Today is Father's Day. What better way to spend a hot, humid afternoon than on the last deck of sparkling new Busch Stadium? Shekar's family and ours were joined by Arun's friend Cyrus and his mom to watch the Cardinals battle the A's! Our own home team from the Bay Area - what a coincidence!! Murali and I were one of only 4-5 fans in the whole stadium who were supporting the A's.
Busch Stadium is awesome - the newly built facility seated over 40000 fans with plenty of room to spare. Many different seating levels, activities for kids (Build a bear factory), ice cold beer (served at your seat) took care of children, fathers and moms. The family behind us mentioned their parents lived in Sunnyvale - small world indeed. The afternoon ended very well with the A's beating the Cardinals 3-2, and Arjun losing his bet to Bear Uncle for an icecream treat.
Talking about a cold treat, we went looking for Ted Drewes, http://www.teddrewes.com/Drewes.asp, a Saint Louis "must visit" place. Their frozen custard treats are "out of this world", "awesomest" as described by Priya. Funny enough, Shekar's family & Priya ended up at a different location, not knowing there were two locations within the city. The cold, sweet custardy milkshake helped us cool down fast...I can see it becoming a stop next time as well.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Sky Zone, Stir Crazy
We relaxed at home today. Murali and Arun were tired after their hectic visit to the East Coast, and needed a day to recharge. Kids played various sessions of Wii, PS2 games. Shekar put up a fence around the vegetable garden with Arun's help. By 4:30pm, the younger three kids were restless and needed to get out of the house.
We visited Sky Zone,(http://www.skyzonesports.com/default.aspx) one of the newer indoor recreational centers, with heavy duty trampolines for jumping around! Arya, Arjun and Priya even played dodgeball, against a group of 6th graders. An hour of jumping was enough to get the three of them ravenously hungry, and singing songs about Pau Gasol (Lakers) to the tune of "Mary had a little lamb" with well timed roars in between. We could tell they were actually delirious with hunger by then.
Off we went to Stir Crazy - Priya polished off two orders of custom made noodles - a first so far. The service at this place was excellent; as Arya mentioned, there were no chinese staff in this mostly chinese food establishment!
We visited Sky Zone,(http://www.skyzonesports.com/default.aspx) one of the newer indoor recreational centers, with heavy duty trampolines for jumping around! Arya, Arjun and Priya even played dodgeball, against a group of 6th graders. An hour of jumping was enough to get the three of them ravenously hungry, and singing songs about Pau Gasol (Lakers) to the tune of "Mary had a little lamb" with well timed roars in between. We could tell they were actually delirious with hunger by then.
Off we went to Stir Crazy - Priya polished off two orders of custom made noodles - a first so far. The service at this place was excellent; as Arya mentioned, there were no chinese staff in this mostly chinese food establishment!
Saint Louis, Missouri
Woke up Thursday morning to a typical mid-western rain storm - with lightning. It pours constantly, in a steady stream, for a couple of hours. The herbs in the yard love it, and the grass is much more greener than California. Just as it started quietly, it ended around 10am and the day turned out quite nice after that.
I took Priya, Arjun and Arya to The Lodge, at Des Peres a great water recreation facility. The indoor wave pool had children and adults bobbing around in inflated rings. The outdoor fun included a lazy river, slides and water fountains that the kids enjoyed immensely.
I took Priya, Arjun and Arya to The Lodge, at Des Peres a great water recreation facility. The indoor wave pool had children and adults bobbing around in inflated rings. The outdoor fun included a lazy river, slides and water fountains that the kids enjoyed immensely.
Shekar mentioned that this is a more recent phenomenon - cities building recreational facilities and turning it over to professional management. The facility was very clean, and prices at the concession stand were extremely reasonable ($2 or less)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Appenzall Hike and Dinner in Austria
Most of my classmates arrived last night in St. Gallen. To acclimitize us with the weather and help with jetlag, our hosts had arranged for a hike in the beautiful Appenzall mountains. After a power breakfast, we set out by bus #5 to the trainstation, and it was then to Trojen, a town only accessible by narrow gauge trains. Murali and Priya were also able to join us on the hike, which made it even more enjoyable. It was almost 40 of us, including our university hosts. Travelling in a big group helped for conversations with anyone walking at your pace.....
The train climbed the hills dotted with small villages, with houses lining the tracks, offering vistas of Lake Constance in the far horizon, with the green countryside in the foreground. At Trojen, we set off on our hour long hike (two for huffing & puffing me..) to Gabris, through more of the rolling countryside dotted with cows, farms, and a single observatory! The reward at the top of the trailhead was lunch at a German restaurant, "Gasthaus", which served us macaroni with local Appenzeller cheese. Priya loved it!
The Appenzall region is quite different from the Alps we saw at Adelboden, or Murren or Gimmelwald. This is mostly rolling hill country, with none of the jagged peaks in the immediate vicinity. But it was lush, and peaceful.
The hike down was to a different town, Gais, and back by train / bus to St. Gallen.
Since Murali and Priya will be here for only one more day, we drove the short 15 mins into Austria, to have dinner at Cafe Konditorei, in the border town of Hochst. We have now been to four countries! The leek quiche (Lauch Quiche) was fantastic, and the locally produced Boutelle Weiss white wine was a good complement to the dinner.
Seeing a couple taking pictures of each other, Priya walked up to them and offered to take a picture of both of them. They were thrilled! We chatted a bit with them, and learnt about ways to explore the Lake Constance shoreline. People are very helpful, and take their time to explain their answers in great detail. It is a welcome treat!
The train climbed the hills dotted with small villages, with houses lining the tracks, offering vistas of Lake Constance in the far horizon, with the green countryside in the foreground. At Trojen, we set off on our hour long hike (two for huffing & puffing me..) to Gabris, through more of the rolling countryside dotted with cows, farms, and a single observatory! The reward at the top of the trailhead was lunch at a German restaurant, "Gasthaus", which served us macaroni with local Appenzeller cheese. Priya loved it!
The Appenzall region is quite different from the Alps we saw at Adelboden, or Murren or Gimmelwald. This is mostly rolling hill country, with none of the jagged peaks in the immediate vicinity. But it was lush, and peaceful.
The hike down was to a different town, Gais, and back by train / bus to St. Gallen.
Since Murali and Priya will be here for only one more day, we drove the short 15 mins into Austria, to have dinner at Cafe Konditorei, in the border town of Hochst. We have now been to four countries! The leek quiche (Lauch Quiche) was fantastic, and the locally produced Boutelle Weiss white wine was a good complement to the dinner.
Seeing a couple taking pictures of each other, Priya walked up to them and offered to take a picture of both of them. They were thrilled! We chatted a bit with them, and learnt about ways to explore the Lake Constance shoreline. People are very helpful, and take their time to explain their answers in great detail. It is a welcome treat!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Interlaken, Murren, Gimmelwald
Oh! what a day! Up in the Swiss Alps, taking cable cars, trains, buses, we traversed a very picturesque region of rolling green hills, towering peaks, busy farms to get a glimpse of Swiss mountain life.
But first, we walked through Interlaken, a small town between Lakes Thun and Brienze, with the River Aare flowing through it. Arun picked up his first camouflage Swiss Army knife, with his name engraved on it..We got up to the 18th floor of the Hotel Metropole and took pictures of the whole town from various angles, while sipping a cold Fanta and watching hang gliders land in a large field down below.
A short ride to the Lauterbrunnen cable car station, and we were on our way to Murren! Just as described in Rick Steve's tour book, Murren is indeed a magical place - a one street town, with no automobile traffic, milk carts that do home delivery, and set right in the middle of the hardy alpine farm community. By the time we got to Murren, it was after 3pm; the streets were deserted and made for even more leisurely ambling through town. A small side street branches off towards Gimmelwald, a few hundred meters below. We decided to take it.
But first, we walked through Interlaken, a small town between Lakes Thun and Brienze, with the River Aare flowing through it. Arun picked up his first camouflage Swiss Army knife, with his name engraved on it..We got up to the 18th floor of the Hotel Metropole and took pictures of the whole town from various angles, while sipping a cold Fanta and watching hang gliders land in a large field down below.
A short ride to the Lauterbrunnen cable car station, and we were on our way to Murren! Just as described in Rick Steve's tour book, Murren is indeed a magical place - a one street town, with no automobile traffic, milk carts that do home delivery, and set right in the middle of the hardy alpine farm community. By the time we got to Murren, it was after 3pm; the streets were deserted and made for even more leisurely ambling through town. A small side street branches off towards Gimmelwald, a few hundred meters below. We decided to take it.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
To Adelboden, through Geneva
It was time to do laundry, pack up and leave for Switzerland! We planned a stop at Geneva for a walking tour of the city, thanks to Rick Steves' and Frommers' book on Switzerland. Geneva appears to be a busy city, with multiple trams, trains, buses on the roadways. We spotted the first Starbucks in a week, and parked close by. Many of the famous Swiss watch companies had huge offices around the water front.
The Rick Steve guided walk started at the landmark Jet d'Eau, a fountain that sends water to a height of almost 453ft. We then passed by a park honoring Rousseau, and wound our way through old town Geneva, The Grand theatre, Opera House, and the Reformation Monument, representing Clavin, Knox, Beze, and Farel, the four Genevese reformers. The walk gave us a good sense of history, and a first glimpse at a big city in Switzerland. In the park there were many people playing chess and checkers moving the huge pieces with their feet!
The Rick Steve guided walk started at the landmark Jet d'Eau, a fountain that sends water to a height of almost 453ft. We then passed by a park honoring Rousseau, and wound our way through old town Geneva, The Grand theatre, Opera House, and the Reformation Monument, representing Clavin, Knox, Beze, and Farel, the four Genevese reformers. The walk gave us a good sense of history, and a first glimpse at a big city in Switzerland. In the park there were many people playing chess and checkers moving the huge pieces with their feet!
We drove through Lausanne, Bern, Frutigen to our vacation rental home in Adelboden, a world famous ski run during the winter time. Our chalet turned out to be a 2 bedroom apartment on a steep hill, accessible only by a flight of 109 stairs! The apartment itself was very well furnished, but the climb everyday was a good workout. Priya was thrilled to have a bunkbed to share with Arun and the IKEA furniture in the chalet was tastefully selected. We settled down for a comfortable night in Switzerland, after a dinner of warmed up frozen pizza and fresh Oberlander milk (2.5%)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Old Town Annecy, Thones, Lake Annecy
We decided to spend the last day of our visit to France locally - first, a visit to La Bolee Creperie for an authentic buckwheat crepe, done in Brittany style. Located on Rue Carnot, this place opens only at 11:30am, but is open until 11pm. Arun chose a Gourmandien, with Nutella, Bananas and whipped cream, Priya had the Chocolate Chantilly, and we tried the Spinach with cheese. It was fast, and presented elegantly. The kids loved it and vowed to go again for dinner..
We explored the many winding streets of Old Town, picking up souvenirs, and browsing the stores - hats, metal works, gourmet food shops, candy stores. Old Town gets very crowded - it is better to go early in the day.
We then drove to the town of Thones, to the Cheese Cooperative - a place where local farmers bring their homemade Reblochon cheese for sale. The cheese rounds are cured further in cellars at the cooperative. We watched many families make purchases of their favorite cheese in whole rounds or in fractions. The lady informed us we were late for the tour, but quickly drew the curtains in an adjoinging lecture hall, and ran the english version of a DVD showing how the cheese is produced......it was very informative. We bought a few small rounds to take back home.
We retraced our steps, rather miles, back to Annecy to spend some time on the lake. Renting a four person pedal boat, we spent the next hour and a half on the beautiful lake, swimming, treading water or just plain pedalling around, while enjoying ribbon murrukku and mysorepak! The water was clear and at a comfortable temperature, and on that day, it provided a great relief from the oppressive heat...
We finished off the day with a visit back to the ..... yes, the La Bolee Creperie, where Arun and Priya repeated their order, much to the delight of the wait staff.
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