ich Kalliope

798 Art District Beijing

Traveling is a great joy of mine, and lately my wings have been "clipped" a bit.  Not complaining, you know the economy and all... it's happening to all of us. 

Well, actually, I am complaining.  I miss it, and look forward to having my passport in hand, and taking off a little more often over the next few months. 

Visiting new places, is a source of inspiration for me.  It's the well I go back to when the creative juices are running on reserve. Camera in hand, capturing memories, and composing stories as they present themselves to me is a passion.  And if I've learned anything in this half-century on this planet and especially over the last few months, following your passion shouldn't be optional.

In May, I joined my husband in China for ten days.  Our last stop before leaving Beijing, and the long flight home was the Art District 798.  A former industrial factory complex built in the 1950's, designed by a team of East German architects in the Bauhaus style, this once abandoned zone is now home to hundreds of artists, galleries and cafe's.  We only had a couple of hours to spend, and just scratched the surface of the creative energy that was running through this most unexpected of places.  It will be our first stop when we return to Beijing. 

I'm not sure how long it will stay in this pure state, it maybe shifting already... think SoHo in NYC.  It was one of, if not the only place we visited in China where people were not trying to sell us things.  The art was fabulous, beautiful, edgy, controversial, variety and anything but traditional.  The pure fact that this place exists in China's capital is cause for optimism.  Love 798 and can't wait to return!

Mark it with a P

I think a person can consider themselves pretty blessed when they have favorite places around the world, truly favorites.  Count me in with the blessed!  Now this one may appear trivial, afterall, butter cookies are pretty much found everywhere.  Just a couple of months back I wrote about my favorite Greek butter cookie, but I may have still been under the spell of my sabbatical back then.  Because my truly, absolute, favorite butter cookie AND place to buy them is at Poilâne in Paris at Rue du Cherchi Midi 6.  This special bakery is famous for it's bread and punitions (butter cookies).  They mark the bread with an enormous script P, branded and delicious!

The first time I visited this special place was about nine years ago, I was with a colleague who had lived in Paris and knew it well.  She was able to get the ok for us to go down in the basement of the small storefront shop to see the baker and the oven where the magic happened.  It was beautiful.  Small space, enormous oven, and table where the dough was being kneaded and the punitions rolled out.  Warmed by the oven, everything seemed to be a light golden color.  That day there was only one person working there, I'm not sure there's room for two.  He was busy.  Afterall you have to make a lot of those bite-size cookies to satisfy.

  

Of course if I'm in Paris I visit Poilâne, which is not often enough.  I buy a bag of cookies to sustain me during my "tough" travels, and a bag to bring home to my dear husband.  Bringing these home to husbands is more common than I thought.  Very shortly after the 9/11 attacks here in the United States, I was on a flight from New York back home to Portland, Oregon.  Shortly after takeoff I began chatting with the woman in the seat next to me, who said she was on her final leg home from Paris.  She had gone there to celebrate a milestone birthday with her girlfriends.  Somehow, I brought up Poilâne...  and low and behold she reached into her carryon bag and... voila a small bag of the famous cookies appeared.  She was bringing them home to her dear husband.

  

The shock of 9/11 was still very fresh, and so when our plane began to descend less than an hour into the flight we all became nervous.  It took quite sometime for the pilot to announce the reason for the sudden descent, and there was a lot of commotion in the back of plane.  My new "friend" and I finished our glasses of wine, trying to stay calm.  She then reached into her bag, pulled out the sealed bag of the little Poilâne treasures, looked at me and said "what the hell", and we proceeded to polish off half the bag before the pilot announced we needed to land in Detroit because of a medical emergency. 

Unfortunately, not everyone had the benefit of the little treats from Paris, and 3 other passengers had to be removed from the flight because of panic related issues they experienced during the initial descent. 

By the time we reached Portland 8 hours later, there were only crumbs in the bag, which was left in the seat pocket, and two very calm women walked off the plane to greet their dear husbands.  Thank you Poilâne!

National Biscuit

These Papadopoulos biscuits are the best!  The first time I visited Greece in 1974 I discovered them, and until last week, only was able to enjoy them there.  Or maybe I didn't look anywhere but Greece for the quintessential simple, official looking, national Greek biscuit.  Check out the stamp on the top of each cookie.  It's more official than a lot of currency. 

When I returned from what was the most fabulous visit to Greece this past summer, filled with great food, including these biscuits, I finally realized that I needed to find a source for my new addictions.  A source for great Greek feta, yogurt, olive oil, Kalamata olives and yes... Papadopoulos biscuits, and good prices.  I found it all and more at Barbur Foods in SW Portland.  Great produce, great meats, an international selection that keeps our little family going. 

As I was finishing up my shopping this week, I headed down the last aisle, always hoping to get lucky and find the biscuits.  There they were.  Packaged neatly in their sleeves, I grabbed one, ok two... alright three packages.  And am savoring every morsel.  Anyone know the history of these little treasures?

Down Home

What exactly does "down home" mean?  I'm not certain, but it's the words that came bubbling up when I decided to go public with one of my favorite restaurants.  Not just my favorite restaurant because it's close by, to go to on a Friday evening after a long work week, where I wanted to go to kick off and end my sabbatical, or where I would love to convince my husband to go tonight. 

It's all that, but it ranks in my top five restaurants in the world. 

Tad's Chicken 'n Dumplins, located on the Sandy River in Troutdale, Oregon.  We had lived in Oregon for almost 7 years before we discovered it.  Everyone has seen it who travels the historic Columbia River highway.  As did we, but we never stopped.  Now it's a destination, and one that is well worth it.  Their signature neon sign is nestled in the trees, on your right hand side as you head east on the old highway.

I did get a passport before I was forty something, and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm qualified to be vice-president of the United States, and realize that having a passport isn't a prerequisite for VP of the USA.  Just stating the facts.  The travel bug bit me, hard.  I am lucky to have visited many countries in the world, lived in Germany for many years, and have had the luck to eat at many wonderful restaurants.  I am a confessed foodie, so trust me on this one.

Tad's is the perfect place to go and unwind, enjoy an amazing meal, drink a nice glass of wine, and slow down with the perfect balance of past and present. Depending on your mood, the weather, or how hungry you are (there can be a wait), there are three distinct rooms where you can enjoy your meal.  Our favorite is the large "open air" room, no A.C., just large floor to ceiling windows that open up to views of the river. 

 

Open Air Room                                       Dining Room                                           Fireplace Room

Everytime we go, we open the menu, look through it and order the same thing.  I am sure we are not alone in this habit are we?  The portions are hearty, and you'll have enough to take home a nice doggie bag.  We usually split the dinner, which is perfect.  Here's what I recommend:

1. Glass, or two, of Firesteed Pinot Noir (served in a juice glass... was Tad Greek?)
2. Relish tray (comes automatically- fresh, crisp veggies and a dill dip)
3. Fried chicken livers for appetizer
4. House salad (their cole slaw is pretty good too)
5. Fried Chicken with Baked Potato
6. Peppermint ice cream (if there's room)

So there you have it, one of my top 5 restaurants.  If you're ever in Oregon, it's only 20 miles east of Portland.  Check it out!

Rentals Matter 2

Seat Leon                                              Fiat 500                                          Mini Cooper

One of the many, many things I enjoy about Europe are the variety of cars that are offered there.  Cars that we have with a few exceptions, absolutely no visibility to here in the USA.  As the Buick Lucerne continues to sell more of that particular model than all the BMW's sold in the US, I question why isn't good design and great economy more important to my fellow Americans?  We have never been a country that settles for mediocre, so why do many put "Made in the USA" over quality, safety, beauty and just plain fun to drive?

In Germany, we rented the SEAT Leon.  Spain's division of Volkswagen is putting out some great cars.  The Spanish have lots to be proud of these days, Rafael Nadal, Euro Champs 2008 and SEAT!

Nissan Micra                                   Peugeot 207CC                                                Lancia Ypsilon

Car-watching in Greece was a blast.  Greece doesn't manufacture any cars, no country loyalty comes into play.  The cars on the road were great fun, small, powerful, great colors and finishes.  We were constantly commenting that it's a pity we can't get that in the US. 

We did a lot of driving on our roadtrips in Greece, we put over 1,200 miles on our rental car.  So in hindsight we should have paid a bit more attention to what we drove away with from the Hertz lot at the Athens airport. 

It was a decent little car, a Hyundai Getz, the color was a bit odd, but in the shadow of the underpass which was the Hertz lot, it looked "interesting".  It had a couple of scratches and little dents, but nothing major.  It screamed "this is not you, or anything like you, or anything you would have driven ever", but it had AC, and it was what we were given.  They practically made it seem as though it was an upgrade, so who are we to question. 

We're "Car People", even rental cars matter.

Getz at Schinias                                   Getz overlooking Elatos                          Getz heading up the Κουρελεϊκα

Once in the bright Greek sunshine, the interesting color was a flat taxi cab yellow.  The number of people who tried to flag us down and get in our backseat was minimum, unless we were in a city.  We had no trouble finding our car in a parking lot. The car ran perfectly.  We didn't have a moment of trouble with it, but... it wasn't fun.  It wasn't us.  But it's family now.  It was part of all the wonderful memories.  With my sweet husband at the wheel, it got us everywhere we needed to go, and sure beat the donkey my Υιαγια rode around Elatos.

This is how we do it

 

 

It's really pretty easy to create this wonderful dinner.  It takes about a day for us, but we've got the time.  Here's the recipe in case you want to try this one out!  Readers of my blog know the basic ingredients so I won't go into too much detail here, what's really important is the order in which you prepare!  Start early, in our case we began at noon.

1. Visit the local butcher.  The one you can trust to give you the best and the freshest cut of meat.  The one who is patient enough to listen, as you try to explain in Greek what you want.  In this case, ask him for 6 lamb chops.  He pulls out a large piece out of his walk-in fridge, slams it down on the butcher block, smiles and says only 6?  OK, make it 10.  Chops 10 nice size chops, and throws in a few extra small pieces that we all know are the best at the end of the grilling process.

2. Buy wine.  In this case, because we trust and now love our butcher, we ask him about the wine he has on the counter.  It's local, and is bottled in 1.5 liter plastic pop bottles.  Not exactly what we would normally buy, but he recommends the red NOT the white. Says he drinks it himself. And we believe him.

3. Buy vegetables.  Stop at a road side stand for tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers.  In this case, stop at the stand of an elderly couple selling from, most likely, their garden.  Pick out a bag full, and they charge you 1 Euro, for all of it.  We give them 2, because we feel guilty.  You speak to them about the weather, because there is actually a cloud in the sky on this particular day.

4. Marinate the lamb.  This is the hard part, so pay attention.  Prepare the lamb chops with salt, pepper and oregano, ON BOTH SIDES.  Marinate in lemon juice and olive oil, place in the fridge.  Don't let this intimidate you.  You can do it!!

5. Go to the beach.  Spend the better part of the afternoon and the early evening at the beach.  Since you want to let the lamb marinate for at least 4 hours, you've got plenty of time.

6. Open that bottle of wine.  In this case, unscrew the plastic top.  Taste the butcher's choice wine, in this case a dark rose, that is amazingly delicious.  See all that a good butcher can add to your life? We decide we need to find a butcher at home.

7. Prepare the salad.  Make it a typical Χοριατικι Σαλατα (village salad).  Tomatoes, cucumbers and sliced green peppers.  Place a couple of good size pieces of feta cheese on the top.  You're done.  This is the absolute easiest and best salad on the planet.  No bias here!

8. Fire up the grill.  Grill the lamb chops.

9. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.  Yes, it was a long day.  The process took time, it is nearly 10 hours after we started.  Although I tried to include as many details as possible, there were many other things that we needed to do throughout the day that took up a bit more time.  For example, applying and reapplying sunscreen, can take a good chunk of time out of your day.  Finishing that beach novel before the sun goes down.  Stopping at the local bakery, to pick up fresh bread and κουλουρια (cookies).  So plan accordingly!

Kαλη Ορεχη!!  Guten appetit!

I heart L.A. ...what did she say?

    

   

Yes, I'll say it again, I love L.A., as in California.  

I am surprised too.  

My friend at Autologue recently wrote rhapsodic about her recent trip to LA LA Land, but it didn't convince me. I've been to LA several times, and have never, ever come away with any kind of understanding, vibe or sense of what that city holds.  That is until I experienced LA last week.  

And although this post is going to be about some great coffee I had, and the previous dealt with a great cupcake, it's not because of the food and drink!  It's about the light, the diversity, the community and what I actually think is the livability factor in L.A.  

Has something changed in L.A.?  Am I so sun deprived that this was all it took, 4 straight days of high 70's, blue skies and not a cloud in sight?  Why the connection, why now?  The traffic didn't even really play the major role that it usually does... hmmm?

I had coffee at LA MILL COFFEE on Silver Lake Blvd, in Silver Lake.  The coffee was amazing.  Granted I'm a big coffee drinker, but in no way a connoisseur.  I like my coffee black normally, nothing fancy.  Once in awhile I will splurge on what a friend introduced me to, a wet cappuccino.  And of course when I am in Italy, well you know.  So since I'm not a connoisseur I can't really describe what I liked about LA MILL COFFEE, I've tried but I really can't.  It tasted wonderful.  Some were saying it was a whisper of orange, a touch of clove... I don't know.  The place itself was beautiful.  Calm, cool, well designed.  Very L.A.  Their use of color was unique to most coffee shops.  Their signature iced aqua was used from product to packaging and felt perfect for both.

It's nice to have a new favorite city, that's actually reachable in a couple of hours.  So yes, I heart L.A. Great cupcakes and coffee add to that to be sure!

Hello Cupcake!

On a recent trip to L.A. we happened upon the Bluebird Cafe in Culver City.  I  know, it's not likely to "happen upon" anything in Los Angeles, it's more of a destination kind of place, but really, we happened upon this spot! What a find, the food was excellent, and come to find out a writer for LA Weekly considers it one of Los Angeles' 99 Essential Restaurants.  After a fantastic lunch, we were treated to their signature cupcakes.  I've blogged about the popularity of cupcakes before, and feel the need to post this gorgeously simple photo of Bluebird's chocolate cupcake.  This style of sprinkle, confetti, is my favorite too.  

Kalliope considers the Bluebird one of Los Angeles' 3 Essential Restaurants, still working on the other two... now where's Culver City again

What's a pergola?

We just spent a fabulous week in Mexico, sunny and 85 degrees everyday for 8 days straight.  Wonderful.  We stayed at a beautiful place, and for the first 4 days we spent our days sitting poolside, a few steps away from the beach, enjoying the sun, water and some good books.  OK, some average books... I didn't pick winners this vacation, but I digress.

The resort offered pergola's that you could rent by the day, directly on the beach.  We convinced ourselves that we really didn't need a pergola, once we figured out what a pergola was.  Then one day when we came back to our room we had a message that said we received a complimentary pergola the next day.  OK, we'll give it a try.  You see, we didn't fancy ourselves Pergola People.

From one day to the next I went from not knowing what a pergola was, to can't live without it now.  Everything is better in a pergola.  The Bloody Mary's have more vodka, the bottled water tastes better, the sky is bluer, the book is better (ok, not even a pergola can help a bad book), the people sitting next to you (not too close) are friendlier.  As we packed our things up at the end of our first Pergola experience we contemplated renting one the next day. 

I always go through guilty moments at these times.  Do I really need this?  Aren't the beautiful pools enough?  Isn't being at a beautiful resort enough?  If it's not Greek Guilt on my side, it's German Austerity on my husbands!  I come from a people who put a straw mat on a pebbly beach and that is luxury.  They last the whole day on the beach, lined up body to body, and that's wonderful.  No umbrellas, nothing.  Just a mat a bit smaller than the body on it.  That's good enough.  It's wasn't in my DNA to want for a pergola. 

Well, it is now.  We are official Pergola People, and proud of it.  We decided we needed to reserve one for the remainder of our trip. 

Did I mention that they had a special pergola, where they offered massages right on the beach?  The luxury of a massage IN a pergola, directly on the beach, now that's going a bit too far for this Kalliope.

What the World Eats

These photos are from a book called Hungry Planet, by photojournalist Peter Menzel.  It's data presentation at it's best, a simple way to better understand what culturally diverse families eat and spend for a week of food.  The photographs are fascinating, showing the food for the week and the size of the family it feeds.  Here's a link to get a look at a few of the families from Germany, to US to Bhutan. 

Germany, $500.00

California, USA, $160.00

  Egypt, $68.53

Red Hot

I've abandoned chartreuse momentarily for a new favorite color.  It's the vermilion red-orange seen throughout Japan on Shinto shrines.  I love it.  It's unwearable really, but who cares.  Sorry chartreuse, something else has caught my eye.  Flirting with Shinto orange, I hope there's not some legend that says this will not end beautifully. 

Contradictions Define

I'm heading to Japan today for a week of business meetings, which include a great deal of creative inspiration.  I'm lucky.  I haven't spent much time in Asia, as with most travel, I am excited.  As I prepare, I find myself reading about the history, culture and richness of Japan.  I'm watching "Memoirs of a Geisha" because a friend told me that I will most likely see Geisha in Kyoto and I'm hungry to learn more.  Then as I'm looking through a recent issue of Newsweek I see this a new toy out of Japan, Puchi Puchi, from the makers of Tamagotchi.  Fake bubble wrap.  It wakes me up out of my romantic visions of Japan, and prepares me for the exciting and juxtaposed Japan.  Fake bubble wrap, I'm taking orders!!

Wallpaper City Guides

I love to travel, and I'm lucky to do a fair amount of it for business and personally.  More personal travel is a goal, and so for Christmas this year I bought the Wallpaper Travel Guides for my husband and me.  These amazing little books are visually beautiful, and filled with all that makes Wallpaper magazine one of my favorites - they sit on a shelf in our home, right beside a beautiful globe, and they remind us of the places we've been and the places we still want to visit - together.

The current set includes 20 fabulous cities, and this year the publisher Phaidon will issue 40 more.  Easy to schlepp-a-long on a trip, or to offer a little escape sitting on your sofa in January in front of a fire.  Today I'm going back to Barcelona.  Adios!

Blau Weiss

Der blau weisse Bayerische Himmel, the blue white Bavarian Sky.  I snapped this picture standing on one of my favorite streets in the world, Residenzstrasse in Munich. 

To get this view, stand on the Residenzstrasse with your back to the Spatenhaus an der Oper looking towards the Maximilianstrasse, or as we call it "Spend-a-millionstrasse".  And voila!  This must be exactly where the designer of the Bavarian flag was standing when he landed his concept.  Rumor has it the blue white Bavarian sky was the inspiration. 

The sky must have looked just like this on that day.

Tate Slides

The Tate Modern museum in London has a current installation in its' massive turbine hall by Carsten Hoeller, until April 2007.  It is so impressive, inspirational and interactive.  Museums in Europe never cease to amaze me as places where one sees people of all ages, enjoying art.  What I love the most is the pure nature of being surrounded by art.  Whether old or new, the exposure cannot help but feed the soul. 

What the Tate Slides do really well is engage, the spectator and the participant.  Visually and physically, not to mention the screams of delight to those brave enough to take the slide from the 5th floor of this massive building.  Kind of like the inner scream of delight I experienced when discovering a collection of Mark Rothko paintings that I had never, ever seen on the third floor. 

This was my first visit to the Tate Modern, what took me so long???  Another reason to love London even more!

     

Those who help us

Whenever I travel, I always search out a stationery store.  Here are some of my favorite discoveries over the years.  A trip to any of these cities, without a visit to "stock-up" would be a shame.

Papier+ in Paris was one of my early discoveries during one of my first visits to this amazing city.  It is located at 9 rue du Pont Louis Philippe, in the Marais district of Paris.  A quick glimpse at their website, with the simple sketch of their storefront is the essence of this fabulous store.

Pepa Paper, in Barcelona at 167 Paris Street, with a few smaller shops around the city has one of the best selections of bound notebooks I have ever seen.  A friend and I walked out with no fewer than 7 a piece.  At the time we said we would give them as gifts... I haven't, yet.  I'll have to ask her.  They also have an absolutely amazing selection of wrapping papers.

Paperhaus is a more recent discovery for me in nearby Seattle, 2008 1st Avenue.  Not the selection of notebooks and papers that I usually covet, but great organization products and office supplies. 

Paperchase at 213-215 Tottenham Court Road in London is another absolute favorite.  Arriving in London, in the early morning after an overseas flight, this store was always open.  They have lots of locations, and recently sell some of their products at Borders stores in the USA.

Kaut Bullinger in Munich, is the Disneyworld for the stationery and art supply obsessed.  This one was on my Saturday to-do-list for more than seven years, and is still one of the first stops I make when I am in my beloved city.  The store located at Rosenstrasse 8 at the Marienplatz, is 5 stories, maybe 10... in any case, wear sensible shoes and plan a couple of hours. 

More to come... how 'bout your favorites?

Kaut Bullinger Rosenstrasse Munich

I heart Berlin

I visited Berlin this week for the first time in over 10 years.  It is an incredible city, amazing inspiration, and a vibrant, growing metropolis.  A combination of old and new.  Buildings that were left in rubble for decades, now being restored and combined with the newest architectural wonders.

 

 

   

Checkout my I heart Berlin set on flickr.com

Dances with Strangers

I've been in Europe for two weeks, as my trip comes to an end there are some observations that I would like to share. 

People stare in Europe

People don't stare in the US

I stare in the US

People don't like it when I stare in the US

I'm in Europe where it's ok to stare, but I haven't won one staredown

I'm trying

I'm in the Amsterdam airport on my way to Munich

I've been having staredowns with all kinds of people, all morning, haven't won one yet!

It's getting more and more difficult to tell national differences.

Everyone dresses basically the same, so it's all about the nuances.

(I just looked up from writing this, and there was a stare)

I was prepared to staredown, but as soon as I looked up, the head turned and backed down. 

An American.  A European would have never looked away.

People are a bit more distant in Europe, socially

Physically, is something else all together

Most Europeans crowd, they sit close, even when there's lots of space

They zig, zag, and inch there way closer

I've come to the conclusion that people are sure that where I am standing, sitting or waiting has to be more interesting than where they are standing, sitting or waiting.  They are sincerely interested, and don't want to miss something that I might be experiencing or seeing. 

I think that's it!

So here's how I spent a couple of hours this morning at Schiphol Airport.

I separate
I stare
They stare
They crowd
They ignore
I separate
I stare
They stare
They crowd
They ignore
I separate

Got it, separate, stare, stare, crowd, ignore, separate

Now if we just had some music