of the “Canton de Vaud”, Leek served with a local sausage made of pork and cabbage.)

Or we could eat in the train station and I could have a Grimbergen beer. Or maybe a Feldschlösschen. Or we could eat in the food court at the Manor Department store.

Music

Look at this...there is an organ concert in Geneva at Cathédrale St.-Pierre at 6 p.m. on Saturday. and the carillon at 5. The organ looks spectacular, but I haven't figured out whether the concert is free. And we can check out the free concerts at the cathedral in Lausanne on Friday nights. If we can still stand after the vineyards.

The extended weather looks great

Don't know if this link will hold, but the extended weather forecast for Lausanne is great!

Of course, Mitch says, "That's what it says now!"

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/extended/SZXX0017

Bicycle Tours

I was looking at the summer schedule from the Lausanne Tourism site and ran across these bicycle tours that the Baladeurs offer in Lausanne and Vevey.
These are the two that they have while we are there, on Monday and Tuesday:
---- Balade à travers l’histoire des femmes
Lundi 25 août – 19h00
Guidée par Stéphanie Apothéloz – Auteures : Nadia Lamamra et Corinne Dallera - Centre efg – études et formation sur le genre
Départ : Lausanne Roule – Place de l’Europe 1b (sous les arches du Grand Pont)
Par le Centre efg – études et formation sur le genre
Cette balade propose de sillonner Lausanne en abordant les thèmes centraux de l’histoire des femmes. Car si presque aucune rue ne porte un nom de femme, elles ne sont pas pour autant absentes du passé de la ville.

---- Le jeu de piste des musées
Mardi 26 août – 19h00
Par les musées de Vevey et La Tour-de-Peilz – Coordination : Musée du Jeu
Les musées… Vous connaissez peut-être ces bâtiments, mais avez-vous pris le temps de les regarder plus en détails, que savez-vous de leur histoire ? Suivez le jeu de piste, il vous réserve quelques surprises…

Lausanne Roule is sponsored by McDonalds and they have a very nice page on the bicycle trip along the vineyards. Oh good, I just saw that the Lausanneroule website had an english version.

Swiss Weather

The Gruyere website has a webcam for checking out clothing and weather. Everyone is wearing jackets so it must be chilly. It looks overcast and at 3 pm it was 23 degrees in Geneva. I still can't relate to centigrade. I need a little widget on my blog to convert to fahrenheit. My dashboard widget says it is 67 F in Lausanne. The Swiss weather website has webcams and it is very cloudy everywhere except in the Ticino down by Italy, where it looks beautiful.

Bulle

Bulle is in the Gruyere region of Switzerland, not far from Lausanne, and I ran into these "thematic hiking paths". How could you resist paths called "poor people's path" or witches' path? The Fribourg website says that in July and August there is a folk market every Thursday. Is that in addition to the produce and crafts one that Rick Steves talks about every Tuesday?

Caveaux

We are checking out the wine cellars along the shore of Lake Geneva from Lausanne to Montreux (Lavaux) and they all seem to be nightspots, open from 5-9 pm. Perhaps that is so people bike sober.

The Bernese Oberland

Penny sent us a link to Sam Cotton's flickr account with lots of photos of Switzerland. It makes you want to go up into the Alps right away. Many of the photos are from the Bernese Oberland so I looked to see where that was and, according to Rick Steves, there is a train, the Golden Pass, that goes from Geneva to Zurich via this area. In fact, the section we probably want is the section from Montreux to Zweisimmen. Then we could get off at Zweisimmen, take a hike and then go back to Montreux and Lausanne. We'll have to check out the logistics. And the costs.
So if we consider the swiss rail flexipass for 2 or more persons, maybe that would work. The roundtrip from Lausanne to Zweisimmen would be 74 Swiss Francs in second class, 124 first class. The chocolate train appears only to be first class and is $91 US roundtrip. Does that mean it wouldn't be available using the second class rail pass?

And then there were three!

No, folks! No news from Jen, yet. This is a news bulletin that Penny is tagging along with Cathy and Fernando to explore Lausanne and the "Swiss Riviera." It's about time to add another chapter to our travels after Istanbul and Barcelona. And Penny is going to have to start training to develop her stamina, not to mention her legs. Here is a picture of us in Istanbul in 2000 (when we were young-er)

Check out the LAUSANNE GUESTHOUSE

I was poking around on TripAdvisor for Lausanne and read the reviews for the Lausanne Guesthouse which is much more reasonable than the Regina and doesn't sound half bad. Did you check it out....you would have a kitchen to share as well? And laundry facilities!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Search?q=LAUSANNE+GUESTHOUSE
and they have doubles with private and semi-private bathrooms
http://www.lausanne-guesthouse.ch/indexe.html
It would make you feel young again!

Swiss Riviera

It looks like I will have to bring a bathing suit:

http://www.swiss-riviera.com/

Or maybe a wet suit.

When will you have time to sleep?

Let's see....You'll be there a week...you have jet lag, a conference, and at least a month's worth of hiking. Oh my, oh my!

Via Jacobi

Oh my, Penny, the Hiking in Switzerland site has information on the Via Jacobi, the St. James pilgrimage. So that means we can pick up the Camino de Santiago in Switzerland! Who would have thought.
Here's more information http://www.viajacobi.ch/

Rochers-de-Naye

I wonder if the Grand Hotel seen in this postcard is still there.

Here is some information on Rochers-de-Naye: "an imposing rock formation above Montreux offers simply stunning views of Lac Léman and the surrounding Alps". You get to it via a cogwheel railway that leaves from the Montreux railway station.

Rochers-de-Naye is the starting point for hikes and also has the La Rambertia Alpine Garden, where around 1000 various colourful and sweetly scented species of plants from all over the world are on display. (Maybe I can find something that will grow in Pittsburgh!)

• Montreux Vevey

It appears that Friday and Saturday are the days to do the wine trail. Monday through Wednesday almost all of them appear to be closed. It is too bad we are traveling on the weekend!

Lausanne Weather

Obviously we have to keep track of the weather since we have to know what to take. With 2 stops on our flight to Geneva, our luggage is 3 times more likely to be lost so we absolutely have to carry it on which means we can't take anything but the essentials. Just like on the Camino.

• Lausanne Weather from meteosuisse

Where did the French ever come up with "meteo" for weather? I guess it means measure...

This morning I took the giant leap and bought our airline tickets. For a price from Expedia (the cheapest rates). Now I'll have to continually check online to see if they go down. But the hours were reasonable and the layovers long enough but not too long. We'll be leaving Saturday night, August 23rd at 5:30 pm on US Air to Philadelphia and then on to Dublin. From Dublin we take Aer Lingus to Geneva, arriving at 3:10 pm on Sunday (sounds long, doesn't it?). On the way back on Sunday, August 31st we take Swiss Air to Zurich at 7:40 am (sounds early doesn't it) and then US Air to Philadelphia and then home to Pittsburgh.

Montreux & Lausanne

You mustn't forget to visit Montreux where Mitch says he wants to retire (1/2 hr by train). You'll have missed the jazz festival, but c'est dommage!

Look up the hiking routes on Switzerland Mobility http://www.myswitzerland.com/en.cfm/holidayoffers/page-Tab_Activities-Activities_SchweizMobil-320588.html

As far as breakfast I think all the Swiss and German hotels have great breakfast buffets.
You should also (according to Mitch) take a historical tour of the city, and visit the museum at the International Olympic Headquarters. He'll look up the name of his favorite chocolate shop in Lausanne so you don't miss that, and he doesn't know a thing about markets!

Oh my there are lots of things to do on the lake, too. Maybe a couple of weeks?
P.S. It's very hilly and makes Pittsburgh look flat

Lausanne, Switzerland

Fernando has a conference (Eusipco 2008) in Lausanne, Switzerland in August so this is a good place to collect information even if I don't go. IsYours.com has a section on Lausanne, which they call Switzerland's San Francisco (it is sounding more and more inviting...). It is located 37 miles from Geneva's airport on the northern shore of Lake Geneva.

• Lausanne Tourism
• Bed and Breakfast Switzerland
  
• Swiss Geo (mapping site)
• Eusipco map of Lausanne with hotels
• Transit map of Lausanne
  

Here are some 3 star hotels:

• Hotel Regina - This had the best reviews in Trip Advisor and Venere
  
• Hotel AlaGare - This is a Minotel with a big Swiss buffet breakfast and traditional Swiss dining rooms.


• Lausanne Guesthouse
  

Camino Day 15 - Saturday 5/12/07 Madrid

Camino Day 16 -Sunday 5/13/07: Madrid

Camino Day 17 - Madrid to Pittsburgh

I have decided to redo the postings so that they appear Chronologically. But do I start With the latest or the earliest? Day 1 or Day 17?

Camino de Santiago in Hindsight

Since i never got around to publishing our account of the trip in a timely fashion, I am in a quandary over exactly how to go about it. I think that tonight I will put in all the dates as headings and then edit them to add the content.