chapas-isms

the art of cheese

2010-02-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

...er something like that. last night, i was lucky enough to attend a lovely fall cheese tasting at The Cheese School of San Francisco (loved the Humbolt Fog guy and his truffle cheese)! While milling around, I noticed a really cool poster of line drawings of cheeses. Turns out they were sketches of actual wire sculptures, by an artist C.W. Roelle, posted below. All measure to within a half-inch of 4.25" wide and 4.5" wide. They are 1" high, really nice intricate work:

pay attention

2010-02-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

Here's an excerpt from an essay i wrote to get into grad school in milan, italy. i won 3rd prize in the scholarship essay contest, theme was Pay Attention:

“Pay attention” is invaluable advice for any aspiring artist. We are inundated with media, signs, ads, technology, art, and inspiration everywhere we go. When I began my undergraduate studies in 1995 at Cornell University, working towards a bachelor in fine arts and new media, I could not have predicted the influence art and technology would have on my life. My timing was perfect and upon graduation in 1999 I headed to San Francisco, where the Internet boom was in full swing and the entire city was filled with energy and excitement about new technology.

Before heading to San Francisco, I spent my time consciously and subconsciously absorbing by paying attention to everything around me, all while fostering my innate talent and love for art and design. I was inspired by my surroundings and colleagues to develop new ways of thinking about and experiencing art and design. To further my education I spent a semester in Rome, where I fully immersed myself in ancient art and culture. And then I held exciting internship positions in New York City art museums and alternative spaces, where I was constantly surrounded by the merging of art, design, and education, through a variety of outlets and new media. I highly valued these experiences and realized that I was the happiest when fusing art and technology. Upon graduating, I experimented in web design, began to supplement my traditional fine art and multimedia background with tech classes, and quickly acted on my new passion — web and interaction design.

During the past nine years, living and working as a designer in the cultural hubs of New York City and San Francisco, I have been able to surround myself with technology and art, and ultimately — pay attention. Whether working at a high-tech startup, an ad agency, or industry leaders such as Apple, I realized that subconsciously or otherwise, I enjoy fusing technology and art as a way to learn, share, and create. The collision between technology and art has led to immeasurable impact on design, business, strategy, and interdisciplinary thinking. It’s a chance to bring people with diverse backgrounds together with art leading the way, while offering solid solutions to business and innovation challenges.

Whether I am working on web sites, installing exhibitions, or teaching others about various art techniques, I feel I have gained a strong understanding of aesthetic appeal and the impact of technology and art of our time as viewed in many different outlets. These diverse positions have enabled me to utilize my knowledge of both traditional and new media, and have called me to pursue a career in the art and technology world.

©allison chapas 2008

THE list.

2009-03-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

Updated July 2011: After living here for over 10 years, rob and I frequently get asked by newbies or visiting guests for restaurant recommendations, wine country info, tahoe info, and local weekend trip ideas. So as a food, travel, and wanderlust dork, i have decided to post our 'list' here so i don't continually lose it on my laptop or in sloppy emails. Each one is linked out. Please enjoy and feel free to email me with other ideas, as I'm always on the hunt for the next solid homemade pasta, cool ski excursion, or champagne tour!

WANT TO TRY: farina, tataki, Commonwealth, Frances, Heirloom Cafe, Saison, Thermador, Mission Chinese Food, Zero Zero, Bodega bistro in Napa, ristobar, gitane, jovino, kappa, town hall, berretta, cafe Majestic, Spruce, Ubuntu, Incanto, la mer, aziza, kiji sushi bar, , humphry slowcomb ice cream, nambe ikazaya bar, pearls in Mill Valley, genki ramen bar, domo sushi,  Bottega Burma Superstar ,  Chapeau!  LaSalette,  Le Charm,  Le Garage, Monti’s, Namu, Sazon,  Scopa, Starbelly , Sumika , Troya,  Wood Tavern , Zero Zero

ITALIAN/MEDITERRANEAN:

la ciccia

Perbacco/Barbacco: italian, great charcuterie, homemade pastas and wine list (Financial Dist)

Bar Bambino: italian, simple, fab charcuterie station and wine list, nice back patio w heaters (mission)

A16: good pizzas, also good meatballs on Monday nights (marina)

frascati: mediterranean, solid, hearty food, steak, lamb etc, nice wine list (russian hill)

L'osteria del Forno: wonderful Roman style cooking, simple place in North Beach (Little Italy)

delfina: great italian, nice interior, simple and fresh (mission)

emmy's spaghetti shack - get the spaghetti and meatballs, and the ceasar (the mission)

allegro romano - classic roman style trattoria/ristorante, old world charm, amusing owner (russian hill)

trattoria contadina - classic ital-american, huge portions, comfortable italian, family style if you want (north beach)

vogalonga - an italian place in sf that's actually worth eating at. tiny. cosy. (the mission)

SPQR: simple, good italian. very Roman. no reservations, go early. (fillmore)

Pizzetta 211 - simple, gourmet pizza, thin crust very roman style (outer richmond)

Fringale - French bistro. nice steak frites, creme brurlee, frisee with lardons mmmmm (SOMA)

kokkari: good greek food, very nice atmosphere, but i dunno if it's worth the price. (i am greek and biased, of course, and $9 seems crazy for a small piece of spanikopita, $20 for moussaka) but- i haven't been there in about 4 yrs....(downtown)

flour+water - solid neapolitan style pizza, nice rustic setting

SEAFOOD/SUSHI/ASIAN:

Weird Fish: small and cool, inexpensive hipster spot for simple fish and a la cart-type dining (mission)

Bar Crudo: modern/great raw bar, small and intimate, next to a great bar, the Tunnel Top (T'loin)

HK Seafood Co: dim sum on weekends, long wait but worth it (outer sunset)

tadich grill - ditto the anchor oyster bar description, but downtown, lots of old school businessmen (financ dist)

anchor oyster bar - great seafood, but the opposite of fancy or trendy (the castro)

aqua: high end seafood, maybde had its day? (downtown)

sushi zone - the best. nowhere has better fish, and somehow they charge half the price of anywhere else. expect to stand in line for upwards of an hour. (market at gough)

sushi koo- there won't be a line here. nobody seems to know that this place is nearly as good as the zone. sit at the sushi bar, and order off the "catch of the day" menu. and don't tell anyone. (inner sunset)

atami sushi - yummy but slow sushi, tiny spot (cow hollow)

lichee garden: good for dim sum in the afternoon (chinatown)

okoze - yummy suuuushi, $$$. get the starters and the veggie kebabs / robata (r hill)

olema inn - oysters (in bolinas)

slanted door: upscale vietnamese, in the ferry bldg on the water (embarcadero)

san tung - solid chinese (inner sunset)

U-Lee- amazing chinese takeout- get the potstickers (size of softballs), chow fun, and anything else (R Hill)

Ryoko- really solid sushi and open late too! get the specials and sit at the bar. (tenderloin)

Great Eastern - dim sum in chinatown, really good dumplings, 649 jackson near kearny

fish. - amazing fish sandwiches, and dock setting, but pricey, good clam chowser (sausalito)

Anchor&hope- good beer list, nice oysters and starters, decent entrees but pricey (SOMA)

CALIFORNIAN:

Greens - very SF vegetarian restaurant, near the Marina, with fabulous views of the Bridge. go for Brunch!

the corner

Canteen: super cool hipster diner type place w/ inventive, modern american/cal cuisine. two seatings 630, 8pm only. (in the Tenderloin)

jardiniere - apparently has a monday night $45 price fixe

universal cafe - everything is fabulous! (outer mission)

Gary Danko - upscale prix fixe menu. french-ish. one of the few sf A-list places that lives up to it's rep. dated (the waitresses wear sportcoats and ties) but still good (fisherman's wharf)

chez panisse - the best. the birth of california cuisine. but it's in berkeley, and you need reservations like yesterday if you wanna go. (berzerkley)

NoPa: panhandle comfort food, nice space for a drink (lower Divis)

farmer brown - hipster, trendy-ified soul food (SOMA, sketchy corner of 7th and market)

nopalito - good mexican, casual setting, but nicer than a taqueria

moss room- California Academy of Sciences restaurant, cool setting, nice bar/wine list and good food

COMFORT FOOD:
blue plate: good comfort food pork chop, mac n cheese (outer mission)

cafe jacqueline - all souffles, tres romantique (n beach)

urban tavern- good bar bites/cocktails (TenderLoin)

serpentine - or slow club- for the best burgers (Potrero hill, dogpatch)

Terroir - great wine bar, chill, cool industrial interior, nice cheese plate (soma)

maverick - hip, comfort food (mission)

suppenkuche: great, casual german food/beergarden place, hearty food (hayes valley)

fringale - sf style french bistro. solid. get the steak frites. (SOMA)

mochica - cali twist on upscale south american cuisine (SOMA)

foreign cinema - awesome sunday brunch if it's nice outside (mission)

front porch - get the fried chicken! (outer mission)

for steak, el raigon and bobo's keep getting excellent reviews, but i haven't been to either. (n beach and cow hollow)

brenda's kitchn - Creole/french soul food- amazing Beignet 'flight' (tenderloin)

----------------------------------------------------

NAPA & SONOMA RESTAURANTS:

girl and the fig: country french on the square in napa

brix: oriental/french in napa

mustards grill: american + continental influences, napa

bouchon: wonderful french bistro brasserie, thomas keller's french laundry alternative in napa

tra vigne: rustic italian, villa setting, napa

farmhouse inn: russian river valley, high end regional

bounty hunter: amazing Napa BBQ, fun atmosphere, get the Beer Can Chicken and some ribs

cafe la haye- sonoma square

there's a place called something like "the inn at carneros" or"carneros restaurant" or something like that, and it's supposed to be solid as well.

ad hoc

REDD - my new favorite in napa, modern setting, wonderful zucchini flowers, lobster risotto, lamb + figs, confit, fabulous desserts

HEALDSBURG RESTAURANTS:
Cyrus is amazing if you cant get into French Laundry
Barndiva: small plates, more upscale artisanal in Healdsburg
willi's- for the bar and oysters
Bear Republic Brewery is a sweet pub that brews excellent beers.
ravenette
Zin
Ralphs
Downtown Bakery - for scones, eggs, sticky bun breakfast and coffees

SUGGESTED WINERIES:

Cline

Peju - for cabs

Artesa - for setting

Gundlach Bundschu
St. Francis- awesome port, and you can't buy it in the store.
Cakebread- for it's low key feel
Chandon - for the patio and champagnes
Mondavi - for a classic winery feel
Sterling - has a cable car, in Calistoga
Clos pegase - amazing sculpture garden and is designed by Michael Graves
Lambert Bridge - great winery whose wines you won't find anywhere else.
Zichichi
Preston
J - for bubbly
Copain
Twomey/Roshambo
Bella

PICNIC PICKUPS:
oakville grocer, dean and deluca, or v. sattui are great for takeout picnic foods.

----
?? New fish place in napa

Don't forget the Barneys outlet in Napa!

-----------------------------------------------------------

TAHOE RESTAURANTS:
Manzanita, at the ritz carlton tahoe
Hiro Sushi (Kings Beach)
Pelusa's Pizza (kings beach)
Lone Eagle Grill - solid steaks and chops, fun bar and patio (incline)
Bite - small plates, good bar (Incline)
Pianeta- Italian (truckee)
Cottonwood- big game, good caesar, crabcakes, wings, bar/tap, and atmosphere (truckee)
Moody's - big night out in tahoe, great wine, live jazz (truckee)
Tacos Jalisco - get 3+ soft tacos (truckee)
River Ranch- good comfort food, huge portions, nice setting on river (rt 89 near Alpine meadows)
Plumpjack's - nouveau, city-esque place (Squaw)
Graham's- great homey atmosphere, nice steaks and salads, wine list (squaw)
Mamasake Happy Hour- $5 beer + hand roll (Squaw)
Sandy's Pub - burgers, bar food, best tap in tahoe (Squaw Creek Hotel)
Sunnyside- taco tuesdays (tahoe city)
Bridgetender- burgers, bar- (tahoe city)
Fire Side- best breakfast (west shore)
Tahoe House- best coffee/bakery (west shore)
T's - solid bbq, rotisserie chicken, and takeout grillables (Incline Village)

Need to try:
west shore cafe, dragonfly sushi, christy Inn, soule domain, le bistro or some french place in incline

-----------------------------------------------------
WEEKEND TRIPS FROM SF:

Colby cove or something near bay area discovery museum just over the GGBridge, new restaurant / luxury lodge there called Cavallo Point inn

Steep ravine, cool cabins near Stinson beach, reserve online, cabins are $75

Serenisea, Mendocino rustic Cabins w hot tubs

Sea Ranch, Mendocino posh

Post Ranch Inn (POSH place in Big Sur)

Ventana Inn (also POSH in big sur) about 2.5 hrs south

Treebones resort, passed Big Sur, luxe huts on the coast in Big Sur

Olema Inn, just past Bolinas- also supposed to be nice, good eats and oysters there as well

Nick's Cove - some cool cabin place near Hog Island Oysters-

anything in napa, sonoma, healdsburg

wilbur hot springs-or harbin- hippie lodges, but fun

Great ideas here- http://www.weekendsherpa.com/

the Snuggie: a photo montage

2009-02-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

sooo, for my bday, my ski haus cabin mate buddy chad got me....a snuggie! our cabin has been talking about these weirdo things since we 1st saw the informercials around the Holidays. for some reason, Truckee cable has LOADS of ghetto informercials on. anyways, we are hoping to get an arsenal of them for the cabin, tho they are basically felt robes worn backwards. there are great parodies on them on YouTube- the best one is the WTF blanket....

here's the latest 'modeling' the 2009 winter haute couture (and, more models to come):

NYC February visit: art, culture, and parties

2009-02-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

superbirthdayskiingsquawbowl sunday!

2009-02-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

Yinz are in Stillir Country!

my former life

2009-01-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

while i was home, i took some picts of the paintings i did about 10 years ago in Rome. i miss art. and real produce.

weddings n'at

2008-12-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

the past few months have been busy, but with good travel, parties, friends, and fam all over the country! my mom pulled off the best party ever for anne and yannis's pittsburgh wedding 'celebration.' after 11 mos of planning, 180 friends and family gathered at the Carnegie Museum's Hall of Architecture. we had a 10 piece orchestral band, greek singers, fabulous food, and of course lots of dancing and the cookie table (which was inhaled in record time). pix posted. the after party even went till 4am, whew!

after the burgh, i spent Thanksgiving in relaxing Sac-town with Jessie and her family (note: her grandpa was a Steeler in the 50s!). then i headed to tahoe where i was greeted by bears....story for another time.

December followed with a superb wedding celebration for Quinn and Brian in Hawaii! the NASPP finally had the reunion we needed (sans Kara and Drew, unfortunately) and tore the Big Island up in 5 star style. we kayaked, snorkeled, surfed, offroaded, body surfed, watched Steelers, and partied it up at Quinn's aunt's amazing compound.

i'm home in the Burgh this week then to tahoe to ring in "New Year's Eve of No Expectations Part XIVXX."

don't give up baby!

2008-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

this week i was able to partake in a wide variety of city cultural events: monday pm, i managed to watch the Steelers crush the Redskins, at Giordano Bros. They're the west coast version of Primanti Bros, and they even have a cheat sheet with questions like, "So wait- the fries are IN the sandwich?" and "What is hot coppa?" it's such a great home away from home. they even have a Kennywood sign!

Tuesday was also cultural in its own way- um, the election! Hallelujah for hope and change. The streets were like New Years Eve, and then some....

Wednesday was the Teton Gravity Research ski film showing, with the usual Liverpool Lil's pre-party. a fews hausers were there, and the movie was better than MSP, tho that doesn't say much. Jeremy Nobis, who i had met at Sundance in 06, had a cameo in it, so i texted him after. here's the brilliant exchange:

11:06 allison: nice cameo in TGR. they showed it in SF tonight
11:09 nobis: Ghost from the past! Sorry it was only a cameo had bad luck on my trip! tried to call earlier. Good to hear from you! xo
11:12 allison: Damn, yeah! Not enough lovin. Oh well. Tahoe got a foot this week wahoo! Give a shout if you end up at Squaw this winter.
11:13 nobis: I just skied 44 new at ALTA today!
11:15 allison: Twist the knife, baby! Ill actually be at Alta in Feb for a few days
11:17 nobis: You let me know I will let you know. Now I miss you, been too long!
11:22 allison: I bet you dont even know who this is, hee hee ;)
11:24 nobis: you are wrong! But if you want to challenge let's go!
11:27 nobis: You were the dark and beautiful of the sun valley crew trying to make the may happen and many other great things
11:34 nobis: Cat got your tongue!
11:51 allison: ha! sorry, just getting these. Anyway, well, that all sounds fun but Ive never been to Sun Valley
12:05 nobis: Your bad!
12:25 nobis: Don't give up baby! Look forward to talkin' to you soon!

thursday was the AIGA wine fundraiser, complete with a Heinz ketchup bottle interpretation. pretty sweet, tho i couldnt quite muster the funds to bid :(

successories.

2008-10-19T10:36:00.001-07:00

sooo, i headed back to cube-land this past week, a little break from the PLC while this whole 'recession' thing takes over....and i was thinking of making an amusing 1st impression by ordering a few things for my desk area: I'm considering the above "Successory" about "synergy" - a favorite corporate speak word of mine. unfortunately, they don't have one that says "Impactful" or "Leverage" - two other good ones that are so often used and abused.... up next- those Newton silver click clack balls, and a Magic 8 ball. if anyone can find me the "hang in there" cat poster, posters of pets in clothing, or at least some type of remote controlled blimp, please give a shout.

in other news, i went out a bunch last week, post-realworld job, and it was great seeing old friends and design colleagues. i stopped by a book launch party for a new book called, "Do You Matter? How great design will make people love your company." by a former Apple ID Director, and with a guest lecture by Pentagram NYC's Michael Beirut. It was hosted at Autodesk's ridiculous new office right on the Embarcadero. They had a large projects gallery set up, showing all the products that have presumably used CAD- including a 12 foot T-Rex made out of Legos, fuseprojects's XO $100 laptop, and Pittsburgh's Hot Metal Bridge (see pict). Beirut's talk was based on typography, his specialty, and he showed a font example for every letter of the alphabet (samples included Ted by United, street signs in lower manhattan, and the refined Saks Fifth Avenue logo/bags). it was rather amusing- he's a great speaker, full of sarcasm and energy, and good new york stories.

oh, i also ended up, along with 60,000 others, at the Red Bull Soapbox Derby in Dolores Park this weekend. Hosted by ski personality Uncle E, some drag queens, and surly DJs, it was a fun afternoon in the sunshine. about 35 teams plowed down the 3 block course on Dolores, complete w/ an opening skit, costumes, music, and seriously good crashes. the best one was the Death Star, tho the TreeHuggers were also spectacular. Attached are some shots from the SFChron.

heard about Pittsburgh, PA?

2008-10-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

ok, i'm back. i can't resist- too much good stuff happening out in San Francisco. this past weekend was the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, which is a well-done 3 day free festival of solid music in GGpark - emmylou, lucinda, etc. i went on Sunday to see Elvis Costello, Iron&Wine, and also caught Gogol Bordello. it was even sunny this year, and the setting was nice and chill (unlike the Outside Lands mess). anyways, some friends and i had a nice afternoon out and about, chatting over kettle corn and some Tecates.

last night, however, was off the chain! i went to see David Byrne and his 8 person band play some fabulous songs (from his times with producer Brian Eno) at the SF symphony hall. the acoustics there are 5-star, obviously, and the set included all sorts of good old and new stuff- of course they played great great stuff from the Talking Heads- Once in a Lifetime, Take Me to the River, Life During Wartime, etc. The ending was the best part- the Extra Action Marching Band came out and rocked the party in sequins, tubas, pom poms, leather chaps, the works. very SF, and very fitting. the whole 2 hr event was a huge party for a group of way too many MFA grads ;) there were 3 dancers, 3 great backup vocalists, and 2 solid percussionists, everyone wore white, and there was lots of interpretive dancing and good old david byrne dancing. The Talking Heads met back at RISD, and they also had Tibor Kalman (one of my favorite designers, RIP) design some album covers like "Speaking in Tongues." David Byrne was also on the board of Exit Art, where i interned one summer in NYC, but i have never met him. he has put out a few books of his photography, has installations and shows in NYC, still works in a wide variety of art outlets- a true artistic genius. anyways, all in all it's been a solid return home, and tonight is the Matchstick production ski porn flick. should be a nice kick-off to the upcoming ski season....

turn out the lights.

2008-09-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

turn out the lights.
the party's over.
they say that all
good things must end.
-willie nelson

time to head back west, maybe put the blog on hold, till i fine tune the job, location, and direction i am headed.

some faves from the past month, so i don't forget (or if you're traveling to NYC soon): grom, market table, tom and jerry's bar, anthos restaurant, more grom, guggenheim, whitney, moma, 52 prince, Tropical bar, sweet revenge, cafe habana, takahashi sushi, ippudo ramen, bourgeoius pig, 7B, ace, cherry, dba, vig, delicatessen, sing sing, grey dog cafe, more grom, celeste, the dove, barneys, bergdorfs, bloomies, bernardaud, apc, co-op, camper, pho bang, tibi, community, casso basso, pop burger, patsys, two boots, perilla, radio city, home, pearl oyster bar, insomnia cookies, supper, public, japas 38, the room, ino, craft, snack, and chez 7e!

trips to grom: 5
trips to saks: 1
museum shows: 3
shoes purchased: 1 pair
number of bike falls: 2
good friends seen: approx 35
days spent on carmine street: 12
parties attended/hosted: 1/1
karaoke nights: 1
celebrity sightings: 1 (the priest from "The Princess Bride")
sushi meals: 10
trips to princeton: 1
pizza and bagel comsuption: bi-weekly

OUTSIDERS NY, art opening

2008-09-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

on Thursday night, my mom, melissa, and I and managed to get into the preview night for Dave's show, despite not being on the guest list (go, mom!)....there was a solid turnout of LES and Bowery cool kids, and dave's art was definitely tops. he had a ton of pieces in the show - attached are some hightlights, including an Obama painting and some small works of graffiti/painting. check out the chicky who was painted into Chanel, and also the plaster wall that was de-plastered to produce a sweet new facade:

graffiti art

2008-09-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

my good friend joe to is in town this week, helping dave choe on a cool new space/show/installation right near anne's on Houston at Bowery. i'm headed to the preview night thursday, but here's part of the new facade:

louise bourgeois @ the guggenheim

2008-09-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

I went to the lousie bourgeois show for an hour break today. it was interesting, but i think i am way more into the grittier, mutant materials of Eva Hesse. the guggenheim is either a really good (matthew barney) or really bad place to see art (louise). i think the building facade is fabulous, despite not being a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan, and it was nice diversion from a day of serious job schtuff. and, people watching on the upper east side cracks me up as well.

just a quick note about Louise Bourgeois (thanks, Wikipedia): "born in Paris, 1911, an artist and sculptor. Her parents repaired tapestries. At 12, she started helping them draw the missing segments of the tapestries. At 15 she studied mathematics at the Sorbonne. Her studies of geometry contributed to her early cubist drawings. Still searching, she began painting, studying at the École du Louvre and then the École des Beaux-Arts, and worked as an assistant to Fernand Léger. In 1938 she moved with her American husband, Robert Goldwater, to New York City to continue her studies at the Art Students League of New York, feeling that she would not have stayed an artist had she continued to live in Paris. She lives and works in New York City (in Chelsea)."

her art has loads of male/female forms, sexual undertones, battles against male figures (her dad had a longtime affair w/ her english tudor), and amazing sculptural forms. however, as i said, i just don't really connect to it. i was expecting more, somehow. i am not sure what was missing. maybe it was just too loud and crowded as well (they were installing a new show). i even did the free audio tour (dork). oh, and on a sidenote- the director of the Carnegie is headed over to be the new director of the Guggenheim. perhaps he will shape the programming back towards actual art vs blockbuster shows in the rotunda.

i think i saw all the shows i set out to see while here, amazing. a month in NYC is still not enough time, though, as i'd love to gallery hop, and also see the Olafur Eliasson waterfalls, PS1, Neue Gallerie, and head up to the super cool Dia Beacon, on the Hudson (they have nice Richard Serras there).

rock bottom

2008-09-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

dan barasch, jen blumin, and her bf hosted a great party on a canal street rooftop last night- the theme was "rock bottom," see attached invitation. guests went all out- i saw a Winona Ryder, Imelda Marcos, Keith Richards, Robert Downey Jr, McCain (who was gay and black), Rick James, Edie Sedgewick, among others. I went as Palin, since i own little glasses and can rock that awful updo hairstyle. the reaction was great, and the amount of men who were like, "I am aroused an also annoyed by you" (meaning palin) was odd and funny. i didn't realize i'd get such a reaction. i can't believe i didn't get a baby doll and a fake gun to top the outfit off, but i didn't have much time to prep. Dan won the "ironic dance off" and i stayed and danced till about 3am.

i'm back on the job hunt tomorrow- need to get that locked down asap. the weather was spectacular today, but i fell off anne's bike while riding over on the Hudson bike paths, and landed on my good knee. suh-weet. weird day!

detox and retox

2008-09-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

thursday was another good mix of city/outdoors, up and downtown. jake, scott, and I went road biking (my 1st time, nice start) along the Hudson River park bike path. the scariest part, but also most fun and exhilarating, was getting TO the actual waterside path. biking down broadway at rush hour on a weekday = insane. we hit a right onto Houston, where at one point i fell off the curb (while looking over at scott, dumb) but was ok, and busted over to the park. we cruised down south to Battery Park (nice view of Lady Liberty), then back up north to this cool old pier that has a newly opened bar that's actually on an old ship. It's wreckage from Cape Fear, NC, known as 'the Frying Pan.' its been docked there awhile now and is open to the public to hang out in, over beers. it was underseas for a few years an has all these rusty barnacles all over, an old typewriter, original steering wheels, etc. super cool macabre setting and spectacular on a sunny day with friends.

after the urban excursion, we had a lovely cocktail party at anne and yannis' new place. all the usual suspects came, we ate too many hors d'oeuvres and then headed out to karaoke at midnight. resident karaoke expert Dens took us to the 'nicer' Sing Sing, whatever that means, and the usual mayhem happened in the private toom til about 430am. classics were played- Journey, Forigner, Def Leppard, and even "The Pina Colada Song"....friday was most recovery and cleanup. my 'work husband' from apple, Brian, was in town, so a bunch of us met up for drinks in the W. Village, then i met up w Anne and yannis and a friend of theirs at Takahashi (new fav sush place- gooood aji). today i did another huge ride, then emily just came in for the day to hang in Soho over good greek food @ Snack, and to do some window shopping. tonight is some "Rock Bottom" themed party, hosted my Dan Barasch and some other cornellians....

culture with some culture on the side.

2008-09-17T22:34:00.001-07:00

in the past few days, i managed to see "Burn After Reading," spent some QT in Princeton with emily and rusty, hit "Wicked" with Anne, then saw the Buckminster Fuller show at the Whitney. Oh and tonight i finally saw, "Step Brothers," then we forced ourlseves to go to Bubba Gump's for the worst light-up-frosty rum drinks of all time. all in all, a great couple of days of high and low culture. very uptown downtown- my fave.

i have to comment on the Bucky Fuller show, as it was pretty amazing to see how so many of his ideas and concepts pre-date the idea of sustainability (he called it 'Ephemeralization'). his energy-efficient, three-wheeled Dymaxion cars, from 1933, fit 11 people and got 30 mpg, while his "4D" self-sufficient houses had very small carbon footprints and created affordable solutions for the masses.

"A designer is an emerging synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and evolutionary strategist." - b. fuller

"I'm gonna kiss you on the mouth, Kenny Rogers." -W. Ferrell

"Think I can still fit in a run." -G. Clooney

amen for ramen

2008-09-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

anne and i found a super authentic ramen place downtown this weekend, sooo good, it was basically right out of Tokyo. perfect. they had this funny brochure for the newbies (see pict) on how to eat it. we also tried to go to angel's share after, but had too many in our party. i did a bunch of other fun stuff- had some solid lunch meetings for jobs here/sf/italy, and found the other grom (soooo good). alice was in town and so was chris from boston, so melissa and i were able to hang with good peoples. i also saw some hilarious and very, very dirty comedy (lisa lampanelli), hit up Sweet Revenge for cupcakes and prosecco, indulged in duck prosciutto/beets/black cod, and stumbled in and out of Delicatessen late night with a good companion. i'm hoping to see 'Burn After Reading' or head to the Whitney to see the Bucky Fuller show later this week, but right now, sushi, the great jones spa, and the steeler game = calling me and anne. the plc continues on another week....

uptown downtown: the bear bar, new museum, and the king.

2008-09-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

the story of stuff

2008-09-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

for anyone interested in bringing new products to market, or learning more about what happens to all your junk: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

travel, art, and leisure

2008-09-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

hello from nyc, and westhampton. i headed out to the east coast to help my sis and yannis move into their swanky downtown condo, visit some close pals, have a few interviews and lunch meetings, and of course, hit the MoMA pre-fab show, eat good food, and take advantage of one of the best cities on the planet. highlights after a few days are below.

too much weekend in my weekend.

2008-09-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

i can't really even post anything to describe (or do justice to) the girls weekend/zydeco barn burner up in napa. there was golf, manicures, champagne, oysters, pool time, synchronized swimming, bounty hunting, dive bar dancing, saddle riding, beer can chicken eatin, crawfish snacking, bouncy housing, appalachian clogging, washboarding, camping, and some leisure time. here's a sneak peak:

yurt so good

2008-08-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

so the PLC hit Big Sur this weekend. we are lucky peoples to live so close to such pristine beauty. no condor or whale sightings, but we managed to eat lunch at nepenthe, hit up the yurts, do some late night japanese spa tubbing at Esalen, meet some Romans and also some guys from the FBI, sip boont in adirondack chairs at the river inn, greet some llamas, find and lose the gnome, play dirty scrabble, gaze at the milky way over lucia lodge, crash a wedding, eat some delicious tuna steaks, make choc brownie waffles, find the never-really-open big sur bakery, and also do some serious r&r poolside, while looking out at the endless horizon and sharing lots of good wine and chatchat (ie no hiking or biking)....

uncle chuck's 2008

2008-08-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

every summer for a few years now, my good friends come up from the city to visit me at my uncle's house in tahoe, aka (with loads of affection), "Uncle Chuck's" and this year, we managed to outdo ourselves. highlights included tubing down the Truckee River in ultra-classy floatys (crocodile ottomans, goggled lobstahs, gay-friendly cruisers, tailbone crushing tubes, and ducktaped styles were all in effect), reliving senor swanky's, bacon taste-tests, happy hours / sunset bar hopping at the Hyatt's Lone Eagle Grill (best bartender ever btw, and we all recommend the Long Eagle House Margarita), Thunderbird boat sightings, gourmet eats at byte, Olympics and "Mad Men" watching, Mofo's, hiking down to skunk harbor cove beaches, tubbing at the house, and of course, Uno. oh wait, no Uno. anyways, we managed to have a pretty swanky 5-star weekend that I can't really even explain so here are some highlights:

the meteor show

2008-08-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

so i woke up at 3:30 in the morning, grabbed a sleeping bag, and laid out in the driveway to see the perseid meteor shower that crossed the western US last night. pretty spectacular- i saw about 50 shooters in about an hour. think fireballs + lightning bug-looking smears across the sky (it actually made me think of catching lightning bugs as a kid and then placing them in a jar and rolling the jar down a hilly driveway. woops, not very nice, but very fun when you are 10 and already outside playing 'capture the flag' or 'ghost in the graveyard'). here's a pict of nothing- ha. my dig cam isn't *that* good.

tahoe adventure camp.

2008-08-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

rock climbing above donner lake (i did half of a 5.10a, wahoo!), some tubing down the truckee river, and drinks over the fire pit at the Lone Eagle...tahoe summer at its finest:

you live in san francisco

2008-08-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

when the local camera shop has the following installation (not quite Andy Warhol or Simon Doonan):

everybody's workin' for the weekend

2008-08-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

the past week / weekend = amazing. i saw some cool outdoor art, was out in the sunshine at chrissy field, caught up with my good girlfriends, had the best.date.ever., looked at road bikes to buy, and went to an interesting commonwealth club panel with Alice Waters, Eric Schlosser ("Fast Food Nation" author), a pediatic doc, the head of the Slow Foods nation (shout out to torino), and also a public health policy researcher. it really got me thinking about local farmers, health related to income, a return to homestyle/ethnic cooking, how the 50s ruined cooking (hello, microwave), and a lot of foods i (luckily) just don't eat ie anything from 'Jack in the Box.' it also reminded me of those weird Presidential Physical Fitness Tests we had to 'pass' growing up in elementary school. does anyone remember these? there were curl-ups / partial curl-ups, shuttle run, endurance run/walk, pull-ups or right angle push-ups, and V-sit or sit and reach. the sit and reach?!? shuttle run? how are any of those indicative of your level of fitness or diet? anyways, among the sold-out crowd of sf foodie-maniacs, there were a lot of interesting discussions about school programs, budgets under Arnie, chez panisse goodness, and of course we got to witness alice waters being lofty and random (she's very aloof in a french kind of way). the panel kicked off a variety of programs about how and why we eat...more to come on that later.

since the weekend was full of such good food and company - dinner parties here at 1027 and at alice's, frascati (mmmmm, so great), lighthouse cafe, all good stuff -i am posting a pict of ms. alice cutting her fabulous leg of lamb (stuffed with sage, pancetta, and some garlic). just superb! my mom would be proud.

the other venice beach

2008-07-28T10:43:00.001-07:00

this past weekend, 80% of the ladies of the CT headed down to take on SoCal, specifically, the little town of Venice Beach, apparently "where art meets crime." sarah's been living down there with kimo all summer, and hosted us for a 5-star weekend - complete with beach time, yoga (yeah, i know), the Getty summer sessions at night party, pinkberry, beach cruisin on bikes, happy hours on the boardwalk, sushi, shoe shopping, a house party, rock band, and just pure chillin and relaxin at the witness protection bungalow. we arrived with some solid stereotypes in our heads, all of which were basically real. think: the big lebowski meets arrested development meets the hills meets rock of love -- all combined on one place, and live. so, so, soooo amusing. the amount of silicone implants, bad tattoos, weirdo sense of style, neon/80s mumuus and shades, 80s architecture, segways, hippies selling sage, head shops, skateboards, crazy entrepreneurial people, surf bums, rappers, aspiring rappers, writers, more writers, porn stars and even more porn stars walking around is astounding. the trip was perfect! i even had celebrity sighting on my Virgin America flight -- Lil' John was in 1st class. "HOOWHAT? Yeahhhhhh. OKAY....." we can't wait to go back for another round.

an oldie but goodie, from "the Onion"

2008-07-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

POINT
European Men Are So Much More Romantic Than American Men
BY ALYSSA LERNER
JUNIOR, BOSTON UNIVERSITY

COUNTERPOINT
American Women Studying In Europe Are Unbelievably Easy
BY GIOVANNI DI SALVI

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/34198

goin' back to cali'

2008-07-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

home's not soo bad. in the past week, i have seen a bunch of pals and, gone rock climbing, ran along the ocean, went on a date, interviewed around town, inhaled sushi, mexican, thai, and german foods, attended a b-day party in the valley for a 1 yr old, and hiked into a bavarian beer garten in the woods (Javier was there!)

not too bad for being home for 6 days (tho i am still working like mad on a return to work abroad in Sept and even got a phone call from the italian friends in rome this morning).

things i already miss:

2008-07-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

- real produce
- real sunshine and blue sky
- not knowing what day it is, in general
- not knowing what day it is, because of the # of people out at night
- the roma ragazzi
- partying with my friends and family
- paris with nat and alex
- cheesey music
- whole fish
- gelato for dinner
- fountains and art

- white pants
- real design

watch this space for updates. fingers x'ed for another round in september...

one last wedding party (well, at least until november)

2008-07-15T07:51:00.001-07:00

songs overheard on the beaches of greece

2008-07-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

- Sweet Child of Mine (the muzak version)
- John Denver "country road" mixed with "you are my sunshine"
- Eye of the Tiger (straight up orig version)
- Slim Shady
- anything by Shaggy
- La Isla Bonita, Madonna
- that awful "bad boys" song from the show, Cops
- anything, and i mean, anything, by ABBA
- Sade
- Fresh, by Kool and the Gang
- Peter Bjorn and John

- I'm So Excited, by the Pointer Sisters
- What is Love, from a Night at the Roxbury
- Michael Jackson mixed with Lionel Ritchie

athens hipster scene and some long lost relatives

2008-07-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

athens, home away from home

2008-07-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

athens' version of primanti's:

mykonos (is windy)

2008-07-10T15:12:00.001-07:00

signed, sealed, delivered.

2008-07-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

some highlights are below...all santorini picts are here -- http://picasaweb.google.com/allisonlchapas

pro leisure tour: boat trip + rehearsal dinner

2008-07-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

red beach, santorini

2008-07-04T02:29:00.000-07:00

big fat greek wedding: day 1

2008-07-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

well, the 1st round of my close relatives (see pict of my mom and 2 aunts) arrived from Pittsburgh today, apparently via a 1st class upgrade (thanks, uncle chuck)! all is good- we had a lovely lunch on the patio, enjoyed the 1st of many champagne toasts, hung out at the pool a bit, and finished off the day with a solid meal of grilled squid and lobster risotto.

each hour, the view changes and also stays incredible. the mid day sun is so pretty, then the late evening sunset is also spectacular. time definitely stands still here. i'm not ever sure i can describe how beautiful the landscape is...i think photo blogging is going to make a comeback; no more ramblings unless necessary.

santorini...

2008-07-01T12:07:00.001-07:00

ciao for now

2008-07-01T11:54:00.001-07:00

i'm in rome about to head out for my last night, and sad to be leaving. today was a fantastic day- i had a cool interview at an interactive media firm and may have set up a job for sept! anyways, i just had a panino, gelato, and a stroll thru the pantheon and trevi and am heading to dinner w rita, an italian raggazo andrea, and heather. should be a fun last night! the past few days have been great as well - went to the beach for drinks at sunset, made more fun local friends in the city, the usual. anyways, i am off to greece for annes big fat greek wedding, wont be online much, but thanks for listening...

when in rome

2008-07-01T11:52:00.001-07:00

funny things that i forgot about rome:

- people actually say, "mamma mia"

- wear a bra, no matter what the shirt cut shows/is like
- don't touch folded clothes in stores
- do not mix all the food on your plate
- do not cut your pasta
- do not add milk in coffee drinks, post-12 noon
- pay at the cashier 1st
- cars can drive on any street or surface
- italy also loves converse all stars
- france has better fashion and style
- italy has better sculpture and art
- there are now lots of mini supermarket 7-11s all over rome :(
- italian boys buy you lots of gelato and prosecco, and like to take you to fountains

what is it with italian raggazzi eating gelato, and loitering around fountains? i swear this is the normal summer night activity- and i love it. i think it's the much nicer italian equivalent of just hanging out late-night, like going and sitting in the parking lot at mcdonald's or denny's in the burbs, ha! anyways, yesterday was a mellow day. it was so hot i didn't do too much, just drink coffee and ate real pizza. then, i also went out with rita, her bf, and some of their italian friends. we stayed out till about 4am, just hanging out over drinks on piazza farnese, eating gelato, and then chilling around the fountain of the turtles (a favorite of mine), in the jewish ghetto.

caravaggio and then some

2008-07-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

today, after another classic lunch at Lo Zozzone (panino of speck, arugula, stacchino cheese, then an 'on the house' nutella pizza and espresso afterwards, i love being a young-ish gal in this town) i headed out to see the campidoglio, as i heard it had all changed since 98, but ended up wandering uptown to see the Ara Pacis, or Altar of Peace, in it's recently re-designed and newly opened building by richard meier. apparently, it was a controversial building, but i don't actually know why. and, i loved it. it was so light and airy; the space on the river is really cool, as is the alternate gallery space underneath the 1st floor. with vitra, they just opened a show on jean prouve, downstairs in the new space, and it was rather interesting. he was one of the premier french furniture designers, builders, and architects of his time ('50s), and he not only created cool tables, chairs, and desks out of interesting aluminium and steel cutting techniques / jointery, but he also created these entire systems for buildings and building facades mostly around france. it was a really thorough show of his drawings, models, and final pieces, and yet again- a totally random juxtaposition against the 13 BC marble altar (which was to celebrate Augustus's victory over Spain/Gaul). they also had a great book shop, with loads of design and arch books that i wanted to buy, but not lug home.

afterwards, i milled around via condotti again, stopped in at furla, and then a store called TAD, which is yet another design/lifestyle store with cds, design mags, clothes, a cafe, shoes, housewares, and even a hair salon (!?!). what is with this all on one hipster store trend-- in Paris it was Colette, in Milan it was 10 Corso Como, Tokyo had one as well, Bonjour or Loveless, i think in daikanyama, here it is Tad. it's like a physical re-enactment of a Wallpaper magazine, or how to instantly buy a cool life. so odd! i'm trying to think of the US equivalent, but maybe for now, it's just Moss in Soho? i'm sure there will be something like a super upscale Urban Outfitters soon...maybe it already exists in Barneys? anyways, afterwards, i made my way to Piazza del Popolo to see a few Caravaggios (has to happen on any trip to rome). it was worth the trek, as expected. the lighting in his picts is just unbelievable, total genius. apparently, he was quite a piece of work around town.

lido, part 2

2008-06-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

yesterday, i headed out to anzio, a small beach town an hour from rome. it was a nice getaway from the 90 degree heat of the city. i also managed to have a very tasty lunch of spaghetti with frutti di mare (see pict). when i got back to the city, i headed out to watch soccer, met a few new italians, hung out and chatted with one of them named Giuliano over gelato at Giolitti and the steps of the Pantheon, then stopped in to say hi to Donatello again on the campo, and called it a night.

roman holiday style

2008-06-25T02:14:00.000-07:00

the other night i stayed out till 2am sipping prosecco around via della pace with an amusing ragazzo, lorenzo, who just returned from 7 years at Oxford for undergrad and grad/phd degrees in math and economics. apparently he won some math contest in italy and got a scholarship of sorts (no idea if that's legit). so, you know, it was your typical monday night in rome, ha! he tried to get me to go to the trevi fountain at 2am, but funny enough, i had already been there/done that with Giuseppe way back when and wanted to keep that memory as is. anyway, there is just something about this city that is so alive, friendly, and intriguing it's so full of energy and also has this overt sensuality (that is lacking in the north). people just enjoy life more, family more, friends more, each other's company more. there is a good balance of life and work....or maybe it's more like everyone thrives off the *lack* of work?

oh, speaking of work, i learned more rome info today, as the owner of the rental company i rented my apt through stopped by my place, or HIS place, since i learned it is actually his pied a terre when he's in rome. he and his family live out in the country, with their 2 bambini, and use this place when they're here. it was nice to meet him, talk shop (he is a mac-pc "switcher" so we talked steve jobs, design, cali, etc) and his wife is an art critic so again, we talked art, design, modernism (or lack of) in rome, etc etc. it was really cool to meet him and get his insight on life and work in rome, and also find out more about this neighborhood (and day trips to the shore) from here. i'm hoping to maybe get some job leads or ideas from him as well....

later in the day, i finally left for the 37 c degree (!!!) city to shop around, or more like, find Giolitti and Mandarina Duck. both were successful endeavors (i ordered caffe + chocolate con extra panna and found a good black bag). then i walked all the way from Via Condotti/Spanish Steps to my old apt on Via Vechhiarelli. It was so lovely to walk along the river and see the ponte st angelo again as my landmark for my/annie's old hood. i found the apt, walked all along the street where meghan lived and farshad/donatella had their store, then walked along Via del Governo Vecchio, spotting the hole in the wall family osteria that Annie and I used to hit up. i cannot believe how little has changed in ten years! it's scary, yet so comforting. baffetto, pizzaria monte carlo, mogana shop, cul de sac , insalata ricca - all these fantastic places have had such staying power here.

i rounded out the day pretty nicely - came home and had a snack of tallegio + rosemary crostini, prosciutto + melone, vino, finished my book ("eat pray love," in which i only liked the "eat" section) and then met up with rita at her parent's electronics shop (think hair dryers/ converters vs laptops) right down the road from my place. she picked me up on her scooter (see pict), which is always so dangerous, scary and fun simultaneously, and we headed off to check out this new, cool docked 2 storey boat party place on the tevere that she is considering for her wedding in Sept (which, i am hoping to be able to attend). the space just happened to be hosting a very, very nice cocktail party for mercedes benz/smart car, as well as some high-end cigar brand. home run! we chatted w/ her former colleague, who is an events planner there, had some wine, italian hors doervers like bresaola, shrimp, mussels, asparagus, white bean salad, cheese, salmon, prosciutto, (see pict), focaccia, champagne, homemade orrechiette. there was a live jazz band and singer, 5 star service, hired models, men in great suits, women decked out inappropriately, the works. for a tuesday, it was great people watching in rome (though everyone had dates and was at least 50, so i couldn't quite 'work on my citizenship', hee hee)!

three coins in a fountain (and a hangover)

2008-06-24T01:46:00.001-07:00

this trip continues to be full of highs and lows- either everything's really great, or everything's really screwy / typically euro. right now, luckily, i am back at 'great.' i cannot possibly explain how content i am right now- i think i have found italian nirvana. today was a perfect combination of all things rome: i woke up, had a coffee, checked out the tromp l'oeil celing frescoes at St Ignatious, walked over to the lovely trevi fountain, hung out and did some people-watching there for awhile (and, threw my coin in, because i swear it works!), had real pizza with hot coppa, then tracked down the latest version of the "best gelato in italy," a place called 'san crispino.' i had hazlenut (nocciola) and chocolate con panna (with whipped cream), of course. it was pure heaven, in a cup. it was so creamy and wonderful, nothing artificial and no weird consistency. just perfect.

then, i talked to my apt rental agency and found out they could move me to a huge apt, for the same rate, with tons of space, light, AIR CONDITIONING (it's 35 degrees c, like 86 f), a real kitchen, laundry, dishwasher (?!?!), closets, real bathroom, views of all these pretty rooftops, and of course, 2 blocks from the campo dei fiori, on via pelligrino (means "pilgrim"), which is a pretty swanky street. i moved all my stuff, then walked around the shops, which are pretty close to cornell's palazzo, managed to re-find my favorite shoe places (good shoe radar never dies), and buy a couple of shirts on via dei guibbonari. the same pizza place we always ate lunch at is still there, btw! yay!

right now, for a 'snack' i am now having some prosciutto, mozzarella, bread, and this amazing slab of pork fat the butcher sold me by convincing me to melt a small slice onto some crostini - basically a bacon bruschetta. how brilliant is that? oh and i also picked up at cannoli and a sfogliattelle (hard to find sicilian pastry that craig liberatore randomly loves) at Il Fornaio. to top it all off, I'm meeting up with rita at vineria on the campo for a drink and dinner. can't wait to see her- it's been probably 7 years or so, at least. should be fun to catchup! now if Giuseppe were still here ;)

ok, either i'm in a movie, or in a dream, or maybe a movie about a dream? there is something beautiful every direction i look. every cobblestone alley, every rooftop, even the manhold covers, are aesthetically pleasing. i just walked around via giulia (a tony street address to have) and via del pelligrino around 7pm to get over to the river. i walked by no less than 4 furniture restoration places, all with this beautiful old italian design stuff laying all a round the storefront, spilling out onto the stree, and also with classical music playing. i also saw a couple cool art galleries, and a poster for Verdi's "Aida" at the Baths of Caracalla for tomorrow night, so i might need to check that out....

(ended up going out w rita then my new italian friends. drinkking prosecco at 130am at cafe della pace always leads to a fun night!)

luca, lorenzo, giovanni, and fabio

2008-06-23T01:45:00.001-07:00

luca, lorenzo, giovanni, and fabio: i think these are the 4 main names for men in italy- i have met at least 3 of each at this point- all amusing characters!

anyway, yesterday, i went to the villa borghese to chill and read in the park, and also visit the galleria borghese, which is home to some of the best bernini sculptures- apollo and daphne, the rape of persephone, david, etc. the villa is beautiful inside- no surface is left un-frescoed! i had a nice afternoon milling around- there was some ecofest as well, and i ended up windown shopping around via condotti.

i went to Corallo for dinner (home made orecchiette with pesto, saving fiori di zucca for another night), then some soccer watching near Pzza Navona. the streets were packed! it was like a Steeler game x20 in terms of crowds and enthusiasm and emotion. unfortunately, they lost to spain and are out of the Euro Cup. i'm sure many italians are calling in sick today to mourn. i met some very friendly folks- the bar i was watching the game at is basically a penn state bar, but also run by this guy Giovanni, who was actually in the Post Gazette blog 2 wks ago, some posting, "When in Rome." i guess he runs the Steeler bar of Italy? Of course i just happened to find it, out of the 9000 bars I could have watched the game in....anyway, i am going to hang out with him tonight. he has some story he needs to share- other than he spent last thanksgiving in Pgh, totally random! then for overtime i went to another bar, met some cool italians there and am hoping to meet up w them tonight as well. and, i'm also supposed to hang with Rita- cant wait.

Im off to do some work for anne then to the Fountain of Trevi, then some beach on the Tiber near Castel St Angelo....

roma!

2008-06-23T01:40:00.001-07:00

today: roma! finally, after ten years, i am here! i woke up at dawn, took a 20 min ghetto Ryan Air flight from treviso and arrived at my apt around near the Pantheon by 10am. the 1st thing that happened was a few people called out, "Ciao bella!" (finally- i was beginning to wonder if the Italy was *that* repressed or proper theses day, but the romans reassured me they haven't changed) and then a 'Google maps' car drove right by, with a 4 way camera mounted on the rood, so maybe i will be in online (via the street view) it in front of "my" apartment in rome? so amusing. anyways, the next ten hours went like this:

10am: b-line to tazzo d'oro (best coffee in rome) for a granita with loads of whipped cream
10:30am: visit pantheon, start tearing up out of the overwhelming combo or being in rome, being deliriously tired, being very warm, and also being just so happy to finally be here again, a place i have where i made so many fond memories that continue to inspire me to get back here over and over.
11:30am: visit piazza navona (note: bernini fountain is being cleaned, under scaffolding- kind of downer), meet family from pgh
noon: hit up Il Fornaio, buy pizza bianco (focaccia with salt and rosemary), take yet another pict of giant mortadella (gourmet bologna) that sits in the doorway
12:30: visit campo dei fiori market- buy arugula, prosciutto, melone, mozzarella di buffalo, cucumber, pepper, bread, lemon, extra virg olive oil, balsamic (which is like $2 here), bottle of chianti, 2 peaches, Abracci cookies, and some water con gas. it was heaven!
1:30pm: made lunch- salad with above stuff
5pm: went back out, looked around Via Del Govern Vecchio
7pm: eventually ended up at Bar Della Pace for a glass of Prosecco
9pm: Eurocup at the bar near Pzza Navona (russia beat netherlands in ot)
midnight: happily asleep after a solid day back in rome

i also managed to get a bunch more "ciao bella"s which was nice, what is up with the boys in the north not being so forward? boring. anyways, i realized my apt is right near cornell as well as so many other favorite places.

a few other thoughts i keep forgetting-
- my cabbie learned English from listening to U2 album and their film "Rattle and Hum"
- rome is the only place in europe with tons of Americans
- i talked to rita and we're hanging on Monday
- roma's just the way i left it , and it makes me so happy

venice beach

2008-06-23T01:34:00.000-07:00

yesterday, i decided to hit the lido (beach) in venice. i haven't been to venice in ten years, i was there for Carnevale, which is a very mellow, weirdly macrabre event with people masquerading around the city in very elaborate costumes and masks. the whole thing is pretty amazing to see, but it's not quite 'show me your tits' new orleans or brazil's version of mardi gras.

anyways, i thought i'd go check it out again, since it had been awhile, and it was an easy day-trip from treviso. i took a train to venice, boarded a vaporetto (their version of a water taxi) and rode for about an hr till we got to the last outer stop, Lido. there is a really nice little promenade out to the beach, full of families eating ice cream (btw i an convinced 4-7pm in italy is some sort of gelato hour for everyone), and then i set myself up in a chair and umbrella with a good book and some solid people watching. i read my bookj, saw some very tan old me in speedos playing bocce, as well lots of your basic inappropriate euro beach stuff. i wished my fam had been there with me, tough - we usually hit the european beaches all together, a la the Grizwalds and my dad randomly makes friends with amusing locals. it was a nice day - I ended it with a bellini and real pizza and then some soccer watching with some local folks, once i got back to my b&B in treviso (which by the way, was really random and design/artsy, fun place to stay). as this norm in italy, venice is definitely in an odd state of old meets new (dilapidating bldgs and peeling paint vs this new Santiago Calatrava bridge that's going up).

my mentos commercial life

2008-06-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

i made it to treviso (north of venice, south of the dolomites) today- the home of tiramisu and radicchio, does it get any better? it does, because the entire town also smells like magnolias. i biked all around the well-heeled town today and discovered some pretty parks, river banks, and hidden cobblestone streets (as well as how to bike along side crazy italian drivers while wearing a dress and flats). good stuff! i really like this town as well- small and snazzy, near some amazing geography (dolomites and grappa/prosecco country). i managed to have a few local things- a cocktail called a 'spritz' (aperol and white wine) as well as some after dinner sorbet of lemon, prosecco, and vodka....

this evening, i managed to meet up w/the italian north face gals for drinks/dinner and they brought friends. it was so nice of them to hang out and set up a great evening! we had a fun time chatting in both english and italian, went for apertifs and then pizzas, and all just hung out till about midnight on the main piazza in town. there is talk of me staying to hang out some more, and go to a bbq at one of the guy's houses on saturday, but i am supposed to head to rome. such decisions....

lake lugano, switzerland

2008-06-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

sooo, today was another spectacular day trip out of milan, to the clean air and blue skies of the mountains up north. i took an hour train to the foot of the Alps / the lake district, which includes Lakes Como (bellagio), Maggiore, Garda, Lugano, and a few others. it's like 10 Lake Tahoes all together, and it was really nice to get away, enjoy the sunshine, and have lunch with a very interesting and fun cornell alum. he and i had a great chat about living and working in italy, time spent in ithaca, his business ventures, etc. and, his 'how to live and work in italy' tips were very helpful and interesting. i'm glad we made the effort to make the lunch happen - getting up to Lake Lugano was amazing for my brain and body! i'm finally headed outta milano tomorrow, and off to treviso/venice to hang with the North Face ragazze.

the mountains and lake lugano (think of how close verbier & st moritz are)!

pure switzerland

i even dorked out and did a boat trip

school, shopping, salons, soccer

2008-06-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

today, i found a funkier part of the city, near the Porta Ticinese, and also managed to meet with the director of an interaction design grad school program, get a haircut, eat focaccia, walk all over town, and (finally) buy shoes. oh and then i went to 10 corso como, this amazing design store with a huge selection of art books, then hit up a bar with a really wonderful friend of a friend, who was at Smart Deisgn NYC right before i was there. we watched Italia beat France in the Euro Cup round 1 finals. pretty lovely day all around!

tomorrow, i head to Lake Lugano, Switzerland, for a much-needed day trip to the mountains/lakes, to have lunch with a Cornell alum. apparently he lives in Lake Como, is just there for work- he has perfected la dolce vita. as for me, I am enjoying the 'dolce far niente' (the sweet doing nothing) when i am not running around trying to meet and greet a full range of the design community here.

for nat:

interviews numero due and 3

2008-06-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

i'm eating a cannoli as i type this....

interview #2 was interesting, at a classic product design/interaction firm with offices worldwide (hint: they designed the 1st Apple IIc). getting there was not so easy, especially in the non-stop rain (apparently this is the worst summer weather in "200 years"), because it basically consisted of a subway ride to a 20 min train to a 10 min walk, to basically the equivalent of um, something like hoboken. well, maybe not that bad, but i have to admit- milan and it's outskirts don't quite do it for me. everything OUTSIDE of the city is spectacular, and i still love love love Torino and Bergamo and the mountain/lake lifestyles they'd promise...anyway, it was a solid informational interview, but i'm not sure i am the best fit for what they need. also, i am not sure I am tech/code freak enough. I prefer the front end of visual design and branding these days. additionally, they can't hire me from the US office, then ship me to milan. the interview was pretty cut and dry, but just fine. i talked to 2 friendly creative directors and get a feel of what's doing there, showed them my stuff, etc. i'm doubtful anything major will develop, but who knows. it was at least helpful to meet some more local/global design folks, and also brush up on my interviewing skillz.

interview #3 (today at 6pm, which i guess is not technically "after" work here in siesta-land Italia) was pretty damn fun! it was at a very cool design/interactive/educational/experience/exhibit design firm, also outside the center of milan as well (I guess buying real estate in the choice part of town is out of the question at this point in history, unless you are Miuccia Prada). anyway, there are possibilities that i could do contract work for/with them, as web projects come up. it was really helpful learning about design processes and normal work life in Italy (vs the rest of Europe, let alone the US) and the woman i met with was very, very friendly and fun to chat with. her perspective was fresh and interesting, and she has a great global experience / knowledge. she is also very enthused about being a designer in general, and it was cool to develop a rapport, talk shop, swap stories, etc.

anyways, i am at least stoked i managed to set up some many meetings from afar. i saw a wide range of firms, and have a few more things lined up still.

eats

2008-06-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

i think it's time to move on to more of a photo-blog, or phlog. ha. anyhu, here's some northern italian highlights:

fiori de zucca, figs, strawberries, avocados, and porcinis. five of the best foods on the planet.

antipasta milanese (this usually comes FREE with your drink at happy hour in the north)

polenta cakes with little chocolate birds, typical of bergamo

vecchia vs. nuova

2008-06-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

italy seems to be in this weird state of transformation - but with no middle ground. the transition between the insanely old to the completely new is rather visually abrupt, and can been seen in numerous outlets. as i was walking around the Duomo in Milan today, I noticed a few juxtapositions - one sign inside the Duomo (3rd largest catherdral in the world btw. #1 is the St. Peter's, #2 is in Spain) had this photo of Jesus and mentioned "the web." huh? see pict. they were out of pamphlets to go with it, but i was dying to see the connection, especially in such an old old setting, and in front of this huge bay of memorial candles, and all these old nonnas praying and touching things near the altar.

then walking from the Duomo toward La Scala, through the somewhat over-the-top designer indoor shopping Galleria (the 1st/80 year old Prada store is there), i saw this really cool pop-up shelter for the homeless. it was started by an student architecture group in Atlanta, i think, and supposedly cost about $400 to build. it was very odd to see this hut in such a historical setting, and also near a very old gypsy woman begging (who also happened to have on a very lovely silk scarf- all very strange), not to mention near Prada, Ferrari, etc.

oh, and i had my first gnocchi of the trip today. mmmmmmmmmmmm.

PS Happy Father's Day, Dad!

i heart lombardy

2008-06-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

this just in: i am totally sold on northern italy, the regions of lombardy, aosta, and piedmont. they are full of lakes, resorts, mountain retreats, tons of skiing/mountaineering, and road biking everywhere. as per natalie's suggestion, today i checked out the upscale hill top town of bergamo, an hour (by train) northeast of Milano. it was full of stunning panoramas from the old town, up on the wall-fortified hilltop -- you could see milan, the Dolomites (gateway to the ski resorts like Madonna di Campidoglio, Cortina, and ultimately Zermatt, St. Moritz, Davos, Lugano, etc) and the rest of the quaint other hillside towns in the area. i was (again) very excited to see some greenery and huge mountains, so close to such a pristine little town. to get up to the old town, you have to take an funicular from new bergamo (citta bassa) to the old village (citta alta). it is italy's version of the Incline in Pittsburgh, except it was built in 1887 (Pittsburgh's was actually built earlier, in 1877 - who knew??).

highlights (mostly food and locals):

- lunch of home made pasta called casoncelli- basically small raviolis filled with prosciuotto, pancetta, sausage and cheese in a sage butter sauce, and a nice barbera

- walking up thru the swanky part of town to the top of an old castle, with amazing panoramas

- being chatted up by some old folks at the top of said castle, then being invited to coffee with them, all the while practicing italian and learning about the history of town from them

- buying a hunk of taleggio cheese (local to the area)

- seeing the town church and chapel

- noticing the town crest in the church gate that is randomly comprised of um, 3 testicles for its, um, crest/logo design, as the town hero died of syphillis and supposedly was um, anatomically endowed, in such a random way (see pict)

- panoramic vistas from the top of the old town (mounatins up to 9000 ft nearby)

i am really falling for northern italy! hopefully, i can come back and set up shop for a bit....

interview numero uno

2008-06-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

i'm on a train right now, from torino to milano, looking out at the shadows of the sun setting on the alps. i am very excited about how close they are to torino! courmayeur, chamonix and la thuille are within 3 hrs drive and the town of Aosta looks like a beautiful entry way to the region. soooo, today was "Interview" #1 and it went well! i was approriately dressed (thanks, mom!), and met with the founder of an interaction design firm in torino (also have offices in Milan and Rome). they are ~20 people now, and grew out of an interaction grad program near milan that i totally almost applied to in 2006, called Interaction Ivrea. unfortunately, the program is gone/was rolled into Domus, but the good folks from it are all over the world - and at great firms like IDEO, frog, etc. i know a few are even in SF and had emailed them at one point way back when.

we chatted about what i could do, what they need, how bad the pay is in italy (day rate is like $220 USD) and also about how the average italian makes ~$1600/MONTH. um. yeah, soooo i need to retool my expectations, which is fine, and which is what i knew already, but denied my brain from filing, and just focus on the fact that i could maybe actually finally *live* in italy. so, not to be too excited yet, but i think starting next next week, the wonderfully talented and smart person i met with is going to give me a very short term trial assignment (paid) for some major fashion client. i can hopefully work on it from rome and then see if there's a chance to come back, perhaps for 6 mos, like sept - dec. we both agreed the new norm in gen ex-pat land is project based work, vs a set time abroad and it all seems very flex/up in the air. i'm just worried i am not well-versed enough in interaction/user interface design ie i need to have a grad degree.

my potential office is pictured to the left - no cubicles there....we talked for an hr, went over some of my work, sorted out possible scenarios. i explored the town, which used to be know basically for Fiat and the rougher working class, but b/c of the Winter Olympics, the Slow Foods conference, and now selected as the 2008 World Design Capital, there is a lot doing! It is very lovely and full of trees and greenery everywhere, hillsides/mountains in the backgrounds, a river, nice buildings and huge piazzas, and of course good gelato (that place, Grom, for you New Yorkers), and loyal soccer fans. the town set up a massive video screen for all to watch tonight's Italy-Romania EuroCup game in the main piazza.

tomorrow, i am doing a day trip to a town called Bergamo, and then have 2 more interviews on Monday in MIlan, a tour of a university on Tuesday, and maybe another coffee with a friend of friend Wedneday (who works in ID at Whirlpool), then North Face gals near Venice on Thurs. There is also a chance i will go to Lake Como to hang with some Cornell alumni.

oh and last night i had a fun night out with a local ragazzo, Lorenzo. we checked out the scene where the cool kids hangout, had a few drinks, then went for a fabulous dinner with way too much veal, prosciutto, asparagus, and brunello di montalcino...it was fun to hit the town with a local and get the inside scoop on all things italia :)

everything in its right place

2008-06-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

the title of the post pretty much nails it, and is also a solid Radiohead song. we saw them live last night at the Bercy (note: open seating means don't go in 5 mins before the main act, even in uber-civil paris). the set was really unique and they dorked out nicely with extra touches of hipster moves (camera at the piano, arty video in the background). i remember when i was doing cornell-in-rome TEN years ago, the architects in the program were obsessed with a video from "OK computer." anyways, the point is, besides radiohead being one of the best live shows i've seen in while, it's been *10* years since i lived in rome! huh? unreal. i have been dreaming of that city for so long now, and cannot wait to get there again it in a few weeks.

although i head to milan tomorrow, i'm sad to be leaving paris. despite the french (ha), it truly won me over big time. every little nook of the city has something creative and cool tucked away, and it's nice to be where art/artisans are so commonplace and respected. today's highight was going for lunch with Natalie in the Marais (leek quiches + 25cls of a good aligote wine) and then going for ice cream at Berthillion. pict attached. the chantilly (whipped cream) here is soooo yummy and light! i gained 1 kg just looking at it.

we finished off the night with steak frites for 2 bigger than my head! thanks for being super hosts, nat and alex. some day, i hope to return the favor in rome. a bientot!

natalie's cultural update

2008-06-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

a missive from france:

Oh to be hip, male, skinny, limber and French:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36e9kZcRWGI

Make sure you pump up your sneakers before watching and let me know when Tecktonik comes to the states....

Miss you guys!
Natalie

cultural Q&A

2008-06-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

possible topics for the next post:

- goat, cow, sheep: which cheese is right for you?

- pork fat: friend or foe

- how to properly pronouce "millefeuille"

- white pants and how to wear them year-round (and skin tight)

talk amongst yourselves/discuss.

euro cup!

2008-06-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

today was another nice mix: pain au chocolate to start the day, a visit to the odd Centre Pompidou (which still is weak compared to MoMA, AND i just missed a Lousie Bourgeois show), then shopping in the Marais, a 'hood where everything starts at 100 euro, so basically i only bought lunch (chevre chaud salad mmmmm). tomorrow, i am on the search for the store, Colette, Antik Batik, and of course, a stop at Galleries Layfayette.

europe's main religion, aka soccer, or the Euro Cup started this week. we just watched France tie Romania on tv just now, Italy is on later. i love being in Europe when that tourney is on. it always leads to good parties in the street, and everyone's jazzed in general. i need to learn my players again, though. no more old italians like Roberto Baggio or Casiraghi. makes me wish i had tix somehow.

anyway, to save euros, we're cooking in this evening. oh and alex is back- he made it in this am after johnny's bach party weekend in tahoe. or course, in small worldness, he hung out with pete davies up there, who is my contact at terrapass (and who knows i am here attempting to still do work for him while traveling). anyway, small town. and in a good way. ie this thursday in milano, i am hanging with a guy, lorenzo, who alex and nat met last week at Tjarko's wedding. I guess he worked with Tjarko at Mckinsey in Zurich, so there's all these lovely overlaps and open invitations worldwide....love that stuff! then i am supposed to hang with North Face pals of Pam's, maybe Emmanuelle's aunt/uncle, and perhaps some Cornellians near Lake Como. so many decisions. let's hope i get a gig here somehow so it never ends :)

btw, this country is obsessed with Converse All-Stars, low tops. please send some so i can sell them on the street! maybe they'll trade me some for Lacostes?

tomorrow: Radiohead at the Bercy!

bonnard vs. vuillard (and some chevre)

2008-06-08T16:17:00.001-07:00

i'm pretty sure paris has it all figured out - good eating, lots of family, small cars, city bikes for point to point rentals, siesta, good skincare, and fashion (they skip the fitness thing). basically, today was another nice day! the sun came out, and i was able to watch parisians perfect the art of a lazy sunday in the city.
cultural highlights:
- Musee D'Orsay
- remembering the entire era of Impressionism
- fantastic rooms of the best of the era: Bonnard, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Rousseau, Degas,
- trying to decide if Bonnard was a better painter than Vuillard (verdict: he was)
- walking along the Seine, crossing the Pont Des Arts
- just lounging in the D'Orsay foyer
- checking out the Zoological gardens and endless rose trellises
- numerous bijan frises and women on bikes in berets and neck scarves

eating/drinking:
- pain au chocolate
- shopping for dinner at a wonderful food market (bought fresh fish, good greens, fresh herbs, country pain, sasuages, cheese, ripe peaches, white asparagus)
- espressos
- Leffe beers while watching the men's French Open finals (sorry, Federer. you were my hero. damn.)

the feeling of just being able to explore one of my favorite cities in the world is fanatasic! i am finally getting my directional bearings (marais, bastille, st germain? check!) and am loving the chance to just mill around, see what happens, take in some art, some 5 star cuisine, not to mention i also get to spend quality time with natalie (we snuck in the 10pm "Sex and the City" flick tonight and were the only ones laughing at the part where she gets a non-917 cell number)....

also, it was so invigorating just being around real art again. the paintings and collection at the D'Orsay are some of the best in the world, and the setting of the old train station is so unique and special. i truly enjoyed seeing a few of the Van Gogh's up close (i had to once talk about / draw part of room one for a PA Governor's school application in 9th grade). it was also cool to see the Bonnard paintings. Growing up in Pittsburgh n'at, I remember spending a lot of time looking at this one at the Carnegie- one of his female nudes in the bath with a little dog - and the colors and contrasts and paint applications in it was fascinating to me. he truly was one of the best painters of all time.
tomorrow, time to get serious: shopping and the Pompidou! i am going to find Colette, Antik Batik, apc, and also treat myself to some Berthillion.

guest blogger: natalie phillips

2008-06-07T15:24:00.001-07:00

Greetings from special blogger guest, Natalie! I’ve been attempting to make a life here in France since last September and, along the way, I’ve picked up on a few things that are quintessentially French: mostly amazing things, some kinda odd, and some just down-right baffling. I’d like to share the story of acquiring our French Open tickets in more detail because it is a great example of how things operate in France and because I am delighted that Chapas got to witness it first hand!

Story is as follows:
1. I search craigslist for tickets, find some at a reasonable price, and make the inquiry.
2. Tickets are still available; Chapas and I make plans to meet the fellow at 4pm on Friday afternoon to pick up the tickets.
3. In the meantime, I read on the Roland Garros (French Open) website that tickets are NOT transferable under any circumstances UNLESS register online and transfer your named tickets to the new ticket holder.
4. The man who wants to sell me the tickets tells me that he called the Roland Garros hotline, and was informed that he could sell his tickets, but that the new ticket holder needs to show a photocopy of the carte d’identite of the original ticket holder. Complex.
5. On the way over, Chapas and I get nervous, as we don’t want to be scammed (the tickets are expensive), we believe what we read on the official Roland Garros website and decide to ask our ticket man to re-verify the rules in our presence.
6. On meeting our friendly French fellow (who was very friendly) we ask him about the rules, and he repeats what he was told. The tickets are in the name of a friend of his who bought them, and he gives us photocopies of her identity card. We ask him to re-verify that this will work and he calls the hotline, very willingly.
7. He is now told that he can of course transfer the tickets, but he must also give us a signed note along with the tickets, authorizing the transfer. He writes a note (see attached). But the note is signed by him, not the ticket purchaser, who female. So what good is the note? He is momentarily baffled by this logic.
8. I call the hotline- and am informed that all I need is a photocopy of the identity of the original purchaser.
9. We purchase the tickets.
10. Upon arrival at the stadium, the tickets agents give the tickets the briefest of glances and we waltz right!

Moral is: nothing in France is every truly explained in a satisfactory manner. Much business is conducted by mere speculation, and when a French citizen is asked to clarify a procedure, s/he will most likely give a vague, uncertain response. I have THOUSANDS more examples of this, but it is hard to explain unless you see it person! I am still baffled as to why the three sources we consulted about the ticket transfer (the website, and two separate phone staff) who all presumably worked for the same company, all had a different answer to the same question….

BUT THE MATCH WAS AMAZING AND WE HAD THE BEST TIME! The above experience was just a funny little anecdote along the way!

france traditions: center court, confusion, crepes

2008-06-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

today, we had another funny and wonderful day in paris. after sleeping 10 hours, natalie and i headed out to Roland Garros to see the women's finals of the French Open. the place is amazingly manicured and clean, and full of Euros in lacoste sneakers and sweaters (with additional sweaters tied around shoulders). we are basically living a mentos commercial.

oh, so we had some crazy ticket buying fiascos (see next blog by guest writer and hostess extraordinaire, natalie) but managed to get in. we got to our nose bleed seats, and enjoyed an energetic, very close match between safina and ivanovic - 2 women in the best shape i have ever seen. their arms were incredible, and they never stopped moving for a single second. it was a quick 2-0 match, then some trophy action and lots of cheering. we stayed to watch mens doubles (which a few folks slept thru, odd). next was happy hour! kir royales then to creperie des pecheurs (which looks like a ship inside) for brittany style savory crepes + nutella/banana crepes. dinner was followed by a stroll thru the packed/trendy/young st. michel, a ridiculous suset over the seine, a quick run thru notre dame, the marais, then back to the bastille and home. we are trying to get on normal paris time, but are a tad off today and i still getting over my cold, so we're now back at the apt attempting to watch cheesey french tv. i already wish i had more time here - so much to see and re-visit (and buy)!

bonjour, yinz.

2008-06-06T11:40:00.001-07:00

day 1:

i made it to paris in a haze but via an upgrade to biz class. my cold is better, hallelujah (but that may just be the robotussin talking). alex/natalie's apt near the Bastille is amazing....all in all, a nice start to the adventure!

today was classic france:
- saw a cool richard serra installation at the grand palais (see photo)
- ate a croque monsieur w/ some nice butter lettuces, drank real espresso (no milk)
- scoped out shops for princess tam tam bras/undies
- checked out the flagship Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Elysees (amazing shoes)
- bought tix for tomorrow's French Open women's final!
- looked at mid-century modern furniture shops (that Le Corbusier chaise lounger will be mine someday)
- had duck and profiterole for dinner/dessert
- remembered some 10th grade French words ("Voila!" "C'est not possible." "Combien?")
- found part of my soul, and appreciation for art again

can i just say i wish you all were here!?