The Day After Christmas

Our grandchildren came over for Christmas dinner last night. We had a wonderful dinner (thank you Katy) of Turkey, stuffing, veggies and the like. Debbie brought along the world-famous Hooshay (which, if you've never had, is just wonderful) and we spent a warm evening in the house in front of the fire opening Xmas presents. I think the hit of the evening was Aaron's new Rock Band 3 for Wii.

The kids spend the evening in a sleepover. This morning, Paul got up early and went to the gym with grandson Kyle, whose only wish on his 1oth birthday was, oddly enough, to go with grandpa to the gym and work out. Who knew? And who could say no?

After a breakfast of eggs and pancakes we went down to the National Botanical Garden. There is nothing like going into the jungle in the midst of a coming snow storm. And the place was packed! Everyone had come to see the trains and the orchids. As you can see the family had a good time.

The King's Speech -- 31/2 Stars

We aren't big movie goers and even when we do watch movies we tend to do so from the quiet of our own home. But we had heard such buzz about "The King's Speech" that we had to go and see for ourselves.

The buzz was right. This is simply an engaging, entertaining, enjoyable movie. It is amazing what good actors can do with good material, especially when the story isn't written to pander but rather to uplift. Colin Firth does a great job as King George VI -- he stammers in a way that makes you believe in the stammer; he isn't just an actor acting the part of the speech impediment. And Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist does a great job of conveying the quiet pride of a person who knows what his job is and can do it -- no matter who the patient is. We also thought Helena Bonham Carter was great, in a restrained portrayal of the King's wife who supports him. It's quite a different take from her Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series. [In fact, for Potter fans this movies was quite a reunion: Dumbledore plays Firth's father, King George V; and remarkably enough Wormtail plays Winston Churchill!!]

The producers have this movie on a limited engagement release -- no doubt trying to create a buzz for the Oscars. So it might not be available everywhere. But when it does come to you, see it -- we won't be surprise if it wins several awards for acting, screenplay, direction and best picture. It really is that good.

The Pageant of Peace

We went down to the Mall last night to listen to our grandson, Josh, sing in the Pageant of Peace. His school, Mayfield, was invited to present a medley of Xmas songs. In the professional opinion of his grandparents, Josh was magnificent, naturally. Along the way, we took this photo of the National Christmas Tree.

Happy Holidays!

Kushi -- 2 1/2 Stars

Last night we went to Kushi -- a new Japanese restaurant in the new Mass. Ave corridor near the Convention Center. It's a totally different experience from the "normal" Japanese style and well worth the visit.

The decor is very spare and modern -- a hard box like structure with two open kitchen areas. One kitchen is the traditional sushi bar; the other a much more innovative charchol and wood grilling area. Both had serving counters for those who wanted to watch the food being cooked.

The architecture made the place a bit noisier than we might like. Worse yet, even on a Tuesday night it was wicked crowded. We had to wait 20+ minutes for our table. But there was a fair amount of energy in the room -- the place has a hip, New York kind of vibe to it. And the owner, Darren, who sensed that we were getting impatient with the wait, made up for it by sharing a glass of chardonnay (J Lohr) and sake with us.

And in the end, the wait was worth it. The style was one of lots of small plates served as they came out of the kitchen. Think sort of "tapas" for Japan. We had some neat and interesting tastes we had never had before -- a fried tofu dish; a pork belly skewer with some sweet sauce; wood-grilled eggplant; and even a really good kimchee. To top it off we finished with some sushi -- which was a more expected type of taste, but even here the quality of the fish was higher than we usually expect.

In short, Kushi is worth a return visit. It's relatively newly opened and still working the kinks out, but if they can solve some of the problems this one will be a keeper. We give it 2 1/2 stars.

Panino -- Manassas, VA -- 2 Stars

With this post, we inaugurate a 4-star rating system for the restaurants we visit. Today we discuss Panino, on Mathis Ave. in Manssas, VA. We visited it on a lark after dropping off two of our grandchildren at their home. We'd been there once before for a birthday and had a good memory of it, but weren't really sure what we were getting into.

Turns out that Panino has some pretty darn good food. The outside look isn't that promising -- its in a strip mall just down from a bowling alley. And the interior is pleasant enough, with good tablecloths and such, but a functional room.

The food, on the other hand, is a solid step up. There was a very fine wine list (Katy had a nice crisp Gavi and Paul had a very fine Cabernet from California) and the food was quite enchanting. We learned,early on, that the specials list is much better than the main menu -- the owner told us so. And so we took her advice and ordered only off the specials.

To start, Katy had an arugula salad with pears, nuts and a fine vinagrette. Paul had a very tasty cold antipasto consisting of grilled peppers, zucchini, squash and sun dried tomatoes, all drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. What could be bad? For the main course, Katy had the fresh rockfish, nicely grilled with a red-wine reduction. Paul, meanwhile, had the seafood pasta special -- fresh ravioli (house made, we were told) stuffed with shrimp and scallops in a lobster cream sauce. A bit heavy on the cream, but excellent overall. We skipped desert and finished with some herbal Roobis tea (hard to find in DC area) that hit the spot.

On the whole, the ambiance was quite fine. We were well taken care of; the room was quiet; and the food far outdid the setting. We give Panino 2 stars.

Tribeca -- Part II

We left the hotel last night for dinner at Sapphire, an Indian restaurant up near Lincoln Center. The food was actually a little different from the "normal" Indian fare we are used to and well worth the effort to try out. Katy had scallops with a mango chutney for appetizer -- an unusual and tasty combination with a smoky flavor. Paul had fried Mussels Balchao that came in a spicy tomato sauce of some sort that was sharp on the tongue and had his bald head sweating in an instant. For the main course, Katy had a rather ordinary Lamb Sorrle while Paul had a much more interesting Lamb Xacutti, which featured a coconut flavor based sauce.

After that, we went the New York Philharmonic to hear another in a series of truly excellent concerts. It seems every time we go, the symphony just does a superb job. This time, they performed a short overture by Glinka and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. The soloist, Leonadas Kavakos, was perfect for the music -- which was much "mellower" than the normal Tchaikovsky music we've heard. At the end, he got a well-deserved standing ovation for his effort with this very difficult piece. The second half of the concert was also quite good, featuring Debussey's Noctures (the Women's chorus of New York was eerie as the "Sirens) and then Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Overall, a fine, mostly Russian, evening of music.

This morning, we had brunch at a local French
bistro called Balthazar. This photo gives you a good sense of the place -- all hustle and bustle with a whole lot of New York action going one. Our eggs were nicely done and the place had a homey feel to it -- maybe it was the Xmas decorations, maybe it was the crowd. Maybe it was the promise of good coffee and a pastry basket that was outstanding. Whatever it was the walk was worth it and the food was lots of fun.

One last note on the trip in case anyone actually reads what we are writing. We really did like the Tribeca Grand Hotel -- it was a nice place with a good atmosphere. But last night may have broken us of that enjoyment. The bar in the open atrium was playing music, loudly, until well past 2 AM. We suppose we should have expected as much from Tribeca, but still .... Katy was up and didn't sleep well at all. So if, like us, you think 11 PM is a realistic bed time, this one might not be for you. On the plus side, when we mentioned it to the manager on check out, he told us that it had been a special private party and he promised us a quieter room the next time we came and asked us to contact him personally -- so at least they were trying to address our issues. We decided we probably would give them a second chance.

We are on the Acela now on the way home. Will be good to sleep in our own bed.

Tribeca -- New York City

We're in NYC this weekend for a post-Thanksgiving shopping and music trip. Later tonight we go to see the NY Philharmonic. We spent today shopping.

We're staying at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, which is a delightful place, especially if you want to stay down in the area around Canal street. The lobby is a wonderful covered atrium where we are sitting right now just toodling away on our computers. We were greeted last night with a complimentary glass of champagne (who could ask for more) and an upgrade to a corner room. The rooms are smallish (but I guess all NYC rooms are) but the bathroom has a nice walk in shower with a seat to sit on and an "interesting" set of stainless steel fixtures.

Last night we dined at Il Matto which means "the mad man" -- a neat new Italian restaurant that lived up to its name. Katy started with a really neat tuna tartare and Paul had a peccorino creme brule with red onion jam. Yum. For the main course, Katy had a saffron pappardella with osso busco ragu and Paul had spaghetti with sea urchin. Double yum. A nice carafe of wine completed the meal. Well done and we would go back if we were ever near by again.

For breakfast this AM, we went to 12 Chairs. The OJ was =really= fresh squeezed and the poached eggs Paul had came with an "Israeli salad" of tomoatos and cucumbers and were covered in a mildly spicy Moroccan tomato sauce. Katy's challah french toast was the perfect texture -- not to soft and not over cooked either. Another nice place to visit.

Vestards Simkus -- WOW

On November 18th we went to a reception celebrating the 92nd anniversary of Latvian independence. We've been to a number of these events for many countries. They are usually pleasant enough but often not really "exciting."

Boy, was this one different! To celebrate, the Latvians had invited a young Latvian pianist, Vistards Shimkus, to come and play a concert. Simkus is 26 years old, tall and thin, with amazingly long fingers. More importantly, he was simply magnificent and a total joy to listen to. Talk about wonderful surprises, this was one!

He started with Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 3 -- a marvelously lyrical piece with great power. Simkus' attack at the piano was strong and energetic. He made the piece come alive. This was followed by Chopin's Scherzo No. 2, which he did with equal precision and energy.

But the real joy was in the second half of the concert after intermission. After a modest set of pieces by Medins (a Latvian composer) he did a piece called White Scenery, also by a Latvian (Vasks) [listen to the video]. It was one of the most haunting things we've heard in a number of years -- slow, melodic, with periods of near silence that seemed to almost strain our listening to a tension point. After the Vasks, we then heard a incomparable rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, where Simkus played with great precision and clarity. The concert ended with one of Simkus' own pieces "Heartbeats of Astor Piazzolla" which began with him beating rhythmically on the piano. The melody was interesting, but the uniqueness of the piece and its presentation really made the event.

In short, Simkus is something new and talented. I expect to see him at the NY Philharmonic some day. And the sheer surprise of seeing him at an independence day event made the pleasure all the more wonderful.

Union Pizzeria -- Evanston

We were in Chicago this week, searching for an apartment (we will be here for a Visiting Fellowship @ Northwestern next spring) and we had a chance to see our family and have dinner with our son Paul and daughter-in-law Natalia. They took us to Union Pizzeria, a nifty little bistro near their house.

Union has a very nice selection of wines by the glass that are far better than average. Paul had a Qupe Syrah that was fruity and full-bodied. Katy had a pleasant Argentine Malbec that also was quite fine.

We started by splitting some tapas for appetizers -- a bruschetta and a calamari that were both good and a veal meatball that was out of this world. For dinner, Paul and Natalia both had the lamb stew, which they report was quite hearty and tasty. Paul R., in turn had a pizza (seemed like the right thing to do) that had sausage, grilled sweet peppers and onions. The crust was firm and the sauce was tasty, with a slight sweetness. Katy had 3 different tapas -- spinach and pine nuts; quinoa with apple and cabbage; and tuna with red onions -- all quite good.

We're coming back to Evanston in March and we are sure we'll go back to the Union Pizzeria -- good stuff!

Cava -- DC

Last night we had a pleasant night out at a new (to us) restaurant on Barrack's Row (8th St. SE) in DC -- Cava. Cava bills itself as a Greek mezze restaurant -- think tapas for Greek food. Unlike the Spanish tapa concept, however, here the portions were rather larger and so the number of dishes you could order was less.

We had an excellent meal. We had two cold mezze platters: First, a spicy hummus that was regular hummus jazzed up just enough with red pepper to tickle the tongue; and second, caponata -- an eggplant and walnut dish that Cava adds some sweetness to with raisins (we think). For our two hot platters we had spicy lamb sliders that were truly stunning (ground lamb topped with tahini sauce). The only disappointment of the night was the other hot mezze: a pork souvlaki which wasn't bad but wasn't very special either.

And the surprise of the night: A quite pleasant Greek wine that was a tempanillio/cabernet blend. It was the most expensive Greek glass on the menu and didn't disappoint. If you are in the mood to graze Greek style, Cava is a nice choice.

36 Hours in Napa

We've always been winos, in the good sense of the term. So its kind of surprising that we've never been to Napa Valley to go wine tasting. After we dropped Jo off at the airport, we set out to remedy that gap in our travel resume.

We set out in our rented car (a Prius, naturally) across the Bay Bridge and up to Napa. It's actually a remarkably short trip -- maybe 80 minutes with no traffic. But Napa is really a LOT farther away from San Francisco than that, in its atmosphere and culture.

Our first stop was the Napa Valley Lodge -- our hotel for the night. NVL is actually in Yountville, which is a small town about 1/2 way up the valley between Napa in the south and Calistoga in the north. NVL is pleasant enough and has some nice rooms, but its location is a bit challenging since it is literally the first building off the main highway (Rt 29) and through the night we often heard farm trucks shifting the gears as they drove by. On the whole a nice place, but if we go back to Yountville, we'll try somewhere else.

After checking in, it was off for an afternoon of wine tasting. We started at Goosecross Cellars, a small family winery just outside of Yountville. The tasting room is in a small cottage that you get to by driving down a lane through the vineyard. Very cozy place. The day we were there we were alone in the tasting room and had a leisurely time of it. We were blown away by a couple of wines, particularly their Howell Cabernet and so we joined the wine club here. [As a sign of remarkable coincidence, roughly 3 hours after I drafted this sentence, a gift arrived from Goosecross -- one of their Howell's! Now we really are in love]

Then it was on to Casa Nuestra, an even smaller winery just up the road that seems like it is stuck in the 1960s -- all funky and stuff. For example, they had a great Tinto wine that is "field blend" meritage. In other words, the proportion of different grapes reflects what is grown, not some calculated mix. This year's Tinto had a great deep taste. We also liked their dry Riesling. But what really knocked our socks of was the Zinfandel. We went back into the barrel rooms and got a barrel tasting -- they've never done a Zin before, but this one sure had power. We bought the next to last case and .. .yes, joined their wine club too!

Third and last stop was the Peju Winery -- far and away the most elegant winery we went to, but also the most commercial. They had 8 tasting tables up and gave us some light pours of the cheap stuff. We stuck around afterwards and made them give us some of their reserves -- we especially liked their 50/50 Cab Sauv/Cab Franc blend. If this were our first stop we'd probably not have bought anything, but we were a bit light headed by this point, so we ordered a few bottles anyway.

Then it was back to Yountville. We hadn't gotten into the French Laundry (nearly impossible) so we "settled" for Bistro Jeanty down the street. The food was exceedingly good and surprisingly reasonable in price. It was a traditional bistro fare (boudin, steak fritte, etc.) which was a bit heavy on our stomachs after the wine tasting -- but the tastes were great. If I had to do it over again, I'd have skipped the Cassaoulet, not because of how it tasted but just because it was so heavy.

The next morning was wonderful. We got up early for a walk, bought a copy of the NY Times at stopped at Bouchon Bakery for some fresh baked croissants and coffee. Nothing beats sitting outside on a sunny day reading the paper and drinking coffee. We spent the remainder of the morning doing some light art shopping and then finished the day off with a wonderful lunch at Hurleys -- a patio eatery that serves organics. No better end to the visit than a fresh glass of Chardonnay and some crab cakes.

Alas, the trip was all too short. After lunch we headed back to the airport and were homeward bound. But we were certain of one thing -- this is the type of place we will try to get back to.

San Francisco with Jordana

Earlier this month we went to San Francisco with our niece Jordana. She had wanted to go to Italy, so the next best thing was San Francisco, where we got to see an Italian opera.

Our first day was spent doing the "official" sights and sounds of San Francisco -- things that everyone who goes there really has to do, or they can't say that they've seen the city. From our hotel on Nob Hill we first surveyed the beautiful panorama northwards -- the Golden Gate bridge and the Bay, while, turning east we saw the Bay Bridge and beyond it the hills of Oakland.

After a leisurely breakfast and a transfer back to our original hotel (see the hotel post for that whole story), we stared on a walk down to Union Square. Wandering in that area we saw a gathering of traditional Chinese herbalists and doctors as a prelude to a community walk-a-thon of some sort. Then we wandered into a near by art gallery, where we got to see a couple of original Chagall and Picasso paintings -- pretty neat.

After that it was the obligatory (and enjoyable) cable car ride up over the hill and down to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch. While we were there, the Navy Blue Angels were performing overhead (it was Fleet Week in SF, hence the press of crowds!). We got on one of the amphibious "Ducks" for a trip around town and out into the bay (Paul thought it was very cool to go into McCovey Cove and see the Giant's baseball park from the water!). We finished the day with a short walk down the water to the Ghiradeli chocolate outlet store, where Katy and Jo went crazy buying cocoa products.

The second day was more sedate. It started with a pleasant brunch at the hotel and then was occupied, almost exclusively by a trip to the San Francisco Opera to hear "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart. The music was delightful and the singing was quite fine. Jo loved it. And the superscript translations helped a lot so that you could understand what was happening. Though Katy likes opera more than Paul, we both enjoyed this adventure and the SF Opera House itself is a true classic to visit (the last time we were there, two of our friends had their wedding party in the atrium -- talk about cool!).

Day three was Monday and we took the time to go see some parts of the San Francisco beyond the downtown. We rented a Zipcar (great company!) and drove out across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausilito, where we wandered the town streets looking at art and jewelry and the view of SF back across the Bay. Then, for a good contrast, we took Jordana to Haight-Asbury so she could see how the counter-culture lives. Talk about oil/water mixes -- H-A is much as we remembered it. Filled with aging and young hippies hanging out, singing songs for money and reading progressive magazines and literature. They have a weekly protest against the war in Afghanistan at a local park, for which we saw flyers. In short -- two sides of the San Francisco coin -- progressive activists meet silicon valley zillionaires.

So, it wasn't Italy, but it was almost as good for Jo.

Machu Picchu

We've been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging the past couple of weeks, first because we were in San Francisco and then because Paul was busy trying his hand at political blogging as part of the Washington Post pundit contest.

All of which reminded us that before we went on to blog our trip to San Francisco, we still had to finish up the great May trip to Peru and, most especially, the fantastic visit to Machu Picchu.

The trip into Aguas Calientes (the small town outside of Machu Picchu) was the last hike of the trip and a surprising challenging one. We started the day at the last Inn on the trail at about 7000 feet and then hiked up and over a pass at 10,000 feet where we had a fine, but misty view of Machu Picchu in the distance. And then, on the other side, it was down, down, down to the river -- about 3-4,000 feet down on a series of switchbacks. The hike was a true "knee killer." Worse yet, it had rained the day before and the path was all mud. So the hike was just "step, slide, balance; step, slide, balance" for 3 hours nearly straight down. Not fun at all. We arrived in town tired and quite happy to find a room with a strong, hot shower.

The next day was magic. Paul had been skeptical of Machu Picchu from the start. "It's just a bunch of old rocks." Boy was he wrong! The construction at Machu Picchu was stunning -- perfectly cut blocks of stone fitting together seamlessly without mortar. They were so strong that they had withstood the test of time and the shaken of many earthquakes -- something that could not be said for more recent man-made constructions in Lima! And they were so well preserved that, instead of just a jumble of old stones, you got a true sense of the history of the place. One could close ones eyes and almost imagine Incan families wandering about on the mountain top. Late in the day, the sun broke out and we sat basking in the light on one of the agricultural ledges watching the world go by. If you ever get a chance to go do so! Without hesitation.

And there ended our trip, for all intents and purposes. That evening we had a hellish ride back to Cusco. The rains have washed out the train tracks so the train goes only part way and then we got stuffed into a mini-bus for a 2 hour slog at midnight. [As an aside, rumor has it that Rail Peru has no plans to fix the railroad because they are making more money from the insurance payments they get than they would if the restarted operations!]. After another day wandering Cusco and shopping we headed back to Lima and then onto the long flight home to America.

On the whole, a most excellent adventure.

San Francisco -- The Hotel

So, now we are in San Francisco. We've come here with our other niece, Jordana, for a visit. We arrived last night at the airport, and took a taxi to our hotel -- the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental on Nob Hill. We arrived at the front desk, happily expecting to be whisked away to our two-room suite.

Sadly, it was not to be. Through an enormous f#&k up, the hotel had overbooked itself by an amazingly inconsiderate 35 rooms. We had a confirmed reservation (in fact, we'd called and spoken to them not 72 hours earlier to arrange a roll-away bed) but apparently "confirmed" doesn't mean what you and I think it means. And so, after much anguish and unhappy remonstrations, we were unceremoniously exiled across the street to the Fairmont Hotel.

Now, the Fairmont was quite a fine alternative. And the Mark Hopkins did agree to pay for the night, but still ... it was annoying and disappointing.

At the Fairmont we also had a nice two-room suite. We quickly put ourselves to bed and woke up to a wonderful sunrise over the Bay. Our room had windows facing East and North and we saw Coit Towers, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge in the morning sunlight.

The next morning, perforce, we checked out of the Fairmont and, once again, crossed the street to the Mark Hopkins. We must say that at this point we were felling fairly frazzled and a bit put out. But the Mark Hopkins made up for our inconvenience in a BIG way. When we checked in, instead of the small 2-room suite we were expecting, we were upgraded to the Penthouse Suite, on the top floor of the hotel. The suite comes complete with a livingroom/library, a dining room, a kitchen, two TVs, a master bedroom and bath. In short, its a massive suite bigger than most rental apartments. We are now happily ensconced here for the next 3 nights and well situated for our visit to San Francisco.

New Orleans -- Art

In addition to food and music, we also did some art browsing and, in the end, shopping. We love wandering around the French Quarter looking into all the art shops and chatting about what we see with the artists and/or shop owners. We did some of our usual stops, going in to see the works of Michalopolous and Dean Mitchell (both of whom we own works of).

But the revelations, as always, were in seeing new artists. One we say, loved, but did not purchase was a fellow named Peter O'Neill, who has just opened a one-person shop at the farther end of Royal St. He does a lot of mass marketing, selling his originals in glicee reproductions, which is something we aren't overwhlemed by, but his originals are just stunning. Here is one of his new pieces, called "Herald Square" that is a cool rendition of a New York City snow storm.



We also loved a number of his New Orleans based pieces, many of which were based on working man stuff -- there was a wonderful oil of a sous chef preparing a plate for serving.

We were thinking of buying one of his paintings, but in the end we didn't because we saw something we liked better -- a post-Impressionist French painting by Marcel Belle called "La Bateau Lavoir a Paris." The painting depicts a laundry boat on the Sienne from the time of the Paris Exposition in 1937. It just drew us in and we loved it, so "La Bateau" will be coming home with us to Washington, after the exhibition at the Mann Gallery, of which it is part of opens later in October. Here is the image of the painting:

NO Dining -- Great New Finds and Some Disappointments

This may be the first time we have come to this city without indulging in the traditional crawfish étouffé or jambalaya. Instead we decided to search out some of the more recent NO cuisine. One general comment about food in NO: it is heavy, sugar-filled and served in large portions, all of which accounts for the epidemic of obesity on display here this weekend.

We visited some old haunts, too, starting with the Central Grocery (see Roadfood site for more info) for the best muffaletta sandwich on the planet. We are not sure what their secret is since the sandwiches are made behind a wall and no customers or cameras are permitted to go there. As good as the sandwiches are, they sat heavily on our old stomachs for the rest of the day, forcing us to take a nap. ;-)

We also revisited Cafe Beignet on Royal, the site of previous early morning, post-walk stops. With croissants that were really croissant-shaped Parker House dinner rolls and orange juice that contained almost no real juice, that experience was a disappointment, and we will likely cross Cafe Beignet off our dining list for the future. There are plenty of other cafe options in the French Quarter. Though, the best we found was Starbucks -- alas!

Before we came to NO, we made dinner reservations at a perennial favorite restaurant, Bayona. Sadly, this was not our best experience there. The food good, but not outstanding (Paul had a tasty stuffed crab appetizer and an okay pork chop, and Katy had a decent salad and interesting Rabbit entree). The real problem was the slowness of the service. We had 8pm reservations with the hope of being out by at least 9:30 to get to the 9:00 show (late) at Tipitina's, for which we had tickets. As it turned out, we did not get done with our meal until 10:20. It took them 1 hour 10 minutes from the time we ordered to get our entree out. Not sure what the problem was. They were pretty full, as they always are, but they should be organized enough to get food out timely. Of course, by the end of the meat we were too frustrated and tired to wend our way over to Tip's to catch what little might be left of the show. So we missed it.

So much for the old standards. Among the new places we tried, there were some winners and some losers. The losers included the dining room at Snug Harbor. We thought it would be convenient to eat there before the Ellis Marsallis show because there are not many dining options in that area of town. We would not go back. Katy had ordinary fried shrimp of the kind you can find at any cheap restaurant. Paul went for the blackened fish and got blackened hockey puck.

Another so-so choice was Oceana for breakfast -- "Petunia's Breakfast." Its fare is billed as a traditional southern breakfast. Paul, for example, had "Maw-Maw's Cajun Breakfast," which was basically jambalaya with eggs and bacon instead of andouile sausage and chicken. Here is where you really saw the excess portions and heavy food! I think we left behind at least half of what we were served. It may be worth the experience, but only once.

The real treats and finds in New Orleans were Lilette and Le Foret two relatively new restaurants, one just outside the Quarter and the other in the Uptown District. These we will definitely return to at the first opportunity.

Lilette:

A search of Time-Picayune restaurant articles brought my attention to Lilette, which is on Magazine Street in the Uptown area - a trendy area with plenty of art galleries, shops and other restaurants and some great examples of NO architecture. Lillete can be reached via the St. Charles St. streetcar (get off at Antoine St. and go a few blocks south) or by taxi from the Quarter. Since it is closed on Sunday, the only opportunity for a dining foray there was lunch on Saturday. Even so, it was packed. It is clearly a local favorite. The dining was leisurely - no rushing to get you out even on a Saturday when they were turning people away -- and the service great. While we had only luncheon food, its quality portends great dinner fare as well. The food was flavorful, well prepared and in right-sized portions. Katy had an arugula salad and a delicious duck confit with grilled pears from the appetizer menu for her main course, making a thoroughly satisfying lunch. Paul had a half dozen exquisite oysters followed by a chicken salad that contained, among other things, port-infused figs, which he loved.

Le Foret

At the recommendation of a helpful sales representative the Mann Gallery in the Quarter, who declared that the food was so good it brought tears to her eyes, we made reservations for Sunday dinner at Le Foret. While we are not given to easy crying, Paul did nearly swoon at the lobster cappuccino soup he had for an appetizer! The restaurant is located on Camp St. just across from the Sheraton Hotel on Canal, and it has only been open for 10 months. On Sunday it was almost empty. Being so close to the Quarter, at this point Le Foret must predominantly rely on tourists or business men and women for its clientele and Sunday is, of course, a slow day for both.

The meal began Le Foret with a number of ameuses bouches, each a taste treat. The bread was freshly made. Katy had a delicious leek salad, sadly without the Gorgonzola dulce that usually accompanies this Delicious salad (lactose intolerance), and Paul had the aforementioned lobster soup. When we recovered from that we were brought our entrees. Katy had a filet mignon with truffle sabayon, accompanied by potatoes and kale, and Paul quickly devoured his red snapper accompanied by spinach with raisins (a really nice touch) -- all in all, simple flavors, deliciously cooked.

Finally, we returned home on Monday for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and left over pizza dinner -- cuisine ala Kunzweig!

New Orleans -- The Music

We come to New Orleans for two reasons -- the food and the music. [Actually, we also come for the art and just to get away ....]. In this post, we wanted to talk about the music we have heard on this trip:

Ellis Marsalis Trio -- We started off Friday night with the early show at Snug Harbor. Snug Harbor, as the name implies, is a tiny little bandbox of a jazz room. The entire place fits maybe 75 people in a room the size of a small living room (with a balcony above). It defines the intimate setting and it is the home to some fantastic jazz. We were seated 10 feet from the stage to hear the Ellis Marsalis trio. Ellis Marsalis is both literally and figuratively the "father of New Orleans jazz." Figuratively because his music captures the heart of classic New Orleans style rhythms and literally because 4 of his sons (Wynton, Branford, Delfayo and Jason) have followed in his footsteps and play magnificent music.

Ellis played a great set filled with everything from a cover of "These are a Few of My Favorite Things" (from the Sound of Music) that reminded us of the great Coltrane cover of the same song, to two tunes from his recent homage to Thelonius Monk, including our favorite "Straight, No Chaser." Combined with his own compositions the result was a quiet excellence that just uplifited you. His backups were well up to the task, especially the drummer (whose name we did not catch) who played most of the set with his eyes closed -- feeling the music rather than seeing it. On the whole, the experience was near magic.

New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band -- The Marsalis set ended early enough that we still had some time on our hands. So coming home, we stopped at the Preservation Hall. Katy had never heard them. There we got a nice one-set dose of classic dixieland jazz. The clarinetist had great style and the trombonist was a showman. The band played some old gospel, some swing and ended the evening with the classic "When the Saints." We wouldn't say the music was as technically fine as Ellis Marsalis -- but anyone who can hear the "Saints" and not walk out of the room smiling has no musical soul.

Jeremy Davenport -- Davenport headlines the music at the Davenport Lounge in the Ritz-Carlton. We had been planning to go to Tipitina's Uptown for music Saturday night, but dinner ran late and we didn't want to schlep all the way out to the Uptown area, so on a lark we stopped in the lounge. It's a classic New Orleans hotel lounge -- comfy chairs and expensive drinks. Davenport was backed by a 4-piece combo and they played alot of swing era and Brat Pack type favorites. It was well styled and many folks got up to dance, but Davenport's voice wasn't up to the lyrics. On the whole a "B" at best -- not bad but not music to die for.

The James River Movement -- For Sunday Jazz Brunch, we stayed at or hotel (The Roosevelt) for brunch in the Blue Room. What a fun time! The music itself was pretty good -- not great but pretty good. They played the classics including Fats Domino's "Blue Monday" and some downriver Blues (as well as the "Saints," of course). And the lead player had a neat way of playing -- for example, his harmonica was hooked to his flute, so he could switch between the two instruments seamlessly.

But what made the music was the crowd. On one side of the room there must have been 50 people there to celebrate Alysha's birthday (we know her name because we all sang for her). Alysha turned 80 recently and most of the other guests were her contemporary septuagenarians.

And boy were they having a great time. When the band played a tune they knew, they sang along. When he started to play the Blues, they waved their napkins in the air. And to top it off, the whole lot of them got up and danced a "second line" on the dance floor, led by the birthday girl. It was so exuberant and joyous that you couldn't help but smile -- and we smiled so much that our smile muscles hurt. All of which goes to show that music is about more than the notes on the page -- its about the emotions and pleasures it stirs in the heart. I hope that when I turn 80 I can have as much joy in my life.

Music is part of what makes New Orleans the place it is. Usually, we come down during JazzFest and get overwhelmed. This time, we heard some great stuff and still had time just to hang out.

New Orleans Craziness

Here we are in New Orleans for a little retreat -- really just to enjoy some good music, good art and good food over a long weekend. New Orleans is a frequent site of our adventures over the years, but it never ceases to amaze! In addition to the usual craziness, already, we have spotted three interesting "celebrations" occurring this weekend:

• The Half Way to St. Patrick's Day celebration, featuring a parade with floats, the tossing of green beads and a lot of drunk Irish (or those just pretending to be Irish, but nonetheless wearing green shirts).
• The 61st annual anniversary commemoration of the "Stormin' of the Sazerac -- a seige of women on the Sazerac Bar to demand to be allowed to drink without being accompanied by a male escort." The "protest march" was successful and for the first time in the city women were served alcohol without having to drag some poor guy along. And so, we saw 200+ women dressed ala the 1940's with great, funny feathered hats at an all afternoon drinking fest at the Sazerac, which is in the lobby of our hotel, the Roosevelt.
• Our hotel is also hosting a conclave of weirdos: the Grand Masquerade of Darkness. It seems that most of the guests in the hotel are participating. They are fans of a series of role playing games, novels and some cult TV show and they are engaged in a grand weekend-long role playing game at the hotel, wearing special badges and dressed in character. There are many piercings, tatoos, overweight nerds and a lot of black. Creepy!

Paul and I may be the only normal folks in town!! But, since this is New Orleans, the home of voodoo, etc., we are perhaps considered abnormal!

Off to New Orleans

A short weekend getaway to New Orleans, using some free tickets on Southwest [boo hiss -- the tickets expire if you don't use them after just 1 year]. We're staying at the newly refurbished Roosevelt Hotel which looks like a keeper -- lush lobby; rooftop pool; and steps from the French Quarter.

More later as we enjoy the city.

Earl's Refugees

And so, we left Hatteras, forced out by Hurricane Earl. As you can see, the line of cars was long, but it moved relatively steadily.

Still, departing the beach early was a pretty depressing event. A 7-day vacation cut in half is not a formula for joy.

And so, the family voted to continue the vacation. Nobody wanted to go home early, so we headed off toward Raleigh, NC. Along the way we stopped for lunch at a local diner, and broke out the laptop. It's amazing what you can do with WiFi. With the help of our handy-dandy search engines, we found a hotel in Raleigh that seemed to be what we wanted -- it had a swimming pool.

We arrived late Wednesday night exhausted and hungry. Fortunately there was a "Caribbean Breeze (?)" restaurant across the parking lot and soon we were all drinking fruity drink (with alcohol to ease the pain for the adults).

The next day we voted with our feet and sat by the pool all day. I have to say that the staff were quite kind to us. Despite clear rule against eating or drinking by the pool they politely looked the other way as we had lunch. We even set up the bags game on a small patch of grass by the parking lot. It wasn't the beach, but it was OK.

That evening we went to see the Durham Bulls play -- a AAA farm team of the Tampa Rays. The Bulls became famous because of the movie with Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon and the stadium was just perfect. It sat about 9,000 I'd guess; with entertainment every half inning on the field -- contests and stunts and the like. We got seats in the 2nd row out in right field and had a blast.


The next day, our last in Raleigh, saw everyone sleep in late. But in the afternoon, we headed off to Frankie's Fun Park where we had a pleasant afternoon playing Putt-Putt golf, racing go carts and, as you can see, playing blaster boats and squirting each other. As Katy says, it seemed to lift everyone's mood a bit.

And so the saga ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. Traditionally, down in Hatteras we end the vacation with breakfast together at Sonny's. Well, there was no Sonny's in Raleigh, but we did find Cortney's which was almost as good. A big breakfast sent everyone scattering for home on a full stomach.

I know one thing though -- the Kunzer/Rosenzweig/Blenner clan will NOT be defeated. Next year we are going back to Hatteras and we double-dog-dare Earl to come back and join us.

A New Family Tradition

We started a new family tradition down at the beach this year -- the game of "Bags", also known as "Corn Hole." Believe it or not there is actually an American Corn Hole Association that is dedicated to the promotion of the game. In essence you toss a bean bag (filled with corn -- hence the name) at a board with a hole on it. Each team throws 4 bags per round. A bag in the hole is worth 3 points; one on the board is worth 1 point. In each inning the team with the most points scores the difference (so if we have 4 points and you have 3 points, we get 1 point). First team to 21 wins. Throw alternates from side to side. Here Aaron and Mike are competing against Pete and Joshua. It's a fun game -- good for beer drinking and for talking smack to your opponents.

A Short Hatteras Vacation

Well, the first three days of the vacation were absolutely stunning. A large fraction of the family got together -- Katy & Paul; Mike & Debbie plus their 4 boys (our grandsons, Aaron, Ryan, Josh & Kyle); Pete & Linda and their grandson CJ; plus for a special appearance, Katy's other brother, John.

On Sunday-Tuesday the weather was simply sublime. Temperatures in the mid-80s and a nice breeze. The waves were rough on Sunday, but we had a couple of days of great swimming weather. As usual, we spent the days doing a whole lot of nothing! Sitting on the beach, swimming, reading, drinking beer and chatting. Evenings were likewise filled with alot of very exhausting stuff like eating and having a glass of wine and swimming in the pool. We go every year to recharge the batteries.

The roof fell in on Wednesday morning. With Earl threatening, Dare County ordered a mandatory evacuation. We had 3 hour to pack up and leave. We found a moment to take the traditional family photo (above) and, as you can see, when we left the weather was still perfect.

All of us were pretty disappointed to leave. And in the end, it probably wasn't necessary -- Earl turned and passed off shore at Force 2. The electricity never stopped and though the roads flooded on Friday, by Saturday they were cleared and reopened. Had we been allowed to stay we could have hunkered down for 24 hours and watched movies. But of course if we had stayed, Earl would have stayed a Force 4 and never turned -- boy that would have been a challenge!

And so, on Wednesday we evacuated. Unwilling to give up the vacation, we headed to Raleigh, where we became Earl Refugees.

Advertures with Kids -- Orlando and Montreal

Paul and I had the pleasure to accompany our grandchildren and a niece on two separate, kid-centered trips this August. The first excursion was to join our son, Mike and his wife, Deb and their four boys for part of their week-long, once-in-a-lifetime vacation to the Orlando area. The second was a belated bat mitzvah gift for our niece Olivia, taking her for a long weekend to Montreal, Canada. Here are some observations about these two disparate adventures.

Orlando and Its Environs

Mike and Deb chose a great alternative to staying in one of the zillions of expensive hotels in the area – a vacation home rental in Kissimmee. The house belongs to a former colleague of mine and is offered out for rental most of the year. It had 6 bedrooms, four baths, a well-stocked kitchen and, best of all, a screened in swimming pool.

We visited both The Magic Kingdom and Epcot with the kids. TMK has lost much of its sparkle and relevance (for me as well as the kids) since the days of my youth when I first visited Disneyland in California. The Disney of Cinderella is no longer, but the park still reflects that older era. Alas, the iconic “It’s a Small World” ride still exists but was closed for remodeling. My grandchildren , however, had never even heard of It’s a Small World (“--after all. It’s a small, small world”). So, they were not disappointed. In general the verdict of the grandkids was that the Disney rides (which never was what TMK was about) cannot compete with the thrills of Kings Dominion or Six Flags.

Epcot had more appeal, with plenty of hands-on activities and its focus on science, technology and the future. The kids very much enjoyed it and the Epcot rides, particularly the auto test track ride and the astronaut training ride – less like roller coasters and more like imitating the real experience. Epcot also features a sampling of cultures around the world – mini villages with restaurants, music and shops in the style of Germany, Mexico, Morocco, Japan, Italy, among others . Admittedly, this is a western, developed country view of the world so hardly representative, but the kids enjoyed it. They particularly grooved on the Japanese drummers. When polled, the grandkids voted that, they likely would not go back to TMK itself, but would go to Epcot again.

A couple of final notes on Disney:

• The food leaves a lot to be desired. The options are either cheap, unhealthy fast food or expensive, themed restaurants. In general, these higher end restaurants were not great value for the money. We ate at the Italian and Moroccan restaurants at Epcot. The food was modest to say the least, and our grandson Ryan spent the night barfing after the Moroccan meal.
• For what it is worth, the Florida TMK was much cleaner and more inviting than EuroDisney, which we visited just last year.

On our last day in Orlando we visited an outrageously expensive water park ($47 a head). All that to spend a day in the rain and stand around in long lines (typically ½ hr to 1 hr.) to ride the various water slides. Definitely a loser!

Some of the best experiences for Mike, Deb and the boys occurred before we joined them in Florida. The biggest hits of other the sights seen were reported to be Cape Canaveral and the Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios. Despite hours and hours of lines, the boys, who grew up on Harry Potter, were ecstatic about Hogworts, Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Their only complaint was that they wanted to make it less about rides and more about recreating the wizarding world experience so they could roam around in it, just living the life of Harry.

Montreal

We stayed with our niece in the Latin Quarter, which is in walking distance of the old section of Montreal, which dates back to the 1600s, and is conveniently accessible to the rest of the city by the subway. The Latin Quarter is funky, kind of like a slightly less-down-at-the-heels version of Adams Morgan (as a frame of reference for those familiar with DC). It had lots of restaurants, music, off-beat shops and late night activity, and it is frequented by new agers, goth-types and aging hippies, as well as by a cross section of typical Montrealites. Our hotel was Le Relais Lyonaise. It was a nice place, small (only 7 rooms/suites) with a very friendly and helpful staff. That said, it was hard to understand how the Lyonaise was ranked the No. 1 hotel for the city on Trip Advisor or how it rated the 4 stars granted to it by the Montreal Tourist Bureau. Says something about the competition, I guess.

Left to our own devices Paul and I would have shopped, visited old sites and museums and had leisurely dinners. There was plenty of all of that in the city. Our niece, is 14, however, and we were challenged to find activities that would interest her. Here is what we chose:

]- An air-boat ride on the St. Laurence River. The ride took us through some of the rapids upstream from the city in such a way that we were frequently swamped by large waves. It was a fun, but wet ride. Fortunately, they provided warm sweaters and water proof ponchos, shoes and coveralls. It was a hit, though pricey ($60 in Canadian loonies per person).

The Labyrinth. We were early for the boat ride so we killed and hour and a half going through a giant labyrinth in an old warehouse next to the boat dock. There were puzzles that we had to solve along the way. Great fun. Though, Paul and I proved less adept at navigating the maze and solving the puzzles than our niece, who finished 45 minutes ahead of us and got all the clues right (we only got half right). The Labyrinth (http://www.labyrintheduhangar16.com/en/) is apparently a perennial event from mid-May to Halloween and is different each year. Rates for a family of 3 were $34.50 loonies.

Festiblues. This is Montreal’s annual blues festival held at Ahuntsic Park. We went on Saturday, the penultimate day of the fest, and heard some interesting music from Nina Attal of France, Diunna Greenleaf from Texas and a Quebecois group that was slightly more rock, covering among other songs,” Johnny B Goode”. All in all, it was a great way to spend an evening, and it was a hit with the niece.

Drumming in the park. In yet another park every Sunday a group of musicians gather and, in ad hoc, volunteer fashion play drums – mostly “tom-toms” but also a flute and other percussion instruments. It was wild. The participants ranged from very aging hippies and new agers to the button-down types, but more of the former. Young women danced to the music for the crowd. This is a must see if you find yourself in Montreal in decent weather and have no plans for a Sunday afternoon.

Bikes. A cool feature of Montreal is that there are bikes available to rent from bike racks on the street every couple of blocks in the city. You can get a pass for 24 hours for a nominal sum ($5 US). That permits you take bikes in and out of any of the racks for use and, so long as you return them to another rack somewhere in the city within a half hour, there are no additional costs. Beyond the half hour there is a small charge per additional half hour. There are great bike lanes, separated from traffic, all over the core of the city. So, it was a great way to get around -- cheaper and more accessible than the rarely seen taxis. Two caveats: you will likely do this without the protection of a bike helmet unless you generally pack one; and you must be sure to really shove your bike into the return rack so that it registers the return or you will incur additional charges until someone else takes the bike out. (Something Katy learned when her credit card bill came.)

The bottom line – Paul and Katy would really love to return to this city on their own to do more eating and explore the non-kid stuff like art galleries and museums that we missed.

Escaping Earl -- The Adventure Continues

Well, so much for a week-long beach vacation at the Outer Banks! We were mandatorily evacuated yesterday. We got the notice at 9:30 AM and we were supposed to be out by 12:30 PM. We didn't quite make it but by 1 PM we were on the road. Traffic ran smoothly until we hit the Pea Island Reserve where a large water flow slowed traffic to a crawl.

The family decided not to go home. Instead, we've escaped to Raleigh, NC where we will stay until Saturday so that we don't "end the vacation early." Suggestions for things to do and see in Raleigh are most welcome.

Hatteras Beach Week

Every year, for the past 10 years, we've gone with the family to Hatteras, NC for a week at the beach. We arrived yesterday, staying at our rental house -- this year the house is named Surf N'Dippity. Neat house -- sleeps 16 and we are only 12 this year. Katy and me; Mike, Debbie and the 4 grandsons; Pete, Linda and their grandson CJ, and brother in law John (who arrives tomorrow). This is CJ's first trip to the ocean ever, so he's having a 7-year old's blast of a time. Weather is perfect -- high today was 85 and not a cloud in the sky. Lows in the mid 60s. Great sleeping weather. The only down side at all -- Hurricane Danielle is about 800 miles off shore and the waves are something fierce. Never seen them quite this big.

Here's a photo of the house.

Our Anniversary -- Blue Duck Tavern

For our anniversary last night we went to the Blue Duck Tavern in the Park Hyatt hotel. This is another of our top-10 restaurants in DC. Katy started with Sardines on "toast," a tasty preparation of a typically bland fish. Paul tried bone marrow for the first time, spreading it and roasted garlic on some toasted bread. For the main course, Paul had two magnificent crab cakes and Katy ordered the whole fish fillet. The meal was accompanied by a delightful wine -- the 2006 Mendel Unus from Mendoza, Argentina. It's a 70/30 Malbec/Cabernet meritage blend with a very fruity nose and a strong alcohol finish. It improved very much as the evening went on.

What we particularly liked about this visit to Blue Duck (besides the food which was, as always, spectacular) was our chance to watch the kitchen. We'd told them in advance that it was our anniversary and, to our surprise, they saved us seats right by the kitchen, so we got to watch the preparations. One of the interesting pieces was the finishing chef (who knows what his official title is?) whose job was to put on all the garnishes and to grind on the last little bits of topping for the dishes. He was a master of the "small touch" and we really enjoyed the show.

Overall, Blue Duck rates tops for ambiance and food. Well worth a visit.

The Music of Epcot

Epcot Center in Orlando has a series of pavilions reflecting cultures from around the world. We had lunch in Italy and dinner in Morocco. And along the way we heard the music of Mexico and Japan. Here are two small tastes:

We Went to Disneyworld!

We take a short pause from the blogging about the trip to Peru to note this weekend's trip with the grandkids to Disneyworld. Details to follow. For now, just to prove we were actually there here is a photo.

Our Trip to Peru -- Over the Top

The third day of the hike was, without doubt, one of the most challenging days either of us has ever faced. It began poorly, the night before, when Katy seemed to fall ill. She was suffering from pretty severe sinus pain that we feared was brought on by the altitude and we worried that she would not be able to climb at all. After a phone-call diagnosis by a Peruvian doctor some pain medications and antibiotics were prescribed and we decided to forge ahead.

The first quarter of the day was a steady uphill that seemed to portend well. But then we hit the "Seven Serpents" -- a series of 14 switchbacks that went almost vertically up a steep wall from roughly 14,000 to 15,000 feet. Part of the way up, Katy climbed onto a burro to get to the top. Paul, meanwhile, was suffering shortness of breath and, candidly, a healthy helping of panic at what he was experiencing. The next 45 minutes seemed like an eternity.

Eventually, we made it up the Serpents and then had a well deserved rest. As you can see from this photo, Paul was not particularly happy at this point. But at least we had made it.

From there it was a relatively short hike (maybe a mile and only 300 more feet up) to the top of the Salkantay pass. There we paused for a well-deserved second rest and some good photos. As you can see, the pass itself is right in the shadow of Mt. Salkantay. The peak behind us is up around 20,000 feet and has been climbed only twice in history (at least as far as anyone knows). To have gotten so close to it was exceedingly difficult and rewarding -- but also amazingly unnerving and challenging.

And so we began a long downhill slog. We still had more than 4 hours to go to the next lodge (overall hike time on this day was 9 hours) and after about 2 hours we stopped for lunch. The most amazing thing happened -- lunch was a hot lunch served in a tent that had been erected for that purpose. Our cook had left the morning lodge after serving us breakfast and literally run ahead of us to set up for lunch. Never had a simple meal tasted so fine! And when we finished the downhill run to the lodge both of us indulged in Pisco Sours to celebrate -- we'd refrained from alcohol until then as a precaution but boy were we ready.

Oddly enough, the second lodge was at almost exactly the same height (12,000 feet) as the one we had slept in the night before -- so our total up and down of 6,600 feet (more than a mile) had gotten us "right back where we started." Except now we were over the pass and past the most challenging part of the hike.

Our Trip to Peru -- The Hike Begins

On Thursday evening we met the others in our hiking group (all Americans, save for two English couples) and our guide, whose given name was (I kid you not) -- Washington. His father had been and admirer of George Washington and named his Peruvian son after the first American President.

Early the next morning we began our trip. Our convoy headed out and the cars let us off about three miles from our first night's lodge. And so we began our walk. Over the next 6 days we would go approximately 39 miles and climb more than 2 miles up and down in elevation change.

The lodges were a chain operated by the Mountain Lodges of Peru. Each one is constructed at distances that are a day's walk from each other. Only the first one is accessible by road. All of the remaining lodges were constructed using materials that were carted in by hand or by burro.

Despite their isolation, the lodges are models of hospitality. They were, in a word, spectacular. When we arrived at the first lodge (pictured above) after a short 3 hour acclimatization hike we were met by staff who gave us a cup of hot tea and a cold towel to wipe off the dust and grime. They took our poles and carefully put them away, and then took our boots away, to be returned to us after they had been cleaned. The next morning they were all carefully laid out by the door.

The other service at the lodge was gracious. Each had a small bar (the local specialty is a drink called the pisco sour which is an absolute killer) and a hot tub. The view on the left is the view from the hot tub at the first lodge of Mt. Salkantay. Our goal, in the hike was to cross the pass below Salkantay's peak -- basically walking through the notch on the left side of the photograph.

After a fine meal (our chef followed us from lodge to lodge and his cooking could easily match up against some of the good restaurants in Washington DC) we retired to bed, there to find that our towels had been twisted into an origami of swans and that two hot water bottles had been put in the bed to keep our feet warm. Talk about being well treated. If you ever want to go on a hike but have a nice place to stay each evening, this is the way to do it.

And so, our trip began. The next day we took a second hike to get the feel for the thin air. The lodge was actually at about 12,200 feet. On the second day we took a short 4 hour hike to a glacial lake up at about 14,000 feet. As we walked we could see the tops of Salkantay and her companion peaks -- all at about 20,000 feet. Remarkably, we could see an Andean Condor circling the top -- at a guess the condor was up around 22,000 feet. Even at that distance and through binoculars you could see how magnificent he was.

The glacial lake was well worth the trip. You could see the moraine left by the glacier and the ice-blue water of the lake was stunning. We found the trip up and back a challenge -- it was not so hard on the legs, for we were well prepared physically, but the thin air was quite a noticeable factor. Still, after two days of preparation work, we thought we were ready to climb across the Salkantay pass.

Black Salt -- DC

We went to the Black Salt Restaurant last night for dinner -- the first time we'd been there in more than a year. We had such a good time, we wonder why we don't go more often -- though it is geographically undesirable, located over in the MacArthur Park area of town [all the way across the town from our Capitol Hill house].

Black Salt has a fish market in the front of the restaurant that gives the place a nice local feel. People from the neighborhood by the fresh fish there. Even better, the whole place has a nice ambiance -- not overly pretentious and a friendly staff. [Paul even met one of his rugby buddies there who was tending bar].

We had a great meal. We had fish of course, since it is a fish market! In fact, the restaurant provides a list of daily fresh fish that are available for grilling or baked. Last night they had everything from tuna to tilefish.

Katy started with a sashimi appetizer platter (one of the daily specials) that had hamachi, scallps and some strange Japanese fish whose name we forget. It was served with a sea urchin vinagrette that served as the dipping sauce. Quite lovely. Paul had the gazpacho -- a cold soup served, in this case, with lump crabmeat and a whole tomato in the center.

For our main courses, Katy ordered off of the daily specials and got a roasted rockfish with a suprisingly spicy panag curry sauce and great fresh vegatables. Paul was even more adventerous -- he said "let the chef choose whatever he wants to do." He wound up getting a grilled mangrove snapper [we were told that is the rarest snapper around] covered in a dijon cream sauce layered on top of fresh sweet corn, more crabmeat, cooked tomatoes and peas. The sweetness of the corn was perfectly matched with the crab meat and the dijon sauce and the fish was cooked to perfection.

We accompanied the meal with a 1/2 bottle of 2005 Muga Riserva Roja wine from Spain. The wine was a good full bodied red, that was perfect with the appetizers, but it clashed with the main courses -- especially Katy's spicy rockfish. In retrospect we should have gone for a Pinot Noir or a white wine of some sort.

Of course, the best course of the night was dessert! Katy had a wonderful Dark chocolate flourless cake with raspberries and coconut sorbet (with real coconut grated in it). Paul had something called Butterscotch creme which was a utterly sinful concoction of scotch, vanilla, cream, almond crackle and two shortbread cookies. It was so sweet that he didn't finish it, if you can believe that!

We don't know why we don't go here more often ... but we are going to fix that in the future.

Our Trip to Peru -- Part 2 -- Cusco

Well, we left Lima on a short flight to Cusco. Short it was, but the change was dramatic. Lima is on the coast. While we were there it was cloudy, misty, with a little rain and a chilly 60 degrees. We arrived in Cusco where it was 60 again -- but this time it was bright and sunny and much warmer, though the temperature difference was minimal.

An even bigger difference was, of course, the altitude. Lima is at sea level. Cusco is at 11,000+ feet. We were in Cusco two days early in the hope that we could acclimatize. Fat chance. Making that transition is always going to be hard. It's even harder when you make the transition in less than 90 minutes (which is all the time that the flight took). We spend most of the two days walking around Cusco and it was hard, very hard, especially whenever we had to go uphill.

Even though it was hard to breath, we loved Cusco. It is a delightful city of roughly 400,000 that is one of the most pleasant places we've had a chance to visit in our many trips. The city was bright and clean; and the people were quite friendly.

As you can see, the sky was an almost electric blue color and the Conquistador architecture just seems to fit in the context of the clear skies. This main plaza was literally filled with people, most of whom were doing nothing more than enjoying themselves on the day.

The food in Cusco was, if it is possible, even better than what we had eaten in Lima. We ate, twice at the MAP Cafe -- an al fresco cafe located in the courtyard of the Museo de Arte Precolumbiano. The South American wines were brisk and tasty and I had one of the most unusual dishes I've ever had -- a ceviche that was first cooked in lime (as normal) and then heated up by serving it over a hot stone, so that you had a warmed over ceviche. Add a spicy tomato-based sauce on top and it was just delicious.

But the highlight of our two days in Cusco was definitely the National Pre-school Day parade. Who knew? We simply wandered into it.

It seems that mandatory pre-school education is a relatively new thing in Peru and to celebrate there is, each year at the end of the school year, a national day, complete with parade. We were lucky enough to see the regional parade in Cusco which must have had more than 5000 young children marching. Each and every one of them was, like this angel, in a costume of some sort. They ranged from fantastical characters to recognizable cartoons [Spiderman] to themed ensembles [eco-friendly was very big]. The kids marched up to and then around the big plaza in front of the church, all the while accompanied by marching bands, to the enjoyment and admiration of all the parents and spectators. It was an altogether pleasant surprise and we sat on the steps of the church for quite a while watching the parade go by.

And so our 2 days in Cusco passed quickly. Late on Thursday we met our fellow travellers for a briefing in preparation for the Friday morning departure.

Cafe Atlantico -- DC

We went to Cafe Atlantico the other with our friend Lisa. As always the food was quite eclectic and unusual and the wine especially good. We drank a B Crux blend of tempranillo and malbec from Argentina that had a rich, deep color, a fruity nose and deep tastes. It matched up well both with Katy's scallops and caviar and with my conch fritters and feijao tropiero. Brazillian food is always tasty and the habanero paste with my tropiero was especially piquante.

The most interesting part of the meal was Lisa's -- she tried the farmer's menu. There is a local farmer's market in the area, and the chef simply makes whatever it is that he finds at the market and serves it up. Particularly notable was the eggplant with raspberries. We decided that the eggplant had been soaked in port wine before cooking ... an unusual combination.

It's been several months since we'd gone to Cafe Atlantico -- we probably won't wait as long to go back since we'd forgotten how pleasant the experience was.

Our Trip to Peru -- Part 1

In May 2010, we traveled to Peru for a two week trip. The core of the trip was a hike in the Andes. But the first couple of days we started off in Lima.

The history of Peru is fascinating -- it is one of those locations where the history is very much alive today. In early 1500s Peru was ruled by the Inca, the Emperor of a huge 10+ million strong empire that stretched from current Ecuador in the north to the northern reaches of current Chile in the south and from the Pacific Ocean over the Andes and down into the Amazon jungle on the eastern slopes. The Incan empire was divided into 4 provinces and the capital was the town of Cusco, up at 11,800 feet in the Andes.

[Neat fact: One of the 4 provinces, the one on the far side of the mountains, was known as the Antisuyu. It is thought that the current name for the mountains "Andes" is derived from the "Antis" -- that is those who lived in Antisuyu on the other side of the range].

In 1532 Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, arrived in Peru with 168 men. With the superiority of his arms (rifles, swords, armor and horses for the Spanish vs. cloth and clubs for the Incans) he won a decisive battle at Cajamarca, capturing the Incan emperor Atahualpa. Within a year he had captured Cuzco and installed a puppet Incan ruler Manco (Manco later led a rebellion) and shortly thereafter he founded Lima.

Thus, Lima's central plaza, known as the Plaza d'Armas, is a monument to Catholic domination of region. There are two large churches that dominate the plaza. The magnificence of the structures is, however, perhaps best captured by the intricacy of the filigree work on the woodworking of the buildings. It's almost overwhelming the level of detail -- the picture doesn't do it justice.

One of the highlights of the visit to Lima (and indeed, of the entire visit to Peru) was the quality of the food we eat. In Lima we stayed in a community to the north of the central part of town known as Miraflores. Miraflores is an upscale community filled with coffee shops and a small walking parks. On the edge of the district is a pre-Incan ruin known as Huaca Pucllana, sort of mini-pyramid like structure. We were fortunate enough to dine at a restaurant literally in the shadows of the ruins, called, fittingly enough Restaurant Huaca Pucllana. There we dined on a Peruvian fusion menu that included the native specialty of guinea pig, and included the domestic specialty drink, a pisco sour (absolutely a killer -- don't have more than one).

We also had the chance to visit the Parque del Amore, on the Pacific coast in Miraflores. As you can see, the park is dedicated to the conception of love. This giant statute (see the person at the bottom right for scale) is said to have scandalized the local population when it was first constructed, but by contemporary standards it seems a bit tame. The remainder of the park is a Gaudi-esque construction of tiles with odes to love. Apparently the custom is for local couples who get married to have their names created in tiling and put up on the park benches. It was pretty cute.

On the whole though, we probably spent more time in Lima than we needed too. It is, by and large, simply a big city with the traffic and congestion that attend that status. After two days, we were not unhappy to be heading to our next stop ... Cuzco.