A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
After a delicious breakfast at our neighborhood Winkel restaurant, we loaded our Opel Astra with all our luggage and headed for Cologne, Germany. Getting out of Amsterdam was tricky, as the narrow streets and the Monday morning market (along with many bicycles) made leaving Amsterdam a bit fatiguing.. . Once we got out of the city, the freeways were moving nicely, and we made it…
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Today, we took the train from Centraal Train Station to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, where I picked up a rental car from Avis for our drive to Hoge Veluwe National Park and our further adventures in Germany, France, and Belgium.. . I wanted to drive a VW Golf, but Avis selected an Opel Astra with Belgian license plates (since I would return the car in Brussels).…
Read More: Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands
Saturday, June 29, 2013. . On the way back to Amsterdam from Delft, we decided to stop by the small college town of Leiden.. . . . Leiden is a college town with the famous Leiden University (founded in 1575).. . . . . When we arrived, we learned there were scheduled boat races (Leiden Lakenfeesten) at 7:00pm, so we decided to wait for them…
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Today, we purchased train tickets at Amsterdam Centraal to Delft, with possible stops in Leiden and Haarlem.. . The train ride to Delft was uneventful. We got off the train at Delft and walked to the city center. We noticed a considerable bicycle parking lot near the train station - something that has become a common sight in the Netherlands and unimaginable in the United…
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Today, we flew from San Francisco International Airport to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with a stop in Chicago. Our United Airlines flight UA372 departed from San Francisco at 10:00 a.m. and landed at Chicago's O'Hare Airport at 4:10 p.m. We changed planes and departed on UA909 at 6:10 p.m. for Amsterdam, arriving at 9:30 a.m. the next day (Tuesday, June 25).. . Amsterdam is the first…
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Today, Inna and I saw San Jose Repertory Theater's performance of "A Minister's Wife." . . . . The actors played and sang their parts well, but I was not moved by the music, the songs, or the performance.. . . . . . . . Musical Adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Candida Makes its West Coast Premiere at San Jose Rep. Three hearts and…
Read More: Review: A Minister's Wife (San Jose Repertory Theater)
Today, we visited the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. Inna purchased a Groupon deal on tickets there.. . . . The museum has many activities and exhibits for young kids and adults, teaching them about nano-technology, bridge building, and other scientific endeavors.. . . . After seeing a few exhibits, we saw a 3-D IMAX movie on Prehistoric Animals, focusing on the Woolly…
Read More: Learning science at Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley
We drove to Tsawwassen ferry terminal and took the 9:00 a.m. BC Ferry to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island.. . . . . . . . . . We spent the rest of the day in Butchart Gardens and Victoria. These are some of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen.. . . . . . . . . . . . At noon,…
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Today, we flew Alaska Airlines Flight #327 from San Jose, California, to Seattle, Washington. . . When we landed in Seattle, we learned that a section of the Skagit River bridge (I-5) had collapsed. Luckily, we were not on the bridge when it collapsed. Many of the cars driving over the bridge ended up in the cold water of the Skagit River. . . .…
Read More: Vancouver, British Columbia
We had a wonderful hike at Castle Rock State Park. We saw a few rock climbers scaling various rocks and enjoyed the beautiful greenery.. . According to Wikipedia:. Castle Rock State Park is a state park of California, USA, located along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It embraces coast redwood, Douglas fir, and madrone forest, most of which has been left in its…
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May 17, 2013. . After work, we decided to grab a quick bite at the Wine Cellar Restaurant in Los Gatos.. . . . Inna ordered the Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad. It looked and tasted beautiful.. . . . I ordered a Vermont Waldorf Salad. Both salads were very well prepared, but nothing special. The service was quick and attentive.. . . .…
Read More: Wine Cellar Restaurant, Los Gatos
Today, we saw the musical "Mary Poppins" at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. This was the second time we saw Mary Poppins. Last year, we saw it in San Jose and enjoyed it very much.. . The San Francisco production was also excellent; we enjoyed all the songs. Mary Poppins was played by Madeline Trumble, a Berkeley native. Madeline sang very well and acted…
Read More: Review: Mary Poppins (Orpheum Theater)
Today, we decided to try what Yelp rates as the best gelato in San Francisco - Gelateria Naia on Columbus Ave, in North Beach of San Francisco.. . Gelateria Naia offers a lot of gelato and sorbet flavors - we counted 40 different flavors in their North Beach location. Some of the flavors were very unique, like Whiskey and Burned Caramel. This is superior to…
Read More: Tasting gelato in Gelateria Naia
After looking at Yelp reviews, Inna decided to try the Chow Restaurant in San Francisco. Chow is supposed to offer many organic, local dishes and has plenty of salads on the menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . Inna ordered a Cobb Salad, and I ordered Thai-style noodles with Steak and Chicken. Inna's Cobb Salad looked good. However, my…
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Today, we decided to check out the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose.. . The museum is not very large but houses many original artifacts from ancient Egypt.. The buildings look very new and well-decorated.. . . . . . Alex and Inna touched some ancient Egyptian artifacts inside the museum, including stones from the Pyramid of Djoser - the first Egyptian pyramid (over 5,000+…
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Today, we took the shuttle from the Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe Hotel in Riviera Maya to the Xcaret eco-park in Quintana Roo, Mexico.. . According to Wikipedia:. Xcaret is a Maya civilization archaeological site located on the Caribbean coastline of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the modern-day state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. The site was occupied by thepre-Columbian Maya and functioned as a port for…
Read More: Xcaret, Cancun, Mexico
Today, we took the shuttle from the Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe Hotel in Riviera Maya to Xel-Ha eco-park in Quintana Roo, Mexico.. . Xel-Ha is a famous Mexican eco-park with many outdoor activities, including snorkeling, zip-lining, and swimming with dolphins.. . When we arrived at 9:00 a.m., Inna and Alex decided to book the 10:30 a.m. session of "Swimming with Dolphins." We put our gear…
Read More: Xel-Ha, Cancun, Mexico
We rescheduled our trip to Barcelo Maya Palace in Mexico (near Cancun) for April 5, 2013 (from the original date in December 2012 due to Grandma's health problems).. . We flew on United Airlines UA1679 from San Francisco to Cancun (direct flight), departing at 8:39 a.m. and landing at 3:02 p.m. . . Once we landed in Cancun, we waited for our United Airlines shuttle…
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Today, we decided to make Italian Gelato at home. I purchased a DeLonghi GM6000 Gelato machine to see if I could replicate the fine gelatos of Italy.. . . . . Our first attempt was to make the custard described in Ciao Bella. Unfortunately, the attempt failed because our analog thermometer was not working properly, and we overheated the milk, heavy cream, and egg yolk.…
Read More: Making Gelato at Home
Today, we drove to Yosemite National Park to see the park in winter and spend a few days enjoying the snow and waterfalls. We started our drive to Tenaya Lodge, near the south entrance, at 6:00 p.m., but there was a lot of traffic on US-101 heading south. . . . After 30 minutes of driving on US-101, I realized I had forgotten our ski…
Read More: Exploring Yosemite National Park