my favorites: 8 stunning views

Posted on January 26, 2015 by jaunt blog

bixby bridge in big sur, california

every year around this time, i start to get a bit of cabin fever. it’s officially “busy season” for me at work, and i leave civilization for awhile and hibernate in conference rooms around the dallas metroplex. inevitably, the travel itch comes along as i dream of warmer weather, exotic locations, and – due to lack of windows in the aforementioned conference rooms – a better view.

central california: farm to rail to sea.

there’s no sense in fighting it, so i’ve compiled a few of my favorite views from my travels. seeing these sights in person have produced gasps, “ah ha!” moments, a bewilderment at this crazy amazing place we call earth, and a larger-than-i’d-like-to-admit terrifying fear of heights. enjoy the views, and please let me know some of your favorites that i’ve missed!

the view of cape town from table mountain

my husband and i traveled to south africa this past summer, and absolutely fell in love with the country. read more about my trip to cape town (and table mountain!) here.

new york, my love, as seen from brooklyn. it doesn’t get better than this. period.

a year ago,during a work trip to new york, i fought the urge to stay in manhattan and crossed the river to brooklyn for the entire weekend, and was more than pleasantly surprised. more brooklyn tidbits here.

santorini, aka my favorite place the whole entire world.

ok, so santorini seems fake. the photos that look fake? they’re not. the entire island looks exactly this perfect (at least, when it’s not erupting). read more about santorini here. spoiler alert: it will steal your heart.

barcelona, as seen from park guell

barcelona is a city of color and life and art. my best friend and i visited two years ago and it has stayed with me since. if you only have a limited amount of time in europe, this is a must-see city. you can read more about my favorites in barcelona here and here.

oregon pine trees, as seen from the window of our train, en route to seattle from los angeles

the amtrak from los angeles to seattle was so unique and reminiscent of bygone days that i keep dreaming of my next train trip. read more about the adventure here.

the stunning mcway falls in big sur, california. this was one of my favorite vacations to date…must write about it soon!

my jaunts: gypsy flamenco caves in grenada, spain

Posted on October 9, 2013 by jaunt blog

a typical grenada balcony, as seen during our night stroll through the sacromonte neighborhood

so, honest truth: spain is my favorite country in the world (outside of the US, obvs). i’ve spent the most time there, i studied abroad there, i (somewhat) speak the language, i’ve learned its history and read its novels. and one of my favorite evenings out in spain was to watch the flamenco dancers in the caves in grenada. touristy? yes. but totally unlike anything i had ever seen before.

at the flamenco show at zambra maria la canastera in the sacromonte neighborhood of grenada, spain

imagine my surprise when – while watching anthony bourdain’s ‘parts unknown’ – i saw those same flamenco dancers on tv talking with tony! and i’m not talking about a similar cave with similar dancers down the street. nope, anthony met and talked with the exact same dancers in the exact same cave over ten years after i met and danced with them.

one of the dancers at maría la canastera in the gypsey caves of grenada

a friend i was studying abroad with found this amazing deal where we were picked up from our hotel, brought to the cave for the flamenco dancing (which included a drink), watched (and participated in!) the flamenco dancing, and then were led on a night tour of grenada, which culminated in a perfect view of the lit alhambra from across the cliff. we thought – and rightly so – that it was one of our best nights in spain. we were poor students studying abroad and our idea of entertainment was the street buskers outside. these guys were a major upgrade.

this guy totally owned it. check out his castanets! think the kids in the back are having a life-changing moment?

click here to see a brief video of bourdain enjoying the flamenco. however, you’ll need to watch the full episode to see videos of the actual dancing and interviews with the dancers. and check out my photos from 2003 with the same dancers, all clearly taken before i invested in a digital camera (those were the old days, kids). enjoy!

walking through the grenada cobble-stone streets at night.

my favorite: food markets

Posted on August 23, 2013 by jaunt blog

the gorgeous west side market in cleveland

traveling a lot can become pricey, and one way i like to save a little money is by buying food at markets rather than eating every meal out at a restaurant. my husband and i did this in santorini for several meals (ok, it’s a little more fun when you’re eating a homemade sandwich overlooking the aegean from a private balcony). and in addition to saving money, i’ve found that i really enjoy exploring food markets. they give you a sense of the tastes of that area, allow you to talk with a lot of people, and they tend to be in colorful, bustling settings that allow for some pretty cool people-watching. smaller restaurants nestled inside the markets can have fantastic food, at a fraction of the price.

though difficult, i’ve narrowed down the list to give you three of my favorites. each was unique and very specific to city in which it’s located.

granville island public market, vancouver, canada – hugging the water on granville island across from vancouver, this market has it all. aside from quite the delicious breakfast, the market has the most gorgeous fruits that runs on for aisles. nestled among the food are wine stalls, gourmet food displays, stationery stores, and more. but that is just the beginning. head out back to find granville brewery (we stopped to try a beer flight), more shops, and great views.

inside the granville island public market in vancouver

west side market, cleveland, ohio – i was in cleveland for work last year, and took a cue from 36 hours to stop by the farmers’ market. heaven. i ordered a crepe from crêpes de luxe and sat high above the stalls, overlooking the fantastic architecture (over 100 years old) and customers as they shopped for their day’s meals. i had no idea cleveland was such a foodie city, and if you’re laughing about that as you read this, then you clearly haven’t discovered it yet, either. home to many renowned chefs, cleveland knows good food, and this market is the hub of it all.

outside the west side market in cleveland with the welcoming crew

la boqueria, barcelona, spain – i briefly touched on this market in my post on barcelona, but it deserves another mention. colorful fruits are next to fresh fish are next to bright juices are next to a candy display. the market is overwhelming yet exactly what i was looking for as i enjoyed a fresh salad from puerto latino and a café from el quím. and since it’s located just off the la rambla, the large pedestrian mall, the people-watching is superb.

spices and chilies and fruits, oh my! at la boqueria in barcelona.

do you know of any markets i should add to my list?

los huevos at la boqueria in barcelona.

admiring the fruit at granville island public market in vancouver

reading my way around the world

Posted on July 8, 2013 by jaunt blog

marfa book company, where i found the history of giant, which was later written into a movie filmed in marfa

in case you haven’t heard, my husband is now a doctor. not the real kind of doctor, as he likes to say, but the kind that still gets some awesome initials after the name (i’d like to think that “cpa” still counts for something, but so far it’s not working in my favor). these initials (ph.d. in case you haven’t yet caught on) are from his five years spent learning everything there is about government and history. this proves to be a really useful skill when we travel and i say things like “now this country was on which side of the war?”

it’s official: he’s a doctor!

history was always my worst subject (ok, and chemistry). i could never remember the names and the battles, and the years just always blended together for me (is there really much difference between 1225 and 1290?). thankfully, travel is changing that, and making it more real to me than the pages of my former textbooks.

i have found that i really enjoy immersing myself in a travel destination through books, movies, and music. when traveling last summer to monterey, california, i read john steinbeck’s cannery row. not only did we visit cannery row and see the places on which the book was based, but we were also able to visit the steinbeck center in salinas and learn about steinbeck’s life growing up in salinas, and the true stories that inspired the book.

the pacific biological laboratories, fictionalized into western biological labs in steinbeck’s cannery row (monterey, ca)

i watched vicky cristina barcelona before my trip to barcelona. i read giant while traveling to marfa (still a favorite). i picked up a copy of a moose and a lobster walk into a bar while stopped at a light house in portland, maine. and a tale of two cities made the french revolution come to life much more than that world history class i took as a freshman. what better way to learn about the people and culture of a place than to read their stories and learn the history that defines the location?

interior of marfa book company, with tons of books on art, texas, and art in texas

other suggestions:
– read don quixote when in madrid and alcalá de henares (alcalá claims to be the birthplace of cervantes)
– read the age of innocence when in new york
– watch paris, je t’aime before heading to paris

what are some of your favorite location-specific reads/movies?

update: after writing this post, i was strolling through elliott bay book company in seattle (great bookstore if you are in the area), and came across an amazing resource, book lust to go. this book lists reading options (fiction and non-fiction) based on destinations. since i was about to head to barcelona, i checked the spain section, and it had the recommendation of the shadow of the wind, which takes place in 1945 barcelona, and was perfect for my trip (and long enough for the trans-atlantic flight). book lust to go is exactly what i’ve been looking for – pick up a copy!

visiting park guell in barcelona, as seen in vicky cristina barcelona

map of steinbeck’s travels in “travels with charley” at the steinbeck center in salinas, ca

my favorites: markets

Posted on June 17, 2013 by jaunt blog

vintage soda bottles at the san telmo antiques market in buenos aires

i love a good market. i’m not sure if its because i like a good deal, or because i like sifting through old junk in search of a treasure (is the hunt better than the catch?). but one thing is for sure: find me a market, and i’ll be happy as a clam! here are a few of my favorites i’ve visited:

san telmo antiques market, buenos aires, argentina – there are many markets in buenos aires (maybe why it’s one of my favorite destinations?), but this one was a real gem. full of old world treasures including old musical instruments, china, jewelry, and postcards, i was hooked. i took home a green soda bottle (see above) for about $20 (before pottery barn made them famous, charging 4x what i paid), and had a comical exchange in my broken spanish where i learned to not use the bottle due to the nozzle being made of lead (good to know – definitely would have given future dinner guests lead poisoning!).
san lorenzo central market, florence, italy – ok, this place is overwhelming. bring some cash and some big bags. florence is known for its leather and paper products (i love a good stationery set), and this market delivers loads of both. also throw in olive oil, shawls, and decorative wooden trays, and you’ll see why its so great. pretty sure i purchased a white linen blazer, sequined silver flats, a traditional florence wooden tray, a stationery set for my mother, a leather bag for a friend, the list goes on and on…
madrid book market, madrid, spain – slightly under the radar on a quiet street near retiro park, this market houses stall after stall of books. a reader’s paradise, great people-watching, and sure to deliver a nice gift for your favorite bibliophile. most are in spanish, but you can hunt for a few in other languages and find the picture books if you don’t read the language.

madrid book market

my jaunts: barcelona, part two

Posted on May 31, 2013 by jaunt blog

sitting in the street at el xampanyet in el born district – cava and tapas

a couple of weeks ago, i wrote a bit about my favorite sights in barcelona, spain. as i mentioned in that post, barcelona is a dynamic city with a huge personality, which kim and i had no problem adopting. some of my favorite parts included:

the catalonia flag in the el born district

catalan pride – the first thing we noticed is that the people of barcelona do not speak spanish; rather, they speak catalán, the language of catalonia, located in northeast spain. something of a mixture between french and spanish, this language was banned during francisco franco’s reign through the mid 1970s. following his death and the return of democracy, the catalan people embraced the previously banned culture with vigor, reintroducing the language in schools, and renaming streets. the yellow and red striped flag of catalonia flies from balconies and storefronts throughout the city, on the backs of cars, on backpacks, everywhere. i love a good sense of national pride, and that is exactly what this is (seriously – most catalans want a catalan nation).
the tapas crawl – catalans, and the spanish in general, typically do not eat dinner until 10pm, and therefore tapas are a necessity come 5pm or 6pm. tapas restaurants are everywhere, and tapas crawls were a daily event during our visit. some restaurants served tapas that were basic, offering small bikinis (toasted sandwiches) or canned sardines (a catalonia favorite) with a glass of cava (spanish sparkling wine) or vino. others attempted a gourmet twist on the classics, introducing truffles to bikinis, or topping brie and olive tapenade with the classic sardine. still others adopted the basque (northern region of spain) tradition and laid out on a long bar plates of bread with various toppings held together with toothpicks. one price per toothpick, and the bill is tabulated by counting the toothpicks on your plate. (see below for a list of some of our favorite tapas locations throughout the city. the fashionable el born district had a large number surrounding the passeig del born.)
el bocadillo chorizo and a cafe con leche at el born bar

eating like a local – yeah, so you may have noticed that two of my three points are about food. the food in barcelona is that good. for a quick and colorful overview, we headed to la boqueria market off la rambla, and lost ourselves in stalls full of fruit, meat, sweets, and spices. personal favorites included the salad from puerto latino and the freshly squeezed strawberry and pineapple juices. for lunch or a quick bite to eat, i survived almost completely on bocadillos de chorizo (chorizo sandwiches) and cafe con leche…delicious!

who should go: foodies, history buffs (everyone wants to talk about catalonia)
favorite tapas restaurant: quimet & quimet in el raval district (try their specially-made dark belgian beer), tapaç 24 in l’eixample (get the famous potatoes and a glass of cava), el xampanyet in el born (for less than $10, you can order a bottle of cava that comes with two small plates of snacks)
favorite bocadillo stop: el born bar
favorite nice meal: cinc sentits, a michelin star restaurant that was an experience in itself. not to be missed, this is a foodie’s heaven!

la bocaria market off la rambla

belgian beer and tapas at quimet & quimet – best tapas in barcelona

menu and cava at tapaç 24

a particularly good cafe con leche

my jaunts: barcelona

Posted on May 14, 2013 by jaunt blog

people in front of the mnac on montjüic watching la font mágica

my best friend and i visited barcelona for a week last october. the city is full of art, color, modernista architecture, and a general joie de vivre; basically, barcelona captured my heart. i could not possibly write about the city in one post, so i’ve decided to break it out into two separate posts: this devoted to the best tourist sites and another (next week) devoted to local flavor.

during our first day, we wanted to get our bearings. i thought that meant walking a lot. kim had another idea: the double-decker tourist bus. i gawked, she won, and it turned out to be ridiculously fun. we took the green route, which drove us through the modernista sights of the city: la sagrada familia, la pedrera, casa batlló, and park güell. the modernista movement was the art movement that occurred in the early 20th century that mirrors the art nouveau movement of paris. the man affiliated most with this movement in barcelona is antoni gaudí, who designed all of the sights listed above. his style is completely unique, and the joy and inspiration in his work is evident. i had never seen anything like it.

the torre agbar in barcelona

a rickshaw ride down the waterfront of the beach (in an area known as la barceloneta) was one of our favorites, as it allowed us to see huge lengths of the waterfront in a short amount of time. we passed public art, modern architecture, seafood restaurants, underground clubs accessible via elevators on the boardwalk (spain knows how to have a good time), and the olympic village from the 1992 summer olympics. additionally, the city allows drinking on the beach, so we enjoyed sipping sangrías while michael, our rickshaw pedaler from liverpool, tried to coax some more dinero out of us.

we ended one friday night in montjüic, a hill overlooking the city. a giant fountain dubbed la font màgica stands at the base of the national museum of catalunian art (mnac) and, at certain times throughout the week, gives a series of 30 minute shows that start with classical music, move towards katy perry, and end with freddie mercury singing barcelona.

the sheer amount of people there was unreal. tourists and locals alike crowded the area surrounding the fountain, stood on columns for better views, danced in groups to the music, and cheered with the catalan anthem. we drank cava from the stall in front of the mnac at the top of the stairs, and men walked around selling individual cans of beer (didn’t seem strange at the time). i’m not going to lie: when kim suggested this, i was not at all interested. fountain shows aren’t really my thing. word of advice: just do what kim says.

who should go: art and architecture lovers
other sights of interest: the cathedral, la rambla
what to read: the wallpaper guide to barcelona,
what to wear: comfortable walking shoes, appropriate clothes for cathedrals (no short shorts or tank tops)

the altar of la sagrada familia, gaudí’s cathedral masterpiece

view from the rickshaw of la barceloneta

gaudí’s park güell in barcelona

lucha libre-esque figures atop caso batlló, aka la pedrera

jaunt: one girl's search for adventure

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