Dear Top Gear,

On my daily commute to work I suffer from the stupendously bad knowledge of traffic rules by cyclists. I get over this by dreaming of an amazing video, where the same type of driving is carried out by cars. It would include

• turning right just to fall over
• not stopping at a red light or a stop sign, regardless of incoming traffic
• not yielding to vehicles in a roundabout but diving into people already in it
• driving slowly side by side taking both of the lanes, chatting away
• driving on the pavement and not on the lane dedicated for your vehicle
• turning across two lanes without checking the mirror or indicating a turn
• all this without seatbelt or lights, in the dark, while texting a friend, listening to music and drinking a latte

And an extra one for the pedestrians near extremely busy bikeways:

• trying to cross a highway whilst staring at your smart phone

If you could make this video a reality, I would be eternally grateful.

Camping til the summer ends.

The late summer in Davis has been glorious. Returning back to the sunny and warm weather from already cool and rainy Europe in August was awesome, and I've had great opportunities to go camping with my lovely friends.

Canoeing and wine tasting in Russian River

As a jet-lag cure, we spent a weekend camping at Schoolhouse Canyon in Sonoma Valley. It was my first experience of camping in America, and I was stunned how nice the campgrounds were and how much camping gear people had. Huge tents, travel kitchens, the works. I had great time regardless of my jet lag (got to see the sunrise on a foggy river... probably the first in a long long time).

We had bought a Groupon for a day canoeing trip, and as the weather was around scorchy 40C, a day on the river was so pleasant and fun. I had no idea how to steer the canoe, but luckily my friends were more apt at it! Also, the same friend who kept me going straight, had prepared an amazing Greek-themed packed lunch for us to picnic on by the river.... (mmm I'm getting hungry thinking it even two months later!). 

The day on the river was followed by an evening in Healdsburg: some wine tasting, art gallery window shopping and some of the best tapas I've ever had at Bravas (I don't think I can even start thinking about those... I'm too hungry to write about them!)

Unsurprisingly, on the Sunday during the drive back to Davis, we stopped at as many wineries as we could. While I disagreed with the others on matters of taste for most of the day, we all absolutely loved Harvest Moon. Their wine tasting was somehow more personal and friendlier than any of the others, and the owner stopped by too to share his tales about winemaking. I really want to go back there next time I'm in Sonoma!

Backpacking in Ventana wilderness

Now that I had some camping experience under my belt, another couple of my friends managed to persuade me to go backpacking with them on the Labour Day weekend. We drove down past Big Sur on Highway 1 just before the Labour Day traffic. The first night we camped at Limekiln camp grounds, where we watched the sunset by the Pacific and used the appendix of my Game of Thrones book to light a campfire. The new camping mattress I had invested in was amazing, and felt rested starting the hike the next morning.

My friend had led me to believe that the hike would be really easy, and I had warned her that I swear like a sailor when I have to walk uphill for more than 10 minutes. I think both of us lied. In the end, it was an amazing hike (except for the flies) on a lovely cloudy day, and the views were stunning:

After 5 miles uphill when we reached our camping spot at Vincent Flat, I set my tent up under a huge redwood and promptly proceeded to take a lengthy nap. We had the best dinner ever (like the meals out in the wild tend to be), and the night was so dark and the forest was so full of sounds that I slept ridiculously well. I think that the large redwood in the middle of this picture is that I slept underneath:

Obviously the hike down was easy breezy beautiful, and I felt like I could go on for ages (but my leg muscles next day proved this to be a lie). We had a quick dip in the ocean before heading to Pigeon Point lighthouse hostel. This time we had some vacation traffic with us on the Highway 1, but we got to Pigeon Point well before dark - on time to book the last time slot for the hot tub under the stars. To prepare for the hot tub, we ate well at  Highway 1 brewery, and well, I was so amazingly relaxed.

(For people considering to stay at the hostel: There is some debate if I got bedbug bites there or not - both my legs were bitten and they still itch a month later. This was regardless of the annoying plastic sheets they used. Also, do take earplugs for dorm sleeping although I doubt the woman snoring like a war elephant will be there again.)

Symbiosis Gathering at Woodward Reservoir

After having tagged along my friends and practiced camping with their awesome gear, it was time for me and Boyfriend (who arrived here not too long ago!) to gear up for camping trips of our own. Tiny gas cooker, cooler, camping cups and plates, camping chairs... and we were all set to go to a festival!

So we headed out to Symbiosis Gathering - a mini-Burning Man of sorts: 10,000 people, amazing amounts of art and music, and all around good time. It was located on a peninsula into a reservoir, which made an interesting venue to explore and washing off the dust easy. I had amazing time meeting new friends, dancing out under the stars, enjoying the shows from circus to burlesque to psychedelic bingo, and hearing some of my favouritest artists out there to play sets. When can I go again? 

As we didn't bring a camera there, here's some good photos from Symbiosis.

Greetings from summer vacation!

Amazing summer in Davis.

This is a list of amazing things about spending summer in Davis:

Daytime weather (30-45C)
Nighttime weather (15-25C)

Friends
Barbecues
Boardgames
Breweries
Accordions
Swimming pools
Ice-cream
Fireworks on July 4th
Whole Earth Festival
Farmers' Market
Apricots
Peaches
Nectarines
Hikes
Bikes
Parties
Pool parties
Birthday parties
Barbecue parties
Run 5K parties
Eurovision parties
Movie nights
Shopping days
Road trips
Adventures
Lake Berryessa
Point Reyes
Napa Valley
Fine Dining
Dining
Picnics
Hot Springs


...there has been so many great weekends this summer! It's a pleasure looking back the past few months and realise how much awesome stuff has happened. Thank you goes to all of my friends here in Davis!

American Law.

Disclaimer: I actually have not read any law books ever, and all of what I'm writing here is based on hearsay, and no one should trust this as a reliable reference. Because, you know, it's America, and someone might sue me for incorrect legal council.

So this is my general impression of American law:

• Common sense is not expected from Americans. ("Putting this plastic bag on your head may cause death", "Warning: coffee is hot", "Do not leave the driver's seat whilst driving").

• If someone hurts themselves in your house, you have to pay for their medical bills.

• If you own some beautiful forest, or a piece of pretty but rocky shoreline, or even a simple greenhouse, it's an attractive threat. So when a drunk person climbs on your property and hurts themselves, they will sue you and win. To get around this, you can make your property much prettier by posting "do not enter" every hundred meters and you'll be covered!

• Instead of law expecting you to help someone in need (e.g. car crash), the law might cover you against the other person suing you for damages that you caused whilst helping.

So interestingly, you can and will be liable for things that someone else's stupidity caused to themselves... but don't worry! You can still legally shoot people (in self-defense, in some states).

Ramblings on American entitlement.

I've written about this before, but it doesn't cease to amaze me how the sense of entitlement is engrained in the American psyche. "I've gone through such hardships that I deserve to be happy / to get this job / to get somewhere in life". Even it's a country with it's famous dream being that anyone can make it to the top with hard work, the newer generation seems to think that they're entitled to everything, from behaving badly to amazing things just coming their way. 

It has been in the news that Chinese tourists have extremely bad behavior (including writing on hieroglyphs in Egypt), and the American discussion boards have exploded by the happiness of hey, we're not the worst. True that, Americans are awful tourists, with their entitlement to doing things American way wherever they go and with their freedom of loud speech. Where I come from, pride is a sin, not a virtue, and instead of confidently parading around declaring who we are, we shyly want to know what others might think about us. 

I was helping to run an outreach event at a local high school a couple of weeks ago, and two things struck me hard. Firstly, why would you put a bumper sticker on your car declaring how awesome your kid is at school? Proud much? How would this achieve anything else except your kid being totally humiliated? Secondly, do you not trust your young citizens enough not to lock them behind gates and barbed wire for the day of school? I understand if the 5-year olds are in gated areas for their safety, but high schoolers? Well, I guess that they are not expected to be responsible for their own actions (they're entitled to do whatever they want, so let's not expect responsible choices from them?), but moreover people from outside are also a risk in this country (another scary thing that I keep forgetting about).

A Mexican friend of mine said that you you will find the truth about the nation from what sort of drugs are advertised on tv. Apparently in Mexico, the big money lies in cures for stomach problems (so the nation is all about spicy food?), but in the US, the ads are all about anti-depressants. And I've noticed that the entitlement reaches the mental health too; people feel that they deserve happiness and that it should just come to them without having to work towards it. 

I can see how the American society leaves very little space for a community feel, and how this leads to selfish behavior. Furthermore, the customer service culture where the customer is always right no matter what leads to weird expectations like "someone will tidy up after me if I leave a mess in the campsite/park/communal area". For me, putting my trash into the waste bin is a no-brainer, but just this weekend I saw a middle aged woman making a deal about how she's being a "good citizen" by putting her empty coffee cup into the trash. Honestly? 

I think this country needs a little bit more of personal responsibility. Most of the time what you get in life is what you put in yourself. You cannot always blame or sue someone when you make a mistake. You are not always right. When you promise something, stand up to it. Approach things with gratefulness, not entitlement. Care about people around you. Even though you're special and amazing, you're not the only one!

Having said this, Davis as a town has a community feel to it, and people seem to be very caring about their environment. I guess I shouldn't really jump into conclusions quite yet or draw generalizations about American psyche! Also, I might want to practice a bit more humility and stop being so judgmental against all thing American and stop being so proud of not being one of them… after all, the US is a wonderful and extremely successful country inhabited by some of the friendliest and greatest people I know!

Airtravel in the US.

Things that take me by surprise when I fly to places in the US:

1) All food and most of drink service is purchase-only. Even with major airlines. I'm too used to my free in-flight beer and snack!

2) Checking in bags costs money on all airlines.

3) You're allowed ridiculous number of bags in cabin. Oh your little suitcase and a huge laptop bag and a poster tube? Oh sure, bring in your pillow and handbag too!

4) Taking shoes off at security check no matter how light they are. Apparently even flip flops can have hidden pockets.

5) Short queue times to check-in and security check. Never stood in line more than 5 mins.

6) You're allowed to keep your bag at your feet on the security exit row.

7) The entertainment panel shows not very interesting shows and movies, and to get even that, you need to pay with your credit card (there's a swipe system attached).

Picnic Day & sunny spring days.

It seems that past two months just flew by without blog updates! Work has been keeping me busy and maybe a bit too stressed, and I did have my one cold of the year over the Easter weekend. March and April have been very sunny and pleasant, and I think spring might be my favourite time in California. The flowers on the many fruit trees lining Davis streets looked and smelled wonderful. Strawberries and asparagus have been in season. The weather has been sunny and warm without being too hot and exhausting, and there has been great days out with picnics, hikes, bikes, just spending time with friends. One great day like that was UC Davis 99th Annual Picnic Day.

Picnic Day is an UC Davis tradition where the university showcases some of it's aspects for general public and alumni, but it felt moreover a country fair with some of the animal shows. The queues for most interesting things were incredible, so we ended up just soaking up the sun and strolling through the campus, instead of spending hours in lines for Doxie Derby (dachshund race, video from 2009) or Chemistry Magic Show. For the afternoon, we sat down in the Arboretum for a picnic and the Battle of the Bands (video from this year), where marching bands from UCD and other nearby universities compete until the bands can't come up with a song to play that hasn't heard before that day!

I had a great day with my friends and campus activities were very much geared towards families. However I kept hearing that non-university affiliated locals dislike the Picnic Day as it jams the traffic completely, and because the student population goes absolutely crazy with drinking. I thought that it can't be that bad and people were exaggerating, but I did spot drinking games and drunken students already at 10am. However, we downtown area and didn't see the worst of it.

Today the temperature hit 30C and next week seems to be very hot, so I would be tempted to declare that summer has now begun. The sunshine and warm weather have been making me more energetic and happier, so I wish sunshine to all my readers too!

Land of the Free (restrictions apply, while supplies last)

The more time I've been in America, the more its ways baffle me. People here seem proud of their freedom, but I've felt that there are surprising limitations and double-standards. I feel that money and religion play a bigger role than elsewhere in Western world where I've lived, and these seem to set some serious restrictions to personal freedoms.

If America openly embraced itself as a Christian country, I would not have an issue with the religion. But claiming to have freedom of religion just does not align with making schoolchildren cite Pledge of Allegiance ("one nation under God") or printing "In God we trust" on your money. Or, like they're suggesting in Arizona, making high school graduation conditional to reciting an oath by God. I have not personally felt any sort of discrimination by religion, or any sort of push to Christianity. However, when the religion starts affecting legislation, I think freedom is lost. Examples of this are the difficulty of same-sex marriages, and decisions taken on women's bodies and futures by attempting, for example, to criminalize abortion after rape as "tampering with evidence" as in New Mexico.

How about the freedom to carry a gun? I've started to think of this as freedom to be afraid on the streets, knowing that anyone could be armed and go crazy about it (goes well with the freedom from mental health support in California). I do think that Davis is really safe and I don't need to worry about guns here, but still our safety training included a section on what to do if someone shows up with a gun. But here's a beautiful defense for gun rights from Alex Jones, absolutely worth watching, I'm sure it will convince anyone that we'd be safer if he'd carry more guns.

And then the freedoms that money brings! There is a freedom for billionaires to buy off media to promote their agenda, instead of freedom for individuals to obtain reliable news. So apparently Fox News provides the biggest chuck of news to Americans, but unfortunately Fox News feeds the masses bollocks about climate change and thinks Germany is sunnier than the US. It's no wonder this country is so backward at times if the "news" are blatant mind control by someone rich enough. I feel there should be a freedom to access news free of censorship and bought opinions (like these) on public TV in the style of BBC.

And I want to finish off by saying that there are many numerous things that America excels in, like freedom of speech. I've never experienced it elsewhere like I have in San Francisco, where anyone will start an opinionated debate with you on the bus. There are many countries that I've been to where I would not dare to publish this post due to government policing the internet for unwanted opinions, but in America (so far) I've felt safe to say what I think!

Los Angeles: cars and stars.

For the long weekend of the Presidents' Day I did a trip to Los Angeles. I took the train (and a couple of Amtrak busses) from Davis to LA, and it was actually a very comfortable way to travel. The leg space, the free wifi and the views were a definite bonus. And not needing to go to the airport but travelling directly between city centres! The views were mainly flat farmlands, which are much vaster than I had realised, and then suddenly stunning hills just north of LA.

LA itself was just like in the movies, and everything revolved around movies. Spot movie stars here! See the famous movie theatres and hand prints here! Take a tour to see movie stars' homes here! This building featured in these films! Come and see the movie studios here! Eat ice-cream here and use our celebrity GPS system to locate where various movie stars are right now! I do understand that movies are entertaining, but honestly, movie stars are just people that are great at acting and filmstudios are where they work. What if tourists tried to spot you, your home or your place of work? I feel the celebrity worship has gone a tad too far here.

I spent a lot of my two days on hop-on-hop-off buses which was a good way of seeing a city built for cars. Quick impressions:

•  Hollywood Boulevard was more touristy and more run down that I had expected, and the set up for Academy Awards was in full swing. 
• Beverly Hills and especially Rodeo Drive were posher than I had expected, and maybe someone should tell Eddie Murphy that Beverly Hills Police Department was hiring. I liked how residential streets were lined by trees, each street with a different species than the others.  
• Santa Monica was beach and palms, and as I think I got a little bit too much sun sitting on the open top bus, I skipped walking on the beach. I also forgot to pack my sunglasses and sunblock with me - such a beginner's error for someone going to LA!
• Downtown LA was actually to me most interesting part - it had beautiful high-rise architecture and it felt like a real city compared to the surreality of Beverly Hills.

Interestingly enough, Wilshire Boulevard, is a point of pride to LA. It had the first traffic lights in the city as well as the first dedicated left-turn lane in all of US. The shops on the street were required to have sufficient parking for all their customers, and it's claimed that this street started the car culture in America that spread like wildfire. I find myself wishing that it hadn't, and there would be more pedestrian-friendly areas and public transport. The traffic in LA was awful, every street is wide and traffic jammed a lot of the time. I could not believe how many cars there could be in a city centre!

One of the highlights for me was the hostel I stayed at, the Orange Drive Manor hostel, and interesting people I met at the dorm. The reasons to come to LA/Hollywood seem to be acting, dancing, partying and taking photos! I suffered a little about having a top bunk (waking up felt a bit like this under their leopard-print covers) but it was the only spot in the room that got reliable wifi!

New York, California and Happy Holidays.

Happy and successful New Year 2013 to everyone! Let's honour the old year with a December-themed photo post!

New York, New York

I had the pleasure of spending a weekend in New York with my family. Stopping over there on their way to California was a fun move, as I got to see a bit more of the US as well and it breaks down their long journey nicely. New York was huge, and everything seemed so big after little old Davis. To get an idea of the city, we did a hop-on-hop-off ride around Manhattan and went up to 30 Rock to look at the views on our first day.

 View to the south from Top of the Rock. 

It was rainy and visibility wasn't great, but it made me understand just how big Manhattan alone is!

 Central Park from Top of the Rock.

 There was something fun about the architecture...

 ...even when buildings took a whole block and were made of gray concrete.

We barely saw the Statue of Liberty or had the stamina to sit at the top of the bus for good views, as the weather got colder and rainier when we reached lower Manhattan. There's always the next time to see all of that! We finished the day off with a delicious seafood dinner at Blue Water Grill. On our second day we debated visiting various museums, and ended up walking through the Central Park to the Guggenheim where black and white Picassos were on display.

 Upper West Side residential street.

The layout of the Guggenheim was very accessible - it's just a long spiral corridor.

We attempted some shopping on 5th Avenue, but the type of shops wasn't exactly what we were looking for. We ended up checking out Grand Central station and the metro system, which was an inherent part of visiting New York just like the yellow cabs. And let's not forget smoked salmon bagels and the New York Times crossword in the morning!

After a quick rest, we walked down the Broadway and to the Lincoln Centre. We had tickets for Nutcracker at New York City Ballet, and I really enjoyed the production. It was somehow more accessible and exciting than the previous versions of Nutcracker I've seen, so it was a good and Christmassy choice!


California road trip

My family spent a couple of days looking around Davis, but as it is such a small place, there is not much to see. But luckily in the area there are many many interesting sights, so we rented a car and had a week-long road trip planned.

Our first stop was Sacramento, the capital of California. It's only 20 miles or so from Davis, so it was nice to first do a practice day of road tripping and return home afterwards. The Capitol building was pretty, looked lot like the one in Washington, and was surrounded by beautiful gardens. We also did quite a bit of shopping at the Westfield Downtown Plaza.

 California State Capitol. (c) Boyfriend.

Next day the road trip proper began. We drove from Davis on the Lincoln Highway (Historic Route 40) to Napa Valley via Lake Berryessa. In the hilly forests there were a lot of lichen growing on the trees, and the views were stunning. In Napa we had the most delicious lunch I'd had in all of America at Kitchen Door: the beef carpaccio was the best I've ever had. From Napa we drove through the Napa valley -full of wineries- to St Helena for afternoon coffee. St Helena was a picturesque little town and reminded me of Mediterranean holiday towns. We finished our first day with a drive to Beltane Ranch, where we had booked rooms for the night. It apparently has been chosen as the "US's best vineyard stay", and we really enjoyed the homely atmosphere.

Lichen near lake Berryessa.

 Beltane Ranch in the evening.

Beltane Ranch breakfast area.

 Beltane Ranch vineyard.

From Beltane Ranch and town of Glen Ellen we drove to the Pacific and enjoyed the views from Highway 1. We had seafood lunch at Nick's Cove, which became a contender for the best lunch I've had in America. The oysters were delicious, and the eggs benedict with Dungeness crab was just heaven. I think my parents' presence allowed us to stumble upon the tastiest food in California!

From Stinson Bay we took the scenic way through redwood forests to Muir Woods National Monument. The redwoods were still stunning and still awe-inspiring. I don't think their essence can be captured on camera, so I recommend anyone who has a chance to visit a redwood forest! And just after sunset we arrived to San Francisco and caught the beautiful city view with Golden Gate Bridge on the foreground just after heavy rain.

 Oysters at Nick's Cove.

 Bracken growing on a tree, and some redwoods to make us all feel tiny.

 Golden Gate Bridge just after sunset.

On our first day in San Francisco we checked out Lombard Street - previously the crookedest street in America before Wall Street gained that honour. The eight hairpin turns were easily navigated and we could carry on our journey to Berkeley. In Berkeley we went to NorthFace sales, had the best pizza in town at the Cheese Board and toured the UC Berkeley campus. We caught the stunning views over the Bay all the way to San Francisco from the Berkeley Hills before heading back. After getting bored in the traffic we decided to go and see the Hobbit and parked our rental car in a public garage. The movie was more or less what you'd expect, but our car wasn't - it had been broken into. A couple of calls later, we were set for a replacement car for the next day and a police report, but unfortunately we lost some very good photos from the Wine Counties with the cameras of me and Boyfriend.

 Winding section of Lombard Street.

Rest of our time in San Francisco contained a lot of sightseeing. Fisherman's Wharf, Height and Ashbury with "hippies" and beautiful houses, Golden Gate park, Alcatraz, Cable Cars, Chinatown, the usual San Francisco fare.

 Victorian houses in Height and Ashbury.

 Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.

 Oink, oink, oink! At Fisherman's Wharf.

After San Francisco we drove south. Our first stops were Palo Alto and Silicon Valley, where we checked out the campuses for Stanford, Facebook, Google and Apple. I had not appreciated earlier how widely everything was spread in Silicon Valley, or the long distance from the Stanford campus to Palo Alto and nearest grocery store. Then we returned to Highway 1 and Pacific views. We drove through Santa Cruz and to Monterey, where we stayed the night.

Hoover Tower of Stanford University.

 

Campus views from Hoover Tower, including the Main Quad.

 Facebook campus.

In Monterey we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium which was just plain stunning and left me wanting to go back soon. The best parts in my opinion were the jellies and the "open sea" pool feeding with plenty of fish, including hammer sharks, huge school of sardines and some turtles. The afternoon we spent driving the 17-Mile Drive with some more stunning Pacific views. We even spotted some whales spouting water! At the end of the drive we drove back to San Francisco and dropped my family off to the airport. Our wonderful Christmas vacation had come to the end, and we waved goodbye. Later that night it turned out that their flight had been cancelled, and after many hours on phone, the airline decided to bring up a new flight for them and in the end they got home safely just like planned.

Jellyfish!

 The Pacific Ocean.

 Views at the 17-Mile Drive.

More views at 17-Mile Drive.

Happy Holidays

As my family left a bit before Christmas, it was down to me and Boyfriend to start some Christmas traditions of our own. As the actual holidays crept on us very suddenly, we ended up decorating our Ikea lamp instead of trying to find a last minute tree. Our Christmas Eve was for two of us and a dinner with salads, couple of different types of fish, ham and a delicious sweet potato casserole. Christmas Day we had a pleasure to dine at a friend's house: the hostess cooked yummy baked brie, duck, and homemade ravioli, and the other guests contributed tasty onion soup and blackberry crumble. It was lovely to spend the holiday with people close to us.

Our Christmas lamp and a Santa's little helper that appeared with way too many presents.

Santa brought us a chocolate-making kit, so we made some chocolates! (c) Good Friend.

Having taken my winter break a bit beforehand, I worked through most of the holiday period. Still there were a lot of festivities; a huge board game night at our place, a friend's double birthday party (one to bluff, one to surprise) and of course the New Year's Eve. We celebrated with friends and Wii Rock Band, and to our surprise, near the midnight the thing to do was to switch the TV on to watch a recording from New York's midnight with the the ball drop. In previous countries I've lived in, everybody heads outside for the midnight to watch fireworks and open bottles of bubbly!

So the year 2012 ended on a happy note, and I wish that year 2013 will bring a lot of peace and happiness to all of my readers!

This time the copyright of pictures goes to me, my mum and my dad unless otherwise stated. As always with blogspot, click the pictures to enlarge.