Giggles in San Francisco

Due to some sillyness related to my former job I went out to San Francisco last week and no that's not where the giggles come into play.

My friend Sheila lives in San Francisco however at the time of setting up the trip I thought she was going to be out of town, she's the friend of mine that decided to bike from California to wherever. I was kind of bummed that she wouldn't be there. So I'm reading her blog one day after my ticket has been booked and lo and behold, what do I see? Sheila's getting back to San Francisco the same day I arrive. OH MY GOD!!!!! I was sooooo excited and dropped her an email to that effect, which in turn resulted in me receiving an invite to stay with her and her boyfriend, Melton for the weekend. Yippee!!!

So after some mind numbing hours in an office building (the people were nice, the topic not so) I was thrilled to head over to Sheila and Melton's place. Sheila is my friend who I met in Bali and we stayed on after the surf retreat, doing lots of hanging out. We recently had a discussion how I should market myself as a hang out coach - teach people to chill out in NYC, the idea has merit. However, I digress.

Friday night I was treated to a delicious dinner and we hung out and conversed for hours. Of course.

Saturday after the requisite morning hang out and conversation we headed to the neighbors for a visit and a chat, then to the food coop and then for a hike up Kite Hill. Sheila is much fitter than me, so she took it easy on me and the hills weren't too bad. We walked through the Mission and took in the fabulocity of the Castro and up to Kite Hill where we took in the amazing view of the city. On our way down the hill we came across an apparent famous playground with these awesome slides. Of course, we had to go down them, twice - as you can see in the video below.

After our fill of giggles we headed back home and had a delicious barbecue at the neighbors.

Sunday morning we moseyed over to Ti Couz for a deeeelicious brunch of crepes and then it was back to the apartment to catch a taxi to the airport for my flight back to NY. A wonderful hang out, chill out weekend with great friends!

The Great Bike Adventure

So let me tell you about my friend Sheila, we met last year at surf/yoga camp in Bali and you may recall that we traveled a bit through Bali after. Sheila returned to her home in San Francisco and once I got back we spoke on the phone a few times.

I have to say, Sheila is one of my heroes, there is so much she has done with her life you can't help but be inspired by her. Well one day in January I get this really funny email from her, which with her permission, I am posting below.

"Tuesday, January 15, 2008

As fate or whatever would have it, the electricity to our home is out. We went in a little celebration walk to celebration sushi and when we came back, PG&E celebration trucks were in the street, street lights mysteriously out, we making jokes about celebratory electricity until we opened our celebrating door & the switch didn't work—we'd been had. I shall celebrate in the darkness.

Any wondering about whether I would allow myself to get distracted by other matters in lieu of writing my invitation/celebratory missive/declaration of freedom and first day of the rest of my next few months is over. No wondering. It's 9pm, dark & I have time on this battery operated information-catcher. I write.

Today was the last day of my current job in real estate. Some of you know that I went on a trip to Bali in October & was inspired to quit. I've really wrestled with the notion of staying in this job for some time—it's not what I would call inspiring work. It has at times been interesting & I've certainly learned a lot, but inspiring…no.

My endorphins have been libidinously giddy since I came to this conclusion—the conclusion that my soul was withering and sucked dry by the demands of said job. My goals for my trip to Bali were refreshment & inspiration—I got what I wanted.

The past two months I've spent helping hire & train my replacement & prepare the way for her to assume my duties as seamlessly as possible. The past two days were pleasantly LIGHT in workload—I've planned well & it was an easy baton to pass on.

I've also been trying to think expansively & open up to all possibilities in life—what can I do now that obligation and money aren't arm wrestling?

I was going to go to Bali in March and surf some more. I was going to go hither & yon, visiting friends. Somehow, with or without segues, I was reminded of my dream to travel around the world by all means other than the two-winged hollow metal bird: boat, foot, bike. I love bike touring—I love the compactness, the self-sufficiency, the direct sense-engagement that I get from wind and smells and sounds that I just don't get from enclosed vehicles.

Flowing with the idea of the bike, I have decided to bike from San Diego, California to Sarasota, Florida this Spring. This is where the invitation comes in—YOU'RE INVITED to participate on this tour.

If it strikes you as cosmically necessary and good and life aligns for you to take this mythic quest with me, please come. I plan to leave on March 15th. I MAY start biking from San Francisco, but it's likely I'll start from San Diego. I have two months to train & get my bearings & stuff together for the tour.

Lodgings: a mix of camping, hotel/motel and some couch surfing if possible

Pace: I'll have a better sense after a few more weeks of training, but my initial realistic desire is to bike about 300-350 miles/week. I think I'll be doing a 60-70 miles per day 5 days/week. A lot depends on hills, wind & weather conditions.

Rest: I want to stop where inspired for a few extra days. At this point Melton has agreed to fly to Austin, Texas to meet me there.

How long will I be gone: At this pace and with a few days rest (from what I've read so far), I think I'll be on the trip for 12 weeks.

Where will I be biking: Through the Southwest & South. Across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and down the peninsula of Florida.

What is this invitation exactly?
Well, if you have enough freedom, interest & gumption, I can give you more details about approximate arrival times of where & when. You can drop in on the ride (you'll need a bike or a skate board & one really strong leg and some camping stuff) and ride with me for a few days, a week, whatever.

I'm also interested in crashing @ your friends homes if you have friends along the way. I want to camp as much as possible & do the hotel thing when I need a proper bath & privacy. I'm open to the hospitality of anyone who enjoys visitors as well.

Though some see this as a very isolated, off the grid experience, that's not my intention for this trip. I want to meet people, connect, indulge my passion for travel & biking, enjoy the beauty that this geographic mass has to offer my eyes, nose, skin & heart. I'll be getting a small laptop & blogging my way across the country.

Music playlist donations for my biking soundtrack are also welcome.

I'm STOKED about this very RAD adventure I'm about to embark on. Melton has been super supportive, which I appreciate tremendously.

I'm very excited for the next few months! Let me know if you want to join me. Thanks to everyone I corresponded with about the job stuff and all your support!!"

So I'm not joining Sheila but I figured I would share her email with you all. How cool is this adventure! You can keep up with Sheila and her adventures on her blog http://inspiredtobiketour.blogspot.com/

Let's support the people out there who are bucking the system and doing their own things in life!

The Seasons First Surf!

A cold and nasty day last winter, I'm lying under the covers of my bed, watching a cheesy surfing chick flick (ok I'm embarrassed to admit it, yes - it was Blue Crush) and I have this thought - man that would be kind of cool to try. I have loved the ocean since I was a little girl and when I was a teenager I started getting really into the the whole surf culture, and of course I always loved those surfer boys. Anyway, time passed, I grew up and sort of forgot about all of it. So on this winter day I come up with the whacked out idea that I'm gonna try this. Maybe it was part of an early mid life crisis or something, who knows. After researching on the internet a bit I see I can take lessons in Long Beach, NY about an hours drive away. So a year ago I started taking lessons and well, you know the story, I quit my job, took off and went to learn to surf in North Carolina, Bali and Miami.

About two weeks ago I reunited with my crew - we are three girls and we met in the surf classes we started taking last year. We are not any good but we love it and we have a great time together being stupid and cheering each other on. After a lunch in Long Beach we head to Unsound surf shop to get properly outfitted. We have wetsuits, they match - it's retarded, but for these waters we also need neoprene boots, gloves and hoods. This in itself was a hilarious excursion, the gloves are so thick you can't move your fingers, the hood makes you look like an idiot and the boots. Well if you can actually get them on it's an accomplishment but getting them off - that's an exercise in patience, willpower and strength. Much to Jen's mortification, Reena literally had to pull on my boot and drag me across the floor of the surf shop. Funny.

So this last Saturday, now being properly outfitted, we met up again. Jen and I to hit the water, Reena to assist us in getting dressed and cheer us on. One definitely needs a helper because once you have one glove on it's practically impossible to get the other one on and rocking the Michael Jackson one glove look is not wise in 43 degree water. Once fully dressed, Jen and I braved the water. It was not actually that cold but the wind was a killer. We caught a few waves, they were baby ones, but that was just right for us. Despite the cold and the extreme exhaustion from paddling in neoprene it was so good to be in the water again. You are out there on this deserted beach, it's so beautiful, the birds are fishing and you are working hard to paddle, stand up or not fall off; but somehow it is so incredibly calming. All you can concentrate on is the ocean and for a little while all that crap driving you crazy just goes away. Corny but true.

So kook that I am, I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing, get out there and keep paddling.

Time to go home

After spending a few fabulous weeks in Europe it was time to go back home to the USA. So once again I boarded a plane and made my way back to JFK International Airport. However I was not to be spending my time at my home. I had a job lined up! So I unpacked and repacked and headed to the Upper West Side of Manhattan where I had the job of watching Finn, my friend's cocker spaniel for a few days. I love animals, so for me it was a great way to make a few bucks. I spent my time hanging out with Finn, froze my ass off in the snow, went to a career seminar to look for that epiphany and did some general catching up.

After Finn's mom came home I was back off to my home in Brooklyn to repack again, I was off to Miami again but this time to pick up my car and drive it back.

I spent the next few weeks in Miami, lethargic as all hell ( I think there is something in the air down there!) I visited with family and friends, worked on business ideas, hung out with my cousin and her friend who were visiting from Switzerland and did not do much else.

Finally on the 17th I was ready to get on the road again, this time really eager to drive and get back to NY. So I drove - no stopping for sightseeing (although I would not have minded a few surf lessons in North Carolina again), no speeding tickets and 1 flat tire - and 2.5 days later I was home and ever so happy to be back.

Venezia Parte Due!

The next day I woke up, got out of the hotel and went to see Piazza San Marco in the light of day. I don't think words can express what a magical sight Venice is, the skies were bright blue, the sun was shining making all the gold on the buildings glitter and because it was not high season there were not a lot of tourists. Perfect!

The piazza originated as a small plaza in front of Basilica di San Marco in the 9th century and was later enlarged to it's current size in 1177. I went to explore the basilica, which is this amazing mix of various styles of design and architecture - Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic. I was told that when you walk in the basilica your jaw literally drops, well I can attest to that. The walls are covered in the most amazing mosaics, many of them gold, so everything just twinkles. I figured since I prayed in about every temple, Hindu and Buddhist, that I have come across in the last few months I might as well pray in a church who's faith I was actually born into. So I sat in a little chapel off the main basilica, on the the creaky wooden bench and kneeler and listened to an at least 90 year old priest give Italian mass. After mass, I walked up into the dome of the basilica where you can actually go out on to this roof terrace and take in the sights of the piazza. Really spectacular.

That morning, my aunt Helena and her friend Gertrude had driven down from Switzerland to meet up with me in Venice. It was really nice to have some company - Venice is almost too romantic a city to visit alone. Either be with a boyfriend or some friends and family but not necessarily alone. So once we met up, we went for a fantastic lunch at a lovely restaurant on the Grand Canal, next to the Rialto bridge. We basically walked for hours through the city, past technicolor bright buildings, into fantastically expensive boutiques, we went to the Basilica Frari where I was able to see the famous painting "The Assumption" by Titian. In this painting Titian developed a particular shade of red paint now known by any art student (me) as titian red. We kept walking through the city on these winding roads and alleys over these tiny bridges. We passed antique booksellers, paint pigment stores where the colors are in powder form and you just wish you could stick your fingers in the powder, the color is just that beautiful. I think over all the color and light in Venice is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, this rosy pink misty light in the morning and in the evening turns white buildings pink and just accentuates the vibrancy of the colored buildings. It is like literally wearing rose colored glasses.

We had a lovely dinner where we received free prosecco (sparkling wine) for apero and a free limoncello for the digestif or after dinner drink. Limoncello is a tart and sweet lemon liquor, served chilled and especially delicious. We visited Harry's Bar for their famous bellinis, prosecco and peach puree. Harry's Bar created the Bellini and was a favorite haunt of Hemingway. What a day!

The following day we went to the local market where we saw all the food the locals were buying for their lunch and dinner, oranges from Sicily, anchovies, artichokes, octopus and all kinds of fish. After seeing where our food came from, we went for our lunch. I had planned to go see the Guggenheim museum after lunch but I was having so much fun with Helena and Gertrude that I decided to skip it and stay with them. Instead of going to the Guggenheim I ended up purchasing a pair of ridiculously gorgeous and sexy Italian shoes, now known as my Guggenheim shoes as they are quite the work of art. Ha ha ha.

After lots of walking, talking, shopping, eating and such it was time to go home the next day. So after breakfast we drove north, stopped at a town by the Garda Lake for lunch, stopped to visit the Virgin "Rosa Mystica" in Montechiari and finally made it back to Switzerland that evening. All in all, a fantastic trip.

Bern, Switzerland

Friday morning, a little worse for the wear, we got on a train again and went to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. All these years that I have visited Switzerland and I have never been to the capital! So on the train we were, tired and probably a little hungover, we traveled about an hour and were in Bern.

We strolled this beautiful medieval city that was founded in 1191, we walked down cobblestone streets, through archways, past the shopping arcade (the longest covered shopping promenade in all of Europe), admiring churches, towers and fountains along the way.

We eventually made our way to see the famous bears of Bern. I think we were all a little torn between how amazing it was to see these animals but also how awful it was to see them stuck in this pit with not a whole lot of room to live. I would hate to be trapped like that. The bears have been a fixture in Bern since 1441 and the bear pit is actually part of the Bernese zoo.

After seeing the bears, we stopped for a beer and some lunch at a local brewery, did a little shopping and made our way back to Luzern. Back home we were treated to another amazing and typical Swiss meal, Züri gschnätzlets or Zurich Veal. It is small pieces of veal cooked in a cream sauce served with Rosti (Swiss hash browns) and its deeeelicious! So after dinner Elisa, Rob and Kiki packed their bags as they were heading back to the US in the morning.

Fasnacht, Schmutziger Donnerstag - "Dirty Thursday"

Wow, so I don't even know where to begin on this subject. Fasnacht (sort of a Mardi Gras carnival) is a tradition over 500 years old and is celebrated in parts of Germany and Switzerland. Luzern is said to have the best Fasnacht in Switzerland and although I have not seen the celebrations in Basel or Bern, I definitely believe it. At 4:30am the four Americans got in the car with my cousin Philipp and his son Cedric, who were in costume as an old man and a cowboy, respectively.

Due to traffic, the four of us had to jump out of the car and literally jog across to the other part of town, past the water bridge, to the Schwanenplatz, where we were meeting up with my aunt Helena and her friend Gertrud. We stood lakeside with thousands of others to watch the Fritschi father and his wife arrive on a boat. The Fritschi father has a long history, from what I have been able to find out, it appears that Brother Fritschi was a member of the Safran Guild which was a merchants association with a reputation for attracting daredevils and warmongers, now the Guild is a bit more "civilized" and part of what they do is uphold the customs of Fritschi and Fasnacht. In any event, this year Fritschi was kidnapped by the town of Basel but the party still continued. Fritschi's wife was on this boat and at 5am everything started. Fireworks went off on the boat and Fritschi's wife and her escorts came ashore and made their way to the square in front of the town hall. It was a sight to see, young and old stood in costume waiting for another explosion of confetti and to be pelted by oranges and cookies. This is called the "orange battle" (which I accidently translated to my friends as the orange massacre - hey it sounds more fun like that anyway!).

The basic gist of Fasnacht is to celebrate and eat before 40 days of Lenten fasting, however it has animistic roots as well - the goal is to look scary and make a hell of a lot of noise to scare the winter demons away and bring spring.

Each day is sponsored by a different guild and Thursday is always sponsored by the Safran Guild. So after the big celebration in the square, we were invited to the Safran guild breakfast in the city hall, a very exclusive, ultra VIP event that most Swiss have never had the opportunity to experience. We had a lovely breakfast, watched some yodelers, some carnival bands, some old men dressed as women, and an impromptu conga line through the hall. It was surreal.

After breakfast we headed back home for a nap as we were going to need all the rest we could get to get through the rest of the day. In the afternoon we headed back down to town to watch the parade of bands and floats, but first we had an interview to give to a Swiss radio station. Radka had asked me earlier if we would be up for an interview as the station where she works, DRS Radio, were totally interested in these 4 Americans who came to Switzerland to experience Fasnacht. Under normal circumstances I think I would have been too embarrassed to do this but, not giving my friends an option - I said ok, I mean this was a once in a lifetime experience! So much to our mortification, Kiki, Rob, Elisa and I were interviewed by Dario from DRS Radio. My friends in English and me in Swiss-German - it was priceless. After our 15 minutes of fame we watched some more of the parade, which was fantastic. Absolutely stunning costumes and amazing music. I also happened to get doused in baby powder by some grown men dressed as infants (sometimes that's not so far from the actual truth - ha ha ha).

After a while we were pretty cold and went to my aunt Amay's home for tea and pastries. In Switzerland they make special pastries just for Fasnacht (something like an elephant ear - fried dough and powdered sugar), delicious! We listened to our interview come on the radio, listened to some bands playing in the square below and headed back home. After eating AGAIN, we get into our costumes, Rob as Sammy Davis Jr, Elisa and Kiki in traditional Fasnacht dresses and me as an old man, complete with mask and one of my grandfather's old 3 piece suits. So we met up with my cousin Alex (dressed as a Swiss guard) and his friend Patrick (dressed as some sort of alp wanderer complete with lederhosen and all). We traipsed all over town, drinking holdrio (rosehip tea and schnapps) and beer, eating all the food Alex's au pair brought us (basically anything we wanted). We danced to amazing bands, ate more food, drank more holdrio and had a fantastic time. Our night ended with a performance by the Vikinger, they are a carnival band made up of professional musicians, replete with singers, rappers, guitar, bass, drums, horns and they were totally AMAZING. After their show, we ate again and finally called it a night at 3:30am.

Now came the hard part - we had to walk home, uphill. It was almost as bad as the forced mountain marches I had to do with my grandmother - minus the yodeling. At 4am as Radka was heading to work, we stumbled into the house and collapsed into bed. I think it was one of the most memorable and amazing days of my life.

Notes on the pictures.
1- The Fritschi House in Luzern's old town
2- 5am at the Fritschi Fountain
3- The bad guys from Basel who stole Fritschi
4- The babies
5- Ready to go and in costume

Alpine Adventures - Part 2

Tuesday we woke up to spectacular weather once again. I made us some bologna and cheese sandwiches (not your Oscar Mayer bologna, I assure you) and we got on the train again to go to Engleberg. Back in Miami when we were looking through our travel books, we saw that one could actually build an igloo and overnight in it. Somehow Elisa and I thought this was an especially fabulous idea. I think we underestimated the difficulty of this exercise.

Nonetheless, we met with our guide Nicole, scouted out our location and learned the fine art of digging snow trenches, cutting snow blocks with saws and setting the snow blocks together. Unfortunately our snow was too dry to stick properly and our igloo kept collapsing. Quite frustrating. Fortunately the igloo that someone built on Sunday was still standing and was solid so we were able to stay in that igloo overnight. I regret to advise that I chickened out and headed for the hotel, I had a really bad cold and no great desire to catch pneumonia, besides it was awfully handy for us to have a place where we could use a bathroom.

So after a whole lot of hard work we headed to the igloo village bar and hotel, an actual hotel made entirely out of snow and ice - very cool but really really cold inside. We had an apero of mulled wine, devoured the peanut chips and pretzels and had a delicious fondue dinner. After dinner the four of us, head lanterns on, trekked up the hill (actually up a ski run) to my hotel where we were able to thaw out a little bit. We had some hot chocolate and my friends headed off to their igloo for the night. I have to confess I was a bit nervous for them and was a bit afraid they would freeze but the next morning the troopers hiked up the hill intact.

The next morning the weather turned and after hiking through the snow and monster snowflakes to a chalet for breakfast, we headed back down to Luzern. The afternoon consisted of a massive acquisition of cheese and chocolate at the grocery store and another delicious dinner with Philipp and Radka, after which it was time for bed as we had to be down in the city at 4:45am the next day for our next adventure.

Alpine Adventures - Part 1

Monday our program really began. Our initial plan was to go to Bern, the capital city of Switzerland, or up into the mountains, specifically the the Jungfrau if weather was permitting. Well the weather forcast called for sensational weather, so Monday morning we got on the first of many trains and headed to Jungfraujoch. It has been a really long time since I have been to Switzerland in the winter and a really really long time since I have been here on actual vacation.

We passed one charming village after another on our way to the Jungfrau. Our first stop was Interlaken, which was straight out of a postcard. Swiss chalets, bright blue skies, massive bright white mountains in the background and of course, lots and lots of skiers. Next we boarded a panorama train to the next stop up in the Bernese Alps. The view was beyond description, our train climbed steeper and steeper around turns and bends with the Alps surrounding us. We switched trains again and got on the last train that would take us up to Jungfraujoch, the highest train station in Europe. The train carried us on tracks that were first laid in 1896, up the mountains and into a tunnel that is actually in the Eiger north face. I could not help but be totally amazed by this feat of engineering and think about all those who have perished at the hands of the Eiger. This is a SERIOUS mountain.

We finally made it to our last stop, 11,387ft above sea level. Not a place to be running up and down stairs, a simple flight of stairs will literally take your breath away and that is before you take the view into account. Other members of my family have been up to Jungfraujoch but unfortunately they were not as lucky as we were with the weather. The views were jawdropping - the Eiger, the Jungfrau, the Monch, the Aletsch Glacier - it was more vivid than any dream or reality could ever seem to be. We took in the sights, played in the ice palace that is in the mountain, I tried to reenact a famous Anton Ono speed skating scene and successfully managed to fall on my ass, twice! Somewhat familiar to someone else I know who shall remain anonymous. Ha ha.

After taking in as much as we possibly could, we got back on the train (totally exhausted as high altitudes can take a toll on you) and headed back to Luzern, where we were treated to Raclette for dinner by Philipp and Radka. Raclette is a very typical Swiss winter dish. Essentially you have a mini grill on the table and you place slices of Raclette cheese into mini frying pans on the grill. You take the melted cheese and pour it over potatoes, mini pickles and cocktail onions. It is a delicious meal after a long day in the fresh mountain air.

As one can imagine, after a day like that and a meal like that we were ready to collapse into our beds, besides the next day we had another alpine adventure planned.

To the Land of Heidi We Go!

While I was back in Miami, I checked the calendar one day and saw that Fasnacht, AKA Swiss Mardi Gras, was coming up pretty soon. After a quick search online for a ticket and a quick chat with my mother, I very impulsively decided to go. For about as long as I can remember, my family in Switzerland have been urging me to come to Fasnacht but I have never been able to go due to obligations with either school or work. This time I had no excuse, I found a cheap ticket and I decided to go.

The day after I booked my ticket, I went to dinner with my friends Kiki and Rob. We had talked about going to Switzerland over the years but never really put anything together. So when they heard I was going they wanted to go too. After a bit of convincing, calender checking and coordinating, Kiki, Rob and Elisa (Kiki's cousin) booked their tickets on the same flight as me.

We bought some travel books, some train passes and pretty much mapped out the week we would spend together in Switzerland. It was a rough schedule and my cousins in Switzerland called me quite a slave driver of a tour guide; well, if you only have a week you better make the most of it as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, so we land in Zurich at 7am Sunday morning, two of us were able to sleep on the flight and two of us were not. But hey, we are troopers and we were determined to push through. So my awesome cousin Alex, picked us up at the airport, gave us a driving tour through Lucerne (my family's hometown) and took us to my cousin Philipp's house (which is actually the home my mom grew up in). After making us coffee, Alex went back to his home and we hit the city. We walked to the old town and had a huge lunch of alpine macaroni. We do not recommend mixing jet lag with a massive pasta dish, we were lucky that nobody passed out at the table.

In classic tourist fashion we headed to Mount Pilatus for a quick look while we still could. Mount Pilatus is a notable mountain in the Lucerne area and a place I went often as a child. One of the most fascinating things is that the Swiss military actually has a small base at the top and according to the soldiers we talked to, they are there to make sure nobody comes along and steals the mountain. Ha ha.

After a long day we were welcomed back at home by my cousin and his family for a lovely dinner after which we finally made it to our beds!

Back to Bali

Monday the 3rd I got in a taxi, got on the Airport Express train, got on Singapore Airlines and got back to Bali.

Wow, its been a really long time since I have been really impressed by economy class service. Singapore Airlines are amazing - the cabin is tastefully decorated for the holidays, you get pillows and blankets, there is decent leg room, a huge on demand movie selection, a menu with good food and truly impeccable service from the cabin staff. The only unfortunate incident was that I lost my glasses somewhere that day!

Anyway, so I made my way back to Bali and it has been so great to come back. I have been surfing (trying to), smelling incense, watching the ocean, walking past the frangipani blossoms and dogs lying around on the ground, and seeing new friends that I feel I have known forever.

I have been back to lessons with Marcy (aka Mr. Marcy Sir!) and getting frustrated as all hell - 3 weeks out of the water did not do my weak paddle much good - but hey, I'm not complaining, I get to go out into the ocean every day and take it all in! I picked up my gorgeous new surfboard and we did a few lessons on the beach and up the coast. Last week I killed it going for two surfs in one day, a lesson with Marcy in the early morning and then a surf with Chelsea up the coast in the later morning, suffice it to say I slept really well that night.

Saturday I moved to a new hotel in Tangung Benoa on the Bukit Peninsula. At the beginning of my trip my mom very graciously and generously arranged for me to stay at a time share in the Nusa Dua resort area. So I packed up and schlepped my bags and my surfboard over to the Peninsula Beach Resort. I spent my days reading, swimming in the ocean and watching the fishing boats go by, swimming in the pool under the dark purple night sky with stars and frangipani trees overhead.


I have been taking taxis back to Legian where I was back on the tanker board for remedial surf lessons working on my pop up (jump up as they call it here) but the remedial lessons started to pay off on Thursday when Marcy took me out at KuDeTa and I probably had the funnest, best surf session I ever had. The conditions were gorgeous - glassy and not too big. I was able to get in a few super fun rides on the right hander. We will have to see how that translates on the significantly smaller board I bought!

I am really excited to go back to the US and see my family and friends but given the amazing experience I have had in Asia, it's no big surprise that I never want to leave.
So I'm going to pack in one last surf this afternoon, a swim under the stars, watch the sunrise, pack my bags and get on the plane for one long trip home tomorrow.

Macau & Hong Kong, China - Part 2

Thursday morning Yuly prepared a gorgeous breakfast of a fresh fruit plant and a toasted English muffin with fresh mango (Carmen - I have the recipe from Yuly, it's AWESOME) for Karen and I on the balcony. Karen went off to work and I did some yoga. I headed down the hill, checking out the little shops, peeking down the lanes and generally was in a state of absolute wonder. I caught a taxi and went off to the ferry terminal, where I took the ferry to Macao.

It was a gorgeous sunny day and after about an hour the ferry arrived in Macao. I did not really have much of an agenda, so I did the touristy thing and hired a rickshaw bicycle driver to take me towards the colonial center. The old man was impressive, I was actually tempted to have him sit in the back and I would pedal but then I paid him about three times what a taxi would have cost me so I guess we were even.

I walked past the glitzy casinos to the historic district. It was so odd to see the street signs in Portuguese and Chinese (Macao used to be a Portuguese colony). If it were not for the Chinese writing, I almost felt like I was in some little European town, winding streets, plazas, colonial architecture - it was gorgeous. I strolled around, did a little shopping, saw the fort and the old cathedral, had an egg tart (like warm egg custard in a flaky pie crust - yummy!) and eventually walked back towards the pier and past all the casinos. A bit of a strange mix of it all.

I got back on the ferry and went for a Hunan Chinese dinner with Karen and her friend Eva. Dinner was truly fantastic - I am not generally a fan of "American" Chinese food, this food was different, better and left no heartburn! Also, getting complemented on my chopstick utilization by a Hong Kong Chinese lady was pretty cool - guess all my sushi lunches have paid off!

After dinner Karen and Eva suggested I go across to Kowloon to visit the Temple Street night market. Eva was kind enough to get me to the market via the MRT (subway). This area was amazing, tons of neon signs, tons of people out, busy, noisy but amazing to walk through. I did a little shopping in the market (one will notice this recurring theme in Hong Kong) and got back on the subway at about midnight and went back to Karen's. After several weeks of being in by 11pm, this was a long day. Hong Kong really never seems to sleep.

Hong Kong, China - Part 1

Wednesday I flew on Emirates from Bangkok to Hong Kong to visit my friend Karen, who I met on the surf retreat in Bali. After about two and a half hours flying we approached Hong Kong, it was sunset and the sun was hovering just above the horizon and all these misty little islands poked out of the South China Sea. It was positively dreamy. I made my way through Immigration, where they greet you with friendly smiles and give you orange gummy candies. I collected my bag and made my way to the Airport Express train to get into central Hong Kong, where Karen met me.

Somehow Karen and I had a small mix up on my arrival date, she had a cocktail function to go to, so I changed my shoes, put on some makeup and jewelry, Yuly (Karen's housekeeper) collected my bags and off we went. Karen and I went to a swanky restaurant in the IFC (International Finance Center) and had drinks with an international crowd of insurance, finance and real estate people. Talk about surreal, here I am overlooking Hong Kong harbor chatting with some heavy hitting movers and shakers.

Karen and I left the suit and tie crowd, got some dinner and had a chat. We ventured up the hill and decided to get one last drink on our way home. We stopped in at a bar called Soho Junction, where Karen and I were customers 4 and 5 respectively of this bar that had just opened. We sat down with 1,2 and 3 - an Australian guy, a French guy and an Italian guy. So there we were the five of us taking pictures, chatting and having a grand time together along with the Nepalese owner and the Nepalese bar back. We had a great time. Soho is one of my favorite parts of New York and I think I may love the Soho of Hong Kong even more. A mix of old and new, East meets West, all without the stuffy attitude.

After our drink, we hiked up the hill (Hong Kong is not for sissies or stiletto heels) and settled in for a good night's rest.

Goodbyes

Goodbyes are tough. I spent a long time working with a great group of people and we went through some really challenging (I hate that word - professionally, challenging means, crappy stuff is happening and you are going to have to work your ass off) times. So yeah, it had its rough moments but we made the best of it and laughed through a lot of it. There is no doubt that our laughter saved our sanity, at least it saved mine.

Anyway, I had a great send off, involving balloons, a "peace out homie" banner, NY pizza, a most amazing cake and best of all a photo album of us. They did get their tears from me but thankfully I was able to cry like a baby when I got home. I did have a few scary moments at the office, but nothing helps you pull it together like signing off billing adjustments!

So I have said goodbye (actually - see you later) to my company, my clients, my search & rescue crew, my friends of the WOL -Women of Logistics (I prefer the Witches of Logistics that we are also known as) and my surf crew the Paddle Rangers. I'm off to have a great brunch with a great friend, a few more goodbyes in NYC and then the final preparation and packing will begin.