From CA to CA in a week

I just finished a wonderful tour of the San Francisco Bay area in California (CA) and am getting ready to head out to my northerly neighbor in Toronto, Canada (the other CA).

My upcoming trip to Canada is to see Tara while she is in North America before she heads back to Europe. And, well, I'll be seeing her in Europe in early September, so I get an added bonus of seeing her twice in the span of about a month!

I have never been to Canada, so I'm looking forward to a few days in Toronto taking in the sights, then Niagara Falls and finally to a small town north of Toronto.

This is going to be great fun !

5-day long weekend in San Francisco Bay area

I am accustomed to packing in a lot of activities on holidays, so my trip to California shouldn't have been all that surprising, right? Phew, I'm exhausted.

A few months ago, my mom, sister and I decided to book the 2nd annual (third, if you count Orlando, Florida a few years ago) Mother-Daughters long weekend. We kicked around a few different locations and decided upon the San Francisco Bay area.

In four full days, we...

Day 1
Arrived late evening
Upgraded to a suite...Diamond status has its advantages!

Day 2
Stood in line for the cable cars
Mr. Toad's Tour - 3 hour tour of San Francisco in a 1912 Rambler
Fisherman's Wharf walking, shopping, lunch at Bubba Gumps
Shopped at Cannery Row
Sampled Chocolate at Ghiradelli Square

Day 3
Walked, shopped, toured Chinatown
Walked down Lombard Street and the 'crookedest street,' then walked to the Wharf!
Shopped in Union Square
Ate at Colibri Mexican Restaurant in Union Square
Bought some salt water taffy, candy, and mints (right Kasey??)

Day 4
Towncar ride to SFO to pick up the rental car
Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
Walked through Muir Woods
Wine tour (and tasting) in Napa
Lunched picnic style at Gott's Roadside (formerly Taylor's Refresher)
Olive Oil tasting
Shopping in downtown Napa and at Oxbow Market

Day 5
A long drive south to Monterey Bay
L.o.v.e.d. the 3 person carpool lane
Toured Monterey Aquarium
Shopped Cannery Row, outlet malls, stores in Monterey Bay
Drove 17 mile scenic drive through Pebble Beach
Shopped in Carmel by the Bay
Visited Carmel Mission
Ate at Hog's Breath, Clint Eastwood's restaurant
Drove Highway 1
Flew out on the 11:45pm redeye

I wonder where we'll go in 2011? Bar Harbor, ME; Dallas, TX; Outer Banks, NC; Washington D.C; New Orleans, LA; Boston, MA???

22 month European Adventure recap

Our 22 month European Adventure ended a few months ago.

In 22 months, we...

• Went to 18 countries (Ireland, Scotland, England, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovania, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland)....and a side trip to Beijing, China and Cancun, Mexico
• Slept on a mountain (Mt. Pilatus, Switzerland)
• Stayed in a Tuscan villa
• Rang in the new year in Athens, Greece and Dublin, Ireland
• Rode a summer toboggan down a mountain ...and down the Great Wall of China.
• Went to a cooking class (Mount Oliveto, Italy)
• Climbed more steps than I care to mention.
• Drove over 40,000 kilometers
• Drove through a 17km tunnel (Switzerland)