Final day in Arizona. We packed our bags (checking there were no scorpions there in the process) and said our goodbyes to Martin, Sibylle, Philipp and Julia.
Back to the airport and a short flight to San Francisco where we dropped off our bags at the Comfort Inn by The Bay, mainly because there was some conference on and nearly all hotels were booked out (note to self: check there is no conference going on when visiting next time - prices jump and availability goes low).
We then went off to Japantown to have a look around in the daylight and then for some dinner. Walking around Fillmore (where we had previously met up with Amir and Kirsty) we found a Mediterranean place called Cafe Troya where we had a very tasty dinner.
Back to hotel for some sleep before getting the flight the next morning back home.
To see all the photos from San Francisco, please click here.
To see all the photos from Arizona, please click here.
Thursday, February 06, 2014
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
West Coast Diary: The Breakfast Club (Day 10)
We had been in the US now for over a week, yet we had not eaten a proper American breakfast. This was to be resolved today.
We all packed up our hungers into the minivan and went off to Scottsdale's Breakfast Club after having read the recommendations online.
Upon entering we realised how this was the right place to be. It was packed, which is always a good sign (as long as there are no chains around their ankles and the chair legs).
After a little wait a table was set up for us and we sat down and took a look at the menu. In fact, we spent most of the time looking at what other people were eating, as it all seemed to be huge portions.
After weighing up all the options, I went for the strawberry pancakes, and Olga the spicy omelette. When Martin was ordering his waffles, he had to ask for no bacon (apparently you always put bacon on your sweet waffles...), and they nearly took offence. The plates that came out were immense, and it was a tough job to finish them off. Check out their menus to get a feeling of what we were put through.
Now that we could hardly stand, we decided to do the next best pastime over here - we went to the mall. Here we looked into Bath & Body Works, Clarks (much more expensive than in the UK) and some other good looking shops.
Back home for a bit of relaxing (and letting the food go down) and Jorge came over asking about dinner. So off we went to Fry's supermarket and picked up some more food. Olga did us a nice rice with guacamole and salad, and we had frikadellen (so that Martin didn't feel left out).
What a filling day.
We all packed up our hungers into the minivan and went off to Scottsdale's Breakfast Club after having read the recommendations online.
Upon entering we realised how this was the right place to be. It was packed, which is always a good sign (as long as there are no chains around their ankles and the chair legs).
After a little wait a table was set up for us and we sat down and took a look at the menu. In fact, we spent most of the time looking at what other people were eating, as it all seemed to be huge portions.
After weighing up all the options, I went for the strawberry pancakes, and Olga the spicy omelette. When Martin was ordering his waffles, he had to ask for no bacon (apparently you always put bacon on your sweet waffles...), and they nearly took offence. The plates that came out were immense, and it was a tough job to finish them off. Check out their menus to get a feeling of what we were put through.
Now that we could hardly stand, we decided to do the next best pastime over here - we went to the mall. Here we looked into Bath & Body Works, Clarks (much more expensive than in the UK) and some other good looking shops.
Back home for a bit of relaxing (and letting the food go down) and Jorge came over asking about dinner. So off we went to Fry's supermarket and picked up some more food. Olga did us a nice rice with guacamole and salad, and we had frikadellen (so that Martin didn't feel left out).
What a filling day.
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
West Coast Diary: The real Tombstone (Day 9)
Wild West time. We set off to Tombstone via Lost Dutchman, Florence (not as nice as the Italian one - this houses the state prison) and Tucson (this place is huge!). The landscape on this trip was very different to around Scottsdale, as we passed cactus fields then green desert before passing through hills.
The town of Tombstone is quite touristy - you see that as you get close. However at this time of the day (4pm) and this time of the year, it was not very busy at all. In fact, it seemed like a piece of tumble weed would blow across the street at any moment.
There is lots made up just for the tourists, with people dressed the part, shoot-outs and old fashioned bars, but you can imagine the films being shot here for the buildings were all typical wild west.
As most things were closing at this time, we wandered around the streets, Olga popped into a bar to use their facilities and came out with a frozen yoghurt. Still not sure how she did it.
So we headed off back home, feeling slightly disappointed that we hadn't gone tot he cactus museum instead. Getting stopped by border control meant that Martin (with no resident documents) had a bit of explaining to do, but luckily Jorge wasn't with us, so they let us pass.
Finally got home late and collapsed into bed. 200 miles each way took its toll on us.
The town of Tombstone is quite touristy - you see that as you get close. However at this time of the day (4pm) and this time of the year, it was not very busy at all. In fact, it seemed like a piece of tumble weed would blow across the street at any moment.
There is lots made up just for the tourists, with people dressed the part, shoot-outs and old fashioned bars, but you can imagine the films being shot here for the buildings were all typical wild west.
As most things were closing at this time, we wandered around the streets, Olga popped into a bar to use their facilities and came out with a frozen yoghurt. Still not sure how she did it.
So we headed off back home, feeling slightly disappointed that we hadn't gone tot he cactus museum instead. Getting stopped by border control meant that Martin (with no resident documents) had a bit of explaining to do, but luckily Jorge wasn't with us, so they let us pass.
Finally got home late and collapsed into bed. 200 miles each way took its toll on us.
Monday, February 03, 2014
West Coast Diary: Wurlitzer Time (Day 8)
Martin had to work today (or so he claimed) so we decided to do an outing with Sibylle and the kids to the nearby-ish CostCo (as the Americans drive everywhere it could have been 100 miles away and it would still be referred to as around the corner).
We thought we had seen everything done big already in the US, but this was ridiculous. There were palettes of products everywhere, including blueberries in 5kg bags, biscuits in 20kg boxes, ice cream and yoghurt in 10 litre tubs. No wonder you need a big car out here, that's just to fit in the groceries...
After some bagels for lunch, Martin came back and we set off to Mesa to visit a pizza restaurant (Organ Stop Pizza). We were not going to eat here however (although it did smell good) rather we were going to watch the show.
This place has a huge Wurlitzer (the largest pipe organ in the world) with over 6000 pipes, and numerous percussion instruments. Whilst the musician plays, there are all sorts of contraptions in the walls and on the ceiling that move, dance, make sounds and flash lights. Quite an experience.
After all that excitement we headed home to eat the Lamb and beef steaks that we had bought at the CostCo. Very tasty, and so much better than the ones we find in the supermarkets back in Europe. This could easily continue...
We thought we had seen everything done big already in the US, but this was ridiculous. There were palettes of products everywhere, including blueberries in 5kg bags, biscuits in 20kg boxes, ice cream and yoghurt in 10 litre tubs. No wonder you need a big car out here, that's just to fit in the groceries...
After some bagels for lunch, Martin came back and we set off to Mesa to visit a pizza restaurant (Organ Stop Pizza). We were not going to eat here however (although it did smell good) rather we were going to watch the show.
This place has a huge Wurlitzer (the largest pipe organ in the world) with over 6000 pipes, and numerous percussion instruments. Whilst the musician plays, there are all sorts of contraptions in the walls and on the ceiling that move, dance, make sounds and flash lights. Quite an experience.
After all that excitement we headed home to eat the Lamb and beef steaks that we had bought at the CostCo. Very tasty, and so much better than the ones we find in the supermarkets back in Europe. This could easily continue...
Sunday, February 02, 2014
West Coast Diary: Waking up at the Grand Canyon (Day 7)
The hotel breakfast was a buffet, so there were no issues with service, thankfully (see previous post). We drove in the two vehicles to the Grand Canyon where Jorge then got his car looked at (not that they could do anything about it) and went to Verkamp Point.
Following the path towards Trailview Outlook was a tricky business, and in fact we ended up having to turn back as the ice became impossible to walk on. It really was a matter of two steps forward one slide back.
Despite this, we managed to get some great views of the deep canyon and the levels of rock colouring that are beyond belief. Many a photo later, and the children has started to get cold so we decided to start our journey back to Scottsdale.
We stopped off at Flagstaff where Jorge got some glue to fix the split coolant tank. As we had to wait a while for it to dry, we headed off to a local brewery-restaurant to have some lunch (what a coincidence).
I had some raspberry ale, which was very tasty indeed, and a good burger to accompany it. Olga also had a very nice salmon. I was too busy with my food and drink to notice what the others ate, but they were all happy afterwards, so it must have all been good.
The trip back along the I80 was very scenic, with views of mountains and snow turning into cacti and desert. Of course, we got to enjoy it more as we couldn't travel fast in case the pressure split the tank again. We also crossed the historic Route 66, but we didn't get any kicks.
We eventually reached home and Olga made us all a lovely lasagna before we went off to bed.
Following the path towards Trailview Outlook was a tricky business, and in fact we ended up having to turn back as the ice became impossible to walk on. It really was a matter of two steps forward one slide back.
Despite this, we managed to get some great views of the deep canyon and the levels of rock colouring that are beyond belief. Many a photo later, and the children has started to get cold so we decided to start our journey back to Scottsdale.
We stopped off at Flagstaff where Jorge got some glue to fix the split coolant tank. As we had to wait a while for it to dry, we headed off to a local brewery-restaurant to have some lunch (what a coincidence).
I had some raspberry ale, which was very tasty indeed, and a good burger to accompany it. Olga also had a very nice salmon. I was too busy with my food and drink to notice what the others ate, but they were all happy afterwards, so it must have all been good.
The trip back along the I80 was very scenic, with views of mountains and snow turning into cacti and desert. Of course, we got to enjoy it more as we couldn't travel fast in case the pressure split the tank again. We also crossed the historic Route 66, but we didn't get any kicks.
We eventually reached home and Olga made us all a lovely lasagna before we went off to bed.
Saturday, February 01, 2014
West Coast Diary: Snow in Arizona (Day 6)
Jorge arrived soon after we finished breakfast, and so we loaded up his car with Olga's and my bags, whilst Martin and family filled up their minivan with their luggage.
Off we went on the journey up to the northern part of Arizona. As we checked the weather forecast beforehand, we knew it was going to be cold, so we decided to stop at one of the outlet centres nearby. We all ended up buying winter jackets from the Columbia store (and some hats and gloves too). Before setting off we went and grabbed some food (Chinese for our car, McD's for the minivan).
Full on food we headed off to the colder side of the state. We noticed that the landscape was becoming less populated by cactus, and was getting a more mountainous and pine-tree feel. Before long we were seeing frost on the ground and then came the thick forests of snow. Were we really still in the same state that borders Mexico?
It was quite spectacular the difference in scenery up here, and we noticed immediately the necessity of those newly bought jackets.
Upon arrival at the hotel we noticed that the engine of Jorge's car had started to steam. We opened her up and found that the coolant tank had split open from the freezing temperature. What a great start.
Once the minivan arrived, and we had all checked in, we all got into the vehicle and headed off to the canyon. We headed for Mather's Point, were we saw a glorious sunset of colours across the canyon. Very impressive.
One thing to note for trips here at this time of the year - the paths are covered in ice, which, when you are near a 6000 foot drop, can be a little worrying. Careful use of available handrails and branches of nearby trees allowed us to move around and get some great views of the canyon's colours.
The north side of the canyon is actually closed at this time of the year as it is so cold and dangerous, so I suppose it's lucky we could visit it at all.
Once we got back to the hotel, we dined at the hotel restaurant (lamb for Olga, elk steak for myself) which was actually very good, except for the extremely slow service which considering the fact that it wasn't even half full was very surprising. We then went downstairs and played some billiards (or pool for us) in the bar.
Heading off to bed we checked the temperature outside, and it was -20 degrees Celsius. Luckily there were heaters in the rooms. Unluckily, ours was so noisy we had to turn it off to get some sleep, and therefore the room got freezing overnight.
Off we went on the journey up to the northern part of Arizona. As we checked the weather forecast beforehand, we knew it was going to be cold, so we decided to stop at one of the outlet centres nearby. We all ended up buying winter jackets from the Columbia store (and some hats and gloves too). Before setting off we went and grabbed some food (Chinese for our car, McD's for the minivan).
Full on food we headed off to the colder side of the state. We noticed that the landscape was becoming less populated by cactus, and was getting a more mountainous and pine-tree feel. Before long we were seeing frost on the ground and then came the thick forests of snow. Were we really still in the same state that borders Mexico?
It was quite spectacular the difference in scenery up here, and we noticed immediately the necessity of those newly bought jackets.
Upon arrival at the hotel we noticed that the engine of Jorge's car had started to steam. We opened her up and found that the coolant tank had split open from the freezing temperature. What a great start.
Once the minivan arrived, and we had all checked in, we all got into the vehicle and headed off to the canyon. We headed for Mather's Point, were we saw a glorious sunset of colours across the canyon. Very impressive.
One thing to note for trips here at this time of the year - the paths are covered in ice, which, when you are near a 6000 foot drop, can be a little worrying. Careful use of available handrails and branches of nearby trees allowed us to move around and get some great views of the canyon's colours.
The north side of the canyon is actually closed at this time of the year as it is so cold and dangerous, so I suppose it's lucky we could visit it at all.
Once we got back to the hotel, we dined at the hotel restaurant (lamb for Olga, elk steak for myself) which was actually very good, except for the extremely slow service which considering the fact that it wasn't even half full was very surprising. We then went downstairs and played some billiards (or pool for us) in the bar.
Heading off to bed we checked the temperature outside, and it was -20 degrees Celsius. Luckily there were heaters in the rooms. Unluckily, ours was so noisy we had to turn it off to get some sleep, and therefore the room got freezing overnight.
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