Gone Fishing...

Well, not quite. But I am applying to graduate school so I'll be away working on that for the next month or so. Thanks to anyone who may be reading. Enjoy the holidays!

~Tara

Hello from Space

"Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you are"
-Felix Baumgartner

Earth from space. Photo Credit: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive

For those of you who haven't seen the video of Felix Baumgartner, skydiver and daredevil, skydiving from 24 miles above Earth's surface, it's phenomenal. The view was beautiful and I cannot even fathom what it was like to be him staring down at the earth like that. Greatest travel news of the year, I must say.

Also, the Lego version.


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Tiny plane flying somewhere fun?

Alas, no trips last weekend as I'd hoped. However, the world did come to me this week in the form of Bill Clinton. We waited longer than anticipated for him to speak and the sun was very hot, but it was fun; former presidents don't often visit our quaint city.


Other than that I've been dreaming of visiting family in Germany. Hanging out in my small hometown, visiting castles, and eating great food. Here is a window into my mind:

 

Waffles...

...and castles...

...and beautiful churches that wake you up with their bells...

...and the Mosel river....

...and beautiful old windows...

...and wine...

...quirky festivals...

...and gummy bears!

To where have you been dream-traveling? 

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Happy Weekend! Some Winks...

Madrid, 2007

Hello, again. Just a few weekend links this Friday, and next week I will share some very pretty photos of Arizona! Also, fall has officially arrived in Northern California. Bring on the pumpkins and sweaters.

-The world in photos from this week and postcards from future cities

-Safari in Botswana with Truffle Pig

-Paris Fashion week from Hip Paris and with Garance Doré via video (because I can't get enough of her blog)

-Adele's "Skyfall" (the international man of mystery definitely belongs on a travel blog)

-Concrete Circus

-Make a butternut apple tart or crepes ten different ways this weekend
 

Enjoy the weekend! 


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Animals, Adventures, & Books--Oh my!

I haven't managed any trips recently, but this week, inspired by J.K. Rowling's new book, I began rereading "Harry Potter"--which is like a little vacation to childhood. "Harry Potter" then made me think back to other fun adventure stories from my elementary school years like the adorable (but probably not PETA approved) movie, "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." Remember Milo and Otis?

Chocolate bunny holding a sign that reads "on strike." From the 2008 strikes in Strasbourg France.

A book I read recently, "The Year of the Hare," is a similarly whimsical adventure story about animals (OK, an animal and a man) aimed at an older audience. Written by Arto Paasilinna, "The Year of the Hare," was republished for an American audience at the end of 2010. It's a lovely book about a journalist, Vatanen, who quits his job and leaves his wife to nurse an injured hare back to health while they travel Finland. Though the premise is simple and the book a quick read, Paasilinna manages to to fill the few pages with many insights, intelligent metaphor, and adventure.

Pico Iyer wrote an amusing and characteristically sapient review of "The Year of the Hare" in December of 2010:

"Which of us has not entertained that deliciously seditious notion: to do a Gauguin? To slip away for a while from everything that sounds so important—a steady job, a settled home, a regular salary—and go off in search of adventure, restoration, fun?...When Mr. Paasilinna's novel appears in this country for the first time next month, it might just prove the perfect way into the actual Year of the Hare, which begins, according to many an Eastern calendar, in January."

What adventure or travel stories/books have you been reading? 


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Maps

sdfI hope your week is moving along at a good clip--or moving slowly if that's how you prefer it.

I've been seeing a lot of maps (and frankly, hearing too much about iPhone maps) lately and wanted to share some particularly beautiful and playful prints by Michael Tompsett. I came across them on English Muse and agree that they "are so lovely they transcend simply exchanging information." Maps and map art are great because they remind me to keep perspective and are a fun way to reimagine space. I love observing how large the world actually is (continents are not always what they seem), how many other people there are, and how much I have yet to see and learn.

Michael Tompsett

Michael Tompsett

Michael Tompsett

Michael Tompsett

(Michael Tompsett's work on Esty)

 What travel related things have been on your mind these days?


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Winks

Photo by Lyntha Scott Eiler (from the National archives)

It's the Weekend! Woot! My mom is out on Lake Powell (above)--a reservoir on the Arizona-Utah border--where she's spending the weekend on a houseboat as a wedding photographer! I'm sad I couldn't join her for the trip, but I know she'll bring back beautiful photos that I I'll share next week. (Funny fact: the happy couple just found out that since they will be straddling the states' borders, and they will stepping over into Utah the day of their wedding, they'll need a Utah marriage license. So Yesterday they had to hurry off to get a new license!) Also, it's going to be 99 here in NorCal on Sunday. Summer won't quit.

Now for some weekend links to keep you company until next week:

• Oktoberfest is ON! For the 179th year!
• "The World's Coolest Bus Stops" by GOOD
• Dance and clean--or just dance to Hey Champ this weekend
• Don't want to clean? You'll be chillin' in your PJs all day? Then Michael Kiwanuka is your guy
• A Cozy Kitchen brings us her best fall recipes
• Make your own spa day with this DIY perfume recipe/video by L.A. in Bloom
• Ode to ice-cream: Italy opens new ice-cream museum
• Gorgeous Antelope Canyon shots and make-you-want-to-hop-on-a-plane-now photos of Bali by Hither and Thither 
• Finally, some feel-good words via A Cup of Jo

Happy weekend!

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Armchair Travel Tuesdays

Arthur's Seat                                                          

All of my favorite blogs are posting about the coziness of fall, but here in Northern California it's still over 90 degrees! I too am really looking forward to wearing a few more layers and riding my bike without looking like a wet mop by the time I arrive at my destination. To me, Scotland is one place that lives and breathes cozy. I love its dusty skies, good tea, pretending to enjoy its throat-warming (and burning) whisky, and swoon-inducing accents--à la James McAvoy. Just the thought of Edinburgh makes me want to curl up with some tartan blankets and read Alexander McCall Smith (McCall Smith is the brilliant scottish author of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and so much more). 

View of Princes Street from Edinburgh Castle

Pretty Edinburgh doors

My Scotland-fever began a few weeks ago when I watched two British movies in a row and started to long for the striking green hills. The first film was The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down A Mountain--starring a very young, glossy-haired Hugh Grant in a Welsh town--and the other was The Decoy Bride--starring the endearing David Tennant of the Doctor Who fame. The Decoy Bride was filmed in Glasgow and on the Isle of Man (but takes place on a fictional Scottish island called Hegg). Despite what the BBC said about the movie, and even if you're not a Tennant fan, the accents and gorgeous landscape make it more than enjoyable.

View from Arthur's Seat

Another view from Arthur's Seat

I've been lucky enough to visit Scotland once. I traveled to Edinburgh two years ago with one of my best friends from college and stayed with a friend who was studying at the University there. I had a fabulous time sipping tea, eating scones, and not drinking whisky straight out of the bottle with my friend's dorm mates. I was there around Burns day and you could smell the haggis on every block, however, I wasn't feeling adventurous enough to try it or the vegetarian version.

I did however partake in "brews"--communal tea drinking breaks where people bring their own mugs and teas to share--some whiskey drinking (out of my own glass), and the usual touristy stuff. We hiked Arthur's Seat, brunched at the Elephant House--the "birthplace of Harry Potter"--and danced in a Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) with men in kilts. I would love to go back and see the countryside and after reading McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series I feel like I know the streets of Edinburgh even better now.

What places have you been itching to visit or revisit? Or where have you been visiting via your TV, books, or computer?

Want more Scotland?

• Beautiful photos of fall in Scotland (via Fergie & Fife)
• Anthropology has a great Scottish themed Pinterest board 
• Scones, Shortbread, and tea, oh my!
• Tartan blankets
• IMDb's guide to Scottish movies 
• A history of tartan and Glasgow and Edinburgh city guides from DesignSponge

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Winks (Weekend Links)

It's finally Friday! And, it's fall tomorrow.

Here's a late, but hopefully entertaining list of Weekend/end of the week links. Any plans for the first day of fall? I plan on enjoying the temperate weather and making pumpkin soup.

-PUMPKIN everything!

-Fall into autumn decorating and guide to seeing the pretty leaves in New England

-Summer sunsets

-Fancy some armchair travel and great food? My Berlin Kitchen is finally in here! And she's on tour!

-Pretty pictures and a food blogging conference in London...that would be fun!

-Need a weekend playlist? Monocle streams international music

-Fig, Hazelnut, and Ricotta Crostinis...need I say more?

-Pretty California Poems Scarf

-Two great songs for a mellow Sunday: Jessie Ware and Emiliana Torrini

Have a great weekend!

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Clear skies

Happy Tuesday!

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Hello World and Goodbye Summer

Hello!

Welcome to my first post!

In honor of the blog's central theme--California--my first dispatch is about one of the Golden State's gorgeous beaches: Stinson Beach. On Saturday I hit the beach with high hopes, good company, and my camera. Here's what you can look forward to at the beach during the summer (the beach is beautiful during the fall and winter too, but expect more fog and bring a sweater!).

The water is icy, but you can still spot a few fearless, wetsuit-clad surfers enjoying the waves. Though, given there was a great white shark sighting in 2011 I don't know if I'd ever do more than put my feet in the water.

Here's how I recommend passing the time at Stinson:

• Arrive early if you go during the summer. On weekends and particularly hot days there can be lines of cars down the mountain.

• Lie on the beach! With sunscreen, books, and coconut water (or something else beachy)--or champagne like some classy beachgoers we saw. People bring tents and what look like five-course picnics to the beach.

• Walk: there are beautifully rugged rocks at the south end of the beach where you can look at mussels and other sea creatures and pretend you're a land-bound Jacques Cousteau.

• Wade along the shore until you can't feel your feet anymore.

• Buy a towering soft-serve ice cream with colorful sprinkles from the Parkside Snack Bar like you are 6-year-old on summer break.

• Take pictures of family or friends while they nap and then threaten to put the pictures on Facebook when you get home unless they buy you more ice cream.

Where are your favorite beaches?

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