Dear Diary | oliviatamccue

2023 Travel : Part 4 | Turkey, Asia and Europe

by ccue

The Itinerary

Day 1, June 14, SFO to IST, Istanbul

Day 2, June 15, IST to ASR, check in Aydinli cave hotel, Goreme

Day 3, June 16, Cappadocia, guided Green Tour

Day 4, June 17, Cappadocia, Butterfly balloon ride, Avanos, Goreme

Day 5, June 18, Cappadocia, Camel Ride @red valley, Goreme open air museum

Day 6, June 19, Cappadocia, Goreme, ASR -> IST, IST -> DNZ, Denizli, check in Cotton House, Pamukkale

Day 7, June 20, Pamukkale, Hierapolis ruins, the antique pool, the Pamukkale travertine and thermal pools.

Day 8, June 21, Pamukkale, Aphrodisias ruins

Day 9, June 22, Pamukkale, Turkish bath and spa @Tripolis Hotel, DNZ -> IST

Day 10, June 23, IST -> SFO

Istanbul and the airports

Turkey is a large country. In my opinion, it is much underrated in what it offers to travelers. Located mostly in Asia and slightly in Europe, its rich history including the Byzantines era and the Ottoman Era, has been underappreciated . I spent a week in Istanbul a few years ago and like the city a lot. I could take the ferry round, crossing Asia and Europe, all day long, to watch people and to be impressed by the beautiful landscape of the religious mosques, the historic Hagia Sophia, the palaces and more. This time, I reluctantly skipped the city of Istanbul to make time for two Turkish areas, Cappadocia and Pamukkale.

Istanbul is an important travel hub to get to those cities. The Award winning Istanbul IST airport, opened after my last visit, is spacious, beautiful and functional as it leapfrogged Frankfurt last year in terms of traffic. My first impression of it was far from award winning. It was quite a walk to get to the passport control. I missed the domestic transfer passport control, and was turned back after waiting for a while at the arrival area. Fortunately, I had hours to spare before my domestic transfer to Kayseri of Cappadocia. Sim card is essential in travel. I did not set up my Airalo sim card properly and had to use the airport Wi Fi where I needed to first locate the yellow Wi Fi balloon and then scan the passport to get an hour of free usage. I also expected high for an international airport, only to find the food court at the domestic terminal has three American chain stores (Burger King, PopEyes, and some New York Pizza). That initial setback was quickly replaced by many discoveries. The spacious greenery surrounding the airport is impressive but not easily noticeable for the busy travelers. The multiple climb structures are great additions for families traveling with young children. The playground area with arcade games are also thoughtful designs. My biggest discovery has been the library with “real” people and real books. This may be the first airport that I find a functional and comfortable library.

The Turkish government has been efficient in their infrastructure projects and in fixing infrastructures. IST certainly is a strong evidence of the investment.

If Istanbul IST is state of the art with all the infrastructure investments, the domestic airports Kayseri and Denizli domestic airports have been quite different discoveries. Kayseri, Cappadocia airport, is tiny. From the plane to the baggage claim area, it felt like a short 50m walk. From the domestic terminal to the international terminal, it is a minute’s walk. Even the old Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong required significantly more walking. The airport serves one flight at a time, and just outside of the airport, there are taxi drivers, a few locals and some others holding signs to pick up passengers. The departing passengers are waiting across the road. These tiny airports made an interesting impression with their practicality and simplicity.

Our adventures began in Cappadocia (Kapadokya in Turkish) . . .

Coming up next : 4-day Cappadocia, Turkey

Dear Diary Misc. Travel

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2023 Travel : Part 3 | Vancouver & Reno

by ccue

There is hardly anything that connects Vancouver, BC and Reno, Nevada. We visited both places within a short span of 5 days to make a family reunion in Vancouver and to catch a concert of Sam Hui, the Cantopop legend, in Reno.

Vancouver is a beautiful and quiet city with good food and friendly people. It is a very livable city without the hustle and bustle of a city. My brother immigrated to Vancouver a while ago. My last time there was back in 2018. With only a 2-hour flight, we would have visited more often if not for the pandemic. Pandemic made it hard for us travelers, it also made it hard for people receiving us. Are people comfortable with the gatherings? Should we visit their homes? Should we suggest a gathering? Should we tell them if, after the trip, we get COVID? What is the mask protocol?

With the weakened COVID virus, we are more comfortable to plan family reunions. If someone told our late parents that their children would be spreaded around the world in Hong Kong, Vancouver and the Bay Area, they would have been speechless. The world has evolved so drastically that such a setting has become quite common for HongKongers. In this family reunion, five traveled from Hong Kong, two of us traveled from the Bay Area to visit my brother’s family in Vancouver. We picked an airbnb in Burnaby that offered 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms with a lot of living space, a spacious backyard and a deep front yard. The neighborhood is nice and quiet, there are some views of mountains with snow caps, and a number of restaurants are within walking distance. Some evenings, we gathered at the airbnb to relax, catch up, watch TV, order take-out, and make a lot of noise. Another day, we casually ate at a nearby Korean restaurant before we hiked around the beautiful rice lake. Another evening, we dined at an expensive restaurant serving whole suckling pig, and various yummy dishes. One morning, we slowly jogged to Metro mall, Crystal mall and more. I can imagine the happy thoughts that many have in their family reunion after the last three pandemic years of isolation.

There is no direct flight from Vancouver to Reno. We had to fly home first and took a short flight the next day from San Jose to Reno. It was a short flight, just a bit longer than the time to take off and the time to land. Near the Reno event center, it felt like the gathering of HongKongers around Reno. We ran into some friends going there to watch the concert and there was a lively and a bit of a nostalgic vibe. Sam is in his 70s, and we treasure every opportunity to watch his concert. A 3-star Michelin restaurant is sometimes defined as a restaurant that you would specifically travel to enjoy the dining experience. Sam Hui is the evergreen 3-star Michelle restaurant/concert. We thoroughly enjoyed the Sam Hui Concert in Reno. The Sam Hui 2023 Reno concert recap posted on YouTube has unexpectedly earned us 30K views and counting. At least we know there are still a good number of die-hard fans for our Cantopop legend.

What better place to enjoy a buffet than in casino city. The good buffet at the Atlantis Casino Hotel answered the call before we flew back home.

For my siblings traveling from Hong Kong, Vancouver made the first stop of a one-month US and Mexico trip. We will see each other again in a month’s time as they reach San Francisco.

Dear Diary Hong Kong Misc. Travel

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2023 Travel : Part 2 | Hong Kong, Macau, Foshan/Shunde (香港、澳門、佛山/順德)

by ccue

I have not been back to Hong Kong since December 2018. It marked my longest absence. Finally, there were no longer the many days of quarantine requirements and the city has opened up. Our travel decision was made instantaneously when Sam Hui, the Cantopop legend, announced to open a series of Concert in April.

Airfare was hard to get and there was no longer any shoulder season pricing. Hotels were not cheap either. The HK ID appointment slot needed a smart strategy to get. These were surmountable obstacles. After almost five years of absence from our beloved city of Hong Kong, we made our trip back.

The family is one of nature’s masterpieces!
True to the tradition of family gathering, we gathered around food and had a few beautiful dim sum lunches. The most beautiful dim sum dish has to be Victorian Era (香江花月) which blends the oriental and western culture in Hong Kong into the dim sum served with elegant aromas, gold flakes and creative flora additions.

If you visit Hong Kong, it is worth planning a few extra days to visit the “remote” islands, some unique villages and hike some famous and beautiful trails, such as Maclehose Trail, Wilson Trail, Hong Kong Trail.

We visited Lai Chi Woo with my bro and sis, did some hiking to the nostalgic “walled village”, and enjoyed a special Hakka meal at Green Villa at Sam A Tsuen. It takes an hour one way for a ferry ride from Chinese University station to Lai Chi Woo. There is only one ferry each day in each direction. If you miss the ferry ride, there are not many options other than a couple of hours of strenuous hiking. Hong Kong has so many places, like Lai Chi Woo, with a variety of hiking trail, unique landscapes.

Macau, once a Portuguese colony, is another special administrative region of China. It is connected to Hong Kong with the recently opened “Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge” as well as a different ferry. It has been years since the last visit, when the children were young. We took the Golden Bus and that bridge is a true feat of engineering with tunnels and artificial islands mid-way. Sadly, it is hard to imagine this project scale can be done in the United States just because it has taken us so long to construct a small length of a subway route. Macau is right next to Hong Kong on the map. The Easter holiday and the change of China Covid policy, seemingly have overloaded the small Macau. It took us over three hours – a bus ride to the Golden Bus, a long queue to get on to the Golden Bus, the Golden Bus ride on the impressive bridge, then the hotel shuttle to the Venetian Hotel. We still arrived well before the check-in time, and were able to check in.

The three days of Macau were a trip of continuous snacks and cuisines (吃吃喝喝,飲飲食食). The famous food street, Rua do Cunha, is within a comfortable stroll from Venetian Hotel. The street was just packed with people with long lines outside of many take-out food stalls. We split ourselves into different snack groups to line up for the Portuguese pork chop bun (Tai Lei), the world-famous Pastel de nata (Lord Stow Bakery), the omnipresent strong-favored cow internal organs. We passed through the food street many times over the few days, but the crowdedness is not the best companion for delicious cuisine. We also tried the shark fin soup at Fok Lung Street which has unique and historic shops. There are different desserts such as “steamed milk custard”, “steamed egg custard” and ice cream. As a pattern, many renowned restaurants turn out to be not as good, but there are other neat surprises. The winner of the desserts went to LemonCello Gelato, a Michelin recommended shop. The winner of the best coffee went to this food market coffee booth located on a multi-story grocery and food market off the Senado Square. The owner used Chinese ceramic pots to prepare coffee, not Chinese herbal medicine. Surprisingly, the process brings out the aroma and flavor and gets rid of the coffee bean bitterness. The most memorable and delicious congee has to go to the Lok Kei Noodles and Congees. If you were in Macau, their large pot of crab congees and the no-wheat beer is a must-try.

No matter how many times we have been there, the Ruins of St. Paul’s, the Senado Square and the magnificent hotels (MGM, Wynn and its fountain shows, Venetian, Paris, Londoner, and the Lisboeta) are worthy of visiting both during the day and in the evening. The Monorail is convenient to hop on when you are tired of all the walking. Surprisingly, the busy schedule left us with very little time for these world renowned casinos in this small city of Macau.

From Far and Wide, Friends Collide!
The connections with people always matter, as we age, it matters more. It is also a source of enrichment as each is on a different journey. Technology has enabled us to stay connected with our friends across the world, but it is not in the same league as face-to-face gatherings.

I enjoyed the nice morning walk along the coastline corridor to Admirable for a Dim Sum lunch. The light shower created a nice memory of walking in the rain. There has been such an effort going on to beautify the city and to “invent” more recreational areas. These progresses have been largely unmentioned and in a way, left me with delightful discoveries.
I had these fun chats during the dim sum lunch with ex-workers at the I-Square, hardly noticing the ever shrinking harbor.
I cherished the dinners with best friend(s) enjoying food together in this “capital city of good food”, such as Rabbit Fish Congees (泥鯭粥), Peking duck (北京烤鸭).
I have been thankful to have a friend to take us to my parents’ hometown Shunde (顺德). It has been eye opening to experience the convenience of the customs checkpoints, the impressive hi-speed train systems in China, the didi ride (Chinese and probably better version of Uber), the subways as well as the great food in Shunde. If someone told me about these progresses in China some decades ago, I would not have believed. Compared to the experiences of traveling to China just after my college years, it felt like it was a lifetime ago. There are still many many things that can be improved. I wish for more of one mind to make things better to improve the livelihood of billions of people.

Sam Hui Concerts (許冠傑 – 此時此處演唱會)!
We had the time of our lives watching Sam Hui on the stage of the Hong Kong Coliseum. The concert stage was designed to model his home, and the concert felt like an invitation to his home to join a singing party of ten thousand folks. It was heartwarming, full of positive and happy spirit to share with Hong Kongers. We knew all the songs, their lyrics and sang along.

We also bought the 414 Global Livestream of Sam Hui Concert on the last day of this concert series. We ordered a Suckling Pig from the Tai Hing restaurants at a price of HKD 880, and brought it to my brother’s home to have a family party, while enjoying the show. The suckling pig was a hit. It was a happy gathering. Heaven cannot be much better.

Check out our YouTube channels to relive the wondrous moments of the Sam Hui Concerts in Hong Kong and also his concerts in California.

The two weeks have been jam packed with memorable trips and gatherings. Of course, we could and should have stayed for much longer.

Dear Diary Hong Kong Misc. Travel

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2023 Travel : Part 1 | Hawaii Big Island

by ccue

I am so grateful for the amazing trips to meet families and friends this year – Hawaii in January, Hong Kong, Macau and Canton in April, Vancouver & Reno in May and Turkey coming up soon in June.

I lack the literary skills and patience to vividly summarize the emotions and experiences. I need the time to rest and reflect. I need the time to settle down the emotional excitement in many gatherings. The world is moving towards a multi-modal recall of our experience. We take pictures to immortalize the point in time experience, we use video to capture the 3D events, conversations, and these days, a written report seems to be a thing in the past. Our memory changes all the time too. As much as I want to catch those in-the-moment happiness for longer, I don’t have enough long-term memory nor a way to freeze time. The world is a fair place in the sense that if we do many things, we tend to remember less of each thing. If we do little things, we remember most of the things. My mother remembered every single trip vividly. In contrast, I often have a hard time remembering the specifics and need help from the multi-model technology. With all the technology, it is so easy to be occupied in every single moment. At the same time, I miss those empty spaces that allow us to enjoy and stay in one moment. Living in slow motion is indeed an art that I have not grasped.

January 2023 Big Island

Once the children start having their own career, it needs careful scheduling for family trips. We earn the luxury to skip the busy school breaks. This January, mom and dad, and my younger son flew from SFO with my daughter flying from NYC for a week in Hawaii Big Island. This was our Hawaii encore after our last trip to Honolulu.

We always enjoyed the laid-back sentiment and an itinerary without must-see attractions nor must-do.

We split our Big Island itinerary between the Hawaii Volcano area and the Kona/Waikoloa area.

The Kilauea lodge, with a short distance from Hawaii Volcano area, was welcoming, and well maintained. Its location was perfect for us to visit the Volcano National Park at any time of the day or night. It has relatively small rooms for the four of us, but its external setting made up for all the interior constraints. Every morning, we could get out of our room to an immediate garden in the backyard, to appreciate the flora and bird chirping; or enjoy our breakfast in a spacious community area all by ourselves. In the evening, we could relax in the outdoor spa. The lodge has a dining room with subtle decor and can be easily disguised as modest. The lodge dinner room served one of the most delicious dinners on this trip, if not the most on my son’s birthday. The lodge takes dinner reservations and we highly recommend it to fellow tourists.

We spent more time in the Kona area with better weather and more beaches. Our airbnb in the Waikoloa area provided a kitchen, two bedrooms and a balcony that overlooked a quiet golf course and a petroglyph area. Every morning, we started slowly with breakfast on the balcony for everyone to ease into the day. Sometimes a colorful gecko can be seen, on the balcony, as an uninvited guest.

At the time of our visit, the Kilauea Volcano was erupting. The Volcano National Park was a short drive from the Kilauea Lodge followed by a perfect after-dinner walk to get to a vista point. The scene of a live lava eruption was otherworldly and powerful even viewing from more than a mile away.

The National Park was a different scene during the day as we drove by the Lava Rocks the next day. Walking on them feels like walking on glass particles, rightfully so. We enjoyed the Mars-like scenery as we explored the rugged crater floor and hiked on the Kilauea Iki Trail, Halema’uma’u Crater Trail and Crater Rim Trail. These sceneries are unique in Hawaii Big Island.

The Kona and Waikoloa area in the West has better weather and more calming beaches waiting. The airbnb host provided us with all kinds of beach gear and towels that pretty much filled up the truck of our rental car. They equipped us super well in our beach hoppings on Mauna Kea, Beach 69 and other nearby beaches.

We enjoyed Hawaiian cuisine (Poke bowl, ice shave, the Moa Kitchen, the Hilo Kona coffee and BBQ meat) and many more. There are beaches with different sand colors that make them unique. The black sand beach with green sea tortoise abounds. The hike to a green sand beach along the coastline was special.

Taking a hike with my family along the coastline was a truly memorable experience. We were intrigued with the concept of a green sand beach, Papakōlea Green Sand Beach. From the parking lot, it was an over-an-hour hike on a rugged path. Some got to the beach by taking a 20-minute jeep ride and experiencing the many bumps along the way. We were filled with excitement as we arrived at the Papakōlea Green Sand Beach. The beach was a bit sparse, definitely not crowded like other more accessible beaches. The water was too wavy for a safe swim. We had a great time walking along the beach, relaxing on the beach, dipping into the ocean water, and admiring the unusual color of the sand.

The camera could not capture the greenness in the way we want. We still tried.

We have not done snorkeling as a family since our trip in Maldives more than a decade ago. The children are young adults. Once in the water, we were in all different directions, searching for the most beautiful fishes or sea creatures.

Swimming, mini-shortboarding and sunbathing on beaches were so much fun to do as a family.

I could not ask for a better week of family fun and look forward to our next trip to maybe Kauai.

Coming soon : Hong Kong, Macau, Foshan April blog

Dear Diary Misc. Travel

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Laver Cup – Farewell Federer

by ccue

We had planned to watch Federer in the Laver Cup at London’s O2 Arena, to watch Roger Federer. A month before the event, all of the big 4 (Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray) confirmed their attendance. Something seemed to be in the air with this rare union. A week before our trip, Federer broke the sad news of his imminent retirement, and that the Laver Cup would be his last ATP tournament.

After Spain, London could not be more different. London has just come out of the mourning period of Queen Elizabeth and the locals seem to have come out of Covid-19, as if nothing has happened. The country is plagued with Brexit challenges, a double digit inflation, the beyond-dramatic political turmoil, the record high energy prices, the passing of the Queen, the pandemic. Were Londoners numb? Were Londoners indifferent? Were Londoners strong and resilient? Walking on the street, we could not feel the unrest that would have been totally normal in such a state of affairs.

London is arguably the city I stop over the most times over the years. Born and raised in Hong Kong, there are similarities between Hong Kong and London in shopping malls design, in bus terminals design, the HSBC bank and many other things. There is little language barrier. The location is convenient for people traveling into Europe. And there are long-time friends in London. There are a lot of things one can do in the city. Britain makes the top choice for HongKongers to send kids to college or move to. In spite of all these, London comes to me as a transition, as a hub towards a destination but not a place for personal connections. There are cities that I look forward to returning to. London is not one of them.

Our plane landed in London. We expected Heathrow airport, instead, the airport building showed “Luton”. It was one of the rarity that we ended up in the wrong airport and fortunately the right city. The Stratford hotel is situated in the middle of the two airports. Google Maps once again saved us from the blunder.

We like having a big English breakfast at a local cafe. That was what we got in the morning.

We had tickets for the Day 1 Noon session of the Laver Cup. Federer was not playing in that session. He showed up and cheered for his team from the benches. After the Day session, we followed where the lines were, and queued up for the practice sessions of Federer and Nadal. By the time we got to the top of the queue, Federer was done with his practice, we were only able to catch the practice of the harder working Nadal. In the evening chill, we watched the livestream of the night session at this fan zone outside of the Arena together with a couple of hundred die-hard fans. Federer and Nadal (Fedal) were a point away from the victory. It was not meant to be and for this match, winning was not the point either. The match was followed by an emotional interview and memorable farewell to Federer. The emotion was hard to describe – a mix of sadness, dread, nostalgia, camaraderie, happiness, gratitude, best wishes, letting go and moving on. By the time we were back to the hotel, it was beyond 1am and it was not easy to have a sound sleep with all these emotions running high. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience to witness the end of the era. Records are meant to be created and broken. I would forever miss Federer’s greatness in how he plays, how he connects with so many at the very human level for so many years.

2022 saw the retirement of the greatest in tennis : Serena Williams and Roger Federer. I need to retire from watching tennis for a little bit to recover. And we concluded our 2022 travel to recover.

Dear Diary Tennis Travel

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Spain Impressions – Mallorca (3 of 3)

by ccue

Mallorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean. Mallorca is the home town of Rafa Nadal – the tennis nemesis then good friend of my beloved Roger Federer. It is a popular attraction for Europeans. Its size is more than double that of the Hawaii Oahu Island. Its sheer size caused us to change our accommodation plan from the Rafa Nadal Academy, situated in the middle of the island, to the more convenient Melia Palma Bay. We did not regret that decision, with the hotel offering comfortable rooms, a calming view of the Bay, and convenient bus stops at a good price.

Palma, the main town in Mallorca, is quite “complex” in traffic, with busy bus terminals. It is not the easiest place to drive a rental. We canceled our rental at the last minute and did not regret it. The public bus network is decent. The bus has clean, comfortable seating, and delightfully offers usb-b outlets for battery charging. Passengers were required to wear masks to get on the bus and we saw some tourists being turned away due to lack of masks. Riding on the public bus was a good way to tour the island. We did not have a tight must-have itinerary in Mallorca; and could spare double the amount of time to visit the central and the south of the island.

We went north to visit two villages, Valldemossa and Soller, using the public bus network. Valldemossa is a beautiful quaint village where a tourist can walk, from one end to the other, in probably less than half an hour. The narrow streets are lined with eateries, affordable and attractive souvenir stores, beautiful residential cottages and interesting scenic areas, including the monastery where Chopin has stayed in and the Chopin museum. It was in Mallorca that Chopin composed the world famous Rainbow Prelude. All these turned the short distance into an enjoyable leisurely stroll with plenty of mini-stops and a delicious lunch. The extra time in Valldemossa cut short the time in Soller which is another beautiful quaint village in Mallorca. We were still able to relax at the beach at the Port De Soller, and enjoyed our dinner at the downtown plaza.

What better thing to do on an island than visiting beaches. That was exactly what we did. We took the public bus network to go across the island. After a couple of interim stops and a couple of hours, we arrived at the beautiful Cala Agulla, on the east coast of Mallorca. The water was turquoise, the sand was soft, the setting was beautiful. It was very full of people. Just after we had lunch and got settled in the beach lounge rental, the tide turned. It became more wavy and more windy. We were still able to enjoy some dips in the mediterranean. We wished we had arrived earlier.

The Market Oliva displays a mind boggling variety of fish, seafood, fruits and of course Jamon (Ham) all on display for anyone’s taking. It would be the go-to place for grocery should I stay in Mallorca for more days. To short-cut the market experience, we treated ourselves at the eatery in the market, and enjoyed a good variety of Sepia and Clams seafood tapas.

After Madrid and Barcelona, we developed a high expectation on food. Mallorca did not disappoint.

Next up : the Laver Cup in London.

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Spanish Impressions – Barcelona (2 of 3)

by ccue

The train from Madrid to Barcelona is convenient and affordable which makes up for the lack of scenery.

Barcelona is a vibrant city with a young population, and full of things to do. Main streets branch into different alleys often, and the narrow streets are often lined up with shops and eateries. Barcelona is a big international city with tourists as well as plenty of locals wherever we go. Tourist books mention pickpockets so much that we become more guarded of the surroundings and often put our backpack on the front in busy street traffic.

La Rambla is the most famous street in Barcelona and it spans over multiple metro stations. It is a good place to take the pulse of the city, get some snacks and shop for souvenirs.

The hotel reception desk suggested we visit the fountain and its night show located near a metro stop. We arrived with more than half an hour to wait, and there were already hundreds, if not thousands of people, around the fountains. The evening climate was comfortable. The show started with the musical chant of “Barcelona”, as tons of water started to fill up the central pool and its surrounding moat. The pillars of water came alive in different heights, different colors and different patterns. There was energy and happiness in the air as the crowds, tourists and locals alike, gathered around with some dancing, some singing, some relaxing and some simply hanging out. The show lasted over an hour and was totally worth waiting for. This ranked among the best musical fountain shows.

La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) is the attraction of the attractions in Barcelona. I would claim it in the top ten attractions in Europe. After decades of construction, the basilica is open for mass service but remains the largest unfinished catholic church after decades of construction. No photos can fairly capture the originality and power of its architecture. It is surreal standing in front of La Sagrada Familia and I would remember that sense of dizziness in my first sight of the architecture. Gaudi is a genius and has been underrated in the English speaking world population. He designed the basilica design inside out, where the bible stories can be appreciated through the sculptures on the outside, while the outside nature is fully on display in the interior. I can be at the site for hours and hours to experience the holiness and discover the magic.

It was a blessing in disguise when we were infected with COVID-19 just weeks before the trip. After the recovery, we felt invincible and decided to watch FC Barcelona playing live at Camp Nou. On match days, the whole city of Barcelona came united with people of all ages wearing team jerseys, turning strangers into fellow soccer fans. Messi has left FC Barcelona recently and we missed his star power. (FC Barcelona discovered Messi in his teens, and Messi played for FC Barcelona for 20 years until his emotional departure in 2021. In December 2022, he led the Argentina team winning his maiden world cup, and we were so happy for him). Camp Nou has a capacity close to 10,000 and is the largest stadium in Europe. We got good tickets that give a good view of the soccer field and the players. The stadium surprisingly gave a cozy feeling, unlike some other smaller stadiums we have been to watch tennis, or shows. The team played well against team Elche. What impressed us the most was not from the soccer players, but from the spectators who were so full of unity and team spirit. They sang songs, they booed the opponents, they made gestures and they celebrated the goals. FC Barcelona got an easy win over Elche. Sports are among the best things to unify people. We hope that more cities would consider adopting the “sport” strategy to cultivate a sense of camaraderie.

Established in the 11th century, Montserrat Monastery, located in the volcanic landscape of Montserrat, made a decent day excursion from Barcelona. Arriving on a Sunday, the plaza area was surprisingly touristy and there seemed some hiking events going on. It created a contrast to the monastery being the most important Catalonia religious retreat and still have over 70 monks in residence. The basilica has the more traditional architecture filled with luxurious golden decorations, depicting solemnness. We attended the Sunday mass partly to listen to the angelic voice of the famous Montserrat choir. After the mass, we went for short hikes around the rugged landscape.

Next up Mallorca. How does the island compare to the Barcelona beach?

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Spain Impressions – Madrid (1 of 3)

by ccue

A trip is a project. It starts with an idea. The first commitment comes with the booking of plane tickets, followed by additional commitment to get the accommodation. Then comes the itinerary, traveling, enjoying the moments, and effort to turn the moments into immortal memories. That process of turning the moments into immortal memories always has flaws as my brain operates in the exact opposite of a photogenic memory. Photos and videos supplement the imperfect memory retention only that I hardly go and check them out. Days after the trip, the memory is vivid; A bit further, the itinerary still brings back some detail. Weeks after, we need some help from the photos. Further down, we need the video to relive the experience. Few years down the road, the photos and videos would be more like new memories of something that we cannot recall. What is left becomes more like the impressions of the place, the food, the culture and the experience.

The trip to Spain started with the idea to watch the Laver Cup in London last September. After having been to London a few times, we decided to enrich the trip with an ABBA show in London and a trip to Spain – Madrid, Barcelona and Mallorca. I would relish the moments of visiting La Sagrada Familia, watching FC Barcelona in Camp Nou Stadium and witnessing the emotional farewell of Roger Federer in the Laver Cup plus some much more.

Itinerary

5 days in Madrid, stayed @The Westin Palace, Madrid
5 days in Barcelona, stayed @Catalonia Magdalenes
3 days in Mallorca, stayed @Melia Palma Bay
3 days in London, stayed @The Stratford London

Madrid is a beautiful city. We stayed at the Westin Palace, an authentic landmark in the Heart of Madrid. Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real de Madrid, Templo de Debod,Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Museo Nacional del Prado are all within walking distance. Despite the construction around the Plaza Mayor, most businesses were in operation and there were no shortage of attractions. It is a walkable city and the streets are lined up with pleasing architecture, appealing restaurants, small eateries of Museo del Jamon, and souvenir shops.

I am thrilled to discover the many similarities in the vocabulary of Spanish and English. A few Spanish phrases, here and there, are sufficient to roughly understand the Spanish menu in the eateries, and many street signs. It is like the similarity between Japanese Kanji and Chinese characters.

In Madrid, we tasted as many Tapas as possible. Tapa is the Spanish dim sum. We often stopped in the middle of the road taking pictures of the different Tapa menus. Spanish cuisine is underrated both in the quality and variety of the food. Maybe Spain does not market itself as much as its neighbor, France. We love to discover the outdoor street cafes on the way to tourist attractions. These outdoor cafes have great prices. In one meal, the two of us enjoyed burrata salad, grilled pepper, Jamon de Bellota, the tasty tender baby lamb chop, and drank Sangria. In another meal, we tried Churro con Chocolate. In another snack stop, we tried espanada. Jamon de Bellota is the best ham in my book.

The most memorable meal in Madrid has to be the Suckling pig (Cochinillo) at Botin. This record-setting restaurant has been serving up classic dishes since 1725, and not much has changed in the centuries since. The simple decor and classy service transported us back in time. The decor reminds me of the restaurant in Hong Kong 太平館餐廳. Botin has done a good job in its upkeep. How is the Cochinillo compared to the Hong Kong style suckling pig (乳豬)? In terms of presentation, each has its own characteristics. It is a tie. In terms of the smell, Hong Kong style suckling pig can be served hours after the roast. The Cochinillo dish, we had, was served right off the oven and the smell made the mouth water. The Cochinillo has an edge. In terms of palate pleasure, Hong Kong style suckling pig serves the most tender part of a baby pig. Botin serves pigs from Segovia and uses more portions of the pig in Cochinillo. Hong Kong has the edge in terms of pork tenderness. Botin has almost three hundred years of history and counting. That alone is hard to beat. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and would highly recommend making a reservation when you visit Madrid.

The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía organized with crisp clarity the art history of the last few hundred years. Picasso impressions can be found everywhere. His genius was thoroughly demonstrated in this powerful, iconic and yet tragic Guernica – a large black and white oil painting in 1937 following the German bombing of the city in Spain. Standing next to Guernica, I wish for the eradication of wars regardless of the rationale.

The Museo Del Prado is an art museum in Madrid, with great collections. If I have to choose to just go to one museum. The one with Guernica is my obvious choice.

We could not leave Madrid without a dinner-included Flamenco show. While overpriced with the dinner price tag, we enjoyed the showmanship, the musical instrument, the song and the dance.

Next up Barcelona.

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Jackson Hole, Grand Teton & Yellowstone

by ccue

A friend offered a week of Four Seasons resort in Jackson Hole, a place inside the Grand Teton National Park. Together with the Yellowstone National form, it forms the greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It has been over two decades since we last went to the Yellowstone and Grand Teton areas.

National parks are places to be as Covid is still active. As we spent our week in the parks, it was apparent that there has not been much international travel going on. We hardly noticed any tour bus along the way, we hardly noticed any tourists from Asia.

In Wyoming, we were often among the very few who put on the masks. The caution has not helped, and a few days upon our return, Covid-19 finally has fallen on us.

Day 1 – Arriving in Jackson Hole

Jackson hole is a short flight from San Francisco. As the plane landed at the small airport, we were treated with the 5000 ft view of the lakes and the mountain ranges. We walked from the tarmac to the small airport building which offered a relaxed ambience but not much else. We picked up our bear spray rental as well as the car rental.

The Four Seasons Resort is a luxurious ski resort in winter, and an expensive place for weddings, events or simply mountain biking in summer months. It is a beautiful place to be in, with restaurants and small shops within walking distance.

We tried the Bison steak at the nearby Osteria restaurant. Bison tasted like beef with a subtle sweet flavor.

Day 2 – Yellowstone NP

Yellowstone is about 2 to 3 hours of drive from the resort. There are various vista points along the way including turnouts and lake views.

Glacier View turnout and Teton point turnout offer the grand view of Grand Teton and the Teton mountain ranges. Grand teton looks grand and distinct.

Grand Teton NP is picturesque and cozy. On the other hand, Yellowstone NP has history and over a millions of acreage. It has a lot of things to offer, from geysers to wildlife, to outdoor activities.

We arrived at Yellowstone NP around lunch. NP is not a place for gourmet, we had simple hot dogs and soups. We did a small hike up the Old Faithful observation points and admired the geysers in the areas.

Grand Prismatic Spring is beautiful, but so crowded with people at the observation points. Our pictures turn out to be not even close to the pro shot typically found in postcards.

Day 3 – Amangani

Our energy level was good. We jogged at the Valley Trail, along the right outside of the resort, to the Grand Teton NP. It is quiet, lush and beautiful, with a nice view of the Valley down below. The trail is along the ski lift, which remains open during the summer months, for the mountain bikers.

Our main attraction of the day was the lunch at the Jackson Lake Lodge and dinner at Amangani. The Pioneer Grill inside the Jackson Lake Lodge is an old-time American casual diner with happy waiters/waitresses, serving customers at a number of long tables. We enjoyed the ambience and felt that we were back in the 60s.

After sampling Cotton Bay,Leeks Marina, and Signal Mountain Lodge, Jenny Lake, we swung by Jackson downtown, and had a serving of the delicious huckleberry ice cream at the Moo’s.

Amangani is an expensive hotel with fine dining, at the top of the hill, and offers a magnificent view overlooking the valley and mountain ranges miles away. There are not that many hotels with that breathtaking view. We watched both the sunset, a “special bear” appearance among the bushes, and enjoyed the dinner.

It was dark as we got out of the restaurant. We were alert at night after so much caution about animals crossing the road in the area,

Day 4 – Safari Tour

We woke up before sunrise to join the Four Season Safari Tour from 6:30am to 11am. The Tour is not cheap but often the tour guide can share stories that we normally do not hear about.

We spotted a variety of wildlife including mule deer, moose and her calf, elk, antelope (pronghorn?), bear and herd of bison; and learned about the interesting story of the bear 399 and her daughter bear 610 in the area. We did not see bear 399, but did spot a black bear along the road.

After lunch at the Mangy Moose in Teton village, we hiked a short 3.9 Taggart Lake Loop and finished the day with dinner at the Kitchen at Jackson.

It was a long day and we were tired.

Day 5 – Yellowstone NP

We woke up before sunrise again, to drop our friend at the airport. With such an early start, we decided to visit Yellowstone NP again.

We stopped at the Signal Mountain Lodge inside Grand Teton NP, and were greeted with a waiter with the most unwelcome look. We suspected that he may be the son of the owner, and the lodge was running a losing business, with very low water level at the Jackson lake right outside the lodge. The breakfast is fine.

We stopped by the Sulfur Calderon. It was hot around the hot springs and we spotted a number of bison. They are huge animals with size probably larger than a full grown lion. If you want to spot more bison, Hayden Valley is the place to go. We drove by Hayden Valley and there were hundreds of them, and on our way back, we spotted them running and crossing the river. It was quite a scene.

The main attraction of the day was the Yellowstone Canyon area. The Yellowstone Canyon is not as grand as the Grand Canyon, but it offers a much more picturesque look with the upper & lower waterfalls, especially from the Artist Point. It is a must-go place when you visit the Yellowstone NP.

There were too many places in Yellowstone, so we could not afford the time to do a long hike.

We visited the Lake Yellowstone Hotel at dusk. It is a very classic hotel, with live piano performance, and a view of Yellowstone Lake. The luxurious ambience feels like the Titanic (before it sank).

Yellowstone is famous for wildlife. It did not disappoint, we spotted two mooses, herds of Bison at the Hayden Valley, two male elks, a lone coyote and a family of Grizzly bears.

Day 6 – Four seasons

Rest and relaxation at the resort was the way to be after two long days.

Day 7 – Grand Teton Jenny Lake

We took a boat ride across Jenny Lake, did a short hike of 2.5 miles, and finished with a dip in the ambient water in Jenny Lake. There were tons of berries along the way (the thimbleberry, and probably some huckleberries), and we spotted a bear cub swimming in the lake, some white tail deers, and a moose calf.

We had dinner at the Local, a restaurant recommended by a number of locals, in Jackson.

Grand Teton and Yellowstone NP never disappoint. Our first visit was way back in 95. We are back in 2022. When will we be back again?

Dear Diary Misc. Travel

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Kings Canyon & Sequoia NP during Covid-19

by ccue

The country still records 100K new Covid-19 cases a day, with new deaths more than the passenger capacity of a Boeing 737 max. We continued to pick National parks as the places to be.

A week prior to the memorial long weekend, we took a trip to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Our Subaru Outlook has won the choice over the Tesla in this trip, even at this time of outrageously high gasoline price. It still seems risky to count on finding an EV charging station when we most need one. EV may still have a long way to go as the auto of choice for road trips. Visiting national parks with a bad back was no fun. That was exactly what I got just a few days before the trip.

Day 1

Kings Canyon is about a 4-hour drive from the Bay Area. There was still plenty of sunlight when we got there. At 1700 years old, with a height of 268 feet and a circumference over 100 feet, the General Grant Tree’s massive truck makes it the third-largest tree in the world by volume. It stands like a commanding general among the other Sequoia trees which are giants by themselves.

Both the Grizzly Falls and the Roaring River Falls are super accessible waterfalls. They are an easy and short walk from the parking spaces. The Roaring River Falls are a noisy splash of water. The Grizzly Falls are beautiful to watch and are camera friendly.

Once out of Kings Canyon, we entered Sequoia National Forest then Sequoia National Park. It was a bit late when we checked in the Wuksachi Lodge, and were relieved that they were still serving dinner. Their dinner special was a total disappointment though – the dinner special arrived faster than McDonald meal, and that microwave version of Pork Belly special was more chewy than the dried beef jerky. It was not cheap either. This dinner special became the first and the last meal we had bought at the Lodge cafe. The Lodging setting is beautiful, quiet and peaceful. It makes a very nice sanctuary. The room is spacious with cozy wooden decor. It offers a mind-resting forest view, and it is surprisingly quiet. The bedding is sturdy and comfortable for a good night’s sleep. My only complaint was their putting us on the 3rd floor in a lodge with no elevator. The 50+ steps between the parking space and our room posed an unwelcome challenge for my bad back.

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Day 2

Our breakfast was a cup of instant noodles with the marinated beef and eggs we prepared for the trip.

We visited the tunnel log and auto log early to have the view mostly for ourselves. These fallen giant trees were quite a scene when we could drive through the tunnel log and we could imagine in those olden days, the auto log would support the weight of an auto driving over it.

We were enjoying a stroll at the crescent meadow when I sighted a black bear, not that far away. It was indeed an eye-to-eye encounter with a black bear. The bear looked big at the first glance, and it felt like it was about 100 feet away in the woods. I was sure that at the time I spotted it, it spotted me too; and that both were afraid. I was calm enough to walk backward slowly to inform a few fellow hikers who were mostly thrilled to join a special bear watching activity. With more people together, we stayed on the trail, and watched the bear scratching its back on a small trunk, then crossing the trail to feed itself in the meadow. On our way back to the parking lot, people were still taking pictures of the bear.

We hiked up the Moro Rock trail. There were quite a number of hikers and seemingly a very popular trail. It was a challenge with my acrophobia to walk up and stay at the top just to have some time for pictures. The national forest with mountain ranges afar were breathtaking.

I would rather stay with the waterfalls, Tokopah Valley Falls awaited. Rated as moderately challenging. The 4-mile hike turned out to take longer and has been strenuous at times with my back pain. The cascade of waterfalls at the end well compensated the hardship.

In the evening, we took the Sherman Tree Trail to pay respect to General Sherman. With a volume of 52,500 cubic feet, a weight of 1385 tons, and circumference of 103 feet, the General Sherman Tree is the biggest tree on Earth by volume. I read from a teen fiction if a human being is put in a device to see his proportion against the whole universe, he will go insane right off the bat. It was humbling to look up to this biggest tree on Earth from the ground.

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Day 3

We headed to the Big Trees Trail early in the morning. Spring was everywhere with new green shoots coming out of the trees. We saw a pair of deer which were small, curious and fragile. The meadows were full of life too – birds chirping, wild flowers blooming, new shoots from the trees. This Big Trees Trail and the meadow has been my favorite trail on this trip. It gives a sense of hope and peace.