Palo Alto

We are on the road, leaving our six days in Palo Alto behind. Our friend was right, Palto Alto is the equivalent of 16th century Florence. It has changed and is changing the world. In the late sixties, I have some vague recollection of the demise of slide rules and the advent of calculators. OMG, we have come a long way, baby! We leave Palo Alto with a greater sense of the creative forces behind the past 35 years and with a more learned nod to the future. All this energy, creativity, wealth in one area are working on the next big thing.... Could it be anticipatory marketing? Amazon, or whoever, will just send you what they intuit you want, remember that coffee you couldn't be trusted to add your own cream to? Now, you really don't know what you need or want to buy... but they will....

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Palo Alto's Favourite Coffeeshop

Palto Alto, the town of future promise, is the home to the uber rich, the uber smart and the uber creative. For example, we are driving down the highway at 100 mph (that's miles, not kilometers) and are passed by the Google car... a self driving vehicle ... and we can't catch it! Money flows in the street and coffee flows in the funky sidewalk bars.... which brings us to Philz Coffee.

This is the hotspot, the epicentre of the cool and hip. The room is filled with conversation and digital devices. The line up for coffee stretches out the door. So what makes this place so special? It provides a totally narcissistic experience. Each order of coffee is made individually. No coffee urn here. No one shares the same coffee. Every choice is carefully explained to each customer. Then it is carefully prepared, cup by cup. The customer is not trusted to add their cream or sugar... they may screw the coffee up! If you don't like the amount of cream or sugar added or the flavour of the coffee, it is quickly removed and made all over again. I have to think that this whole experience is designed to make you feel special, like royalty... you are unique... Philz caters to a generation raised to feel that, yes, they are special, but interestingly cannot be trusted to even pour the right amount of cream into their very individualized special coffee.

 

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Truffle Salt

We are on a winter break... a break from our ongoing life of leisure. In fact, my new motto is 'idle forever'. R and I flew from Bellingham to San Francisco. Whenever I travel to the United States, I feel that I am going to the dark side... that the US is slightly less civilized. And, then, of course, I am inevitably forced to change my preconceived ideas. Our first stop, Bellingham, was my point of reckoning. We stumbled in to an olive oil tasting. Amazing, delectable, nuanced oils... ethusuastic, incredibly knowledgeable staff... I am going back in two weeks. And, then as as I am leaving, they insist I try a truffle salt. OMG, flavour burst in my mouth and I nearly sunk to my knees with pleasure. Damn those Americans.... they just get it so right sometimes!

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Tofino

Post Christmas joy is being at Tofino. Walking the beach. Watching the penguins gather on the chilly shore. No, not birds, but surfers… covered from head to toe in black neoprene, shouting for joy at a good wave. Gray sand, gray sky .... an atmosphere crackling with life.

Why I love Tofino:

It is at the end of the world. For me, there is nothing else beyond it. Time changes, there is only the present and my mind empties out. All questions, quandaries, judgments disappear. The dramatic ocean swallows them up.

There are no weather expectations and that is soooo relaxing. Rain, sun, clouds – it doesn’t matter. You simply revel in whatever nature serves up because it is always dramatic.

Tofino is my new corollary for life: try to stay rooted in the present and throw out preconceived expectations.

Shades of Christmas

An original poem by  Karynn Oxley and Loanne Anderson. God help us, performed in Qualicum Beach. We are ready (really) for spoken work performances!

It is that joyous time of year — ring a ding ding, ring a ding ding

And yet, for some in Qualicum, it is the blues they sing!

“Oh dear, the kids are so very far away

We could never reach them in one day

Our table craves a joyous feast

But it’s just us — and the turkey beast!”

“My goodness me — this is a first!

I hope our Christmas is not cursed.

Just the two of us — with no distraction?

No kids, no stress, no family action?”

“Whatever are we going to do? Engage in conversation?”

No worries! WE are here… to lead you to salvation!

Put up that Christmas tree with all the decorations you adore

And then be sure you run, real quick, and double lock the door.

No need to talk, or feel adrift

We suggest you buy that ‘special’ gift,

Yes! Gifts for two… to read and drink,

Shades of Gray, Champagne? What do you think?

So pop that cork under the Christmas tree

And, very soon, you will be free

To meet your youth of yesteryear

And, no, you do not need to fear….

The fountain of youth never looked so GOOD!

And, it’s right here in our neighbourhood.

So Merry Christmas to one and all

Get under that tree and have a ball!

Oops, I did it one more time

Wednesday, the last full day of our European odyssey dawned cloudy and wet. It was a perfect day to drag Roger around on one of his favorites activities... looking at shoes for me. But no, he discovers an even better activity...a day at the Sauna Van Egmond in Haarlem.

OMG, what an experience. The Shades of Gray (not that I EVER read THAT book) pales besides the delights offered at this SPA. Hot pools, cold pools and sensuous warm waters carcass your body. The steam bath is so thick with steam you have complete privacy. And, herbal aromas and sounds vary from room to room. Absolute relaxation... The jungle sauna, the Moroccan sauna, the infrared sauna, and the cold sauna delight your senses. And then, you can crawl into the sleeping room and do just that.. Sleep.

I felt that I had dropped into a Fellini movie. In the dinning room, the staff were clothed and the clients ate, lounged, enjoyed wine and beer in bathrobes and towels.

We stayed for seven hours! What a fabulous ending to fabulous trip


Wheels up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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European Weight Loss Plan

We started the day in Brugges by searching for coffee about nine in the morning. People were already drinking wine at the sidewalk tables. By 11 am, we were In Ghent and stopped to have another coffee in the sunny town square. Champagne and beer were on everyone else's table. At four o'clock we had arrived in Brussels and sat at yet another sidewalk table and had a beer. Beer is flowing everywhere. There must be thousands of people drinking beer and sipping wine all around us.

This is how it has been for the past month in Europe. But we have seen no drunks, no attitude, no violence. And, we have seen very, very few heavy people. God knows there is enough food to tempt the strongest of souls. The pastries and chocolates are to die for. Fries are a staple. Bread and cheese? Can't go a block without them. So how do they do it? All I can say, is that it must be genetic, cause the fries, beer and wine diet just isn't working for me!


 

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