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12 Hours in Paris – A Pastry, Bread, Chocolate, Food and Art Layover Visit
We were to arrive late night in Paris and fly out 36 hours later. What are 2 French food-starved food lovers to do? Maximize! We spent the whole day shopping in clothing and food stores, interspersed with eating. In fact, Plan A was to visit Du Pain et des Idées, which came highly recommended. So blinded were we by the beautiful streets of Paris that we never even referred to our plan. Luckily copius eating fell into place on its own. View this post on Instagram Le Grande Epicerie Paris might be the most insanely…
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First Time Using My Portuguese Alembic Copper Still Wasn’t a Disaster After All
Weeks had passed since I had arrived home with my 3 liter shiny copper still, which I bought in a little shop in a town whose name I don’t even know between Porto and Nazare in Portugal. It was the kind of hand-hammered copper still you see for sale on the Internet, only it was 60 Euros. I had a goal to find such a still and was thrilled to pack it up and bring it home. The thing was I had no idea how I would use the still. At the time my goal was to make essential oils from the rosemary, lavender, mint and other herbs that grow…
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A Visit To Costco In Mexico and Incidents There
To be clear, Costco is not a city in Mexico. It’s really Costco. In Puerto Vallarta. It all makes sense. Of course a city with tons of retired Americans has a Costco. Talk about creature comforts! Upon discovering the Costco, we hopped in an Uber (another export), to see what was the same and different at El Costco. The underlying mission was an homage to my dad, one of Costco’s biggest fans. We had traipsed to Mexico to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, and a toast to dear old muerto Dad was in order. Costco did not disappoint. Their mango smoothies, with which we toasted, were off the hook—pretty much…
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Favorite Bay Area Cafes & Coffee Roasters
Update September 2020: If you think the coffee / cafe scene is a moving target you would be right. When I published this list a few years ago, included were so many now-closed cafes including an awesome industrial cafe at a coffee roaster Uncommon Grounds and Farley in Emeryville. Blue Bottle had not yet been acquired by Nestle. During the COVID-19 pandemic, of course cafes are only for take-out. This has dramatically reduced or eliminated laptop thefts!?! Without further ado, here are some great spots for coffee around the Bay Area: I still have not quite hit upon a job that would entail going to a new cafe every day…
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Best Things To Do On a First Bay Area Visit For Parents With Teens
Wherever you go in the Bay Area you will have ample opportunity to hike, soak in some culture, beautiful scenery, eat well and find something for everyone’s interests. I made this list for all many families with teens who stay in my Airbnb / VRBO in Rockridge. Let me know if I’ve missed something important! -Susie Berkeley & Oakland Walk from my Airbnb to the UC Berkeley campus, down College Ave. and walk through campus. Lots of food, shops, cafes, and pretty houses along the way! Oakland Museum has really fun California history exhibits. There is a small, very authentic Chinatown nearby. Pizza at Zachary’s near Rockridge BART or Barney’s…
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Made our own tamales at #burningwoman today @soulfoodfarm. Thank you Alexis for hosting all of us – and Nikki Ford for the tamale demo.
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Yum yum #kinkhao dinner tonight.
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#Gamping in #Calistoga at #BothePark with #camomiwine. #LifeisGood with #Wine #NapaValley
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#Picnic #winecountry style after tastings at #RobertSinskey and #HeitzCellars. Harvest is happening in Carneros and the Valley is happening this week.,
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Oh yes, Cochon #HeritageFire #Napa pork goodness from #Zazu .
