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Realizing the Next Foodie/Travel Dream

Today I finally realized another foodie/travel dream: Eating at Shopsins in NYC. I haven't been able to make it there on my last 2 visits to the city. It's located on the Lower East Side in the Essex St. Market, so I was happy to be able to round up DM and DH who were also willing to make the trek.

There are plenty of articles and reviews of this very New York eatery. Mr. Shopsin has even written his own book detailing his food philosophy. There are rules of the road, here: wait in line along the wall for a table-the place seats fewer than 20-everyone must order a meal, no more than 4 in a group, everyone has to order something different. (that last one may not really be a rule).

The menu is a dense two sided  legal sized sheet of paper. Pancakes, Eggs, Sandwiches, Soups, Sides, Salads, and more. Food from many cultures and combined in interesting ways leads to entertaining reading.

And leads to difficulty in choosing what to order. I downloaded the menu ahead of time so we could "digest" it before arriving. Even then,decisions were difficult.


Luckily we had time in line to think about things: we waited about 40 minutes for a table, with 2 parties ahead of us. Food came out in about 30 more minutes. We noticed that food was coming out of the kitchen one dish at a time, often with long waits for others at the same table to get their food. At one point, the cook called out to a woman telling her to "eat while your food is hot, don't wait for them to get theirs," because she was obviously being polite and waiting for her table mates to receive their food. The cook repeated that "just because we're being jerkoffs you shouldn't wait, don't let yours get cold." So that's another rule: when your food comes, you eat.


We ended up with:

The Gulf Pride Sandwich: bbq shrimp, avocado, garlic spread on toasted bread.

The Symphony: Pumpkin cheese french toast with grilled onions and maple bacon and fried eggs.

The Mo'Jemima: Poached Eggs (3) with maple bacon stuffed mac and cheese pancakes.

Served with maple syrup and hot sauce.

We enjoyed our meal and got a kick out of being in the space

Our waiter was very friendly and we never felt rushed. From where we sat we couldn't even see the line so we never had that feeling of being vulture prey. We paid our bill with the Square credit card technology:very simple and easy.
All in all, a fun food outing. Not cheap (avg meal about $20 pp), but definitely a cool vibe...

Week #3: What can you learn through travel?

When I read this prompt, I first thought about a few of the skills I've learned through traveling: how to read maps surreptitiously so people won't know I'm a tourist, how to hide money and ID on my person (a tip I learned from LV: use an Altoids tin instead of a wallet), how to use the ticket machines at Grand Central and use the Metro Card on the bus, how to drive on the other side of the road in Australia (although some would say that is still a skill at which I am not yet proficient).

 It's also fun to take classes while traveling.
 I took a cooking class in Rome: we made fried artichokes, veal saltimbocca and tiramisu after going to the market at the Campo de Fiori and the bakery. No written recipes, just my frantically scribbled notes. Wonder where those are now?

I also took a cooking class in San Miguel de Allende: We helped make guacamole (with pomegranate seeds), mango salsa, and chile rellenos stuffed with goat cheese. No margaritas while cooking.

A great experience was the "Blend Your Own Wine" class at Wynns Coonawarra Estate winery in South Australia. We got to taste while creating the perfect blend, then took home our mixtures in a personalized wine bottle.

Then I thought of other skills I've picked up while traveling: I parked that houseboat!

 I learned how to pack the back of the car for a cross-country road trip and keep everything organized along the way.

I learned that everyone needs down time and alone time on a trip, even while enjoying the group.

I think I'm still learning to be in the moment every moment while traveling.

What is an Indie Traveler?

This week's topic from BootsnAll Indie Travel Guide : you can be an indie traveler without even leaving your hometown – as long as you’re challenging yourself and your assumptions about the world, learning about people or a place different than your own, and seeking out experiences that help you better understand the local culture.
What does indie travel mean to you?
I think I've always been an "indie traveler." I always want to see what's out there. My vacations are often jam-packed with sight-seeing and museum stops. In fact, there have been some people who hesitate to go places with me, as they know what the pace is going to be like and that museums are always going to be on the itinerary.

I'm not the best photographer, but I like attempting to record what I see. And what I will want to remember. 

I loved seeing the ceramics factory outside of San Miguel de Allende. We toured the show rooms, but also parts of the manufacturing buildings. Each ceramics painter has a chair, a table for glazes and brushes, and an easel or stand to support the object currently being painted. Completed pieces are sent to the kilns for final firing.

I found the deep sea drilling museum in Galveston, TX interesting. Building those rigs is an amazing feat, let alone working on the platforms themselves and getting the oil and gas out from under the sea. We should all know more about how we get our energy.

Museums can be park-like and have little to do with art. I had no idea that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were good friends and had winter homes in Ft. Myers, FL. Thomas Edison did research in Florida on plants that produce latex. You can tour laboratories and restored homes at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Fascinating.

 "See if you have what it takes to join the ranks of noble knights."
I saw this poster advertising knight school in a bookstore in Brisbane, Australia.Really enjoyed taking a minute or two to wonder who would send their kids to knight school and if my son and/or daughter would have liked it.(They do take girls.) Used bookshops are a great way to soak up local culture.






I enjoy a sunset and a sunrise, too. Just kicking back by the water is a favorite pastime. Taking some time to just be in a place is important, too. I am trying to appreciate that aspect of indie travel more. Maybe giving up some of the "forced march" pace will be good for me.

Welcome 2012!

In an effort to post more consistently, I'm signing up for the 2012 Indie Travel Challenge by BootsnAll Travel. They will post a prompt each week, and I'm going to respond. This week's prompt is to list my 2012 travel resolutions. They have a pretty good list on their blog.

What are my travel resolutions? I have some places I really want to see, but I don't know if 2012 will be the year for them: Antarctica, the Galapagos, Alaska's Inside Passage, Western Australia, New Zealand's North Island, Xian, China, are just the first few that roll right off my fingers. There are more.....

I don't have any of those big trips planned yet for this year. But I'm thinking of all the other short trips I make and don't even consider them to be "traveling."

Resolution #1: I resolve to appreciate that every night spent away from home (even if it's only 100 miles away) is traveling and to take advantage of it in the same way I would a more far-flung destination.
 My short trips in the next 6 months that are already on the books: Houston for one night to attend a travel conference, Dallas for one or two nights for family business, Colorado for 3 nights with DH for a business meeting, a week of skiing in Taos with family, a trip to NY with DD to see family. See, that's a lot of travel already!  

Hunziker Bowl, Taos Ski Valley, NM

Resolution #2: To put technology in its place while traveling.
I'm pretty well attached to my smartphone at this point. Love it. I have over 150 apps, with at least 50 related to travel, travel planning, and finding services while traveling like food, bathrooms, wifi, NPR stations, movie theaters, AAA discounts, etc. I need to learn to disconnect more from the ethernet and connect more with the real world. Ask someone for directions or recommendations?  That would be a novelty for me. Come into a town without knowing where to eat? Frightening. I think I need to do that more!

I have app folders now

Resolution #3:  I will never use the term "bucket list." Travel experiences can't be plucked out of a container.

So I guess that's my list for now.  Wishing everyone safe and rewarding travel this year!

Essential Australia

Author's note: I wrote this post about 2 weeks ago but due to a technical issue it didn't get published to the blog. More on the Australia trip is in the pipeline. Thanks for reading.

Waking up to the maniacal laughter of kookaburras  in the trees reminds me that I’m in Australia. Opening my cabin shades to see kangaroos munching on the grass lets me know I’ve found the essential Australia.

I’m near the town of Hall’s Gap in the state of Victoria, surrounded by the Grampians National Park. We’re staying at the Hall’s Gap Valley Lodges, a moderately priced set of self catering cabins set along a tree-lined drive just off the main road going into town. Hall’s Gap is so named due to being in between the Grampians ranges and the Wonderlands mountains.

The mountains with jagged sandstone cliffs rise up in all directions, and deer, kangaroos, and rabbits roam across the green lawns. Sulphur crested cockatoos squawk loudly and perch on the cabin roofs, enjoying the attention of visiting photographers (us!).
Many other birds we can’t identify add to the background noise. This is a perfect base for exploring the mountains, the small towns and the Brambuk Aboriginal Culture Centre.

Hall’s Gap is under 3 hours west of Melbourne, and is a popular holiday destination in Victoria.
I’ve been on a 5 day tour from Adelaide, in the state of South Australia, to Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, courtesy of AATKings Tours, and the tourism boards of South Australia, the Great Southern Touring Route, Grampians, and Victoria.
We’ve been able to experience many of those essentially Australian activities, from “cuddling” a koala, becoming master wine makers by blending our own wine, learning of the Aboriginal heritage and history of this area, and seeing the sights, from city museums to natural wonders.

Now, some people think that essential Australia has to include visiting the Sydney Opera House and the Great Barrier Reef, but this trip has shown me there’s so much more to Australia, I can’t wait to see more.

Husband Takes Wife Fishing, Marriage Survives.

It doesn’t get much better than a few days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Road Show was in the beautiful Teton Mountains in Wyoming and Idaho for some R&R and a 2-day fishing trip. D. is now an avid fly fisherman, and thought I would enjoy the scenery and the adventure.

We spent the weekend in downtown Jackson Hole, WY where we enjoyed some great food at Rendezvous Bistro and Trio American Bistro,  a few drinks at the famous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and The Wort Hotel, visited the Saturday Farmer’s Market, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. We also went to the rodeo at the Teton County Fair.

We rode the chair lift up Snow King Mountain (the in-town ski area)and hiked down. 

 

We took a walk around Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton National Park.

We were having a good time, enjoying the summer ambience that is Jackson Hole in the summer.

And then came the fishing trip…I was a little nervous since I don’t really know how to fly fish. How much fun would it be to ride for 2 days in the boat with 2 guys who really like to fish?

We had booked with World Cast Anglers ,an Orvis-affiliated outfitter that has 3 different shops in the area. We drove over Teton Pass to Victor, Idaho, to meet out guide, Brian G. and get on the water. We would be fishing 26 miles of the South Fork River over 2 days, and camping out at the South Fork Hilton Camp at about the halfway point.

 

So the weather was pretty discouraging at first. I wore a rain jacket and waterproof pants. Brian G. had us do practice casting and hook setting in the parking lot. I threw it out there and hoped for the best.

We loaded up our gear and some food and drinks and got on the water. The current is strong, and the guide sits in the middle of the boat and rows to keep the boat in the right place and at the right angle to the bank so that maximum fishing ensues. One person sits/stands in the bow and one in the stern, so both can fish at the same time. Sometimes Brian G. would throw out the anchor on a gravel bar and we could get out of the boat and fish from the banks.

Luckily, Brian G. is an excellently patient and good humored guide. He worked with me to get my flies out there and I did have success pretty quickly. I caught a brown trout, rainbow trout and cutthroat trout in succession. If you can listen to your guide, and get the fly where he says to put it, follow the directions for setting the hook and reel in line properly, you, too, can catch fish. Not that hard…..

 

So I was happy, D. was happy, and Brian was happy. I could sit back and watch the scenery go by and fish if I felt like it. Brian could concentrate on getting more fish for D. D. could work on his casting and setting the hook to reel in the big ones. Of course, a large part of fly fishing for trout is getting the right flies on the line, and Brian was great at that, too. You really need to know too much about bugs for it to be very interesting to me, but I could see the results when the right match was made.

At one point it rained quite hard. I stayed dry, but felt clammy and my hands definitely did get cold.

The weather improved late in the day, and the fishing was pretty steady.  We saw many bald eagles and hawks, and they watched us go by with interest. I’m sure they were wondering if we had any fish in the boat. Sorry, no-it’s all catch-and-release here.

We got to the South Fork Hilton Camp before dark and enjoyed a great dinner and time at the fire pit. They had hot water in basins for us as we got into camp, and the beer was iced and wine open. There was just one other couple in camp, the rain having scared away the others, so it was a quiet group. Steak and potatoes with salad and broccoli, homemade peach cobbler for dessert. Plenty of good food.

The platform tents were just ok. Nothing luxurious, but definitely adequate. Each tent is set back in the woods away from each other, but don’t forget earplugs if snoring bothers you…..Noises carry at night.

Up pretty early the next morning, and after a hot breakfast of eggs and meats, as well as yogurt and fresh fruit, we got in the boat again for the rest of the trip. I caught a few more fish, but mostly enjoyed eagle spotting and the scenery.

The weather held up and it was a great day. Once again, Brian G. helped us catch fish and made sure that he stopped the boat at the only official rest stop with toilets on the river. Now that’s a thoughtful guide…..We got to the boat ramp around 3 pm and were back in Jackson by 5 pm.  I really enjoyed this trip immensely and would definitely do it again.

We stayed at 2 different hotels in Jackson, first the Ranch Inn, a motel property just 2 blocks from the town square, and then The Alpine House Inn., a gracious small inn with a homey Scandinavian feel. We would go back to The Alpine House Inn, for sure. It was only a few blocks from the Town Square, and on a quieter street. They had a hot cooked breakfast in the morning, and just nicer spaces and amenities. And for about the same price as the Ranch Inn.

Oh, and D. had plenty of photo ops with fish, too.

They may speak English, but

Australia is different from the USA.

Here are a few of my observations; definitely not a definitive list.

It’s “G’day”, not “hello”
It’s “How’re you going?” not “How are you doing?”
It’s kookaburras maniacally cackling at 5 am outside the window.

It’s a lot of beautiful and unusual animals not seen anywhere else.

It’s driving on the left, so look right before crossing the streets.

Pedestrians don’t have the right of way. See above.
It’s muesli, not granola.
It’s meals served on planes as well as snacks for morning and afternoon tea times.

It’s a lot of weird meats.

It’s one and two dollar coins instead of bills.
It’s shopping malls that are pedestrian streets with shops.
It’s shopping centres that are enclosed shopping malls.
Roundabouts, lots of roundabouts.
More on the driving: highway exits are on the left, slow lane is to the left.
Coffee is long black, short black, or flat white.

More on the driving: the turn signal indicator is on the wrong side, so you keep turning on the windshield wipers to indicate a turn.

Woolworth’s is a large grocery store chain.

There’s a large indoor fresh food market in every city.

It’s very friendly and helpful people everywhere you go.

2010 Hill Country Yarn Crawl Haul

Just got back from finishing up the 4th annual Hill Country Yarn Crawl. 323 miles on my car, plus about 60 miles on DH’s car when we did a shop together. I think this was the best yarn crawl so far, organized by 11 shops and supported by many more suppliers. I ended up going to 10 shops (sorry, Yarnorama, but you were just too far for me to go this time) and bought supplies at a few shops.

For $20 you get a logo tote bag- this time made out of nylon- and the information booklet with the passport page in the back. Each shop stamps the book and has a giveaway, usually a ball or skein of yarn and a pattern. The shops were supposed to give away something worth about $8.00 in retail value, but I think most shops gave away more than that. In addition to the yarn there was the creation and printing of patterns, booklets, putting together of kits, etc.

Yarnivore offered 2 different patterns: one for crochet, one for knit, that made the same basic wrist cuff with the same yarn. Very helpful.

The Tinsmith’s Wife is in a great old building with high ceilings and 2 large rooms. They have a huge selection of yarn and other fiber arts supplies. I picked up a ball of metallic (sparkly) sock yarn there.

Hill Country Weavers gave away yarn and a booklet with 9 patterns in it produced just for the yarn crawl.

Rosewood Yarns gave away a split ring with a mini-crochet hook, 2 darning needles and a stitch marker on it. Very cute and usable.

Gauge Knits gave away a coupon for 10% off your next visit (hope it will be good until next year?) in addition to a choice of free patterns and a skein of yarn. They also said there would be patterns on their Ravelry page soon.

Several shops ( The Knitting Nest, Stonehill Spinning, The Yarn Barn) gave away packaged kits with yarn and directions and any extras needed to make the project. The packaged kits are greatly appreciated.

New to me this year were Nan’s Needleworks and Old Oaks Ranch.

Old Oaks Ranch alpaca.

Each shop has a drawing for a prize selected from the names of people who actually purchase something from the shop.

If you get to at least 8 shops (with stamped passport) you can be entered into the prize drawings, of which there are a number.

If you get to all 11 shops, you can also be entered into the Grand Prize Drawing, which is a huge gift basket worth over $500.00.

The information booklet was well-designed, and the mini-maps for each shop were helpful. All shops agreed to have basically the same hours for all 4 days of the yarn crawl, making it easy to go from one to the other, especially on Sunday.

I don’t know what I’ll make first from my haul. Probably a set of fingerless mitts since I promised them to DD.

All-in-all, a great way to spend a beautiful fall weekend. Thanks to all the shops!

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

My first full day in Brisbane was a lot of fun. We took the bus to town and it went straight to the Cultural Center on the South Bank of the Brisbane River. The major museums are conveniently located in this Cultural Precinct and within walking distance of one another. The weather was a perfect spring day, brilliantly sunny and warm.

Brisbane River

We started at the Queensland Museum which had these Lego-type people attached to various parts of the walls and roof of the building.

Lego people

Inside we saw an exhibit on recent archeological finds relating to the Australian explorers Burke and Wills who died in the Outback in the 1800s while pioneering a route from the south to the north of the country.

On to the Queensland Art Gallery, where we saw an exhibit of works of Hans Heysen, the foremost Australian landscape painter. He loved painting the outback and the huge gum trees.

Not a Hans Heysen work

I really liked the “For Kids” labels on many of the artworks. They are placed below the main label, at the right height for kids to read, and they speak directly to the child about the work of art.

For Kids label at lower left

Across the plaza, we ate lunch at the cafe at the Queensland State Library building and explored their bookstore.

After lunch, we headed over to the Gallery of Modern Art and saw a retrospective of haute couture by Valentino. Dresses worn by the rich and famous were on display, including Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ wedding dress, Cate Blanchett’s and Julia Roberts’ Oscar dresses, and many more from 5 decades of fashion. It cost $20 to get in, but if you love clothes, it’s worth it.

We walked over the river on the Kurilpa Bridge The name is the Australian Aboriginal word for the South Brisbane and West End area.

We continued on the north side of the river to the central business district (CBD) and over to the Queen St. Mall, the main shopping area of town. In Australia a “mall” is usually a pedestrian shopping area rather than an indoor mall, but those also exist. The way to tell the difference is if there is “Street” in the name.

We caught a bus back out to Indooroopilly (“IN-dra-pill-ee”), the close-in suburb where I’m staying with DD and DSIL. We ended the day with a delicious Asian-inspired meal at Bali Grill in Rosalie.