Versailles

This trip to France is a first for many reasons, one of which is that I left my DSLR at home, which felt weird at first. However, with the iPhone having a more and more capable camera, I realized that is quite ok. This is a shot at Place Vendôme with the famous column in the very center taken with the 0.5 wide angle lens.

Paintings of Clause Monet are found in museums all over the world, but none are as hidden as Musée Marmottan Monet. 

The paintings found a home in the basement of a magnificent townhouse and they are some of the most impressionable. For what ever reasons, this is our first time here and I would definitely recommend a visit.

Paints of Clause Monet are found in museums all over the world, but none are as hidden as Musée Marmottan Monet. The paintings are in the basement of a magnificent townhouse.

We never felt the need to go to the Musée Rodin either, but this time we did go and it was amazing what Rodin was able to create besides the famous Thinker.

This bronze bust from Jules Dalou is a wonderful example of what the artist was capable of producing.

The main attraction was to stay at the Trianon Palace in Versailles. It is located right next the famous gardens where kings and other royalty took strolls.

The swimming pool was underground and offered a welcome atmosphere to cool down and relax. We had a fantastic dinner on the terrace facing the gardens watching sheep, probably descendants of those that Marie Antoinette petted, roaming lush meadows.

Visiting the Palace must have been so exciting when the king with is court was still here. Nowadays, the hallways are filled with other people that have the same idea. Early birds are rewarded with empty corridors and bedrooms.

The COVID protocol is still in place, which requires one to make a reservation and request a specific time slot. Since we stayed in walking distance to the entrance, we picked the earliest time and although there was a long line already, we made it to the Hall of Mirrors in no time with very few other people. It was such a great experience.

Because it was a beautiful day and we spent the better part of it walking in the famous gardens. The village that Marie Antoinette built, was out of place. She must not have liked being the queen, why else would you pick a peasant lifestyle over luxury?

The grounds even features an manmade grotto where Marie Antoinette was found and consequently arrested in 1792.

The grounds of the royal gardens are so vast that there is plenty of space for other palaces. I guess, just in case the king wanted a change in his life. They were smaller, but still very nice for that time.

Back in Paris, we visited a museum about modern colonialism and native art from all over the world. It is named after the former French President Jacques Chirac, who apparently liked foreign cultures so much that he built a modern building right next to the Eiffel Tower to house his huge collection of native art.

 

The lighting is great and allows visitors to focus on each and every piece that mean so much to people where it came from.

As you can imagine, it was a great vacation during which we experienced so many firsts.

Maui (The Wave)

Well, COVID is not over yet, and unfortunately, there are still many uncertainties as to what exactly is required to travel to other countries. Maui is the perfect choice for people from the mainland, who want to stay in the US and want to enjoy very comfortable temperatures.

I remember quite vividly last time we came here and for the exact reason, we chose to rent the same condo again. The snorkeling is a stone throw away and this time we were lucky and we saw quite a few eels, such as the Magnificent Snake Eel, besides some other permanent and more obvious inhabitants such as turtles. For the first two days, the visibility was absolutely great, but declined after that to a point where we wouldn't be able to see a turtle right in front of us.

Waking up in the morning is one of the great pleasures of this wonderful world, first because of the view from our lanai.

Second, a cup of Nespresso Palermo Kazaar that is smooth yet strong. We are so dedicated (espresso crazy) that we brought our own Nespresso machine. It filled half of the suite case, but it was worth it. The other half was occupied by fins, mask and wet suits.

Third, it's the sound of the constant surf that is almost hypnotizing. Due to the impending full moon, the beach was almost fully consumed by the high tide.

We took a coconut tour and I never knew what one can learn. It was more than educational and that is why I would highly recommend it.

Going up to Haleakala was one of our goals. This time, we got up a little earlier so that we had enough time to hike almost all the way down (and back up again) and we didn't have a dinner reservation, so we had no stress, just hiking. The day's forecast contained some rain, but up on the top it was beautiful. We made it all the way on the right side where the path disappears.

The fauna is unique and obviously protected. One of the distinctive plants are the Haleakala Silverswords and below species are not blooming yet, but they still make quite an impression.

The toy chest in front of our door contained two boogie boards and we took advantage of the good surf conditions due to the full moon and went body boarding for the first time. It was a lot of fun and it won't be the last time.

You may have been wondering why this vacation has wave in the title. Well, here is the beautiful sculpture we found at Makai Glass Maui. They have a great showroom with so many magnificent pieces of glass art.

Ford Mustang Mach-e GT Performance

Finally, I just got an email notification from the Ford dealership that my car that I ordered 7/10/2021 has arrived and that I can pick it up. This is exciting news and I can't wait.... ehh, wait, didn't I just wait for 10 months?

Anyway, before I even filled out any paper work (or paid for that matter), we drove around the block and the experience was exhilarating.

As you know, VW's slogan is Fahrvergnügen, which means driving pleasure. Driving an EV with 480 horses is an absolute pleasure (even if it is not one of those German cars) and it's so much fun leaving "regular" drivers way behind at a stop light. The acceleration is tremendous and can give you a serious whip lash, especially the passenger if they are not prepared.

It is so much enjoyment, that I even volunteer to "forget" about the milk and then having to go back to the store and get it.

The car arrived at just about the right time, when gas prices are going up and only up. It's so nice to just plug it in the garage and not having to go to a gas station.

Tarasp (Engadin, Switzerland)

Tarasp is a sleepy town in the canton of Graubünden and part of the lower Engadin, a valley that stretches from St. Moritz northeast towards Austria. We stayed at the family owned Hotel Chastè, that offers very quant rooms, most of which have a wonderful view of the castle.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday they offer a Gourmet menu that truly deserves recognition from Michelin. The chef paid attention to preparing all the courses with locally grown ingrediencies. It was quite a culinary treat. The wonderful dinner was completed with a local Chardonnay, a surprise when considering the canton of Graubünden is very mountainous.

Visiting the museum Susch will surprise most first timers, as one would not expect to see this kind of art exhibited in such a small village. We can highly recommend a stop to check it out. 

One of the most picturesque villages in this valley is hands down Guarda, which kept its charm. One parks outside of the village and its very easy to explore it on foot.

Right above the village there is a short hike of about 1:30 hours, called the Schellen-Ursli Weg. The view over the valley is great. The trail is based on the children's book, written and illustrated by a local artist.

Because the weather was nice and we were in the neighborhood, we decided to take the aerial tram from Silvaplana up to the Corvatsch, from where you get an unobstructed view of Piz Bernina with the Bianco Ridge to the left. Years ago, were hiked on the other side of Piz Bernina down from the Diavolezza onto the glacier right in front of Piz Palü.

Nowadays, the Corvatsch is not only known for its fabulous 360 degree panorama, but also for the Orma whisky, some of which is distilled at the top (3303 meters). It took me quite a while to get someone from the (due to illness) limited staff to open up the gift shop so that I could buy a bottle of this unique liquor.

One day, we hiked from S-charl via Alp Astra through God da Tamangur again, and this time, it was a wonderful day. 

At the end of this trip, nothing is more refreshing than a local specialty from Appenzeller Beer with a wonderful view of green meadows complimented with the gentle sound of cow bells from the other side of the valley.

Napa Valley

This year, we went to Napa a little earlier in the wine season to enjoy wine tasting with food. The highlight of this week was a lunch at Round Pond Estate, where chef Ryan Seal surprised us with his food pairing. It was simply outstanding and innovative and just what the doctor ordered. 

We stayed in Yountville for a very good reason. After tasting wine all day long (just kidding) you can find plentiful very nice restaurants to enjoy dinner within walking distance. No need to drive anywhere. On the walk back to the hotel of your choice you will be able to see art like this.

Of course, we visited Hall at their Rutherford location for a Platinum tasting experience. The wines were excellent, no question about it.

Since we are member of B Cellars and Sullivan's , we naturally stopped by there as well. We really like the Merlot from Sullivan's, it's the best (and probably most expensive Merlot) I've ever had.

New wineries that we visited for this year were Cakebread Cellars and Alpha Omega.

Mustang Mach-e

When in November 2019, Ford released a teaser for a new EV, I knew immediately that this would go on my wish list. Not that I was a Mustang fan, but those lines are so sleek and I just couldn't believe that Ford, the grandfather of all automotive companies, could actually design such a beauty.

On July 2021, I finally put in an order for a GT Performance version. As you can imagine, I'm very exited to receive it sometime next year.

Update: Ford sent me an email, stating that their production for the 2021 model had reached capacity and that my order would be upgraded to model year 2022.

Maui

COVID through a wrench in our plans of going to Switzerland this year in May, rather than in the fall as usual. In early spring, Swiss Airline wanted a final confirmation of whether or not we would fly to Zurich and at that time we weren't sure if we would get the shot in time. So we cancelled the trip 😥. Once we received our second shot we decided to fly for 8 hours in the other direction and booked a fantastic condo on Maui.

The condo was recently renovated and the huge fridge from Thermador still had a piece of Styrofoam protecting the drawers. The view was 180 degree of breathtaking pacific ocean and every night we were able to witness a picture perfect sunset on our private lanai. We snorkeled every day with big turtles up to 3 feet in diameter at turtle city, which was maybe one walking minute away! We also kayaked along the shore line checking out hotels that made us feel lucky to have our own private beach.

Getting up early to drive the road to Hana is essential and absolutely worth it. This would be fun with a car like a Mach-E GT (for more on that a little later) since that car is made for the never ending curves. Right after Hana we stopped by the Wallua Falls. Because it was raining in the morning, the hike up to the falls was hot and steamy. It was quite a sight and even though we got up early, we were not the only ones, but I would not call it crowded.

We continued on the same road that changes to a dirt road to explore the southern part of the island and the climate changed from rain forest and bamboo to dry and volcanic.

Speaking of volcano, a trip up to Haleakalā is highly recommended, so that you can appreciate the full extend of the different climate zones this island has to offer. Believe it or not, that mountain is over 3000 meters high (10,1023 feet). It was so high, that we drove through a cloud layer on switch backs that almost made us dizzy and the view from the observatory was just stunning. A four hour hike down from the crater and then back up again was a reminder what Mars could be like.

On the west side of the island, in Lahaina, we visited the Maui Ku'ia Estate Chocolate factory, which produces a variety of delicious chocolate with cacao beans that are locally grown on Maui. The tasting was being held outdoors in the middle of their farm. And I thought, only Swiss know how to make chocolate. Oh boy, was I wrong. 

The Hali'imaile Distillery uses a unique technique that makes sure the aroma of their product is preserved. They use local ingredients and even though I personally like Whiskey, I was floored by their Pau Maui Vodka.