Favourite 2011 travel photos: Puerto Aventuras, Mexico
travel
Favourite 2011 travel photos: Tulum, Mexico
A year of travel
On a rainy Wednesday morning of my holiday vacation, I’m cleaning up photo libraries from trips in 2011 to Mexico, New York, Toronto, Philadelphia, Seattle, Switzerland, Milan and Frankfurt. Over the next couple of days, I’ll post some of my favourite photos from 2011 – these will be the ones that I’ll be more likely to frame and put up in the condo.
Last Day in Seattle
December 3 – Given Seattle’s reputation for coffee, I scouted out Caffe Umbria with a location close to my hotel for a morning cappuccino and croissant. Easily the best coffee I had in Seattle. This is a delicious way to start a day:
I grabbed a bag of coffee beans to bring back to Halifax with me and started to make my way to the Experience Music Project (EMP) museum. For about the next half hour, I feel like I descended into a series of Simpsons episodes. First, to get to EMP I need to take a ride on a monorail (and as it banks into the final turn heading past the museum, I can almost hear Lyle Lanley himself running off with bags of money after skimping on safety standards):
Then I lay eyes on the EMP and its Frank Gehry design harkens me back to his design of Springfield’s concert hall / Montgomery Burns state prison:
Simpsons references aside, this part of Seattle feels like time passed it by a bit. Seattle Center and the Space Needle came into being for the 1962 World’s Fair. Maybe it’s the chilly, grey morning I’m here, but it feels like it has seen better days. That being said, the Space Needle itself is a pretty impressive architectural landmark:
Here, the Space Needle and its reflection in the side of the EMP:
The EMP is one of the most interesting museums I’ve been to in my travels. There’s a bunch of displays on music history, especially focused on key artists of the Pacific Northwest (Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and the other “grunge” acts of the 90s). One of the things I really enjoyed was a display of electric guitars through the ages, including this 1952 Gibson Les Paul:
As a bit of a collector of concert set lists, I liked this one – the set list from the last Nirvana show ever (in Germany):
One of the best features of this museum were the interactive rooms where you could play instruments. Here’s a picture of one of the “pods” of instruments – guitar, bass and drums. After some interactive instruction on how to play the instrument, you could team up with others in the pod to play parts of a song. For the pod I tried, I got to play rhythm guitar for Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in concert with a bass player and a drummer who had just “learned” their instruments:
This impressive sculpture (“If VI was IX: Roots and Branches”) in the main hallway of the music-related displays let’s you hear the permutations of the sounds it can produce:
There were also great exhibits on the making of the movie “Avatar” and an installation on horror movies (with displays featuring costumes and props from the classics). The best part of the horror movie installation was that you could orchestrate the music and sounds in the room (I enjoyed a few minutes of adding screams and chainsaws to an orchestral piece which had a few folks looking at the displays wondering what was going on) Overall, it was a wonderful interactive museum and a great place to spend a few hours on a chilly overcast day.
The rest of my last vacation day in Seattle was about trying some drink and food. Making my may back to downtown Seattle, I stopped at Elysian Fields for lunch and tried their famously-entitled “Men’s Room Red” ale. Delicious:
On my way to supper, I make a quick stop in for happy hour at 106 Pine, a wine shop and tasting bar featuring a solid selection of Washington state wines. Here’s a Merlot that took some of the chill out of the evening:
From there, it was on to Andaluca for a Spanish-inspired small plates meal. First course: Broken Egg Papas Frites with chorizo and roasted mushrooms (and really, I could have just ordered this two more times and gone back to the hotel extremely happy):
Second course (complete with a warning that eating raw seafood may be a health hazard): Spicy Calamari bruschetta with saffron aioli – exceptionally fresh and very spicy/hot:
A very interesting Washington state Pinot Noir with strong hints of licorice. Unusual and interesting and quite nice for a cold night:
Last course: Paella with chicken, chorizo, grilled prawn, harissa butter and saffron:
Fully warmed up from the inside, I took in some of the Christmas lights in the shopping district of Seattle before heading back to the hotel. Among the pictures, the first and last ones below are of the Macy’s star and Christmas tree at Westlake Center:
Unfortunately, that marked the end of the vacation part of the trip. I did come away with some perspectives on Seattle in the course of just under 3 days:
1. Seattle is a very friendly city. People smile, engage in conversation and really seem to be down to earth folk. The west coast lifestyle is something I’m finding resonates with me.
2. The food culture in Seattle is something I could really get used to: Fresh seafood and variety like I haven’t seen in other coastal places including here in Halifax; Great local red wines; Enormous selection of microbrews across the spectrum of styles; A deep appreciation and care for the quality of food; It would be great to shop, cook and eat here.
3. In some respects, Seattle is like many other larger cities. But on its doorstep is immense natural beauty – lakes and rivers, mountains and pine trees. If/when I get back to this area, I’ll spend more time exploring what’s around this area. I could easily imagine this being a great place to live for a few years.
Do I dare call this Sleepless in Seattle?
December 2 – When my head hit the pillow the previous night after a day of traveling across the continent followed by a football game, it was for a much needed sleep. Unfortunately, staying in a hotel with so many Eagles fans meant a bit of noise as everyone returned to the hotel after spending some time at the bars around the hotel – it was less than a perfect night of rest.
A bit bleary eyed, I made my way to Zeitgeist Coffee for a jolt. A delicious corn and blueberry muffin and a good cup of coffee got the day off on the right foot:
I didn’t realize how hilly downtown Seattle was. On my map, from the coffee shop to the Columbia Tower office building (where I was going to take in views of Seattle from their 70th floor observation deck) looked to be about a 10 minute walk. Most of those 10 minutes were what seemed to be straight up the side of a mountain. After a good and unexpected workout, I end up there to take in the sights. I had the place mostly to myself. Partway through my time in the observation deck, I had a nice chat with the only other person to visit – Kim from Korea. He seemed to think I came from father away, but I think he had me by about 2,000km. Needless to say, neither of us was close to home. Here are some pictures of the views.
Downtown Seattle (Space Needle in the middle of the frame with Puget Sound to the left):
Closer view of the Space Needle (the red and blue blobs beside it are the Frank Gehry designed Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum):
The two Seattle stadiums (Safeco field, home of the Mariners in the background; CenturyLink Field, home of the Seahawks and site of the Eagles massacre from the night before in the foreground):
View eastward past Mercer Island (on a clearer day, Mt Rainier would be visible)
I had yet to discover the free buses that run throughout downtown Seattle, so I made my way by foot to the Olympic Sculpture Park. This waterfront park features a number of large-format pieces of public art and was a great place to wander around for an hour or so.
Bunyon’s Chess (1965) by Mark di Suvero:
The Eagle (1971) by Alexander Calder
Probably my favourite piece in the park, Typewrite Eraser, Scale X (1999) by Claes Oldenburg:
Love and Loss (2005-2006) by Roy McMakin
Schubert Sonata (1992) by Mark di Suvero
In the park, they had these neat eyeball seats (you can sit behind the eye ball) – loved the whimsy of these:
The views out on Puget Sound were really nice even on this grey day. Here I am before making my way back toward downtown:
I was told that if you have one day in Seattle, you have to see the Pike Place Market. And if you have two days, you should go twice. I’m a huge fan of markets, so this was great advice. Here are a few pics from a slow stroll through the market in the afternoon:
Here’s the Pike Place Fish Market (made very famous on various Food Network shows by their flying fish routine):
The selection of fresh seafood was incredible:
The drawing attention at this fish stand is the throwing and catching of whole fish. I was lucky enough to be standing around when the fish starting flying. Here’s a video of a true Seattle experience.
Just across the street from the market is one of two things depending on your viewpoint: (1) the origin of coffee culture in North America or (2) the thing that started the decline of coffee culture in the rest of the world. Perhaps it can be both. Here it is, the very first Starbucks:
Thursday Night Football, Seattle style
My alarm goes off at 3:15am. Cab arrives at my condo at 4, I’m at the airport shortly after 4:30 and the first leg of my first trip to the Pacific Northwest gets off the ground right on time at 6. An uneventful flight to Newark is followed by an equally uneventful flight to Seattle. I even managed to select a row where no one was in the middle seat for the 6 hour cross continent leg. A painless train ride into the city has me at my hotel by 2pm PT with enough time to unpack and take a quick breather before the 15 minute walk to the stadium so I can be inside as the gates open at 3. Here’s the view as I approach the stadium:
Once inside, I make a beeline to the NFL network set – they’re live on the air for the pregame show. From left to right, here’s Mooch (Steve Mariucci), Marshall Faulk and Michael Irvin:
Rich Eisen and (obscured by the set lighting) Deion Sanders:
As the NFL network guys throw to a commercial break, I head over to the Eagles sideline for a look at a few players starting to warm up.
Vince Young:
LeSean McCoy:
Brent Celek:
On my way to the other side of the field, here’s Brandon Mebane, defensive tackle for the Seahawks signing some autographs:
I love getting into the stadium as early as I can so I can walk around for a bit before it gets crowded. Here are a couple of pics of this very beautiful stadium.
Looking south from the north endzone:
Looking north toward downtown Seattle:
The sideline seats:
It’s difficult to be a fan of the visiting team in any NFL stadium. I’ve seen beer-fueled fights and confrontations just for wearing the opposing team’s jersey in games in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Chicago. As I really lean much more toward the lover end of the lover-fighter scale, my lack of physical intimidation skills meant I left my Eagles jersey at home. Unlike the mass of Eagles fans behind me in the picture below, I’m taking no chances – nothing with an Eagles logo graces my body today (Luckily, when I make my way to my seat in the upper deck, I’m sitting next to season ticket holder Steve who’s a huge Seahawks fan but agrees not to out me as an Eagles fan):
About an hour before game time, it’s time to find some stadium food. I’m a bit disappointed in the selections here. With the great Pacific Northwest cuisine, there’s not much at the stadium different from general run of the mill stuff. However, I’m a sucker for garlic fries and microbrews (Red Hook IPA, one of the best beers I had during my trip), so this works out pretty well:
After the delicious snack, I walk around the upper deck and find this great view of downtown Seattle:
After two hours inside the stadium, here are the pregame festivities – fireworks during the Seahawks player introductions as seen from my seat:
… and finally, the moment I’ve been waiting for. Here are the teams lined up for the opening kick-off:
The game ended up being a real disappointment for the Eagles. Here’s a picture of one of the high points – LeSean McCoy taking a hand-off on what would be a 2 yd TD run:
Here are the Seahawks on offense, lined up for a play directly in line from my seat:
The Eagles end up losing 31-14. As you can tell from the picture below just after the game, I’m not too torn up about the loss. It was a great experience. The Seattle fans were really friendly, the stadium is beautiful and it was a perfect December night for football.
Touring the Linc
October 22 – By tacking on an extra night to my Philadelphia trip, I got a chance to do a tour of Lincoln Financial Field, the home of my Philadelphia Eagles. I’d been to two games here in the past, but never had the chance to see some of the behind the scenes things that the tour would provide. Here’s what 90 minutes inside the Linc looked like:
First view of the field down one of the tunnels in the end-zone seats:
View from one of the standing room areas inside the stadium:
From the press box:
Here’s the view from the television broadcast booth:
Eagles locker room:
When they let us loose inside the locker room, there was a mad dash to Vick’s locker. I was the one guy who headed to the far end to where the offensive line’s lockers are. This is me at Canadian Danny Watkins’ locker:
Just before being kicked out of the locker room:
Getting to walk on the field through the tunnel as the visiting players would experience it (minus having batteries, beer or snowballs thrown in my direction):
The Linc from field level:
Me at the 50:
I’m a fan of mascots, so here’s Swoop’s locker area with his ATV:
Although strictly forbidden during the tour, here’s my rebel side coming out. When no one was looking, I made sure I could say I’ve stepped on the Eagles’ field:
Friday in Philly
October 21 – The last conference day, and I’m up at a reasonable hour as my body clock has finally adjusted from the previous weeks traveling in Europe. Here’s the view from my hotel window of Philadelphia’s city hall and Liberty Place just as the sun is coming up:
The conference wraps up at mid day and my goal is to try cheesesteak #3 of the trip at Pat’s in South Philly. The plan was to catch a cab, but with a 5,000 delegate conference spilling out of hotels, no cabbie wants a city fare so I start out walking south. About 15 minutes later, out of the crush of hotels, I find a cab to take me the rest of the way. Here’s Pat’s:
It’s an odd mix of tourists who don’t understand the gruff protocol of this place and locals looking to pick up a quick bite on their lunch hour. I step up to the window, order my “wiz wit” and find a table:
It’s surprisingly good. I’d read/heard about how Pat’s, although the home of the original cheesesteak, just didn’t make good ones – but this is pretty tasty and well put together. I think I still prefer Jim’s, but I’m glad that I’m now basing that opinion on some scientific experimentation.
Walking around to the other side of Pat’s, here’s their competition – Geno’s (I wanted to try cheesesteak #4 there at lunch too, but a voice in my head, likely tied to the health of my heart, advised against it):
Hopped in a cab that magically appeared, and I get back to Center City to explore in the afternoon.
View north along Broad Street toward City Hall:
City Hall and One Liberty Place:
Love Park with the Museum of Art in the distance at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. On a previous trip to Philly, Jodi and I did a city tour and the guide, clearly infatuated with anything/everything French, kept referring to the Ben Franklin Parkway as Philly’s “Champs Elysees” – No knock against the BFP, but he’d clearly never been to Paris:
Liberty Bell:
The plan for my last evening in Philly (on a recommendation from a conference delegate and the fact that I’m currently infatuated with Spanish food and wine) was tapas at Amada, Jose Garces’ restaurant in the Old City neighbourhood:
The restaurant itself is beautiful inside and I’m lucky to have an attentive and knowledgeable server for the evening. As my first glass of wine hits the table, so too does a small serving of flat bread with a dip made from balsamic, tuna and a cream and cheese mixture that I’ve forgotten (on the left of the photo below). Sounds odd, but it was really lovely. Shortly after that arrives, my first dish of aged manchego with truffled lavender honey and green apple (on the right of the photo) enters the scene. It’s spectacular (great blend of creme, sweet, tart and herbal) and a great start to the evening.
Next up is my favourite dish from the evening – grilled Spanish octopus in olive oil, paprika and garlic, served with small slices of potatoes:
This next course was really interesting – fried peppers with Maldon Sea salt. A perfect mix of spice and salt cooled down by the foam made from La Peral (a blue cheese from the north of Spain) on the bottom of the dish:
Last up was some Chorizo Pamplona with cornichons, caper berries and mustard. All of the elements of the dish worked so well together. The chorizo was divine:
This was my one splurge meal in Philadelphia and I enjoyed it thoroughly. After a short walk back to the subway, I’m whisked back to the hotel. I’ve got a big day tomorrow before my later evening flight home…
Broad Street Bullies
October 20 – I’m excited to get to the Flyers-Capitals game tonight. This is a great bit of scheduling karma as business has me in town at the same time as an early season game between rivals. I snag a pretty good seat (chosen so I’d be at the end of the ice Ovechkin shoots toward twice… never been accused of not being a detailed trip planner). The game is fast paced and competitive for about 45 minutes until Washington scores three quick goals in the 3rd to pull ahead for a 5-2 win. I enjoyed myself immensely. Here are some pics from the evening.
Second cheesesteak of the trip (this one from Campos at the rink, it was ok, but doesn’t really compare to the one from Jim’s Steaks two days earlier):
Flyers take the ice before the game:
Here’s a link to a video of the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by Lauren Hart, one of the better anthem singers in the NHL. I’m a bit of a connoisseur of anthem singers – her God Bless America in the playoffs is outstanding, so hearing her sing was a treat.
Opening faceoff:
Capitals working on the power play with Ovechkin setting the screen in the slot:
Flyers score to go up 1-0. Fans celebrating the goal:
Shot from the point with the Capitals goalie trying to look around the screen in front:
Shot of the crowd in the 3rd before the Caps score three quick goals sending most of the fans to the exits early:
Final score 5-2 Caps. Last pic before the orange line subway ride back to the hotel:
Philadelphia – the first two days
A year into my new role at the Medical School at Dalhousie, and my business related travels have involved trips to Toronto and Philadelphia, the two places I’ve spent the most time in from my previous career. I was off to Philadelphia to attend the Educause conference on information technology in higher education. It was an incredible experience professionally, and it allowed me to reacquaint myself with my one of my favourite American cities.
October 18 – I take an earlier morning flight which lets me squeeze in a cheesesteak for lunch at Jim’s Steaks on South and 4th in Center City before the conference gets underway. It’s a mess to eat and I don’t want to know what it does for my heart, but I walked about 45 minutes round-trip from my hotel for this to at least make my conscience feel better about my dietary choice:
After a great happy hour with project/portfolio managers in higher education from around the world, I was planning on having dinner at an old favourite place near Rittenhouse Square. It was jammed, but I stumbled on a really interesting place called Ladder 15 (on Sansom St). It’s a gastro pub in a converted firehouse. The food was really good. I had two Korean tacos (one with shortribs, one with pork belly) – spectacular fresh flavours that went well with a Victory Prima Pilsner from Downingtown, PA. The guy sitting beside me was a huge Eagles fan so we lamented the season together. When I told him I was from Nova Scotia he asked “…. that’s close to Greenland, right?” Um, no.
October 19 – Conference days can feel very long. A multitude of sessions and lots of discussions with colleagues is both exhilarating and draining. I take my evening respite at Tria, really, one of my all-time favourite places anywhere I’ve traveled. I grab a seat at the bar and try to make up my mind – they’ve got an outstanding selection of wines by the glass and beers from around the world. The food menu is small focusing on cheese tastings, higher end sandwiches, salads and appetizers. I end up selecting a beer (Allagash White from Maine) to drink and a sandwich with crispy prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, arugula, roasted tomatoes and garlic oil:
On the way back to the hotel, I get caught in a torrential downpour (one which hits Halifax the next day), but it does little to dampen my spirits after a great conference day and wonderful supper.
Bluenose Traveler 