London Calling

Going to London was not on our minds.

At least not until we got the email from Tam Airlines saying we could fly there for free with our airmiles. That got us started thinking about it, but the price of staying and eating in London was too much.

Until we saw that we could stay right in central London for about $18 night at a hostel with a kitchen. If we bought food at the grocery store, we could eat for the same price as at home, more or less.

How can anyone refuse that? Patrícia was dying to go and I had been to London several times without ever leaving the airports, which to me, doesn't count for anything--all big airports are basically interchangeable (small airports can have more interesting character). We readied ourselves for cold weather, British English, and bad food, and booked the trip.

Everything went fine on the flights and immigration. We jumped on a metro train that would take us directly to our hostel, actually just around the block from the Russell Square stop. The hostel, Smart Russell Square Hostel, was typical for busy cities: big common rooms, free wi-fi, lack of personality, a big kitchen, and generally well equipped. Or so we thought. The website shows an exercise room and sauna that I was planning on using. I asked where they were and this was the response, "Oh, those are only on the website, we don't have them." Uh....what? Nice.

One very positive thing about the place were the beds. Bunk beds with curtains so you could have privacy and block the light that people inevitably turn on at two o'clock in the morning. Sure they were a little short for my long legs, but what can you do?

We got a big hot dog buried in fried onions from a street vendor next to the hostel and jumped on a double decker bus to see the city.

Skiing in the Summer!

We drove up to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, about an hour or so from Portland. Patrícia kept asking where the snow was. Everything is green and beautiful and warm. I said, "wait, we have a lot more 'up' to go." And so we went, up and up and up. And it got colder and colder. Only in the last few miles did the snow start.

Finally, there it was, enshrouded in clouds, Timberline Lodge, a 70 year old public works project built to give people jobs. And now it is a comfortable and attractive historic monument that you can sleep, eat, relax, and play in. Our cute little room had a nice new bathroom, and the original furniture and art designed and custom made when the lodge was built.

We ate at the "world famous" Cascade Dining room and were treated very well as newlyweds. Free champagne and special table service. It started with hot fresh rosemary bread with olive oil and balsamic, a mini tasting of cold fillet mignon, the most incredible crawfish bisque, and a lingon berry granita (like a slushy). She had a prawn and scallop pasta as an entree and I had lamb chops of course. To go with it, we had a fantastic wine that was not expensive(big surprise considering the cost of the dinner.) Everything was fantastic, but the crawfish bisque left us craving more and more.

The next morning, I looked out the window and saw the hordes of snow boarders and skiers, walking to the lift, about 100 meters from our window. We ran over to the rental shop, got skis, boots, and poles and hit the slopes for her first lesson. It was sunny and surprisingly warm and we stripped off a lot of the clothes we had just put on.

The lift line was crazy with snowboarders and the only runs open were intermediate or expert. There was no way Patrícia could make it since she had never been on skis before so we hiked up a bit for her private lessons (with me). She was scared to death and I had to ski backwards in front of her, holding on. She learned fast and did well and we went over to the lift and bought really expensive tickets for the few hours they would be open. In the summer the snow gets too soft in the afternoon and you can't ski.

We got on the lift without incident, getting off was almost a scene. She had her poles under her leg as we rode up and when she took them out when we were about to get off, she got her skis and poles all tangled. I managed to help her just in the nick of time. And then she promptly fell getting off the lift like I knew she would. I think it is a right of passage.

Perched at the top of the intermediate slope, in the warm summer morning, she looked great, like a real skier. I was proud that she had the nerve to get that far. She, however, was horrified with the prospect of moving from that spot. With no small amount of coaxing, she started down, going much much faster than on the practice slope below. A few screams, but she did great for her first time. She made long smooth turns and only fell a few times. I was so proud.

She could not ski for long before her muscles gave out and I went to the very top to the expert runs while she waited below. I love skiing. It was fast and scary and great. My muscles on the other hand didn't like it so much. I just couldn't ski for very long. My thighs were on fire.

We had some clam chowder and drove back down to the hot summer temperatures of Vancouver. A very memorable day and a half.

Eric's Birthday

We got back into Vancouver on Eric's 15th birthday. We headed out for the best Chinese food ever. It was a combination of a superb waiter and the best tasting Chinese I have ever had. It was an incredible meal. The waiter told us outright what was good, bad, and best on the menu. And he was right. He even gave us a free appetizer of shrimp dumplings that was heavenly. At the end he brought a free dessert for Eric with a candle of course, without any fanfare or scene, just "Have a happy birthday." It was at PF Changs, which I always thought was overrated even though I never ate there. I'm a believer.

We stayed in Vancouver a few days, went hiking up to a waterfall, and drove out to the coast with Grandma, Grandpa, and Eric. It was decent weather. Not sunny, not cold. I got to show Patricia where they filmed the movies Goonies and Kindergarden Cop, but the best part was the forest and beach. We hiked a short trail and played on the beach and just relaxed.

We also went to my favorite Moroccan restaurant where you sit on little poufs on the floor, eat with your hands and watch the belly dancer perform.

The most exciting part was to come later. Up the mountain. In the snow. In the middle of summer.