Combo July Trip: Family in NYC + Spanish at LTCC

Thursday, July 23-Sunday, July 26: The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Bridge, and Fort Greene Park

Mr. E and I headed out on Thursday afternoon for our flight from ORD > LGA for our long weekend visit to NYC for a family baby shower for S & VP. We were so touched to be invited, since S is the daughter of my cousin G and his spouse C, so not really even the same generation. However, we've connected with S thanks to attending several of her shows in NYC (Fiddler on the Roof, Hell's Kitchen) and San Francisco (Jesus Christ Superstar), and I think she has really appreciated the family support. We figured we'd take advantage of the trip to see some different parts of NYC, so we rented a VRBO in the [very urban] Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, partly because the invitation indicated that the shower would be in Prospect Park so we wanted to be nearby.

Since we arrived in the early evening, we just headed to our VRBO and then to a nearby Target and the Wonder food hall to gather provisions (popcorn) and dinner (DIY salad for me, burger & fries for Mr. E) before settling in for the night. We also had to cool down the apartment since the windows had been left open and the bedrooms face west so were quite warm due to the setting sun! The apartment was very comfortable with lots of kitchen gear that we definitely wouldn't be using during our short stay (air fryer, waffle iron, blender, food processor, Keurig pod coffee maker, espresso maker, etc.). 

I did some research on Friday morning after my workout to find us a brunch spot, and we had a great meal at Red Chaconia Cafe, including a yummy Americano (not sour!). We then perched for second coffee at a Starbucks near the northeast corner of Prospect Park and close to The Brooklyn Museum, which was our primary destination and entertainment for the day. One of the reasons I really wanted to visit this museum was to see the full installation of Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party. It was absolutely stunning! And absolutely impossible to photograph well to truly capture all of the intricate details as well as the overarching scope and scale. Wow. Just incredible. I would go back to the museum just to see this piece again and spend more time with it.

We wandered through several of the other galleries and were really pleased with all that we saw and experienced. Before heading back to the apartment, we paused for a fresh mixed juice at the cafe in the lobby. Then we strolled through Prospect Park along an interior eastern pathway. The weather was pretty pleasant, especially in the shade, but I definitely still needed a shower when we got back to the VRBO. We relaxed for a bit as we kept in touch with A, who was arriving that evening from Phoenix and joining us at the VRBO (3 bedroom, 1 bath).  

Once A arrived, she and Mr. E headed off to get Japanese takeout and pick up a different rose, since the one that Mr. E had found the previous night wasn't very tasty. Then we all just hung out, chatted, and caught up on a couple of series that Mr. E and I are watching (Project Runway, Ride or Die). 

On Saturday, we took the train towards the Brooklyn Bridge and grabbed breakfast at a nearby Starbucks before beginning our trek across the [totally unshaded!] span over the river. Despite the bright sun, the temperature wasn't too hot, and we really enjoyed the fabulous views of Manhattan and the islands.

We had originally planned to walk back across the Bridge on our way to the baby shower at Fort Greene Park (yes, the location had changed, which we didn't learn about until three days before our trip!), but I was feeling too warm and sticky for a reverse crossing. Instead, we stopped for a beverage at a coffee shop near Pace University and then took the subway to the park to meet up with family for the baby shower. Many of the guests were friends or family of VP, so we only knew a handful of people from S's side of the family, but we enjoyed being part of the celebration and stayed for about two hours before heading back to the VRBO on the subway (slight challenges figuring out which platform to use due to changes in the train schedule!).

I was ready to be done for the day at that point, so I showered and got into my comfies, but A and Mr. E went out for a two-hour walk around the perimeter of Prospect Park, stopping on the way back to pick up stuff for dinner. I had enough already with the combined leftovers from the previous night, but they each got salads from a different spot at Wonder. Mr. E and I had to leave at 7am the next morning to head to JFK for our respective flights to Chicago and Reno, but we had a chance to say goodbye to A, whose flight was later in the day. And we'll see her again along with the entire family when they all come to Evanston for Labor Day weekend. Yay!

Sunday, July 26-Friday, July 31: ISSI

My flight to Reno via Phoenix was earlier than Mr. E's flight to Chicago, so he came with me to my gate to wait. I grabbed some yummy porridge at Pret a Manger while he fetched coffee for both of us at Starbucks and later got a breakfast sandwich for himself before his flight.

Both of my flights on American were full but otherwise just fine, and we even arrived in Reno a bit early, which was great. I had checked my rollerboard at JFK but didn't have to wait long at baggage claim, and I took care of getting everything set for my rental car while I was waiting. The drive from Reno to South Lake Tahoe was easy, and I arrived at Hotel Azure, my home for the next five days, around 5:30pm. 

This was my third time attending the Intensive Spanish Summer Institute (ISSI) at Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and my first time at this hotel. I definitely appreciated its location being farther from all the crowds and business of Heavenly Village, and it was also much closer to the campus, which made my morning timing easier. Not to mention that it was only two blocks from Safeway, so I easily stocked up on groceries for the week the evening I arrived and grabbed coffee at the Starbucks there each morning on my way to class.

My hotel room was a one-bedroom suite at the end of the building and had a view of the Lake, although the small event center and tall trees blocked much of the panorama. But I still got some pretty scenes during my morning and evening walks, including an encounter with a squirrel one day and a coyote sighting the next day (no photos of that critter, unfortunately!).

I was in the Low Superior class this year, which unfortunately got combined with the Superior class due to a lack of instructors. This wasn't a problem for me in terms of language or learning, but it did make for an overly large class so any type of group or partner work was quite challenging because of the noise level. There were several other changes that I noticed this year that were a bit disappointing, but overall it was still a positive experience, especially since there aren't many intensive in-person adult Spanish programs like in the US. And for CA residents, the tuition is very low thanks to having the program at a Community College. The most expensive part is the lodging, rental car, and this time around the flight!

The program wrapped up on Friday, and since Mr. E's birthday was Saturday, I left before the afternoon sessions for my return flight so that I could be back in Evanston for his special day. My flight on Alaska connected through Seattle and was delayed by about 30 minutes, so I arrived around 12:30am. Mr. E had rented a car for the weekend and came to pick me up at the airport, which was lovely. We got back to the apartment around 1:20am, and all I did was take time to kiss my kitties and to the bare minimum of unpacking before going to bed. So glad to be home with Mr. E, Louis XIV, and Marlene! I missed my partner and my kitties!

A Different Kind of Journey: Hair Color Week 1-Week 4

I really like my current hair color product, Vivid Berry by London, especially since the dye is no bleach and vegan. However, it definitely doesn't hold the color nearly as long as other products that I've used! And it's also quite chameleon-like, since the initial color in the bottle and on my hair is bright pink but changes to deep purple by the end of the process and then gradually fades to light lavender (or perhaps sakura, according to comments and compliments I received during our trip to Japan earlier this year). I figured it would be fun to document this hair color journey from pre-color in Week 1 to the next application in Week 4. 

And I just colored again last night, so now it's back to the starting point of vivid berry. Such a contrast throughout the weeks!!!

Portugal River Cruise Days 7 & 8: Pinhao to Tavora to Regua to Porto & End of Trip

Sunday, May 31: Lamego

As usual, I explored the waterfront area near our dock for my morning walk but had to be very careful of the time since the boat was due to leave Pinhao at 7am. 

We were back to our usual morning excursion routine so joined the rest of the English-speaking group for our 8:30am departure for the visit to Lamego. Our guide was Sandrine again, who had also accompanied us yesterday as well as two days ago for the Regua area excursions. Lamego is known for its sanctuary at the top of a hill with its 686 stairs. Our group visited the church (which was having a Sunday morning mass), and then a few of us decided to walk down the stairs to meet up for our tasting of local smoked meats, cheese, and sparkling wine.

We had some free time to explore the historic center of the town, and Mr. E procured a Portugal football jersey to add to our souvenirs. Then we returned to Regua to meet up with our boat. I had enough time to buy some fresh cherries from the local vendor situated just above the dock area before we all had to be on board. 

The afternoon began with a pre-lunch briefing about the schedule for the rest of the day and departure procedures for the morning. After lunch, we were able to visit the Captain in the pilothouse and learn a bit about how the boat operates, which was quite interesting, especially to see the control panels. The rest of the afternoon was just sailing and relaxing and getting ready to head home tomorrow. Mr. E also got to watch the "show" of the new pool getting installed. Apparently, it was quite an adventure with lots of onlookers!

Our final dinner was unfortunately not very successful for me, as the kitchen staff had prepared a lovely piece of salmon instead of beef but included leeks in the mixed veggies, and that's part of the allium family so I couldn't eat it. The replacement was a vegan shredded patty and the same puff potatoes as we had another evening. But I'm not a fan of faux meat, since I don't miss or like the flavor anymore, and the potato puffs were cold inside. Quite disappointing, but luckily I wasn't very hungry and just finished off the evening with popcorn and wine in my room. Oh, and the wine was the bottle we bought in Salamanca, and it was delicious! So that was still a positive way to wrap up the trip.

Monday, June 1: OPO > EWR > ORD

Our final morning was overcast and grey, and I had to walk across the equipment barge that separated our boat from the dock, which hadn't been in place last week when we began our cruise. I headed across the boardwalk towards the beach and was accompanied by a swan and also saw a momma duck with two babies on my way back (couldn't get a good photo of them).

We had our final breakfast on board and bid farewell to our lovely table companions, whose flight home to England wasn't until the evening. Our taxi pick-up at 8:45am was prompt, and we had allowed plenty of time to accommodate any rush hour traffic on our way to the airport. The lounge was rather underwhelming, mostly because it was obviously in the midst of being renovated and updated so had areas that were closed off and no restrooms available, and then we encountered the loooong line for passport control before going to our gate. Yikes! Not a very efficient process at all, especially since our info had been verified when we checked in at the counter before the initial security and was then checked yet one more time before we actually boarded the plane. Triple checks? Really??!!

The flight from OPO to EWR was just under 7 1/2 hours, and I watched three movies, all of which were quite enjoyable for very different reasons: Scream 7, How to Make a Killing, and Solo Mio. We had a rather long walk from our arrival gate through customs but didn't have to worry about rushing because of our nearly 3-hour layover. We still had about 90 minutes to spend in the Polaris Lounge before boarding the connecting flight from EWR to ORD. I opted for a short movie to align with the 2-hour flight and watched the thriller, Cold Storage. We landed a bit early and arrived on time at the gate after one of the typical ORD long runway taxi process. 

Mr. E and I made sure that L was all set for her ride pick-up and then we grabbed a taxi home to Evanston. One of the worst taxi experiences ever!!! Very strong unpleasant sulfur-ish smell that didn't dissipate at all even though we had the back windows wide open and lots of reckless driving, including totally running a red light. Ugh! We really need to find a more consistently professional and reliable service for our airport trips here. But we eventually made it home to the kitties, and Louis XIV and I got lots of nesting and snuggling time during the night.

A wonderful trip overall and so grateful to make these memories with Mr. E and his mom! 

Portugal River Cruise Day 6: Port Wine Road

Saturday, May 30: Morning Cruising + Afternoon Wine Road Tour

We started off in Barca d'Alva this morning, and I enjoyed my walk around the waterfront area, where I discovered a lovely statue overlooking the River as well as a series of murals portraying various local historical and cultural figures, including the special storks we had learned about and seen in the bell towers across the border in Salamanca. I guess they come to Portugal, too!

We had a more leisurely morning today with a later breakfast since our excursion wasn't until the afternoon. I was able to get sufficient connectivity (except when we went through the lock) to catch up on the recording of last week's Spanish class, which of course I had missed since that was our first night on board the boat (not to mention the 8+ hour time difference between CA and Portugal!).

After lunch, we boarded the buses for our afternoon port wine road tour. The scenery continued to amaze me, with the steep hills and narrow winding roads and hectares of terraced vineyards covering the landscape. We stopped at an overlook for a panoramic view of the Douro River near one of the locks and were able to see our ship enter the lock since it left the port shortly after we did.

Our destination for our port wine tasting and visit was Quinta do Tedo, which is owned by a French man. We were again very glad to be part of the smaller English-speaking group for the tasting and tour. L and I decided to skip the short tour and just relax on the lovely shaded patio terrace instead. We got to taste a tawny and a ruby and then finished with a rose once the rest of the group came back from the tour.

We met up with the boat in Pinhao, and I was the only one of our group who accompanied our tour guide for the short walk to the train station to see the 1940s era blue and white tiles that show historic scenes from the area. Then I took my time walking back to the boat and checking out a few little shops along the way, with no luck for souvenirs, and watching the Douro line train pass by. The weather was quite warm again, but I figured I was already hot so another 20 minutes or so before getting back to the boat to clean up wouldn't make much of a difference!

This night was the Gala evening, which included a special cocktail and appetizer in the Lounge as we all greeted and celebrated the Captain, the Head Chef, and the Cruise Director. The Gala meal was topped off by a Baked Alaska, but I was already in my cabin by then as the late start of the dinner (8pm) was just a bit much for me. Mr. E and L stayed for the flaming of the dessert and also attended some of the dancing in the Lounge while I finished off a glass of wine and read before going to sleep. I needed that quite time! But I did find time to pop off the boat quickly to capture another memory of this stop.

Portugal River Cruise Day 5: Salamanca, Spain

Friday, May 29: Our First Time in Spain!

Last night, the ship arrived in Vega de Terron, which is on the Spanish side of the Douro, so my pre-workout morning walk was in two countries! I got off the boat in Spain and then walked across a short bridge to Portugal and back again. 

We had an earlier start today with an 8am departure for our full-day excursion to Salamanca, Spain, which helped to accommodate the +1 hour time difference between the two countries. The drive to Salamanca took just under two hours and started off with some very winding and narrow roads, and the landscape eventually changed to become less hilly and flatter. Mr. E and I both agreed that it reminded us of parts of NorCal in Sonoma or Napa wine country.

We had a short restroom break at a hotel on the outskirts of Salamanca before arriving in the city center to meet up with the local guides for our two-hour walking tour of the university, cathedral, and Plaza Mayor. Salamanca is a beautiful city, with light-colored buildings, steep cobbled streets, and a very lively student population. Our guide was very informative, and we particularly appreciated learning about the “lucky frog” and the local stork population that nests in the bell tower and other places around the city. We enjoyed our tour despite the very warm temperatures and particularly appreciated the cool interiors and our guide’s efforts to stay in the shade as much as possible when we were outside.

For our buffet lunch, we met up with the rest of our group at the Casino hotel next to the Plaza Mayor. We sat with our usual dining companions along with a few others from the English-speaking group. The lunch had sufficient variety for everyone, although it would have been nice if there were labels for each item to help with any allergies or preferences. Then we had about three hours of free time to explore Salamanca. If only the map they had given us included the key to the numbered sites! Luckily, I had followed along during our walking tour so was able to easily orient us. We started off with a quick stop by the tourist office to ask about posters and then paused for a bit at the nearby Starbucks, where Mr. E and I shared an Americano and added another mug to our collection, a unique design of overlapping the blue shells to remind us of the casa de la concha and the distinctive shell symbol that marks the Camino de Santiago.

After making a few stops in local stores for wine, candy, t-shirts, and magnets, we ended at the Casa Lis museum that features a lovely Art Nouveau and Art Deco collection. L decided to rest in the café, which features panoramic stained-glass windows, while Mr. E and I explored the exhibitions.

Mr. E liked the paintings, and I really enjoyed the decorative art items such as the blown glass lamps and vases, sets of porcelain, and animal figurines. We saw many other passengers from our boat at the museum, since it was a cool spot to spend some time before returning to the nearby bus parking spot for our 5:30pm departure to meet up with the ship at Barca d’Alva, back on the Portugal side of the Douro.

Thanks to gaining back the one hour we had lost earlier in the day, we had a little time before dinner, so we could all get refreshed after the long, warm day, and I fit in my yoga practice as well. And we were met by special swans in our cabin!

Dinner was Spanish-themed and featured an impressive paella with an impressive amount of seafood (octopus, prawns, fish, mussels in shells). The dish also included chicken and lots of small shrimp, shelled mussels, sausage pieces, and fresh pieces mixed into the saffron rice. My special preparation included just seafood with peapods and tomato sauce over pasta. The meal was accompanied by the special Mateus rosé wine, which was a little too sweet for me, but Mr. E appreciated how it complemented the paella. After dinner, Mr. E and L enjoyed the flamenco dance entertainment in the Lounge while I caught up on email and relaxed in the cabin.