03.13.08
Posted in Travel at 12:36 pm by rachel
You eat a lot of heavy food when you’re in the mountains. I guess all those extra calories help you with the hiking and the altitude! Here are some food highlights of our ski trip in Valfréjus.
The market:
I bought a half-ton of cheese from this stand. It is still making our refrigerator smell like feet, but I just had to buy Reblochon for tartiflette, and try two other kinds I wasn’t familiar with. The free samples are what sold us on those.
This is where we stocked up on dried sausages for Seth. They may be contributing to the fridge odor as well…
A plate of cut meats, to accompany the raclette we ate the first night we were in Valfréjus.
Fondue night! Here’s the prep shot…
Ready for dipping, on the table.
Delicious!
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03.07.08
Posted in Travel at 11:18 am by rachel
We’re back from our trip to Valfréjus, and finally I have some pictures to share! I thought I’d start out with the view from the top of the slopes, accessible by a long gondola ride up about 1000 meters or so (I think?). It was a long trip up, but so pretty!
The view from the top, away from the main slopes.
The blazing sun was the best part.
The café at the top was a popular lunch spot. We ate outside on this terrace one day and enjoyed tartiflette. My favorite!
Cécilia, enjoying some vin chaud (mulled wine)
I loved the painted wood that decorated the café’s windows.
Who needs jackets? Sunbathing at the top.
Seth even found iPhone reception at the top of the mountain.
This gondola side of the mountain was the side with the slopes.
The ride back down in the gondola. That’s all for today!
Oh, and check out Seth’s snowblogging post and video about blogging from the ski lift.
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02.22.08
Posted in Travel at 11:07 am by rachel
It’s winter vacation in Paris, and we’re off to the Alps for a week, to a small little ski town called Valfréjus. I’m bringing books, papers, and my computer, so I can get some real work done, but what a beautiful setting to be in to do it! These photos are from the Valfréjus website, but I’ll be sure to share our own photos (and maybe even some video of Seth snowboarding?) as soon as we return.
This is a chapel you can walk to from the slopes. I’m not sure how old it is, but I’m looking forward to visiting it. It’s interesting how it seems to be built right into the mountain.
The slopes…Not being a very good skiier, I think I’m more interested in the photo ops, the hot chocolate, the heated pool, and the raclette!
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02.16.08
Posted in Travel at 2:01 pm by rachel
It’s a strange combination, I know, but there were a few other photos I wanted to share from Barcelona and there isn’t really anything tying them together!
First, some photos of the marina. There’s a large floating walkway and pier that offers great views of the city.
There were lots of visible fish out at dusk.
Sunset View…
The second group of photos are some shots I took of graffiti we saw around the old city.
These paintings of faces looked a little more deliberate than graffiti, but it’s still an interesting juxtaposition between the older building with its wrought-iron balcony, and contemporary artwork.
I think that’s it for our Barcelona travel photos! Happy weekend.
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02.12.08
Posted in Art, Travel at 4:50 pm by rachel
What’s a trip to Barcelona without a dozen or so pictures of the unusual architectural works by Antoni Gaudì? Here are some of my favorites:
The Casa Milà
The stained glass was especially beautiful at night…
I love how the Sagrada Familia Cathedral looks like a sand castle. It is slowly being covered in mosaics, so one day will be quite a festival of color.
Wikipedia has this cool list of Gaudi buildings if you want to see more.
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02.08.08
Posted in Travel at 1:15 pm by rachel
Barcelona is well-known for the architectural marvels by Gaudì, but I thought I’d share some photos of older buildings that make the city a multi-layered historical wonder. Of course, we went without a guidebook so I can’t tell you what all of these places are called, so if you’re familiar with them, feel free to share!
This church looked to be at least a few hundred years old. It reminded me of Spanish colonial architecture we saw in Mexico a couple years ago.
This was a curious sight: What appears to be an old cathedral or monastery is missing an arched passageway that must have been there once upon a time.
Carvings in Latin that used to be inside are now exposed to the street.
There are still many public fountains like this one throughout the old city.
The steeple of the church of Santa Maria del Mar rises above this narrow street.
With my sister, Laura.
We liked this square lined with palm trees.
The fountain, lit up at night.
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01.11.08
Posted in Family, Travel at 1:17 am by rachel
The snow that fell during our Christmas trip to Wisconsin was some of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. It sat perfectly on the tree branches like an Ansel Adams photo. It also packed into perfect snowballs, as I repeatedly found out first-hand (thanks, Seth!). It was a magical backdrop to a warm reunion with family and dear friends.
An old garage in our neighborhood. I thought it looked timeless.
Freshly-fallen snow in my parents’ backyard
Laura (my youngest sister) walking her dog, Stella
Seth and Jeff (my brother-in-law) planning a snowball attack at the grade school
Jeff throws a perfect strike into the littlest of snowballs, à la William Tell
Monica on the snowbanks we used to play on in grade school
Seth kicks a football
On the walk back home
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11.08.07
Posted in Travel at 10:04 am by rachel
I am finally back from my busy trip to New York City. It was great being back and seeing friends, eating my favorite veggie burger at Quantum Leap, being on campus, and wandering around my old neighborhood. I didn’t have time to do many social activities, but once the symposium I was helping organize was over, I had two days to relax and enjoy myself.
Our friends Amanda and Jonathan hosted me at their apartment in Queens, which is close to a little neighborhood park along the river. We took their dog for a walk and enjoyed the fall leaves.
Sunday afternoon they took me to my first ever professional football game: the New York Jets vs. the Washington Redskins. It was a close game, which made it interesting. I got a good fill of Americana, with all the flag saluting, pretzel eating, and cheerleading. We all had a good time and promise we didn’t take it as seriously as this picture of Jonathan would suggest:
The Jets were ahead almost the entire time, but in the last quarter fell behind. The score was tied, but they eventually lost the game in overtime.
A highlight of going to New York is always the food. I enjoyed some of the best Thai and Italian food last week, but one of the best dishes I had was Amanda’s mac and cheese. I have never been able to make this American classic, but think the bread crumbs, white sauce, and addition of Gruyère cheese is key. Delicious!
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10.21.07
Posted in Crafts, Sewing, Travel at 10:40 pm by rachel
La Poste came through after all. The quilt I made has officially arrived in Hong Kong. I have realized I didn’t post a few of the pictures I took of the whole finished product, so here are a few:
What a crazy pattern this was, but so much fun!
I’m proud of two things in this photo: the other is the geranium plant in our window box that I revived. It’s still in full bloom!
This is what the quilt looks like on our bedroom chair. Those geraniums were a little late to catch up.
We went to Hong Kong in August (the hottest month) 2003. It was our first stop on a trans-mongolian rail (and plane) trip. The whole itinerary was New York - Los Angeles - Hong Kong - Beijing - Ulan Baatar (Mongolia) - Irkutsk (Russia) - Moscow - St. Petersburg - Paris - New York. Whew! I’ll have to write more about that later. In the mean time, here are some photos of the magical place to which the psychedelic quilt has just arrived.
The top of Victoria Peak. Who knew there was so much nature just minutes from the city center?
A Buddhist Spot on Victoria Peak
The long series of outdoor escalators we very much appreciated in the heat.
Hong Kong Night Life
Riding a Junk Boat on the South China Sea
We anchored and swam to this beach. Paradise.
Sunset on the South China Sea. Sweet dreams!
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10.11.07
Posted in Books & Paper, Travel at 1:17 pm by rachel
I’ve been away from Paris for a week, visiting some collections in Lyon for my dissertation and also squeezing in some time with old friends. I haven’t been able to be online very often, but just got the chance to share with you some photos from a little village called Ambierle, in the Loire region of France (about 1.5 hours from Lyon).
Ambierle’s church’s roof is made with traditional tiles from the Bourgogne region, a pattern very prevalent in the area around Dijon.
Ambierle is also the “village du livre” (book village), with several used book shops and a bi-monthly book market in the warmer months of the year. I found some wonderful old journals for a euro each – quite a steal, since they go for at least 15€ in Paris! A little place definitely off the beaten path but worth a visit when in the region.
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