April 10, 2013 by Rae

A Fun Afternoon at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas

Undeterred by the pouring rain, Ms. Cinnamon and I headed out for the afternoon. I asked if she wanted to have lunch out and she suggested Vietnamese, which was exactly what I had in mind. So we headed over to the Bistro B.

The restaurant has a crazy huge and overwhelming menu. I decided that we didn’t have all day and that I wanted vermicelli, chicken, and lemongrass, which I found as a number 113. Ms. Cinnamon ordered the same thing.

The ginormous meal of fresh salad, noodles, meat, and a side of fish sauce looked lovely and tasted pretty good, but it was nowhere near lemongrassy enough for me. There was just a hint of it in some bites, but for a meal labeled lemongrass, it wasn’t enough. So I questioned the server and he offered to take back our food, but we refused since there was nothing wrong with it and we didn’t want to have to wait for them to make something new.

Well, he came back minutes later with a small plate heaped with more lemongrass and sautéd onions! And guess what he told us? That the chef purposely toned it down because the dish is too flavourful for most of the folks who come to the restaurant! Now, what we were served was not bland in the least, but the added lemongrass really made it shine. Yu-um!

Sated, Ms. Cinnamon and I headed out to tour the Perot Museum of Science and Nature, which is new in Dallas. I took a picture of the exterior when I was out the other day. It was almost 2:30 when we arrived and the museum closes at 5:00. Well, we had just enough time to see everything, but would have really needed another hour or two!

This is a very hands on museum with a lot of fun activities. From the lobby, you get a dizzying escalator ride straight up to the fourth floor dinosaurs and space exhibits, and then you work your way down.

The museum is great for kids and the kid at heart. My favourite exhibit was up in the fourth floor mezzanine birds exhibit where you put on 3D glasses and get to soar like a bird. The effect is remarkable as you get to swoop, dive, and fly by moving your body. This photo gallery gives a small sample of the exhibits. At $15, the museum isn’t cheap, but you get a lot of bang for your buck!

: Bistro B has really good Vietnamese food.

: Riding up the escalator to the fourth floor. This is the angled windowed piece of the building.

: There are several very steep escalators to get to the top.

: We started off with the dinosaurs.

: This is an Edmontonsaurus!

: See the fierce fellow in the back?

: A mammoth.

: A tortoise.

: A ginomormous Alamosaurus.

: Astronaut floating over the space exhibit.

: This quote about birds could be about full-time RVers, or any nomads, really.

: Looking down at the Alamosaurus.

: Ms. Cinnamon pretends to be a bird.

: The bathroom sinks are really odd.

: I do like the colour of the stalls.

: This is a giant REAL amethyst geode. There is a steering wheel thingy outside the display to open and close the rock.

: There were lots of gemstones on display.

: This exhibit let me crank out all of about a watt in a minute and a half.

: A mining drill 10x the size of a real one.

: In this ride, we are ‘shrunk down to the size of a golf ball’ and taken down into the bedrock to experience fracking.

: Tornado simulator.

: Living roof.

: Another shot of the living roof.

: I like how there is a hole in the roof for the tree.

: Another mezzanine before the first floor gives us a good view of the big cats.

: Sound travels much faster through steel than through air.

: On the first floor, there are exhibits of the various Texan ecosystems.

: This was a fun activity where you could create a climate and then you would see how the Furby-like create would evolve for that climate over several generations.

: This is a real man who was preserved Ferengi-style by being frozen and then sliced into thin layers.

: Same thing, but with a woman.

: This is a really cool ‘wooden mirror.’ Each piece has a tiny motor. They shift as you move in front of it to show your reflection.

: See how the man’s reflection is taking shape?

We stopped at the Central Market, a super fancy grocery store, on the way home to grab something quick and easy for dinner. I got a few groceries and then spent some time in the deli area trying to decide what I was in the mood for. The sushi very tempting, but I went with my first instinct, which was to have a mixed Mediterranean plate with hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, cucumber and tomato salad, and lots of other good stuff where you pay by the weight of your container. Yum!

It was really cold today (I doubt we hit 50F), but at least the sky has cleared.

March 25, 2013 by Rae

Downtown San Antonio, Including the Alamo, Riverwalk, and Mercado

The day was very slow to warm and I didn’t think I was going to end up going into San Antonio. We final hit double digits Celsius near noon and I decided to head out, wearing sandals, but also long thick leggings under my skirt and a long-sleeved top, and I stuffed my heaviest wool pashmina into my purse at the last minute. I wound up being very grateful for that shawl as I wore it all afternoon. It was warm in the sun, but absolutely freezing in shaded areas.

Teri, my host here at Hidden Valley had given me a detailed map with how to get to $5 a day parking downtown. I gave the map a glance before leaving and only noted the exit name… not that I had to get off I-35 and take I-10 to I-37, from which I would take said exit. So I wound up driving straight through town and had to double back! But once I was downtown, the parking lot was easy to find. It is at the corner of Bowie and Crockett, kitty corner from the giant mall.

First stop of the day was the Alamo! WOW! I can’t believe I’ve finally been to the Alamo!!! Wow! 😀

A number of people told me that I would be disappointed, but disappointment is all about expectations. No expectations, no disappointment. From a purely pragmatic point of view, I could understand how someone who is only moderately interested in the Alamo might not get much out of the site. There is a very long line to get into the shrine, an even longer line in the shrine snaking through the sparse exhibits, and there is no photography permitted.

But if you know the history, you can close your eyes and hear the rifles and cannons and death gurgles of men drowning in their own blood. In the room where women and children sought refuge, you can hear their muffled cries of terror. Standing within the halls of this former mission, I could understand how it has become a symbol of Texan independence.

The exhibits are wonderful for a history buff; lots of old documents and maps with a few artifacts, like a book belonging to Bowie and a rifle belonging to Crockett.

Attached to the Alamo shrine, there is a museum (again, no pictures). You can also see a movie, but the line for that was really, really long and I was ready for lunch.

The Alamo (which means cottonwood) is free to visit. You can pay $6 for an audio tour, but I opted out.

My thirst for living history slaked, it was time to find some lunch. I had done my research and headed to Sushi Zushi on the corner of St Mary’s and Commerce. Don’t give me that look! I haven’t had sushi since the beginning of January!!!!!!

From the restaurant, I was able to head down into the famous Riverwalk, where it was really cold along the water. What a beautiful area! I did the entire main loop and a little of the newer branch that heads north.

After, I headed across town to the marketplace to see the Mercado, colloquially known as ‘the Mexican flea market.’ If you want to get a sense of what it’s like to shop in a Mexican border town without having a bunch of shopkeepers hassle you, you have to check out this place. I was underwhelmed by the same tchotchkes that I saw in Nuevo Progreso and Tijuana.

That was the end of my day. Public transportation is super cheap in San Antonio, but the city is very walkable and compact, so I ended up hoofing my way back to the truck, enjoying the exercise and sunshine.

Gotta remember where I’m parked. 😉 There’s a giant mall right downtown and I was across from it.

Looking down Crockett.

Lots of lampposts right in the middle of the sidewalk. Odd.

Made it to Alamo Plaza

This is the iconic façade of the church that is now the Alamo shrine.

A very long line, but it moved quickly enough.

Lots of rules in the shrine. Men have to take off their hats, no pictures, no talking loudly, etc.

Gardens outside the shrine.

Exquisite sculpting on the shrine doors.

Closeup of the sculpting details.

Rear exit.

Entrance to the gift shop.

Wall, still in the Alamo Plaza.

Exit of the museum in the long barracks.

I just came around the shrine.

This is a post office and something else, probably a courthouse. I had to go through a metal detector and put my purse through an X-ray machine to get in.

Alamo Plaza reminded me of Hollywood, with a lot of crappy attractions long its edge, like a Madame Tussaud’s and a Ripley’s Odditorium.

First view of the Riverwalk (from above).

Sushi Zushi. Yum! I left the best (octopus) for last and the server thought I was done and tried to take it from me. I almost slapped her hand. 🙂

Right at the restaurant, a wheelchair snakes down to the water.

The river is very green.

Lots of ducks around.

I saw a few of these mosaics telling the history of the area.

Lots of low lying bridges.

No rails; watch your step! I’d be careful about getting drunk here!

Water feature.

This stucco building looks like something out of a faery tale!

So pretty!

So does this cute bridge!

The architecture in San Antonio is mostly beautiful.

Exquisite.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard debating taking a plunge.

Ooh! Ice cream! Never mind that I’m freezing!

I love bridge columns like these.

Expensive, but sooooo delicious!

No architectural details are neglected.

Again, don’t walk here drunk!

Even neglected, this building is beautiful.

I understand why San Antonians love their Riverwalk so much.

This reminded me of Alcatraz.

I’m along the new, wilder, north spur.

Market place.

Another pretty building.

Exterior of the Mercado.

Exterior of the mercado.

Interior of the Mercado.

This tower sure sticks out!

January 13, 2013 by Rae

Exploring New Orlean’s French Quarter

I left home around 9 this morning to go explore New Orleans’ French Quarter. I decided to take the Algiers Ferry to get there. It’s a good thing that the RV park gave okay directions to get there because there is no signage whatsoever and you would think you were driving through slums a tourist has no business being in (sorry Algiers Point).

The ferry is free for pedestrians, but, SURPRISE!, you have to pay $10 to park for the day.

I made the 9:30 ferry and was across the river in less than 15 minutes.

Arrival on Canal Street is a little brutal as the ferry building is DISGUSTING. OMG. The place reeks of urine and the puddles are obviously not water. And you have to go through quite a bit of it to get to the street. I wasn’t the only tourist trying to find the exit as fast as possible.

On the street, you find yourself in the heart of touristy NOLA, with the Imax and Aquarium on your right, the Harrah’s casino directly ahead, the French Quarter a few blocks ahead to the right, and the Riverwalk behind you to the left. Canal Street is lined with palm trees. The day I become blasé about palm trees is the day I hang up my traveling shoes!

I walked quickly down Canal to Decatur, ignoring the panhandlers, and then headed into the French Quarter.

I didn’t want to do any museums today, but rather just walk the streets and soak in the ambiance. So I began to stroll fairly aimlessly, occasionally referring to my map to make sure I stayed within the confines of the tourist section. Its limits are actually quite obvious.

My favourite part of the area is the architecture. The 18th-century buildings have survived to this day because they are built of cypress, a rot-resistant wood that termites don’t like.

The French Market held my attention for a bit and I spent some time eying the wares, everything from jewelry to really tacky coasters. There were also some food vendors. But the market was just opening up, so I decided to return after lunch and continued my wanderings.

I found a gelataria on a side street where I was able to get some chocolate gelato, a delicious treat that was perfect for the muggy temperatures.

The weather wound up being quite good even though the sky threatened to rip open as it was very dark and grey. I felt extremely under dressed, which was hilarious since the feeling was purely psychological. I’m just so used to wind + grey sky + spitting rain = being frozen solid. In fact, my capris and tee-shirt were perfect and a nice breeze made the humidity tolerable.

Lunch was had at Café Maspero’s, recommended by Eugene yesterday. I figured that I had to eat a mountain of fried seafood once this winter and this was going to be it! $21 including the tip and tax got me a humongous strawberry daiquiri (I doubt there was alcohol in it) for $3 and a ginormous ‘seafood platter’ for about $14. It had catfish, oysters, shrimp, and calamari. I had never eaten oysters before (!) and I think I might like them. 🙂 For fried seafood, this was very good and I do not regret my lunch location choice!

I walked around some more after lunch, then headed out of the French Quarter to check out the Riverwalk shopping centre. I was sad to learn that all the local vendors, many of whom had shops with interesting products, not just touristy crap, are being forced out to make way for the Riverwalk to become an outlet mall.

Downtown New Orleans seen from Algiers Point (still part of NOLA).

The Algiers Ferry car level.

The owners of Nugget City were leaving on a cruise this morning. Could this be one of their ships?!

Downtown New Orleans seen from Algiers Point (still part of NOLA).

The passenger area of the ferry seen from the lower level.

The seats were hard, but it’s barely 10 minutes across the Mississippi.

Tugboat pushing a barge.

These birds are obviously used to the ferry.

This guy was utterly unflappable and had to be shooed away!

Canal Street near Harrah’s.

Intersection of Canal and Decatur. Canal is so named because there was supposed to be a canal built in its location.

Courtyard of the Jean Lafitte national park visitor’s centre.

There’s a Bubba Gump place on Chicago’s Navy Pier, so can we say tourist trap?

Typical side street of the French Quarter.

Many streets in the French Quarter have signs showing the original name of the street from when the Spaniards owned NOLA.

Entrance to the French Market, where you can find all sorts of treasures.

I love all the unexpected bits of French all over the place.

This sort of balcony screams ‘New Orleans French Quarter’ to me.

The streets are really close together, so it’s nice to get a breath of air when they open up like this.

Narrow alley.

The Sweet Palate. I was looking for ice cream and scored when I stumbled on this place that sells gelato!

A small cup of their divine chocolate gelato. Mmm!

Impressive!

Bourbon Street! It wasn’t raining, but threatening to. The sky was spitting.

Bourbon Street was pretty quiet at 10AM, but there was some music to be heard.

Huge Ass Beers and Huge Ass Burgers.

Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo.

Café Lafitte In Exile

Moon Wok Restaurant

One of the many buildings that looks like how the French Quarter felt: very dank. Not humid, but dank, like a mouldy basement. I wonder if it was like this before Katrina.

Horse-shaped hitching post.

More balconies.

An unfortunately named restaurant. Vacherie means something like a backstabbing act or a bad joke.

Tropical Isle, home of the hand grenade, the most potent NOLA drink.

Legal notice to stop renovations. Tourists know this area as the ‘French Quarter’ but it is officially the ‘Vieux Carré’ (old square).

Perfect parking spot for a Vespa!

The pharmacy museum.

The guide recommended Café Maspero’s as a good place to get cheap fried seafood platters. I looked at other menus in the area and saw that most restaurants offered variations on the same theme for about the same price (NOLA is VERY affordable, to my surprise). I decided to take the guide’s advice as the restaurant had windows open all around and promised a nice breeze.

Cover the Café Maspero’s menu.

I ordered a giant strawberry daiquiri for $3. I don't think there was any alcohol in it. It was very refreshing! The meal came with a salad. Yeah for veggies!

I ordered a giant strawberry daiquiri for $3. I don’t think there was any alcohol in it. It was very refreshing! The meal came with a salad. Yay for veggies!

My giant mound of fried stuff. The fries were dismal, but the seafood was GREAT. The batter was light and crispy and I could actually identify what I was eating: catfish, oysters (my first time trying them!!!), shrimp, and my favourite, calamari, which were melt-in-your-mouth tender. I’m not that found of deep friend seafood, but this passed muster with me!

The meal came with horseradish and tartar sauce, and there were other sauces on the table. It also came with one wedge of lemon, which is what I like on my fried seafood. I asked for, and got, a few more wedges.

There were two slices of bread hiding under my seafood! To absorb the grease, perhaps?

I got a lid with my bill!

The biggest tourist trap in the area, the Café du Monde, offering café au lait and beignets. After reading up on it, I knew better than to waste an HOUR waiting in line!

There were a few gator offerings, but I’d done my research and knew that it’s not local food and that NOLA is not the best place to try it. Boudin is blood sausage.

Whit’s last fling before the ring!

The LaLaurie House is considered to be one of the most haunted houses in NOLA. A 19th-century owner tortured her slaves here.

Info on the walking tour pamphlet about the LaLaurie house where Delphine LaLaurie was discovered to be treating her slaves badly.

More balconies.

Recipe for a ‘Katrina Martini.’ It sounds vile!

This little fellow was sleeping in the window of the French Quarter vet,

Info about the kitty. He sounds like quite the character!

You can reserve parking to visit the French Quarter vet.

Just one of a kazillion magnificent homes in NOLA.

Grumpy Cat, of the internet meme fame.

Pirates Alley sign with Mardi Gras decorations above.

Pirates Alley.

I would know instantly where this picture was taken even if I had never been to the French Quarter.

The Supreme Court of New Orleans.

Guess in the comments what this place is!

Royal Street used to be Calle Real. Real was also the French word for Royal at the time, hence Montreal — Mont Royal.

Saks 5th Avenue is open by appointment. I doubt I can afford to shop there. 🙂

The groddy Algiers Ferry terminal.

The inside is worse. This place is NASTY.

Entrance to the Riverwalk shopping centre area.

Entrance to the Riverwalk shopping centre.

There’s a Café du Monde in the Riverwalk. I really wasn’t hungry, but there was no wait and I knew Croft would shoot me if I didn’t try their beignets.

You get three beignets (puffy deep fried bits of dough covered in powered sugar) for $2 and change. One would have been enough for me! They are also famous for their chicory café au lait.

I ate my beignets while watching the Mississippi, a much more relaxing experience than the frenzied pace of the French Quarter café.

They were like doughy pillows. I recommended shaking the bag on occasion to get more sugar over them. Prepare to be COVERED in powdered sugar. Verdict? Meh. 🙂 I’m just not that big on doughnuts (shocking for a Canadian, I know).

WHY?! They spent money on several signs like these. Couldn’t they have hired a translator, too?

People marching into the cruise ship.

This sign claims that NOLA has a special budget for removing alligators’ from people’s yards….

December 15, 2012 by Rae

Colonial Williamsburg, Part Five: First Impressions of Downtown, the Milliner, and the Coffeehouse

After the Peyton Randolph house, I headed to the main street of Colonial Williamsburg and started to visit the buildings with little flags in front of them. I was feeling pretty peckish by this point, but there were long lines to get into the taverns for lunch, service was apparently slow, and meals were expensive. I decided to pop into the bakery for snacks instead of wasting precious time getting lunch since we were already well into the afternoon.

It was during this stretch of the day that I had my second favourite moment, a visit of the Charlton coffeehouse. Coffeehouses were where men of all but the lowest social classes gathered to chat about manly topics, drink hot beverages, and even rent out dining rooms for dinner parties.

: Stocks near the courthouse.

: The courthouse. I missed the chance to hear an 18th century trial (but you can’t do everything in a day!).

: Open air market. Nice concept, but I would find that all the shops in town have the same stuff in them.

: The courthouse from the market.

: The magazine (we’ll be returning there).

: Private buildings are owned by the museum corporation and rented out to employees.

: I like this sort of window detail.

: Mossy roof.

: Inside the millinery. At this time, milliners sold all manner of stuff, with the joke being that they were MILLiners, as in mille or one thousand things. It was only in the 19th century that milliners became hat makers exclusively.

: Outside the milliner’s shop.

: The bottle of ginger ale I bought at the bakery. I got strange looks drinking from it on the street.

: The bakery is an unassuming little building.

: The only thing that was closed Friday that I regretted not being able to see was the apothecary.

: Appropriately enough, the apothecary was owned by a fellow named Pasteur.

: Wow, that ginger ale was good! The ingredients are natural and include real ginger. At in the 18th century, ginger ale was made with ginger and/or sassafras and/or spruce, among other flavourings. Basically whatever was available.

: Edinburgh Castle used to be a tavern. It is now a private residence. http://www.oldhousejournal.com/home_tour_living_in_colonial_williamsburg/magazine/1581

: I’m now standing outside Charlton’s Coffeehouse

: The exterior of the coffeehouse. I had a few minutes to wait till the tour, so the fine looking fellow on the porch told me all about the Stamp Act, which was essentially a tax on legal transactions. All ‘landowners’ in Virginia paid rent to the king, so they felt that they should not be taxed as well.

: Looking at the capitol from the coffeehouse.

: The wallpaper in the coffeehouse was considered ‘modern’ at the time.

: Deeper into the coffeehouse, this wallpaper and secretary were considered outdated.

: Inside the public room of the coffee house, all manner of bills were pasted to the walls.

: There were a bunch of tables set with cups, spoons, creamers, and sugar. Nice realistic details.

: WOW! They actually serve beverages on the coffeehouse tour! We had a choice of tea, coffee, or chocolate made traditional style, grated into hot water with only a little sugar and some cayenne pepper. I chose coffee, but kind of regret not trying authentic hot chocolate.

: Sitting in the coffeehouse sipping our beverages (the coffee was excellent!) and listening to an interpreter prattle on about topics that would have been discussed at the time. At one point, he looked at me and said, “Am I boring you?” and I was appalled that I gave off that appearance as I was listening intently. Then he laughed and said, “It’s okay, I bore myself to sleep, too.” Sorry, Mister, you really were interesting!

October 21, 2012 by Rae

Little Italy and Jean Talon Market, Montreal

Blog reader and occasional commenter Thierry wanted to meet up with me today to talk about some of the practical aspects of setting out on the road full-time in Canada. As he is based in a part of the city where my mother shops frequently, I asked if she was due for an excursion, hoping to get a ride in so that I could take public transportation out. Yup. So she dropped me off in Little Italy near the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Thierry.

As I had about an hour to kill, I decided to do some shopping. This being Sunday, a lot was closed, but the Italian grocery store Milano on St-Laurent was open so I decided to go pick up some treats. On the way there, I passed Anatol, a spice merchant. Being out of turmeric, I was tempted to go in, but I had a feeling my budget wouldn’t survive this shop. 🙂

Milano’s is a couple of doors down:

This store reminded me of one of my favourite shops in Ottawa’s Byward Market that I used to frequent often. It was full to the brim with wonderful products straight from Italy, as well as offering a full deli, cheese counter, fruit and vegetable section, and some North American groceries. Mindful that I would have to carry everything for hours, I made some careful choices of pesto, biscotti, gnocchi, Jerusalem couscous, and this awesome multi-coloured pasta:

I’ve been wanting to try squid ink pasta for some time, so this seemed like a non-intimidating introduction.

Heading back to the restaurant, I snapped a pic of iconic Montreal architecture:

Montreal is famous for these row houses with the huge exterior staircases in the front. Common lore from the time when the Church ruled Quebec with an iron fist claims that the staircases are outside so that neighbours could keep an eye on who was going into the houses to reduce moral depravity.

The other, more logical, claim has to do with the climate. While it might not make sense to have a big slippery staircase outside a building where it’s winter six months of the year, it does make sense to not waste energy heating an enclosed staircase.

I met Thierry at the appointed hour where I taught him the first lesson of his future life: that you need to be flexible in your plans. As it turns out, the restaurant was closed at lunch time! We walked around a little looking for a non-crowded place and he ended up directing us to the SoupeSoup lunch counter on Casgrain. It’s a tiny place serving up salads, soups, sandwiches, coffees, and desserts. The food was excellent and this was a great place to linger and chat.

After, we crossed the street to finish up the conversation at Jean-Talon Market, a large year-round market offering some of the best products from all over Quebec.

In the summer, there are a lot of exterior vendors, but there is an enclosed year-round space, too.

After Thierry left, I wandered around for a bit and finally splurged on some creamed honey and maple syrup, and ended up paying several dollars less than the sticker price because the vendor was closing up for the season!

There is something wrong with the maple syrup can. Can you guess what it is?

It was starting to spit after this, so I decided it was time to start heading for home. Tomorrow, I will introduce you to Montreal’s métro system!

A Life By Design

"Sometimes in life, we reach to a right place by departing from a wrong port with a wrong ship!" ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Markets

A Fun Afternoon at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas

Downtown San Antonio, Including the Alamo, Riverwalk, and Mercado

Exploring New Orlean’s French Quarter

Colonial Williamsburg, Part Five: First Impressions of Downtown, the Milliner, and the Coffeehouse

Little Italy and Jean Talon Market, Montreal