A Week in Phoenix

Our week in Phoenix is over and we have made our way back to New England and now is the time to fill you in on the trip. Cheri and I were up early on March 6th to catch a 7 a.m. flight out of Providence to Phoenix (by way of Cleveland). We arrived in the early afternoon, commandeered a rental car, and headed out to Jess’ place in Anthem, AZ.

Jess and Maggie met us at the door and we settled in for the first of several relaxing afternoons. Of course we were still on East Coast time (I mentioned this in the previous London close out note) so we quickly tucked into a couple of sandwiches and beverages. We sat around and visited most of the afternoon. Jess spent some time preparing a nice lasagna dinner for us and prior to dinner Cheri and I took Maggie for a walk (while Jess went to PT).

The next morning we got up fairly early (okay I got up early and had my regular fill of coffee, but Cheri wasn’t too far behind). Knowing the we would be subject to various meals and beverages over the week, we decided to head out for a short run / jog (our first in quite a long time). After we got back we sat outside near the pool and visited and did a little computer work.

Jess soon joined us and we planned the day ahead.

Our First stop was for lunch at Chino Bandido, Mexican-Asian Fusion. Jess first heard of this place on Food TV’s “Diners, Dives and Drive-in’s” and had been there at least once before. As unusual as it sounds, we had a great meal. I had two different types of

quesadillas, one with jerk chicken and the other with spicy Mexican beef(manchuro?). I had jerk chicken fried rice (the Asian part of this meal) along side and would it have been complete without some refried beans on the side as well. The meal included free snicker-doodles or volcano cookies (similar to a lava cake only in a cookie form). We ended up taking back a half dozen of each for snacking on the rest of the week—remember the earlier comment about needing to run while we are in Phoenix.

Then it was off to Squaw Peak in the Phoenix Mountains. This is a popular spot for a hike up one of the peaks surrounding Phoenix and it being a Saturday the trail was a little crowded. On our other trips out here we have commented that it would be fun to go up some of these peaks and they didn’t look that hard. We found out that the view from a distance is quite different from the experience of this type of hiking. The lower portion are steps made out of the surrounding stones and switch back-and-forth up the edge of the mountain face.

After a short distance you start to go from steps to a more rugged path and the footing becomes a little tougher on the stone cut trail. The trail width you see in this picture is about three feet wide and the stone is somewhat chiseled into a pathway.

Here a Cheri and Jess at one of the outlooks on the way up and you can see Phoenix and the Southern Mountains in the background.

We did make it to the top and managed to get pictures of each of us up there.

It was a great to see Phoenix from this point of view and it certainly gave us a different perspective on what it takes to climb these little “hills” around Phoenix.

After getting back down off the Peak it was time to head back to Jess’ place in Anthem and get ready for supper. Andrew, who had been a part of the original three musketeers heading out to Phoenix, joined us for dinner and it was fun to share the stories of their time in the Southwest.

The next day we were up and out for a walk again and then we headed for downtown and our hotel. I was in Phoenix for the Planning, Design & Construction Conference for the American Society for Healthcare Engineering and we would be spending Sunday through Wednesday near the Convention Center. It was a good event and I did several speaker introductions and headed up a Strategic Planning Luncheon and work-group on Wednesday.

After leaving the hotel on Wednesday and before heading back to Jess’ place we had made reservations to go to the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. This site is normally ranked high as a place to see in Phoenix, but they currently have an exhibit of Chihuly Glass sculptures mixed in with the gardens. The artwork was very interesting and it was very well placed throughout the garden area. You can see all of the many pictures we took of the artwork by following the link to the photo album at the end of this posting.

The next day we were up for another long walk and then after dropping Maggie back off at the house we headed out to climb up Daisy Mountain behind Anthem. It was a good and winding hike over a much less developed trail than Squaw Peak. We worked our way up to the top and had a nice panoramic view of Anthem and the surrounding area.

This is actually a 360 degree view, but you’d have to either have a 360 degree viewer or cut this out, make a circle out of it and put your head in the middle to have the effect.

On our way back down we stopped to look a little more closely at some of the “jumping” cactus. These little fellows seem to fall off of the cactus and ‘jump’ from one spot to another. They look almost soft and ‘cuddly’, but when Cheri went to move one with the side of her running shoe it went right through the material and into her foot. I tried to get it off using a couple of long stones to hold the spines away (not a lot of sticks around other than other cactus), but quickly managed to get a spike in one finger on one hand and another finger on the other hand—almost like a Chinese finger trap. Of course, the more you move the deeper the quills go into you and they seem to be barbed. It took several tries using other stones to pry the quills out, and we can both attest that they are anything but soft and cuddly—actually quite painful.

Later that evening, we headed into Phoenix to meet Jess after work and the four of us headed out to Lon’s at the Hermosa for dinner. This was a wonderful time with us eating outside near a large chiminea. It was great food under a very clear sky with little light pollution from Phoenix.

Friday morning we ran once again and lounged around the house for much of the morning. We did head out a little before noon to drive down to Goodyear, AZ and the new Goodyear Stadium. We had gotten tickets to the Cleveland Indians Oakland Athletics Spring Training game. The seats were great, only about ten rows from first base, and it was a beautiful afternoon. Everyone enjoyed the outing and it was a low-price way to see some baseball…and Cleveland won 4 to 3.

We were up early the next morning for a 7 a.m. flight back East. Once again the Swenson Adventures continue to be good times. Click on the Picture below to see all of the photos from this trip.

Phoenix Mar 2009

Day Eight: They Don’t Have the Same Accent in Phoenix…

Air travel, back to work, out of a UK mindset, laziness…all have contributed to your not getting a final day in London entry. Now on Phoenix time (and it stays the same time here on Sunday…hmmm, that is true at the Royal Observatory as well, maybe we are still in the UK in a time / space sort of way…) I will fill in the missing day. Then over the next few days I will take a real step back and fill in the 2009 Valentine’s Weekend.

Day Eight: By now you may have wondered about the hotel we stayed in while in Harrow. It is a part of the Comfort Inn chain and in an easily accessible area near Sarah’s flat, close to a Tube Station, University of Westminster (Harrow Campus), and Andrew’s flat. It is much more hotel than B & B and it was just what we needed to share Sarah’s experience in the London area.

Our final full day began much the same as our other days with not meeting Sarah until late morning. But we did add a small change by my getting out early—for some, not for me—and walking up to the Town Centre early in the morning. I did this for two reasons, one to determine the location and walking distance (and time…another one of those time /space things, but on a different intellectual level) to the bus stop Cheri and I would use early the next morning, and two to get an early morning cafe latte (which for us coffee drinkers is always a great experience) with the other early morning Saturday risers.

When I got back to the hotel Cheri was up and reminding me that we had other errands to do that morning besides my getting my coffee. We headed right back out to find our way to a Sainsbury Grocery store in Harrow. We had a list of cheeses, chocolates, cookies, and, surprisingly, prawn crisps—something we had tried at the Thai restaurant in Hampstead, see the Day Five and Six entry—that we needed to pick up and pack for the next day’s travels. Not to eat on the way, but to bring back to the colonies. I did wander through the Scotch section, but was reminded of my limitations—I’ll let you figure out which.

Back at the hotel, Sarah showed up and we headed out to meet Andrew at the Tube station. Weekend train service was accommodating more rail repairs so we had to use a different station. Regardless of that we found our way onto a train to London.

It was a beautiful day with the sun out and temperatures getting up into the 50’s (10’s for those of you thinking in centigrade). So Sarah was once again sleeveless, although I found this true even when it was in the 30’s and 40’s (0 to 5), but this day it made sense.

We headed first to Harrods, which is a huge, high end, luxury department store in London. This seems to be a ‘thing to do’ in London and I think Cheri and Sarah would have spent much more time there if Andrew and I

weren’t being dragged along. This picture of the ceiling is only one quarter of one area that is called the Food Market. In this case it covers foods from around the world and some people use this as a primary market place or as a place to pick up the unique. Did I mention that the Food Market is on the third floor and next to an equally sized area devoted just to chocolate and chocolate products, and combined they occupy less than half of the third floor? In other words this place is huge and it seems that if you can’t find it in Harrod’s it must not be made.

As stated, we didn’t spend as much time in Harrods as Cheri and Sarah would have liked, but we had things planned for the day and it was already approaching noon. So off we headed into Hyde Park and up to Speaker’s Corner—this is a bastion of free speech in the UK and a site for people to set up a soap box and spout off their thoughts. Unfortunately for us, there was no one orating at the couple of times we walked through.

Since it was noon, we decided to find a place for some lunch. After a couple of false starts we came upon the Three Tun pub. We knew it was the right spot when we went in and there was an empty table right next to the fireplace. Cheri ensconced herself right next to the fire and we were ready to go. The food was very good and I tried the Splendid Tackle ale which was right up there with the Doombar ale I had earlier in the trip. Following on the advice of my good friend James—if you try anything and you like it, try it again to make sure the first time wasn’t a mistake—I even had a second…and it was not a mistake.

After the excellent lunch, we headed back across Hyde Park (still no speakers) and caught the Tube to the Science Museum. We were in search of a Robot Exhibit that Andrew had heard about and besides the museum being no cost it seemed like a good way to spend the afternoon. It was only too bad that the exhibit had closed earlier in the week, but we had a great time wandering around the museum.

As the afternoon wound its way down we found our way back over to Trafalgar Square. This time we went into the National Portrait Gallery and looked around a bit before deciding to strike out for someplace to have a nice dinner together before heading back to the States.

I had seen a couple of nice restaurants near St. Paul’s Cathedral earlier in

the week so we decided to move in that direction. Sarah pointed out buildings and sites to us along the way and I tried to get a picture of the St George’s dragon that marks the entry to London from Westminster, but the light was getting too dim—so it’s out of focus, but you get the idea. This area is also the area where Dickens described Scrooge’s house and the Sarah pointed out the clock that Dickens used to foretell the coming of the spirits…she’s such a smart girl.

Along the way we had another opportunity to take a picture of St Paul’s only this time by the evening light. I was able to brace myself against a building enough to get this picture in the low light. We found the restaurants only to find one closed for the evening (Saturday night…go figure) and the other not really what we were looking for to have a final meal in London for this trip. So we headed back up the Strand to find a restaurant that Scott had recommended to Sarah on one of his many trips to London.

The place is Simpsons on the Strand and it was wonderful. Definitely worth the recommendation and a place we will eat when again in London. We were fortunate to arrive before the theater crowd and get a table by walking in. I think if we had been 30 minutes later we would have had to go someplace else.

One of the waiters heard our accent and introduced himself as an American as well and from DC. When I asked where in DC we got into a discussion about the area and my time at the Academy. It turns out he was a Marine 2nd Lt. (I think in the active reserves), and he made sure we

had great service—although I think the service at this restaurant is excellent for anyone. Following his recommendation I had the beef which was carved at the tableside by Guiseppe (shown with me and the plate full of meat, the roast is under the dome). It had the fixings of Yorkshire Pudding and au jus and was wonderful. The picture also shows the plate of Beef Wellington that Sarah had for dinner. It was a wonderful meal and topped off by the Maitre de wishing me a “Good Evening Commander”—it’s still nice to have the title and it is recognized and used much more in the UK, the Marine must have told him.

We took the Tube out of London, said goodbye to Sarah and headed back to the hotel. The bus picked us up at 7:20 the next morning and we had an uneventful trip to Heathrow, Newark and back to pick up our car at Deb and Scott’s. After visiting there for awhile we got on the road and headed back home arriving in Connecticut later that evening.

All and all another great adventure. You can click on the picture below to go to the web album of all the pictures taken (good and bad). Watch for the Valentine’s posting and more notes from Phoenix in the future.

London Feb 2009

Day Seven: Prison Time in the London Tower Isn’t What It Use to Be

We met Sarah for breakfast this morning and got off on an early start. The tube took us over to the East end and we got off at the Moorgate Station. A few blocks later and we found Leadenhall Market. The Market hadn’t opened yet, but people were setting up and there were several nice shops, cafes, and restaurants in the Marketplace.

After a few more turns we finally found The Glass House. In another setting some of you will recognize this as The Leaky Cauldron in the Harry Potter movies. We didn’t go inside, but Sarah said it is mostly the setting and not the shop itself.

We headed out of the Market area and circled around the new Lloyds of London Building, which has to be one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen for a city setting. As we first came up to it, before Sarah told us about the building, I thought it was a brewery or a factory building in the middle of the financial district. All of the ductwork and piping is on the outside and the windows look like ship portholes. I didn’t take a picture , but here is one that I found in Wikipedia. Suffice it to say, if I owned stock in Lloyd’s of London and saw shareholders’ money being spent on this monstrosity, I would not be happy. That being said, I don’t have stock in the company and if I did it wouldn’t be significant enough to warrant their concern.

Almost directly across the street if a great view of the Gherkin Building. I have mixed views regarding this building. It looks great, but when juxtaposed against the very (and I mean very) old church on the street, it does seem out of place. However, it is much better than the Lloyd’s Building.

From this part of town we then walked over to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. These structures are right next to each other and you can look down the moat on the East Side of the Tower to the entrance of the Tower Bridge.

What you can’t see in this picture is the satellite dish for television on the lower wall of The London Tower. I don’t think being a prisoner there now is quite the same as it was a couple of hundred years ago.

We had hoped to take a tour of the Tower Bridge and get up onto the upper walkways, but time was running out for us to get to the noontime concert at St. Martin’s-in-the-Field, so we passed on the exhibits and tour for this time. We did walk down onto the end of the bridge and then circled back around the Tower where Cheri took a picture of Sarah and me. I managed to also enlarge and crop a portion of the picture.

Rushing from the Tower of London we made it to St. Martin’s-in-the-Field just before noon time so we could make it to the concert. As we went in and found almost no one there we realized that noontime also extended to 1 pm when the concert would actually start. So we headed off to a coffee shop for a quick cup and pastry to tide us over until we could have a proper lunch.

The concert was okay. It probably would have been much better if it had been just the pianist or some other voice part, but it included a soprano soloist, and that just ‘doesn’t float my boat.’ She was good, but I would much rather have listened to an alto, tenor or baritone—Thomas Morris comes to mind as someone I would love to have heard in this setting. She sang Schubert’s Ave Marie to open, performed a couple of mournful pieces by Debussy, her diction on a collection of Barber pieces was not really recognizable, the Puccini aria reminded me sharply why I don’t care for most soprano arias, and thankfully the Richard Strauss piece was short. I certainly thank Cheri and Sarah for indulging my desire to hear some music in the church…I only wish it was just the pianist—who was excellent.

The setting is beautiful and I took one shot of the window behind the alter. The panes and mullions are arranged to provide an oval in the center and twisting off from that to provide an abstract, but effective cross.

Following the concert we went to a Mexican Restaurant called Wahaca (pronounced Oaxaca) a couple of blocks off from Trafalgar Square. It is a place Sarah has been to before and she want us to try it. The meal was great. Authentic Mexican style with locally grown organic produce. We had a wonderful meal.

After lunch we had some time to kill before heading off with Sarah to her work at the pub, so we went into the National Portrait Gallery for awhile and then spent some time just sitting in Trafalgar Square. I did manage to catch Cheri trying to make heads and tails out of the various English coins in her coat pocket and then a quick study of Mother and Daughter on the steps of the National Gallery.

We caught a double-decker bus from Trafalgar Square to Edgeware and we were lucky enough to get front row upper deck seats again. I took a few pictures of the Oxford Circus as we went through and you can see how crowded it gets with people and vehicles. The pictures don’t really give you the full effect of the ride.

The adventure for today came to a close with getting Sarah to work on time and having a bite to eat at her pub for dinner. For your moment of Zen click on the following picture.

Double-Decker Ride

Days Five and Six: Next Thing You Know I will be Dripping Brains from my Ears!

Two days together this time because last night was late, even by my standards, so you get a double-shot on Thursday.

Day Five: Wednesday, and Thursday for that matter, were days on our own. Since we had no set schedule we started out by sleeping in. I figure I am just keeping myself on East Coast time since there is a five hour difference. So getting up at 10 am here is the same as getting up at 5 am there.

Still with no rush, and the decision to leave Sarah behind to continue fighting her cold, we headed in to London Town with a plan to see Westminster Abbey. We arrived in good time and bought entry tickets and additional private tour tickets with a Verger—from Merriam-Webster: 1: chiefly British : an attendant that carries a verge (as before a bishop or justice)2: a church official who keeps order during services or serves as an usher or a sacristan.

The tour was very good and we were able to get a bit more of a ‘back scene’ look at the Abbey during the ninety minutes we spent with the Verger. Besides the primary site for Coronations and Royal Weddings it is also the burial site for over 3,000 individuals and there is a very broad English history associated with the place.

Originally built in 1065 and first used for the Coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066. All Coronations since then have taken place at Westminster Abbey. In 1560 Queen Elizabeth established the Abbey as a collegiate Church keeping it separate from Catholicism or forms of Protestant churches. The Abbey continues to operate as a college and the Deans Offices are show in the picture to the left. Through the archway in the center is a drive to the center yard of the college and surroundings of other buildings used for studies.

I didn’t take any pictures in the building, and from previous postings you know this isn’t because of any signs, it just didn’t seem appropriate.

We did hear much of the history and some of it was lost on me since I have a hard time remembering the order of all of our Presidents, much less trying to remember the English House of Royalty. Mary, Queen of Scots and a few dozen close friends are buried here in a very ornate chapel erected by her son King Charles. A separate Mary (this is where it gets real confusing for me since she was the same generation as Mary Queen of Scots) is buried here along with her sister Queen Elizabeth (also the same generation). This was significant because Mary re-accepted Catholicism and Elizabeth was against it, Protestant obviously, and they both ruled as Queens at the same time—where does Mary Queen of Scots fit in this (see what I mean)? The family decided that, along with making room for Mary Queen of Scots Chapel it would make sense to have them resolve their issues in eternity since they couldn’t do it while on earth.

Besides the Abbey and lunch at another pub (which I still have not gotten tired of) we toured through Regents Park up to Buckingham Palace. The Palace is in the background behind the monument to Queen Victoria. She is facing NE towards the mall and the home of the Horse Guards and surrounding the monument are the Angel of Justice (facing NW), the Angel of Truth (facing SW), and Charity (facing the Palace). On top is a Victory. All a very nautical theme—the whole sailors thing again—which is said reflects Great Britain’s naval power of the time.

Between Buckingham Palace and the Horse Guards is Spencer House where Royal Court is held. We don’t believe Court was in session, at least they hadn’t told me, but the Queen’s Guards still stand duty at the gateway. It continues to be very impressive how still and placid these individuals remain. There are two facing each other across the gateway and they only move every ten minutes or so to shift the rifle from one side to the other and take two large stomping steps in place; enough to keep the blood flowing. Suffice it to say that the weapons they are holding are not toys and people don’t cross over the simple chain draped across the driveway.

Later in the day we met Sarah near the Baker Street Station after she got out of a downtown class. Andrew caught up with us in the Station as well and we headed off to the West End for a theater night. We almost missed each other in the station, but as Cheri points out, my eagle eyes spotted Andrew coming up one escalator as we got ready to head down a different tunnel. The show we went to see was Traces which was very entertaining. I didn’t quite follow the story line (my fault since I didn’t look it up ahead of time), but the acrobatics were fantastic. It was quite enjoyable to see and Sarah had gotten us great front row balcony seats.

Following the show we wandered around a bit looking for someplace to eat. We worked our way down to Covent Garden and found Maxwell’s which I think is a bit of a US chain restaurant that found its way to the UK. Then it was onto the Tube and back to Harrow. By the time we got back it was late so no blog then…only now.

Day Six: As I said above today was again on our own, so again we didn’t get seriously moving until 10 am. Our thought this day was to explore a little bit of the outskirts of London, at least for a little while. We hopped on the Tube for a couple of stops and then changed lines to a more local train service that took us to West Hampstead. Then we changed to the Overground train to make our way to Hampstead Heath. A Heath is a park area and this one is only four miles from Trafalgar Square, but you feel like you are well into the country.

We got off the train and worked our way over to the park area (after asking for some directions). The trails are mostly paved and they cover a very hilly terrain. We started out following a couple of interconnected ponds and then went up through a field that heads to the highest point in the area. The rise is called Parliament Hill and the views back to the city are protected such that certain sites seen from the hill can not be blocked by new construction. You can see by the picture that the view wasn’t very clear, but we could make out St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye through the haze. On a clear day it must be a great sight.

We walked around the Heath for about an hour and then decided to head into Hampstead Heath to find someplace to eat. Our wandering took us by several places until we found The White Horse pub. We expected typical pub food but we were pleasantly surprised to find Thai food on the menu. It was great! The V shaped building was well windowed so we could watch the activities in the square and it is a lively place that seems like it would be enjoyable in the evening as well. Cheri had the Pad Thai which had only one pepper next to it while I opted for the Pad Grapow which had three peppers. The food was fabulous! After I had eaten half of it I told Cheri that my nose was running, with three quarters gone my eyes were watering and just before my last bite I said to Cheri, “Much more and my brains will start dripping out my ears.” It wasn’t spicy hot, it was spicy flavor-able and very good. I recommended to Sarah that she take Jess there in March. I also had a chance to try some more English Ale (as in most pubs) and they serve a Doom Bar Ale that is from Cornwall and quite good.

With full bellies I made Cheri walk up the hill to Hampstead to catch the Tube into London Town. The Hampstead Station is about 200 feet below ground and you have to take an elevator down to the train platforms. During World War II this station was used as a bomb shelter because it provided such good protection.

We rode the Tube back into town and tried to figure out how to get to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Not knowing any better we got off at Charing Cross (which is near Trafalgar Square) and started walking along the Strand. After a few mistaken turns and no Cathedral in sight I finally asked a doorman if we were anywhere near St. Paul’s. It turned out we needed to continue walking down the Strand about another fifteen minutes and it would come into sight.

Since I had a couple of pints with lunch I also needed to find a loo so we headed down the Strand with two purposes—St. Paul’s and a toilet. Fortunately, the Brits do the public toilet thing exceptionally well. They provide free sites every few blocks and they are well maintained and clean. We found a spot and when I came back out there was Cheri standing in front of the home office for Twinings Tea. This is the longest standing, family owned business continuously operating in the same spot (since the 1700’s).

We went in and the aroma as soon as you enter the shop is wonderful. The selection is great and we were only disappointed that they do not have a tasting room, so we settled on purchasing a few items instead. Just as there is a picture of me leaving the Whiskey Shop, here is a picture of Cheri outside the Tea Shop with her bag in hand.

From there it wasn’t much further before we could make out St. Paul’s dome through the buildings. It really is a magnificent building and it stands out well among the surrounding buildings. We walked all the way around before going up to the entrance and then found out that it was closed for a service until later in the early evening. That helped us to decide on making a return visit sometime in the next two days so we can spend a fair amount of time exploring the Cathedral. Plus, we needed to head back to Harrow to meet Sarah after her class and take her out to dinner.

When we first walked around Harrow with Sarah I had seen an Indian restaurant that looked good and said I wanted to try it before we left. Tonight was the night and it was well worth the wait. This restaurant rivals the India Quality in Boston (one of our favorite Indian restaurants). We had a great meal with again just enough spices—not eye watering or brains from the ears—to make it enjoyable.

Another great day in this adventure.