Out of California

Saying goodbye to so many things I hold dear in California was difficult to say the least but it was not a sad thing. I hope to return to the sunshine state someday...for now I prepare to another "C" location....China. Since September I have been working and living in Denmark which has been an interesting experience in itself. The weather is getting colder and the days are shorter which makes one miss the sunshines of California but there are plenty of pleasant things in Denmark to distract me. Now its fall and the ctiy of Kobenhavn is preparing for the jule (xmas) holidays. Its a very nice time to be here...

Inside Tivoli Garden where beautiful ligths adorn every corner.

Nephew's Cali adventures

Its a week into their vacation in sunny california and here are some images and moments....

Walking up and down the Lyon street stairs...288steps total....a breathtaking view of the bay.


Making their way down the second set of stairs.


Austin..."I need a moment"


Austin and Noy taking a few minutes to recover.


And...they made it up to the top!!



Strolling cannery row in Monterey Bay.



Riding the cable car in San Fransisco.


Enjoying the pool.


Rock climbing at Planet Granite.

Visits of "The Three Monkeys"

My nephews (A.K.A. the three monkeys as we lovingly call them) are visiting for 10 days and I'm so excited to see them and take them around california. My sister Noy and brother-in-law Nelson of course will also be here so it will be so much fun this week. Of all things, they are most excited about seeing the crookest street (Lombard street) so that will be the first destination once I pick them up today. More interesting updates and pictures to come...

CT bon voyage party

My stop over in Connecticut marked the 10th destination of the RTW trip. In the short week, I crammed in lots of activities, family + friend visits. My visit ended on a very high note with a bon voyage party as I prepare to take-off abroad (first to Denmark then to China for the next few years). It was so great to have friends and family there but there were moments of bitter sweet as I reconnected with some old friends which I can only hope will not dissolve with the increased distance. It was a very hot and humid day and threaten with thunderstorm throughout the day. At the end we got a few sprinkles, not enough to spoil the fun.

the blessing ceremony called "Sou Kwan"



Chocolate fountain


A pool of libations

my sisters and brother

RTW (Done!)....now checking out Cali...

As of this past sunday I've have successfully made a complete circle around the world in 60 days! You would think I'd be exhausted but funny enough I'm not...this week I am wearing two hats as a tour guide and a tourist as I travel down to southern California with my mom+aunt+cousin. Since I will be leaving the area soon, they are the first wave of family visit to be followed by my sister + family later in the month which should be a fun and interesting trip since this will be the first time my nephews have ever taken a plane. I'm very excited to have my nephews experience California.

So far this week we've covered parts of the bay area, some SF (will be doing more sightseeing on friday), Napa, Sonoma, Highway 1 coastal drive, LA, San Diego. Our drive down Highway 1 was shorten due to road closer around the forest fires...safety first.

Tomorrow we head back up to see families in Modesto + Turlock before stopping back home to Fremont. Once again I have to admit that I don't find driving long, long hours (8+) much fun especially with the outrageous gas prices but the company is well worth it. I will upload pictures soon.

Sun, sand, and fun by the seaside

Here I am with my sisters and nephews.

Today we headed to an old, old hangout...Bridgeport's Seaside Park for a few hours of relaxation by the beach. I know what you are thinking...all you've heard and see me do is relax but do you blame me when I'm still on vacation. This is THE hangout for any Bridgeport natives...young and old. I was pleasantly surprise by the state of the park as its so nice now as compared to my experience in my younger years. I only remember it as a very dumpy park...literally it use to be a landfill!! Well, today's visit did not remind me of the dumpy days so I leave pretty happy. The weather was perfect....sunny with absolutely no clouds and lots of nice breeze. We enjoyed a nice spanish lunch (arroz con pollo, bacalua fritas, platanos, y papas)...very yummy.



Brandon is silly happy at the beach.


My nephews wrote "Help mom" and "I love mom"



The boys in a very rare moment of peace and not bugging or hitting each other.



this is along the coastal drive of the park.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures on Picasa (click above). The best parts about summer...hanging by the beach.

Berry, berry, strawberries!

Our annual family tradition of picking strawberries is still worth it. This year we changed location (from Bishop's to Jones's farm, a closer location) and our clan has grown as well. The berries were red like gemstones and ooh so sweet. The berry picking crew (above) were given "strict" orders to eat only a few berries while picking...needless to say they filled both their bellies and bucket!! Once we got home, the berries were further enhance with a dip in dark melted chocolate ;-))

I've uploaded more berry picking pictures on Picasa....enjoy and don't drool!

Sunrise in Copenhagen

It was 4:05am when I decided to take this picture. For some reason I couldn't sleep so I watched the sunrise instead. Typically, I'm a sunset girl but this sunrise was just as magical especially in the backdrop of an old city like Copenhagen. For this stop of my trip, I did not take too many pictures (since I have made a few visits before work) so hope you enjoy the ones I did take.

Back in the USA

As Jack would say "I'm baacccck"! Just a week or so left for the complete circle around the globe. For now, its so good to see my family again. This has to be one of the best parts of traveling...coming home to see families. Its like a warm hug.

My east coast plans will consists of eating (big surprise!) my mom's home cooked meals, do some hiking, pick strawberries and try indoor rock climbing with my nephews, and see friends. Not much sightseeing at this stop but just checking out the local hangouts and hopefully enjoy some old fashion summer festivals.

My fashion violations

If the fashion police was on my case there would be plenty of citations handed out...thought I take a review of the different types of outfits (from head to toe) I've worn over the duration of this trip. I've made some fashion sacrifices in the name of exploration and adventure. Some outfits are not so bad while others I have no words to decribe it so its best to let the pictures speak for themselves...just try not to laugh so hard!

Australia: Sidney Bridge Climb..."star trek" outfit.

Australia: Pigtails and bushwalking in the Blue Mountains.

New Zealand: hang gliding "apron" look.

New Zealand: bungy jumping, "towel" tide around my feet.

New Zealand: glacial hike, 1st outfit "red fanny".

New Zealand: glacial hike, 2nd outfit is the "spiked boots" with axe.

New Zealand: Waitomo caving, a cross between "a mine worker and a blue smurfette".

Malaysia: Visiting a mosque, I call this the "pepto bismo" look, at least I match the dome.

Taiwan: In my cousin's maternity shirt I may qualify to weigh and look like the wind damer!

My footwear of choice in Athens (got these in Taiwan of all places) and super comfortable.

Barcelona: Got these in Athens the day I left, these only saw the pavements of Barcelona.

Denmark: viking museum, this outfit was begging to be worn...its missing a sword or something.

That's all I have. Who knows what else I might have worn if given more time on the road.

Sweet dumplings and Rainbows

Its Friday morning, my last full day in Prague and I woke up to a gray, rainy, and cold day. Not the best of conditions for outdoor activities but as you’ll see it turned out to be one of the most charming and sweet days of my RTW trip. The evening before we got home at 1am from Prague so I didn’t get to bed until 3:30am and shamelessly slept til noon. I woke up feeling exhausted, my body and feet were slightly aching (like after a good hard long run) from the three full days of walking and sightseeing. I start to think twice about the plans Alena and I had made the night before given how I felt, getting up so late, and the weather! We had made three rough plans for today…plan A was a 3 hour bus ride to the countryside to more castles…plan B was a 1 hour bus ride to the outskirts of Prague…finally plan C was to hike the hills around the village area. The endpoint of any of these plans was to be home by 5pm to make sweet dumplings for dinner with her cousin Kafta. At the end of the day, we only managed to lounge around the house, check emails, pick-up grocery for dinner, walk the dog and make the sweet dumplings. We head out to the supermarket called Albert which is about 15 minutes drive outside of the village of Lhota. If I haven’t admit this to all of you, here is my confession….I love, love perusing through the market aisles in any destinations I visit. So much so that it is mentally written into my sightseeing list along with the tallest buildings and/or castles. I realize that it borders on the wacky side but I think it’s one of the best ways to experience the culture and life of the local people no matter the location. For my last supper in Prague I was bound and determined to have more tasting of Czech food, so we picked up many varieties of bread, meats, sausage, and beer (for tonight it’s the label “Gammbrinus” pilsner).

Once home, Kafta and Alena immediately put on their aprons and prepared the kitchen for making sweet dumpling. Dumplings rule, it is the bread, rice, and carb of choice in this region and typically on the savory side. In contrast, the sweet dumplings are so called sweet because the dumplings are filled with the season’s fresh fruits (this happens to be strawberry season) and serve with sugar and cheese. The strawberries were picked from the backyard, some slightly tart and some sweet...with the additional toppings it didn't matter if it was tart.

Alena and Kafta introduced me to the concept of having “sweet dumplings” for dinner…its like having dessert for dinner. It is a new concept to me but very Czech. Our first course was a leek soup which was also yummy. Our night ended even sweeter when we looked outside and saw two rainbows...it was the first time I've seen a rainbow from end to end (check out the video). After my shameless consumption of 8 dumplings I decided to join Alena to walk the dog and hopefully walk off the dumplings. Unfortunately this also worked up my appetite, so we return to enjoy wine, beer, sausages, and salami.

Don't be shock but it really is me in the kitchen making sweet dumpling as taught by Alena and her cousin Kafta. I'm putting the fresh strawberry in the middle of the dough then it gets shaped into a round ball.

The dumplings then go into a pot of boiling water for 4-5mins.

The cooked sweet dumplings are then topped with hard fresh cheese, sour cream, melted butter, and finally granulated sugar. Breaking the dumpling open reveals the sweet strawberry center. It is a very rich but ooh so good ;-) and not to be eaten all the time!

After a copious consumption of sweet dumplings, we got this fantastic view of two rainbows end to end. It was amazing to see the complete semi-circle (check out the video).

Taking the family dog "Dick" for a walk after dinner through the forest.

Roses are just more beautiful after the rain.

Wild poppies grow along the rye wheat fields. Its really a sight to see the sprinkling of red flowers along the perimeter of the fields.

A field of rye wheat at sunset looking into the next village.

This day turned out to be as sweet as the dumpling ;-)

Prague...a glimpse

I arrived to a very hot day in Prague and to the warm and smiling face of my friend Alena. For accomodations, I am staying at her cousins house in a village 30min by bus outside of Prague called Lhota. Its a village of only 100 houses, based on her cousinś house it is no means a cottage. Its beautiful and with a backdróp of the forest and open land...absolutely wonderful. Its strawberry season so they pick strawberries in the backyard for breakfast...how wonderful. I always say I´m a city girl but places like these make me think twice that I love the countryside just as much.

The things that rule here in Prague at least based on my one day introduction and personal tour guide "Alena"....Pilsner beer, dumplings, meat, castle, classical composers, Franz Kafta, great architectures, and gorgeous views from the river. There are lots of great pictures as usual and here I have some examples.

Sunset....this is the view from the garden by my bedroom...its gorgeous. I love the countryside.


A view of yours truely with the backdrop of the town from the Prague castle.


View from the Prague Castle of the roof tops and a restaurant called "The Cowboys".


Many irresistible narrow streets and stairways, this one is at the base of the Prague Castle.


Franz Kafka fans....this is his house along the Golden Lane.