London weekend

What a great long weekend in London with Mark!!! He had to be there for work so he left on Oct 14 & I flew in to meet him on the 17th. We stayed @ a Hilton in Islington ( a suburb of London- Angel tube stop) & it was a nice little area- busy as is most of London. I arrived @ about 2 & he had to be in the office until 6 so it gave me an opportunity to wander the streets of Islington. Asked the concierge whats to see & he looked @ me & said "What 'round here?? I suppose you can have a walk 'round the canal- thats nice". So he pointed me in the direction & I was off. He was also right- not too much going in in Islington- pretty working class area, kebab shops & pubs, real estate offices & of course Starbucks- noting too endearing. Made it over to the canal system & it was quite pretty- there were a number of the canal boats like ones in the jubilee water parade down the Thames- not as large as the ones in Amsterdam- but similar in design- I still cant think they are very dry in there- none of them never look new to me..... Anyway- snapped a few photos & that was that- the path ended up being closed a little ways down so it was back to the streets & alleys to explore. Some great shops on the High Street- found a Penhaligons, our most favorite products- I couldn't NOT go in!!!! Very helpful gal popped up from behind the register with a HELLOOOO- scared the hell out of me- but she was trying to fix the internet. I went through all the scents on the table- some I liked, some I REALLY liked & some I hated. One of them smelled like church incense- a bad memory from catholic upbringing- they should have named it either Penance, Hair Shirt of GUILT because if I wore that it would be a constant reminder & vision of Sister Lucy, Sister Mary Josephine, Sister Karen & Father Fox......... UGH........ Checked out a few of their new scents- put on my FAVORITE Blenheim Bouquet- their signature scent from 1902 :) ALSO the what Hotel 41 stocks as their bath products!!!! YUM!!!! So I was on my way- wanted to go back with Mark to see what he wanted but would probably go to their larger store over in Covent Garden on Thurs or Friday. Anyway- a new favorite was Opus 1870 SOOO fabulous- nice and Cedar"y"- how I like it :)

We checked into our most favorite hotel- Hotel 41 that is just across the street from the Royal Mews (the royal stables & carriage house) & the Palace is a 5 min walk from there. The address is 41 Buckingham Palace Road- its posh for sure!!! We stayed there a few years ago when we were on our way to Spain (when British Airways lost our luggage for the entire vacation) & loved it so much we had to return. This time we got a suite though- had a separate living room & 2 bathrooms. Beautiful rooms & everything still up to snuff in this 5 Star hotel. No complaints. Check out my Tripadvisor review with photos & make sure to mark it as "helpful"  :) Hotel 41 Tripadvisor review I meant every word- this place is fabulous :)

Did some great exploring- headed to the Tate Modern Museum- what an incredible building- its the worlds largest museum- housed in a old power company facility- HUGE!!!!! Now, I am all for modern art- but seriously- some of the works housed here left me scratching my head- a pile of bricks, a twisted ball of wire, white paint in the shape of a hexagon painted over the white wall, a chain link fence gate with a crayon tied to a piece of string hanging of it??? No wonder there are starving artist out there. Granted- some of the art was great & thought provoking, they do have some great Kandinsky's, Picasso's & a few Giacometti sculptures that are always fabulous to see & most of the modern masters- but this place is SO IMMENSE- I have a feeling we just scratched the surface- must go again on the return trip next year with Mark's parents. We'll see their take on it- although- I kinda already know- but it will be good for them to expand their horizons & it will certainly make for some fun conversations with them with the help of wine :)

Alberto Giacometti

Had some great meals Thai, Indian, Pub Grub & food on the go- ended up going to 2 of the most highly rated Indian restaurants in London. One was Quilon which is evidently the first Indian restaurant in London to get a Michelin star. AND- it was right around the corner from our hotel. Highly recommended! And our waiter was the hottest Indian guy I think I have ever seen- so it made the experience all that much better. He had these tribal tattoos that were sticking out of his cuffs- would have liked to have seen the work as I'm sure they were some nice Indian designs. seeing him with out a shirt probably wouldnt have been that bad either....... Yes- Im a troll...... But I have good taste! 

Hanging lights @ Veeraswamy

Veeraswamy was the other fantastic Indian restaurant we went to- its the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK- still in the same location & still in the same family- Since 1926- so still a part of the Empire. I loved their decor- the different colored lamps hanging from the ceiling, the old Indian military helmets that covered on of the walls, the rich colors of silk- the purples, oranges & reds- just beautiful- Fantastic food & in a great area for night life. 

Fresh Game Birds @ The Borough Market

Another fantastic discovery was the Borough Market, its seriously like Pike Market in Seattle on steroids!!!! Talk about gourmet & fabulous!!! This is a REAL working market that dates back to the 13th century (Closed in 1755 only to reopen later) Its not a tourist trap like Pike Place in Seattle. Granted- there are tourists here but there are also many people shopping for their fruit & veg. Fantastic selection of meats, beautiful game birds, cheeses, breads, herbs- I can go on & on- if we were staying longer & had a kitchen- I would have had to fill a bag. There was 1 stand that had all these cheeses from the Haute-Savoie region of France (the region that is just south & borders Geneve) Looks like they have a guy that flies the cheese in every week. Not sure I'd want to sit next to him on a plane though- some of those French cheeses are P-U!!!!!  There is also a fabulous area to get food to eat there- giant pans of paella, Indian & Thai curries bubbling away- intoxicating smells. There was even a stand doing authentic Swiss Raclette & you could tell is was real as it smells like Switzerland!!!! That cheese!!!! We also came upon this one stand that had what had to be a 5' stack of brownies..... Had to buy a few for a snack & yeah- they made my teeth hurt- but OH so delicious. Another place to return to when back in London- LOVED this market

We just love London, its so easy to get around, no language barrier to hurdle over, the city is clean & there is something for everybody of every ethnicity. I think I could live there- although they say the weather is worse than Seattle- so perhaps not as that drives me nuts.

Mark enjoying a double handled cup of English tea @ Costa & wishing I would STOP taking his photo :)

LONDON!!!!!

I am SOOO damn excited to be going to London tomorrow & stay @ our MOST favorite hotel Hotel 41 INSANE luxury & beauty- We are fortunate boys to be in this life @ this time....... awww bless....... MANY photos forthcoming :)

We've gone to the dogs!!!!

Ahhhhh- Martigny, Switzerland in the fall with St. Bernard's........ Has a nice ring to it. 

We set up a dog walking tour on Oct. 13th in the little town of Martigny- about 90 min by train from Geneve & up in the mountains. The town itself isnt so exciting- although they do have a great museum there that has a Van Gogh, Picasso & Kandinsky exhibit going on until Nov 25th. Fondation Pierre Giandda We didnt get to it as we were kind of done......

Sarah & Lucia came with us, Jaime was home not feeling well. What a great way to be introduced to these great dogs!!!! Fondation Barry Du Grand St Bernard is the organization that we visited- a fabulous museum that is all about the St. Bernard- the history of the breed, the history in this region & their history as life saving dogs for stranded people caught in the snow. It was 48 francs per person to take their dogs out for a walk- but it goes to a good cause to preserve this beautiful breed. I cant imagine what it costs to feed these big dogs!!!!  Also- the little barrel they are known for- yeah- a myth- they never carried barrels around their necks- the did however pull sleds & carry back packs that were more like baskets in the old days. ANYWAY- we got our dog- a 3 year old bitch named Ranna- she was the Alpha female for sure as she just had to be in front- we would lag back & then she'd pull to get up front. She's a beautiful long haired girl that was born in Martigny. The walk we went on was the easy one as we had Lucia who just turned a big 5 last week & we didnt want to tire her out...... Ok ok- we werent sure what the difficult walk was all about, so we opted for the easy walk. Turns out the easy walk was a stroll through the woodlands behind the museum- it was easy & totally do- able- although I would like to try the other one though as its only an hour & they take you higher up in the mountains & its a bit more physical- but im sure we could do it. They offer winter walks in Jan & Feb so this could be fun as well as they are in the snow with the dogs pulling little sleds. Anyway- HIGHLY recommended if you are in the area & hopefully I can make a holiday photo out of one of the shots..... Should have taken a few more I think....

 Lucia, Ranna, Sarah & Mark @ the start of the walk

 Photo stop- the dogs know they get a treat after this

 Ranna & I after she had a drink & a walk in the little river

 A great shot of Mark & Ranna

 Sarah, Ranna & Lucia with some Alps behind

She caught a scent & wouldnt turn around.....

STUNNING Geneve day!!!!

What a truly STUNNING day here in Geneve- it was quite cool this morning when I went out for a ride & then as I shed layers of Under Armor I realized I should just swing home & put on some summer threads....... Ended up being a day I could have set an Autumn tan..... Ah well- another day like this will be around. Wandered over to the Bain de Paquis & I found Joyce & met some new friends- Khalid from Morocco, Helmi from Algeria & Al from Guinea- Talk about an international city. We shared some apple shisha, some beers & some great conversation. They were AMAZED with my Arabic music collection that I had on my Iphone & kept saying "are you sure you are from America?" What a great way to break barriers with music. I could have stayed hours more, but know I will see them again- after all- this is Geneve :)

Willy J. Johnson Booberstein

Willy really wanted to be a part of this blog.

 Taken when we first got him on October 15th of 2010- he was such a little guy- Such big ears!!!

 He still had his baby teeth

Now at 3 years old. Such a handsome, funny, bratty & loving cat- who need to go on a diet like his dad's.....

Took this a few weeks ago when Geneve was having its Fetes de Geneve- may have to do a little post production but I think overall a good timed shot :)

Luzern Weekend

We were in Luzern over the weekend- what a beautiful place on this planet- a 3 hr train ride from Geneve & worth it. Although there were a million Chinese tourists there- for some reason they like to take my photo & think I dont think they are taking it...... We went on this lake tour- the Dragon Boat should have given us an indication the market they were going after- Anyway- we saunter upstairs- take our seats then the FLOOD of Chinese take over- they sit all around us- The amount of them made news headlines scroll through my head "Tourboat overturns on Lake Luzern- 500 Chinese & 2 cheap Americans dead" The ones sitting right next to me started taking photos of each other- trading the red scarf on one lady then on to another lady then another as they pose in the nuttiest poses..... Then I notice how they were kind of leaning my way & taking photos- I would move- they would move to get me in the shot- so I started pursing my lips, making stupid faces- finger up my nose etc...... I told Mark- yeah- wait until I stand up........ yep- I stood up & it was like a martian had just appeared on board- OOOOHHHH Take picture????. Same thing happened when I went to Beijing a few years ago & Tianamen Square- I had people almost lining up to take a photo with me. Never seen a tall whitey before I guess....... Anyway- I digress- Luzern is a beautiful place- had some great food, lots of great wine & did some great sightseeing. The amount of Chinese there made it feel like it was Disneyland & they were all the little kids running around fascinated @ lamp posts, phone booths, door knobs & trash cans....... Take picture???!!!!!

WOW- talk about a break!!!!

Cant believe its been since 2007 since I was in/on here last........ Not even going to get into what has happened in our lives since- nothing too exciting other than- in a nut shell- we moved to Switzerland in July of 2011 as Mark got an incredible offer with Expedia to transfer here to work in their new European HQ- so I tagged along :) we live in Geneva, we got a cat (Willy) much more on him for sure, Im looking for work, we travel a lot & will be doing more, we love it here so we signed up to stay another 2 years until the summer of 2014.

I just found this blog today- & i realize the little number of followers I had back then have abandoned me- well- I kind of deleted everyone to start new anyway- all 5....... 

So Im going to make a effort to keep this up from over here on out- Im tired of posting on Facebook, sometimes I dont want the whole world seeing what I post, sometimes im not very PC or child friendly- & sometimes I want to be- dont we all @ times??? I'll piss people off im sure- but hey- I can always remove it or the complainer & not be held to it if an potential employer looks up my Facebook page :)

This is a learning process :)

A bientot- no one who is listening......... yet :)

Pike Market Peaches- So damn good!!!!!

I cant wait for the garden to look like this again

PET SHOP BOYS NOV. 05, 2006. I think this might be the best concert I have ever been to. And I am SOOO glad I went- I decided last minute to go & ended up getting a general admission ticket for $40. Ticket bastard was selling them for $70 plus their fee- so I scored. I think Im going to start doing that from now on- wait to get a ticket for a show that night & get it for less- im sure I wont always get so lucky though. Anyway- I ended up having a few shots of Jeagermeister which really helped get me in the mood for a great concert- they played old material as well as newer- lots of memories in their old songs- their 2nd song was my all time favorite- Left to my own devices- it just set the night. Great, great show- will have to keep up on them.

 

http://www.heifer.org

If you are looking for a great charity- check out Heifer. What it is, is you are buying a family a future buy supplying them an animal or animals that help them become self sufficient- you buy them a flock of geese, the geese eat the weeds & bugs in their garden, their waste feeds the garden, their eggs feed the family, & in some cases the geese feed the family. When the geese have babies- they are asked to donate them to another needy family & so on & so on. The same thing goes for a goat or llama- check out the site they tell it much better than I do. I think these would be great Christmas gifts in addition to the normal "retail" things we buy people.

Alki 

Blog issues

Im having serious issues adding to this- I know its just me not knowing what the hell im doing- I have confidence that I can do it............... we'll see

A nice fall day at Greenlake 

KEXP 90.3 FM - where the music matters

KEXP 90.3 FM - where the music matters

The view from my office