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January 17, 2019January 14, 2019

Afternoon Tea at Powerscourt Hotel

One of the highlights of staying at certain hotel properties in Ireland or Britain is the Afternoon Tea. This was my special birthday treat to myself when I stayed at Powerscourt Hotel in County Wicklow.

I was looking for a special way to celebrate my birthday at the end of November. I chose to stay at the Powerscourt Hotel. I remembered being impressed umpty years ago when I saw it in the distance. I checked it out on-line and then my son offered to use his points to make a reservation.

Tevis had to return to Boston for work, and his points allowed me to stay two nights and enjoy the hotel amenities and the garden at Powerscourt. His “status” earned an upgrade to a garden suite and I was tempted to not leave my room.

It was raining on and off, sometimes intensely. I had originally thought I might drive to other places in County Wicklow. The weather and the quality of my accommodation made it easy to stay put and focus on Powerscourt Hotel and the garden. I walked the labyrinth and ate dinner at the hotel’s pub.

81c41d34-7e8f-473c-88fa-ea5e73bac5ed — Delicious Afternoon Tea for one! I didn’t have a reservation but they had enough for me.

They have a spa (didn’t try because I had a massage scheduled when I returned home). Breakfast was included with my upgrade and the downstairs restaurant served up a wonderful omelette. I would have stayed longer if I could. It isn’t far from Dublin (businesses in Dublin use it as a place for off-site training) and it could serve as a base for seeing the greater Dublin area and avoid the ridiculous hotel prices in the city.

January 15, 2019January 13, 2019

Powerscourt: What a Garden!

One of the best gardens in Ireland is in County Wicklow less than an hour from downtown Dublin. Powerscourt gardens are beautiful and delightful even in the end of November–the mark of a garden with good bones. The house is a shell of its former glory since a fire ravaged it. The living spaces have been replaced by specialty shops and cafes. The stable at Christmas sells Christmas trees and greens. The garden drew me back and it still satisfies.

This folly gives a great perspective of this corner of the garden. This is the area where Scouts are invited to camp each year.

The entrance fee for an adult is 10 pounds from March through October and 7.50 pounds in winter. There are discounts for seniors, students and children and it is 25 pounds for a family of five. There are headphones with additional information and an introductory film, both available for free. Although the repetition of how proud the owners/descendants are of the property gets tiresome.

The Japanese Garden is well established and maybe needs a good trim.

I first discovered Powerscourt many moons ago when I traveled around Ireland with Cameon, my chum from high school. I had won airfare for two in an Irish-American Club raffle on St. Patrick’s Day. We flew to Dublin and rented a car to travel around the island. We started by driving north so our stop in Powerscourt was towards the end of our week. I remember it fondly and have frequently wanted to return on other visits. Even though it is only 40 minutes from Dublin, I could never include it in my itinerary. I’m so glad I made it back.

January 13, 2019January 10, 2019

Discover Sculptures at Donum Winery

Jaume Plensa’s *Sanna* greets you at the entrance to the winery property.

We discovered the Donum Winery through their sculptures. My friend Cameon found an article in Artnet News that described the sculpture “park” opening soon (published in September). Cameon committed to figuring out how we could go as our adventure to celebrate my birthday at the end of November. We learned access to the sculpture gardens is through a tasting. And Donum has a limited number of tastings each day.

Donum Winery is in the Carneros region on the edge of Napa County and the San Pablo Bay. It was started as a premium winery made from the grapes the winemaker grew on vineyards in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Burned out after a few years, the winemaker was looking for a buyer. An art collector, Allan Warburg, made an offer on the condition that the winemaker stay on and continue her craft.

The Donum label celebrates each new year with Ai Weiwei’s image for that year (think Chinese animal). The wines are yummy. The sculptures are superb.

Most people think of a winery primarily as a place to go for a tour and a tasting. Been there done that, again and again. My friend Cameon and I are now fairly picky about what wineries we’ll go to for a tasting. The price of tastings has increased as well (Donum charges $80 a person but offers special pricing on wines.) Especially since wine aggravates my fibromyalgia so I’m only willing to do it if there is something more.

Warburg built a building just for Louise Bourgeois’ *Crouching Spider*.

Warburg has great taste in wine and art. I will go again when the ground is dry so I can see more of the sculptures. By then I’m pretty sure there will be even more installations!

January 11, 2019January 10, 2019

Los Angeles in less than 24 Hours

Southwest Airlines provided props to celebrate 2019.

Most people visit Los Angeles for longer than 24 hours, unless they are going for business. I have flown down and back many times for a business meeting from Sacramento. Southwest Airlines makes it possible to say yes to attending a meeting in person. Southwest Airlines also makes it possible to say yes to welcoming the New Year with a show at Largo.

Sarah Harriet and I flew to LAX on the 11:55 a.m. flight. We had a relaxed morning and good night’s sleep. The flight was full-ish but all of the Rose Bowl fans would have flown the day before or earlier. We grabbed a Lyft to our hotel. While we took surface streets to The Elan, the traffic was light for Los Angeles.

Sarah Harriet gifted the tickets to see Rob Bell and Elizabeth Gilbert at Largo for Christmas, so I gifted the hotel room. On this visit The Elan was a let down. Small room with light pouring in no matter how you close the curtains. It was a great location though. We were able to walk every where until the following morning when we headed back to LAX.

We walked to eat Plancha Tacos. This taco joint in a strip mall (some of the best food in LA is in a strip mall). We tucked in to a yummy Mexican feast. Then we walked past mostly closed shops (good on these merchants for taking a holiday and giving their employees the day off). We checked out a bakery and decided everything looked too sweet. If they had a fruit pie or a bun with a little bit of icing they’d have had a sale.

The view of Los Angeles from the elevator banks in Beverly Center..

We walked on to the Beverly Center. At first we weren’t sure if it was a parking garage or a shopping mall. We rode escalator after escalator and then found the mall. This was unlike any mall in Sacramento as it had all high end designer shops like those on Rodeo Drive. We window shopped and then returned to the hotel.

Although we didn’t feel that hungry we wanted to eat before the 8 p.m. show because neither of us enjoys eating late at night. We used Trip Advisor and Open Table to decide to try Taste on Melrose.

We had the choice of the courtyard (outside with heaters) or inside. Although it was January it was still more than 10 degrees warmer than home, so we said “Courtyard!” The service was slow but the food was really delicious. Just right was the Melrose vibe.

To get to the show at Largo we had to walk just a few blocks back towards our hotel. Largo is a club that seats 300 people and the posters gave us the impression it is where Sarah Silverman and other comics try out material. We asked for our tickets at Will Call and couldn’t believe our luck! We had front row seats!

We didn’t know what to expect from Rob Bell and Elizabeth Gilbert–two of our favorite authors who are friends–certainly not dancing for more than 5 minutes to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Can’t Stop (I always thought it was called Shindig). We laughed and laughed because they fully committed. I kept thinking “Don’t they realize how long this song goes on?” It helped to set the tone of vulnerability and fun.

No photos allowed during the performance.

You can hear the resulting conversation between Bell and Gilbert on The RobCast podcast. There are two episodes. I won’t spoil any of the good stuff, except to say that it was so much fun. One weird part of our experience was the woman sitting next to Sarah Harriet who must suffer from sleep apnea. First she was all into the show, then she got up and sort of tried to sneak out about 15 minutes in. Then 30 minutes later she comes back with coffee and noisily adds cream and sugar and chugs it down. Ten minutes later she is snoring loudly in spite of Bell and Gilbert talking no more than 10 feet in front of us and lots of audience response. The person next to me was frustrated and said, “Nudge her!” Sarah responded that she had several times. Afterward I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when Sarah said that when she elbowed the woman, the woman elbowed her back without a pause in her snore. It takes all kinds of people in the world. We’d go again in a heartbeat to hear Bell and Gilbert (preferably in Sacramento–we have the Crest Theater!)

After a restless nights sleep, which often happens when you are nervous about getting up in time for a 6:50 a.m. flight out of LAX. Southwest delivered again. This time there were many elated Ohio State and disappointed Washington University fans in the airport. We were home by 9:30 a.m., before we left the house the previous day. Kind of amazing when you think about it.

January 9, 2019January 8, 2019

B’Ham More than Civil Rights Destination

One view of B’Ham from the Vulcan monument.

On our last day in Alabama, we had a full Monday to explore. Alas, many places including the Sloss Furnaces and the Museum of Art are closed on Mondays. We were staying at a Hampton Inn close to Mountain Brook. Birmingham is a relatively new city formed after the Civil War to take advantage of the ore deposits in the tail end of the Appalachian mountains. Mountain Brook is one of the first “planned communities.” If Birmingham (B’Ham) has a specialty, it might be producing real estate marketers.

I was thirsty for a real cup of coffee, so I looked for a coffee shop near me and hit the bonanza! Church Street Coffee and Books offered two of my favorite things (it’s just missing yarn). I found my way there and enjoyed both the coffee and the latest Brene Brown book. Most of the books offered were either ones I’d read or ones I’d like to read. Whoever does their book list is my kindred spirit!

I zipped back to the hotel so Phyllis and I could go to Vulcan Park. We followed a class field trip of 4th graders up the elevator to the spectacular view at the top of the Vulcan statue monument. Then we took in the small museum that tells the story of Birmingham.

We were also close to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and we decided to spend an hour looking at the beautiful gardens. My favorite was the native woods. The gift shop was fun to browse in too.

Birmingham is a place that visitors could enjoy even if you weren’t focused on civil rights places and events. We were ready to go home to California, and we enjoyed our time in Alabama.

January 7, 2019

Birmingham Civil Rights Destination

We planned our trip so we could attend Sunday worship at 16th Street Baptist Church. Pastor Arthur Price Jr.’s sermon was “Breaking Up is Hard to Do.”

While Montgomery and Selma seem stuck in the past, Birmingham is positively forward facing with a robust economy. Birmingham experienced significant civil rights related strife in 1963, including the Children’s Crusade. The downtown is in the beginning of a renaissance and the Civil Rights scars appear to be healing. We started our Sunday at church.

After worship we sought sustenance in the form of brunch. One of the parishioners recommended a restaurant and we walked several blocks only to read the notice that it is permanently closed. The sign suggested we try Mr. Z’s Take Away. We went off in pursuit and ended up deciding to dine at Roots & Revelry, a newish restaurant in a bank redone as apartments and cafes. My chicken and waffles was divine. I’ve added a rule, besides trying pie whenever the opportunity presents, I am going to try fried chicken when in the South and it is on the menu.

My friend made the mistake of wearing fashionable shoes and we’d done a lot of walking already. We were determined to visit the Civil Rights Institute and Kelly Ingram Park was just alongside both the church and Institute. Ingram Park has most of the stops along the Freedom Walk. There are multiple moving statues that tell the story of the Children’s Crusade. Even with the visual aids it was hard to imagine turning fire hoses and dogs on young children (until the recent tear gas at the border on women and children seeking asylum). Some things change and some things stay the same.

When we saw for ourselves the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church location at one corner of the park, we could better understand how it was used by the children as sanctuary and then how it became a target. This is the church that was bombed resulting in the death of four young girls.

Memorial for four girls killed in church bombing.

Sometimes when I am sitting towards the back of our big sanctuary in Sacramento, I think of how safe I think I am–how little I worry about someone with violent intent coming into our midst. This is a luxury of a mostly Scandinavian Lutheran congregation. With the Charleston shooting, and church burnings, and then more recently the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, I begin to understand what a violation it is to attack a “sanctuary”–a place where we go to worship God and fellowship, a place were strangers are made welcome. The events of 1963 are still relevant.

We did arrive in time to visit the Civil Rights Institute. It offers a comprehensive timeline of the Civil Rights movement. I wished this was our first stop instead of the last on our crawl. We spent quite a long time reading the exhibits and left just before the museum closed. The sidewalks were starting to roll up, so we made our way to the hotel.

December 31, 2018December 30, 2018

Travel in Imagination with Capital Stage

This afternoon my mother and I enjoyed the final performance at the Capital Stage in Sacramento, California. The cast members of Mary Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley were each so suited to their characters and the dialogue was lively and fun. We found the performance of Mary and Lord de Bourgh especially charming. A Christmas romance with the Jane Austen’s characters from Pride and Prejudice is a delightful play by Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon.

It is a small theater and there isn’t a bad view. I have not ever been to the Capital Stage together.

We ate lunch at the Drunken Noodle Midtown and then walked to the Capital Stage. We arrived early and enjoyed the outdoor courtyard. The toastie warm bathrooms are worth a special commendation.

Going to see a performance at the theater is a way to travel in space and time, such as England in 1815. This particular venue is in Midtown at 2215 J Street, Sacramento 95816.

December 30, 2018December 26, 2018

Local Dubliners Recommend

While dining on stew at O’Neill’s pub, a couple of local Dubliners made some recommendations. I was thinking aloud with my son about what I was going to do in the afternoon considering I have seen most of the popular destinations at least a couple of times. I took up both of their suggestions.

First I walked to St. Stephen’s Green to see the temporary exhibit of the World War I soldier. “The Hauntings Soldier” is the creation of Martin Galbavy with the assistance of Chris Hannam. The sculpture is made from scrap metal items like horseshoes and spanners. It is really quite moving and I was especially impressed to see how many people were on site to take it in.

Then I walked to the other side of Dublin–to Parnell Square–to see the Francis Bacon studio (recreated) at the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. The studio walls could use a fresh coat of paint. I walked all the way through the galleries (tiptoeing past a concert in the middle gallery). The exhibit with the Francis Bacon studio begins with a David Frost interview with the artist on a loop. Chaos fed his creativity. Then you walk up to a window into the recreation of his London studio and see why he is so very creative.

It looks like a tip, yet he created beautiful modern paintings.

“The Hauntings Soldier” may not be there when you go to Dublin, but the Francis Bacon studio will be. Go!

December 28, 2018December 26, 2018

Bookshop Crawl in Dublin

The Winding Stair, named for a book of poems by WB Yeats

I was staying close to the O’Connell Bridge in City Centre, so when I asked Google Maps to show me “bookstores near me” a lot of red markers popped up. Big smile. I decided to head across the River Liffey to the nearest red dot.

The Winding Stair is lovely inside. The coziness invites browsing and buying. I have no business buying more books, so I bought gifts for others.

I received a text from Tevis and met for lunch at O’Neill’s pub on the other side of the river–crossing the Ha’Penny Bridge. We were chatting over lamb stew about our plans. A couple of local Dubliners sitting next to us heard me say that I’ve seen everything at least twice. They suggested I check out a special statue in St. Stephen’s Green and Francis Bacon’s studio (see next post). I decided to continue my bookstore crawl and see the tribute to WWI soldiers in St. Stephen’s Green.

I walked past a few unmemorable shops, plus a rare bookstore (danger, Will Robinson), I ended my crawl at Hodges Figgis at 56-58 Dawson Street. It is in the Waterstones corporate family and yet it offers so much choice I had to go in. To avoid purchasing I took pictures of books that appealed to me.

I did buy books for others and I mailed them home from the post office in Bray. Some of those books took a month! to get to California.

Across from Hodges Figgis is a Tower Records! It started in Sacramento. I didn’t know any were still open. Amazing.

Bookstores sing a siren song to me. I cannot resist going in. I’m already thinking about how close my hotel in London is to Foyle’s bookstore for my stay in March. I just had some new bookshelves built in my dining room and I was finally able to unpack my boxes of books after more than a year. I found a book on polo with a forward by Prince Charles that I bought with money I could not afford when studying at Cambridge University one college summer.

I will embrace my weakness and make it my strength! And pack accordingly.

December 26, 2018

All About Cake Baking

This December I have been baking my way through Christina Tosi’s All About Cake cookbook. I first discovered Christina Tosi’s cake magic on Netflix in the dessert season (Vol. 4) of The Chef’s Table. Then when I was in Washington, DC my buddy Carole went with me to try her new Milk Bar (see earlier post). Carole gifted me the cookbook for my birthday. I sat down immediately upon opening the package and saw about a dozen recipes I wanted to try. Starting with the pistachio bundt cake above. Yes it really is Shrek green. It’s also uses about $20 worth of pistachios!

Next was the apple cider donut crock pot pudding. It required a slight substitution of delicious cinnamon sugar donuts from Marie’s Do-Nuts (Sacramento, CA). They have to be “day-old” so buy extra as you there will be some attrition. I shared the finished donut pudding around and everyone found it comforting and delicious. My neighbors and friends are definitely the early beneficiaries of this baking program. I couldn’t possibly eat all of this cake myself.

Any family gathering also provided an opportunity to try another recipe. This is the cherry cola bundt cake that I took to the Pieper Christmas at Auntie J’s. My version came out darker because the cola extract I ordered on Amazon gave everything a dark cola tint. The molasses and half dozen eggs made it rich and dark and yummy.

Jesus’ birthday cake is a Christmas Eve tradition. This one is a Lemon Poppyseed Bundt.

I nearly wore myself out with the 3 cake sprint over Christmas. I baked 2 cakes on the day before Christmas Eve. Then I made one more cake on Christmas morning to take to a family dinner. Having no elves to clean up or even a dishwasher, I found myself really tired of bundt pan scrubbing.

6ca82cb2-584c-46c0-abb3-86361876fa86 — Pallet cleanser: my adorable grandson modeling his latest Gramma knit sweater.

I also had to run to the grocery store twice–once to buy more butter, and once to buy more eggs. These recipes require a lot of both. Other than a few more exotic ingredients such as lemon extract. I now know how relatively simple it is to make an interesting and delicious cake, and I don’t know why I’d ever use a cake mix again.

My aunt gave me this sort of loaf shaped bundt cake pan that she doesn’t use. It was perfect for the Mint Julep bundt cake. I forgot to dress with mint leaves (still in my crisper drawer). My mom really enjoyed this cake for Jesus’ birthday.

My final cake was the raspberry bundt with grapefruit glaze. I also made homemade whip cream. This cake was a big hit also. The grapefruit glaze offers a little zing. Always the texture of the cakes is dense and delicious.

I’m taking a break now (until 2019) and having fruit for dessert for awhile! There are more recipes I want to try. In the winter when the weather makes it challenging to get outdoors as much for adventure or travel, it can be fun to watch a baking challenge from Britain on television and then try our own hand at a new recipe.