Tonight we're trying a new cat food: Indoor 27 which is supposed to be lower in calories and help reduces the smell when our dear cats' pee (not sure it will make a difference but we can always give it a shot).
Before feeding them with this new dry food we had to weigh the cats. If we feed them with "diet" dry food, we need to make sure they get the right quantity.
Wolfram got the scale and I stepped on it with Mokka. Verdict: 4.5kg :( I had the feeling she was growing fat... now I have evidence of it.
Muffin on the other hand tried to play it smart and rushed to the loo first. Therefore he only weighs 4.2 kg.
I don't even want to think of what the vet will say...
Of course new food was gone in no time and 1 hour later, Mokka was already asking for more food. This cat is a non-stop eating machine with 4 legs :)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
I start to worry
Since we've bought the new TV we cannot help notice that we need a better piece of furniture to put it on. Ideally with spots for the DVD player, the Wii and the cable box. Even more ideally with closed compartments where we can put all the DVDs. I'm not a big fan of having a rainbow of DVDs piled up and given the number we have it looks pretty messy (to my taste).
A couple of months ago we made a trip to Ikea looking for something and came back empty handed. Nothing fitting the challenging list of our criteria and tastes and wishes for the style of the living room.
Today we gave it another shot and went to a furniture shop along the A12 spotted some time ago. Getting there was not straightforward as we didn't remember exactly where it was but after driving all the way to Antwerp and back (we missed it) we finally arrived.
Shop was big (3 floors) and selection looked good. We started to walk around spotting a few pieces here and there. But no price. It's one of these shops where they don't see the value of putting price tags. They expect you to ask a salesperson for the price. When we finally did it, a lady came with the catalog and a calculator. Apparently she had to calculate the price. Just 2000 Euros or so for a TV furniture. Nicely she offered 15% discount. Still, way toooooooooo expensive for us. I enjoyed browsing in the place but honestly if we had known the prices we would have saved time. Especially as the furniture was definitely not worth so much money.
Pissed off we drove to Woluwe Shopping Center to check out Habitat. Another waste of time, they didn’t even have anything suitable.
This afternoon leaves me with a scary feeling: where will we find TV furniture of decent quality at a decent price? Something tells me we’ll have to cross a border or 2.
PS: to bring back a smile on Wolfram’s face, he bought himself a Nespresso machine. For months he’s been talking about it, now it’s standing in the kitchen and it's red.
PS2: on top we bought the Tupperware cheese box we talked about with my parents last week-end. Next time they come and bring half the cheese of France, we’re ready!
A couple of months ago we made a trip to Ikea looking for something and came back empty handed. Nothing fitting the challenging list of our criteria and tastes and wishes for the style of the living room.
Today we gave it another shot and went to a furniture shop along the A12 spotted some time ago. Getting there was not straightforward as we didn't remember exactly where it was but after driving all the way to Antwerp and back (we missed it) we finally arrived.
Shop was big (3 floors) and selection looked good. We started to walk around spotting a few pieces here and there. But no price. It's one of these shops where they don't see the value of putting price tags. They expect you to ask a salesperson for the price. When we finally did it, a lady came with the catalog and a calculator. Apparently she had to calculate the price. Just 2000 Euros or so for a TV furniture. Nicely she offered 15% discount. Still, way toooooooooo expensive for us. I enjoyed browsing in the place but honestly if we had known the prices we would have saved time. Especially as the furniture was definitely not worth so much money.
Pissed off we drove to Woluwe Shopping Center to check out Habitat. Another waste of time, they didn’t even have anything suitable.
This afternoon leaves me with a scary feeling: where will we find TV furniture of decent quality at a decent price? Something tells me we’ll have to cross a border or 2.
PS: to bring back a smile on Wolfram’s face, he bought himself a Nespresso machine. For months he’s been talking about it, now it’s standing in the kitchen and it's red.
PS2: on top we bought the Tupperware cheese box we talked about with my parents last week-end. Next time they come and bring half the cheese of France, we’re ready!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
We're home!
It's 9am, flight was bad but early which lead to waiting the luggage for 45min :( but we're home.
Kittens are fine and we hope happy to see us.
It's time to unpack, empty the suitcase, do the laundry, go grocery shopping, call home, go to the doctor for me, sort the mail, start working on the blog.... anything that will keep you awake until 8pm to beat the jet lag.
Kittens are fine and we hope happy to see us.
It's time to unpack, empty the suitcase, do the laundry, go grocery shopping, call home, go to the doctor for me, sort the mail, start working on the blog.... anything that will keep you awake until 8pm to beat the jet lag.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Flying back :(
After 3 weeks in the US, it was time to go back home. To really appreciate vacation, one has to limit their duration, sadly.
So one last time, we woke up at an impossible early hour and left the house by 6am. We had said good night to the kids the night before and even received gifts from them. So sweet.
We drove to San Francisco, dropped the car at Avis, left behind Bernhard in the shuttle as he was going to another terminal, and finally dropped our luggage.
While queuing at security check we couldn't help noticing that service in the US is not what it used to be. Maybe Europe is catching up and the gap is not as big as before. Maybe after experiencing service in Asia anywhere else is poor. Nevertheless, this security check was one of the most inefficient one have seen (and I have seen a lot in the past 3 years) with crew people keeping pushing through.
After this painful security check, the unfriendliness of the Delta people at the counter didn't improve our mood, especially mine.
The Delta staff was:
1- not listening. it was like "yeah, yeah, keep talking, I don't care"
2- Incompetent. At least one lady acknowledge she didn't know how to add a frequent flyer number in the system (should be basic, no?)
3- not listening and not caring: even worse
We couldn't get the emergency row because they are reserved for their Medallion members. Apparently being Elite Plus from Sky Team is 2nd category even though Delta is part of Sky Team. I was highly disappointed especially with my back already hurting. But above all, would this lady have said it with a smile and a little "sorry" I would have accepted it much better than her unfriendliness.
We did have a good laugh when we opened the Delta magazine on board:
Especially the last sentence: "we won't rest until each one of them is as convenient, comfortable, and hassle-free as possible".
Clearly there is room for improvement.
The strange thing is that Delta is not a low cost airline but:
- you do have to pay for any alcoholic beverages
- headsets will cost you 2$
- any movie or show will also cost you money
- food is not for free either.
The best part is that "now" you can check in 1 bag for free. It used to be 2 bags for free, no?
I wonder, why flying Delta for domestic US flights? what benefit do I get vs. a low cost airline? at least when I fly Ryan Air, I know what to expect.
Wolfram was always complaining that the flight attendants on Delta were old (understand there not young and sexy) and to be fair, the average age of the crew was clearly above 50. Doesn't have to be bad if they were nice but whenever you ask something it's like disturbing them. Maybe it's just Delta atmosphere given all the financial trouble they've been through.
The worse part was actually to come. The aircraft for the Atlanta - Brussels flight was a Boeing 767, an old one. Overhead compartment was small, very small, so small some people couldn't fit their trolley...
AND we didn't have our own TV with the full in-flight entertainment program.
Like the lady sitting behind nicely said "what are we going to do without movies and games?" Good question.
That's how I ended up watching Karate Kid (2010), one of the worse movie ever and finished my book.
Next time, I will consider twice before flying Delta.
Next time, I will fly via Amsterdam or Paris instead of a connection in the US and directly arriving in Brussels. The more I think of it the more I'm sure next time I'll fly KLM or Air France and not Delta.
So one last time, we woke up at an impossible early hour and left the house by 6am. We had said good night to the kids the night before and even received gifts from them. So sweet.
We drove to San Francisco, dropped the car at Avis, left behind Bernhard in the shuttle as he was going to another terminal, and finally dropped our luggage.
While queuing at security check we couldn't help noticing that service in the US is not what it used to be. Maybe Europe is catching up and the gap is not as big as before. Maybe after experiencing service in Asia anywhere else is poor. Nevertheless, this security check was one of the most inefficient one have seen (and I have seen a lot in the past 3 years) with crew people keeping pushing through.
After this painful security check, the unfriendliness of the Delta people at the counter didn't improve our mood, especially mine.
The Delta staff was:
1- not listening. it was like "yeah, yeah, keep talking, I don't care"
2- Incompetent. At least one lady acknowledge she didn't know how to add a frequent flyer number in the system (should be basic, no?)
3- not listening and not caring: even worse
We couldn't get the emergency row because they are reserved for their Medallion members. Apparently being Elite Plus from Sky Team is 2nd category even though Delta is part of Sky Team. I was highly disappointed especially with my back already hurting. But above all, would this lady have said it with a smile and a little "sorry" I would have accepted it much better than her unfriendliness.
We did have a good laugh when we opened the Delta magazine on board:
Clearly there is room for improvement.
The strange thing is that Delta is not a low cost airline but:
- you do have to pay for any alcoholic beverages
- headsets will cost you 2$
- any movie or show will also cost you money
- food is not for free either.
The best part is that "now" you can check in 1 bag for free. It used to be 2 bags for free, no?
I wonder, why flying Delta for domestic US flights? what benefit do I get vs. a low cost airline? at least when I fly Ryan Air, I know what to expect.
Wolfram was always complaining that the flight attendants on Delta were old (understand there not young and sexy) and to be fair, the average age of the crew was clearly above 50. Doesn't have to be bad if they were nice but whenever you ask something it's like disturbing them. Maybe it's just Delta atmosphere given all the financial trouble they've been through.
The worse part was actually to come. The aircraft for the Atlanta - Brussels flight was a Boeing 767, an old one. Overhead compartment was small, very small, so small some people couldn't fit their trolley...
AND we didn't have our own TV with the full in-flight entertainment program.
Like the lady sitting behind nicely said "what are we going to do without movies and games?" Good question.
That's how I ended up watching Karate Kid (2010), one of the worse movie ever and finished my book.
Next time, I will consider twice before flying Delta.
Next time, I will fly via Amsterdam or Paris instead of a connection in the US and directly arriving in Brussels. The more I think of it the more I'm sure next time I'll fly KLM or Air France and not Delta.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Shopping in the US is always nice
I like shopping in the US for many reasons:
- they have sales all year long. If you manage well you never pay the full price.
- they have outlets where you can get premium brands for cheaper.
- exchange rate between Euro and Dollar is definitely in my favour (another 15-30% down).
- they have some brands that we don't have in Europe (like Nine West or Banana Republic)
On top it was Labor Day week-end which meant special sale such as "take an extra 41% off". Hard to resist.
And indeed we spent quite sometime shopping which was not not always obvious why:
Not only did we make good deals, the best one being 2 trousers for me for 25$, but on top I confirmed my volume loss by buying clothes one size smaller. Always a good feeling.
- they have sales all year long. If you manage well you never pay the full price.
- they have outlets where you can get premium brands for cheaper.
- exchange rate between Euro and Dollar is definitely in my favour (another 15-30% down).
- they have some brands that we don't have in Europe (like Nine West or Banana Republic)
On top it was Labor Day week-end which meant special sale such as "take an extra 41% off". Hard to resist.
And indeed we spent quite sometime shopping which was not not always obvious why:
"Shopping again? you've just been there" Tatjana
Cleverly we had brought clothes and shoes which only had a one way ticket, i.e. the plan was to throw them away and get new ones. So we worn out some t-shirts, trousers and shoes to have enough space to put new ones.Not only did we make good deals, the best one being 2 trousers for me for 25$, but on top I confirmed my volume loss by buying clothes one size smaller. Always a good feeling.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I'm too often cold
With the air conditioning in the buildings, shops, restaurants, etc. in the US I find myself too often being cold. I now systematically bring a sweater when we go inside as I know I will get cold instantaneously or within 15min.
Fair enough it's warm or even hot outside, but does that justify getting people to freeze once they are inside?
On top I cannot help thinking that with only 1-2C more in the buildings, a lot of energy would be saved. It would cost less and even be better for the planet.
Or is it a strategy from the clothing industry to get you to buy sweaters even when it's 30C outside?
Fair enough it's warm or even hot outside, but does that justify getting people to freeze once they are inside?
On top I cannot help thinking that with only 1-2C more in the buildings, a lot of energy would be saved. It would cost less and even be better for the planet.
Or is it a strategy from the clothing industry to get you to buy sweaters even when it's 30C outside?
Friday, September 10, 2010
Marin Headlands...
... or the best spot to have view on the Golden Gate Bridge.
PS: I drove on the Golden Gate bridge, back and forth. Unbelievable!
PS: I drove on the Golden Gate bridge, back and forth. Unbelievable!
Alcatraz
We left Google for San Francisco where we were scheduled to take a boat to go to Alcatraz. Note that you should book in advance your tickets as the boats are pretty much all sold out. when you show up on the day itself.
I knew Alcatraz because of the movie with Clint Eastwood and I find it so cool to visit the place. I don't know why but I find it fascinating to visit the prison where no one can escape from (in theory).
After a short boat trip (10-15min or so), a glimpse on the Golden Gate bridge and fog coming into the bay (seems like the fog is following us), we arrived at Alcatraz.
No kidding on Acatraz Island, obviously.
After a short brief by one of the ranger we quickly walked uphill to start the visit of the prison itself.
Setting the tone as you enter the prison building itself.
The shower room as been converted as entrance where visitors can get an audio guide.
The audio guide is honestly the best one I ever had. I usually avoid audio guides as in most cases they don't say more than what is written on the sign already. In Alcatraz however the tour is given by former inmates sharing how they experience the prison. It makes a huge difference as now it's not just some description but testimony from the people who actually lived in the prison. Extremely powerful way of creating the atmosphere and sharing with you how it was to be locked in in Alcatraz.
When you arrive in Alcatraz as an inmate, you get a cell (notice the limited space) and the copy of the rules in the prison. Those rules you'd better stick to.
There were 4 cell blocks in the prison. Cells in B and C blocks (336 cells, see above and below) were considered "general population"
The bad guys on the other hand would spend quality time in the D block, also known as Isolation.
No kidding in the D block as that's where were the cells without any light, where you as a visitor can get into. Audio guide then asks you to close your eyes and imagine how it would feel to spend days in the dark, how you can start hallucinating and hearing sounds. Scary...
During the tour we also get to hear the story of the battle of Alcatraz and how some inmates managed to get hold of THE key that would give them access to the gun gallery. A massive fight occurred and ended up with several guardians killed as well as the rebelling inmates.
To pass time, inmates would read from the library, play music or paint. Each of these activities had to be earn by the inmates. Nothing is for free in Alcatraz.
If you were lucky you would have a cell with a "view" on San Francisco or the bay.
Alcatraz closed in 1963 and everything is pretty much in the conditions as when it was closed, especially the control room. When you see it, you recognize it from the movie (I guess it's more the other way around).
Hungry, here is the kitchen. I heard spaghetti's were good :)
Last but not least, see how Morris (alias Clint Eastwood) escaped from Alcatraz. They expanded the ventilation hole and used dummies to give the illusion they were sleeping. Very very smart. Nobody knows what happened to those 3 inmates: did they drown? are they somewhere in Latin America enjoying a nice life? It will remain a mystery. That's probably one of the reasons why Alcatraz is fascinating.
Alcatraz island is also known for its gardens that serve as home for many birds. Some of these gardens were created and maintained by the inmates. The other by the correctional officers' wives.
I knew Alcatraz because of the movie with Clint Eastwood and I find it so cool to visit the place. I don't know why but I find it fascinating to visit the prison where no one can escape from (in theory).
When you arrive in Alcatraz as an inmate, you get a cell (notice the limited space) and the copy of the rules in the prison. Those rules you'd better stick to.
Lunch at Google
This morning we took it easy, i.e. woke up only at 7am or so with the kids. After a quiet morning dedicated to update our respective blogs (aren't we soooo behind), we drove to Google.
Today we're having lunch at Google! Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, the one and only Google.
After a brief introduction, Bernhard gave us freedom to go get our food. Food at Google if for free for employees. Equipped with a tray, one just need to decide what he wants to eat:
- Chinese
- Italian (pizza and pasta)
- Salad
- Sushi
- Mexican
- Indian
- Sandwiches
- Deserts
- Drinks
- the one stand I'm sure I forgot in my list.
The selection is so wide that when you've never been there before it's overwhelming. I guess over time you get to know what's there and pretty much decide what you want to eat before arriving.
By the way there are several cafeterias on the site to feed everybody.
I'd love to work in a company that provides free lunch (and breakfast and dinner) without compromising on the quality.
Stomachs full, Bernhard gave us THE tour.
The one thing I noticed is that there is a kitchen every 2min walk any direction you go. Those kitchen provides a selection of food and drinks. Enough to feed a whole army. Clearly there is no way you could be hungry or thirsty in the place.
We've passed through several huddle rooms as well as several areas where lecturers would come. We of course didn't miss to notice the Beach Volley area and the swimming pool (that one was strangely small as you swim against the current so no need of a large pool).
For some mysterious reasons, some of the toilet seats are from Japan and are heated. Weird, I know, but common in Japan. At least you get a warm seat where you can spend quality time reading the info posted on the door. One should never waste time.
Today employees could also get the oil of their car checked and changed if needed as well as get a haircut on site. A truck was standing in front of one of the buildings and anyone can just show up, get their hair cut and get back to work. Why don't we have this?
They also have laundry rooms for those who don't have a washing machine at home, but to be fair, there is no company on this planet that can beat ours in number of washing machines on site.
We stopped by the Google store and bought pencils for my sister. Wolfram got himself a Blogger T-shirt :)
By the way, in case you wonder, in this amazing working place, there were also people working on.... computers! I know how surprising :)
Today we're having lunch at Google! Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, the one and only Google.
After a brief introduction, Bernhard gave us freedom to go get our food. Food at Google if for free for employees. Equipped with a tray, one just need to decide what he wants to eat:
- Chinese
- Italian (pizza and pasta)
- Salad
- Sushi
- Mexican
- Indian
- Sandwiches
- Deserts
- Drinks
- the one stand I'm sure I forgot in my list.
The selection is so wide that when you've never been there before it's overwhelming. I guess over time you get to know what's there and pretty much decide what you want to eat before arriving.
By the way there are several cafeterias on the site to feed everybody.
I'd love to work in a company that provides free lunch (and breakfast and dinner) without compromising on the quality.
Stomachs full, Bernhard gave us THE tour.
The one thing I noticed is that there is a kitchen every 2min walk any direction you go. Those kitchen provides a selection of food and drinks. Enough to feed a whole army. Clearly there is no way you could be hungry or thirsty in the place.
We've passed through several huddle rooms as well as several areas where lecturers would come. We of course didn't miss to notice the Beach Volley area and the swimming pool (that one was strangely small as you swim against the current so no need of a large pool).
For some mysterious reasons, some of the toilet seats are from Japan and are heated. Weird, I know, but common in Japan. At least you get a warm seat where you can spend quality time reading the info posted on the door. One should never waste time.
Today employees could also get the oil of their car checked and changed if needed as well as get a haircut on site. A truck was standing in front of one of the buildings and anyone can just show up, get their hair cut and get back to work. Why don't we have this?
They also have laundry rooms for those who don't have a washing machine at home, but to be fair, there is no company on this planet that can beat ours in number of washing machines on site.
We stopped by the Google store and bought pencils for my sister. Wolfram got himself a Blogger T-shirt :)
By the way, in case you wonder, in this amazing working place, there were also people working on.... computers! I know how surprising :)
US Top 10 songs on the road
We've spent quite some time on the road while in the US. Obviously the drive from Death Valley to Grand Canyon and from San Jose to Yosemite gave us the opportunity to spend hours on the US highways and listen to the radio as well for hours. And guess what? if you choose not to listen to Country style music (like us), you will end up listening to the US Top 40 songs one way or another. It is then very likely that you will hear, very often, maybe even every hour or so, the below 10 songs:
- Dynamite by Taio Cruz
- Love The Way You Lie by Eminem & Rihanna
- California Gurls by Katy Perry
- Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars
- Billionaire by Travie McCoy & Bruno Mars
- Airplanes by B.o.B
- Misery by Maroon 5
- Your love is my Drug by Kesha
- DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love by Usher
- I Like It by Enrique Iglesias
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Mariposa Grove and the Sequoia trees
On our way back to San Jose we decided to take the South entrance (vs. East when we arrived) so we could stop by at Mariposa Grove. Mariposa Grove is the largest park of giant Sequoias with around 500 trees. I've never seen a Sequoia tree and was very eager to fix this.
We cleverly chose to follow the travel guide and drive directly to the park. When it's very busy (like in the summer) and the parking is full, one should take a shuttle from Wawona village, some 8 miles before. Truth be told, despite the signs, we found a pretty empty parking lot and were very happy not to have wasted 1 hour back and forth using the shuttle.
From the parking lot information we chose to go to the most famous Sequoia tree, the Tunnel tree (a 3.2 miles loop recommended if you only have 1-2 hours). Somehow between what was written there and what we walked there was a mismatch. We walked 2 hours to the Fallen Tunnel tree and 1:30h back down. Clearly more than what was stated at the entrance. Could also be because we mixed the California Tunnel tree, indeed nearby, and the Fallen Tunnel tree, completely at the top of the hill. Maybe we should pay closer attention to what is written.
No regrets clearly as we walked longer in the park we got to see more Sequoia trees, each of them impressively high.
The Fallen Monarch: this Sequoia tree fell centuries ago. The tannin-rich wood makes it resistant to rot and not very tasty for insects. Consequence, the tree is still there on the ground.
With scale so you can really realize how big it is (it's not often I can say that Wolfram is small :))
Interestingly I learned that at the very beginning when Mariposa Grove was added to Yosemite, rangers made sure there would be no fire to protect the Sequoia trees. Over the years pine trees were growing massively and no new sequoia tree appeared. After observation and studies, it was demonstrated that fire is good for sequoia trees. Indeed they are resistant to fire. In case of a fire, pine trees will burn which means less competition for food etc. and sequoia trees will grow. Easy!
That's why when you walk through the park you can see standing high sequoia trees surrounded by burnt pine trees. Nature's law...
Walking through the park we met some famous sequoia trees:
- 1 Bachelor and 3 Graces
- Grizzly Giant: which has been around for a looooong time
- California Tunnel tree: have you ever walked through a tree?
-Columbia tree, the tallest therefore hard to squeeze on one picture
- THE Fallen Tunnel tree, the most famous but sadly on the ground. I'm sure it was really something when it was standing and having a tunnel large enough for a car. Now it's just a fallen tree and I'm not sure it was worth all the walking to get here (some 4-5miles from the parking lot).
Close-up on the roots and body. Note the red color of the tree thanks to specific tannin.
And not to forget them, some nameless sequoia trees. They are just too young to deserve a name. Patience, in a few hundred years, our great great grand children will pay them a visit.
After seeing those giants, who saw I bet millions of tourists along the years, it's time to drive back to San Jose.
Bye Bye Yosemite and hopefully see you soon!
We cleverly chose to follow the travel guide and drive directly to the park. When it's very busy (like in the summer) and the parking is full, one should take a shuttle from Wawona village, some 8 miles before. Truth be told, despite the signs, we found a pretty empty parking lot and were very happy not to have wasted 1 hour back and forth using the shuttle.
From the parking lot information we chose to go to the most famous Sequoia tree, the Tunnel tree (a 3.2 miles loop recommended if you only have 1-2 hours). Somehow between what was written there and what we walked there was a mismatch. We walked 2 hours to the Fallen Tunnel tree and 1:30h back down. Clearly more than what was stated at the entrance. Could also be because we mixed the California Tunnel tree, indeed nearby, and the Fallen Tunnel tree, completely at the top of the hill. Maybe we should pay closer attention to what is written.
No regrets clearly as we walked longer in the park we got to see more Sequoia trees, each of them impressively high.
The Fallen Monarch: this Sequoia tree fell centuries ago. The tannin-rich wood makes it resistant to rot and not very tasty for insects. Consequence, the tree is still there on the ground.
- 1 Bachelor and 3 Graces
Close-up on the roots and body. Note the red color of the tree thanks to specific tannin.
Bye Bye Yosemite and hopefully see you soon!
Glacier Point
After a good night of sleep, we started the day with a fresh wake up. Temperature dropped at night... only 7C to start your day is tough. This reminded me of the trip to Inner Mongolia where we were nice and warm in the blankets in the yurt and struggled a lot to convince ourselves to step out in the cold.
We packed everything quickly. That was easy given we had brought very little things compare to our neighbours and drove to Glacier Point.
Glacier Point is 2200m high and offers an amazing view on the Yosemite Valley (some 1000m below). We've done many (a lot of) view points during this vacation and once again we are standing in front of breathtaking view. It's not as impressive as Grand Canyon (honestly hard to beat) but still it's simply beautiful. On top the sun was still rising bringing incredible light.
Glacier Point Upper Terrace
What is what:
The overhanging rock... clearly a pity that I couldn't get over the fence and sit there. I'm sure I would get the feeling of flying above the Valley.
The Yosemite Falls - the ones that were out of water :(
Yosemite Valley: Merced river and Curry Village (where we had excellent pizza)
North Dome and Basket Dome
Mirror Lake and Half Dome
Mt Hoffman
Half Dome
Exhilarating feelings at the top of the world (kind of)
Nevada Fall, where we walked to the top. It was indeed quite a climb actually.
Relaxing at the top :)
We packed everything quickly. That was easy given we had brought very little things compare to our neighbours and drove to Glacier Point.
Glacier Point is 2200m high and offers an amazing view on the Yosemite Valley (some 1000m below). We've done many (a lot of) view points during this vacation and once again we are standing in front of breathtaking view. It's not as impressive as Grand Canyon (honestly hard to beat) but still it's simply beautiful. On top the sun was still rising bringing incredible light.
Glacier Point Upper Terrace
What is what:
What now?
Debate with myself in the darkest hours of the night:
- I have to pee.
- It's 4am and it's dark outside.
- Yes but I have to pee.
- I'm nicely warm in the sleeping bag and it's cold outside.
- Sure but I really have to pee
- There could be a bear out there (like in the story Janet told us)
- I really really really have to go.
- OK then
So I opened the sleeping bag (so coooooold, brrrrrrrr), grab my sweater and shoes when a voice coming from the other side of the bed offered: "do you want me to come with you?"
"YES!" I mean you never know what's out there.
4:10am, 2 freezing shadows ran to the nearby toilets with their flashlight, peed so fast you have no idea and came back.
They did take 30s to look at the sky and acknowledge the millions of stars up there. Beautiful but it was too cold to stay any longer.
4:15am, back in bed, warming up and ready for a bit more sleep.
PS: Thx Honey for putting your life at risk and being reading to defend myself against a bear.
- I have to pee.
- It's 4am and it's dark outside.
- Yes but I have to pee.
- I'm nicely warm in the sleeping bag and it's cold outside.
- Sure but I really have to pee
- There could be a bear out there (like in the story Janet told us)
- I really really really have to go.
- OK then
So I opened the sleeping bag (so coooooold, brrrrrrrr), grab my sweater and shoes when a voice coming from the other side of the bed offered: "do you want me to come with you?"
"YES!" I mean you never know what's out there.
4:10am, 2 freezing shadows ran to the nearby toilets with their flashlight, peed so fast you have no idea and came back.
They did take 30s to look at the sky and acknowledge the millions of stars up there. Beautiful but it was too cold to stay any longer.
4:15am, back in bed, warming up and ready for a bit more sleep.
PS: Thx Honey for putting your life at risk and being reading to defend myself against a bear.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
I wonder
Something tells me that salt, fat and preservatives are not always good for humans either.
Just pondering.
Yosemite - Nevada Fall
After a good relaxing break in company of some of the wildlife (but still no bear), we got on our feet and started the other half of the trail. Objective: top of Nevada Fall.
Beginning of the trail was not very clear. To be honest several times we wondered why there was no mark to guide us. There are signs every now and then but trust me never when there is some ambiguity. Why not putting the famous red and white mark like in Europe? Just a thought of course. Maybe they expect you will get lost and help feeding the bears (which by the way we still haven't seen).
Same story as with the first half of the trail, after a given point you start to see the fall and each step reveals a bit more. It's really crazy how much my body was ok to endure so I could see these great landscape. Still, something tells me tomorrow I will have a hard time to walk.
Getting closer and closer from the Liberty Cap granite dome and the top of the fall.
And after one final effort (i.e. even steeper trail), we reached the top of the fall and were speechless, once again.
Look at this view on the Yosemite Valley! and look how high we are :) yes we are proud to have climbed 600m or so (what only 600m; it felt way more!) from the bottom of the valley until the top of the Nevada fall.
To go down we chose to take the John Muir trail. It's a bit longer than the Mist trail but offers a different way thus different views.
John Muir was the one who managed to convince President Roosevelt to protect Yosemite (including Yosemite Valley), Sequoia, Grand Canyon and Mt. Rainier as National Parks. Obviously he is not someone you can ignore when you visit Yosemite National Park.
In 2 hours or so we were back at the car. Going down goes really faster but is also very hard on the body as you struggle to keep your balance and pace.
Now we can sit and rest :)
In 2 hours or so we were back at the car. Going down goes really faster but is also very hard on the body as you struggle to keep your balance and pace.
Now we can sit and rest :)
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