ORD -> PHL -> AMS -> ZRH

PHL -> AMS, originally uploaded by zuctronic.

Off we go to Europe!

I spent a few weeks in cold, dark Chicago watching movies and eating out while searching for cheap flights to Zurich. Isabelle was spending the month with her mother in Switzerland and I planned to join them for the holidays.

I found a flight that connected in Philadelphia and Amsterdam on its way to Zurich. This was a marathon run, but I enjoy seeing airports and I had never been to Philadelphia before. I really like the Amsterdam airport and always try to stop for oysters there. They had the airport decorated for Christmas so I took some photos.





Finally I made it to Zurich and discovered that my checked luggage didn't make it! Swiss Air gave me some clothes and a bag of toiletries to hold me over until they could locate and return my luggage.





I met Andreas, Isabelle's step-father, in the Zurich airport and he drove me to his home near Basel where we would wait for Isabelle and her mother to return from shopping. Andreas doesn't speak very much English and I speak virtually no German or French, so it we needed to pantomime to communicate. We had some coffee and cheese and then picked up Isabelle and mom from the train station.





I called the airline to see if my bags were found but didn't have any luck. After trying a couple beers from Andreas' European collection, I was ready for bed! We were planning to take the train to Paris the next day so I needed to get some rest.

Eating Like There's No Tomorrow

Scallops, originally uploaded by zuctronic.

November 29th, 2009

After returning the car in the nick of time, we agreed to meet for dinner in a few hours. I went back to my hotel to take a shower and put on something more presentable before we met up at St. James Station. We both had sore feet from hiking all weekend so we took the train to Circular Quay and walked to Peter Doyle at the Quay - a restaurant that is becoming a tradition for me - this was the first place I had dinner when I came to Sydney in 1997.


We ordered scallops and oysters for our appetizers.


I had the lamb chops, Matt had fish and chips.


And amazing dessert!

After a fantastic dinner, we hopped on the train back to St James Station. I thanked Matt for joining me in Sydney for a great week. He said, "It was awesome!" and I concur... it was totally awesome.

Oysters with Joel and Cesily

Six Very Large Gulf Oysters, originally uploaded by zuctronic.

Whenever I start planning a trip anywhere, I use tripit to keep track of my itinerary. I can check on addresses, phone numbers, directions, and other information from my mobile phone and it keeps everything in one convenient place. It also tracks how many miles I've traveled and can easily parse the emails from travel websites for details. All I have to do is email my itineraries to them, and they automatically turn them into TripIt itineraries.

When I booked my trip to Sarasota, TripIt informed me that my friend Joel would be on the Gulf Coast in Florida that very same week! This was an amazing and fortuitous coincidence because it had been ages since I'd been able to grab lunch with Joel. He just happened to be there enjoying "spring break" with his family. I've known Joel and his wife Cesily since 1996 when I worked at Office Depot in Milwaukee!

I've been pestering Joel for ages to give raw oysters a try. He respectfully waited until he had a chance to try them with me, so we chose a place in Venice, Florida named Markers IV, an oyster bar. The place was a pretty standard beer and oysters sort of place, not too fancy. It was perfect and the weather was again extremely pleasant for us.

We ordered a half dozen and when they came out I was shocked to see the size of these monsters. Two of them were the size of my fist! They were VERY tasty! I got a video of Joel sucking down his very first oyster. Immediately after he ate it he declared, "Actually, that's not bad!" and proceeded to have seconds and thirds.



During our lunch, Cesily mentioned that she had been watching Cash & Treasure on the Travel Channel earlier that day. They were talking about finding shark teeth in Sarasota Bay right off the coast from Venice. Then she recognized that we were coincidentally sitting right next to the boat that was used in the episode she was watching. When we left the restaurant, we noticed a shop next door selling shark teeth. The very same woman who was featured in the episode of Cash and Treasure was running the shop! Cesily mentioned to her that she was on TV that morning and she said, "Oh they're still showing that?"



Joel and Ces recommended that I check out Siesta Key on my way back, especially to see Siesta Beach. So I punched it into the GPS and started to head back.

Day 2 in Toronto - Eaton Center, CN Tower, and Far Niente

We stayed up pretty late on Wednesday night watching Australia, so we slept late on Thursday morning. I woke up first, as usual. I spent a few hours watching TV and surfing the internet while Isabelle slept. When she woke up, we showered and walked through the underground PATH system to the Toronto Eaton Center, a shopping mall in the city center. PATH is 17 miles of underground walkways underneath downtown Toronto and is listed by Guinness as the world's largest underground shopping complex. In a city as cold as this, it makes sense! Without it we might have stayed in the hotel all day.



The Eaton Center is a large shopping mall in downtown Toronto. Isabelle and I really don't enjoy shopping together, but we both enjoy shopping. So we split up and agreed to met up later. I spent my time taking pictures of the mall and wandering through electronics stores while Isabelle looked at clothes and shoes. We met up in the afternoon and went to Baton Rouge Restaurant for lunch. It was recommended by a magazine in the hotel room as the best lunch in Toronto. I ordered a tuna salad and it was really good! Isabelle had a giant sandwich and two margaritas.



We walked back to the hotel and Isabelle was ready for a nap! I welcomed the chance to relax and surf the net while she snoozed. Two margaritas is a lot for Isabelle because she rarely drinks anything at all. This is vacation, though! I was reading about the best way to get to the CN Tower so we could drive over there after nap time.



The CN Tower is still North America's tallest man made structure, so it's impressive to go inside and ride the elevator to the top. We got the ticket that took us all the way to the highest observation deck. While you go up, you can see up the elevator shaft. From the top you can see all of Toronto! It was a clear afternoon and we showed up right as the sun was going down. I took a lot of pictures of the sunset and then we went back down to the gift shop. I picked up a Toronto hoodie and then we were ready to get back to the hotel and prepare for dinner.





I had reservations for dinner at Far Niente, a highly recommended restaurant in downtown Toronto. We got there a little late, but they were ready to accommodate us anyways. I started off with a half dozen Malpeque oysters and we shared a cheese fondue pot. My main was grilled salmon with mussels in a white sauce. Isabelle ordered the lobster pot pie. After getting back to the hotel I stayed up late again and chatted with some friends online. We were planning to meet my friend Krista and her mom in Niagara Falls on Friday so I was excited about that and couldn't sleep!



Finally after staying up and reading the newspaper in the bathtub to unwind I was able to get to sleep.

Day 4 in San Francisco - La Boulange, Streetcar, Twin Peaks, Lunar Perigee, Sotto Mare

Lunar Perigee from Twin Peaks, San Francisco, originally uploaded by zuctronic.

On Saturday morning I got breakfast at La Boulange again. I really love this place, it's got a fun atmosphere and the "Fantastic French Toast" is worth returning for again and again! I got a large coffee, which came in a BOWL (literally, it had no handle) and enjoyed my breakfast in the corner.

After that I returned to the apartment and caught my friend Matt on MSN Messenger. We talked about Coit Tower because he'd never been there, but he recommended Twin Peaks for the best view of the city. I hadn't even heard of this before, so I looked it up and charted a course.



I had meant to take the cable car on Powell Street to Market Street, but I ended up walking the entire route without seeing one. Then I waited on Market Street for a streetcar to arrive and it took *forever* ... when one finally showed up, it was packed! I got on and found a seat near the back. This took me to Church Street where I transferred to a bus that climbed the steep hill. Near the top of the hill, I got off the bus and walked the rest of the way. This was difficult because it's a residential neighborhood and you can't cut though the yards. I managed to find my way to a staircase with a sign that indicated which way to go to the summit. By the time I reached the top, I was *exhausted* and realizing how out of shape I am!!





Well I knew the moon was full and it would be rising shortly, but I didn't think I'd arrive this late. So thanks to my poor planning, I was late enough that the sun was going down and I got a special treat. Not only was it the first full moon of the year, but it was at perigee, which means it is closer and "bigger" than any other time of the month. The full moon and the lunar perigee don't always occur on the same night, so this really is a rare and special treat. I shutterbugged for a couple hours freezing my butt off and having a dangerously full bladder, but it was all worth it.



Once the sun was completely down and the moon completely up, I wandered back off the hill and started to look for a way back to the apartment. According to google maps on my phone, there was a train stop nearby, so I walked in the direction the phone told me to go. After stopping for a quick potty break, I discovered the train station and took a number of escalators down into what seemed like the center of the mountain. Here was a subway hidden from sight... rumbling across the San Francisco Peninsula. I hopped on and took it to Powell Street where I was able to catch the Cable Car back to Chinatown and North Beach.



After washing up and looking at my photos on the computer, I went across the street to a restaurant called Sotto Mare. This place was recommended by some folks on Yelp and since it was so close I decided to give it a try. I started off with a half dozen east coast oysters from Beau Soleil. For my main I chose the grilled sand dabs, which is a local flouder-type of fish. I also had a bowl of their "famous" clam chowder was was incredibly delicious. All this was accompanied by their house red, which was Three Thieves Syrah. This was funny to me because I used to work for one of the "Three Thieves" (thief three to be exact) in the 90s!





After dinner I shuffled back to the apartment and drifted off to sleep. The sounds of fog horns in the bay were a soft lullaby that helped me to become... San Franciscan. Now I understand what draws people here, why people ignore the earthquakes and the hills. I can feel why people look past the unpredictable climate and the high cost of living. I know what drives people to spend millions of dollars on what amounts to closet-space in lesser cities. This is San Francisco, and there's no place else like it on earth! I knew before I ever visited that I would love it, but my expectations have all been surpassed. The excitement I used to get listening to Chicago through an open window on a hot summer night hits me full force in San Francisco. The sounds of the city are magical and romantic. A fog horn and a bell in the Bay. People laughing as they leave the bars. The damp breeze from the Pacific made crisp as it floats over the hills... I will always want to come back to this place.