California!!!!!!!!

As luck would have it, I acquired a laptop just before heading to the US for eight days with my friend Bernd from choir. So here is an (ever so slightly condensed) account of what we got up to, written actually at the time instead of two months later:

Saturday 26th February
Arrived at LAX after 11-hour flight, caught bus to Van Nuys airport. Met by our friend Ian, drove to his house. Dropped bags, out for a few drinks - THAT's how to nip jetlag in the bud!

Sunday 27th February
Ian drove us to hills above Bel Air for great views across Valley to snow-capped mountains. Then through to Venice canals, then LAX. Bernd & I picked up car, drove to Venice Beach, walked all along beach, ate at Fig Tree – delicious salads! – walked back to pier, drove to Getty Center but closed, so drove to West Hollywood along Santa Monica Boulevard, walked around a bit, had a drink in Hamburger Mary’s. Drove to Hollywood, saw outside of Oscars building, then back to Ian’s. Drove to Griffith Park observatory (guy with crazy laser firing at stars), back to Sherman Oaks Galleria (home of Valley Girls), ate Chinese, back to Ian’s for huuuuge glasses of Cointreau.

Monday 28th February
Breakfast at Café Marmalade with WiFi and crazy waitress who liked my shirt (we thought we were getting a parking ticket, but it turns out the woman was standing by her own car and fumbling for her keys, not by our car writing in a book!), back to Ian’s, drove to Getty Villa, architecture tour with mad old woman, great Roman house, met Afghan security guy who had lived in Germany, fantastic Greek & Etruscan (& Roman) sculptures, lots to see, lunch in café (not so great salad bit too cold - but I can see how that would work in warmer weather), drove to Malibu, up through hills, view on Mulholland Highway, faaaat strawberries from Mexican guy at side of road, drove to Santa Monica beach, walked out on pier for sunset, drove to Ian’s, met his friend Mikey, drove to West Hollywood to Hamburger Mary’s again, this time for dinner, walked to The Abbey for coffee & the biggest slice of cake I think I've ever seen, drove back to Ian’s for small glasses of Cointreau.

Tuesday 1st March
Breakfast at Ian’s, drove to Getty Center, two-hour dash through permanent exhibitions, saw Afghan guy again (the staff rotate locations it seems), excellent pictures, sculptures, Chinese photography, drove to Ian’s, then straight to Midori sushi (all you can eat but only for one hour plus normally evil but today super friendly service at tabeerrrrrlllll), ate own bodyweight in sushi, drove to Palm Springs, stopped for petrol from nice beardy chap whose only German was the phrase “rein, raus” (in and out) - bizarre! Drove to outlet shopping but overwhelmed by level of choice so carried on to my friend Mike’s house. Beautiful house and pool. Drove round Palm Springs and saw all the shops, restaurants, bars, hotels, city center, dog bowl attached to wall... Back to Mike’s, typed up all this, hit pool...

Wednesday 2nd March
Grapefruits for breakfast straight from the tree, then drove to Joshua Tree National Park. Bought packed lunch, drove in, Keys View (San Andreas Fault), dam, Hidden Valley, climbed through White Tank boulders, Cholla Cactus Garden, ocotillos, sunset over mountains, drove back to PS on I10, dinner at Trio with Mike – delicious sauvignon blanc from California! – back to Mike’s for another cheeky dip in the pool (amazing how cold it is when you get out and the dry desert air just sucks the moisture from your skin!).

Thursday 3rd March
Drove up to Palm Springs Tramway, up San Jacinto mountain, three hours walking through snow in inappropriate shoes, great views of valley, salad lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, back to Mike’s. Coffee at Koffi with Mike's friends Richard & Brian, walked through Village Fest, dinner at Grind burger bar, back through Fest, spot of teeshirt shopping, home.

Friday 4th March
Breakfast at Mike’s, went to Fresh & Easy for shopping, then back to Mike’s to give him flowers and make beds. Drove to Salton Sea along the 111, stopping for more shopping and muffins. Salton Sea, then inland through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Crazy dune buggy convention in Colorado desert! Beautiful cactus and ocotillo flowers in park. Church Lane with so many churches in Borrego Springs. Amazing changing landscape to Julian. Apple pie & cider in Julian, then drove to San Diego. Hotel, check in, then to Top of the Park to meet Elliott, Peter, and their friends Cecilia and another Mexican chap whose name escapes me. Drinks on rooftop bar, then to The Loft, a dodgy bar on Fifth Street with pool tables and a rough clientèle. Café round corner for “Night Owl Special” meals, back to hotel, quick nightcap with Bernd in local bar – nasty! Back to hotel.

Saturday 5th March
Smelly breakfast room, check out, to shopping centre for luggage, drove to Coronado, walk along beaches, drove to Gaslamp Quarter, walked around, nasty hot dog, drove through Embarcadero to Mission Beach, walked along, then Pacific Beach, then La Jolla, stopped at Starbucks for internet, drove halfway to LA, stopped for petrol and then steaks at the Cheesecake Factory, drove to bar in North Hollywood to meet Ian & Mikey, back to Ian’s.

Sunday 6th March
Brunch at Renaissance Hotel with Ian & Mikey. Drove into Downtown, looked at Walt Disney Concert Hall from outside, walked all through downtown, through Grand Central Market (mmm fish ceviche!), caught Metro to Union Station, El Pueblo, new Church of Our Lady (crazy tapestries!), Metro to Pershing Square, Biltmore Hotel (filming going on), MOCA, drove all through Hollywood again, then down Santa Monica Boulevard to LAX. Brought hire car back, got changed, ate a grapefruit from Mike’s garden, boarded. Screaming children, but still managed to sleep. Weather in Paris cool but sunny.

All I'd say in conclusion is that I had the best time with Bernd! We have a similar approach to travelling: attempt to do too much, and barely have a second to spare for anything mundane like resting. We probably did more in eight days than was sensible - in particular I felt like I could have spent a whole week just seeing San Diego properly - but it was a fantastic experience. Hurra for travelling!

And then it was February!

Yes, my dears, I've found a second to squeeze out another entry before Easter. It was a good job I had a business trip to Stuttgart the other week, and time to type up some of my exciting life movements...

I don’t believe I’ve mentioned l’Angolo dei Sapori. It’s a little haven of Italian “gumjoy” (as they say around these parts) with the yummiest sandwiches – oh, pardon me, of course I mean tramezzini! – ranging from your classic panini to foccacce and piadine, all with a variety of fillings (salami, crudo, cheeses, rucola, tomatoes that taste of tomato, the works). Mmmm, even just typing these words is making the juices run together in my mouth! OMG and I haven’t even told you about the little pastries they do with their coffee (which is top-flight too): dainty confections of almond, butter, pistachio, cream, chocolate, jams, and more almond. Oh Yes.

Anyway, what makes this place special for me is not only what’s on offer there but also the fact that it’s round the corner from my office – how handy is that! Occasionally, we’ll head there in little groups for lunch, maybe just me & Julia, maybe Heiko too, or just me & Birgit. I also bring visitors there if they’re staying at mine during the week – because it’s literally just down the hill from my place too. We’re talking central, both to Munich and to my life!

So in early February I’m walking back from l’Angolo to the office with Julia, and we’re just strolling and chatting, and all of a sudden a huge “roof avalanche” smashes into the ground right before our very feet! This is when all the snow that’s on a building’s roof slips off when the weather’s warmed up a notch and the layer right on the tiles has melted. Usually, the roofs in Munich have a little anti-avalanche gate along the edge, to give the snow something to hold on to before it jumps, but this one clearly didn’t. And we very nearly got it all over us! Thank heavens the slab of cheesecake we’d just shared was so massive it had caused us to waddle ever so slightly, slowing our progress.

I had another exhilarating culinary experience that first week of February: Michaela & I decided to splash out and go to one of Munich’s “in” restaurants – just for the hell of it. It’s crazy really, but in the five years I’ve been living here now, we’ve probably only been out just the two of us about twice. For the most part, it’s either in big groups or with the kids or we’re just at hers. So we decided to do something about that, and we ended up booking places at Nektar. We had no idea of how the evening would pan out – there wasn’t even a menu on the website – but that’s part of the fun.

So we arrived, left our coats, and headed downstairs into this very louche bar area, to be met by two babes in bodices and high heels. Bizarre. Where would we like to sit? Would we like an aperitif? Did we want a tour of the place? We had a quick look round, then had a cheeky mojito at the bar, before being led into the dining area. We slipped off our shoes and climbed up onto the massive sofas, then snuggled into our spaces between two other groups and were brought bread & water.

Yes, this restaurant has no tables! Or chairs, for that matter. You have to eat off your lap. And, between courses, there’s a bit of a floorshow: singing, dancing, performance (we had some sort of shaolin monk style kung fu guy – not bad). The food was also pretty good, it has to be said. But – and maybe I’m getting old, or I’m some kind of fuddy-duddy – I just couldn’t get comfy up against the wall, with barely enough cushions, and then having to balance a plate on my lap. It’s just not me. I mean, I don’t have a telly! I don’t have a reason to eat off my lap. Hence no practice, I guess.

It was only when we got outside again that we realized just how bad the air was down in the restaurant. Blimey! We thought we were knackered, but actually it was just oxygen deprivation. Invigorated by the chill night air, we decided to head to El Teatro for a cheeky drink before heading home. Ivana was on duty, and rushed off her feet, but she managed to grab a few minutes for a chat with us in between waiting tables. Bless!

That Saturday I went ice skating with Michaela & the boys, plus Giulio, Ryan’s friend. I hadn’t been skating in about four years – and it showed! Oh my aching feet! And arse: yes, I fell over. But only once. It was classic. All the way round the long track (there was a hockey game on in the smaller middle rink) I was thinking “pride before a fall, pride before a fall” and taking it really easy. Then, just as the spot I’d started at came into sight, I was like, “wow! I made it! I CAN do this!” With predictable results!

That evening it was Susi’s 30th birthday drinks in Schwabing. OMG. They served their cocktails in BUCKETS! And we had one (or two, or perhaps three) too many buckets between us. I don’t actually remember saying goodbye to anyone, but apparently I did, so that’s all right then. It had been a great night, catching up with some of Susi’s friends that I knew and meeting others for the first time.

The following weekend I had Lisa & Rob over from Dublin. They flew in on Thursday, and I took them from the S-Bahn at Rosenheimer Platz straight to El Teatro for a slap-up tapas dinner before we even dropped their bags off at mine. Priorities! Friday lunch was at l’Angolo (for reasons outlined above), and dinner at Nockherberg – always a great night. The next morning we picked up Michaela and drove through the Bavarian Alps into Austria, then past Innsbruck and up into the Kühtai, a crazy high valley (the village is at 2000m) with unexpectedly karsty rocks.

I happen to know the owner of our hotel there, the Kühtaier Alm; always handy! We dropped off our stuff, met up with Mirèia & David (who drove in from Zurich) and then hit the slopes. Ah! What fabulous views! What a delightful place to ski! Even if the snow was a little thin… Harald (the hotel owner) told me in all his fifteen years in charge he’s never seen as little snow as this season. Ah well, at least it was high up enough for the snow that did fall back in December not to have all melted yet.

Lisa & Mirèia had never skied, so they had a private tutor, while me, Rob, Michaela & David headed off to see what we could do. But it was already 2pm so we only had a few hours before stopping for dinner. And oh my! What a dinner! Harald’s hotel has a fabulous restaurant. I had a dumpling fest: liver dumpling soup, cheese dumplings for main, and curd cheese dumplings for dessert. Yes!! Everyone was knackered after dinner and retired for the night, but I sat up for another couple of hours for a few drinks with Harald.

On the Sunday, after a hearty breakfast (and not a small amount of faffing) the boys hit the slopes while the girls went for a long walk and girly chat. We made it over to the other side of the valley, where the snow was much better, and the views bigger too. Lunch together at our hotel, and then Rob decided his feet were suffering enough so he stopped skiing. Me & David went off together, and it was exhilarating to ski with him, a Swiss who had been skiing since he was a child (although, bizarrely, not once in the last twenty years). I was really enjoying that combination of mild exhaustion and heaps of adrenaline. I love skiing!

After an uneventful motorway drive home, I took Rob, Lisa, David & Mirèia to the hotel near my place that I’d booked for them, and then we went for a Greek meal (where really too much was ordered – but we ate it all anyway). I took them back to mine for a few drinks, but everyone was totally knackered from the weekend’s exertions so we called it a night pretty soon.

On Monday I met up with the four of them for lunch at Spöckmeier in town, and then in the evening I took Lisa & Rob to the Alpenhof, the Italian up the road from my place. Sonja was our waitress again. She’s amusing! Then Tuesday we had lunch in a little place just opposite my flat that was very cutesy and appears to be open only at lunchtimes. We said our farewells there, because they would be gone by the time I came home from work that evening.

But I didn’t sink into a pit of lonely despair. No! Instead, I went for a drink with Bernd that evening at Moro, meeting a friend of his who was in town for a few days. Then, on Wednesday, after choir we went to NewsBar for a change – but it was very loud and full of young people, so I don’t think we’ll be rushing back there. On Thursday night Veronika came to visit me. I cooked a paella and she came up with the bubbly.

On Friday night I had a beer after work at Trachtenvogl with Julia B from the office (yup, I work with two Julias – but the B isn’t some kind of derogatory qualification, it’s her initial; the other Julia is Julia H). It wasn’t a planned drink, but after we’d seen all the action at the river with the rescue helicopter and the crowds of emergency service vehicles we felt it was a good time to have a sit down.

At the weekend, I had Bénédicte and Al (who was over from Washington for the weekend) over for lunch at my place. Al left before Thierry arrived. Yes! His month in Africa was over, and he was picking up the few bits & pieces he’d left at mine when he was here with Dirk. Later in the evening I went for drinks with Al, Bernd and my mate Oliver (no, a different Oliver). On Sunday I met up with Al again, this time for lunch in town. We went to Nero, the wood-fired pizza oven place near my old office, and then on to Café Glockenspiel for a coffee in the covered garden. It was starting to snow again as we left. Will this cold wintry weather ever end?

The following week I met up with Felix for lunch at Sesto Senso (the divine pizza restaurant that’s owned by the same people as l’Angolo dei Sapori); with Bernhard for a drink at Edelweiß (round the corner from mine) before having dinner at mine; with Harry for dinner at Anton’s (also near my place); and with Anton (my boss) for lunch at Haguruma, my favourite non-sushi Japanese restaurant in Munich. Busy busy busy!

And that’s where I’m going to end my account of my February, because the last few days of the month belong properly in a separate blog: the one I’m going to write about my trip to California!!