Up at 6 for some unknown reason… at least that means some billable hours before MoonSong comes to clean and take a look at my kitchen sink drain which has been dripping water. With me being out of town, it should be fixed by the time I return. Yahoo!
Mick arrived a little after 10 for the run to the airport – MasterPark here we come – he ride having fallen through. I have coupons so no worry.
Boardroom for breakfast for Mick and snacks for me… nice to be sitting up front on the flight courtesy of the $99 companion fare which works best if you book one in First Class, then add the other for $99 and split the cost between the two people. End result = $400 each round-trip in First Class.
Thank you Honda for sponsoring free wi-fi on Alaska flights until December 9th – may you extend it! I never get my laptop out during the flights – that’s my reading time. But if it’s free, I’m all over it. I actually got a little more billable time in (yes, that old drumbeat of $$$ for this deadbeat)
And since I had the laptop out, we have a picture for today:
That would be from the camera on the laptop. High-tech fun at 37,000 feet. Mick was even using www.FlightTracker.com to track our progress during the flight.
Arrived in Vegas to the hell of the “Rental Car Center” and the wretched shuttle. The Thrifty deal I signed up for was what they call the “Wild Card” deal – same price as a compact and they give you whatever mid-size and above they have on the lot. We ended up with a light blue Gran Marquis (leather seating for 6 medium-sized people)… apparently yesterday they were giving out mini-vans, which would have worked for us just as well since we have 15 showing up for dinner on Saturday, and around 10 people the rest of the time.
Got to the condo at 3:45pm – the 3-bedroom “penthouse” was ready and waiting for us. “Penthouse” is in quotes because it’s not exactly what I would call “penthouse” quality… maybe it’s just that it’s Vegas and everything is cheap and tacky.
Speaking of cheap and tacky – shopping for groceries at the Food4Less down the road was a truly cheap and tacky experience. Luckily all the stock boys were young and pimply emo types (for those not in the know….EMO, short for emotional – dyed black hair, not quite goth, but usually twig skinny nerdie boys)
Settled in for the news and a steak/baked potato/salad dinner with a lovely Pinot Noir. I’ll have to shoot a quick video of the condo for tomorrow’s posting so you can see the “odd” furniture choice/placement.
Nothing like getting back from Vega at noon on a Saturday with just enough time to take a shower and get to the shop in time for your 1:30-7pm shift, working again Sunday, and getting up butt-early (that’s a technical phrase) to head off again. This is a short turn time even for me!
Destination: Greece
Reason: Friends 25th Anniversary Party
But first I have to get there.
I booked Vancouver (YVR) to Athens (ATH) via Paris (CDG) last fall in a fit of “I have to get my ducks in a row”. This is contrary to what I tell most people about international (and domestic flights for that matter) that you should book 60 days out for the best deal – when you book nine months out, you are basically getting “rack rate” – a phrase that refers to the highest rate that a hotel will sell its rooms for (think retail, versus on sale). With the difference in price of $1800 (r/t) for Economy or $2700 (again, r/t) for Business, I opted for Business Class on Air France – at least the food and wine should be good!
As for the SEA-YVR and the return of YVR-SEA, those were two separate OTHER reservations – outbound I found for $105, but the return was expensive so I used 12,500 miles for the return. One trip, three reservation numbers.
I bore you with all this because I had feared that I’d have to collect my multiple bags (see photo) in Vancouver, go through customs with them, then recheck them onto the Air France flight, then collect them as it would be the first stop in the European Union, and repeat the whole thing again. Needless to say, I’d arranged for LOTS of layover time in each city.
Now the reality. When I checked in, the guy said, “Final destination?” Answer, “Vancouver on this ticket, but connecting to Air France to CDG, then onto Athens on a different ticket.” I was pleasantly surprised he said, “Give me the flight numbers and I’ll check them in all the way to Athens.” Frankly – even this jaded traveler was amazed. Two reservations numbers, two different carriers. I knew you could do different carriers on the same reservation number.
And when I talk about multiple bags – this is what I mean. Two “carry-on” size bags, but both with liquids – like snow globes – in them:
The back pack with the computer goes with me on the plane, but in the back of my mind I’m going, “How will this actually work?” The Silver bag (and parts of the black bag) are filled with “airplane memorabilia” for one of the two boys whose anniversary I’m celebrating. I was there (the Island of Sifnos, in Greece) for their 10th Anniversary, it only seemed right to return for their 25th Anniversary.
Checked in, and time to go to The Board Room – here is the shot that I sent out in homage to Lambchop who always sends shoe/airport carpet selfies when he travels.
Seems that Alaska is upping its game in the airline lounge world. I usually start each trip with a Red Baron (sparkling wine and cranberry juice). Red Barons are my family’s traditional celebration (i.e. Christmas, New Year’s) drink. The Board Room used to serve Cooks (which is plonk – a British phrase), but they have now gone local, well, Yakima. Their new bubbles are from Treveri Cellars – we featured them at a tasting at the shop a couple of years ago.
So far, the day is going MUCH better than I expected.
Baggage checked all the way through to Athens
Better bubbles in The Board Room
Had a bagel/cream cheese and a hardboiled egg (and a Red Baron, and since the bubbles are good, a second glass of just the bubbles) before heading to the gate. Small delays boarding (crew late), and then a small mechanical delay, but really, I’d blocked plenty of time in YVR when I thought I had luggage issues, so it’s all good.
Soup and sandwiches – after the scrambled eggs and sausage…then kim chi fried rice and bulgogi
The only downside is that the bar doesn’t open until 11am – guessing that would be British Columbia liquor laws – and it isn’t self-pour. I did manage to get a couple of cocktails in (one featured above) before it was time for the plane:
That would be a 777-200 a bit past it’s prime as witnessed by the covering rubbed off the Senheiser noise cancelling headphones from a previous generation. These were hardwired so there was no way to use your own personal current generation headphones.
And the old-style 2-3-2 angled Business Class seating (no First Class service on this flight). At least there were universal outlets (sans USB) to charge things up.
Maybe that’s why they were giving away (at $2700 r/t) Business Class connecting service to Europe from the West Coast so cheap (or it could be the Canadian Dollar crisis). Here are a couple of more cabin shots:
Followed by the main (choice of Beef, Salmon, Vegetarian Cannelloni, or the special of the day – which is what I had, the Roast Chicken Fillet with Tarragon Cream Sauce:
Looks like I was a little late photographing that one!
Cheese platter with at Graham’s 10-year-aged Tawny Port, and with the dessert trio (chocolate truffle, mini raspberry-chocolate cake, lemon macaron) and sorbet (cassis) a Eau-de-vie de poire (pear brandy).
Time for a movie and a nap – the movie, which was actually moving (to tears at one point, but then again, after all that booze there isn’t much of a lock on the emotions) was Boychoir, which featured the Fried Green Tomatoes lady (Kathy Bates), Dustin Hoffman, Debra Winger. Really, the only time I watch movies is when I’m trapped in a tube.
Nap time before breakfast showed up – luckily they still had some Champagne!
WAY too much food, but I managed to eat most of it. Fresh fruit, yoghurt, pastries, ham and vegetable omelet, bacon, roasted potatoes.
We landed in Paris pretty much on time – though to weather more typical to Seattle – drizzly overcast:
After minimal immigration (though another stamp in my passport) it was off to the Air France Lounge in Terminal 2E (after a train ride). This would be Terminal 2E at CDG which a portion collapsed in 2005 shortly after opening. Click on the CDG link for morning information – it’s actually rather informative. But today, it’s rebuilt and rather pretty.
F30 was my gate, FYI. But for my multi-hour layover (I’d rather have spare time than no time) I was in the lounge:
Where I had a nice workspace:
THIS is the reason you either have status on an airline, or pay for Business Class. AND there was an open bar, which expanded….after 11.
Which is when the wine came out – but if you wanted ice in your drink you had to snag it from the wine bucket – you’d think they were ENGLISH with regards to ice:
More food in the lounge (have yet to pay for a meal on this trip). I nibbled on breakfast stuff and lunch stuff after 11:30.
But more importantly, after an overnight trip, access to shower facilities (albeit a tad humid from constant use):
There was some worry about my checked bags (really, I don’t have to tend to them?). Wanted to make sure – went to the front desk – much punching of keys before, “Shows here that they were loaded onto the plane at 9:20.” And it was about 10:15 at that point.
Boarded the final leg of the trip to Athens knowing that “Business Class” within Europe should always have parentheses around it. Economy seats (albeit in leather) with the center seat blocked out.
We move from tacky to tatty – seems even their intra-Europe jets are showing their age. Look at the magazine rack:
But I the grand scheme, all I care about is being united with my bags in Athens – and to my surprise, they are on the belt.
Collect bags, exit through an unmanned customs booth, find the Metro Train to the city with a stack of bags (luckily one of my bags converts to a hand truck):
One of the anniversary boys gave me the number to his “driver” because Athens is notorious for aggressive cab drivers especially towards tourists. Just 38-50 Euro (plus tip) from the airport, depending on time. I was happy to skip being met at the airport and pay 10 Euro to get to within two blocks of my hotel. Mind you, the above photo was taken closer to the airport than the city, before the commuters started piling on the train.
All settled in my room – time to go in search of easy food.
[? ? ?]
For those of you who got to this page with a direct link from FaceBook – you can see other posts at https://blog.unclemarkie.com with the latest first and going back in time.
Luckily my ferry back to Piraeus isn’t until almost noon, and I’d booked the cab yesterday so it’s a gentle morning travel day.
After another lovely breakfast buffet, it was pack and get out the door – in the company of two of the other guests who are sharing the cab. Actually, they picked up the cost of the cab so I bought them a coffee at the port:
Pretty much another scrum (though smaller) to get onto and settled on the ferry:
Those would be my cab-mates standing.
Uneventful journey, but massive rains in Piraeus….
And wet kids (and me!):
We waited it out…and by the time we arrived at the airport on the train we were pretty much dry. Said goodbye to Reuben and Jasmine who had a 9PM flight – mine is at 6:30AM, hence, the night in the Sofitel Athens Airport – which besides being more than I want to send ($200+, but it’s right across the street from the airport), at least it was a really nice room:
And the full-service 24-hour restaurant in the lobby serves REALLY TASTY food (and a good Manhattan as well):
Tempura cod sticks, aioli (the yellow sauce), steamed greens, potato balls, really good bread (which I actually had on since it was an olive bun).
I must have been exhausted from the trip since my last cocktail was at 6PM, water until bedtime at 9PM, as I’m up at 3:45am for my 6:30am flight to CDG (Paris). This is what 4AM looks like:
I was able to check-in on-line at the hotel AND get a printed boarding pass, so I actually had about an hour in the lounge:
And there was ICE at the open bar (I’m so easily amused):
It wasn’t until I was through final security that I realized there was no shopping! Shit – I still have two (well, I only had two) presents to try and buy:
Clay figurine (for The Lady Colonel)
Tacky T-Shirt (for Kathy)
Well, I thought there was no shopping until I saw someone with coffee – it was just a bit of a walk, and NOT MUCH selection. Imagine my surprise when I found both, though I had to take my second choice of t-shirts (in hind-sight I think I like it better anyway) – and the clay (more likely plastic or plaster) figurine came attached to a bag with a bar of olive oil soap – which The Lady Colonel requested from my upcoming fall trip to Paris/Epernay. Score! And JUST UNDER the deadline of boarding (15 minutes later).
Off to Paris – if only for a moment. This “business class” flight is a “little” better – the armrest, while not able to be put up, did move to the right an inch or two. And unlike on my previous flight, this one had the seatback that folds down for an extra tray table space:
Unlike on the “Main Line” flights – the attendants don’t seem to think aesthetics are important and leave the steamer covers on. Tacky if you ask me – even if there are only FOUR people (out of 20 seats).
And now Champagne, sigh. She even had to track down some Coke Zero – which at least came with caramels and chocolates….
Flight landed on time, BUT I have one hour forty-five minutes to change terminals AND go through border control (at least not baggage scan again). Even the Priority Line was sluggish – can’t imagine being able to do this without the Priority Line. I did get a moment in the Lounge (after a ten-minute wait to get in), with just enough time to look for a printer for my Alaska Boarding Pass (nope) and grab a drink and a bag of crisps (that would be potato chips to the non-British).
Did I remember to take a picture – no. But I had the 2011 St. Émillion Grand Cru Château Jean Faure. I didn’t even get a photo of dessert! I did get a photo of the forward lavatory – which, while not as nice as the SAS old Seattle-Copenhagen route, which was a “double-wide” with blinds and full-length mirror, this one was better than most, though I should have picked up the towellette before photo’ing.
The final picture, but not comment, is that these Air France 777-200’s are tired old beasts – I had a pop up screen (that you could angle for a better view), the seats behind me had small embedded screens:
The resolution is SOOOOO bad on these screens that any subtitles are virtually unreadable. Apparently, this fall, they will be all updated (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France). It can’t come soon enough. And hopefully they will move to lie-flat beds as part of the move.
Arrived YVR (Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaLand) and got through Border Control with just my on-line Alaska Boarding Pass (whew!) and rolled my case to the next available Alaska flight back to Seattle. I arrive around noon – and my official flight isn’t until 9:30pm – luckily the flight gods were with me again, scored a window exit seat on an almost completely full flight and I was home and in bed by 2:30pm – almost 8 hours early.
Slept for four hours, was up for four hours, took a sleeping pill and woke up at my normal time.
The 8:30am call from my broker’s assistant telling me how to fill out forms that I hadn’t even printed out yet was the second she had placed. Apparently I slept through the first one. Crisis number one. Non-savable encrypted PDF that I can only fill out and print, and I can’t even cheat and print it to a PDF file so that I can add my signature to the damn form electronically. A six page form, that I now have to print out, sign, scan and email back to them before I can leave town.
To do it I had to pull the scanner (which is actually a dead inkjet all in one) into the living room and hook it up to the machine that can actually create PDFs and my laptop’s ability somehow got scrambled. Oy!
Crisis number two… while having packed MOST of what I need, I haven’t packed the talisman and its box, or the ice box. And by the time you know it, SHIT, the trunk is full, the floorboard of the passenger side is full, the front seat is full. No picking up hitchhikers this trip!
The plan was to get out of the house by 10am. In reality 11:05.
30 minutes into the drive I realized I have forgotten my lounge chair for in front of the cabin
60 minutes into the drive I realize that I most likely have forgotten my good camera
2 hours in I stop for cheese to go with all the meat that I have in the cooler and realize I’ve forgotten the asparagus and the spinach/yogurt dip that I was going to buy dipping vegetable for. I leave the store with twice as much ice as will fit in the cooler, cheese, cheese/salami rolls and marinated olives.
After such a crazy morning I didn’t even bother to turn on the radio (other than a flashing traffic alert notice). It was just me and the purr of the engine and the whistling of the wind. Very soothing. Makes me not care about the three items above.
In my franticness of leaving I decided to skip Costco in Portland and cruise straight south through Portland and take the left at Salem, the high speed way since I was an hour behind rather than going the scenic back way. After being behind the wheel for an hour, the new plan was to skip Costco, but stop in Woodland at the just off the freeway Safeway for gas and cheese, which would be quicker than NY trip to Costco. That would give me enough gas to get to Breitenbush Hot Springs the back way, and still have enough gas to get me back to Washington on the return home.
Final remaining shopping item was booze since my order for $100 of brown liquor from California isn’t coming. Hail Estacada! It only took me 10 or 15 minutes to find the liquor store (damn state stores), but they had the Aberlour 12-year on special for $7.00 off. I should have stopped at the 2nd Hand Store that looked heavy on the junk — hopefully they will be open on Sunday when I might have more room.
Contrary to Dancing Bear’s theory, I don’t think coming the back way taking longer. Caveat is… coming from Seattle because you slice off about a half an hour by bypassing the central route from Portland. It ends up being the same. I left at 11:05am, got to the front gate of Breitenbush at 4:10 with:
The Safeway Food/Gas stop
The wrong exit detour (damn Streets and Trips — really, get off the freeway, get back on the freeway, go two exits)
The booze run in Estacada
Checked in, unloaded, iced beverage in my hand by 4:30. Set up the computer, charge the camera, charge the cell phone, blog, chill. Speaking of chill, the passenger side carpet got a chill from melting ice.
It was a nice hour and a half of being in the woods, scotch in hand, the sound of the river in the background before heading to the dining hall, wine in insulated coffee mug for what I rightly assumed was a carb heavy dinner. Two plates of salad later and with the wonderful company of Wind and Keystone we were headed back to the cabin to see if a last minute move could be accommodated. I begged not — it’s so tacky to have magic marker changes on registration envelopes.
My evening entertainment was pulling on of he chairs from the cabin and having an after dinner dram of scotch reading the Wall Street Journal. The alternative was waiting straight people “kelp dance”. It’s so odd being here when it isn’t a “closed camp”… I have to remember to:
Keep my clothes on
Not go into the woman’s bathroom because it’s more convenient
Not just whip it out in the woods and take a leek
Not swear as much since there are children around
My goal of keeping to gathering to 150 faded with heartfelt pleas, which I starting ignoring when we passed 180. Beyond that the kitchen can’t function. Feeding 180 men is twice as hard as feeding 180 men, women and children. We eat twice as much.
Oh gentle readers – the morning started with a bit of a disappointment….no Princess Black Elite boarding card waiting for me a check-in.
What good is chasing privileges if the computer systems can’t keep up?
After waiting a half-an-hour or so we started boarding – and it seems that everyone else was headed for the aft portion of the ship and even though I was in the fourth row of chairs I was the first one to security on the boat, eschewing the photographer only to be confronted with a ding rather than a beef (or was it the other way around).
Off to the side I stand while they call it in…new card comes down from passenger service and low-and-behold, it is black as coal.
And this time, this is MY view – opting for the balcony cabin on my Vancouver-Victoria-San Francisco cruise. For those who care about these things, since I’m a single, it’s double the fare so it’s $558.00 plus $96.02 in taxes, fees, port charges. For this:
Dropped my bags and scampered down to the Bordeaux Dining Room (6th Floor, Center) for lunch:
A light lunch – no fries. And as the guy on the last boat said, “Sometimes you just want something simple rather than something fancy.” Even if you are eating it in a fancy restaurant.
When I got back to the room, it was time to send some shirts to be washed and pressed – a Black Elite benefit (which they said due to the volume, don’t expect until 72 hours, not good for same-day service):
Then the safety drill – seats this time, in the Princess Theatre and with that out of the way it’s time to call room service and swap out this:
For this:
And this:
For this:
Yep, took the mixed selection and my Serbian Room Service boy (well, technically he’s 21 and has only been out of Serbia for 45 days) and switched it for all VSOP and Diet – the only whiskey they had was Dewar’s Scotch and the CourvoisierVSOP was the same price – go figure.
That taken are of it’s off to the LGBT meet-up (or is that hook-up) which they have POORLY planned for the Grill Bar, one level up on the open deck from where the “Sail-Away” party is booming. When will these people learn…Wheelhouse Bar! And try not to make it during the Elite Cocktail party for Elites, Platinums, Suite passengers with free nibbles and reduced priced drinks — tonight was fresh guacamole, chips, and $5.00 el Major Margaritas – which were WAY too sweet until I cut it half with ginger ale, but I digress.
Let’s see, where was I – right, LGBT get together. Our poor (but cute) host had a cute little home-made flag the size of a sheet of paper (don’t they give these people a props budget?) sitting forlornly at the table when I finally noticed him. Well, that’s two of us. I sent him over to the bar side of the partial deck having spotted what I thought were a couple of bears drinking – and I grabbed two guys that I’d been on other short cruises with (also from Seattle) and by the time it was happening we’d collected a good dozen people including the host’s bi-sexual sister who was on the cruise too.
Our Princess “Host” is in the blue shirt (and starched white shorts) at the end of the table, his sister is standing to his left. If you can’t find him, here is a close-up:
Wait, here are better pictures of the group, including half of a Sydney, Australia couple sailing all the way to Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal…
Dale would be to the right of Stephen (isn’t that a lovely name…wait, it’s my middle name, and even with the correct spelling!) our host. And that would be a Manhattan in a tacky plastic glass. Stephens comment to a couple who had been together for 22 years… “I’m 22, so I guess I would have been in the womb.” You go girl.
Some random shots from around the ship….
And this one I especially like…it’s like a “ghost ship“:
Eight of the gay boys got to dinner the first night in the Bordeaux Dining Room – what a handsome group:
And many of stayed up wayyyyy too late….gambling….not me, but one of the boys put $300 in a penny slot machine – the Aussie was the smartest of the lot, playing poker, where you actually have a chance to beat the house.
Woke up in Victoria to gloom and doom and drizzle…luckily I’d ordered coffee and an eggy-muffin thing the night before:
If you look closely you can see the top of the WorldMark Victoria just to the right of the tallest structure in the picture below – my original plan was to walk over and say hello to Nicola who works the front desk – but the drizzle got the better of me.
Another day, another LGBT gathering – this time in the Wheelhouse at pretty much the correct time, 5:30 (so I could go snag Rob Roys at $5.00 [plus 15%] from the Elite party which also had steak tartare and cheeses). But before I did that I swing by the Explorer Lounge for a couple of $3.99 (plus 15%) Bloody Marys in commemorative glasses (hence, needing to get two of them), drink one, split the other one into two glasses (for breakfast) and pop it in the fridge, and then pop by and get a picture of Stephen calling the trivia contest…
The steak tartare…and I know Melba Toast (what it was supposed to come with), and that isn’t Melba, it’s just toast points.
And the aforementioned Roy Roys – or what was left of them…
That was before I went for two more… and some pictures of the boys at the cocktail party and at dinner for ten which followed:
I’ve actually been on other cruises with the two on the right, one from SF and the other from DC – a long-distance couple.
These two are actually on their honeymoon, while these two have a fascination with Bang Bang, one of the servers upstairs:
With the drinks from the LGBT cocktail party and the wine with dinner, we were probably annoying all those around us, luckily we didn’t sit down until 8:30PM:
And let’s not forget the tin-foil swan for a little take-home dessert…
So another night goes – out too late hanging around the casino, and yes, I’m $30 lighter – luckily all my cash short of the $50 bill secreted away. But I did see part of the “Down on the Bayou” show…didn’t realize there were that many white people in the Bayou, but I’ll go any place that has an accordion player as part of the band.
Got back to the room to find my shirts are back from the laundry:
So much for my request to have them folded and boxed – I guess you get what you pay for, in this case, nothing since it’s one of the perks.
As for my last full day at sea, Bloody Marys await the coffee and muffin thing:
Though they were delivered at 9AM, I went back to bed until 11. Uncle needs his beauty rest. And the weather outside is frightful (or at least dreary).
The ship was rocking and pitching most of the night so the extra hours in the morning calm helped.
Spent the day doing this and that. Missed a sit-down lunch in the dining room and had to settle for the slop line (oh, I mean the buffet). Did my duty-free booze shopping (liter of Jim Beam for $17.99 minus 10% for being Elite Black), and bought a couple of watches at $10 each ($9 after discount) since I’ve been wearing my dual time-zone watch for the last couple of months since all my other watches have dead batteries.
Not that I’ll be wearing both at the same time.
Headed to the wine tasting (also a freebie for the Elites, $9.50 [plus, I’m sure, the 15%] for non-elites) – I headed back to the room when I encountered this line:
Not worth in considering the boring wines they were sampling. Finishing the last pages of my book and taking a nap was a much better use of my time.
Tonight’s LGBT Hoe Down had about 10 people show up at the Wheel House Lounge on Deck 7 (directly, and conveniently directly below my stateroom 5 levels). I’ll try to not bore you with too many photos since it seems to be the same people every night…
And then some silliness at the dinner table – I brought my birthday balloons to dinner:
Speaking of dinner, some of the highlights….
Snails in butter!
Both pretty and tasty.
Another late night…woke up at 3AM still in my clothes and still unpacked. Nothing like packing at 3AM.
Uneventful morning – up at 7:30AM, out the cabin door by the mandatory 8AM exit time…even though my disembarkation isn’t until 9:30. But a lovely sunrise over the Bay Bridge…
And the view from my breakfast table on the Lido Deck…
Now it’s just the waiting game to get off the boat and onto the bus for the airport – a final “footie” for you.
[? ? ?] I hate to think what the number will be after a week of cruise boats and dinners.
Just a reminder to those readers arriving here from FaceBook. Links from FaceBook are a direct link to this post, so you miss the previous posts. You can see all the posts by either clicking on the UMTravels banner, or HERE.
Sean took Monday and Tuesday off so those are out museum days…and with him working Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll be making my wondering tours of his neighborhood. Who know where food will end of in this.
First up Is a little breakfast – turns about its cracked rice and chicken – should be a nice base for a day of sightseeing.
Maybe I should have had something other than tea — morning cocktails were $1.50 – were is Magnatroia when you need him!
Getting there through Saïgon traffic is what we need to do first. More on that in the next post, but here is a preview (next post will have scary traffic videos). I’m in the bitch seat on Sean’s scooter wearing a Hello Kitty helmet. It goes with my Hello Kitty watch.
I’ve been to markets like this around the world – lots of touts hawking their wears – I did see an interesting domino set for Salamander – but no real time to look/bargain/haggle – just not into the markets as I once was. Just show me a price, that’s all I want.
I did see some humorous shirts I’ve have gotten if I didn’t know that they would last one washing.
Next up was to swing by the post office – Sean had wanted stamps, but the lines made it hard – no stamps, but another cool old colonial-style building.
Across the street is one of the Cathedrals in town:
Alas it being noon, the church wasn’t open to the public, so we settled on one of the oldest Indian-based Hindu Shrine around the corner. Apparently the original member-base were all Indian bank workers.
As mot much is open for lunch, so off to a coffee shop for tea, blood orange bubbly, free Wi-Fi, and clean bathrooms.
Rested, cooled off, relieved we next check into the Reunification Palace, also known as the Independence Palace. It was a time building that my friend Russ really needs to see – I’m surprised the North didn’t just level it after the war, instead, they turned it into a time-capsule.
It feels like a monument to late 60’s design – love some of the rooms:
And my favorite – the game room with bar…
I think Jill would like this room as well…or maybe the theatre with its chairs:
They even preserved the projection booth:
And if you needed to get out in a hurry, grab a Huey from the roof:
Under fire and can’t get out on the chopper – head to the bunker:
And when the attack is over, have company over and have the catering kitchen whip up a meal – yes, I had kitchen envy:
On the grounds there are examples of the rogue South Vietnam plane that bombed the Independence Palace (a pilot switched sides), that has a black “X” over the country logo:
Last tourist stop of the day is the top of the tallest building in Vietnam to have a drink. They devote the lowest floor of parking just to scooters!
It was a little convoluted to get to the bar – query the front counter (it’s a mall and food court for the first couple of floors), take an escalator to the reservations desk, be escorted to the elevator to the reception desk on 50, put on another elevator to the 51st) – all to get to a fairly tacky bar with a killer view:
With expensive drinks – by Vietnam standards:
I had a Manhattan – decent ingredient selection, but 220,000 Dong –$9.89 USD, and it was Bulleit Bourbon (I’d have preferred their rye). Plus, add 5% service charge and 10% VAT and you are really at $10.04 a drink. Much more than the $1.50 per cocktail advertised at the restaurant we had breakfast in.
Done with cocktails it’s time to head back to the apartment – I’m meeting up with Ming who I met online. The plan is drinks and appetizers at the apartment which means a run to the “supermarket” around the corner for supplies. Meet Ming – medical equipment salesman:
Never did get a proper meal, but I did check out the Yacht Club Scotch!
On the food front I’ve been less than ambitious – just going across the street to Pita Bar. Partially less ambitious because I know when I hit the island of Sifnos for the big anniversary party, all the food will be over the top.
I even got it to go the first night:
That, my friends, is 4.60 Euro worth of pork pitas – yep, 2.30 Euro each – and I only really needed ONE – lunch the next day took care of the other. As for the next night I splurged and ordered almost 10 Euro worth of food (which again, was WAY too much food for one person). Two orders (should have gotten one – didn’t realize the size) of the spiced lamb skewer, and a really wonderful Greek Salad – it’s not just for breakfast anymore!
And I did do a tiny amount of shopping, though I have yet to find the perfect tacky t-shirt for Kathy or a clay figurine for Kate…. got myself a flashy 3 Euro hat!
And you’ll never guess the material….
On that school trip I actually came home with a blanket made entirely of rabbit pelts – I really should have gone for the one they said was “gatto” – all calico cat pelts!
Speaking of school trips – there is one staying at the hotel! They were in the lounge finishing off their final assignments with their teacher – fun to listen in on. They leave the hotel earlier than I do my final morning in Athens.
Their bus causing a massive backup on the street – though it doesn’t take much!
I left the hotel shortly after 1 (shortly after the first version of this post disappeared) and headed for the Port of Piraeus – home to the worst of the worst taxi drivers (personal experience). I’ll be taking the Metro again (1.40 Euro).
Last time I was here, the option was taxi, no train….
Technically the port is just across the street, but in reality, the port is REALLY big.
The Metro stop is near the center, but it’s still a hike with my multiple bags. And then hunt fun begins…
Soda
Booze
Food
Found that – while luckily running into other people headed to the same party which meant someone to watch the bags (thanks Rueben!) Not much in the way of signage, but found the ticket counter, found a place to wait in the shade (seriously important). Because when it comes time to load – there is no shade, just chaos. No lanes for people exiting to boat, and just people pushing to get on (and out of the sun) which is ODD because it’s all assigned seats.
Off to Sifnos go I and a couple of hundred other people.
Bye-bye Athens – stay tuned for more of Uncle Markie’s Greek Adventure!
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If you got to this post from a direct FaceBook link, you can find more adventures of Uncle Markie at http://blog.unclemarkie, from newest to oldest. Happy exploring.
It was a trip for the miles – the final flights to hit $1,500 in United Airline tickets excluding taxes – I just squeaked over the spend at $1.506. And what did I get? 25,000 bonus miles on top of the miles that I earned. Since all 5 segments were booked in paid First Class (which has class bonuses), that brings the total miles earned to 37,048. Basically 5 cents a mile on a cost basis. It would have been cheaper to just wait for a United Bonus Miles sale (like they are having now) and pick up the miles for a little more than 2 cents a mile – but then again, I wouldn’t have gotten to go to both New Orleans and Puerto Vallarta (my two mileage runs).
That said, under United’s OLD mileage plan (two years ago) my Gold status and class of service bonus would have earned me 37,884 miles into my account, under the CURRENT mileage plan, my Gold status and the class of service bonus got me 12,048 miles – basically a THIRD of the miles. And you wonder why I prefer Alaska Airlines and their mileage-based program.
In reality – I made a decision to go for more miles. I just redeemed 20,000 of those miles for a reduced award round-trip ticket to Columbia, South Carolina in late October. This, by the way, is the best use of miles – tickets to out-of-the-way places that NEVER go on sale. And trust me, Columbia, South Carolina is one of those destinations – and I even got a one-stop (DC) in both directions, and “oddly” United offers “status” upgrades even on mileage redeemed tickets – mind you, you are the LAST of those upgraded. No first on the DC-Columbia legs, and can’t imagine getting an upgrade on a flight between Seattle and DC.
Now that you’ve suffered through my “mileage whore” section of the post – let’s talk New Orleans.
It seems I’m now going a couple of times each year, which means that I’m developing “habits”. New to the mix is paying the $50 UberXL fee for a private ride from the airport to the condo. And considering the storms on the way in, waiting for the bus was out.
Got to the condo, and for once – NO ONE was in the check-in line (it’s a big place). Threw the bags down, went out for Bourbon and mixer, fixed a cocktail, and basically chilled out. I have to say – HELLA view from this unit, best I’ve had here!
I got a one-bedroom, so there is room:
The rest of the pictures of the unit are from later in the trip when the place really looked “lived in”.
Here is the outside – not sure I like the new paint job:
The Bourbon and mixer – Basil Hayden for $30 a bottle – freakin’ cheap by Seattle standards:
My habit on the first night in NOLA seems to be a visit to Houston’s – a small national chain that adapts each cities menu. In this case, it includes jazz starting at 8.
And good food/booze – in this case, because it’s NOLA – that would be a Sazerac:
And an $18 burger:
I love the haystack fries, even though I shouldn’t have them.
My plan for the first day was to return to Purloo for an early lunch – only to find that they are no longer there, and that the Southern Food and Beverage Museum is closed on Tuesdays so that meant no shopping for odd southern cookbooks.
Had to come up with a new plan for lunch so I kept walking down Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. until I stumbled across Dryades Public Market, which is in what looks like an old schoolhouse. Got a Cuban from one stall and a Sazerac from the bar and called it lunch:
And I thought the bartender at Purloo!
Attempted to go back to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art – but guess what? Closed on Tuesdays. After a little shopping for Kathy (Princess of Tacky T-Shirts), caught the street car back to condo, futzed a bit, then headed out to Samuel’s Blind Pelican for an early dinner/late afternoon snack of oysters. Ended up getting a dozen of the raw on the half shell for $3 a dozen – and YES you read that correct – during Happy Hour which is 4-8pm, must purchase an “adult beverage” to qualify for the cheap price. No problem here.
Then moved onto the Charbroiled at $8.50 a dozen (and another “adult beverage”.
Even the dogs were eating oysters – this one trained to grab them from the edge of the bar!
Not sure how THESE guys who are on their feet for hours shucking oysters feel about them being dog food….
And this is one of the most amusing repurposing of door knobs – to hang you coat/purse on!
They go through a TON of oysters so they have their own truck:
And let’s not forget the Shrimp Boil and BBQ!
Whew! Real dinner later in the night was at Pho Orchid, starting with Vegetable Spring Rolls (well, after a Manhattan):
And then the combo fried rice – which I didn’t finish – but which made a great breakfast in the morning!
Here are some of my favorite pieces like this “quilts” from their invitational show:
The major show was works on paper from their collection, including two by Michael Meads – the artist that I came to specifically see in February:
Some other favorites:
And from the basement History of Graffiti in New Orleans:
Of my favorite museums, this one ranks in the top ten – maybe because they take chances and have more “adult-themed” exhibits rather than “general audience” exhibitions.
We’ve reached the end of this post – longer and it chokes in the machine. Stay tuned for Part Two!
Who doesn’t want to go to Saskatoon for a couple of hours! It’s really just about the journey, not the destination. Rache and I are going on a train ride! Actually TWO train rides, one short (to Vancouver), one long (Vancouver to Saskatoon). You might ask why not Edmonton (would require a hotel room either two or from because of when the trains arrive/leave), or Winnipeg (same reason), or Toronto (it arrives Saturday, and this week I’m also working Friday). The train from Vancouver arrives at 8am in the morning (assuming it’s on time), and we have a 3:20pm flight to MSP, then SEA. Enough said.
I really wish Amtrak’s Cascade Service had a mid-day train. Our only choice was the 7:30 departure which gets us in at noon, and our ViaRail connection isn’t until 10:45.
Don’t I look happy on the train:
It’s a little better once we are on the train and I have a little food in me, but…
Lovely fall colours (since I’m headed to CanadaLand I’ll get a head start on the spelling):
Here is a shot of the Vancouver train station. Sorry for the lighting…j
We need food, so we head in the direction of China Town which I’d never really explored – found this piece of street art made more sinister by the shadow of my hand – I’m seeing a theme here!
We walked, and walked – what we were looking for was a sit-down, service, bar, nice lunch. It wasn’t in China Town, but there were enough street junkies and people shooting up, hanging out, offering us drugs, that I was glad it was noon on a sunny day with lots of cops around.
An hour and a half later – stumbled into Per Se Social Corner and settled in for a cocktail for me, and a beer for Rache:
Before settling into our shrimp and vegetable linguini with flatbread and salad:
Wonderful presentation – and on the lunch menu the food was $14 CAD each, my drink was $12 CAD – and the booth was comfortable and the bathrooms clean.
After our leisurely lunch, MORE WALKING – YES, ME. Passed by the Law Courts, spied the WorldMark Vancouver, passed three JapaDog stands, ended up at the Waterfront near the Cruise Terminal.
Random Vancouver tourist pictures….
Decided to take a ride to North Vancouver on the ferry. Neither of us had ever been, and at $4, seemed like a great way to kill time even though the transit was under 15 minutes. Man, they have loading and unloading down to science!
Since it was after three at this point in the day – HAPPY HOUR – and we found one in the Harbour (those crazy CanadaLand spellings) at the Tap and Barrel:
It was a HUGE space – look at the Keg Room!
And the bar area (dining area is at the far end, upstairs to the right are private function areas):
And it really is about wine and beer (but with a full bar). The barrels are the wine taps, the stainless steel, the beer:
I ordered a Happy Hour highball (Rye and Diet Coke) for $4 (CAD) for the 1oz shot (they are a little skimpy with hard liquor in CanadaLand), Rache went for the $10.50 beer sampler:
And who can say no to deep-fried pickles (well, Roxy could – he hates pickles and anything else sour, except for me):
It was easy to kill time in the only two cushy club chairs in the place – right in front of the non-running fireplace.
And the two random photos from the dock area of North Vancouver – two signs:
As for the upper one, self-explanatory, the one below, just because it’s a sign for a Green Market with a planter of dead plants, both of these The Tacky T-Shirt Lady would love.
Here was our wondering journey this afternoon – if you look closely you can see the miles and steps on the map (dashed line = public transit):
I booked this almost a year ago – figuring that it would be easy to fill four nights in a three-bedroom/three-bath Presidential unit right on the beach in Long Beach…turns out, two of the usual cast of characters are going with me a week later to Vegas, so it’s just Rache (who actually LIVES in Long Beach, Washington) and I in the massive place – we each have our own wings!
Nice day for a drive…
View from the beach:
Ours is the upper left hand top unit, big enough to take a little video of….
And here is the view:
I don’t’ think we will run out of alcohol anytime soon!
And Rache brought some pre-dinner nibbles in the form of bivalves. Luckily, he’s a pro at shucking…
Yum!
Before long, it was time to start work on dinner and get the BBQ fired up:
Grilling as the sun goes down:
Steaks off the grill – and Rache brought navy bean soup to go with it.
Life is hard at the ocean, but then you go to bed and wake up to a scramble of eggs, fresh corn tortillas, and leftover steak:
One of the reasons we brought all the booze was to sample the distiller who is setting up shop across the street from the WorldMark. Nice facility:
With nice equipment:
Fully automated for repeatability.
A little bigger than my rig!
Ran some errands and then headed over to Ilwaco for a little lunch snack at Salt.
And cocktail.
With a view.
The food is good, too! Fish tacos….
I’d forgotten my slippers, so we visited the local clothing/hardware store (Dennis Company) – where I found these FABULOUS rubber slippers marked down from $30 to $10 – I had to take the inserts out to turn the Women’s Size 11 into a 12.
Tonight’s dinner is BBQ Chicken with Grilled Corn-On-The-Cob.
Rainy day but we wanted out of the apartment. Met up with a friend of Rache’s who used to dog sit for him across the street at the Pickled Fish, above Adrift (which also owns the distillery). My eggs benedict with Bloody Mary:
The Yoghurt Parfait (which I’d never have ordered, but it looks REALLY good).
And Rache’s light breakfast sides of Grits and Bacon:
Back to the apartment for a bit of storm watching – this is what happened to the hot tub cover:
Found a moderately tacky t-shirt for Kathy, but sadly none in her size.
Fortunately, by the end of the day, the storm died down enough that I could actually BBQ again – and try out the rotisserie I found in the water heater closet.
Prep:
Rotisserie mount – not stable – missing pieces:
Meat on the grill:
Dinner:
After dinner hot tub celebration with a Cuban cigar I brought back from Havana:
Fun trip – all sorts of weather. Hustled back to the city on Friday for something that turned into a date.
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