Emily and Linda’s Travel Blog

OK so it’s not exactly travel, but it felt like an adventure. Now that we’re retired, we can spontaneously decide to take in a concert or a show. Earlier this week, the screening at Southside Seaport of the Joni Mitchell 75th Birthday tribute concert in LA popped up on FB so we decided to go. 

First of all it was at one of those new dinner movie theaters where you sit in a little pod that feels like business class on a plane and they take your order and bring your food and drinks to you (this one also had unlimited popcorn). Fun in itself. Then as we settled into our reclining chairs with pillows and blankets, the concert began. 

What a show!  Highlights included Rufus Wainwright, Emmy Lou Harris, James Taylor, Seal, Diana Krall, Chaka Khan. Some sang a version pretty close to the original they had loved. Otherspuntheir own spin on it (Chaka Khan doing Help Me was amazing). Here's a link to a review with the artists and play list.  It seems like most of it is available on you tube, but if it shows again, highly recommended

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8483958/joni-mitchell-75-tribute-concert-recap

For about a little more than a year now, Linda and I have had a Friday night ritual. We started with two small bottles full of white beans - 1 for each week we had remaining until retirement. Every Friday, we'd have a drink and take one bean out of the bottles and place it in the black vase.  This was a few months ago:

We got into the habit of saying goodbye Friday mornings with "See you at bean night". Might sound silly, but the steady dwindling of the beans somehow helped during challenging times at work (where Linda had a rougher road than I).  So last Friday I officially reached my first day of retirement and took out the last bean (Linda had taken her last one out in November)  

Sunday evening we concluded the process by making (and eating) soup made from the beans. If I do say so myself, it was delicious. Hopefully a good omen for the coming years of retirement. 

Saturday night we got to hear my brother Jim play with Karen Sudjian and their ensemble at Rigger's Loft in Richmond. As the name says, it’s a big loft space and not well heated. We were gladfor the wine and our coats, but the music warmed things up

Jigsaw puzzles promote vacation mind. Slow down, use your right brain, chat, maybe drink a warming beverage...

First attempt was a beautiful puzzle, but devilishly difficult - 1000 pieces and all the same few earth tones. Couldn’t finish before we had to change location 

Second one was too easy - done in no time

Third one was just right- 1000 pieces, but all different and with enough time to work it out

Well first there was lunch with Julie Schwartzberg- sadly I was once again too involved in the conversation to remember to take a photo. Good to catch up though and hear about her time in Berkeley (past 5 or so months). 

I visited the Farmer’s Market finally in our neighborhood (last week it was suspendedfor the holidays). Made myself laugh because I was pondering that the must have different rules here about the necessity for produce tobe local - there was so much citrus fruit. 

Then of course I realized "duh" I was in California where much of the US citrus is grown. 

That night we had our second best meal (after Great China) at a Laotian/Thai restaurant called Dara on Shattuck.  Most unusual dish was mieng  kham - spinach leaves with onion, ginger, lemon grass, lime, peanuts, coconut and tamarind dipping sauce. Fresh and so many layers of flavor

For the main course we had spicy lamb kebabs and eggplant stuffed with minced chicken, prawns, and green onions. Both delicious and different.  One review said the writer was obsessed with the eggplant dish  i can see why  

Yesterday we had a walk around West Berkeley in the late afternoon....

...and then ended up at Skates restaurant which is right on the bay, for drinks and appetizers. Just in time for the sunset

I asked Linda to report on her travels in SF: 

On Wednesday and Thursday I went into San Francisco on my own to do some wandering — and of course photographing.  First stop was the Leica store to see a photo exhibition by Rachel Cobb, Le Mistral (the amazing winds in Southern France) —one of my favorites is below.

Wednesday Linda headed off to the SF Museum of Modern Art. I hopped on the a Telegraph Ave. bus to visit Mariposa Bakery which was recommended by a friend as the best gluten free bakery in the area. They have a pleasant shop and cafe in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland. 

Found fabulous GF bread - even a batarde style loaf. While there I stopped for a guilty pleasure tuna melt. Did not disappoint. Crunchy sourdough - Something I haven’t had been able to eat in several years. 

After lunch I took the bus back to Berkeley to the Telegraph Ave. of my youth, though of course it wasn’t.   There are a lot more chain stores, bubble tea shops and much (though not all) of the grunge is gone. Newer Amoeba Music keeps company with the old Rasputin Records

Reassuringly, Moe's Books remains. My family used to have a ritual visit pretty much every weekend to peruse the used books and music scores  it’s smaller than it used to be, but has survived.  Still "Four floors of books"

Jim and Louise invited us for New Year's Eve dinner at Great China (a James Beard nominee). We'd noticed a line down the block as we drove by a few days ago. Now we know why. Might be the best Chinese food we’ve ever had. Happily we had a reservation and didn’t have to wait in the line on what was a chilly evening.

The highlight was the Peking Duck, but it was all delicious 

And the company was wonderful too

Perhaps it’s travel or maybe the newness of unstructured time as retirees, but the days are a bit jumbled. One recent day, we started in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland and made our way up College Ave. to Elmwood, the Berkeley neighborhood where my family lived and where brother Jim still lives. 

In Rockridge, we noticed shared bikes like we have in NYC, but also shared electric scooters which you unlock by scanning a QR code. You find them with an app and it seems you can leave them anywhere. This apparently has been a source of trouble since residents get riled when people leave them on their yards, blocking driveways,etc. Still an interesting idea

Elmwood is very different from when I lived there in the 1970s. Gone is the 5&10 type store and the drustore with soda fountain (though the latter has been replaced with a cafe that tries to have some of the old feel).  More restaurants now - my favorite is Trattoria La Siciliana .

There's a bookstore (Mrs. Dalloway's) and an Italian food shop complete with fresh pasta "performance " in the window

There’s even a milliner's shop

And they've spruced up the old Elmwood Cinema where I spent many an hour as a teenager 

Back at home base, we decided to eat in so we stopped in at The Local Butcher where it seems a beard is a requirement of employment.  One such hirsute fellow was happy to pose for us as he rang up our our Tuscan White Bean Soup. 

On Saturday we had tea with an old friend of mine , Christine Moran, from Berkeley HS days who actually lives in Cologne, Germany, but happened to be in town for Christmas with her family.  She saw my recent Berkeley blog post and texted me. Sadly I forgot to take pictures, but we had a great time catching up  

Later that day we had lunch with my brothet Jim and his girlfriend Louise at Louise's house in Alameda. Despite the fact that I lived in Berkeley for a number of years, it was the first time I'd ever been to Alameda. What a lovely spot!  Louise has a house on a lagoon with a deck overlooking the water. Once again my porous memory failed me and I forgot to take photos. I especially regret not taking a picture of the extraordinary cioppino Louise made. Really delicious- the taste is still playing in my head. 

I guess it’s not the worst thing to be so absorbed in the conversation and food that the phone never comes out even for photos. 

Sunday Linda and I decided we'd like breakfast out so we decided to try the Tomate Cafe in West Berkeley 

We both had the Harvest Breakfast (but full disclosure we declined the 塞 kale). Along with eggs and zucchini potato cakes, it ncluded fried apples which was new to me. Quite delicious and seemingly easy to make

Next stop was Fourth Street which is an area that used to be light industry, but now has been converted to shops and restaurants.  It’s definitely gotten more upscale since we were there last.

You won’t be surprised to hear that we skipped the high end fashion establishments.  Our favorite shop was called Top Drawer.  It had a combination of quirky travel gear and stationary. Linda declared it the best shop of its kind that she could recall  

After the required perusal of Sur la Table and a stop at the little market for cheeses and Buddha Bleu tea, we headed back home.  But first a quck check in with Zoltar for my fortune in view of the new year and all (picture Linda's eyes rolling)