travels – Page 11 – today's worry

TransAtlantic Cruise begins 3/28-29, 2019

Our cruise takes us from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Barcelona, Spain. Today and tomorrow we spend getting to San Juan and then familiarizing ourselves with ship.

Our flights go smoothly. We change planes in Dallas and are lucky enough to catch a ride between gates with a friendly driver whose job it seems is to pick up bedraggled seniors. The flight from Dallas to San Juan has a dinner that is not horrible and includes a vanilla/ice cream cone crumble dessert. I sleep a bit and we arrive in San Juan around 10:15.

Short ribs with macaroni and cheese with sad green beans-not terrible airplane food!

John’s luggage arrives well before mine and that causes a moment of panic on my part. We are anxious to get to the hotel because it is warm in the terminal. But it is much warmer and humid when we step outside! Wow, we are not prepared for the humidity. It is 11 PM and still 81 degree and very damp.

The luggage carousel in San Juan. John calls it luggage roulette.

Our hotel, Embassy Suites is still recovering from the hurricane but it is pretty basic regardless. We have a large-ish room that has very little furniture – a bed and dresser and a small low table with two plastic chairs. It is very minimalist to say the least. We turn the air conditioning on full blast and try to get to sleep but are bodies are still on Pacific time and it is hard to sleep.

View from our window. We can see the ocean!

In the morning we go downstairs for breakfast which is not great and later catch a taxi to the ship. The taxi driver talks about the troubles that Puerto Rico is still suffering from the hurricane, the mean things that President Trump has said about the island and its inhabitants, and how the Governor of Puerto Rico would like to punch Trump in the mouth. So, no love here.

Yay, we are on the ship and in our nice suite!

We go down to lunch and introduce ourselves to the receptionists, wait staff, and bartender. Everyone is super nice.

My lunch of salmon and salads – Very good!

After lunch we go to the Explorer’s Lounge where one of the staff recognizes John. Unfortunately most of the staff who were on the ship the last time we took a cruise have moved on to other ships or are on vacation. But we will make new friends.

Mary tries one of John’s favs, negroni sbagliato

After a much needed short nap it is time for the safety drill. We follow the safety drill with a visit to the Explorer Lounge where we have a celebratory sail away negroni sbagliato.

Sailing away from San Juan (in the upper left)

Dinner is at the Chef’s Table where we have the Xiang menu. All of our friends have moved on to other ships here too. But we are busy buttering up the new staff. I hope it pays off.

Amuse bouche – hot and sour soup paired with a Marrenon Blanc

First course – fried prawns and Quinta da Aveleda, an Albariño from Portugal

Main course – wok fried beef and Donnafugata Sherazade from Sicily

There is also a yummy mango tapioca pudding for dessert.

Finally we end up in the Living Room where there is a pianist and we enjoy an Irish coffee. We meet some Canadian folks who are nice and want to draft us on to their team for trivia. We say sure.

After a long day we are happy to go to sleep in our bed which has been provided with some smaller pillows and a top sheet. Yay!

Mini-vacay to Indian Wells. 3/2-3/7/19

John and I decided quite a while ago that we would take a little vacation to Indian Wells to see the beginning of the tennis tournament. The first two days which are mostly the players practicing and qualifying rounds are free. We now have the exciting incentive of driving our new car!

Originally we were going down the coast road, CA-1, but the weather has changed our plans. It is either raining or blowing or threatening all along our route so we are going to take US 101 southward and cut over at some point to go to Bakersfield for the night.

Our first stop is at Soledad for lunch.

When we first used to visit this area to hike in the Pinnacles the town’s motto was “Catch the Momentum.” Now it is the much less exciting “Gateway to the Pinnacles.” Our favorite Mexican restaurant has closed so we decide to try a new one, Taqueria Pacheco. Surprisingly it is in the La Placida grocery store.

John orders a chorizo taco and a tripe one. I have two shrimp tacos. John says his are great but mine are a little overcooked. The roasted jalapeños are delicious! We are the only gringos there.

As we travel further south the sky is fabulous!

Traveling through the orchards of almond trees, the fallen petals look like a dusting of snow.

We pull into Bakersfield and John unloads our suitcases. After a dinner of eggplant Parmesan at Macaroni Grill, we read and enjoy an early night.

The next morning we are ready to complete our trip to Indian Wells. At check-in at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel we are asked if we would like to participate in their “no housekeeping” program for a bonus of 500 Marriott points. What!? They claim it is a “green” initiative. Sounds like bullshit to me. How does my making up my own bed and wiping around the sink translate to helping the planet? I think they are just trying to not pay their staff more in a very competitive labor market. For over $400 a night someone can clean my room!

Our nice room at the Marriott Renaissance, Indian Wells

We go down to their very nice lounge for some drinks and sushi. We spend all our evenings here having a kind of snacks and drinks dinner at the hotel. We are not keen on driving in the dark plus we get to see random pro players who are also staying at the hotel. After dinner we spend some time hanging out at the fire pit in rocking chairs. So relaxing!

In the morning we catch the shuttle bus over to the Tennis Garden. During our two days here we watch some practices and lower level matches. It is such a pleasure to be here on days when it is not so crowded.

Feliciano Lopez talking with his coach during practice session

On our trip back north we can see the beginnings of the super bloom in the desert and encounter torrential rain, dense fog, and local flooding – an exciting ride home!

Flowers blooming in the desert along I-10

Sale of our St. George house. 1/30/19

We have made the decision to sell our vacation house in St. George, Utah. As much as we have loved coming here these past 16 years it is time to move on. I am no longer able to hike or play tennis due to my painful knee. Even if my amniotic stem cell shot works totally, I still think that the wear and tear of the long trip to St. George and the worry over the condition of the house when we are not there is enough to have us consider the sale. It also frees up time and money to do other things that we enjoy.

In what should be a poignant last visit to sign the papers over to the new owners turns into a horror show that makes us happy to leave. The people who have put the offer in on the house have indicated that they want to buy it furnished and we are happy to agree. We just want a few things out of it, one picture and our pottery. We send a list of things we want before we depart for St. George and upon arriving realize that we left off a few of the pottery pieces and one additional print that we would like to take with us. There are also a couple of small knives and spreading knives.

But these people want everything. All of our sheets and towels, all of our decorations and are threatening to walk if we don’t let them have it all. We are flabbergasted. These things are our personal items that we have collected over the years. What is wrong with these people?!

After much negotiating they finally agree to let us have our stuff and give us a list which includes the pottery, and also our tennis equipment, Jonathan’s golf clubs, a set of dirty sheets and towels that we used while there, and a knee brace that was on a shelf. We did not realize that these were items of contention.

By the time we leave we are no longer sad to be selling our house. These buyers have sucked all the joy out of our experience.

P.S. One funny note about all this is that their horrible realtor wants to buy our Santa Fe. After taking the car for a test drive and to their mechanic they list everything that needs to be fixed. We immediately lower our price to $1500 from $3000. In a rather an unusual move they counter with $2000. We say, are you sure? They say yes and we agree on $2000. Backwards negotiating, amazing!

Viterbo and Fumicino. 12/30 and 12/31, 2018

After a rather upsetting check out in Siena where the desk staff wanted us to lie about where we had been so we could get some money back for the inconvenience of their broken toilet from Booking.com, we head off to Rome Airport (Fumicino) via Viterbo. Our idea is to stop at our favorite pizza place, Buongiorno Napoli, and look around Viterbo a bit.

When we get to the restaurant it is closed, closed for the holidays I guess. With our trusty phones we find a nearby restaurant, Fratelli La Bufala, and it is within walking distance. We decide on pizza as our last meal in Italy. (Duh)

After lunch we head up to the old section of Viterbo where a raucous street festival is going on. We have some hot wine and watch families enjoying the day. We also stop in at the Viterbo Cathedral museum.

Etruscan sarcophagus, second century BCE

Then it is off to Rome airport to return the car and check into the Hilton which is attahched to the airport. Our dinner consists of the snacks laid out in the lounge on the executive floor.

In the morning, very early, we walk over to the airport. We are checking in at British Airways and Jon and Ryan are checking in at Lufthansa. There is a mix-up and it seems like Ryan and Jon’s reservation has not been correctly changed by United to reflect a change in flights. Luckily Jon finds someone on the phone to straighten things out. It is a tense 15 minutes or so.

And that’s it. Our wonderful, long anticipated trip is over. We all get back to California with no more glitches. I am so glad we made this trip and so happy that Sarah, Ryan, and Jonathan were able to come with us. It is an experience we all will always remember!

Siena. 12/29/18

Today we visit the beautiful cathedral of Siena. It is practically on our doorstep. First we stop for a quick breakfast at Bar 4 Cantoni where there is an array of pastries and sandwiches. Everyone picks what they like best and we all choose cappuccino, of course.

Pastries and sandwiches at Bar 4 Cantoni near the Siena Cathedral

Then it is off to the Siena Cathedral. While John is buying tickets Sarah and I wandering around the outside taking pictures.

Mary in front of doors of Siena Cathedral

Close up of Mary with Judith holding the head of Holofernes whom she beheaded

Once inside you are struck by the immense space and the amazing marble inlaid floors. Giorgio Vasari described the floor as “the most beautiful…largest, and most magnificent…that ever was made.” Early floors had figures scratched in while later ones were made of intricate pieces.

A look towards the altar of the Siena Cathedral

Marble floor etching. “Hello, Mr. Wolf,” said Mr. Lion. “Let’s be friends.”

There is one large floor inlay which shows the emblems of nearby cities. We have been to nearly every one!

Hanging off the main church on the left is the Piccolomini Library which was begun in 1495 for Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini who later became Pope Pius III. Inside is a priceless collection of illunimated 15th century musical manuscripts. On the walls are frescoes depicting the life of the cardinal’s uncle who became Pope Pius II.

Piccolomini Library with frescoes by Pinturicchio and his pupils 1502-1508

Detail from an illuminated choral manuscript

Another highlight of the cathedral is the Pisano Pulpit. It was carved by Nicola Pisano and his students from 1256 to 1268. The octagonal pulpit is held aloft by nine columns some of which stand on stone lions. It is full of Christian stories and symbols.

A few more pictures of the beautiful Siena Cathedral.

More floor carving and inlay. In one piece of floor is Crates who preached virtue of poverty.

A naked lady, a personification of Fortune, just under Crates is balancing one foot on a sphere and the other on a boat with a broken mast with a sail in one hand and a cornucopia in the other ????

We have all been keeping touch with each other while we look around at the things that interest us most. Now we all head to the Opera del Duomo which holds other artwork of the cathedral.

The most significant work housed here is Duccio’s Maesta, a very large altarpiece painted in 1308-1311. There are over 40 figures on the front and over 80 on the back where the Passion of Christ is depicted.

Madonna and Child enthroned with angels and saints

Last Supper from the black of the altarpiece

On the upper floor are other 13th century artworks by Sienese painters.

Madonna of the Large Eyes,, Sienese master 1200’s

After a long morning’s work of looking at all sorts of wonderful art, we head to Il Ghibellino where we had eaten an iffy lunch on a previous trip. This lunch also had some iffy components, especially Ryan’s.

Ryan’s malfatti which turned out to be giant spinach and ricotta dumplings

I have papardelle with boar ragu, John and Sarah have leek and Gorgonzola risotto, Sarah also has fried artichokes

After lunch we head back to the cathedral complex. We visit the Baptistry and everyone but I visit the Crypt. At this point I could not walk up the millions of steps with no railings on uneven stone. I head back to the hotel and give my poor knee a little rest.

I have many pictures from prior trips of the baptismal font and the great frescoes. This time I zeroed in on Sienese Andrea Vanni’s 14th century altarpiece.

Andrea Vanni’s 14th century altarpiece in the Baptistry

I quite like the fact that St. Stephen with the rocks on his head to the left of the Virgin has the exact same head position and look as the Virgin. the elongated head and thin, slanted eyes are real hallmarks of Sienese Renaissance art.

Later we go out to the campo for some drinks and free food. Tonight we get white pizza and crostini with our drinks. It is hard to take much in the way of pictures because it is really foggy.

San Gimignano and Siena. 12/28/18

We are packed up and ready to go when the taxi comes to take us to the airport so we can pick up our rental car. We have rented 7 passenger Ford Galaxy that we can all, plus our luggage, fit in (but barely.) Our first stop is San Gimignano, the famous “tower” city. Encircled by 13th-century walls, the town centers on a square lined with medieval houses. It has a skyline of medieval towers giving it the nickname as the Manhattan of Italy. The Collegiate church of San Gimignano is a 12th-century church with frescoes by Ghirlandaio.

From the moment you step on the portico of the church there are fabulous frescoes such as this Annunciation.

Annunciation in portico, by Sebastiano Mainardi and dated 1482.

Inside the church is resplendent with frescoes, some by Ghirlandaio and most from the 14th century.

There are three tiers of fresco stories on the side walls. The top lunettes are creation stories, the middle register has. Old Testament stories, and the bottom tier is New Testament. I have pictures of everything but I will just put a couple in.

Speaking of the last supper, it is past time for lunch and we eat at Antica Marcellaria.

I have a delicious plate of tagliatelle with truffles, Ryan has pici with tomatoes, and Jon orders papardelle with rabbit ragu

Sarah, every adventurous, orders rabbit cacciatore while John has osso buco

We all take a look at the museum of the church, then Sarah goes to get gelato, Jon and Ryan climb a tower and find an interesting museum, and John and I take a leisurely stroll and find an overlook to take a picture of the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

Tuscan countryside as seen from the hill town of San Gimignano

We proceed to the car park and make our way to the garage outside of Siena where we will shed ourselves of the car and be driven to the hotel by the garage attendant. There are few cars allowed in Siena old town and we are right in the midst of it as our hotel is right across the street from the Baptistry.

Later we head to Siena’s campo for drinks and snacks under the outdoor warming lamps

Last day in Florence. 12/17/18

On our last day in Florence we go to the Brancacci Chapel at the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. For your ticket you get to see a video of why the Chapel was built and what was going on at the time, an iPad mini with a video and audio description of the frescoes, and access to the courtyard and church. I really like the iPad presentation because they zoom in on what they are talking about as opposed to you trying to figure out what people or events are being described. The frescoes were painted by Masolino, Masaccio, and Filippino Lippi in the early 1400’s. The Chapel’s frescoes depict Adam and Eve and the expulsion from Eden and the story of St. Peter.

After our visit we head over to Osteria Santo Spirito, our go-to eatery when we are on the other side of the river.

Mary – octopus (too many olives) John – tongue and chicken in salsa verde

Sarah – gnocchi with cheese and truffles

Jon – spaghetti ghitaria Ryan – Rigatoni with ricotta salata

In the rest of the afternoon John, Sarah, and I organize our packing and meet again with Mikki and Franco to organize transport to the airport where we will pick up our rental car. Late in the afternoon Sarah and I have another tea session at Gilli’s. Jon and Ryan spend part of the afternoon at the Medici Chapel and climbing to the top of the Duomo dome.

Michelangelo sculptures in the Medici Chapel

View of Florence at dusk from the top of the Duomo dome

Ryan and Jon also took some pictures of various “Do Not Enter” signs.

And here’s a cute picture of Ryan looking into a mirror in the hallway of our apartments.

Tomorrow we are off the San Gimignano and then to Siena for a two night stay.

Uffizi Day! 12/26/19

Sarah, Ryan, Jon, and I have a plan. We will get up early and after a stop at Caffe Megara proceed to the Uffizi Gallery when it first opens. This way we will beat the crowds. The first part of the plan goes well.

Ryan, Sarah, and Jon having breakfast at Caffe Megara

We hurry over to the Uffizi and there are lines everywhere. Lines to possibly get in at some part, lines for people who have assigned times, and a line for people who want to buy tickets for an assigned time. We stand and wait in the line to get in and after 45 minutes of no line movement we decide to change lines. We stand in the line where we can buy tickets to get in later in the day for about 20 minutes when we are ushered in. We choose 3PM to get in. We figure that most of the people will have given up by then.

Jon and Ryan decide to go to the Palazzo Vecchio and Sarah and I decide we need a decompression break and stop at Gilli’s for tea.

We meet back up around 1 PM and go in search of lunch. We try Trattoria Marione which is just downstairs from our apartments but it is full. Then we try Buca Mario which is closed. We are starting to get worried. Finally we find an unknown restaurant, Pensavo Peggio, and luckily it is open and has room. With the exception of Jonathan we all order cacio e pepe and he has papardelle with boar ragu.

Foreground-Cacio e pepe
Behind- Papardelle with boar ragu

Now we have enough energy to tackle the Uffizi once more. This time with John in tow. (He had been doing laundry in the morning.)

There are a lot of people at the Uffizi. We are hoping they want to look at different art than we do. We start in Room 1 which was not open in any of our previous visits. It holds really old pieces. Oh, happy day!!

St. Frances receives the stigmata. Painted 1240-50 which is only 14 to 24 years after St. Frances died. So he was a Catholic rock star pretty quickly.

Old Annunciation – Mary is not looking too happy

It was too crowded to take a lot of pictures but here are a few highlights-

John’s favorite Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child with Two Angels

What it looks like in front of a more popular Botticelli. Jon is tall person center-right

The turn at the end of the hallway and an opportunity to takes a sunset look at the Ponte Vecchio

By the time we get to Titians and Caravaggios I am petering out. There is an interesting room in which all the subjects have been beheaded. But I am too tired of being on my feet to enjoy much more.

We return to the apartment for snacks and drinks and turn in early.

Christmas in Florence. 12/25/18

Merry Christmas to all especially to family who are celebrating at home. Thank you to Auntie Leigh, Gram, and Gramps who have made this trip possible for Ryan and Jon by giving Alex and Sam a special Christmas at home.

This morning in lieu of our usual Christmas breakfast we are enjoying the sweetness of pastries and a traditional panettone. We have a unique way of warming the pastries – a radiator with a built in warming oven. It works great!

Ryan and Jon on Christmas morning waiting for breakfast

We have mimosas and beer with our panettone and pastries. The panettone is so delicious, sweet and yeasty. Sarah promises to make one for next Christmas!

While Sarah works on the lasagna and John and I loll about Ryan and Jon take a walk through the quiet streets of Florence and enjoy the architecture.

In the early afternoon we all meet to go visit the beautiful Santa Maria Novella church full of early Renaissance frescoes. It is a favorite of mine.

Ryan and Jon in front of Santa Maria Novella

Founded in the first half of the thirteenth century Santa Maria Novella has so many marvelous works of art to see –

Beautiful Annunciation by unknown artist ~1370

From the Strozzi Chapel, Filippino Lippi 1489-1502, St. Phillip the Apostle at the Temple of Mars in Hierapolis

Jesus leads redeemed souls to Paradise, Spanish Chapel

After our visit to Santa Maria Novella it is time for Christmas dinner. Sarah bakes the lasagna and we all enjoy it a lot!

Sarah photobombing a picture of Ryan and Jon before dinner

Sarah, our wonderful chef for Christmas Day!

This is a Christmas I shall always remember!

Christmas Eve. 12/24/18

Ryan and Jon have fallen into a pattern of going downstairs to the cafe each morning to have a pastry and cappuccino. Jon says it is the best cappuccino he has ever had. I am happy that they are having such a good time.

Sarah and I are looking for bagels and other items for Christmas breakfast and dinner at the Pam grocery store. Once she has all her lasagna ingredients we have to make an executive decision about breakfast. We decide to buy a panettone from the bakery downstairs. It turns out to be much more expensive than the ones in the grocery store but we are hoping for a much better quality one. While we are at the bakery we also pick out a bunch of pastries. This is definitely a far cry from bagels and lox.

A 1 kilo panettone should be big enough for the 5 of us

Jon and Ryan go to the Duomo and visit the Opera del Duomo which contains older works that are no longer adorning the church or items that were on the outside and have been brought in to keep them from getting damaged from the elements.

John heads out to find more goodies for our Christmas Eve celebration. He is a regular at the Salumeria where he buys so much chopped liver that we will have an unopened container to give to Mikki and France when we leave.

We gather at lunchtime and Jon says he wants to go back to la Bussola for more pizza. No one puts up any arguments,

Everyone orders pizza but I am afraid if I eat pizza I will be too full to enjoy tonight’s hors d’oeuvres. So I order linguini vongole, a favorite of mine.

Sarah makes the lasagna in the afternoon and I help (watch mostly) and take various taste tests. Later she and I go out for tea at a restaurant in the Piazza della Republican and take some pictures of the decorations and store displays.

Later over wine and hors d’oeuvres we sing traditional Christmas carols and then everyone is off to bed.