back to cali

s and i spent a quick week in berkeley with my family. the weather was amazing and we had a great time.


we took an evening cruise to alcatraz. if you ever consider visiting the rock, i highly recommend the evening tour, especially if you can get a fog-free, warm summer night like we did!


view of coit tower from the embarcadero, before the cruise



the ferry



a, d, s, b



alcatraz from the ferry



the alcatraz audio tour has recently been updated, and you are guided around the prison by voices of former inmates and correctional officers who recount their experiences. it is definitely dismal and institutional, but the guides speak about alcatraz with a strange sort of nostalgia.


the cells were tiny, but apparently many inmates felt more safe while they were locked away from the other prisoners, who might have had reason to hurt them...



the worst offenders were locked in 24-hour cells, meaning they were not allowed outside their cells at any time. perhaps to compensate for their increased isolation, they were given larger cells.



they also had to contend with cold, howling wind (the corridor is particularly drafty, even to this day) and beautifully cruel views of san francisco - so close but so so far away.


view from one of the peepholes, which allowed prisoners to see exactly what they were missing



prisoners with outdoor privileges could use the recreation area, which happens to have a great view of the golden gate bridge. nice, huh?





note: even though it was a gorgeous evening, we still had to wear our fleeces. in san francisco. in the summer. the song should go, "if you're going to california, pack layers..."








but it wasn't all slammers and sunsets...




the main reason we went was to celebrate with my sister after she finished her MBA!






we also strolled through the redwoods in muir woods...










...and we spent just long enough on muir beach to dip our toes (ok, i dipped my toes) in the pacific ocean. wwwwwinnndyyy!!!








last, we spent an afternoon in palo alto.

fabergé? no, this egg-like statue is made of old motherboards. of course!



regretfully, we were in the bay area just a few days too soon for the iphone launch, ratatouille, and sicko. but i did manage to smuggle home a black macbook and a harvey's seatbelt bag. just doing my bit to support the american economy (read: take advantage of the amazing exchange rate, cough cough ahem.)

i also shipped back 13 boxes - thirteen boxes! - containing photos, books, old letters, souvenirs from japan, trinkets (so many trinkets!), basically the last of the things i somehow can't live without. the rest was either put aside for a yard sale, tossed or recycled. you would be proud of how much i managed to purge, but there's still plenty left... we have one month before the shipment arrives. i foresee some DIY!

going to the gherkin

one of the most striking and iconic buildings on the london skyline is affectionately known as the gherkin, for its cucumber-like shape. s's former colleague kindly invited us up to the top to drink in the view...and a few cocktails.



view of the dome from inside



view of tower bridge and the tower of london. the building in the foreground, framed by the v, is s's office.



m in her new bright blue glasses






s and our hostess, m



fiery, red sunset over hampstead heath


it was lovely to see london from above. i still get a little thrill every time i see the familiar landmarks: the london eye, tower bridge, big ben, king's cross station. i hope that feeling doesn't wear off for a long time, because i plan to be here for a while...

poshdarling

i got my hair highlighted, cut and straightened this morning.





still no resemblance to victoria beckham.*



*on so many fronts!

easter egg brownies

we woke up to a typically english rainy bank holiday monday...



so i melted several easter eggs to make brownies. chocolate and relaxing, my kind of monday.

thinking of others

bath

as promised, here are some more pix of bath. bath is one of the prettiest towns in england. i fell in love with bath my first summer here (1998) when i traveled around the u.k. staying with friends and friends-of-friends. surprisingly, s had never been there. it seemed like a perfect place for a romantic anniversary weekend, and it did not disappoint. of course, everything does look better in sunshine with blooming flowers, and on that front mother nature did not disappoint either.



royal victoria park


unfortunately, my snapshots don't do it justice, no matter how many megapixels my digital camera has.



bath abbey



bath abbey seen from the roman baths



the roman baths






royal crescent



duck! duck!

bath spa

saturday was our first anniversary, so we spent the weekend in the absolutely, perfectly, unequivocably, charmingly lovely town of bath (pronounced bahhhh - th). more pictures to come but here is the requisite shot of pulteney bridge and the cascading weir.

pretty shiny things

this week has been lovely and warm. the perfect time to bring out sparkly bling and color!





my toes are enjoying the sunshine, too. do you like my new birkenstocks? these are actually a pair from last year's flowery crop; i was disheartened to discover that they're only making solids this summer. but never fear, the internet came through and now i have happy feet.


i keep thinking about this song by paolo nutini:

Hey, I put some new shoes on,
and suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
it so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
but long on time,
slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
and i'm running late,
and i don't need an excuse,
'cause i'm wearing my brand new shoes

it's rare for a man to capture accessory adoration* with such eloquence, but in this case, paolo's right on the money.



* i can't think of a better way to describe this, but m knows what i'm talking about. accessories make all the difference. shiny, sparkly, blingy things make me happy. jewelry and scarves. fun shoes. beads, sequins, rhinestones, long flowy ribbons. all that cutesy girlie stuff. so there. now you know. and i'm going to keep on smiling, because i've got my new shoes on and everything is right...

serious stuff

click the tag to show your support for BBC reporter alan johnston



***

on an unrelated note, i read about this in the reuter's oddly enough section:

what is stephen harper reading?

yann martel, author of life of pi has pledged to send the canadian prime minister a different book every two weeks for the rest of his tenure in office. he decided to start with tolstoy. i suspect that anyone attempting to do the same for W would be better off starting with something like all i really to know i learned in kindergarten. share, hold hands, and take naps.

easter weekend in yorkshire

we had a lovely extended weekend in yorkshire with s's family.


the second batch of mer-in-gyoos came out nearly perfect in terms of color and texture (still a bit chewy) and i continued the pastel theme by wrapping them in blue and white tissue paper tied with pink ribbon bows.






country lane



toy story 3: woody and buzz lightyear go to ossett?



the very picturesque town of knaresborough












and the best part? all those chocolate eggs that are still waiting to be eaten!

meringues

perhaps this blog entry is a bit premature - the meringues are still in the oven - but i'm excited by a bit of sweet pastel goodness for our easter trip to yorkshire.

i'm making meringues. s informs me that "mer-in-gyoos" is the proper pronunciation for these tiny treats. so be it.



i asked s to choose his own special shape and colo(u)r. i present the green mer-in-gyoo gingerbreadman.



hmmm. not entirely convincing, is it? hopefully the fully baked version will be less...pointy. stay tuned.

***later***

oh dear, slightly disappointing result. where did the color go?



and the gingerbreadman. oh no... at least he came off all in one piece!