Few in the States follow the Inter Miami pre-season world tour. Its stop in Hong Kong was a PR disaster for the pre-season. The no-show of Messi and the seemingly lack of empathy towards his fans have turned a Messi-mania in my beloved city to a Messi-mess. After a few days of ubiquitous media coverage, the government demanded explanations, the organizer agreed to a 50% refund, and the sports authority in China canceled two upcoming exhibition matches of the Argentina team in China.
The reaction of the city dwellers, the organizer and the government are surprising. I wrote an article to the SCMP, the top English newspaper in Hong Kong, with the intent to those who still felt anguish about the situation. HongKongers hated to be disappointed, even worse, hated to lose face 唔俾面, and hated to be caught as dumb consumers 水鱼. Looking back, there is the silver lining with the unity of the city in their anger and frustration. I have missed the unity of the city in the last many years.
SCMP is a Hong Kong English-language newspaper founded in 1903, has a daily circulation of 100,000+ readers and an online version. SCMP published my article about “Give Messi the benefit of doubt” here, with some minor publishing edits and some related pictures/links.
Here is the original version.
Title: Reason and Respect : Messi deserves the benefits of doubts
The 2022 Qatar World Cup was a fairy tale moment for Messi. My family has followed Messi & his matches since. After defeating France in the final, he was often booed when he played for PSG in France. At age 36, he joined Inter Miami in a city of many Spanish speaking people. This opinion is for those who are still suffering from the anguish of the Messi no-show.
In sports, injury happens, fatigue happens. Messi is an “old” man in the soccer world. He played so many matches last year. He has not been close to 100% for at least a few months.
Soccer is not even in the top 3 sports in the US. Yet, Messi created a Messi Mania last year when he and Inter Miami won matches one after another. Many bought the highly inflated stadium tickets, drove hours only to find out Messi could not play. While disappointed, most understood and enjoyed the game. It is unfortunate that he had a no-show in Hong Kong. Soccer is a team sport, not a solo concert. The game carries on with or without Messi.
Inter Miami was ranked the lowest in the league for a reason. Often, their games were even hard to watch. I thought the Hong Kong team had a real chance to win. Sadly, the Inter Miami team never trailed, and the Hong Kong team lost comfortably. That was the only game Inter Miami won on this world tour. If you were a coach, what decision would you make? Would you risk the stars?
There were many theories about disrespect. Do people know Messi rarely showed up in US press conferences? He arrived in Hong Kong on a long flight after losing the last game six to zero, in Saudi Arabia. He was likely not 100%. Give him a break. He is not a PR pro.
With the no-show, the Hong Kong exhibition achieved international coverage on CNN, Times, CNBC and more. The US media covered the complaints from HK CEO Mr. Lee and the HK fans; and was overall empathetic.
This is no doubt a PR disaster for Inter Miami. Hong Kong receives some sympathy. Let’s wish Messi a quick recovery, a great season and show up in HK soon.
For the super fans, there will be an Argentina vs Chile game in June in New Jersey. His show up is no guarantee.
Toastmasters, a global organization about communication excellence, is celebrating 100 years. Toastmasters has global presence, with over 200,000 members and counting. I served as president of one toastmaster club for two terms. I remain active in two Toastmaster clubs including the AI club, the first toastmaster club with an AI themes. It is fitting to combine communication excellence and the latest AI technology as Generative AI storms into our lives, like no other technology before. Below is the speech script of my 7-minutes speech about AI challenges and how everyone can become an AI ambassador to have more people participating in the AI future.
I have been an active Toastmaster member and served as president of a Toasterster club for two-terms
We wake up with water, electricity and the internet. What if I decide not to use any of them? From where I live, the nearest body of water is over 5 miles. I would walk without Google Maps, no electric car, in the dark, to fill up buckets of water I need for the day. It would take over 4 hours for the round-trip. Technology has made our lives better. We have taken for granted people use helpful technology all the time.
To my AI club fellows, I would like to share the obstacles facing AI adoption. By being aware of it, we can concretely set plans to address these obstacles.
I’m leading an initiative focused on upskilling and enabling AI, particularly GenAI, at all levels, to as many as possible for the company . Every single day, I am humbled “people are not rethinking how their work and life can be improved with AI technology”. The reality is, technology adoption requires intentional effort to bring people along. Why is that? There are technical obstacles and psychological resistances.
Starting with the technical challenges,
We live in places with cutting edge technology. Do you know just about 65% of the global population are online (w/i internet). AI depends both on electricity and the internet. That means around 3 billion who do not have reliable internet, likely cannot benefit from AI.
AI is intimidatingly complex. Some techies unconsciously throw out jargon. Terms like LLM, gpu, tpu, langchain, multimodal, neural network, encoder, decoder, transformer, hallucinations…just scared people away.
Concerns about data privacy, biased input and security are real. Can you trust technology? When to trust , when not to trust AI?
We develop strong opinions and emotions about things too. Every new technology challenges our comfort zone and injects the fear of the unknown, fear of mistakes and fear of losses.
Many people fear errors or lack of control when using AI for tasks traditionally done by humans. It is natural we are uncomfortable with machines generating creative content or making decisions in their personal lives.
Elon Musk said “We will have for the first time something that is smarter than the smartest human. There will come a point where no job is needed.“. He may have spoken his mind. How would you react about AI replacing human jobs and YOUR jobs?
When Singapore Prime Minister Lee was recently interviewed by Bloomberg, he said “There are a lot of things in AI that we don’t know. We don’t know where it is going. The researchers do not know where it is going.”. How could you manage the unknown?
You belong to this ai club toastmasters. I think you can do something. You can start with one thing. Here are some suggestions.
Listen to others’ concerns in adopting the technology.
Share how AI has benefited you
Invite their curiosity to learn more.
Thomas Edison brought electric light to part of Manhattan in 1882. Even 4 decades later, only half of all homes in the US had electric power. Many Americans still lit their homes with gas lights and candles.
I invite you to stay aware of these Ai technical and psychological obstacles, it is as easy as starting with one thing. Take the time to listen to concerns, share how AI works well for you and invite curiosity from others. If you all do at least one thing, AI can be in more hands. We don’t need to wait 50 years.
Particularly in technology, “the” new kid on the block is to be admired and loved. We like knowing about the new kid so do the media like reporting them for the audience. OpenAI is arguably “the” technology story of this year. The recent ousting and reinstating of its CEO Sam Altman in OpenAI has added to the storyline. Just before Thanksgiving, there came a failed coup in the boardroom. We are fortunate to live in these modern days where no-one dies in the process in a coup. Being THE new kid, there has been more forgiveness and relatively few punish the company as a result of the coup.
We unconsciously ask for more from the other players such as Google or Amazon or many others “once-the”. These other players now belong to the “one of the” club. Last week Google announced its latest, if not its greatest, multimodal AI: Gemini. Surprisingly, the magical six-minute demo “Hands on with Demo : interacting with multi-modal AI” has attracted quite a bit of criticism. It was a concern that the demo is not a real-time demo of how the actual multimodal AI product behaves (yet). Rather tweaks here and there to help the narration and to show what is possible with the technology. When was the last marketing demo not piecing things together to make a more impressive narrative?
Transition happens when one changes from “the” to “one of the”, or from “one of the” to “the”.
I particularly worry about potential transitions of the US being “the” superpower to the possibility of “one of the”. Will there be more “wars” to resist “the” to “one of the”?
I particularly feel these transitions as the years go by : transition from being “the” most important person to the children to “one of the”; transition from “the” youngest in a group to “one of the”; transition from “one of the” oldest to “the” oldest in a group.
Mastering these transitions makes life good. Mastering these transitions among the geopolitics make the world more peaceful.
Set in the backdrop of the computer game industry from the 90s, the novel weaves in the novel of three co-founders creatively designing, coding and producing computer games. Not only do they creatively produce unique games for the gamers, they find themselves needing to creatively live through the different lowlights, and highlights along the way. There is always a new life after the “game over ”, as long as you keep playing.
You’ll enjoy the read of this beautiful story about growing up, love and friendship, whether you play or create computer games.
I recently joined an exciting AI-themed toastmaster club. This week, I gave an impromptu speech on “how AI would affect how we consume information?”. I seized the opportunity to talk about how humans, not technology, can keep their say in the era of internet, social media and AI.
Many are uncomfortable with new technology or simply changes. Surprisingly, the same “many” often give technology even more say on what they think and how they think. For those who are uncomfortable with AI or new technology, the following are written for you to keep your say when you consume information on the internet, on social media, or in the future from AI.
Is it fact or opinion? If you are not sure, take it as the opinion of the writer.
Is it news or entertainment? If you are not sure, categorize it as entertainment, and you don’t want to interpret most things as news on YouTube videos, Facebook live streams.
Is it confirmation bias, or a discovery of new perspectives? You can better tame confirmation bias when you are open to discovering what you don’t know. It is my opinion that humans are flawed and that we cannot be right all the time.
Do supermen and villains ever switch roles? If your information channels constantly portray the same country/party/persons are righteous, and the others are evil, it is time to read the other side of the story from other channels? There is no rush to take sides.
Does your current stand influence you the most to decide the sides to take in new event(s)? Be mindful if you let your existing stand make the decisions for you in new events. With the tsunami of information out there, you are likely going to find information supporting your current stand, even when the information is fake or opinionated. It is my opinion that it is beneficial to read different sides of the same stories. There is no rush to take sides.
Is your emotion ahead of your head to decide? We all have our emotional moments. When the emotion subsides, you have the right to change after going through the emotional reactions.
Are you ready to learn about history, cultures, and religions in the world? If this is a NO, it is my opinion that you are in no place to have a bad take on other countries, cultures or religions.
How much, with or without AI, have you enabled technology (internet, social media, online videos) to take over how you think, how you live, and what you do?
Reading is among the best ways to keep your heart and mind healthy. I feel quite sad to see books are becoming so cheap, and e-books even cheaper in the era of inflation and information overflow. You can help the authors and, even more so, yourself to find good books to read.
Radical Candor by Kim Scott I would not trade the fun of reading books, to a productivity play. Still, I tested the productivity hype about AI’s large language models. ChatGPT happily returned a clear summary to my prompt: ‘What is the book “Radical candor” by Kim Scott in a nutshell?’. I shortened its summary to this within minutes: “Radical Candor” is a practical guide for leaders and managers to foster better communication and relationships within their teams. It’s about delivering honest feedback with empathy and respect. The book provides numerous real-life examples and actionable advice on how to implement these principles of radical candor in the workplace to create a more effective and harmonious working environment.
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Ann Druyan and Carl Sagan I wish this book was on the K-12 reading list. Filtering the information overload is like finding the straw of truth in a great ocean of confusion and conundrum.The baloney detection kits in this book are tools that can help you and the future generation in the much-needed critical thinking.
The things you can see only when you slow down by Haemin Sunim If you are looking for insights to “Why am I so busy?”, “When you are feeling low?”, “Being right isn’t important; Being Happy Together is”, “When you look for your calling”. My favorite chapter is “Three liberating insights” – people are not as interested in me as I had always believed; not everyone has to like me; and most things we do for others are in fact for ourselves. I keep coming back to some chapters in the book.
Message in a Matchbox – Memories of a Childhood Tehran by Sara Fashandi The title said it all. The stories of her brother from the author’s memories grow on me as I read on. Born poor, the characters have to overcome life obstacles to improve conditions for the family. At times tragic and emotional, this is a storied portrait of his brother’s childhood in Tehran. I recommend this book to see that part of the world.
The Tale of the Unknown Island by Jose Saramago I love this book and have read the 51-page twice. It is not a children’s book, though the children can enjoy it. This charming story shares how we all are isolated in our own island, and we all are on our own island until we find connections with purpose and love. I enjoyed both this book as well as “Seeing” by the same author.
* José de Sousa Saramago is a Portuguese author and the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature. His parables, sustained by imagination, compassion and irony, [with which he] continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality.
Seeing by Jose Saramago A sequel from the book ‘Blindness’, which was made into movies. It starts with the majority of voters throwing blank ballots in the election. As the government reacts to it as a crisis, conspiracy and sedition, the story ends with the death of arguably the two best characters. It paints a vivid picture of how the world has become, how much we accept blindness to many things around us, and how much we still choose to see. It is a gem that is waiting for your discovery. It is a book that I would like to read again.
Dopamine nation : finding balance in the age of indulgence by Anna Lembke Through the lived experience of the patients and her first hand experience of guilt pleasure turning into addiction, the author highlights the delicate balance between pain and pleasure. Self discipline becomes a thing of the past when immediate pleasure is within reach in so many ways and modern day comfort gives rise to more indulgence and addiction . Maintaining the pain-pleasure balance is essential for our health and well being. A quick read recommended to those who want to overcome addiction or bad habits.
The WEIRDest people in the world by Joseph Henrich A weird book, until you realize that WEIRD refers to West, Educated, Rich, Industrialized, Democratic. How could the minority people make all the big decisions for the world? There are so many decisions made by very few people and we all live in the aftermath of those decisions. This book attempts to give an answer. Agree or not, there is some interesting stuff in it, such as why we moved away from marriage within families, or why some cultures worked better with strangers than others, how the spread of Christianity triggered the need to create contracts with strangers. This book can help kill some time.
Trust by Hernan Diaz Andrew Bevel was the protagonist who evolved into a mystical legend through a series of well-timed investments in the 1920s. The book has three versions of Andrew and his wife Mildred. This clever plot has a little bit of the 1950 classic “Rashomon” or the 2022 Netflix drama “Inventing Anna”. The story lost some momentum halfway in, and in the end, it has left the readers some open questions. Overall a good story.
NYC does not have a signature itinerary to show you have been there. It attracts visitors from around the world. There are so many events and places that are tied to NYC, the Met Gala for fashion, the tennis US open, the wall street for finance, the Broadway for shows, the nobody-can-remember-every-station subways, the Central Park, the Washington Square, the bagels, and the list goes on and on. The “I 💖NY” sign says it all. At the same time, there are the smells of the homeless, the smell of the trash, the have-been-cleaned-up-but-still-dirty subways, the scary rodents. The stairs and the uneven grounds annoy me. Visiting NYC is to experience the contrast, the wealth gap, the diversity. NYC has a lot to offer, like it or not, I never run out of interesting things and places to visit every time in NYC.
We went to NYC as a family some years ago, with the primary objective of visiting famous colleges in nearby Boston. We were last in NYC in the summer of 2019 to visit my eldest child who just moved to NYC after college, and conveniently went to watch the US open. After four pandemic years, our family of four were together in NYC this October. So much has changed. Now my spouse and I were the visitors, while our two children have become New Yorkers.
The first day, we strolled across the central park and SOHO. The CheeseBoat Georgian restaurant, near SOHO, served us a surprisingly good meal. We would definitely want to go back another day. There are many coffee shops in NYC, and the Spanish latte at the % Arabica is the drink of the drink. We had dinner at the COTE Korean steakhouse. COTE is a one-star Michelin restaurant. Its butcher’s feast is the signature ready-to-grill-in-front-of-you steak package. It has four different types of steak in different flavors. We worked our way from the most mild flavor to the Galbi steak. Together with other side dishes, it made a delicious, rich and fulfilling feast to celebrate my spouse’s birthday. It was a day of culinary enjoyment.
The next day started with dim sum in ChinaTown. When we travel, we always make time to visit some Chinese restaurants to support their business. We arrived at the first Dim Sum Palace, but there was nobody inside, and the neighborhood was average. We thought it would be better to try another Dim Sum Place in ChinaTown and we enjoyed the meal. Our walk to the World Trade Center memorials helped burn some calories. The 911 museum was the only museum we visited on this trip. It did a comprehensive job to record the devastating losses of the day, but not quite enough to reflect. The US politicians continue to throw money to fight wars, sell weapons and adopt sanctions/isolations to deal with rival countries. Could there be a better and kinder tactic from the world’s only superpower?
After the 911 visit, we walked to take the free Staten Ferry ride, a free ride to enjoy the Manhattan landscape and the symbolic statue of liberty. It was a warm day with a clear and blue sky. On our way back from Staten Island to Manhattan South Ferry, we caught the sunset at the perfect moment. There are many beautiful things that are there for free, and this was yet another example.
On our third day, we wandered around the West Village, NYC, SOHO and NOHO (South and North of Houston). There are many affluent neighborhoods in NYC. The affluent West Village has a different vibe, less of a hustle and bustle that is often felt in the city. We visited the three lives and company bookstore to read some books. It was not a large bookstore, but we found books that were quite interesting. We strolled down Bleecker street and enjoyed our lunch at the Jack’s wife Freda restaurant. This restaurant has five locations in NYC and seemingly a hot spot for tourists and locals. It serves Mediterranean breakfast, lunch and dinner in one restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed the fried Zucchini, the duck bacon and the Peri Peri chicken.
The Grove Court and the building in the Friends TV series at Bedford was nearby and we decided to take a photo shot. Have you pondered what brought Cappuccino to America? Cafe Reggio, opened in 1927, is the answer. The cafe is still in business. We enjoyed our cappuccino and latte in an outdoor casual seating. Located next to NYU, it made for a good meeting point for professors, students, and tourists. Down the street is Washington Square Park. I did not recall any park with so many benches and sitting areas for everyone. Washington Park is almost like an outpost of NYU which crosses over the SOHO and NOHO (South and North of Houston). The Lafayette and Broadway streets are good streets for shoppers, with its shops, restaurants and coffee shops. The LeVain Bakery serves the richest chocolate chip cookies. The Lady M has arguably the best crepe.
We did not catch any broadway shows though we discovered the telecharge lottery draw for discounted show tickets. Instead, we enjoyed dinner time with our children at the COTE Korean steakhouse, the Hearth. The best of all dinners, without a doubt, has been the homemade dinner at our daughter’s place. The Hearth sets itself up as a fine dining restaurant. The size is fairly small. The dishes are healthy and delicious. The ambience is relaxing. It made a good choice for those who are willing to pay $$ for a light dinner.
NYC reminds us of the wealth gaps and opportunity gaps. It is a melting pot of all kinds. It is the place to be for young and up starters. My two children live in Queens and Manhattan respectively. A sizable chunk of their paycheck is spent on rental and the essentials. They complain that they do not have enough money. I’m proud they work hard to afford and live the NYC experience.
Quebec City is a picturesque city. The Vieux-Quebec area (Old Quebec) is a must go.
Our first visit to Old Quebec was in the late morning with the plan to start from near Rue du Petit Champlain and walk our way up to the Chateau Frontenac. The narrow streets, lined with cafes, restaurants, coffee shops and quaint shops, offered a lot for us to explore. Each street made an attraction on its own. We probably have repeated a few streets, and felt totally at ease of getting lost in the relaxing stroll. We felt a good vibe of art and culture. Lunch-time, we randomly picked a restaurant, along the street decorated with umbrellas above. Their onion soup, poutines and other dishes did not disappoint. It was as if there could be no bad restaurants in the area, only crowded and more crowded restaurants. The after-lunch coffee at La Maison Smith, a popular chain store in the area, tasted better than Starbuck coffee. There were a few hundred steps to climb to reach the Cap Diamant and more steps to reach the Chateau Frontenac. It was a good climb. We were tired but not exhausted. We could have made stops at coffee shops with mouth-watering bakeries, cafes, and ice cream (cream glacier) along the way. Uber was also convenient and cost less than 20 CAD between the more touristy areas. We ate at Chateau Frontenac for an early dinner. What could be more satisfying than the delicious dishes of mushroom ravioli, the goat cheese & spinach salad, the scallop and foie gras served at the magnificent Fairmont Chateau, alongside the sunset. It was also our daughter’s birthday. It felt perfect.
There is less crowd in the morning at Old Quebec. I started the next morning with the ferry ride from Quebec city to Levis. It was a 12-minute ferry ride. There was no need to fight the crowd. I could take as many pictures of Chateau Frontenac and Cap Diamant as I wish on the ferry. A quick disembarkation and embarkation, I was back to the same ferry heading back to Quebec city. Wandering around the street maze was more enjoyable in the early morning. If I were traveling alone, I could easily spend multiple days in Vieux-Quebec, starting the day on a ferry ride, wandering around the old town, checking out the arts and crafts, and then finding a quiet spot in a coffee shop to watch people and do some writing.
We joined a 90 minute cruise on the narrow channel of the Lawrence river to enjoy the Quebec City landscope. Most of the time, we were simply relaxing under the warm sun, on and off listening to the cruise guide telling some histories of the city. It was a nice way to learn more about the city. The cruise cost over 50 CAD, became rather expensive when compared to the 7.95 CAD round trip ferry ride between Quebec City and Levis. I would recommend fellow travelers to try the ferry ride.
Our airbnb was a few minutes from the Saint-Roch area. There are coffee shops, boutique shops, pubs and restaurants to hang out with friends. If you were around that area, it would be worth walking around.
Following our cruise guide’s recommendation, we took the 20 minute Uber ride to visit Montmorency falls in the morning before we left Quebec City. Our cruise guide told us that Montmorency Falls is 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls. Wasn’t it impressive? We arrived at the top of the Falls. Looking down and looking across, it was not that tall. After some Google searches, we discovered the Yosemite falls in California were ten times taller. A concrete-made suspension bridge provided a unique view of the top of the waterfall. I walked non-stop across the bridge with my acrophobia. I did not have the heart to watch the waterfall. There are 487 well constructed steps built along the hill with multiple pavilions providing an abundance of vista points to watch the waterfall at different heights. There is also the option of a cable car that takes you to the top and back. There are trains and buses taking groups of tourists. Nature may not have granted the grandeur to Montmorency Falls. The infrastructure and effort to make the fall accessible have shown admirable human prowess. The Montmorency made a great stop outside Quebec City.
Homelessness has become a global problem. It is a sad situation. In parks, on narrow alleys, or along main streets, we could find them. Quebec City is a beautiful city. It is safe. I recommend you stay in the bounds of the touristy areas. At night, it is more comfortable to spend time at your hotels or airbnb.
Canada is a beautiful country. The province of Quebec is the place to feel like in Europe while staying within the continent of North America. Three times the size of France, with French as the official language, I have more than once thought I was in Europe while visiting Montreal and especially in Quebec City. Adding in the artistic murals, the narrow alleys, the cobblestone streets, the little prince and the TinTin characters on display, Quebec feels more European than France.
Montreal is a welcoming city with clean air and an easy metro/bus transportation system. This is the city that you can visit without much advanced planning. It is a family friendly city without the hustle and bustle of New York city. There are also pubs, coffee places and gathering places for those who are interested in hanging out with others. In the three days we were there, we visited the idyllic Mount Royal Park, Notre Dame Basilica area, Old Port, Old Montreal, the Botanical Garden and even spared an early afternoon to enjoy a high tea at Cardinal Teahouse in the Mile End area.
Montreal Old Port is a nice place to visit any time of the day. We arrived in the early evening. The Ferris Wheel ride was a delightful ride to enjoy the old port in the most relaxing manner. The nearby Voiles en Voiles adventure park was already closed but the Urban Zipline was still in operation. My daughter took up the zipline challenge. With some imagination, the zipline was a “mission impossible” experience as she zipped from a building, in the twilight, over the waterfront, amidst the exclamations of the tourists and locals on the ground. The old port and the surrounding area came alive at night, with many restaurants to choose from.
The Olympic Park and the Botanical Garden are next to each other. At 165 meters high with a 45-degree angle, the Montréal Tower is the tallest inclined tower in the world. It towers over the Olympic stadium and its presence can be felt across from the Botanical Garden. We set out to visit the Botanical Garden to discover the amazing living plant sculptures, only to discover that the sculptures were no longer in exhibit. We were not too disappointed as the garden has such a beautiful landscape subdivided into mesmerizing oasis of China Garden, Japan Garden, Rose Garden. There were the night shows of the Garden of Light in the Botanical Garden with decorated lanterns in different shapes of lotus flowers, bees, butterflies. The night show was included in the day admission, and we highly recommended it.
China-themed oasis inside the Botanical Garden
Bagel debate – NYC vs Montreal
We have heard about the bagel debate between Montreal and New York City. The St-Viateur bagel has been in the bagel business since 1957. We ordered a bagel with cream cheese, and a “lox” bagel one morning. These Montreal bagels were really good. The bagel was very soft, and there was a thick layer of cream cheese. It turned out the cream cheese was less heavy than the American version. There is nothing to lose from trying food that is hot in a debate.
Chinatown, more like an alley of Chinese restaurants within a short distance from the Notre Dame Basilica, was a pleasant surprise. On a Friday evening, the Chinese restaurants in Chinatown were pretty full. Many diners were not Chinese. They seemed to enjoy the food, didn’t mind the noise level, and made a lot of noise themselves. It had such a lively and modern vibe around the area. It made such a good model for other Chinatowns to be more inviting to people from all kinds of backgrounds. Good job to Chinatown, Montreal.
We visited the Notre Dame Basilica, the arguably most popular site to visit in Old Montreal, just before we left the city.
Montreal is the poutine capital of the world and don’t leave Montreal without trying it.
In the province of Quebec, Quebec City and Montreal are the most visited cities. How would the two cities compare? We would soon find out in the Quebec City Impressions.
Travel is an enjoyment. Traveling to new places with family makes the experience many times better. Traveling to new cities with family celebrating birthdays in fine restaurants are moments to cherish for the lifetime. We traveled to Montreal, Quebec City and New York City to celebrate two birthdays.
Quebec City train station looks more like a castle, few amenities inside.
Transportation Montreal and NYC both have decent public transportation systems. Quebec City is best explored by walking around. Uber rides are just a few clicks away in these cities, and they are relatively inexpensive. VIA Rail Canada offers decent rides between Canadian Cities. These trains are punctual in departure but tend to run behind on arrival, unlike the EuroRail.
Recommended Eateries Montreal: There is no shortage of great restaurants, also try the “snack” such as poutines, crepes, St. Viateur bagels, local breakfast and La Maison Smith coffee in Quebec cities. We also recommend the Restaurant Bonaparte (reservation needed), Jardin Nelson restaurant, Cardinal Teahouse.
Layered tofuat @Bonaparte, MontrealDuck Leg @Jardin Nelson, Vieux QuebecSmoked Meat Crepes Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City
Fish & Poutines @London JackRoasted BeefBeef Tartare
Zucchini @Jack’s Wife Freda, NYCDuck BaconPeri Peri Chicken
Without a doubt, the best meal in this trip went to the home made dinner by our daughter serving us hot and healthy chicken pot pie and roasted eggplants.
The most famous restaurant in California is undeniably The French Laundry1. Located in the town of Yountville, Napa Valley, ‘The French Laundry’ is a three-Michelin-star French and Californian cuisine restaurant. Its menu starts at the minimum of $350 and easily gets to over $500 per head with drinks and tips. We have failed many times to get a reservation to experience the refined menu of Chef Thomas Keller. When a friend volunteered to organize a group dinner there, no-one in our party of nine needed a second thought. Foodie or not, the French Laundry dining experience is not to be missed.
The Napa Valley hotels were all overpriced. Just a few months ago, we stayed in a hotel at close to $500 a night with an outdoor swimming pool that you didn’t want to swim in. It was an average hotel in an expensive location. Petaluma, within driving distance to Napa Valley wine country, has newer and cheaper hotels. Nestled on the Petaluma river between rolling vineyards and rugged coast, Petaluma of Sonoma County is a picturesque town producing world-class beers and artisan cheeses served in some of the finest restaurants. It would have made a tourist town on its own, if it were not that close to the world renowned Napa Valley wine country.
We arrived in Petaluma in broad daylight with a couple of hours to spare before the French Laundry dinner. There was a Goodwill store, just minutes from our hotel. We went in and it did not take long to conclude there was no good deal. We don’t chase after brand names but there is a special satisfaction to get good deals of brand names at a deep discount in these thrift stores. In the short distance between the Goodwill store and our hotel, I saw the tents. My alert heightened as we saw a couple of homeless men who could jump out onto the road. They did not. They were telling signs of the hopeless homeless problems across the nation. Our hotel is a very new business boutique hotel. Our room was spacious with a stylish sofa, and comfy bedding. It was a warm day and the hotel room was more comfortable than the outside heat. After some rest, we changed outfits to get ready for the French Laundry experience.
Yountville, Napa Valley, is an easy forty minutes drive with little traffic. We strolled in the upscale neighborhood of the French Laundry and checked out the farm of the restaurant. The French Laundry is in a historic stone farmhouse. From the outside, the sign of “The French Laundry” is quite hidden, just like a celebrity who does not want to be discovered. Once discovered, we took tons of pictures before gathering ourselves to enter the restaurant.
Like many Bay Area friend groups, our group is tied to high tech companies in the Bay Area. These high tech companies hire college graduates in batches and then the batches stay in touch to become friend groups which get together occasionally. In gatherings, we make small talks about families, travel, work, property market, home improvement, and share good deals or good connections. We are mostly at peace with our job. No one is forced to work to bring food to the table. I always wonder how lucky we are to have graduated with a Computer Science or equivalent degree, landed a tech job in the prestigious Silicon Valley.
Soon we settled comfortably in our cool and private dining room. True to its class, the hundreds of wine choices were among the most complete and authoritative, if not the most, I have seen in any restaurant. We were not much of a drinker and ordered a bottle for the party of nine. The wine was very good. Our servers were well-groomed, attentive, and they came in groups to ensure that everyone was served at the same time for every dish. It is the small thing that differentiates a top restaurant. For each dish, one of the servers would meticulously explain the ingredients, the unique sauce and sometimes the story. They were the A team made up of a mix of gender, and races. I particularly remembered a tall black guy, a white guy with broad shoulders and the female servers were petite in comparison. Every time the group of servers came in, there was a tiny air of intrusion. The service was as flawless as the restaurant’s reputation, but could have a bit more personal touch.
The fixed menu followed a traditional tasting menu of appetizers, fish and meat, desserts plus a few special of the day chef special to surprise us. There was a Mac-and-Cheese upgrade option that would make it arguably the most expensive Mac & Cheese. There was the Japanese Wagyu upgrade which made it more expensive than a fine steakhouse.
The Oysters and Pearls was a beauty where pearls, made from tapioca and caviar, paired perfectly with twin oysters were served in pale gold creamy sauce. It was arguably the most memorable appetizer on the menu. The Garden Lettuce Salad, made with a variety of fresh ingredients, had an eye-catching biscuit in a curly shape of “W”, and was served on a charcoal-colored plate with subtle gold lines. The artistry made it an elegant dish. The other two appetizers were of high quality too.
The Atlantic halibut, served in a colorful mix of shapely ingredients, had just that fishy smell that mildly showed when the fish was not a fresh catch. We were far from the Atlantic and it made me wonder where there was a miss in the many steps between the sea and the table. The Calotte de boeuf (beef with carrots) was perfectly fine but was missing something special. I wonder if the chef may have put more creativity on the $135 Japanese Wagyu upgrade. The applewood smoked quail was perfectly matched with its double serving plates, both with bird images in green bushes. Served with red rhubarb and carmelized onions, the quail dish was my favorite. Overall, the fish and meat portion in the menu was either a slight disappointment or missing something to write home about.
The array of delicious desserts was a joy to the eyes, and to my sweet tooth. There could not be a better ending until the servers packed us a bag of sweets to take home with. A week after the fine dining, I was still able to entertain my guilty pleasure with a small bite of the chocolate desserts.
The kitchen tour after the dinner was so quick that we just had time for a couple of pictures. The heat in the kitchen did not make it a good place to stay, but maybe we could still linger a bit longer. We did not meet Chef Keller, nor had time to thank the hard-working crews serving the many amazing dishes. Compared to the Noma2 restaurant experience in Copenhagen years ago, the French Laundry crew displayed a sense of pride but not quite the passion and joy that was naturally exhibited by the Noma crew.
When we got out of the kitchen with our take-home treats, the afternoon heat was gone. There was the shining full moon.
On our way back, it was dark. We got busied discussing how well the French Launch has lived up to the Michelin’s three star ratings. We forgot the Goodwill thrift store, and no longer noticed the homeless’ tents just a few minutes’ away from the hotel.
We checked off the French Laundry on our bucket list.
1. The French laundry has been a three-star Michelin restaurant since 2007, for over 15 years? One star: A very good restaurant in its category. Two stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour. Three stars: Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey
There is no direct flight from Cappadocia/Kayseri to Pamukkale/Denizli. Cappadocia to Pamukkale takes over 11 hours by bus, and it is an overnight bus with stops and non-reclining chairs. It is a strange situation considering Cappadocia and Pamukkale are both popular tourist spots in Turkey. The best way to connect the two touristy spots is by an indirect flight via Istanbul. The driver picked us up in a very spacious Mercedes Benz van, the seating reminded me of limousines pickup when I traveled for business ages ago. There was a beautiful sunset, on a clear sky with cumulus clouds. At sunset, the clouds were dotted with shiny golden borders and they looked like small islands spreaded around a calm lake.
Pamukkale, the Cotton Castle, has a completely different vibe than Cappadocia. Cappadocia reminds us of ruggedness and the history of persecution and hardship at an altitude of 1100 meters. Pamukkale comes across as a relaxed rural village with green plains and mountains at the horizons. It has a calming effect. After an hour, we arrived at the Cotton House and were ready to explore the next morning.
Ruins
Turkey has a rich history. Do you know that Troy, the Greek Myth of the Trojan war, is in modern-day Turkey? There are quite a number of ruins. We visited two of them while in Pamukkale : the Hierapolis-Pamukkale and the Aphrodisias, both UNESCO heritage sites dated in 2nd and 3rd BC. If ruins are not your cup of tea, it can be more interesting if you ponder what to expect to have a glimpse of their livelihood over thousands of years ago. What would be the same? What would be the difference? What has survived? What has become unrecognizable? How much damage was a result of nature or a result of war? Why would the city be abandoned?
Hierapolis theater
The Hierapolis ruins, dated 2nd century BC and abandoned in the 14th century, had most of the items one can think of for a typical city – the tombs/cemetery area outside of the city, the city gates, the gathering places for religion, i.e. the Cathedral, the city plaza for people to gather, and for other entertainment i.e. the Theatre. As we entered the city, there were public latrines. In those days, people sat next to each other on a bench-like setup to take care of their business and without a good sewage system, you could imagine the pungent smell around the area. It was rather understandable that public baths (hamam) were also nearby. The Cathedral, the city plaza were much destroyed, and hardly recognizable. As we walked up, we went to a place for people to worship where the bulls were gassed to death, and any surviving priests from the fumes were to enter into the “holy” place of Pluto, the god of death. If the people were coming to watch an event in the theater, the capacity and the structural design of the theater were not that different from the modern day theater. However, it was apparent that the evolution has brought up more comfort than even the royal families back then. Ha, we only need to live long enough to experience the luxury of today’s billionaires.
Aphrodisias
With another day to spare, we arranged to have a taxi to take us to Afrodisias ancient city dated in the Greek Hellenistic periods (~1st century). The Aphrodisias ancient city is slightly over an hour of highway drive from Pamukkale. We passed by a few cities and the Mount Honaz before arriving at the entrance of the ancient city. Aphrodisias has been better preserved than Hierapolis ruins and more effort to reconstruct this ancient city, once populated with over 10,000 people. The temple of Aphrodisias has beautiful pillars, carvings and decorations that have survived close to two thousand years of battles and empires. A bit beyond the stadium, there was a nearby stadium, with a bit less capacity than the theater in Hierapolis. It has been quite well preserved. Walking on, there was the Hadronic Hamam, which has become hardly recognizable after all these centuries. Next to the Hamam, there has been the reconstruction of the city park, with a 170m long pool and a lot of spaces mirroring the modern park. Passing the city park, it opened up a trail that looks more like a hiking trail before reaching the theater. The theater is well preserved, with smaller capacity and better seating areas, including a front row that has more comfortable chairs and offers the best seating. Seemingly, this theater served as the entertainment center for the higher classes, with its own Hamam. I imagine that the nobles came here to relax and socialize in the Hamam before entering the theater for the show. We searched for the Sebasteionwhich had an eye-catching building with different sculptures. What seems very interesting is that the sculptures on the top tiers are ruling families, while the gods and goddesses sculptures occupy the middle tiers below the top tiers. Does it imply the ruling families believed that they were above the gods and goddesses? Closer to the entrance/exit, there stands the museum with a good collection of Greek sculptures, and artifacts evacuated from the ancient city.
Thermal Pools & the Pamukkale travertines
The gift shops and cafes awaited at the end of the Hierapolis ruins.
Antique pool (Cleopatra pool)
Making it special is the presence of an antique pool, also named Cleopatra pool. Rumored with its healing effect, the pool has been open for the public to swim for a fee. We sat next to the antique pool, enjoying kebabs and salad for lunch. The pool had clear and turquoise water, with natural rocks among them, and it was very inviting to take a dip. Some called the antique pool as the Cleopatra pool with the rumor that the queen had swum in, over two thousand years ago! It was so comfortable and relaxing to soak in it, we walked, swam and rested on the rocks, and appreciated some Roman-style pillars lying randomly in the pool. Before we knew it, we were already in the water for an hour, and our hands became wrinkly. It was an experience you don’t want to miss.
Pammukkale Travertines
Thermal Pools
Walking another 100 meters, it started the famous Pamukkale travertines and thermal pools. The travertines looked like a hardened ski slope. The thermal pools were formed over time when a spring with a high content of dissolved calcium bicarbonate cascaded over the edge of the cliff, which cooled and hardened leaving calcium deposits. They became mini natural pools, shelves and ridges with beautiful pale bluish color, and these pools stacked above each other. We had to walk on foot to avoid further erosion or damage to this Hierapolis-Pamukkale – UNESCO World Heritage Centre. If the thermal water were warm and inviting, the path to it was covered with gravels, slippery travertines, and was prickly to the feet. The north entrance of the pool is at the top. Slowly, we walked the distance of 2km, appreciating the variety of many thermal pools and got to the south exit. Just outside of the south exit is the Pamukkale town center with a single street of restaurants, with a number of eateries all enthusiastic to invite tourists in their restaurants.
Tourists can probably cover the highlights of Pamukkale in a day. We really enjoyed our longer stays to slow down our pace, visited both Hierapolis and Aphrodisias ruins, enjoyed the antique pool, had the prickly “feet-on” experience in walking on the thermal pools, and visited different cafes on that single street .
Spa
It has taken me decades of traveling, to realize that Spa was among the best things to do on the last day of any trip. The only thing that may be better than that would be a combined Turkish bath and spa experience where your party was the only customers.
And we did just that to indulge in the timeless bond of relaxation and rejuvenation with a Turkish bath and spa experience.
It is a memory that every mother-daughter duo would cherish and nothing can take this away.
oliviatamccue 