The Silent "I"

Guest Post: A Letter from Hokkaido

 

 

Frank took a business trip to Hokkaido, Japan last week, and agreed to let me share his ramen-powered Sapporo adventure. 

Hi, Sweetie:

Here I am in Hokkaido, safe and sound. The flights from the US were uneventful, the usual trans-pacific 12 hour drag, and after a decent layover, I made the connection to the domestic ANA flight within Japan to Sapporo’s International Airport (actually Shin Chitose International Airport, about 20 miles south of Sapporo) with no trouble.

Actually, I take that back; there was a bit of trouble – I forgot to take my leftover Yen from the currency drawer at home, so I got to Sapporo at 9 pm with only US$ in hand, and by then the foreign exchange office was closed. I thought I might be stuck, but I asked at the information counter, and they directed me to a hidden row of ATMs, which took some time to find.  Fortunately, they worked, and I could withdraw Japanese cash and be on my way. But not without noticing that the Sapporo International airport is HUGE – giant shopping malls (all closed at this time of night), and 4 floors of long curved corridors that go on forever. By the time I found the ATM, I’d walked nearly a half mile. Not quite what I wanted after traveling for nearly 20 hours.

The JR train station was in the airport basement, and once I got my ticket a train was ready to depart in a few minutes. The train was comfortable (all seats, not a sand-up commuter train), and, and in half an hour I was in town at the Shin Sapporo station.

 The conference hotel was only a block from the station – I had a great printout from Google maps, showing the area in great detail – but to get out of the station I had to go through a maze of twisting shopping passages (all closed at this time of night) and a bridge to a back alley for bicycle parking before I finally found the tower of the Sheraton Sapporo Hotel in front of me.  What a welcome sight that was. Even if it did look like a mini European cathedral from this end – clearly a hotel with an eye to the wedding market.

Planning a Trip to Easter Island

If you're interested in visiting Easter Island aka Isla de Pascua aka Rapa Nui aka "The Navel of the World," be forewarned that it is far, far away from any main airport hub and it will take a while to get there.  Lan Chile flights out of Santiago, Chile leave twice weekly, stopping off in Easter Island en route to Tahiti.  Your choices for direct flights are either out of Santiago or Papeete, Tahiti.  Be sure to book your flights well in advance. 

Further, there are limited hotel rooms on the island, and no major American or European chains.  The hotels are locally owned due to laws preserving the rights of native Rapa Nui people in landownership.  When we were there, there was a big debate among the Rapa Nui elders as to whether or not to allow Club Med to build a resort there.  As far as I know, they didn't allow it.  Part of the island's charm is the vast expanses of unspoiled land and the ability to see moai around nearly every bend in the road. Most hotels would be classified as "motels" by American standards, or large bed-and-breakfast style guest houses.

Buenos Aires: Where's the Beef?

 

February 3, 2004

One of the things Argentina is famous for (besides Eva Peron) is the incredible beef.  We had read about the steakhouses in Buenos Aires, and being big time carnivores, we couldn't let a day in Buenos Aires go by without trying a steak.  We had both read about La Estancia Restaurant in various guidebooks, which the website calls "A Hearth Burning in the Heart of Buenos Aires."

When you walk in, you see a large asador or circular fireplace with various kinds of meet roasting on tall spits surrounding glowing coals in the middle.  I've read that there is a floor show in the evening, but we arrived early (probably 6:30) and were the only ones in the restaurant.  Argentines tend to eat dinner later than we do, which was probably a good thing since we didn't know how Alexander would fare if we had to wait a long time for dinner.

Our waiter was a portly gray-haired gentleman wearing a jaunty neckerchief and a white apron.  He didn't speak much English, and we didn't speak much Spanish, so we just pointed and smiled and hoped for the best. He was friendly, and ruffled Alexander's hair and patted his shoulder every time he came to the table or passed it. 

Napa Valley for Kids: What to Do (and Not Do)

The Napa Valley Wine Country isn't really known for kid-friendly venues, since the emphasis there is primarily on adult beverages. Nonetheless, for Labor Day weekend, we decided to do a day-trip to Napa Valley, which is about a two hour drive from our house.   Even though it's not that far from where we live, we rarely go up to the Wine Country unless we have visitors who want to see it, mainly because I didn't think there would be much appeal for our nine year old son.  We decided to spend Saturday up in the wine country, exploring fun activities for kids in Napa Valley.

Castello di Amorosa Winery

Several on-line guides recommended the Castello di Amorosa, a re-creation of the 12th century Tuscan castle on the hillside near Calistoga.  The guides said that this would be fun for kids, since there is a tour that includes a dungeon and castle turrets to run around on.  We made our way down the Silverado trail and pulled up in front of the castle, which from the outside, did not disappoint.  Alex exclaimed, "Where there battles here, Mom?"

I had to tell him that it was highly unlikely any battles were fought here, except maybe the Great Chardonnay Wars of '07, which resulted in casualties. Unfortunately, many grapes were crushed in the incursion.  He rolled his eyes, because he's smart like that and knows when I'm pulling his leg.

Two things the guides failed to mention: 1) On the weekends, it costs $15 per adult/$5 per child aged 5-20 to go into the castle, and the guided tour is $30 per adult/$20 per child; and 2) the wine is not good. Kids under 5 get in free, and the entrance fees are slightly less during the week.  The only way to see the dungeon is to pay for the full tour. I didn't think was worth $80 to see a fake dungeon, when we'd seen real ones in Scotland, plus the next available tour was four hours after we arrived.

We plunked down our $35 for the three of us, and proceeded to look at the Great Hall, which was a recreation of a medieval banquet hall.  The walls were painted from floor to ceiling in scenes that looked like they could have been on some 12th century tapestry or another, and large metal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.  There was nothing going on in the Great Hall, and it was a little dark and foreboding.  Alex peeked in, and promptly ran away. 

Fleur de Lys San Francisco: An Anniversary to Remember

Frank and I celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary last week.  Instead of the flower parade or spa treatments of years past, I asked if we could go to Fleur de Lys, Top Chef Master Hubert Keller's restaurant in San Francisco. I booked it about three weeks ago, and let them know that it was our anniversary.  On Friday night, we went, and it did not disappoint in the least.

We drove up to the city in style, in our loaner Lincoln MKT that the nice people at Ford graciously let me test drive for the weekend.  The Valet was very appreciative of the car and said he "loved the new Lincoln" and wanted to have his picture taken with it.  I told him not to take it too far, and he promised to take good care of it.

Great Northern Adventure: North Dakota

Our Great Northern Adventure 2002: Part 2

November 5, 2002

We drove out of Angle Inlet, after a routine stop at the Customs Phone Booth at Jim’s Corner to tell them we were leaving the U.S. and going back to Canada.  We drove for a while, had a snack, then stopped in a deserted park in Letellier, Manitoba.  There was no snow on the ground here, and the air was crisp and clear. It looked like fall.

Aside from the park, all we could see of the town was a grain elevator and not much else.  Alexander liked the park and primarily wanted to swing…and swing…and swing…  We were able to coax him back into the car when he heard a train passing.  We jumped in the car and searched for the train, which was a couple of blocks away.  It was probably the longest freight train I have ever seen in my life and it seemed like it took an hour to pass.  Alexander was obsessed with trains at the time, so he loved it.

Before we left for this vacation, I started a small scrapbook of “Alexander’s Fifty States” with the names of all the U.S. States in alphabetical order, with room for a picture and information about when Alexander visited that particular state.  I figured that a grown-up Alexander could fill in the missing states on his own someday, but it would be a fun record of our travels together. 

Frank, being the goal-oriented traveler that he is, got a little carried away with this little book.  He would seize any opportunity to add a state to Alexander’s collection.  Since we were close to the North Dakota border, Frank had suggested that we cross over to have lunch, take a picture, then drive to our motel in Steinbach, Manitoba.  Sounded like a good idea at the time, so we headed south.

Not Your Daddy's Pittsburgh

Last week, I spent four days with 1500 other progressive bloggers at the Netroots Nation Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At first, I was a little perplexed by why they chose Pittsburgh of all places to hold the convention, but after a day there, I realized that any preconceived notion I might have had about the place flew out the window.  Pittsburgh, in many ways, seems to be a city reborn, and not at all what I was expecting.

The image I had of Pittsburgh was that of the quintessential midwestern city, fully of smokestacks rising up over a flat, gray landscape and a gritty urban environment.  What I found was clean air, friendly people, and a thriving downtown cultural scene.  I could see why the Netroots organizers chose it, for its affordability, centrality, and hospitality.

Okonomiyaki: The Name Says It All

Okonomiyaki in Osaka from Glennia Campbell on Vimeo.

On our last full day in Japan, Frank insisted that we go to an okonomiyaki restaurant.  If kaiseki is Japanese haute cuising, okonomiyaki is the equivalent of a Denny's Grand Slam.  It's crude, filling, and fairly inexpensive.  It is an omelette-pancake-vegetable-leftover concoction that is cooked on a grill embedded in your table. It's a specialty of the Kansai region, so we could not pass up the opportunity to give it a try. Frank had fond memories of okonomiyaki from his time as a student at Tokyo University and wanted to share this rich cultural experience with his family. If the Watanabe family ever visits us in the US, we will need to return the favor by taking them to The French Laundry, followed by Cracker Barrel.

Osaka is rife with okonomiyaki joints, and at first, Hisashi-san wanted to take us to a nice place near the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.  We spend so much time ogling the fish there, we ran out of time, so we opted to try something closer to Osaka Stadium before the soccer game. Hisashi's wife, Masae, graciously opted to go save seats instead of going with us to dinner, so we dropped her off and found a place near Osaka University.  I'm not sure if she was actually avoiding the inevitable heartburn to follow, or being entirely altruistic.  I think it was the latter.

"Okonomiyaki" is based on two Japanese words, "okonomi" meaning "what you want" or "what you like" and "yaki" meaning "grilled".  So, basically, it's whatever you want on a grill.  Traditionally, it's made from eggs, cabbage, flour, grated yam and water, with meat or seafood added in (whatever you want). It's formed into an omelette shape and grilled at your table, with a dose of brown tonkatsu sauce, some Japanese mayo, and fish flakes added on top.  I'm not sure exactly what the fish flakes add other than entertainment value. You can see in the video that when heated, they start to come alive, dancing on top of the concoction.  Alex added the "IT'S ALIVE!" sound effects to heighten the experience.

Frank ordered the house specialty, which was less pancake and more glob of noodles with curry sauce and bits of vegetables.  I went the traditional route, ordering the standard egg-flour-cabbage-meat combo, but I could not discern any particular meat in the dish.  Alex ordered some edamame (soy beans) and grilled beef chunks, which were quite tasty.

I can't say that this is something I would want to eat every day without a good cardiologist on call, but it was a fun experience.  It tasted better than I expected, and the flavors actually worked well together.  Who knew cabbage, eggs, fish fishflakes and tonkatsu sauce would be a winning combination?  It seemed like it was dreamed up by some poor grad student who ran out of yen before the end of the semester.

In short, if you're ever in Kansai, be sure to try the okonomiyaki.  Ask for extra fish flakes and watch the magic.

Kaiseki in Kyoto

After our jaunt to Kobe, we had just enough time to rest and clean up before traveling to Kyoto for a kaiseki dinner with our friends, the Watanabe family.  Frank has known the dad, Hisashi-san, for many years, and each time we visit Japan, we try to visit with them.  Their three kids are a little older than Alex, and are as fascinated with him as he is with them.  He asked about them repeatedly on the trip, and looked forward to seeing them again from the time we set sail in Tianjin.

We boarded a train heading for Kyoto, and the plan was to meet them at the Kyoto Train Station, near the main entrance.  We arrived early, so had some time to look around in the massive steel lobby, with the longest escalator I've ever seen in my life.  After poking into some Kyoto food specialty shops, we caught up with Hisashi-san.  He called his wife to find out where the rest of the family was, and found them in the sea of rush hour commuters emerging from the turnstiles.

Hisashi-san wanted to take us to a special dinner, so the whole gang followed him out of the station, down the street and around the block to a small, intimate restaurant.  The restaurant was called Iimura, and featured Kyo-Ryori style dinner. We walked down a narrow pathway adorned with ferns and bamboo plants to the entrance.  A woman in a traditional kimono led us to a private room with a low table, and tatami mats on the floor.  We removed our shoes outside the dining room, and sat on the floor on pillows.

Shortly after arriving, the rice paper door to our room slid open, and the woman in the kimono passed out hot towels to our group. I like the tradition of washing up with hot towels before a meal.  It's refreshing and easier than finding a restroom to wash your hands. 

After that, it seemed like an endless stream of small, delicate plates. This was Kyoto-style kaiseki, a time-honored traditional meal that Kyoto is particularly famous for. Kyo-ryori is a series of small, beautiful plates that reflect the season.  It has an artistic quality to it, and I can't think of anything in Western cuisine that is quite like it.  We had kaiseki at a ryokan (Japanese inn) years ago, but had never had it in Kyoto.

 

The first dish was a bright pink dish of shoe-string cut potatoes.  I have no idea where the pinkness came from, but it seemed to have some kind of fish roe mixed in with it.  It was cold, and had the appearance of French fries cooked by Hello Kitty.  It was cool and refreshing, without any particularly over-powering flavor.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Cruise Ship in the Rain from Glennia Campbell on Vimeo.

After a pleasant, but rainy and smoggy, stay in Tianjin, China, we were finally able to board the Costa Classica cruise ship to see the total solar eclipse in the Pacific.  The ship was nice and well-appointed, but it was no Sinfonia.  I think our experiences at the 2006 solar eclipse in Libya have pretty much ruined cruises for me forever, since I'm not sure that any other experience could quite live up to that.  I had high hopes for the Costa Classica, though, since it's part of the same ownership as the MSC Crociere Sinfonia that we took in the Mediterranean in 2006.