Author: ginnyinshanghai

Packing – inches & ounces

by ginnyinshanghai

This was something our first travel partners talked about. It’s a proven fact that the more you lug your suitcase around while are on vacation……….your suitcase continues to get heavier. Ha! Therefore, when packing for a trip, think about ways that you can save inches (smaller items, less things) while also thinking about the weight of said items.

Let’s start with suitcases……..

We have a soft-side suitcase and a hard-side suitcase. Why? ‘Soft’ to have some ‘give’ if you over-stuff or bring home too much. ‘Hard’ if you have something breakable, you’re bringing home. Pick them up when empty – ounces – there really are differences in weight. Inches – airlines are getting tighter with overhead bins and you want to know your bag will fit.

But truly one of the most important things………..select a bag that has color! You know your bag, until it pops up on the luggage carousel with the other hundred+ black bags, navy blue bags or charcoal grey bags. When you’re tired from flying, they all.look.the.same. Trust me.

Clothing:

You need to lay out your clothes to see how many combinations can be worn. If something has only 1-2 combinations – rethink your selection. Here is my packing list for a chilly spring 2-week overseas trip.

3 Pants – wear one and pack two pair.

3 Sweaters – wear one and pack two.

2 pairs of shoes – wear one and pack the other.

4 LS shirts – for layering or wearing alone.

3 SS shirts – wear one and pack the other two.

1 wrinkle-free blouse.

Sleeping clothes

Undergarments for 5 days – we always stay where we have washer & dryer during part of our trip.

3 scarves – because I can 🙂

Before closing your suitcase………be sure you don’t have any extra ‘baggage’.

Speaking of packing………until we get to our overseas destination, we split our clothes between the two suitcases. Our checked luggage has always arrived on time with us – but there is going to be a first time when it does not. Half of my clothes goes into his bag and half of his clothes go into my bag. Once we get to our locale, separate packing begins!

Backpacks or personal bag? I’ve carried several types of bags during our trips, but always go back to a backpack.

Ginny’s (left) Eric’s (right)

We have evolved into our own styles. Mine is water resistant, able to be cinched at the top, then a flap is secured into a clasp. A number of zippered compartments are nice – but not too many. My last backpack had so many zippered sections it took me awhile to have consistent organization. This one………. easy- peasey. Eric’s choice has only one front pocket, a leather cinch and buckle. Great for stuffing jackets, drinks, groceries or other odds & ends. He usually carries his during our sight-seeing excursions.

So that was about function, let’s talk about what to include in your backpack. On the plane, pack anything you never want to lose or can never replace – in your backpack. Otherwise, you know your basics: reading material, electronic devices & cords, jewelry, snacks (no nuts or anything super pungent – think about your fellow passengers) and your medicines. While we’ve always brought along our prescriptions, we have found through the years it’s been easier to bring some basic over-the-counter drugs with you than to go out chasing them once you’ve arrived and need them.

Last few things – a set of undergarments and extra shirt (from the list above). Frequent travelers will eventually have a time(s) when missed flights cause an unexpected overnight stay and those few things makes that a bit more comfortable. One of the last things I pack, extra pair of glasses. Again, you can get glasses replaced (most) anywhere in the world but I throw in my last pair worn for ease of mind.

One last piece of advice………….keep your spouse away from the actual packing. They see the ‘extra’ room and want to add another shirt, another pair of pants, another whatever they ‘might’ just need – but really they don’t.

Ginny

Florida Spring Flowers

by ginnyinshanghai

I think we all need a bit of color – definitely in spite of all the weather that is going on in the US. Rain (flooding & mudslides) along the West Coast, snow and ice in the middle of the country and lots of rain & snow along the East coast. Oh and then……… two solid days of rain in Florida -very unusual for us.

Some days you just need pretty flowers to brighten your day.

Here you go……………….

Snapdragons – a multitude of colors. These are great to grow in Florida during our ‘winter’ season. Like, now.

Always loved purple and this is a favorite plant combination: purple pansies and dusty miller with a few white pansies hiding amongst the foliage.

Pansy faces are so darn cute.

Pinks, pinks and other shades of pink.

We don’t see a lot of dahlias in Florida. Typically grown in areas that have some chilling temps overwinter – which means we use them as an annual here.

I can absolutely guarantee that I have never planted these two colors together. Hmmmmm, maybe I need to rethink that.

Sun Impatiens………. more easily grown in Florida than other similar varieties.

My husband has always promoted mixing up the types of flowers in a plant bed. Truth be told – never done it.

Such a gorgeous shade of pink for this snapdragon.

I’m always drifting to the flower beds with pinks. Mixed in with the (multiple varieties) of impatiens were the taller dianthus. The white impatiens help the other colors really pop. 🙂

I found this small spot of whimsey.

I haven’t mentioned our flowering trees. They are just starting to bloom.

Hong Kong Orchid Tree – kind of gangly and not really the best photo or the easiest to take.

And yes, some of my photos were taken during one of our two days of rain.

Tabebuia – yellow trumpet trees. The sun was shining as I walked up………then I never saw it again. These trees are trully ‘show-stoppers’. All the leaves drop, flower buds come out and then they pop open. As you can see below, the entire tree is yellow and can been seen from great distances.

If the sun had been shining, you would see that these flowers are the brightest of bright yellow.

Not everything worked out as I would have liked. Here are the Tabebuia PInk Trumpet Trees. They looked pretty good from a distance, along a bank of plants.

Get up close and they don’t look quite as attractive. I just couldn’t find a flower cluster within reach that looked great.

My last few shots are planter boxes where there is one dominant color but numerous, different flowers in each box. The red one was most intriguing to me. Never would have planted red-ish pansies with geraniums and petunias.

Reds:

Blues/Purples:

Yellows:

This was in the yellow planter box but couldn’t get it in the original photo above since it was taller than most of the other plants.

Pretty flowers for a dreary day.

Ginny

Toronto Food & Drink

by ginnyinshanghai

The final chapter of our Canadian adventure………..

Two breweries were within walking distance and we definitely hit the jackpot with the first one. Yep, pretty much in the heart of the city.

This was a beer and brewery dreamed up in the spring of 1998 by three friends on a canoe trip in Ontario’s beautiful heartland. They live by the motto: Do one thing really, really well. What does that mean? They have 1 option, 1 beer, a pilsner – well kind of. You could ask for filtered or unfiltered. :) 

We needed a break from walking downtown Toronto and came upon this place and discovered they had a tour within the hour.

What a great tour. Before starting, you were handed their beer in a green bottle then started walking. They used only four ingredients, and the pilsner had a golden hue with aromatics of fresh baked bread and saaz hops. Yep – copied that straight from their website. The palate was dry with a refreshing clean and crisp taste.

Something a little different on this tour, we were given a small handful of the barley (far left jar above) and tasted it – not bad. Next is water, then dried hops. This guy was good. He said just enough for most on the tour to try the hops, warning us it was bitter. I didn’t bite. Adrienne did.

Definitely needed a swig of the finished product after that.

The tour guide had us in stitches most of the tour – he was a talker. He should be doing stand-up comedy! We both talked about this during the remainder of our stay in Toronto – definitely a highlight.

The other brewery was nice – much bigger, located along the waterfront, much more into the social family marketing, the warehouse atmosphere and sports.

It was a nice way to spend an afternoon. Add in a pretzel and life was good.

Let’s talk food. Three of our eating establishments were within walking distance. First up a lunch spot. Toronto has one of the largest Chinatowns in the Americas.

Mother’s Dumplings was one of the highest rated spots for dumplings – yeah!

Add in a few other dishes and you had one of our typical meals while in Shanghai.

One cool thing……………8 dumplings come with each order versus the normal 6, score!

One of our first evening meals was at Pearl Diver. Yes, it was quite chilly.

We started with a dozen oysters.

Add in some spicey pan-fried edamame, tossed with garlic, chili and sea salt.

………along with Pearly clam chowder and kimchi fried rice.

Filled in the cracks with Sticky Toffee Pudding – O.M.G! Didn’t look like much when it came to the table, but Wow! It was absolutely delicious! We were scraping every last morsel from the plate.

Earlier in the week we kept seeing The Keg Steakhouse + Bar restaurant and walked past several in Toronto. Googled it and discovered the company was founded in 1971 in British Columbia. Today it operates in nine provinces and five American states.

The Keg is well known for buying up historic properties, refurbishing them and turning them into restaurants. Nice. We tried the parmesan poppers and tuna tartare. The tuna was the star.

We had eaten soooooooo much, I wanted a salad – a wedge salad. It was delicious. Accompanying our meal (no surprise) Sangria.

We had just enough room to share a dessert: chocolate & caramel ice cream pie – which was humongous! That’s not a trick of photo-shopping.

Our last evening we saved for Bar Isabel – a tapas bar & restaurant. We had to grab an Uber to get there.

Be warned, the lighting inside the restaurant was odd and all of my photos have a red tint. What every meal should start with……….

We had assumed that Sangria would be available but alas it was not. This was an excellent substitute – more than one for each of us arrived throughout the meal.

Being a Tapas joint, we ordered a few items during the duration so that everything did not arrive at once. First up: patatas bravas (cubed potatoes) and shredded Brussel sprouts – they are there somewhere under all of the toppings. 

No Spanish meal is complete without olives. Sprinkled with a bit of smoked paprika – delicious.

The star of the meal……………grilled octopus. You could order a full octopus, half octopus order or a quarter. We got the quarter. It was very tasty.

We thought it was going to be the star……………..

Until this arrived. O.M.G. this was absolutely delicious. It was another dessert that didn’t look ‘exciting’ when it arrived, but we were scraping every last morsel from the plate.

So ended our last evening in Toronto.

Another place that I can check-off of my bucket list.

Ginny

Toronto ‘art’ findings

by ginnyinshanghai

Staying downtown Toronto after turning in our rental car was all about walking the streets. It gave us an opportunity to walk past a variety of ‘fun’ things. Like these ants. We were waiting for the crosswalk light to turn green, looked up, and these were found near the top of the brick building. There were at least seven easily seen.

Shortly afterward we came across this painted butterfly on an apartment building.

We were headed towards a quirky neighborhood called Kensington Market – a distinctive multicultural neighborhood in downtown Toronto. It is an older neighborhood and one of the city’s most well-known. Now, I’ll be frank, I was expecting a ‘market’ not really a neighborhood, so we didn’t realize we were in it until we walked through it. 😦 We turned around. We saw interesting and quirky places, both to eat and shop, but I also found some artwork. Here was a streetlight. Or do you call it a street lamp? Or what?

Outside one shop was this photo spot – which I believe sold cannabis. No, I did not partake.

One gentleman was sitting on his front porch and had several metalworks along the side of his house.

Praying mantis?

Looking up, saw this cat – BTW, not alive.

There was ‘traditional’ graffiti found in a few places – mostly along alleyways. Every time I looked at this, I found some items not seen before. Literally, e.v.e.r.y.t.i.m.e I look at it. While I was tweaking a few statements before hitting ‘publish’ – found more new things.

We did find a little chalk-art and I loved the fish. I only captured these 5, but there were 2-3 more ‘swimming’ around. They were leading people into their aquarium attraction. Art with a purpose – I like that.

This flower and hummingbird was cute and had an ‘X’ to mark the spot for the best photo angle. Yes, it made a difference. 🙂

The last outdoor artwork seen was this rock sculpture at the airport – cute. First, I thought it was waving ‘goodbye’ but now I think it is one of the individuals that guide planes in and out of their gates. Your thoughts?

Besides walking the streets, eating and drinking were another aspect of our laid-back visit. That is coming up next.

Ginny

Toronto Bound

by ginnyinshanghai

The idea was to spend some intense, well-planned & organized days in Niagara Falls, Canada and relax in Toronto – basically minimal to no plans. And we had g.r.ea.t weather for our time in Canada! There was supposed to be a number of days with rain, but literally it only rained the day we left. So what did we do? We walked, ate, drank and repeat for several days.

The fun thing about countries that don’t celebrate the US Thanksgiving holiday……….they are already prepping for Christmas! Toronto was no exception. Our first night we first ran into this holiday moose. Well not literally…

Holiday decorations were popping up around the town with a number of city planters turning into bits of holiday color.

Loved seeing the dried lotus pods in these planters.

No visit would be complete without a shot of their space needle, the CN Tower. We didn’t go up but got a quick shot as we walked past. As you can see, we had wonderful blue skies during our visit.

We were on our way to the Toronto harbor, part of Lake Ontario and I tried to get Adrienne out on a canoe or kayak – no such luck.

We were fairly close to a top-rated Toronto Chocolate company, SOMA Chocolatemaker, and we stopped for a taste and WOW – it was some of the best chocolate that I’ve tasted. I could have bought one of everything they had! My backpack was several pounds heavier after leaving – just saying.

No trip would be complete without stopping at a Tim Hortons. What is a Tim Hortons?

Founded in 1964 by Canadian hockey player, Tim Horton and a partner, it is now a multi-national coffee house and restaurant – Canada’s largest quick-service place. They have +5400 restaurants in 15 countries and are based in Toronto.

That was a quick overview of our initial exposure to the city but more is coming. Stay tuned.

Ginny

O Canada – the Falls tour

by ginnyinshanghai

While each of my posts have included shots of the Falls, we needed more. Hence we booked 4-hour Niagara Falls Tour. It had several components.

First up – the Skylon Tower. It opened in 1965 and the elevators carry passengers to the top of the tower in 52 seconds. It stands at 520 ft from street level and required approval from both the Canadian and the United States air transport authorities due to its proximity of the international border.

Great 360 view of this area. Here you had the Canadian Falls:

And then the American Falls. The small falls at the right of the photo were the Bridal Falls – manmade.

It’s time to go behind the falls!

But before we got to the spot above, there were tunnels and a few facts.

The first tunnel, giving us a chance to put on our tour ponchos was long and damp.

With a shorter tunnel towards the water.

To get a feel of the power, included this short video.

This poster in the hallway gave us an ideal where we were in relation to the falling water.

Ultimately, there was another spot we traversed to and popped out for close up shots of the Falls. I took waaaaaay too many photos but finally settled on this one.

Time to head up to the top for our next stop. But first, need to recycle the blue ponchos.

So what was next – a boat ride, the Canadian boat, The Hornblower. This Canadian subsidiary of Hornblower Cruises & Events operates out of 19 different ports and our boat had been in service since 2013. Enough of the boring facts, let’s get on the boat!

I got lucky several times and a rainbow was part of this shot.

The boat heads toward the Canadian Falls.

And just seems to keep going and going and going.

What does it feel like? Let’s just say that several times we ducked into the glassed-in portion to get out of the worst of it!

But it also gave us a chance to capture some great shots. The sun peeked out from the clouds during our cruise.

We headed back to the dock but got a few last photos during the cruise. Adrienne has been a good sport with my shots so far.

Such fashionable ponchos! Good news……all have been recyclable.

One more stop. The Niagara River travels a short distance and turns into a counter-clockwise whirlpool. Interesting fact, at night water flow is decreased into nearby power plants and the whirlpool tends to reverse itself during that time.

It has a depth of 125 ft and was formed approximately 4200 years ago and then the water continues into Lake Ontario.

It was a great tour with a ‘solid’ local tour guide. Just realized, didn’t get a photo with her. She was born and raised in Niagara Falls-Canada side. Time to head for Toronto!

Ginny

O Canada – let’s eat B.L.D!

by ginnyinshanghai

I didn’t want to eat in the hotel’s restaurant if possible, so did my research before we arrived. Funny thing – we saw IHOP (International House of Pancakes) seemingly everywhere but almost all the workers said don’t go there – waaaaaay too expensive. It wasn’t my plan anyway, but good to know.

I found a breakfast place in a boutique hotel, The Stone Inn. It was a walkable distance, so we headed out. Their restaurant was called……….

Very charming place, lots of stone and they had decorated for Christmas with small details tucked in like this pink bow & greenery in a silver chalice.

Breakfast was along their porch seating. Not very busy the morning we were there.

Eggs benedict (me) and Shashuka (Adrienne) were our choices.

Coffee arrived via a French press – loved it. Good decision for breakfast.

Lunch was inside the……..

it was advertised as ‘views as close as it gets’ and they were right.

We read their Sangria was some of the best in town – naturally we had to try it. It was pretty darn good – lots of fruit.

A charcuterie board was our choice – lots of meat, great-tasting fruit with local honey and marmalade and a few pickled vegetables.

So how close were we? Close! Here’s a shot from the Falls walkway.

And a little later, it was time for dinner at…….Weinkeller.

They have an interesting concept. For a pre-fix price, you’re able to choose 5 items. It could be 1 appetizer, 1 glass of wine, 1 soup, 1 entre’ and then 1 dessert. Or mix it up however you like. You could make some creative choices – no judging (much).

We were fairly traditional, starting with a soup: wild mushroom & salmon chowder.

LOVED our choice of appetizers – oysters and tuna crisps.

Main courses were salmon (Adrienne) and Ontario chicken (me) with a wild mushroom gravy.

Ended with a shared dessert – chocolate wontons with a berry sauce and scoop of vanilla ice cream. Tasty.

It was a good end to Niagara Falls dining.

Ginny

O Canada – ziplining!

by ginnyinshanghai

Are you kidding me? In Canada in the ‘shoulder’ Winter season. Yep. 2019 Adrienne and I went ziplining in Iceland, we can do this. I had done my research ahead of time and read some reviews. People expected to literally zip over the Falls. Really?

Since we were so close to the Falls, we could walk to the jumping off place. It was a nice walk. Temps were definitely warmer today.

Loved seeing more of the Fall color.

Found this interesting tree trunk.

Also found this photo spot as we walked to the zipline. Totally planned for the Canadian flag to be in the photo – just saying.

Before suiting up, had a chance to see the zips.

Here are a few shots of the lines.

The landing zone.

Time to do it! Got a shot of Adrienne suiting up.

Right before being released on the zip, words of wisdom were shared. ‘Spread like a starfish’. Huh? It was going to slow you down, give you a chance to enjoy the zip along with the Falls and scenery. I like that. No photos while on the zip but a few photos at the end.

Below you have the Canadian Falls in the background.

A few other sights during the morning. Here’s shot for those going back to the US border. We were told do everything possible to avoid this particular bridge (no plans anyway). Sometimes the wait could be 3 hours. There are other bridges to cross over.

There was a ride to shuttle us back to the top – thank you! Had a chance to grab this photo of the American Falls.

There was a walkway along the Falls to get back to our hotel. Sad these signs are needed. Stay off the railing people!

Here’s one last shot of the Falls and a hint for one of our last experiences in Niagara Falls.

Food coming up!

Ginny

O Canada

by ginnyinshanghai

Yes, even though I love sunny, warm Florida, I’m headed up north with a friend across the border. Crazy – I know. First stop after getting through TSA and the people-mover to my gate…….maybe taking an extra ride to the wrong gate. 😦 ……….was the Club MCO. First time I had an Irish coffee in a wineglass. BTW – had to get another coffee to weaken it.

Something on my bucket list was Niagara Falls, Canada. While Eric was going deer hunting, Adrienne and I went North. Yeah! I’m traveling again. Maybe just a bit excited.

We flew into Toronto, picked up our rental car and plugged in the route for Niagara Falls, Canada. Something very simple I’ve never done before………walked around the car taking a video. Don’t want any surprised when we return it. Right hon? Also came in handy when we got to the hotel. They wanted the make, model and license plate. Said ‘I have it right here’ and showed her my video. Very handy I must say.

So how cold was it? Took a quick screenshot. Yep, that’s cold for Floridians.

My travel agent – code for husband – booked us a room at the Mariott Fallsview Resort – excellent location and easy to find. As you can see below, we got to see a bit of the Fall color since a few trees had not dropped all of their leaves yet.

We walked into our room and WOW! Just WOW! We walked straight to the window.

My first glimpse of Niagara Falls. It didn’t take long until they were lit up. The far left is the American Falls with the Canadian ‘horseshoe’ Falls closest to us.

The only way to cap this off was a great meal – which we got at Tide & Vine Oyster House.

What did we start with? Libations and a dozen oysters. I figured I would eat 3-4 and Adrienne could have the rest.

A little freshly grated horseradish and a squeeze of lemon. They also had other sauces you could top them off with.

There were a variety of local types. We sat at the bar and the ‘shucker’ was quite a character. Duncan was his name. When asked what the types were on our plate, he pulled the signs out of the oyster bins and posed for my photo.

Before you know it we had another dozen oysters. He said ‘On the house’. He took an order for a dozen but mixed it up and duplicated our original oyster mix – which was not the ticket. And how many oysters did I eat???? Adrienne lost out. I had a dozen total – they were ‘Ginny-sized’. Small, tasty bivalves with a hint of Canadian salty brine.

Oysters could not sustain us until the following day. Adrienne ordered the beef tartare and I got clam chowder and shrimp.

My shrimp were absoluteluy delicious – some of the best I’ve eaten at a restaurant. The clam chowder (not a typical choice for me) was also mighty tasty.

One last glimpse of the (Canadian) Falls before nodding off.

More exciting things are coming.

Ginny

Final Parisian Restaurants

by ginnyinshanghai

The last two restaurants included a new spot and a favorite from the past. Let’s start with the ‘new’ one. This was a place that was high on Eric’s list and he finally got a reservation.

Chez L ‘Ami Jean

This is considered an iconic restaurant that serves some of the city’s best wild-game dishes (in season) and Basque inspired cuisine at this tiny restaurant. Little has changed since the site opened as a Basque pub in the 1030s. The current Chef-Proprietor, Stephane Jego, furthers the commitment to Gallic culinary heritage, but adds a twist of something more modern along with a commitment to sourcing the very best ingredients. Enough about history, let’s talk food.

Here is shot of their menu. Yep, need to understand a bit of French to read it. But after spending almost two weeks in France, we were getting fairly good and more comfortable.

We kicked things off with a few shareables: (L) house pate’ w/ cornichons & (R) Braised duck.

(L) Braised beef w/ feta cheese and 7 fresh-cut herbs & (R) Greek-style baked octopus

And then our entrees’ arrived – everyone was happy with their choices. OMG – my chicken (L) selection was fabulous. First the black plate arrived and I thought, huh, that’s it? When they continued to bring our dishes to the table, the white bowl to the right of the black plate appeared, which had the rest of my chicken – OMG, every piece was a detectible morsel. (R) braised Angus beef.

(L) veal sweetbread (R) smoked duck breast

Naturally had to end the meal with desserts: apple tart (L) and tiramisu (R).

But the dessert they are known for…………rice pudding. Not really my thing, but Adrienne and Eric continue to rave about it, even once we got back to the states. There was a large bowl of the pudding, then add-ins could be spooned on top for individual taste.

Definitely was one of my top meals and experiences during our time in Paris.

Le Polidor

We originally found this restaurant while I was reading a book by Rick Steves and traveling in France and Paris. Since that first visit, we’ve tried to make a stop at the restaurant each time we are staying in Paris.

Polidor opened as a cheese store and restaurant in 1845. By 1890 the restaurant was the only business the owners focused on, closing the store. Polidor quickly became a popular rendezvous for artists, students, intellectuals and politicians from the surrounding neighborhoods. Le Polidor provided simple good French cuisine, both homey and affordable. It is one of the oldest bistros in Paris. History lesson over, let’s see the food!

Shared starters were escargot and pate’.

Salad – sometimes you need greens. 🙂

Entres’ were pasta w/bacon, chicken and beef w/frites.

Two desserts were shared, one with apples and the other with cherries.

Enjoyed our meal, enjoyed the atmosphere, enjoyed the company and glad I got to visit another time.

It’s taken me waaaaaaay too long to finally finish the posts from our French trip. But it’s done now. Starting to think and plan for next year’s European trip. Ciao!

Ginny