SnapShot

On the way to Mt. Hood in Oregon, December 2007.

Traveling with Jeremy Piven: Yes Please

I flipped on the Travel Channel and to my pleasant surprise saw Jeremy Piven riding around India.  Yummy.  Turns out he made a two-part series about his trip there, trying to raise awareness about issues and injustices in India, primarily concerning children.  I didn't watch for very long because even though I love me some Jeremy Piven, I've got things to do.  But I did tune in long enough to watch him attend a "Laughing Yoga" class.

Apparently, laughing Yoga is a new branch of yoga quickly gaining a strong following.  Essentially, the class combines basic yoga stretches with large amounts of laughter.  Big, deep belly laughs from the bottom of your diaphragm.  Tiny giggles from the most nasal part of your nose.  The heartfelt and the superficial.  The creator of Laughing yoga formed this new brand because he believes that laughter promotes good health and that happy people live longer; fusing these beliefs with the already well known benefits of the yogi lifestyle is bound to create superhuman longevity.  Or something like that.  After the session everyone went around hugging each other, appreciating one another's presence, deepening their sense of community in a sometimes estranging world.  

Mr. Piven didn't seem too keen on the class, but it sounds like a fabulous idea to me.  Yoga is one of the most sensuously wonderful experiences; it creates a self-awareness of your body while simultaneously increasing the love for your body.  And laughing is far and away one of my favorite activities, because life is too short to not find things amusing.  Add those two things together?  Amazing.

New Europe: Walk Places, See Things, and Learn, all for Free!

This company offers amazing walking tours, roughly two hours in length, jam packed with interesting information that ranges from the historical, to the random, to the quirky, to what's the best pub in town; you walk by all the major attractions and monuments in the city, and most tours run seven days a week rain or shine.  The tour guides work for tips only, so the tour costs as much as you want it to, although the guides do a fabulous job and deserve a little love if you can afford it.   

I've been on both of the London tours as well as one of the Paris tours, and all three of them were a-mazing.  The tours are geared to broke twenty-somethings, thus the content is a mixture of the past and present, with a few saucy sex scandals thrown in for good measure. Being guided around a new city by hot Australian and Canadian men doesn't hurt either.

New Europe also serves as an excellent opportunity to get a job working abroad.  You don't have to be a native to the city you give tours in, you just need to speak fluent English and have a solid History of the city.  Check their website for further details on joining the New Europe family.   

New Europe offers free walking tours in the following cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hamburg, London, Jerusalem, Madrid, Munich, Paris and Tel Aviv.  If you are currently visiting any of those cities, take their tour right now!

Glacier National Park

Michael Klein's recent invitation to join him on a trip to Glacier National Park in Montana jogged my memory that I just went there last June.  I suppose I tried to block the experience from my mind since it was connected to my last family vacation, and we all know that me + family vacation = the most vile concoction ever.  Seriously, I don't understand why I keep getting dragged into these situations when the experience always yields blood boiling frustration, tears, tension, and overall unpleasentness.  I mean, I went on an impromptu 10-mile run in the mountains just to avoid yet another family hike (plus Mike).  Slightly pathetic I realize, but I promise you, togetherness with my family really is that horrendous. 

 

Familial posse aside, Glacier National Park was a rather exquisite experience.  We stayed at Lake McDonald Lodge inside the park. It's a beautiful rustic lodge with plenty of cozy nooks, comfy chairs, and a fire constantly burning in the lobby.  There are many deer-type animal heads mounted on the walls and a totally awesome

 chandelier.  Situated on the shore of Lake McDonald, the lodge maintains a high quality of service and provides sparse, tidy rooms--it lacks extravagance in the most refreshing way.  And they have really yummy food in their restaurant. 

Lake McDonald Lodge is on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a road that goes straight through the park, providing countless picturesque views along the way.  The Lodge is also a short drive away from many hiking trails that lead you to epic views of the singular landscape.  There was still snow on the ground in June, so hiking proved to be an interesting thing to attempt, and after passing a third group of people wearing snow hiking boots, I began to doubt the durability and dependability of my trusty sneakers. We hiked to interesting vistas that revealed massive snow covered mountains colliding with lush green grass. 

 

We visited gushing rivers alive with determined rapids.  We tried to see a moose...the closest we got was one bear track.

When people think about American National Parks, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon often come to mind, pushing Glacier to the side.  But the park is definitely worth visiting, as the great plains have a singular aesthetic unlike other American landscapes.  

From Cardiff to Watford: Europe Part II B

Here is Part II B of the best European Holiday Adventure...Ever.

From Cardiff to Watford: Europe Part II A

This little thing called youtube won't let you upload videos longer than ten minutes, so I had to divide Part II of my and Natalie's European adventure into two parts....confusing?  Maybe.  Irritating? Absolutely.  But here is part II A; part II B will be up soon enough.

Go To The Theatre And Watch This

I saw Slumdog Millionaire.  I realize that this officially makes me a terrible film student seeing as though it took me what, a month post-Oscars, to see the much buzzed about best picture, but whatever, at least I saw it.  I must say, all this hoopla is well deserved, and I see why it swept up virtually every statue during this year's awards circus.  

From its opening moment, Slumdog breathes vibrance and life unlike any film I've seen.  The marrying of pulsating music with the quick yet swiftly cut footage of children traversing the jungle of tattered shacks, brilliant colors, muck, radiating sunshine, and bustling streets which they call home enraptures your eyes, mind, and heart.  The temporal structure allows a plainly simple story to unfold with poignant complexity, surprising and horrifying the viewer along the way.  It is engaging, gripping, moving; it transports the viewer to another world so far from the creature comforts of America, and yet so wondrous and complete.  

I know there has been a decent amount of controversy surrounding Slumdog, primarily from the people of Mumbai, who feel exploited by their depiction in the film.  And I suppose I can see where they are coming from, in the sense that the slums are depicted as slums wrought with violence and corruption.  But I never got the sense that there was any smugness or disapproval in its representation; quite the opposite actually.  While there were some unpleasant scenes of physical child torture (which obvi I did not watch) and many scenes of psychological child torture, the culprit is not the slums of Mumbai, but rather the cruel men who prey upon unsuspecting orphaned children.  And those creeps exist everywhere. 

No, I think Mumbai is instead depicted with a sense of reverence and admiration.  Or at least that's how I view it.  One of Jamal's childhood memories consists of him getting the autograph of his favorite actor...while drenched in feces from head to toe.  The fact that Jamal's happiest moment occurs when he is literally covered in human shit creates nothing less than a beautifully poetic juxtaposition; it's moments like these which truly make Slumdog a joy to watch. 

For My Sister, on Her Birthday

March 18, 1983: The day our world got a little bit kinder and a wee bit blonder.  This is a movie from my 290 class last spring.  For some reason there are two-plus minutes of extra black which, try as I might, I cannot delete; so once the credits roll, c'est fini.  Happy Birthday Katherine, one of the best people ever.  Let's go play!

Couchsurfing: A cushion for free

Attention all backpackers and thrifty, thin-walleted travelers out there!  If you're planning on making a trek in the future, there is an online network you need to join: Couchsurfing.  It's a free online forum where members from all over the world offer to let you sleep on their couch--so long as you return the favor when you return to your maison.  

Natalie--a superstar member--hosted people all last semester in San Diego.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of German guests, where we made both American and German foods...as well as some iffy instant mashed potatoes from a box.... 

My point is, Couchsurfing is bringing people from all over the world together, all across the globe.  What a beautiful thing.  And what an intimate and simple way to meet interesting people from interesting places.  

Natalie and I stayed with couchsurfers while in Paris, saving us hundreds of dollars on hotel expenses.  Plus, we met Julien, one of the best people ever.  His Parisian sarcasm was on a whole other level from anything I've ever heard, and was bitingly refreshing.  Would we have met an amazing local like Julien had we stayed in a hotel?  Je ne pense pas.  

From Los Angeles to Cardiff--The Beginning

Here's the first part of my and Natalie's European holiday!

A Traveler's Song

Title: On the Road Again

Artist: Willie Nelson

Album: 16 Biggest Hits

With dreams of the open American road on my horizon, I've found myself turning up good ol' Willie on a more frequent basis.  And really, what song is a better road trip anthem than this honkey tonk gem?  It is an excellent roadside companion, and never gets old; trust me, Katherine and I played this song at the beginning of every leg of our ride when we moved her from Los Angeles to Portland...one of my many brilliant ideas. 

Are We There Yet?-No?, Well Then, Let's Eat

The days can get long when you're driving for hours on end, so it is essential to have delicious meals to look forward to at your next stop on the road.  After all, who doesn't love good food?...if you don't, you're crazy.  And if you're not limited by a necessity for natural/vegetarian/vegan food--because let's be honest, there are many a yummy dish not in those categories--then the American Diner Business is basically your culinary oyster, as it were.  There are many a book out there to aide you in your quest to quite that rumble in your tum-tum; so many in fact, that it can be a rather overwhelming experience simply deciding which honker of a book to chose.  At least it was for me.

I stood in front of shelves of titles with various orders of the same words: Where Eat Dine Food USA.  Eventually I saw Roadfood, written by Jane and Michael Stern, and I thought "aw, a couple!" and took it off the shelf.  So I admit, there is a bit of a haphazardness to my selection, but all the same, I still think it rocks!

Roadfood has reviews of a bazillion diners, seafood shops, ice cream parlors, breakfast houses, etc, all over the USA.  The book is a fatty--roughly 700 pages--but the reviews are a-mazing.  They describe the decor, the cuisine, and the service, giving you a great idea of what to expect should you choose to eat there.  They also provide the address and phone number of each place--very helpful.  And the eateries range from dirt cheap to super classy, so it meets everyone's needs.  Here's a minute sampling of dining choices from Roadfood; I couldn't read too many entries because the book was making me too hungry!

Julia's of Wallingford: Seattle, WA

• A bakery, art gallery, and cafe all in one
• Serves Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Vegetarian friendly   

Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen: Louisville, KY

• Known for homemade ice cream with both traditional and exotic flavors
• Pies made fresh daily, for sale by the slice and by the pie

Pancake Pantry: Nashville, TN

• Breakfast Eatery with world famous pancakes
• Extensive menu with every breakfast item imaginable 
• I have eaten here a few times, and trust me, the pancakes are orgasmically delicious 

The Tofu Tollbooth: For Vegetarians on the Road

While perusing the travel section of Powell's Books yesterday--which is one of the best places ever--I stumbled upon a beat up violet gem of a book: The Tofu Toolbooth.  This "guide to natural food stores and eating spots" is a 250 page book containing the names of delicious markets and restaurants all across America that serve organic, natural, and vegetarian foods.  While the eateries lack extensive descriptive write-ups, there are a few tips here and there.  The book also contains a key, helping the reader to easily pinpoint the listings that will meet his/her needs.  What a lovely companion this will be for me when I road trip cross country!  I must admit, I was beginning to worry about how I was going to find food on my journey, especially since I have vowed never to eat McDonald's again after reading Fast Food Nation, but now a deliciously natural cafe is never out of my reach!    

Essentially, The Tofu Tollbooth is a food-guide for those looking to dine at places other than burger joints and IHOP; although I found a really good book on those restaurants too so stay tuned!  If you are anything like me, you love food, and you realize that few things can top a satiating culinary experience.  Thanks to The Tofu Tollbooth, I plan to have many such experiences, all over America.   

Please Note: Unless you have as amazing a bookstore as Powell's at your fingertips--where I got my copy for $3!--you may have to order Tollbooth online.  Amazon.com has them in stock, both new and used copies.  Also, be aware that the most recent publishing was in 1998; I would google where you plan to eat ahead of time to make sure it's still in business! 

Skylake = Magic

If I had to pinpoint the moment when the travel bug bit me, I would say it was during the summer of 2006 when I was working at Skylake Yosemite Camp.  

Looking back on it, I happened upon Skylake by pure luck.  It was the spring of my freshmen year, and I was trying to figure out what to do with my summer months; I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew there was no way I was going back home to Pennsylvania.  I decided I wanted to get paid to travel--after all, the last thing you want to do is have to pay rent when you go somewhere...how will you make any profit?  I started looking into camps because I thought it would be fun, plus there was free room and board and a gorgeous backdrop.  I asked my RA, Sam, if she had any suggestions; Sam recommended Skylake because one of her classmates worked there and loved it.  So, I e-mailed this girl (who shall remain nameless because she turned out to be one of my least favorite people at camp that summer!), got some more information, applied, interviewed with Jon, and before I knew it, was Bass-Lake-bound in June.  

Then I had the most amazing summer of my life.  Absolutely indescribable.  The people.  The children.  The place.  The experience taught me so much about myself, about what I want from myself, and what I want for my life.  I still remember…I was sitting on one of the campfire benches during supervision when I had an epiphany of sorts.  

It was near the end of camp, school was two weeks away, and I could not bear the idea of entering a classroom.  Now, this was a shocking thought for me, a self-proclaimed nerd who normally loves school, actually enjoys doing homework and papers, and doesn't consider anything less than an “A” living up to my ability; I sat there terrified.  I mean, how could I not want to go to school?  

Right then and there I realized the futility of school and education without the supplementation of world experiences.  I mean yeah, I was in college earning a degree, but what the heck does that really mean?  If I died tomorrow all I would have done was put myself in the position to become a cog in the American machine of Capitalism.  GAG.  I wanted to do more with my life than merely follow the path etched in front of me.  I needed to see the world.  If there was someplace so beautiful as Skylake and Yosemite National Park only four hours away from my Los Angeles home, what other marvels existed out there? How could anyone think less of me for wanting to see those things?  And how could I not be considered a more interesting, qualified, and capable person for exploring those places?  

This is not to say that I don't value education--I believe it is paramount for success in this world.  And the notion that I wouldn’t be in the luxurious position of deciding to forgo our capitalist machine, were it not for my education, is not lost on me.  I thank Skylake for changing my outlook on life. I no longer want to take the most direct route to the end, but prefer to meander through the back roads and discover all the beauties our planet has to offer. 

I returned to camp in 2008 with four of my best friends for another amazing summer.  Seriously, Skylake is the best camp ever--sorry Michael Klein!--and I am so so so grateful Jon Moore hired me way back when!  Most all of my best friends have worked at Skylake, and they are the most dynamic and charismatic people I know.

If you are looking for a way to get paid to travel this summer, consider working at a summer camp.  I'm convinced it's one of the best jobs out there; you get paid to play with children and live by a lake and have dirty feet...it doesn't get much better than that!  Definitely consider working at Skylake, because there is this little thing called Skylake Magic, and it does exist.  

It's officially less than three months until I'll be jumping off the docks, playing nine square, and once again living in a cabin, by a lake, near Yosemite.  Not that I'm counting the days...OK...maybe I am!

SnapShot

Santa Monica, California from the Santa Monica Pier, March 2008.

Back to My Roots: !?!

I just discovered the one thing that will undoubtedly bring me back to that icky place from whence I came--more  commonly known as Pennsylvania.  It's Daffin's Candies, and it's the world's largest candy store.  Need I say more?  I think not...but I'm going to anyway.

Located in Sharon, PA, Daffin's has plenty to offer for candy lovers everywhere.  The store is massive--20,000 square feet--and the variety of sweet treats might as well be endless.  The Daffin family is best known for their chocolate-making skills, so you can indulge in every chocolate delight from milk chocolate molds to fudge to fruit-filled truffles.  And you absolutely must check out their Chocolate Kingdom in the store, which contains, among other things, a 400 pound chocolate turtle (yes, made entirely out of chocolate), a moving ferris wheel, a train, and village. 

Daffin's make the chocolate in their nearby Candy Factory in Farrell, PA; they offer factory tours throughout most of the year, excluding the summer months.

If chocolate is not your thing--worry not.  For chocolate is merely one genre, if you will, of candy Daffin's Candies offers.  They have rows and rows of buckets and barrels filled with a various candy treasures.  They have salt water taffy, jelly beans, lollipops, sugar-covered jellies, hard candy, soft candy, chewy candy, gummy candy, you want it, they've got it.  

Still not excited enough to jump in your car right now and head to Daffin's?  Then you must be crazy.  Or a diabetic. But listen close now, because I haven't even told you the best part about your one-stop-candy-shop haven.  So here it is:  You get to sample anything you want in the store, even if that means multiple tastings.  Free candy?! Delicious.

Pillow Chat with Laura and Nat

Thoughts on life during our European journey...from the comfort of our bed in Cardiff, Wales.

MapEasy Guidemaps: Making Map Reading Fun!

Not a huge map fan?  Get confused by too many gridlines and a headache from the impossibly-small-to-read text?  Feel bogged down by the attractions guide, restaurant guide, metro guide, and map currently consuming most of the room in your bag?  That was me before I found Mapeasy's Guidemaps, at which point all my frustrations were replaced by a newfound excitement and love for my ubercool new map!

These Guidemaps are a map, tour guide, restaurant recommender, hotel finder, and shopping aid all wrapped into one compact, tare-proof and water-resistant mappy map tasty enough to eat (see above).  Obviously, this product lacks the depth of a hundred page guidebook, but really, who needs all that information?!  These maps include major attractions and some wonderful offbeat finds.  The maps have interesting information about these places, just enough to wet your palate and give you an idea about the significance of each place, as well as what to expect when you visit. They mark the location of all the cool shops, hotels, and eateries, as well as use a key to indicate how expensive said shops, hotels and eateries are.  Plus, they are fun to look at with their childlike aesthetic of colored pencil drawings.  

Granted, my map of Paris wasn't perfect.  Nor was it up to Julien's standards of map quality--a Parisian dude who has a whole book of maps for Paris alone...talk about overkill! But I love Mapeasy maps nonetheless.  And my London map is A-Mazing and saved me from almost getting lost many a time. 

MapEasy has Guidemaps for most major European cities, popular American cities, and other cities around the globe. You'll find them for sale in your local bookstore.   

A Traveler's Song

Title: Another Travelin' Song

Artist: Bright Eyes

Album: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

This song is merely one example of the lyrical genius of Conor Oberst. Oberst marries his stellar prose with a rhythm of constant motion and chaos, evoking a crazy little thought that perhaps he is our modern day Jack Kerouac.

Reflections on England

Natalie and I flew to England in December for the first leg of our holiday adventure. We flew on American Airlines because they had a steal of a deal, but the airline wasn't too impressive. It got us there safely and on time--which ultimately is really all you need from an airline--but the experience was eh, the worst part being that somehow our request for vegetarian meals never got processed, so we were left to pick over beef lasagna...one of the most entertaining parts of the flight no doubt!

When I went to London last March to see ChauChau, I flew Air New Zealand, which was an incomparably superior experience. The flight was only about $50 more and the difference ah! Amazing. The food was scrumptious, infused with New Zealand flavors and spices, the entertainment extensive, and the flight attendant jovial and accommodating. For my first time overseas, Air New Zealand definitely set the bar high! Obvi, if price is the ultimate determinate for you then take what you can get, but absolutely shop around before settling for the cheapest fare, because even a few dollars can make a world of difference in your travel experience. Many of my English frequent flyer friends say that Virgin Atlantic is the best way to cross the pond, so check them out as well.

Upon landing in Heathrow, our friends Alice and Lauren whisked us away to Winchester, where Two Bite goes to University. We only spent a day there, but Winchester is a quaint little town, with a really nice street of shopping, and an intriguing cathedral. It is also home to the round table of King Arthur fame, although it was closed when we went there. Really, what I remember most is that it was just freezing cold! Inside and outside. That, and that Natalie slept on a downhill slope because for some reason the bed we were in was mysteriously lopsided. One of the funniest things I've ever seen!

We next made a quick stop in Bournemouth for our Skylake Reunion New Year's Party which was as much fun as any Skylake gathering is....aka A-Mazing.

After that we were off to Cardiff, Wales, where we stayed with Alice for four days. Cardiff was beautiful! It's right on the coast and the views of the water prove quite pitteresque. Plus the Welsh everywhere from road signs to radio stations was interesting to look at and amusing to listen to. Cardiff is also where I stumbled upon one of my three favorite discoveries in the UK. We were in Sainsbury--a grocery store chain like Fred Meyer stores out here or kinda like Target but with a greater emphasis on food--buying deliciousness for dinner when I saw Vaseline in a tiny circular tin. A tin! Naturally, I just had to have one, and it was the only souvenir from my travels...and the best one possible!

Another note about markets. I loved them, all over the UK! Why, you ask? What makes them better than US stores? Well, they have more expiration dates. The food is fresh, and it seems like fewer things have preservatives. That, and UK stores have Digestives.

We then took a train from Cardiff to Watford, a small town in the suburbs of London. The train ride was amazingly beautiful--many a lovely view of the English countryside--and not all that expensive. We stayed with Jack and his adorable little kitty; during the day we took the tube to London.

I love London! Perhaps it will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first place I visited outside America, but I love meandering around that city. We saw virtually everything, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, St. James Park--where not only did Natalie nearly lose her camera to the pond, but also where we almost got attacked by birds half a dozen times--Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, the Tate, and the list goes on and on. We stopped by the National Portrait Gallery where I was hoping to see my favorite one of their van Gogh paintings, pictured above, (which, as it turns out, is thought to be an unfinished work due to it's clumsy brush strokes and vacant left corner) but it was missing. Tear. My favorite place by far was St. Paul's Cathedral.

Oh my goodness. Exquisite. Humbling. Breathtaking. I took the tour and walked up some 250 or so stairs to the top, and words cannot do it justice. Religion is not a part of my life, but I stood there in this beautiful dome built to worship God and I couldn't help but feel moved. There is also a balcony outside the dome which provides a cool view of the city.

After my tour I met Natalie and Katie at PRET a Manger--quite possibly my favorite thing about London. It's a huge chain cafe--there are sometimes two within one block!--but all their food is made fresh daily, contains only natural and organic ingredients, and is beyond vegetarian friendly. Their apple cake? Divine. And they make one of the best lattes I've ever had. We went to London for two days and I think we went to PRET something like five times....ridiculous.

As for my last favorite discovery in the UK? Sugar cubes. This is not the first time I've seen them or anything, but I never used them on a regular basis until I went to Europe. And lemme tell ya, I'm hooked! They are so cute, and somehow manage to add a little splash of fun to making my morning coffee...much to my Mom's unwavering amusement.

*Photos courtesy of Natalie, photo documenter

extraordinaire!