"One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things." - Henry Miller

January Digest

2012-02-04T16:41:00.001-08:00

January, like most months, has gone by too quickly. My last semester of school has started and I suspect that life is only going move faster and be busier until May. Here are some photos to recap:

Early on in the month, I went on my first East Bay Bike Party:

Strenuous and cold, but really fun!

I also went on a hike to Mount Tamalpais:

Alpine Reservoir, looking good

My hiking friends Allie and Josh

Bolinas Ridge

Bon Tempe Reservoir and the Rock Garden

Rock algae

Josh and Mount Tam

Another great brunch at Cafe Biere with Errin:

Can you spot the horchata mimosa?

I also participated in a SPUR intern bocce tournament, but somehow forgot to take any pictures.

Checking out Indian Rock Park with Lisa:

Super cool park in the Berkeley Hills!

My business class kick-off meeting:

On the 47th floor of the Bank of America building in San Francisco

Followed by dinner in Chinatown with city planning friends:

Bringing homebrew to a school party:

Celebrating birthdays at Jupiter:

Foggy bus rides across the Bay Bridge:

The Bay is under there somewhere.

SPUR intern arm wrestling tournaments:

at the Thirsty Bear Brewing Co.

Sitting in on the Angel Island Conservancy Board Retreat:

Great sunsets from the Berkeley Rose Garden:

Birthday Taiwanese Hot Pot parties:

Mr. Beech Mushroom

My first dinner guest!

My friend Allie came over to eat dinner on my tiny table.

Fun times in January!

Check out my pots!

2012-02-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

Last semester I took a pottery class and I realized I never took pictures or showed off the fruits of my labor... here they are!

My pot collection:

In all their blurry iPhone photo glory.

Acting like tourists in Chicago

2012-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Although my family has visited Chicago countless times, we have never ventured too far from Wrigley Field. So we decided to go to Chicago to act like tourists for a few days.

Old and new

Skyline from the Navy Pier

Can you see Michigan on the other side?

Chicago Dogs!

(already in our bellies)

Chicago River crossing

Chicago Gate:

Known locally as 'The Bean'

Frank Gehry amphitheater...

and pedestrian walkway to the Institute of Art

Riding the CTA:

We didn't even realize Chicago had a subway!

Sampling brews at Goose Island

Giordano's famous 'stuffed' pizza:

Ride the train to the dunes!

(if only you still could)

We started the next day right with Ann Sather's cinnamon rolls:

Followed by a trip to Wrigley Field!

Roof bleachers on Waveland St.

On the way home we found an awesome brewery in Sawyer, MI:

Greenbush Brewing Co.

Then we swung by Saugatuck Brewing for one more round:

Their Neapolitan Milk Stout is so good!

What a great trip to Chicago!

Winter Hiking

2012-01-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

December in photos

2011-12-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

December has gone by in a flash!

Here are some photos in reverse chronological order...

New Years Day walk along the Ohio River

~New Years Eve in Cincinnati~

Beer sorting

Fun times in Kalamazoo:

Winter Wondrettes at

Kalamazoo'a new theater,

Farmer's Alley

Fun times in Grand Rapids:

Founders' Breakfast Stout

is absolutely delicious

Visiting the family farm:

More fun times in Kalamazoo:

Mom and Dad acting casual

Kalamazoo Beer Exchange

A Stock Exchange for Beer Prices

Saugatuck Brewing Co.'s Neapolitan Stout

Strawberry deliciousness

A Christmas Carol

at the New Vic Theater

SNOW!!

Somewhere in Kalamazoo:

Bell's!!!!!!

Bell's has nice beer label art.

Somewhere in downtown Kalamazoo:

Christmas rage

Candy Cane Lane

Giant Santa

Beer murals at Olde Peninsula Brewing Co.

Kalamazoo Nature Center!!!

Mom and Dad

Candid vs. Staged

Kalamazoo River!

Somewhere over Chicago:

Flying over Lake Tahoe

Earlier in December I took care of a cat named Pickleweed:

Pickleweed insists on drinking water out a pint glass

Pickleweed relaxing.

Occasionally in December:

I did some schoolwork...

I also did a lot of celebrating:

Ladies Brunch at Cafe Biere!

End of the Semester Happy Hour at the Graduate!

DCRP Holiday Party!

I brought a Maple-Gingerbread Layer Cake with Salted Maple Caramel Sauce

I also attended an annual Fake Snow Holiday Party.

Dressed in red and green.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

Big Sur: Camping in December is Cold

2011-12-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

This weekend/week I embarked on a spontaneous solo winter camping adventure. I decided to camp down at Big Sur because I had driven through numerous times, but had never really stopped and hiked...

The first stop on any peninsular trip:

Restaurante Los Pinos in Santa Cruz

Best Burrito Ever

I followed dinner with a movie at the Nickelodeon:

Melancholia was beautiful, but perhaps not the best movie to watch immediately before sleeping alone in the cold woods.

New Brighton State Beach:

South | North

I stopped for breakfast in Monterey:

Happy Girl Kitchen's persimmon oat scone!

Big Sur, for real:

Big Sur River, as it flows through Pfieffer Big Sur State Park:

I set off for a hike:

Oak Grove Trail

Big Sur Valley

Then I went to Pfeiffer Beach for sunset:

It was prettier than I expected.

Back at my campsite:

I made a fire!

Next day further south:

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Back north at Andrew Molera State Park:

Birds collect at the mouth of the Big Sur River

Big Sur.

So beautiful!

Another month in pictures: November

2011-12-04T12:29:00.001-08:00

The highlight of November was Errin and Chak's wedding in Portland. Such a wonderful, beautiful, creative and cultural wedding! Other things happened like the end of classes and the end of John's and my relationship, but do not fear! As I have been the only author for awhile now, the pearoo blog will continue as a place to share my pictures with family and friends.

Off to Portland:

Sunset as I fly up the coast

I went straight from the airport into a bachelorette party:

Tammy on the roof of a bar in downtown Portland

Too many shots

Self-portrait

The next morning we went on a brewery tour despite the rain:

Cascade House of Sour!

[Look how happy I am about sour beer!]

Bethany was also very happy to be tasting so many sour beers.

Some were better than others...

...but it was so much fun!

Next stop was Hair of the Dog.

Meanwhile Errin was decorated for the Hindu ceremony.

We had a low key night of food truck korean tacos and movies because...

The next day was the wedding!

As I found out, Hindu wedding ceremonies are like a four hour long play with scenes and props.

My favorite part was when Chak had to 'leave for Varanasi with an umbrella to escape the married life.'

So many garlands!

Bethany, John and the Indian lunch buffet.

In between weddings we sampled more Portland microbrews.

Then we witnessed Errin's beautiful transformation:

For the Jewish ceremony!

At the Portland Art Museum

My butter balls.

Checking out the galleries.

Dancing the night away.

I, in fact, danced straight onto the plane...

Mount Hood at dawn

Such a wonderful wedding!!

Congratulations to Errin and Chak!

In other news this November:

There were protests on Berkeley's campus.

The rain made pretty leaf prints on the sidewalks.

I graded my last ES10 problem set. Ever.

I noticed Berkeley's intellectual Parking Restrictions.

There was a Breaking Dawn billboard on my roof.

A small tiger came to Thanksgiving Dinner.

John Brian aka Nonagon played a show.

Holiday decorations arrived at Hearst Mining.

And now the egg nog and holiday parties are in full swing.

Happy holidays!

Happy Third Birthday to Pearoo Blog!

2011-12-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

Goodbye, October!

2011-10-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Another month has passed.

Fun things happened.

Here are some pictures to prove it.

Sand Castle contest at Ocean Beach!

After the contest I took a walk down the length of Ocean Beach:

Sewage overflow box

Snowy plover habitat!

The beach has some erosion issues

Fort Funston bluffs

85 degrees in October...

San Francisco summer

Treasure Island Music Festival!

Pottery class!

(I did not make the lady's bust)

Hosting Halloween Happy Hour at school!

Halloween at Stern Grove!

Urban pumpkin patch

Pumpkin cocktails and pumpkin curry at Osha Thai

Public Workshop for the Ocean Beach Master Plan!

October was so busy!
My favorite month went by in a flash!

November should be fun too
with
Weddings in Portland
and
Thanksgiving feasts!

What have we been up to for the past month since our last post?

2011-10-03T21:54:00.001-07:00

Well, lots of things, too many things, in fact.

Here is a recap.

Trips to the Beach:

Ocean Beach has issues,

but through my internship I will solve them!

Trips to Santa Barbara:

Complete with creepy odometer readings!

Adventures in Cat-sitting!

Meet Pickleweed.

Trips to Cincinnati!

Oktoberfest!

Barrel Races!

Ohio River boats!

Family!

Adventures in beer brewing:

Too much carbonation + Fort George growler = BEER BOMB

Eat Real Festival in Oakland:

Market Street Walking Tours in San Francisco:

Ferry Building

Handlebar bird

An unfortunate case of foot poison oak:

...from the shoes I wore hiking a month ago

in Santa Cruz and had since washed...

Silver lining?

I may be the only person in the last hundred and fifty years

who can say that they got poison oak

while walking down Market Street in San Francisco.

And finally, first time to the Fox Theater in Oakland!

Beirut is my fave.

Hopefully October will be a more bountiful blog posting month than September!

Hog Island Picnic

2011-09-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

On Monday I organized a Labor Day picnic for my graduate school classmates. As it turns out, many of them were out of town, but a group of us had a good time shucking oysters and enjoying the views at Hog Island Oyster Farm on Tomales Bay!

Hog Island

Beautiful Tomales Bay

Ready for the pic-a-nic

Bailey the dog is ready to picnic

Picnicking

Blake from Georgia make a Georgian favorite:

Buttermilk Pie

"Small" was not so small

Round two!

Shucking

Shucked

I <3 Tomales Bay and Hog Island Oyser Co.!!!

Revisiting S'Cruz

2011-09-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

This Labor Day weekend we took a quick trip down to Santa Cruz to camp one last time before the rain starts and to see some parks we have heard about, but never visited. We set off without much of a plan down Highway 17, only to have our Labor Day adventure quickly hindered by traffic, but we detoured down Highway 9 and it was a great way to see the tiny Santa Cruz mountain towns! We blew past Big Basin State Park, thinking we would go back if Henry Cowell was full, which it was, but then we followed signs to another camping place and were mislead by a historic railroad park, a reservoir with no camping, and a boy scout camp. Labor Day was not going so well, but luckily the nice kiosk lady at the reservoir directed us to Bob's Pine Grove, which was basically this old lady's backyard, where we camped within a couple miles of downtown Santa Cruz!

Bob's Pine Grove

Saturday night at the SC Boardwalk

Looking back from the Lost Boys bridge

Deep-friend everything

Riding the Giant Dipper!

Pirate boat

Creepy Sal

After the boardwalk we found the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery!

I tried their Ollalieberry beer!

John had a black IPA.

The next morning we went hiking at Henry Cowell SP:

Redwoods!

Creepy trail napkin,

like something out of a horror movie

"The Napkin"

What a great little trip!

Thanks J+J for the gift of Magnolia!!

2011-09-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to brother Josh and sister-in-law Jeannette for a birthday gift card to Magnolia Pub and Brewery. Now that I started my internship in San Francisco, I wanted to use it as soon as possible! So we went tonight and had a blast. I tried their Landlady Ale and John tried their Weekapaug Gruit, which didn't have any hops and was weird, but an adventure. We weren't sure if we were going to get food until we looked at the menu and saw all sorts of stuff we wanted to try, such as....

Pulled pork poutine!

Yum, it even had gravy and squeaky cheese.

Here's John looking guilty for sneaking fries

while I was taking pictures with my new iPhone.

[I am so fancy.]

We also wanted to try the Seafood Boudin sausage

with dirty grits, which was pretty amazing!

And we shared this grilled watermelon salad

with chili goat cheese and bacony goodness.

I want din dins.

All in my belly.

Stout of circumstance and dessert menu

Here's John contemplating the beer ice cream sandwich,

but we were too full...

Magnolia's cool art

Thanks again Josh and Jeannette!

Magnolia awaits you next time you are in SF.

Name that lagoon!

2011-09-02T16:01:00.001-07:00

For my new Ocean Beach Master Plan internship at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR) Association, I am researching examples of coastal lagoons. Can you name these lagoons?

Presenting at the SER Conference

2011-08-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

Despite my fear of public speaking, I am so glad I presented at the Society for Ecological Restoration conference in Merida!

First moment of terror: seeing name in program

Eek!

Next moment of terror: seeing name on posters

But then I look cool as a cucumber

during the presentation!

Such a great experience!

Mi Lindo Yucatan

2011-08-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I embarked on a solo journey to the Yucatan peninsula with some apprehension about traveling alone in a country plagued by violence and even more terrifyingly, to speak at a conference, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience!

My first stop was Cancun, land of cheap flights and giant hotels:

A seemingly abandoned market in downtown Cancun

Street carnitas!

Blue raspberry waters

Finally found the perfect beach spot

Boat parking on Isla Mujeres

Boats, palms and sand

Next day I went down the coast to Tulum:

Mayans had good taste in building locations

Watch out for turtle eggs!

Swimming like the Mayans swam

Next day I went west to Valladolid:

Panuchos and sablutes (taco varieties) with a papaya smoothie!

Biking to the cenotes!

Cenote #1

A little murky but still lovely

Biking through the jungle - en route to more cenotes

The little town of Dzitzip

Cenote #2: Swimming in a cave

Caution: Slepering

There were two other cenotes on this bike tour: one that was basically a round pool in the middle of a town square and another that I missed because of torrential rain.... but it looked like this:

Stupid rain made me miss the turn.

Next day I went to Ek Balam

Guardian of the ruins

So steep!

Mayan artistry

Mayans priest must have been fit!

Another cenote - my favorite!

Little catfishes

Where are all the taxis?

Hostel chihuahuas

Next day: Chichen Itza!

The Mayans were hard core

Another cenote!

Very touristy but still fun

Waiting out the rain

Nighttime in Merida

I spent my last night in Mexico at the beach in Progreso

where I stumbled upon this fair.

Mexico is such a great place for a vacation!

I highly recommend the Yucatan peninsula.

Sonoma County Weekend

2011-08-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

After three weeks of working hard in Berkeley,

we needed a summer break from

dreary cold Bay Area weather.

Sonoma County delivered!

Historic streets of Guerneville

Good for summer sidewalk people watching

Champagne tasting at Korbel!

Down to the river for a dip!

Cooling off with watermelon wheat!

Down at the river mouth

Sonoma Coast dunes

Goat Rock

Steep beaches

Golden sunsets

We camped at Armstrong Redwoods!

Next afternoon:

Russian River Brewing Co. Consecration and Supplication

Belgian sours conditioned in wine barrels!

Asian calamari at Aleworks!

A sad sight

Buying tickets to the Sonoma County Fair!

Hall of Flowers

Hungry goats

Will they eat skirts?

They might, if you let them.

Giant cows!

Horse racing!

Pig showcasing!

Mutton Rodeo!

Hang on, kid!

Mutton on the loose

Battle of wills

Oof! Good thing they wear helmets...

Jump dog! Splash dog!

Scary fair rides

Winner of the ugliest cake contest

Winner of the Funnel Cake contest!

Sonoma County is a great place

for a summer weekend!

John makes croissants!

2011-07-19T01:09:00.000-07:00

John made magnificent croissants from scratch today!

They were delicious!

His first try ever!

We also had these salads.

arugula

goat cheese

shallots

mushrooms

pine nuts

Suppli!!! Snacking like the Romans do

2011-07-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

When we were in Rome we had these delicious rice balls stuffed with various toppings, like ham and mushroom or tomato and mozzarella. We got them at a pizza shop that had a neon sign that said 'Suppli' over the door. We thought that was the name of the place, then we realized they were advertising this snack. I had no idea it was even possible to squish rice into a ball, bread it, and then deepfry it, but it is delicious!!! So, as usual, we tried to make it, with a recipe courtesy of the Food Network. Mario Batali knows what's up with Italian snacks, but his recipe was slightly different so we also tried to replicate the ones we had in Rome.

Step 1. Cook rice and filling

Step 2. Mix egg and parmesan in hot rice

Step 3. Squish into a ball

Step 4. Squish cheez into the middle

Step 5. Roll in breadcrumbs

Step 6. Bake (instead of deep-fry)

They were good, but baked is not quite as good as fried, unsurprisingly.

Our Roman suppli:

rice

eggs

ricotta

parmesan

prosciuotto

mushrooms

truffle oil

bread crumbs

olive oil

Buttermilk baked chicken

2011-07-19T00:50:00.000-07:00

We are on a cooking spree!

Last night we had buttermilk baked chicken and salad.

Another recipe courtesy of the Food Network.

Step 1. Marinate the chicken overnight in delicious buttermilk/onion/lemon/hot saucy goodness

Step 2. Dip marinated chicken in crushed corn flakes + parmesan

Step 3. Bake

Step 4. Devour!

Arroz Negro

2011-07-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

In my first moments in Spain after our workshop in Portugal, I saw a news clip on the tv at a restaurant about making arroz negro, or black rice, and I have wanted to make it for the past month. Luckily Berkeley Bowl sells the essential ingredient, squid ink.

So I set about making some Spanish Black Rice
with a recipe from the Food Network.

1. Mix squid ink with stock

2. Saute tomato, onion, and garlic

3. Add paprika, rice, and black stock

4. Stir lots

5. Saute shrimp (or prawns if you can find them) with paprika, garlic, lemon juice and other good stuff

6. Top with rice with shrimp and parsley-olive-lemon mixture

7. Put it in your belly

Great success!

Summer Cooking

2011-07-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Now that we are back - I am excited to do some summer cooking, even if San Francisco weather is decidedly unsummery. The first things we wanted to eat after months of European food were 1) Mexican and 2) hamburgers. So our first day back we ate breakfast burritos and then cheeseburgerz for dinner!

Cheeseburgers and 'tinto de verano'

I used cheddar gruyere from Trader Joe's and made a green olive sauce.

Totally delicious!!!

Tinto de Verano

1 part cheap red wine

2 parts lemon soda

ice

Fotomania: Espana

2011-07-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

We are back and it is photo time!

This was the first thing we saw in the Barcelona airport:

Barca 2011 League Champions!

This was the second thing:

Casa Batllo by Gaudi

Our first night we went out for Basque-style pintxos:

So many pintxos!!!

(pronounced pint-chos, for those of you who do not speak Basque)

metro art

Our first day we walked around town:

Sagrada Familia by Gaudi

the beach

Spanish care bear

At first we were excited that this place might serve spanish burritos but then we realized they were literally referring to a little donkey...

Later on we saw old people dancing near the cathedral...

...and John chatted with some antique sellers.

Barcelona has nice drinking fountains...

...and it also has magical fountains...

...the crowd awaits...

Magical!
(and reminiscent of jello salad)

As it turned out there was a free night at the museums happening:

All museums open until 1am!

There was also free music at various venues...

...including a castle!!

Party at the castle

Next day I needed to do some 'research'
for the travel fellowship I received:

We visited Gaudi's Parc Guell

We also rode a funicular to investigate the accessibility of large open spaces at the edge of the city:

Catalan is a crazy language

Our open space investigations continue with some urban hiking:

Follow the trail blazes.

The view of Sitges from Parc Natural Garraf

Back in Barcelona:

These doors are neighbors.

Barca-flavored gelato!

(Special note to Thadd: This is why you have to go to Spain, in order to eat Barca-flavored gelato.)

We spotted this Obama pub on the Fourth of July.

How auspicious!

We also spotted the most civil game of tug-o-war ever.

The two dogs were both standing there sharing this stick:

Left dog: I think I might take it first, if you don't mind.

Right dog: Well, I was thinking about chewing on it for a minute, as long as that's okay with you.

Left dog: Well, I won't use it for very long. I will give it back to you right away.

Right dog: Yea sure I'm fine either way.

Left dog takes the stick.

Eventually we flew to Seville where it was 40deg C

(i.e. cook-you-in-an-oven-alive hot)

A big old cathedral

Boquerones fritos (fried anchovies) and mojitos

Don't hate - they are delicious.

John gesturing wildly about the arabic tiles

Plaza Espana

Giant shade structures made life better

Cerveceria 100 Montaditos also made life better

1 euro jugs of beer everyday!!!

Happy customer

In Seville we shared a dorm room with a Canadian who had the same Nikon as me, which meant that I was able to charge that camera, which contains pictures from this moment forward... so now I just need to wait for a new cord to come in mail because Nikon's USB cords are 'proprietary' and can only be purchased from Nikon... :(

For now you can see the rest of the photos at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/100522415740876170375/Spain

Fotomania: Italia, part due (that's Italian for two)

2011-07-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

Italian photos continue in Naples:

Serious theft protection

Villa Floridiana in Naples

Fancy

Castle!

This door has seen some action

Mount Vesuvius

Another castle

Favorite tiny cheeses!

They cheer you up while you are waiting through cancellations at the Naples train station.

Finally made it to Rome:

Expensive microbrew!

Mind-blowingly good pizza

You know, the coliseum

Trevi Fountain,

plus alot of tourists

Pantheon,

plus alot of tourists

Pantheon's insides

More expensive microbrew!

Tiber River

Note how they scratched out the number of persons allowed...

on second thought maybe we should change this...

Vatican City

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

Our last Italy meal was delicious!

Radicchio and walnut risotto

Pasta with tomato sauce and bacon

Mmmhm.

You can see the rest of the photos here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/100522415740876170375/Italy

Fotomania: Italia

2011-07-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

4These photos start in Nice,

which I realize now after visiting Italy,

is France's answer to Italy.

"All the first world convenience of France with all the fun of Italy, like gelato, narrow streets and Italian restaurants!!!"

Narrow streets

Gelato

Snacks like Pissaladiere

aka French pizza

Beautiful coastline

Happy tourists!

"Sandy" beaches

Hot beach dudes!

Intriguing sculpture!

Convenient easy-to-use public transportation

Nevertheless with anxious premonitions we left Nice. As you know from our previous Italian post,
we ran into trouble almost immediately...

La Spezia,

where we spent some time

waiting for the next train

after we missed our connection...

River Arno in Pisa,

where we had a layover, not long enough to walk to the leaning tower with our bags, on our way to Florence.

Florence, as it turns out, is quite beautiful.

This is the stunning Duomo, aka the Cathedral

The 'You are here' has been erased by the infinite number of index fingers that touched it.

Inside the Duomo

Crawling with tourists

Amazing bridges

River Arno

These brothers make delicious little sandwiches

Square gelato!!

Square fireworks!

(just kidding)

"Checking out" of our sketchy "hotel"

As you may remember, we decided to rent a car,
in order to drive around Tuscany:

Fiat 500, you are mine (for one day)

John gets acquainted with the Fiat

First stop:

Greve in Chianti

Market day!

Where Chianti is made

Second stop:

Castellina in Chianti

Italian laundry

Refreshment break

Tuscan countryside!!!

Third stop:

San Gimignano

Don't touch

Italian drawing on a pizza box

Third stop:

Tuscan clock tower

Sweet map

John reenacting 'New Moon'

Creepy art gallery

Possibly one of the coolest photos I have ever taken!
(That's my hand holding the camera in the shadow)

High speed self-portrait

Fourth stop:

Montepulciano

An old school Fiat 500

Italian aperitivo aka happy hour!

Fifth stop:

Pienza

After a long day of driving we were planning to 'camp' outside Siena:

Italian camping is not very hard core

In the morning we wandered through Siena:

John indulges his obsession of stepping into medieval doorways

Random acts of medieval flag twirling

After returning the car to the 'kind' staff at Avis,

we 'easily' caught a train to Naples

(see other Italian post for details):

Neopolitan pizza!

Nativity Scenes on the streets of Naples

More pizza

Crazy facades

Naples has numerous funiculars!!!

Blogger is cutting me off on photos in this post.
See Fotomania: Italia, part 2 for pictures from Rome!

Chapter 5: Why I love Spain

2011-07-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

What to say about Spain? Writing about amazingly wonderful experiences is always more difficult than complaining about bad ones.

Here are some reasons why I love Spain:

1) Barcelona: Being there seemed so effortless. Wonderful experiences around every corner: beaches; delicious food, not just Catalan, but Argentinian empanadas, Venezuelan arepas, and Basque pintxos; medieval streets; incredible architecture; summer music festivals on urban forested mountains with castles (see photo post); and easy access to large open spaces, which is what I happen to be researching for my Scott Traveling Fellowship.

2) Intuitive public transportation: Unlike other countries that shall remain unnamed (ahem, Italy), riding the metro in Barcelona and Madrid, getting to/from the airport, getting between cities, is reliable and easy.

3) Madrid: Madrid seems like the underdog in the Spanish tourism popularity contest, but I really like it, if for no other reason than its abundant open spaces. I was not planning to conduct research in Madrid, but its Casa de Campo is a huge open space immediately adjacent to the historic center. It provides recreational opportunities while also striving to restore historic oak woodlands and provide rare species habitat. Amazing!

4) Regionalism: I did not realize before visiting just how regionally distinct Spain is, even to the point of some Spanish feeling like it should not be one country governed from the center, but four or five separate units.

5) The culture! What an amazing country! I love their food, their music, their dancing, their reputation for siestas and partying all night.

Chapter 4: Why I hate Italy*

2011-07-02T02:31:00.000-07:00

Now that we are safe and sound in Spain where internet is plentiful, we can take a moment to reflect back on what just happened over the past ten days...

Italy is beautiful, but almost every day I wondered why it often seemed like a third world country. Almost everyday something went wrong in our travels in Italy and not minor travel hiccups, but serious issues, typically with Italian transportation systems.

For example:
Day 1 - on the train from the French-Italian border to Florence we were fined for forgetting to validate our ticket. Then our ticket gave no indication of a transfer and we only figured out via other travelers that we needed to transfer in La Spezia. As a result we missed our connection and did not get into Florence until midnight, where all the hotels were booked for a conference on fashion. Through the help of two Italians with amazing haircuts, we were able to book at $90 room on the fourth floor of a sketchy dark dank building with abandoned mattresses on every landing...

Day 2 - realize that Florence is overrun with tourists and that Italian food is not necessarily good or cheap in Italy. Admire the Duomo.

Day 3 - rent a car in order to drive around Tuscany. Beautiful landscapes! Beautiful medieval hill towns! "Camp" outside Siena in a mobile home. Accidentally drive through the Siena historic center, for which we may be fined $300.

Day 4 - return the car. Pay "administrative fees" for a ding in the bumper despite having paid for insurance. Train strikes delay all trains leaving Tuscany. Take a bus to another train station. Get lost on the bus. Finally catch train to Naples. Have to switch seats three times because the seating system is confusing. Again clarified via word of mouth. The metro system in Naples has no ticket machines. Discover via word of mouth that tickets must be purchased from convenience stores because unlike every other country in the WORLD, it is too hard for Italy to provide signs or ticket booths. Finally find hostel next to the cement plant, behind the train station. Ate delicious pizza.

Day 5 - Naples seemed particularly third world because there was a mafia-related garbage strike and mounds of stinking trash had been left on every corner. However, we had no logistical problems, presumably because we walked. Ate disgusting pasta at same delicious pizza place as the night before. Olive Garden could have done better.

Day 6 - Train to Rome cancelled. Wait for the next train. Finally make it to Rome. Need to catch a bus. No explanation of tickets. Need to walk back to a convenience store in the train station in order to buy bus tickets - brilliant system, Italy! Intercepted outside hostel by an old guy and his little dog. He wants us to go to another hostel. We protest that we already have reservations. As it turns out he is our hostel guy and as an alternative to jail cell-like dorm beds, we are taken to an apartment down the street. Nice, but we need to somehow tell him that his approach is initially alarming.

Day 7 - Rome is cool, but we again encountered Italy's refusal to provide explanations of ticket purchasing at the Coliseum, the viewing hours of the Pantheon, or how to obtain happy hour tickets at the bar... at least we now know we buy bus tickets at tobacco shops.

Day 8 - More Rome. Delicious last meal in Italy: pasta I had never heard of (round long bigger than spaghetti and hollow) with tomato sauce and a bacon-like meat and walnut radicchio risotto, plus bruschetta. Mmmm.

Day 9 - Return apartment key to Man with Dog. Catch bus to train station. Buy $20 tickets for the airport express. Train stalls inexplicably for 30 minutes. Rush through airport. Worst Airline Worker Ever says, 'It is your fault' and refuses to issue boarding passes despite having forty minutes left until departure. We are forced to pay $150 each to change our $120 flights to later in the day...whatever you do don't ever fly Vueling or Iberia Airlines.

All of this adds up to my hatred of Italy.

Spain is like a breath of fresh air! Here tickets are sold at the train station and there are even maps and signs explaining things. We are in a normal hostel that actually has free wifi and breakfast. Hopefully the next ten days will be better than the last...

*Update 7/12: On second thought, after looking through the photos, I realize that Italy is beautiful and we had alot of fun and good experiences.... I would go back, but I would be much more cautious and paranoid about staying within the unspoken rules next time.

Chapter 3: South of France

2011-06-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

So now we are in France where they hate the internet. We will be at our advisor's house in Beaumont-du-Ventoux for the next ten days conducting fieldwork and cooking magnificent meals for almost our entire faculty who will be here for a workshop.

I will keep the blog posted of any adventures.

A tout a l'heure!

Chapter 2: Euskadi

2011-06-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

For the past few days we have been eating our way through the Basque Country. From Braga we caught a bus to Vigo on the Atlantic coast where we rented a car and drove across northern Spain to the Basque capital of Vitoria. On the way we stopped and swam at a mystery lake and ate hamburgers that turned out to be a literal interpretation with pieces of ham on a burger bun instead of ground beef.... We also saw a tribute on the local news to a species of plant, broom, that I spent two years of my life trying to kill on Mount Tamalpais. They love it in Spain. Go figure.

In Basque country we visited Vitoria, Bilbao, and San Sebastian. Our day in Vitoria was sort of depressing, mostly due to the weather but also partly due to the town itself. Bilbao was much more exciting the next day where we admired the Guggenheim and ate pintxos (or tapas) at sidewalk cafes. We returned the rental car and were picked up by our colleague, a Spanish professor who lives in Vitoria. She drove us to San Sebastian where we sampled more and more pintxos.

The next day the weather was bad again and the beautiful beaches in SS teased us. We saw from the postcards how awesome the beach could have been. The weather finally improved around 6pm, so I threw on my swimsuit and jumped in the ocean, then laid on the beach for five minutes before the sun went back behind the clouds.

Last night we ate our last pintxo with our two travel companions who went on ahead to Madrid and France. My classmate and I spent yesterday walking around SS, eating a few more pintxos. Then we caught a bus to France to begin Chapter 3 of our journey.

Favorite pintxos:
Fresh anchovies with garlic
Squid in ink
Fried peppers from Guernica
Exploding eggs wrapped in potato wafers
Duck magrit
Mushroom risotto

Mmmm... now I am hungry.

Lost camera cord :( but travels continue

2011-06-04T03:08:00.000-07:00

As a result of losing my camera cord, my picture uploading abilities have been temporarily suspended. Hopefully I will be able to steal photos from my friends for this leg of the trip, until I can locate a new one.

After finishing the workshop we left Lisbon with a tear in our eye for Porto, which also turned out to be an amazingly beautiful city. We picniked, drank port, and danced until dawn with our new Portuguese colleagues from the workshop. Now we are in the little town of Guimares (pronounced gee-ma-raish). Today we are headed over to Braga to meet up with more workshop friends. Hopefully we will not party too hard because we are reaching the end of our rope. Then we are off to Spain and the Basque country.

Stay tuned for more adventure.

Naturtejo GEOPARK

2011-05-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1: Portugal profundo

2011-05-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

Portugal is awesome!!

Here are some photos:

First birthday beer!

large bottle of wine

Tomorrow we really start working on this project...

Hopefully I will have time to post more soon!

Made in Madrid

2011-05-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

I made it!

Here are some photos fresh off my new camera:

Paris from the air

Meanders of the Seine

Bordeaux from the air

with the Garonne River

The first thing I spotted in Madrid was:

A statue of Don Quixote!!!

I didn't realize this church was so large until I saw the people on the stairs...

There is all this open space to the west of Madrid...

This Spanish dog looked like he was panhandling.

Many more to come!

My first impression of Madrid is that it is smaller than I expected, but I wonder if that is because I most recently was in China where everything is enormous. I am really happy to finally visit Spain after visiting so many of its colonies. In many ways, I can see the similarities, such as a love for pedestrian malls and shoe stores, but I also see the similarities between Spain and any other European country...

Despite jet lag and not sleeping for two days, I might go out and walk around in order to not be completely lame on my first night in the party capitol of the world!!!!

More photos from Madrid:

View from my hostel balcony

Protests:

Cool murals:

I think this is a palace...

Watching a performance in an art museum:

The art of Yayoi Kusama:

She likes polka dots.

Parque El Buen Retiro:

Spanish squirrels are black!

Longest protest ever:

Still going 24 hours later...

Museo de Jamon!!!

(Ham Museum)

Tomorrow I am flying to Lisbon!!
And it is my birthday.
Hooray!

Adeus! Buena Suerte! Bon Voyage! Arrivederchi!

2011-05-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we are off on our Next Big Adventure.

First Stop: Workshop in Naturtejo Geopark!

Second stop: Fieldwork in France!

Third stop: Italy with John!

Fourth stop: Research in Barcelona!

I won a traveling fellowship to study the role of greenways
in protecting biodiversity in urban areas
in Spain, Ecuador, and Finland!!!

I also filed my thesis on Friday!

Hooray!

Stay tuned for photos from the Mediterranean!

Channel Islands are Awesome

2011-05-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

On the boat:

seal raft

With 25mph winds the waves were enormous -

like 30 feet tall!

All trips were cancelled but one

and people who were supposed to go to other islands

were shifted to Santa Cruz...

Somehow we saw a whale in the waves
and they stopped the boat,

but when I went to take a picture...

THE CAMERA BROKE!!

Luckily there are photos of what we saw on the internets.

When we arrived, we put our stuff down
and went for a hike to Cavern Point and Potato Harbor:

It was beautiful but so windy!!

We went back to camp to eat dinner and wondered if we would see any endemic Island Foxes. Then as we looked around we saw one, then two! but they were misbehaving. Our neighbors had left their gear around their camps. One fox was on top of a box of Franzia, trying to rip into it! I ran over and chased it away to stop it from drinking Franzia, but it was after a small cliff bar that had fallen in the top of the box.

Up to no good...

Another fox was digging through some gear that had been left out and found what looked like food, but was actually a glow stick. Luckily it only bit it once before it figured it out. I scared it off, but later that night even after the campers had returned the fox was trying to get into their tent!!! It gradually unzipped it with its paw as I watched and then I yelled in surprise when it jumped in. Unfortunately at the same moment the campers lit their camp table on fire while trying to cook dinner and were less concerned about the fox than burning down the whole island.

Next day we went for an epic hike to the middle of the island:

First landmark is this old oil well.

Reminiscent of 'There will be blood.'

We tried the camera but it was still not working.

This is basically what it was like...

Our end goal was a stand of elusive island pines:

We hiked back and found our campground overrun with new people. We had been under the impression that we needed to pack lightly, as though we were backpacking, but most people packed as though they were car camping with aforementioned jugs of Franzia and cases of Tecate. We ate an enormous amount of pasta with our modest liter of organic boxed wine. Then played hearts with our neighbors.

The next morning John tried the camera
and it started working again....

ON OUR LAST DAY.

We hiked down to Smuggler's Cove:

Bye Santa Cruz Island!

I am so happy that we were able to visit the Channel Islands while John still lived in Santa Barbara! Hopefully we can go back sometime with a working camera! The islands are worth a visit if you ever have a chance.

Quatchi goes to an island

2011-04-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend we are making the voyage to
Channel Islands National Park!!!

We will be camping for two nights on Santa Cruz Island.

Stay tuned for pictures!

My favorite Oakland graffiti

2011-04-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

This is written on a building near my bus stop.

So true.

But apparently it is also a song by a local band, The Hospitals...

Olema Valley Trail

2011-04-18T00:22:00.000-07:00

John and I went for a nice hike in Point Reyes this weekend:

No dogs allowed in Dogtown :(

I was on a quest to see spring wildflowers:

Redwood violet - Viola sempervirens

The Fiala family namesake

(Fiala is Czech for violet, according to the internet)

These Bleeding Hearts are not very bloody...

En route to Fir Top

So many violets!

Olema Valley

Douglas iris - Iris douglasiana

Alumroot in bloom

Vertical seep

Fivefinger fern

Trillium - three petals, three sepals, three leaves

What a great hike!

Goggie guards the sidewalk in Point Reyes Station

A series of owls by the local children!

This one is my fave.

On the way home we stopped at Marin Brewing Company!

Chocolate porter and Orange-and-black

This bug wanted my beer...

So did John...

Now we are refreshed and ready for another week!

Final Thesis Review!

2011-04-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from our Final Thesis Review!

Fiona talks about the Pebble Mine in Alaska...

Yu-chung talks about Chinese Gardens.....

I meant to take pictures of everyone, but in my nervousness forgot to take picture's Meghan's presentation about Detroit and Hugo's about the Mission District in SF....

Rolling up my sleeves and getting ready to talk.

Making the case for CEQA reform

So glad it is over!

Here is what it looked like!

Post-review champagne!

LAEP Thesis 2011!!!

What I have been doing for the past year

2011-04-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

Check out my Final Thesis Poster!

These pages are actually 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide and will hang next to each other but I could not get blogger to upload such a large jpeg...

This is an earlier poster from a College event,
for which I won an award!

My abstract was also selected for the Society for Ecological Restoration conference in Mexico. I am flattered and excited, but also a little terrified to think about speaking in front of so many people!

Still have some improvements to make, but our
Final Thesis Presentations are on Friday!

Wish me luck!

A good weekend in SF

2011-04-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I pretended like I did not have a thesis and spent time with friends in San Francisco:

Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown!

Besides eating udon and spending time with Errin and Jess,

the best part of this festival was the adorable tomato I purchased

that now hangs from my bedside lamp.

After the festival we went on a quest:

For the perfect macaron!

Pistachio, lemon and raspberry from Le Boulangerie on Fillmore.

Good, but not quite perfect...

Another round from Citizen Cake.

Basil and violet-cassis.

Disappointingly sub-par...

The search will continue at a later date!

I continued my SF fun at dinner:

with Josh and Shelley at Pizzeria Delfina.

I forgot to get a picture of the pizza,

but it was delicious!

What a fun weekend!

Traveling Continues: Quatchi returns to France

2011-04-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

Quatchi and I will be making a return trip to France this summer! In late May we will be attending a workshop in Portugal with my 'Mediterranean Landscapes' class, where we will be working to improve a National Geopark in the northeast. Then Quatchi and I will travel with colleagues across Spain towards France, where we will continue the hydrological work we did last summer on the Ouveze and Toulourenc Rivers. Then after John graduates in mid-June, he will join us for an irresponsible post-graduate school trip in Europe!!! Hooray for summer plans! If only we could fast forward through these next six weeks... :P

Quatchi goes to Macau

2011-03-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

Before catching a plane, Quatchi decided to take the ferry to Macau:

Temples and Casinos

At first glance it was like any other Chinese city

Dense!

But the Portuguese colonial architecture was definitely unique!

Beautiful!

Quatchi was not the only one who wanted to see it:

SO MANY TOURISTS!!!

The Ruins of St. Paul Church

A little Portuguese enclave

away from the tourist craziness

Quatchi, the gambler

The Pearl River

Later, during our layover in Taipei:

Quatchi and I became Taiwanese tribes people.

Most fascinating airport terminal ever.

Quatchi rides the bull.

Quatchi also rides the people mover...

The End!

Guangzhou photo!!! last day.

2011-03-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

Our last lecture:

Working hard/late to finish our presentations:

Final presentations:

Farewell banquet:

I don't know what this was, but it was delicious:

These mushroom cups are also fun:

but eating peanuts with chopsticks is hard.

Fish head two ways

Sampling the fish head

Then suddenly we were on a train to Hong Kong:

On the Star Ferry to Kowloon:

Apparently it was 'Earth Hour' but none of us noticed...

Dining at the Temple Street Night Market

On the subway home:

Guangzhou photo!! Back to Guangzhou.

2011-03-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

Back in Guangzhou we decided to treat ourselves to pizza hut:

Chinese pizza hut is much fancier than American pizza hut.

"Atlantic salmon pizza"

"New Orleans pizza"

It's true that pizza did bring us together.

The Chinese students wanted to hit the mall for more food,

but the food court was closed.

We hit the night market instead.

Skewers!

market dogs