We just got back form our fabulous vacation in California! OH my! I honestly thought I wouldn't like it as much as I like Scottsdale Arizona (lived there), but quite honestly, I FREAKING LOVE CALIFORNIA! ALL OF IT! I could write for hours why, but let me go ahead and fill this blog with our fantastic memories of a fun filled, romantic, adventurous and relaxing getaway.
We started in San Diego- and stayed at the Hotel Del Coranado. This place was BEAUTIFUL!
Built in 1888, this classic beachfront respite has long been heralded as one of America’s most beautiful beach resorts. A pronouncement underscored by its designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
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| this was the back of Hotel on the beach! |
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| Our little toes |
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| my baby! |
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| one of the fighter planes! |
So The first night I decided I would get up early and go for a nice run along the beach...I wasn't going to miss out on this experience! Duh! I was in a BEAUTIFUL PLACE right on the beach! So I started running around 7:00am...to my surprise, so was everyone else! While running, i happened to glace to my left, and OMG! the FREAKING NAVY SEALS were training on the beach! I got the goosebumps! Their Base was about 1 mile away from our hotel, so I ran right to the base gate, and turned around and ran back. I ran past our hotel in the other direction and to my surprise, ANOTHER group of Navy Seals on the beach! I was so excited to tell Mario!
So as we were sitting outside eating breakfast, the Seals (about 50) all got together IN FRONT OF THE HOTEL, to do their CHANT in front of us...I got up from my table and RAN to the beach to watch them...as I was filled with goosebumps and tears of pride for these men & WOMEN who fight for our country! This tops my list of the best things about my vacation!
Here is a little peak at what goes down RIGHT at our hotel!
More about San Diego here:
So while we were in San Diego on the beach, Mario mistakenly kicked sand in my NEW camera. It was destroyed! I was so upset and didn't know what to do. Well, I had to get some disposable cameras. I wasn't happy about it, so while in La Jolla, we found a camera shop and I got a GREAT new camera, that takes super awesome pics!
La Jolla in Spanish means "The Jewel". It is the Jewel of America's finest city, San Diego.
La Jolla is 15 minutes from downtown San Diego. It has wonderful beaches. La Jolla is known to be one of the most affluent communities in the United States, it has a down to earth feel due to the beautiful natural scenery and the helpfulness of its residents. In addition to fine restaurants, beautiful beaches, hotels and art galleries, La Jolla is home to renowned institutions, such as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Stephen Birch Aquarium & Museum. We didn't get to go to either of these fabulous places, due to our time limit-
We were on our way to New Port Beach to see our good friends Ray & Alicia who live there 6 months out of the year! WOW! They took us to their club for lunch- What a breathtaking place! Mario & I truly enjoyed our friends their club and their beautiful home! SOOOO amazing- this California!
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| test pic with the new camera |
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| Mario & Ray |
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| NYA, Uncle Mario & Jaro |
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| Mario, Stacy, Jaro & Nya |
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| Kayla & Tina- Best buds! |
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| Me & my lovie! |
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| Stacy, Kayla, Jaro, Nya, Mario & kelly |
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| Sunset on the beach! |
Sad to leave them, but we had to get on the road and head for Santa Monica...Little did I know this place would STEAL MY HEART!
We stayed at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica , this hotel was GREAT in EVERY WAY!
Our expectations were definitely exceeded here! Our room was FABULOUS with a fabulous view of the pool and the beach. The hotel staff couldn't be more friendly and helpful. The food, I could rant about for days! Everything we ate and drank there was superb! FIG is the hotel restaurant where we would have breakfast everyday. Its the first time I ever had a TOFU scramble! It was amazing! Their menu was great because you could be a hearty eater, a vegetarian or a vegan (like me) and they had something to satisfy each and every person!
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| tofu scramble |
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| beet juice, blackberries & soy milk |
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| our view from breakfast every morning |
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| every morning Mario would read the NY times |
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| from the beach looking up |
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| see the Santa Monica Pier?? |
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| I had to! |
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| These stairs take you from the beach to the street where our hotel is |
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| Gorgeous! |
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| Sonoma Wine Garden restaurant |
After strolling all day on foot, we decided to go back to our room for a snack and some relaxing before dinner. Mario would sit on our deck and read, while I showered and got ready. The sun would beam in our room, You could hear the ocean and also the kids playing in the pool below us! I had relaxing music playing and I just felt like we were in Paradise!
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| ahh- SUNSET! |
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| Santa Monica Pier |
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| On top of Shangri-La Hotel |
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| The chef from Fig at The Fairmont hotel |
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| remember River Phoenix died outside of The Viper Room? |
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| Do you see the size of this avocado!? |
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| BEANS BEANS and MORE BEANS! |
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| ZUCCHINI GALORE! |
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| Some sort of exotic fruit! |
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| The BEST nuts EVER! Pistachios! |
Here you see a pistachio tree! I NEVER saw one! The guy who was selling all these nuts grows them right on his farm! Can you imagine! I had to buy a bag to taste the difference, and well, while I thought Whole Foods was the place to get the freshest of the fresh, Whole Foods couldn't hold a candle to this place. Everything we looked at was GIANT, bright, vibrant and so delish!
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| The biggest artichokes EVER! |
SO after leaving the Farmer's Market, we decided to hop in the Mustang and head over to the UCLA Campus! I was so excited to it, but Mario was even more excited to show me!
WOW!
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| UCLA |
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| I want to be a student here! |
I couldn't get over how pristine this campus was! I totally wish I were a freshman going to this school this year! Ahh, if I only I could go back...I would LOVE to be a part of such a great school, and what about walking to each class and having to look at the scenery here everyday! These kids have the LIFE!
So I was making a little video tape of the campus for Tyler, and we actually got to see the girls soccer team, so I started to video it. This adorable little blond with a sweet voice told me that we were not allowed to make videos of the practices, that it is against the school rules. So I apologized and shut the video camera, but asked if she would take a picture with me for my son, so she did! She was super sweet and sooo nice to do that for us!
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| Kerry UCLA Girls Soccer Team Manager & Tina |
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| GRRRRR! |
In 1948, Former UCLA coach, John Wooden created the Pyramid of Success. This building block of philosophy is his basis for basketball and life. I think EVERY school should have this poster hung up where every student can read it EVERYDAY!
PYRAMID OF SUCCESS
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After shopping in the Campus store for some gifts, it was time to head to Rodeo Drive for some lunch, and sight-seeing! |
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| Just pretty flowers at our table! |
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| love it! |
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| This reminded us of ROMA! |
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| For Tyler, we took this |
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| Are you KIDDING ME! |
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| The entrance for RALPH LAUREN! |
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| Playing with my new camera! |
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| my babe! |
SO the next day we decide to BEACH it up! It was a Sunday, and of course the sun was shinning and it was just so beautiful out! I was DYING to see Malibu so off we went to Malibu Beach. We drove the PCH to get there! What a drive! All you see is water to your left and mountains filled with beautiful homes to your right! More in love I fell!
Can you see the water in the pic? It's a little bit darker than the sky! AHH!
We are here! This sign was posted at the beach, I thought it was the cutest thing! The beach was so cool! They had BEDS outside on bamboo frames, they had chair under a bamboo roof, or chairs you could rent with an umbrella...We just got the chairs and umbrella, but I thought it was such a great idea, and wondered why they don't do this at all beaches!
We ate lunch at Dukes, which was RIGHT ON THE BEACH, literally, your table is in the sand under tents! The coolest thing! It was an hour-2 hour wait for lunch, but sooo worth it! I had an enormous veggie burger and salad, that was out of this world! Mario's Jumbo shrimp were Quite delicious he said!
Ahhh! What a great relaxing day! We stayed for about 5 hours, I looked at Mario and myself, and realized we had ENOUGH sun, we were both RED! We didn't even realize it since there was such an amazing breeze!We just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon... But MONDAY morning OH MAN! We decided to rent bikes, sounds relaxing right? A nice little bike ride on the beach sightseeing and just enjoying and taking it all in...HA!
We started our bike ride at 10am in Santa Monica right on the beach- where there is a path. We rode to Venice beach, which was cool there was an outdoor skateboarding rink for the kids and adults to do all kinds of tricks! It was actually really cool!
Well, guess what! We stuffed our bellys and NOW it was time to head back...At one point I wanted to cry! I couldn't get back fast enough! At one point Mario was so hot he dropped his bike and ran into the ocean, I honestly would have done the same, but no swim suit! GRR!
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| SO pretty the pier was at night! |
The route starts in Monterey, visits the art colony of Carmel, and threads through Big Sur, where mountains plunge into the Pacific. Farther south, the landscape mellows to oak-studded hills as the road passes Hearst Castle on its way to Morro Bay. We didn't stop and I did try to take a pic of the sign, but Mario was driving a little too fast! In places, the road has narrow shoulders and sharp drop-offs. This route can be tricky for RVs or other oversize vehicles. I couldn't believe how many motorcyclists there were...During the day it's fine, but these daredevils were flying around these sharp turns at night!
Can we talk about the ride along the PCH, where I freaked out because we saw ZEBRAS! OMG! I couldn't believe, we couldn't believe our eyes! They were so beautiful! We jumped out of the car camera and all, and ran to the fence, and they were about a 1/2 mile up...so I zoomed in and snapped away!
Join California Route 1 in Monterey The town served as California's capital under Spanish, Mexican, and American flags, and by the early 1900s boasted an important sardine industry. Surviving sites include the Royal Presidio Chapel, Monterey State Historic Park, Custom House, Casa Soberanes, Larkin House, and other adobe buildings, as well as touristy Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row, home of the celebrated Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was really beautiful over here!
After enjoying Monterey, we drove 3 miles south on Highway 1 to Carmel-by-the-Sea an upscale village of quaint colorful cottages, restaurants, inns, shops, and art galleries fronted by a broad beach fringed with Monterey pines. Among the highlights are Mission San Carlos Borroméo del RÃo Carmelo, second of the California missions, founded by Padre JunÃpero Serra in 1770; Tor House, the 1919 home of poet Robinson Jeffers; and mile-long Carmel River State Beach with its pelicans and kingfishers.
After driving through Carmel Highlands, where impressive houses perch on granite cliffs above the sea, you reach the start of Big Sur, which extends 90 miles south to San Simeon. On this fcoastline, redwood groves reach the sky, the Santa Lucia Range plunges into the sea, and waves crash into the ragged rocks.
Route 1, opened in 1937, climbs higher than 1,000 feet above the sea.From Soberanes Point watch for sea otters, which are protected under California state law.
The road reaches the town of San Simeon. We drove right past the INFAMOUS Hearst Castle, which begun in 1919 by newspaperman William Randolph Hearst. Perched in the Santa Lucia Range, the 127-acre estate features the 115-room main house and guesthouses, which mix classical and Mediterranean Revival styles, using European architectural elements, antiques, and artwork collected by Hearst.We didn't stop, or go in, because we were on a mission to get to where we needed go go, and we were hungry!
In the mountains above the sea is this place of extraordinary beauty, a magnificent Central Coast California resort. In Spanish, Ventana means window, and no more fitting name could be chosen for this Big Sur resort. Ventana Inn & Spa is a window to the dramatic vistas of the Pacific ocean, along with the green and gold flowered hills of the rugged Big Sur Coast.
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| see the light house? |
Ahh, and FINALLY, we arrive in Monterey Bay at the Portola Hotel . What a great hotel. I was just happy to get in the shower, and then a comfy big bed! We sure were POOPED from all the driving!
In the morning, we woke up for breakfast and then our walk around the Fisherman's Wharf. We got to see the beautiful big brown eyes of the most adorable seals! You could hear them barking for miles away! They are very friendly, nosy, fun, but they are shy too! They look like they have a ball with each other out in the water.
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| see that little head! |
Santa Rosalia, patron saint of the Italian fisherman who came to Monterey at the beginning of the 20th century.
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| ahh! The seals playing in the water |
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| me, thinking about LIVING HERE! |
Back in the car again! Now we were off on a 17-Mile Drive to Pebble Beach- Carmel-by-the-Sea.
17-Mile Drive is widely recognized as one of the most scenic drives in the world. The famous coastal landmark runs through Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach, from the dramatic Pacific coastline to the majestic Del Monte Forest. The awe-inspiring vistas and legendary sites can easily fill an entire day with exploration and discovery, although visitors with less time should not miss the opportunity to experience this wondrous journey as well. We were DROOLING at some of the treasures we found along 17-Mile Drive including The Lone Cypress – one of California’s best-known landmarks – Spanish Bay, Cypress Point Lookout and Carmel Bay. You can also see the emerald fairways of The Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill and the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links.
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| SOOTHING TO THE EYE! |
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| view from the 18th hole at a restaurant inside |
Boy I had NO idea, as much as people told us, I guess I didn't listen too well, but SHEESH! The streets what an INCLINE and DECLINE!Also, it was VERY cold...Seeing people with scarves, and winter coats, after we were just on a beach 2 days ago, really threw us for a loop!
Lombard Street is America's crookedest street. The steep, hilly street was created with sharp curves to switchback down the one-way hill past beautiful Victorian mansions. The street is paved with bricks and is an amazing site to see as demonstrated by the photos below.
If not for the byzantine curves, easing out this treacherous slope, people would be killed rolling down.
Some of the classiest and most expensive Real Estate in the city, exists on Lombard Street. This Russian Hill neighborhood, somehow possesses stately mansions, condos and townhouses, even with the endless array of tourists pouring down the street every day. In the spring and through the entire summer, Lombard Street is alive with color, as the chrysanthemums, and other well tended flowers are in full bloom. It is truly an incredible sight.
ALCATRAZ!
Alcatraz Island is 22 acres and reaches 121 feet above sea level. Aside from the few natural rainwater collecting cisterns, the island has no source of fresh water.Deer mice, the only non-feathered residents along with banana slugs and slender salamanders, are believed to have originally arrived on Alcatraz by swimming across the bay.
Despite rumors, no Spanish dungeons ever existed on Alcatraz. Ownership was granted to Julian Workman in1846 by the Mexican Governor Pio Pico under the stipulation that he build a lighthouse. Later that year, John C. Fremont bought the island for $5000. The US government sued for possession in 1848.
Standing 166 feet above the water with a lens manufactured in France and costing over $15,000 to build, Alcatraz’s lighthouse was completed in 1854 and was the West Coast’s first. Two years later, the island’s foghorn was built. In foggy weather, it’s 1,000 pound bell was struck with 30 pound mechanical hammer every ten seconds.The garrison was completed in 1859 when 200 soldiers arrived to defend the port, then the 12th largest urban area in the country. The small rocky outcrop on the west side of the island, known as “Little Alcatraz”, was renamed “Paul Pry Rock” when the Paul Pry, a 330-ton excursion steamer shipwrecked in 1862.
While Alcatraz fired no shots during the Civil War, the island was armed with three 50,000 pound canons and its guns could simultaneously discharge 6,949 pounds of ammunition. Between 1861 and 1865, Alcatraz held a number of Confederate sympathizers, including 39 men who praised the assignation of President LincolnAlcatraz began holding Indian prisoners in1873, who refused to send their children to English only schools. In the wake of the 1906 earthquake, civilian prisoners were transferred to the island until the city’s jails could be rebuilt.When the three-story cellhouse was completed in 1912 it was the world’s largest steel-reinforced concrete structure. It stands to this day.
Al “Scarface” Capone helped inaugurate the new Federal Penitentiary in 1934 as one of its first prisoners. He was nicknamed “the wop with the mop” while on cleaning duty. On clear nights, inmates claimed they could hear the clang of cable cars and light chatter of evening cocktail parties in San Francisco. Despite 14 attempts by 36 prisoners over 29 years, no one ever successfully escaped Alcatraz. A $5 million repair bill, along with a well publicized escape attempt in 1962 lead Attorney General Robert Kennedy to close Alcatraz in 1963. Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1973. It now has over 1.4 million visitors a year. In 2003, work began to restore the historic gardens around Alcatraz that include the once thought extinct Welsh Rose. As Alcatraz is once again free of human residents, many of its wild former inhabitants have returned. Today over 100 different bird species visit the island, including the endangered peregrine falcon and brown pelican.
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| China Town in San Fran! SO nice! |
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| Renata & John |
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me & my babe! |
Born in 1913, Mondavi spent the early years of his life in Minnesota's Iron Range, where his parents had settled at the turn of the century. His mother ran a boarding house where sometimes 15 or more immigrant miners lived. His father began taking trips to California to buy wine grapes so members of the local Italian-American Club could make their own wine at home during the early years of Prohibition.
Eventually, the Mondavi family moved to the central California town of Lodi, where Robert Mondavi's father built such a successful business as a grape and fruit wholesaler that he was able to send his two sons, Robert, and his younger brother Peter, to Stanford University.
Before Mondavi graduated from college in 1936—the first member of his family to do so—his father asked him if he might be interested in entering the fine wine business. At that time, in large part because Prohibition had ended only a few years earlier, most U.S. wines were of poor quality and looked down upon as a beverage of southern European immigrants—dismissively called "dago red" and "dago white."
It was against that backdrop that Mondavi began working in the Napa Valley in 1936 and persuaded his family to purchase a derelict winery called Charles Krug in 1943. Robert's father imposed a single condition on his sons: that they work together to build the business.
The brothers worked hard, and by the 1950s the winery was attracting national attention. By resisting the urge to produce sweet wines, which were the top sellers in the 1940s and 1950s, and focusing instead on crisp, dry white wines, the "Mondavi boys"—as they came to be called—were on a roll.
Their father died in 1959, and Robert, began taking trips to Europe to study winemaking techniques. It was a time when the U.S. was falling in love with French food and, along with Julia Child, Mondavi became an evangelist for the idea that food and wine were at the heart of the good life.
Long story short, Mondavi started his own winery five miles down the road from Charles Krug the following year, and to a court battle in 1976 that created a decades-long split between Robert, and his younger brother, Peter.
Meanwhile, the Robert Mondavi Winery gained the nickname "Mondavi University" because it was producing some of the country's finest winemakers, including the two who created the winning wines in the famous "Judgment of Paris" tasting of 1976 when French judges chose California wines above their nation's Grand Cru.
Two years later another moment occurred in the world's perception of U.S. wines: The Baron Philippe de Rothschild suggested a joint venture between his wine company and the Robert Mondavi Winery. The result was Opus One, a super-premium priced wine that proved Napa Valley bottles could take their place alongside those from Bordeaux as the world's finest.
Robert Mondavi
Robert Mondavi Winery led a new wine and food culture that leapfrogged from America's coastal cities to the heartland, emphasizing education and becoming a pioneer in lifestyle marketing. Mondavi staged concerts in the vineyards and, with his second wife, Margrit Biever, hosted a "Great Chefs" program that brought many of the world's culinary stars to California.
As his own father had before him, Mondavi wanted his two sons, Michael and Timothy, to work in the family business. But, in a repetition of the family pattern, the siblings did not always get along with each other or their demanding father.
Robert Mondavi was always "very passionate that he [in California] have the soil, the climate, the grape varieties to make some of the best wines in the world. By God, somebody's going to do it, so we're going to do it."
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| OLIVE TREES! |
- Swirl the wine in your glass. This is to increase the surface area of the wine by spreading it over the inside of the glass allowing them to escape from solution and reach your nose. It also allows some oxygen into the wine, which will help its aromas open up.
- Note the wine's viscosity - how slowly it runs back down the side of the glass - while you're swirling. More viscous wines are said to have "legs," and are likely to be more alcoholic. Outside of looking pretty, this has no relation to a wine's quality but may indicate a more full bodied wine.
- Sniff the wine. Initially you should hold the glass a few inches from your nose. Then let your nose go into the glass. What do you smell?
- Take a sip of wine, but do not swallow yet. Roll the wine around in your mouth exposing it to all of your taste buds. You will only be able to detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (think: meaty or savory). Pay attention to the texture and other tactile sensations such as an apparent sense of weight or body.
- Aspirate through the wine: With your lips pursed as if you were to whistle, draw some air into your mouth and exhale through your nose. This liberates the aromas for the wine and allows them to reach your nose where they can be detected. The nose is the only place where you can detect a wine's aromas. However, the enzymes and other compounds in your mouth and saliva alter some of a wine's aromatic compounds. By aspirating through the wine, you are looking for any new aromas liberated by the wine's interaction with the environment of your mouth.
- Take another sip of the wine, but this time (especially if you are drinking a red wine) introduce air with it. In other words, slurp the wine (without making a loud slurping noise, of course). Note the subtle differences in flavor and texture.
- Note the aftertaste when you swallow. How long does the finish last? Do you like the taste?
Purple basil is grown for their color. Occasionally breeders will grow varieties that have the purple color. Purple basil is a great addition to your herb garden because not only does it add its wonderful flavor to Italian dishes and tomato-based dishes, it also smells good in plant form and is attractive as well. You can substitute purple basil in any recipe that uses regular basil. Start out with slightly less purple basil than you normally use because the flavor is more intense and you don’t want to overdo it.
The Jacuzzi trek to America started in 1907, when Valeriano and Francesco Jacuzzi, the second- and third-born sons of Giovanni and Teresa Jacuzzi, immigrated to Washington to work on the railroad. A warmer climate beckoned and the pair eventually made their way to southern California. Years later, they were joined by four other brothers and eventually all went to work in the aviation industry. Soon they would make American history.To read the rest of the story, click here.
Stinging nettle has been used for hundreds of years to treat painful muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia. Today, many people use it to treat urinary problems during the early stages of an enlarged prostate (called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH), for urinary tract infections, for hay fever (allergic rhinitis), or in compresses or creams for treating joint pain, sprains and strains, tendonitis, and insect bites.
XO
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