The Best Mojito

An abundance of mint prompted me to perfect this refreshing drink. Mmmm.....heaven on a hot day. You'll swear you've taken a rocket run to the tropics - well, that's where the mojito originated!

Put a few ice cubes in a shaker glass, then add 4 or 5 fresh mint leaves. Fill shaker with ice.
Add 2 oz. Jamaican rum, 2 oz. fresh lemon-lime juice (equal parts fresh-squeezed lemon and fresh-squeezed lime), and a good splash of simple syrup. Shake, preferably to a reggae beat.
Pour all, including ice, into a tall glass. Top with club soda, and garnish with a sprig of mint and lime slices.
Adjust glam shades, apply sunscreen, and enjoy.

The Best Tom Collins

I read in the New York Times that commercial sweet & sour has ruined the taste of a classic Tom Collins, and it made me curious. Sweet & sour is really nothing more than fresh lemon juice (sour) plus simple syrup (sweet), so I gave the "real" thing a try:

Fill a tall glass with ice and add 1-1/2 oz gin (see Best Basil Gin Gimlet for Bar Tip about gin). Add the juice of a lemon (no seeds, of course) and 1/2 oz of simple syrup. Fill the glass with club soda and a generous squeeze of lime. Stir and sip.

It tastes amazing! And if you use vodka instead of gin, you have a John Collins.

Bar Tip: You can easily make your own simple syrup by bringing 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan. Simmer on low to medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool to room temperature before using. Keeps for a week in the refrigerator.

The Best Basil Gin Gimlet

I had an amazing gin gimlet the other day at Five, a new lounge in Berkeley. Julio the Bartender generously shared the secret with me:

In a shaker with ice, put 1-1/2 oz gin, 1-1/2 oz fresh lime juice and 1/2 oz simple syrup. Add 2 or 3 basil leaves that you have torn in half or thirds. Bruise, don't muddle, the leaves gently with the back of a bar spoon against the side of the shaker.

Shake briefly and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Sip and savor your tasty, frosty, refreshing drink!

Bar Tips:

• Fresh lime juice is crucial here; the plastic lime or Rose's won't do.
• There's a lot of difference in taste from one gin to another. You do have to use a good gin. There are many, but my fave is Tanqueray, which is around the mid-point of the expense continuum.

The Best Cadillac Margarita

I call the Margarita my specialty....here's how it's made:

Moisten the rim of a barrel glass with a cut lime, then dip in salt. Fill the glass with ice.

Add 1-1/2 oz tequila, 1/2 oz triple sec, 1-1/2 oz orange juice, and 1-1/2 oz sweet and sour (or substitute 1 oz fresh lemon juice and 1/2 oz simple syrup for the sweet and sour).

Stir, then float 1/2 oz Grand Marnier on the top and squeeze a wedge of lime.

Yum!

Bar Tip: Don't waste "sippin'" quality tequila on a mixed drink - save it for shots or sippin'. That said, a decent tequila is important even in a mixed drink. My fave is Zapopan Reposada, available at Trader Joe's for $9.99.

Hiking San Francisco

My boyfriend and I like to take visiting friends and family on a robust hike through some of San Francisco’s most famous neighborhoods. We teasingly call the experience The Forced March, and it is for our more fit friends. Join us, if you “fit” that description.

Start at the Ferry Building at Market and the Embarcadero On Saturday this is the site of the biggest and best farmers’ market in the Bay Area, where sustainably-grown and artisan food is nearly a religion. On other days the shops within the Ferry Building are well worth a stop. From Book Passage (books) to The Cowgirl Creamery (hand-made cheese), these shops are a temptation on their own. Pick up coffee and a pastry to fortify yourself for the hike ahead.

From the Ferry Building walk along the Embarcadero, past piers and shops and restaurants, to Fisherman’s Wharf. Notice the vintage streetcars clanging by on tracks in the center of the street. They’ve been salvaged from all over the world and many declare their city of origin on their colorful sides - Milan (orange), Melbourne (green and cream), Blackpool (cream and green with the open top) and San Francisco (gray and red). Watch out for runners, roller-skaters and skate-boarders as they throng the wide sidewalk.

Go right past Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf – we’ll save those tourist delights for another day – and continue until you reach Hyde Street. Turn left and a block up you’ll see the Cable Car turnaround and the Buena Vista Café across the street from it. The Buena Vista, fondly known as the BV, is the U.S. birthplace of Irish Coffee (black coffee, Jamison’s Irish Whiskey, sugar and a topping of special whipped cream), and it has been a local hangout since it opened in 1916. http://www.thebuenavista.com/. If you are thirsty after the long walk (1.9 miles or 3km from the Ferry Building), you may want to stop in. Don’t stay too long, though, because the fearsome Hyde Street hill stands before you.

Go straight up Hyde Street, and I do mean straight up at a 20.67% grade. This will feel a lot like mountain climbing, without the equipment. As you pause to catch your breath, don’t forget to turn around to catch the stunning view - San Francisco Bay is at your feet, the Golden Gate Bridge gleaming orange in the sunlight over sparkling blue water. Alcatraz Island rises out of the gentle waves, rocks and empty prison gleaming, with wooded Angel Island behind it. The white buildings of Aquatic Park and the Maritime Museum stand in sharp relief against the worn wood planks and pilings of Fisherman’s Wharf. If you listen closely, you may hear sea lions barking as they bask in the sun. It is a postcard moment, one of many to come.

When you finally reach the top of the hill at Lombard Street, turn left and zigzag down the crookedest street in the world, past red brick homes and flower boxes overflowing with red geraniums and purple bougainvillea. Cars inch along the steep curvy street beside you. This time walking is a lot easier than driving!

At Columbus Avenue a few blocks ahead, turn right. You’ve only trekked 0.7 mile (1.1 km) from the BV, but it seems longer, thanks to The Hill. Now the scene changes, from the crab and fish-scented shops and restaurants of Fisherman’s Wharf to the aroma of garlic and good olive oil. This is North Beach, the traditional center of San Francisco’s Italian community. There is no longer a beach in North Beach, although there was in the 1850’s when the neighborhood was a sunny stretch of shore along a finger of the Bay that extended inland. Today Saints Peter and Paul Church ahead and on your left, twin spires soaring 191 feet into the blue sky, is a landmark in the area. Choose one of the many wonderful Italian restaurants along Columbus and around Washington Square. I like Rose Pistola for the food, the Washington Square Bar and Grill for the bar and Molinari, the ultimate San Francisco deli, for panini (Italian grilled sandwiches). It’s lunchtime and you can’t go wrong with a dish of pasta and a glass of wine, or with a panini and San Pellegrino. Mangia!

After lunch wander down Columbus toward Grant Avenue. You’ll know you’re going the right direction if you’re walking toward the huge triangular building at the end of Columbus, the Transamerica Pyramid. Stay on Columbus a half-block past Grant to stop at City Lights Bookstore, co-founded and still co-owned by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, one of America’s most beloved poets and a central figure in San Francisco’s Beat generation of the 1950’s. It’s a fine independent bookstore and a wonderful place to browse and people-watch.

Now walk back the half block to Grant Avenue, turn left and enter a different world, Chinatown. It may seem hard to believe you’re still in San Francisco as Chinese is the predominant language spoken here. Ginger and sesame are in the air, barbequed meat hangs in shops, and stalls of unfamiliar fresh fruits and vegetables line the streets. Shopkeepers call out to friends and children play on the sidewalk. Cars and bicycles crowd the noisy street. Early Chinatown was populated primarily by men, so it was called a "Bachelor Society." It was a world without women or children, though many men were married with families in China, until the early part of the 20th century. The sound of the laughter of children is particularly sweet in this part of the City. Peer into the shops, enjoy the hustle and bustle. There are many temptations, but don’t buy too much to carry. There is one more hill to climb!

When you reach California Street, you’ve walked 1 mile (1.7 km) from lunch in North Beach. Turn right at California and walk up the hill to the top. You are on Nob Hill, the home of the rich and famous in old San Francisco. Today some of the City’s most storied and luxurious hotels are located here. You’ll pass the Stanford Court Hotel on the way up, and the Mark Hopkins and The Fairmont San Francisco at the top. Most of the mansions that used to crown Nob Hill were lost in the 1906 earthquake and fire, but one remains – the Flood mansion, just past The Fairmont on your right. James Cair Flood was a sugar magnate and his former home now houses the Pacific-Union Club, a private social organization. A block further on California Street, The Huntington Hotel stands on your left. The Big 4 Restaurant inside The Huntington is named for the great railroad barons whose mansions once adorned this hill – Leland Stanford, C.P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins and Charles Crocker, a.k.a. the Big Four – and its bar is an intimate clubby place to have a cocktail. Another good choice would be the Top of the Mark, on the 19th floor of the Mark Hopkins Hotel, for a 360-degree view of San Francisco.

You’ve walked another .3 mile (.6 km) since you left Chinatown for a total of 3.9 miles (6.4 km) for the day. You go!

When you’re ready, getting down the hill is easy. Just retrace your steps California Street to Powell Street and catch one of San Francisco’s famous Cable Cars down Powell to the center of the City at Union Square and Market. Or catch the California St. Cable Car anywhere on California back to the Ferry Building to return to your starting point. The cable car is $5 per person (their website says $3, but don’t believe it), and the conductor will take your payment once you board. You should have exact change.

You’ve gotten plenty of exercise, you’ve had good food and drink, you’ve been in Italy and China, and you’ve walked through a bit of history today. You’ve climbed “halfway to the stars” and ridden a “little cable car” down.

Perhaps you’ve even left your heart in San Francisco.


What & Where
Ferry Building & Farmer’s Market (1 Ferry Building, the Embarcadero at Market 415-693-0996)
Buena Vista Cafe (2765 Hyde St, 415-474-5044)
Rose Pistola (532 Columbus Ave, 415-399-0499)
Washington Square Bar & Grill (1707 Powell St, 415-433-1188)
Molinari Delicatessen (373 Columbus Ave, 415-421-2337)
City Lights Bookstore (261 Columbus Ave, 415-362-8193)
Stanford Court (905 California St, 415-989-3500)
Intercontinental Mark Hopkins/Top of the Mark (1 Nob Hill, 415-392-3434)
Fairmont Hotel San Francisco (950 Mason Street, 415-772-5000)
Hotel Huntington/ Big 4 Restaurant (1075 California St, 415-474-5400)

The Beach at West Edmonton Mall

They arrived in motor coaches from all over windswept central Canada - young and old, housewives and students, waitresses, drug store clerks, grandmothers and construction workers. In winter and in summer they came to the West Edmonton Mall to go to the beach, to sit under palm trees and sip umbrella drinks while waves broke on the sandy shore and heat baked their chilled bodies and warmed their spirits.

I was in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on business, hosted by the Edmonton Convention and Visitors Bureau. The West Edmonton Mall, one of Edmonton’s most significant assets, is a shopping mall spanning the equivalent of forty-eight city blocks under one roof. At the time I was there it was the largest shopping mall in the world. It housed more than 800 stores and restaurants, a full-size hockey rink where the Edmonton Oilers NHL team practiced, an amusement park with a fourteen-story triple-loop roller coaster, a fantasy hotel where you could sleep in the back of a pickup truck or on a raft in a lagoon, and a beach.

The beach was fashioned after Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. Long and curved, it was covered with soft white sand and real palm trees waving in a gentle breeze. Waves lapped lazily against the shore, unless there was a surfing contest scheduled. Then wave machines under the water produced six-footers and teenagers paddled out on their boards and rode the waves in. Tanning lights replaced the sun, and there was never the disappointment of a rainy day. The beach was surrounded by glass.

On this day I peered through the steamy glass wall of the beach. A motor coach began to unload and a stream of people wearing heavy coats crowded through the door, kids running and yelling and women shouting at them to slow down or they would slip and fall. I spoke with an older woman in a parka wearing sunglasses and carrying a plastic beach bag and a pillow.

“How do you like this beach?” I asked her. “Have you come here before?”

She nodded, a little cautious about talking to a stranger. “It’s a nice place, and a bit of sun does me good.”

“Is it just as good as a real beach? I guess we’re a long way from a real beach here.”

“Well, I know about real beaches, I can tell you! I flew the airplane to Mexico once. The sand fleas bit me to pieces and I got sick from the food. Never again! Here I can just get on the coach and I’m here in a couple of hours. I have friends on the coach and we play cards. It’s a break from the cold.”

“Do you stay here at the Mall then?”

“Yes, I’m going to sleep in the back of a pickup truck tonight!” She smiled, excited. “You know, they have those rooms in the hotel. Haven’t slept in a pickup truck since, well….since I was a young girl.”

Her smile was suddenly embarrassed and her shyness returned. She hurried through the door into the beach. Apparently the pickup truck brought back fond memories.

I chose to sleep on the raft in the lagoon, another illusion that was accomplished with mirrors and lavish creativity. Indeed much of the floor and the entire ceiling in my very large room were covered in mirrors. There was a six-foot waterfall into the rock hot tub next to the mirror lagoon my king-size bed sat on, with ferns and the sounds of tropical birds. No birds, though, just the sounds. It appeared it was going to be tricky getting into bed, but once I reminded myself that the water was a mirror I just “waded” in. Alas, I was there alone.


The next day, after buying more than I had intended, I went to the beach myself. As I settled under my palm tree, I noticed no one there was quite as white-skinned as I was – the tanning lights were on the job. A lovely young woman in shorts and a bikini top took my drink order and the strains of a slack-key guitar wafted through the air. The high notes of children on the waterslides at the far end of the beach tinkled in the distance, and added to, rather than disturbed, my tranquility. I sat back, looked around and said to myself, not bad. Not real, but not bad. An illusion of Hawaii, bringing some warmth to the windswept plains of central Canada.

Travel Tips: Airport Insider Tips

We all know that airports can be a hassle these days but a little planning, preparation and common sense can make a big difference. Try these tips to help you breeze right through.

Be Prepared
1. Arrive early. Beat stress and arrive at least 90 minutes before your flight departure, 2 hours early if traveling international. Airport check-in lines and security lines can easily eat up an hour and most airlines require you to be boarded 20 minutes before scheduled departure time in order to hold your seat reservation.

2, Allow extra time during holiday periods.

3. Bring state-issued identification, like a driver’s license or valid passport.

4. Bring a valid passport if you are traveling to an international destination. Yes, Mexico and Canada are international destinations.

5. Carry a photocopy of your driver’s license or your passport (the page with your name and photo on it) in your baggage. Wallets get lost or stolen, and a photocopy can come in handy if you need proof of identity to get ID replaced or just to get back into the airport to get home.

6. Be sure you’ve checked well ahead of time with your travel agent or airline to find out whether you need a visa to go to your international destination.

7. Use electronic ticketing whenever possible. You have no tickets to lose, misplace, or forget.

8. Check in online. You will need your reservation confirmation number, the one you got when you confirmed your reservation. Print your boarding document at home so you can go right to the security line rather than stand in the check-in or kiosk line. This works for U.S. domestic destinations only.

9. Pack light. Then take things out and pack lighter. Checked baggage costs money these days and the size of allowable carry-on baggage is limited. Besides, why hurt yourself?

10. Don’t put urgently needed items in your checked baggage. Examples are tickets, passport, cash, medicine, glasses, contact lenses, the only copy of your novel. Lost baggage happens.

11. Don’t take valuable jewelry or large sums of money, particularly in your checked baggage. It’s best to leave your good jewelry home in a safe deposit box.

12. Put your name and phone number on the outside, and on the inside, of your baggage. Do this for both checked and carry-on baggage.

13. Be reasonable about your carry-on baggage. Most airlines allow one MEDIUM roller-bag and one SMALL bag like a purse, computer bag, or small backpack. If you have a roller-bag, a computer bag and a purse, you will have to be able to put the purse into one of your other bags. See Item #9. Pack light.

14, You will be allowed to bring 3.5 oz containers of liquids, lotions and gels through Security, nothing larger, and the containers must be in a sealed quart-sized plastic baggie. The container must be 3.5 oz or less, whether or not the container is full is irrelevant. Don’t bring larger containers of liquids, lotions and gels unless you plan to put them in checked baggage.

15. Bring food. In general, airlines don’t feed you anymore and your food is better anyway. Sandwiches and fruit work, smelly food and foods with liquids don’t work. Food can be taken on the airplane in addition to your carryon baggage allowance.

16. Do not bring drinks. Buy water or other drinks at the airport, once you’re past Security screening (see item #14).

17. Bring a good book or something fun to do, just in case your plans are disrupted and you have to amuse yourself for while.

At the Airport

18. Pay attention. As you’re standing in line to check in, keep up with the people in front of you who are moving forward.

19. If you check baggage, keep your claim check in a safe place where you can find it. Lost baggage happens.

20. Don’t lock your checked baggage. If Security personnel need to check your luggage enroute, they will either break the lock or refuse to allow your bag to go.

21. As you’re standing in line for Security, have your ID and your ticket ready and listen for airport personnel who screen for passengers trying to make soon-to-depart flights. You might get to speed ahead.

22. Wear shoes that are easy to take off and put on. This will help you get through the security line faster.

23. Don’t joke or make any comment about anything having to do with Security, or explosives, or anything like that. Going to jail will cause you to miss your flight.

24. Smile. Relax. Attitude is everything, particularly when others around you are anxious or annoyed. Lines, and especially Security lines, make people anxious.

25. Wear shoes. Airlines require that you wear sandals at minimum in order to board.

26. Listen closely for announcements at the gate. It might be important stuff.

27. Stay with your carry-on bag.

28. If you see an unaccompanied bag sitting around, tell an airline employee or a Security person.

29. Don’t joke or make any comment about anything having to do with security, or explosives, or anything like that at the gate either.

30. Stay out of the bar. Or, if you have hours to wait, limit yourself to one drink and have something to eat. Drunks can be refused boarding. Equally lame, you could sit in the bar and miss your flight departure.

31. If your airline offers departure screens at the gate, read them.

32. If you don’t have an actual seat assignment (like 27A), check in with the gate agent.

33. Stay at the gate and listen to the announcements. It could be something important, like an offer of money for getting off an oversold flight.

34. If your flight is oversold and you are flexible, in other words you don’t have to be somewhere at exactly the time you scheduled, it can be worth your while to volunteer to get off and take the next flight. The airline will give you free money and/or a free ticket for future travel. Be sure they have space on a later flight that works for you before you commit.

35. Board when your row or zone is called.

36. If you wait until the last minute to board, the airline can give away your seat to a standby passenger.

Getting Onboard

37. Put your carryon on your seat and step in out of the aisle to let others pass if you can.

38. If you can’t step out of the aisle, stow your larger bag overhead as quickly as possible and step out of the aisle so others can pass. Wait until you’re out of the aisle before taking off your coat and stowing your small bag under the seat.

39. Do not change seats without asking a Flight Attendant if all the passengers have boarded.

40. Do not get up to take one more thing out of your stowed luggage until after takeoff.

41. Sit down, buckle up and stay down. The pilot is not allowed to back the airplane out of the gate until everyone is seated.

42. Don’t put anything important in the seat pocket in front of you, like your ticket/boarding pass. It’s too easy to forget when you leave the airplane.

43. Put open-top carry-on bags under the seat in front of you with the open top facing you. Many a treasured item has been lost falling out of an open bag either in the overhead rack where you can’t see, or under the seats ahead on takeoff or landing. On second thought, don’t take open-top bags that don’t zip shut.

When Things Go Oh, So Wrong

44. Pay attention. If the gate agent says your flight is delayed, listen to her entire announcement. Possibly she will tell you whether it will be a short delay or whether it’s going to call for action. Maybe she’ll even call your name to give you information about your connection.

45. If your flight is cancelled, listen carefully to the announcement at the gate. If arrangements have been made for a new flight, the agent will say so.

46. If your flight is delayed or cancelled and there is a long line in front of the agent, call your airline’s reservation office either from your cell phone or from direct lines in the gate area if your airline provides them. Reservations personnel can tell you what new arrangements have been made for you.

47. Stay calm. Panic and hysteria won’t help. Something will work out.

48. It’s usually better not to go back through the Security checkpoint to talk to an agent at the front check-in counter.

49. In the case of a delay, stay in or near the gate area unless other specific arrangements have been made for you by the gate agent. Sometimes a delay is not so long as anticipated, and if the plane is suddenly ready and you’re not there, it may leave without you.

50. Know what you need, but be flexible. When you talk to the agent, offer suggestions if an alternate destination airport will work. Cooperation is often reciprocal.

51. Communicate your situation calmly and clearly. Perhaps you are meeting your unaccompanied 10-year-old child at the other end. Perhaps you are giving an important presentation tomorrow morning. Don’t lie or exaggerate. Sometimes excellent ideas and solutions come out of chaos when the real bottom line concern is known.

52. Smile. Relax. Remember, Travel is an Adventure! Right?

The Beach at Southwold

The wind howls. The North Sea breaks onto the shore, spraying. The cold is penetrating. In fairness, the sun is out and the air is mild, but the wind is brutal. My turtleneck sweater and denim jacket are just warm enough.

There are sunbathers, unbelievably, although only one person is in the water – an older man bobbing around in the gray waves who must be frozen. He is not wearing a wetsuit, and his pale skin reflects the feeble sun. The sunbathers are picnicking inside windbreaker screens, in their swimsuits. Signs on a nearby kiosk advertise “rental windbreaks, beach chairs, towels and beach huts (£13)”. It is unclear whether the price will get you all the items on the list, or only the beach hut.

Wayne and I are in Southwold on the Suffolk Heritage Coast with our friends Gavin and Rosanne Kilbourn and their children Alex, who is also my godson, and Evie the Princess. Alex is 9 and Evie is 6. We are staying with the Kilbourns for a few days at their home in nearby Stowmarket before traveling on to Scotland. They are showing us the sights in their corner of England. Alex and Evie run on the beach, chasing birds and each other. Evie’s yellow pigtails fly in the wind. Gavin throws a rubber ball to them and they both chase it, laughing and screaming as it bounces toward the water. I look out over the frothing North Sea, imagining the land of my ancestors on the unseen other shore. I wonder if Norwegians sunbathe on a cold and windy North Sea beach.

Southwold is famous for its colorful beach huts. The pretty little boxes, some with porches, march along the walk above the beach on both sides of Southwold Pier, a tourist spot with a few shops and restaurants and a still-functioning 19th century Water Clock. Each of the brightly painted huts is tiny inside, consisting entirely of one room measuring 6’ x 8’ that opens on the beach side. These are not the rental huts, which appear to be the same size but don’t have porches and are all painted blue and white. The famous huts must be purchased, and they are hard to come by. They are not cheap, at £55,000 ($110,000 at this writing). You are allowed to use them from April to November, and you are not allowed to sleep in them. They are for day use only.

There are plenty of photos and paintings of the beach huts in the shops on the Pier. I take several photographs with my camera as an alternative to buying one.

“Why are these huts so hard to get?” I ask Rosanne. “They’re cute, but they’re so small. And is it ever really warm here?”
“Lucky you to have warm beaches! This is all we’ve got!” she replies with a laugh. “These beach huts are handed down from generation to generation, that’s why they’re so dear. It’s the old supply and demand – everyone wants one and no one ever gives them up.”

To be honest, our beaches aren’t all that warm in northern California, I admit to myself. But we certainly wouldn’t spend that kind of money for a 6’x 8’ box you can’t even sleep in on a frigid blowing-sand beach, would we?

This summer it has rained constantly in East Anglia, clearing only these last three weeks. It is mid-September, and there are lots of people on the beach and on the Pier, even though this is not beach weather to a Californian. It proves that beach weather is relative, and that people will seek out a beach experience whenever the weather is better than usual, as it is today.

Leaving the beach, we all walk through the little town, stopping to admire the architecture and the occasional thatched home. The children and Wayne climb on the bronze cannon in a corner park. We browse in shops, and lunch on very fresh fish and chips with local beer.

We return to the seashore, though, because it is most interesting. As I reflect on bronze California beach bodies leaping for volleyballs in the hot sun, a frigid shard of wet kelp blows across my leg and laughter comes from a nearby beach hut.