"Kevin Costner was here?!!"

"You're damn right he was. It's the bleeping Adriatic!"

To take advantage of a Swiss holiday, Travers and I flew to Venice, Italy, to spend a few days in a nearby city, called Portoroz, just on the opposite side of the Adriatic, in a small country called Slovenia. We picked up our rental car and drove the short 2 hours to our hotel, the Kempinski Palace Portoroz! We strolled the small town that evening, passing by some live music being played out by the beach, then walked the boulevard lining the sand (having some fun with our shadows), eventually stopping at a restaurant and cocktail bar called Alaya, where we had a couple drinks and some local cuisine.

The next day was spent sitting poolside at the hotel. We were lucky enough to get a cabana, so we parked ourselves for several hours, me reading my kindle, and Travers using the ipad to watch the slingbox.  We were in heaven and were so happy to have some sun and relaxation! Travers even spent some time in a nearby hammock. And if we hadn't been hungry, I think he could have stayed there all day long!

Eventually, we made our way out of the hotel and took a brief walk up the coast.  The views were fantastic, with amazing blue water and sunny skies.  We made our way back through town, stopping again at our new favorite place, Alaya, for some refreshing cocktails and tasty burgers!

That evening, we hopped on a bus to the nearby town called Piran. This is a much larger town but still quite small, and lots of people from Portoroz go to Piran for a visit.  We arrived just before sunset, so we quickly strolled into town, past some cobblestone buildings, through a large plaza with a mariachi band, and headed towards the water to catch the sunset.






















After the sun set, we explored a bit more of the town, and eventually settled on a restaurant for dinner called Restaurant Pavel Piran, where we had tasty food and a really friendly waiter.  After dinner, we walked one or two doors down and found some live outdoor music and lots of people, so we stopped for a drink or two to watch, dance, and enjoy the warm summer night.

The next day, we started again by the pool, getting another cabana and spending several hours soaking up the sun.  We decided to go back into Piran that evening and wanted to get there a bit earlier so we could explore the town while it was still light out.  So we eventually left the cabana, got ready for the evening and headed back on the bus to Piran.  Unfortunately, seeing Piran during the day, also meant that it was going to be hot out and we would certainly start sweating. And even more unfortunately, we were wearing some nice clothes to be in for dinner. So after we climbed up a fairly steep hill to see the popular church and fantastic views of the town from above, lucky Travers was able to 'air-out' so he didn't get his shirt too sweaty. It was all worth it though to see the breathtaking views of the ocean and town below.

After we made our way back down the hill, we stopped for a refreshing beer at a local pub, befriending the waiter who suggested we go to his friend's restaurant for dinner that evening, Casa Nostromo. At first, we weren't sure we would go, but after walking by and seeing the fun but nice ambiance, we decided to check it out. And we are so glad we did as it was one of the best meals we have had, ever. And we've eaten in a lot of restaurants in a lot of countries, and this was by far one of the best.  We started with two oysters, followed by 4 scallops, finishing with a whole fish. You could tell that everything was fresh and expertly prepared. We savored every bite and were able to chat up the wife of the owner afterwards and hopefully express our delight at this delicious meal!

After dinner, we went to a nearby bar where the waiter from the local pub, as well as the owner of the restuarant were hanging out and listening to the live music that was being played.  We drank and we danced, but eventually had to leave as the next morning we would be driving through the Prosecco region of Italy, before dropping the car off and taking a boat into Venice!

Birthdays and Boats

Towards the end of July, Travers and I hopped on a plane for Stockholm, not wanting to miss the chance to see my parents and my aunt and uncle who were there for the weekend before sailing on a cruise ship for 2 weeks in the Baltic Sea to celebrate my mother's and my aunt's birthdays that were just a week apart.  We arrived on Friday afternoon, checked into the First Hotel Reisen, and contacted my aunt and uncle who had arrived a few hours ahead of us.  We met them in the lobby and headed into the old town area to grab a drink and catch up. My parents arrived a few hours later, so after they got settled in, we all met in our room to have a celebratory glass of my mom's and my favorite champagne, Veuve Clicquot!

We then led the group on a short walk across one of the many bridges in Stockholm to the Grand Hotel, which is well known for its Cadier Bar, with its beautiful decor and architecture. We had a round of cocktails, catching up with each other on the latest happenings in California and Hong Kong. Then we headed on another short walk for dinner at PA & Co in the Ostermalm district, where we had delicious Swedish dishes with a modern twist.

The next day, we met for breakfast in the hotel, then headed towards the water to take a ride on a hop on hop off boat tour. The boat took us all around, stopping at various museums and attractions. The views from the water were spectacular.









We hopped off at the Vasa Museum stop to check out the 17th century ship that had sunk on its maiden voyage in Stockholm. The ship was massive at several stories tall. We spent about an hour walking around the ship, reading its history and about the effort that went into building it, and the theories of why it sank.









We hopped back on the boat, which took us around to more museums and attractions. We didn't hop off again for awhile, so we were able to enjoy the nice breeze from the back of the boat and take in the sights of the city and the water.

We finally hopped off when the boat got back to Gamla Stan, the old town area. We strolled through several populated squares, fighting our way through the hundreds of tourists, and finally settled in a restaurant called Ardbeg Embassy, that served wonderful Swedish meatballs and had many different beers on tap.  Slightly revived by the food and beer, we continued our stroll through old town, walking past many unique buildings, quaint shops, and occasionally a tall tower of a church.  We finally ended up back at the hotel, where my parents and aunt and uncle grabbed their luggage and headed to the marina to check into the cruise ship.

Travers and I met them out at the ship a few hours later, where we were given a tour of the ship, their rooms and had a cocktail in one of the many lounges, before heading back towards the Ostermalm area to have dinner at Sturehof, another delicious Swedish restaurant.

After dinner, they returned to the ship, and Travers and I stayed out in the Ostermalm area, checking out a bit of the Swedish nightlife in Stureplan.

The next morning, we walked through the Norrmalm area, seeing some great architecture and walking down a busy walking street, filled with Sunday shoppers and tourists.  Eventually we hopped on a bus, and made our way back to the cruise ship to have a birthday lunch for my mom, before having to say goodbye to all of them and to Stockholm.

Ma Vie A Paris!

We were fortunate enough to have another excuse to travel to Paris this summer (3rd time for me this year!).  Travers' college buddy, Andy Carroll and his wife were travelling in Europe for a few weeks and asked us if we wanted to meet them while they were in Paris. We jumped at the chance!  We took the train on Thursday evening, arriving at the Hotel Dauphine, in the St. Germain area.  Andy and Ashley weren't due to arrive until the next day, so we had that evening to ourselves, to explore some parts of Paris that we hadn't been to before.

We started with a drink at Cafe Conti, then walked down Rue de Buci looking for a fun place for dinner. We settled on Le Moliere, a small crowded cafe where I ordered a large Nicoise salad and Travers had their plat du jour.  After dinner, we headed to the Pigalle district, which lies between the 9th and 18th arrondissments. It is typically known to be the Red Light District with tons of sex shops and cabarets, and at one end is the famous Moulin Rouge, but lately, there have been a lot of hip restaurants, bars, and music venues opening up and the area is becoming a hipper place for people to hang out. So, of course, we had to check it out. Taking the metro there, we found a popular bar called Le Sans Souci, meaning 'No Worries' and found a space at the bar where we could enjoy a drink and people-watch, one of our favorite travelling activities. Afterwards, we strolled through the rest of Pigalle, checking out various bars and venues, and finally passed by the Moulin Rouge before hopping back on the metro to go back to the hotel.

The next day, we woke up and walked to a nearby patisserie where we bought two coffees and some pastries to go. Taking our treats to the ile de la cite, we walked to the western tip of the island, sat on the side of the wall, and enjoyed our breakfast while we watched people, boats, and a even a snorkler pass by.

After breakfast, we walked towards the Marais district, a part of Paris that we had stayed in with my sister a couple years before when she came to visit us in Geneva. We had loved it then and still love it now. It is by far one of our favorite areas of Paris. lined with quaint shops and restaurants.  We strolled the cobblestone streets, enjoying the beautiful sunny day, and reminiscing of the last time we were there together. We finally got hungry again, and stopped at Le Petit Fer a Cheval, a tiny cafe right on Rue Vieille du Temple, where we shared a small carafe of rosé wine, and their plat du jour, an outstanding plate of roast duck and veggies. Yumm!

From there, we decided to grab another bottle of rosé and picnic in the Champ de Mars, under the Eiffel Tower.  The tricky part about doing this is finding a store that will sell a cold bottle of wine (most grocery stores don't have refrigerated bottles), and open it for you (because who carries a bottle opener with them at all times), and then to find plastic cups to drink it in!  Well we lucked out and found it all within a short walking distance of the Marais (yet another reason to love this area), so we quickly hopped on the metro with our wine and cups and were able to spend a few hours sun-bathing on the grass, watching all the locals and tourists walking around, taking photos of themselves and the Eiffel Tower, and doing much of what we were doing, just relaxing and enjoying the sunny day.










By late afternoon, Andy and Ashley had arrived, so we met them back in the St. Germain district for some cocktails and dinner.  We started at Le Bar du Marche, a fun, friendly, bar where the waiters wear overalls and berets and you can watch the hundreds of people walking by in search for a seat at this popular bar. Then we headed around the corner to Peres et Filles, a family-owned bistro, where we got a table outside and were able to enjoy a delicious meal and catch up with Andy and Ashley (we hadn't seen them in over 4 years!).

The next day, we headed to the Musee d'Orsay, to get a little culture into our trip. I don't know if I had ever been to this museum before so it was great to go and see some wonderful pieces of art and the interesting architecture of the building itself.   By the way, piece of advice, buy your tickets online ahead of time. Saves lots of time not having to wait in lines!

After a few hours walking through the building, and gazing at some amazing works of art, especially one of my favorites, Starry Night by Van Gogh, we decided to catch the metro and head to the top of the Champs-Élysées and get a look at the Arc de Triomphe.












Then we strolled down the famous avenue, gazing at shops, dodging tons of tourists, and found a nice brasserie for lunch just off the main drag.  After resting our already tired legs from all the walking we'd been doing, we headed out again, this time catching the metro from the Champs-Élysées back to the Marais district so we could show Andy and Ashley our favorite neighborhood. We shoped a bit, finding a fantastic jewelry shop called Lottadjossou, where Ashley bought a pretty bracelt as a gift. Then we looked in some restaurant windows to see if we wanted to come back for dinner that evening.  We continued our walk back towards our hotel, stopping by the Hotel de Ville and the Notre Dame Cathedral.









Ending our long day of walking through the Latin Quarter and back towards the St. Germain district. Ashley and I stopped into the Dewali boutique to buy a couple more gifts for friends and family before we all headed back to our hotel rooms for a much needed nap.

That evening, we took a taxi back to the Marais to a small restaurant on a quaint side-street in the Marais, called Etamine Cafe.  We were one of 6 or so tables in the whole place, and who we think was the owner, was also our waiter.  He barely spoke any English, so my French-speaking skills were put to some use, while we tried to translate the menu. He was extremely friendly and patient, and in the end, we all had some really delicious food, some of us opting for the 3-course menu offered that evening.  Yumm!

The next morning, our last day in Paris, we got some pastries again from the local patisserie, and took Andy and Ashley back out to the Ile-de-la-Cite to eat and enjoy the views. And just our luck, right as we sat down, we saw jet planes flying overhead with red, white, and blue smoke coming out the back and realized that it was Bastille Day and this was part of the daily festivities!  Perfect timing! We were able to see tons of planes flying over the Seine while we enjoyed our coffees and pastries.

After the show ended, we walked to the Love Lock Bridge, also called Pont des Arts.  Andy and Ashley had wanted to do this and had brought a lock with them to add to the bridge. Travers and I decided it was a fun idea to do as well, so we bought a lock, wrote our names and the date on it and found a spot on the bridge.  We locked our lock, took some photos, then did the traditional tossing of our key off the bridge!  Our lock came with three keys, so we tossed one in the Seine, then put the other two on our key chains so Travers and I each have a reminder with us at all times of our love locked on the bridge in Paris!

Being close to the Louvre at that point, we walked over and were able to see the magnificent building and neighboring Jardin des Tuileries.  There was an amazingly long line to get into the museum (another reason to buy your tickets ahead of time online) so we were happy we were just passing through. We stopped and rested in the gardens and were treated to yet another airshow, this time helicopters, also celebrating Bastille day!

After the second airshow of the day, we decided it was time for us to head to the hotel, grab our bags, and get to the train station.  We said our goodbyes to Andy and Ashley who were spending another day and a half in Paris before they flew back to the states.  It was fun to see them, catch up, and show them our favorite things to do in Paris. It is a wonderful city and I finally feel like I know my way around. But even with three visits there this year, I still would go back again as I'm sure there is tons more to explore!