So, I recognize that it's been about a month since my last post. Saying that I've been busy is quite an understatement. I wrapped up summer quarter at UW, which was by far the best quarter I have ever taken part in. I loved the small class sizes, more one-on-one time with my professors, the loosened schedule and the balance between working hard and playing hard. Not only did I 4.0 two of my classes, but I also made Dean's List! I wish every quarter was like summer quarter.
In my spare time I did a lot of the same activities that I've already blogged about: trips to the beach and lake, eating meals out, time with friends and family, etc.
I'm currently in San Francisco for 10 days visiting my sisters. So far, I have already had one of the best lunches ever at celebrity chef Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern. I went with my sister Lauren and her boyfriend Brad. We all shared the curried deviled eggs and an avocado endive salad. I had the chicken paillard as my entree while Lauren had a zucchini ravioli dish and Brad had a lobster cobb salad. We all shared a peach pie for dessert with goat's milk ice cream and sugared rosemary. What an incredible meal!
My sister and I have been on a 90's movie craze. We've already watched A Life Less Ordinary and Boys. Next up is Buffalo' 66 and Withnail & I. Other movies on our agenda involve seeing the new Paul Rudd movie, Our Idiot Brother as well as Super-8 at my favorite Castro Theater. I'll try to give a de-briefing on both, so stay tuned!
Other activities that we have taken part in have included a large pancake breakfast at the old Sears diner in downtown San Francisco near Union Square. My sister Brooke and I also checked out the amazing Stein Collection exhibit at SF MOMA. I have always had a fascination with ex-patriots. I've loved reading books like Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, and other gems written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, herself. I've enjoyed movies that also depict this time period such as the recent Woody Allen film, A Midnight in Paris. The point I'm trying to make here is that I love this time in history when all of these incredibly creative and talented people flocked to Paris in the 1920's and shared such a large amount of knowledge, taste and culture with one another, so being in this exhibit was a real treat! I got to see Gertrude and her brother Leo's incredible family collection of pieces done by Picasso and Matisse, their old friends. I couldn't believe how expansive their collection was! I couldn't imagine living in an apartment with all that art...It's basically like living in a museum. What I liked most about this exhibit is that it didn't just include the paintings. It also included stories and artifacts from the Steins themselves as seen through photographs and written letters.
Yesterday was also an interesting day. We drove to the Bear Valley Visitor Center near Point Reyes and hiked to Bass Lake. The entire trip was about 6 miles. The hike was beautiful! We walked along the Pacific Ocean and through occasional tree canopy's. We brought along a lovely picnic and really made a day of it. There were however, a few hiccups during the course of the day. 1) It was a bit chillier and a tad more crowded than we had originally hoped for. 2) There are nettles EVERYWHERE along the hike, so anyone else thinking of doing this hike...watch out! 3) I'm fairly certain we were among a serial killer. There was a very off guy there who kept walking quickly and with purpose, while also leaving random brown paper bags all over the place. Odd. Very odd.
We returned back to civilization with a trip to the Pelican Inn where we warmed up with a lovely bottle of Syrah and some good laughs. Aren't family times grand?
