Free things to do in Copenhagen

October 30, 2018 by 1 Comment

I generally plot places I want to eat first into my budget and map, and then work around from there on filling a place to stay (though in this case that was already determined by F’s work conference) and things to do. In this case, when I saw how much would be spent on my food budget, I decided for the activities between my meals I wanted to take advantage of free or cheap things to do. Here are some of the free things to do in Copenhagen I took advantage of.

The Little Mermaid

Yes, it’s a tourist trap that many visitors flock to, and I don’t think there’s a need to take any tour to go see it. Just read up a little bit on the statue by doing a little pre-research online – I take photos of pages or copy and paste to reference the information when I’m there so no need to carry any guidebooks. I also advise you, especially in this case, to set your expectations accordingly knowing the cons of a tourist attraction, be it whether there are long lines, no ac, or in this case it is after all just a small statue. Finally, and my biggest tip, go early. Most tourists, being on vacation, like to sleep in as it is part of relaxing during the trip. So I constantly beat this by going early.
The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
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California Artisan Cheese Festival Best Bite Competition

April 24, 2018 by 1 Comment

Believe it or not, my cheese Friday is not over yet after attending a blind tasting seminar, touring two cheesemakers, a cheese lunch, and a distillery as covered in my previous posts in part 1 and part 2 recap of my trip to enjoy the California Artisan Cheese Festival. After a couple hours break after this tour, my sister and I then went to an event called The Best Bite – A Tribute to First Responders. Then, on Sunday we went to the Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace.
The Artisan Cheese Festival The Best Bite Competition, this year themed The Best Bite - A Tribute to First Responders for 2018. Valette presented cheesesteak with Stuyt Dairy bacon cheese crisp, Stuyt Dairy cheese Whizz, pepper crusted beef tenderloin, pickled sweet peppers, and Stuyt Dairy cheese powder. The Artisan Cheese Festival The Best Bite Competition, this year themed The Best Bite - A Tribute to First Responders for 2018. Valette presented cheesesteak with Stuyt Dairy bacon cheese crisp, Stuy Cairy cheese Whizz, pepper crusted beef tenderloin, pickled sweet peppers, and Stuyt Dairy cheese powder.
At the California Artisan Cheese Festival 2018 Best Bite Chefs category of the competition, Valette presented cheesesteak with Stuyt Dairy bacon cheese crisp, Stuyt Dairy cheese Whizz, pepper crusted beef tenderloin, pickled sweet peppers, and Stuyt Dairy cheese powder.
For the Cheesemonger Bite category, shown here is Oliver’s Market, Cellar Door Platters and Displays Julie Cassotta and Mike Rafter who used Northern Gold from Pedrozo Dairy and Cheese Company to make a beer cheese

The Best Bite

This evening event brought together Cheesemakers, Chefs and Cheesemongers in a Best Bite Competition while paying tribute to first responders who risked their lives during California’s destructive fire storms in October last year. Several of the local heroes got to be judges, and there is also people’s choice award so attendees would get to vote for their winner in each category as well. I took photos of almost everything, both to share with you but also to remember what I ate and who made it for voting later! Photos are my notes!
The Artisan Cheese Festival The Best Bite Competition, this year themed The Best Bite - A Tribute to First Responders for 2018. This year’s competition, showcasing over two dozen cheesemakers, two dozen chefs and two dozen mongers each created a separate bite featuring their cheesemaker’s cheeses that are judged by some local heroes and also voted on by the people attending The Artisan Cheese Festival The Best Bite Competition, this year themed The Best Bite - A Tribute to First Responders for 2018. This year’s competition, showcasing over two dozen cheesemakers, two dozen chefs and two dozen mongers each created a separate bite featuring their cheesemaker’s cheeses that are judged by some local heroes and also voted on by the people attending
Costeaux French Bakery offered a savory cheese twist with an all butter croissant rolled with three cheeses and lavender herbs, as well as another bread stuffed with blue cheese

So now on to my cheese adventures, continued!

The Artisan Cheese Festival The Best Bite Competition, this year themed The Best Bite - A Tribute to First Responders for 2018. This year’s competition, showcasing over two dozen cheesemakers, two dozen chefs and two dozen mongers each created a separate bite featuring their cheesemaker’s cheeses that are judged by some local heroes and also voted on by the people attending. Cypress Grove Cheeses was there The Artisan Cheese Festival The Best Bite Competition, this year themed The Best Bite - A Tribute to First Responders for 2018. This year’s competition, showcasing over two dozen cheesemakers, two dozen chefs and two dozen mongers each created a separate bite featuring their cheesemaker’s cheeses that are judged by some local heroes and also voted on by the people attending

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A Visit to Salito’s Crabhouse in Sausalito

March 6, 2018 by 5 Comments

Last year, during the unfortunate timing of all the wildfires in the Napa, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, and San Rafael areas, I went to visit my sister L (who lives there) and my mom (who was visiting her). I was able to work from her apartment on a couple calls, and then for lunch, I took my mom out for her favorite thing to eat – crab. Usually, this means Fisherman’s Wharf since that’s where she has historically gone, but I wanted someplace with less traffic and less parking problems. And that’s when I found Salito’s Crabhouse. I would definitely recommend this over going to the famous Fisherman’s Wharf – and so does my mom! She suggested next time, we can just come back here again. So here’s a look at a Visit to Salito’s Crabhouse in Sausalito.
A Visit to Salito's Crabhouse in Sausalito
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Travel Tuesday: Musical Instrument Museum Review

January 16, 2018 by 10 Comments

For Thanksgiving 2017, I pitched (and the family agreed!) to get together in Sedona. All of us flew into Phoenix from the various cities we live in (Portland, LA, Bay Area, Chicago) and so we had some time in Phoenix bookending our time in Sedona. One of the ways we passed the time was the new to us Musical Instrument Museum, aka MIM. There are not many music instrument museums, and most are in Europe.  MIM further prides itself on being representative of global music. It’s definitely worth a visit – let me show you why!
Music Instrument Museum (MIM) Music Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, with admission you will also receive a headphone with volume control unit for each person in your group. Most exhibits feature a TV with multiple videos cycling for a minute or so, letting you see and hear the musical instrument in action

Built in 2010, MIM offers 15,000 musical instruments and associated objects from nearly 200 countries around the world. After purchasing your admission ticket ($20 1-day or a discounted $30 2-day that you must use the second visit within a week), you will also receive a headphone with volume control unit for each person in your group. Most exhibits features a TV with multiple videos cycling for a minute or so. The videos vary from showing local musicians of a county  performing their native music, often in native dress, sometimes including native dance, to just demonstrating how the instrument was made or how it works. The headphones automatically sync with each of those TVs when you are in proximity to it.
Music Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, with admission you will also receive a headphone with volume control unit for each person in your group. Most exhibits feature a TV with multiple videos cycling for a minute or so, letting you see and hear the musical instrument in action
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Travel Tuesday: Jelly Belly Factory Tour

October 31, 2017 by Leave a Comment

My recent visit to San Francisco unfortunately coincided with the Wine Country wildfires, so I had to pivot on some of the excursions I was planning on doing with my mom while my sister was working. Particularly I tried to think of things to do that were indoors to avoid possible poor air quality. One of the destinations that I ended up choosing to take my mom was the Jelly Belly Candy Company, and try out their free Jelly Belly Factory Tour and do some shopping for candies she could take to relatives in Thailand. It was more of a trip for her since she loves candy, but I think I ended up having just as much if not even more fun. It was much cooler then I thought it would be for someone like me that loves the idea of sweets but doesn’t love eating sweets. There’s a lot that go into making a Jelly Belly bean!

Jelly Belly Factory Tour in Fairfield, California, entrance area Jelly Belly Factory Tour in Fairfield, California, cafe area

The location of the Jelly Belly in the Bay Area is out in Fairfield, which is north towards Napa, and also happens to be across the street from an Olive Oil and Vinegar tasting room and also the Budweiser Tasting Room, so you can make this a productive day excursion for the one hour drive. If you’re staying by Napa, consider it to take a break from wine. We only stopped for the Jelly Belly Factory Tour, which I’ll share here.

It’s best to visit on a weekday because then you’ll see the machines working with the people running them, vs when it is not operating on weekends or holidays. Overall, I recommend going to the Jelly Belly Factory Tour because it is cool to learn how the jelly beans are made and prepared for sale, and Jelly Belly really strives for a mix of efficiency with machinery but also relies on people for quality every step of the way. The workers seemed happy – several waved at me and smiled, and I’m not a cute kid on a tour. Though I think the paper hats they require you to wear the whole tour are both silly (so non functional) and cute.

Jelly Belly Factory Tour in Fairfield, California: the rainbow of 50 flavors and more of Jelly Belly Jelly Belly Factory Tour in Fairfield, California: the rainbow of 50 flavors and more of Jelly Belly

I am all for technology and progress I don’t believe it means completely displacing people out of jobs, though it may mean changing the job description to work with the technology. As fascinating as automation is, seeing it paired with people too is heartening – and if you come on a working factory day you’ll be able to watch that interaction.

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