Nambiti, => Golden Gate Highlands Nat'l Park => Clarens => Maseru

Sunrise at Nambiti

The final morning game drive.  Kel hears that the single cheetah of the reserve has been spotted.  The lions killed his mother and sister. This is the nature of the animal hierarchy. 

We join the others to gaze at this magnificent survivor, hiding in the bushes between two quarries. 

We pack up, with just a bit of time for taking a bath in the super-cool tub with bath salts and then…

We return to Maseru via Golden Gate Highlands National Park, with its spectacular rock formations.

Annette imagines these to be the inspiration for the monument in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” as they jut out of the valley in mesas of multicolors, crisply cut and dramatic.  

We arrive at the town of Clarens, which is a bit “dear” in the same way as Sausalito or Carmel, with tourist shops and quaint shops, but the charm still works.  The Clarens Brewing Company offers craft beers, ford and free wifi.  We enjoy a tasting of their offering and make our selection. We snack on Sausage and Cheese platters.

After a bit of shopping nearby, Steph stocks up on coffee beans to go at Highland Coffee Roastery.

Arrive fairly late to Maseru and pick up grilled Portuguese style chicken from Gallito’s - the franchise outlet owned by Steph’s friend Paolo. We roll back to Steph’s flat to eat and it turns out to be a bit spicier than hoped!! 😳

Nambiti Hills - safari

4:30am wake up call!  You must be kidding.  Oh no, we are not.  We pile into our Land Cruisers and leave at 5am with Kingsley at the wheel and Kel riding shotgun… literally.  Well, actually it is rifles that the guys load up at the beginning of each ride and have at the ready in their camouflage jackets.  

The sun is up.  The bush is waking up.  Stephanie had good foresight to sleep in.  It is not a productive drive — lots of driving, and plenty of small antelope species, birds, zebras and other game, but no biggies. Kel and Kingsley head out on foot at one point because they’re hoping to track the cheetah who had made a kill there recently, but no luck.

Breakfast after our return is a classic Chef’s breakfast (English / Irish breakfast with the works).  Paul is opting for tea these days — feeling colonial, perhaps?  There’s time in the afternoon between drives for relaxation and, mmmm, massages: in room with a luxurious nap to follow. NuNu, our massage therapist relaxes and then pounds the flesh, leaving it invigorated.  Around 11:00AM, Paul gets the back and neck special in the hopes that the stiff back that appeared the morning after the LETOFE festival (slumped leaning on the banner backstop for too long??) will be relieved.  Yes, this helps.  Annette opts for the full body version.  Paul hangs at the pool with the couple from Finland and Aada, the little girl who’s like a mini-Stephanie — circa 5 years old.

Afternoon game drive with Kel:  Our group is the first to spot the…Lioness!  ‘Phants – 4 in this small herd: a huge bull, two females and a baby. 

Lion brothers. 

Hippos frolicking in the dammed lake.

Afternoon high tea again, followed by another delicious dinner, this time with Stephanie joining.  Then off to another early evening to bed.

Maseru to Nambiti Hills Game Lodge in South Africa

Wi-Fi disappears in the morning, cutting off some of the ability to stay connected to the business stuff back in the States, which is just as well. We need to get an early start for our 5 and a half hour drive to our safari destination.  We get out at around 7:15AM and encounter the rather bizarre border crossing ritual from Lesotho to SA.  

One might think that it would be a rather casual border, but no.  First; park, get out, get passports stamped to leave Lesotho.  Next, drive a hundred meters to park again and wait in line to get passports stamped to enter South Africa.  Meanwhile we watch hundreds of people on foot returning to Lesotho carry enormous amounts of baggage in Adidas sports bags, baskets on their heads, huge satchels and just about anything else that can be carried.  Having been dropped by busses or taxi vans on one side of the border they walk through the gauntlet to then catch public transport of one sort or another on the other side.

We head to the dingy Free State town of Ladybrand, where Steph takes us to the mini-oasis of Living Life, a restaurant-spa-retreat.  It’s only 8:30AM by now, so it’s early for their usual brunch crowd but we order to-go breakfast.  We sit in their garden while the food is being prepared, then hit the road with a bacon, ham, cheese and onion omelette (fabulous) and a breakfast focaccia with egg & ham, which proves much harder to eat on the road than the omelette.

We drive to the Nambiti Game Reserve. Once past the main gate, we are greeted by Kel, who will deliver us to Nambiti Hills Private Game Lodge. We are welcomed by the entire staff of the resort. 

At the main entrance to the lodge, a table with three cool towels and a shot of chilled, tart lemonade.  Our first game drive will be at 4pm, preceded by high tea at 3:30pm. We are shown to our room and it is stunning.  The photos do a much better job of describing our living quarters than words ever could. We indulge in short cat naps.

High tea is served on the veranda with sweeping views of the game reserve.  Tiny pizzas, and pancakes topped with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and caviar are on display.  Along with a chocolate cake.  We order tea and coffee. 

On game drive #1, the game reserve welcoming committee greets us: giraffe, zebra, and impala.  Wildebeest. Kudu.  We stop for a mid-drive break, and Kingsley and Victoria offer champagne with a welcome toast.  G&Ts become our GoTo drink for the afternoon drive. Along with nuts and other snack items, they fire up a little camp stove and cook some cubes of meat which are serve with toothpicks.  We chat with our Land Cruiser mates Gary and Susan, a couple from Switzerland (though he’s an American originally from upstate NY).

We return to the lodge at around 7:30, allowing just a bit of time to “freshen up” (or mini nap as the case may be) before dinner outside on the deck overlooking the wilderness.  Steph is exhausted and really still recovering from the multiple weeks of sleep deprivation a quadruple whammy of Uganda proposal /travel /jet lag /partying upon return to Lesotho.  She opts to pass on dinner.  Annette & Paul have _________ for appetizers, duck breast and fillet strip for entree.  Dessert was chocolate mousse (in little balls between a thin, flakey sweet wafer of sorts — see Annette’s picture) and creme brûlée — perfect topping, but not as flavorful as hoped.

Then it’s off to bed to get as much sleep as possible before tomorrow’s morning game drive.

The LETOFE Festival and parking Tetris exit

Morning is slow, sleeping in until about 10:00AM and hanging out at Stephanie’s place.  Paul catches up on a few work related items, taking advantage of the Wi-Fi.  Steph makes an early run to the mechanic to get her brakes replaced in anticipation of our upcoming driving.  

We tuck into a leisurely breakfast of eggs, toast (from Steph’s hysterical toaster that makes zebra toast that’s either burned or untoasted, in stripes…well, really only three stripes – charred, untouched, charred), caramelized onions, and beans.  

Steph had also gotten us all tickets to the (10^th annual) Lesotho Tourism Festival (LETOFE), which supposedly starts at 2:00PM, but we were forewarned that it would likely get going much later given “African time” – which had been described by a friend as “making Hawaiian-time look like Wall Street”.  We drive out to Thaba Bosiu, where there is a cultural center at the base of the table like mountain where King Moshoeshoe, the founder of Lesotho, held off attacks from rival tribes in a key battle in Bosotho history.  We get there a bit after 4:00 and find a nice spot against a low banner fence which serves as a chair back for our lawn seats.  As we and they drink more, we get to know our nearby “new friends” – Pearl and ______.  

The first few hours are mostly sound checks and recorded music and the live bands don’t start until after 6:30, but there’s a great variety of artists – mostly from South Africa, but some from Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.  Don’t know any of the bands, but hear some great tunes.  We take turns running for more drinks & food or bathroom breaks, and proceed to get pretty hammered as the evening goes on.  

Finally at around 11:30 or so, we decide to head home, and as we walk to the unpaved parking area we see an immense traffic jam on the 2 lane road headed to the festival of people just arriving – or waiting on parking and entrance.  Apparently it is now about to really get going, and run to the morning!  

When we get to Steph’s 4-Runner, it is totally parked in by any normal standards.  But given the prospect of waiting until 6:00AM for the owners of the blocking cars to return, Edward and Paul act as guides for the intrepid and skilled Stephanie who, despite major consumption, backs up the SUV and squeezes through a slalom of randomly parked cars in a hilly lot.  Amazing escape!  Then back to Maseru and off to sleep.

JNB (O.R.Tanbo Int'l) => MSU (Moshoeshoe Int'l)

 Upon arrival at Jo’burg, we seek out another lounge in which to kill our layover time of 4 hours.

We hit the jackpot of lounges.  Really comfortable chairs, more like recliners. Better food and a shower.  We fill up with several Captain Morgan and ginger beers, grilled vegetables, chicken stir fry, cheese & crackers and pate.  The shower is a Godsend -- so enjoyable that it doesn’t even feel weird to put the same clothes back on.  As we leave, we feel almost human again and ready to make the final hop to Maseru.

We take the shuttle bus out to the tarmac to board the SAA franchised AirLink small jet, and then sit there for a while.  When we board, it’s a pleasure to see that the plane is actually larger than the puddle jumpers that go between Washington DC and Binghamton, NY.  Barely over an hour in flight, and almost as much time to clear customs and wait for luggage.  We wave to Steph in the waiting area on the other side of the glass, but wait for a long time until our luggage shows up in a push cart at the bottom of a stack about 12 feet high.  At the top are several bicycle transport cases belonging to 3 Swiss couples who look on nervously, hoping that the bikes wouldn’t fall off.

Steph later admitted to Paul that she was worried that the interminable wait would be the source of aggravation, but exhaustion and resigned acceptance overruled any irritation — besides why wouldn’t Paul be super-chill about it anyway? 

We head into Maseru, around the rolling hills from the airport and we definitely know we’re in a

“developing country” which Steph reminds Paul is the PC way to say “Third World.”  Corrugated shacks on the side of the road house small businesses selling a variety of food and other wares, and beyond, the buildings range from new and clean to pretty funky.  

We get to Steph’s place, in a beautiful, gated complex, meet Steph’s friend Edward and chat in the kitchen.  We’re also reunited with the inimitable kitty Rue and meet Rue’s pet, Bunny, a rabbit who she dragged into the house one day and keeps as a playmate.  Steph and Edward head off to join the tail end the Jpiego holiday party (described as beers in the parking lot), and we head off to a much needed nap.

By the time we are ready to eat, it’s getting late by Maseru standards for dining out.  Fortunately, Steph knows a place that might be open later — a restaurant that is operated as part of a private NGO Kick4Life:  Restaurant No. 7.  We dine al fresco on their patio and are the only other patrons except for a large party in the corner.  We savor a S.A. pinotage (Chocoholic), fish cake appetizer, filet and pork entrees, vanilla ice cream with honeycomb.  Yummy.  Love the outdoor patio furniture made of painted tires (tyres) and old shipping pallets.

Mid-trip. Heathrow Lounge and off to S.A.

It’s a pretty restless flight to for Paul, who only manages to get a few uncomfortable hours of sleep.  Annette, with the aid of pharmaceuticals, does better.  Paul turns to in-flight entertainment for relief and enjoys “Bad Neighbors” with Seth Rogan, Zak Efron and Rose Byrne (“predictable plot elements, but raunchy and funny – 3 stars”).  We arrive at Heathrow for a 6 hour layover between flights…ugh.  Paul is feeling particularly tired and fat.  Apparently his pants shrank 3 sizes inflight from San Francisco.  It’s almost pitch dark at 4:00PM, reminding us of the short days on the trip to Ireland last year.  December + northern latitude = really short daylight time.

We take the shuttle bus from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5 where there is a lounge at which we can use Annette’s Priority Pass (thank you Salesforce).  We bask in standard lounge comfort and snacks. —  peanuts, olives, cheese, beer, and a not too horrible soup.  Paul, who is able to sleep just about anywhere, does just that and regales the entire lounge audience with his snoring.  Several look at Annette, beseeching her to wake him to stop.  She shrugs.  Let him sleep. Finally he has to be woken up because the snoring and snorting grunts have become a public spectacle and the embarrassment is acute.  We catch the bus back to Terminal 1 and board leg #2 to Johannesburg.

We sit across the aisle from one another on Flight 57, which also gets off to a slightly late departure but promises on-time arrival with favorable winds.  Paul digs in for more TV – fabulously vulgar episodes of The Family Guy followed by The Maze Runner (“tries to be Hunger Games and fails – 2 stars”) and Annette actually gets through The 100 Foot Journey. Food’s a bit better on this leg – chicken and veggie curry which is surprisingly good.  Annette eats everything including the roll and sticky toffee pudding!  

Departure: heading across the globe

As agreed, Annette comes by SpeedPro to fetch Paul at 3:00PM (actually arriving a bit earlier), and with only a bit of panic, we are able to head back to Foster City by 3:10. Not too bad a start considering the madness of the previous couple of weeks with lease negotiations and year-end business wrap-up duties.

Our Uber driver (actually a Peninsula Cab Service guy moonlighting or playing both sides of the business model…whatever) arrives at 5:30 and we pull up at SFO’s International Terminal just a bit after 6:00PM, allowing Annette to fully relax ☺ since we’re on schedule with plenty of time.  Once passed TSA screening, we enjoy a couple of Haig Club tester sips at the DFS store, and pose Annette for photos in front of the point of sale display that SpeedPro had refaced about a month ago.

Since our plane is running a bit late, we proceed downstairs and establish camp at the Firewood Grill, where we enjoy a small pesto & chicken pizza, beer (Paul) and Manhattan (Annette), and Paul takes advantage of the airport Wi-Fi to log in and finish up a few bits of business…of course!

We board the British Airways 747 after a short stint in the waiting area, and settle in for a multi-day series of flights.  Hooray for in-flight entertainment: Paul gets all the way through “The 100 Foot Journey” in a single sitting (liked it…”predictable plot elements, but charming and sweet -- 3.5 stars”), but it will take Annette 3 more attempts on the next flight to finish it (“great movie for falling into a Xanax-induced coma – 3.5 stars”).  The dinner does not live up to the standards of the Michelin star restaurants portrayed in the movie…by a long shot!  Annette is really happy that we’d stopped for the small pizza before departure since the shepherd’s pie is inedible.  Paul somehow manages to choke his down, and polish off part of Annette’s too.

LESOTHO and SOUTH AFRICA – Dec 2014 – Jan 2015

After much anticipation, we're on the cusp on leaving to visit Stephanie in Africa! She has planned a full itinerary of activities and adventures and we can't wait. But we have a long, multi-leg flight ahead of us which will probably leave us zonked. We'll see...

A Day on the Hill, etc.

Even though there is no new snow in the morning, Paul decides to have one more day on the hill. Annette manages to snap this pic of him, bombing down the slope. Ok, It's a fake taken at the Olympic Park yesterday, but it's too good to keep under wraps. The afternoon is filled with snow showers.

We plan to see another film at the Park City Film Series: Deep Water
It's a documentary about a non-stop round the world yachting race with disastrous results.

Olympic Park

No new snow overnight – bummer.

We decide to venture out during the daylight hours. Our destination today: Utah Olympic Park.

Olympic park is home of the ski jump, luge and bobsled tracks. We opt for the guided tour and it turns out to be a great decision. Our guide is a vivacious man who starts our tour by showing us the most dangerous conveyance: the luge. These sleds go about 90 mph and any mistake is quite significant – riders get burned by the ice (yep, at 90 mph, that's what happens))

Our first stop is the tippy top of the 120 m ski jump. You can see the jumps from the main highway but when you arrive at the facility, you are awed at the magnitude. However, nothing prepares you for the view from the starting gate. These guys MUST be crazy.

Our guide gives a detailed description of the how the track works: there are actually “slots” for the skis carved into the run. And there is a layer of plastic grass-like material (think of a fake hula skirt) that the snow sits on. The start gate is actually adjusted up or down the run based on the weather conditions. They use guinea pigs (14 year-old jumpers) to take the first runs and determine the necessary adjustment.

Our next stop is the luge track. This is one of those sports that looks so very easy. You lie on your back with your ankles on the front part of the blades. It is the most dangerous of Olympic sports. We are arrive in time to watch a slider about to take a training run on the luge track. His gloves have little grippy spikes on them – used to push off from the start gate. He looks cold in his skin tight suit. He's breathing deeply and going through the turns in his head - they have no time to "think" out there, it's all programmed into their heads and muscles.

Our guide takes us to one of the turns in the luge track and we are able to catch a fleeting glimpse of a couple women on the track. Their coach is watching and we find it uncanny that he can provide guidance to them (relax, drive your shoulder down to get into the turn). They flashed by so quickly, we couldn't even tell you what colors they were wearing.

From this point, we see the tourist start of the bobsled – for $200 you and two others can ride in a bobsled with a professional driver. You'll experience 4 Gs in the turns and 80+ mph of pure icy speed. The gold medalist in Nagano Japan won with 70+ mph time. This is the fastest track in existence. However, we are going to miss the opportunity – they don't open for tourist thrills until Dec 18!

The facility boasts a museum dedicated to the 2002 Olympics. It's small but packs in a lot of memorabilia from the event in the area. And did you know that Paul was one of the cauldron lighters? – here is a photo as proof. Oops, is that the hardwood floor of the museum at the base of this picture! Otherwise, it looks pretty convincing. NOT!

We take a friend's the suggestion to dine at Chez Betty tonight, located in the Cooperbottom Inn. It's pretty quiet, there are only three other tables occupied. After review of the menu, Annette orders the Tasting Menu with the wine pairings. Paul orders from the main menu: Shrimp and Lemongrass Dumplings and Grilled Hanger Steak. The 4 course tasting menu starts with Apple Walnut Risotto - a yummy, creamy, rich offering. The chablis accompaniment is perfect.
The Goat Cheese Ravioli is served in a puddle of Roast Shallot Broth, Sweet Onion Jam and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. It's a tiny little puff of a serving - I could have eaten a few more. For Paul, the flavors don't quite come together, but it doesn't stop him from cleaning the bowl. The entree, Pork Medallions, is exquisite. It's moist and flavorful - difficult to find in today's pork market. The dessert is beautifully presented and Annette finds the frozen banana nougat much more interesting than the chocolate cake (what's up with that?) The presentation highlight of the meal is the port - it's served in a small crystal bowl, with a sipping straw that comes from the bottom. It's delicate and terribly cute. And Annette actually slurps - not realizing she was near the bottom of the portion, she manages a noisy slurp of greed.

Paul's selections are wonderful as well. The dumplings are complex and have a hint of spice in the sauce. The hanger steak is rare, the way it should be. The brie and mushroom bruschetta is wonderful, but we are slightly confused by the toast on top of a small lump of mashed potatoes. Maybe the potatoes are to keep everything "attached" to the plate.

Our waiter, Ben, is wonderful and asks how we like each course and I do believe he may actually take our comments back to the chef.

A truly wonderful meal and evening.

Time to hit the slope (yes, singular)

It's time to strap on the sticks and hit the slopes – well, only one slope. PCMR still has only one run open. The snow accumulation is about 4 inches (he'd rather it be 4 FEET!) But fresh, nature made snow is WAY better than man made stuff. Annette decides to kick back and read, watch movies. At the end of the day, we do hit the fitness center for a quick turn on the treadmill and a mad dash for the hot tub. You can hardly see them for the steam hovering around them.

The evening's plans are for another movie and late dinner. We thoroughly enjoy The Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

Another recommended movie – see it the theater if you can – it's big and bold and suited to the big screen.

Since it's late, we mosey across the street to the Red Rock Junction and hope they are still serving. Our waitress, Pam, tells us about the recent awards won by the brewery: 2007 Great American Beer Festival Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year!

Of course, we have to try some of their offerings: Paul orders an Oatmeal Stout and Annette decides on a Honey Wheat beer. For eats, we start with the soup of the day, veggies, sausage and pasta. For entrees, we decide to have a salad and an entree:

Warm shrimp salad: Wattercress, baby spinach, roasted sweet potatoes, grapefruit, pistachios, gorgonzola with creamy lemon pepper dressing.

Salmon (special of the day) with a BBQ sauce and onion strings and their signature horseradish mashed potatoes.

The food is pretty interesting, but not nearly as interesting as Pam, who's confirming comment is “Let's get it goin'” We like her.

Let There Be SNOW!

Another lazy day with no new snow on the mountain. After a late brunch, surfing the web and a bit of work for Paul, we decide to get in a light workout at the fitness center.

We've planned to see “Into the Wild”, a wonderful movie directed by Sean Penn, based on an amazing book by John Krakauer. We have both read the book and talked about this story a lot at the time. I highly recommend both the movie and the book (in fact, I recommend all of Krakauer's books – he is a fabulous writer).

As we leave our resort, we notice little white flakes in the air – could it be the “S” word? Why, yes, it is. Crystal white SNOW. It was forecast for today. Before we enter the theater, we snap a quick pic on the camera phone to prove to all –

there really IS snow in Park City, Utah.

It continued to snow while the movie ran – there is an accumulation of about 3 inches on the ground.

There are a few restaurants in the vicinity and we check the menus before deciding on Hapa Grill – an "Asian fusion" grill with some very unusual offerings. I reviewed the cocktail menu and ordered a Park City – a mojito style drink spiced with fresh ginger. Refreshing and delicious. Our starters were spicy calamari and (this one is hard to believe) Asian Fries! Imagine ginger mashed

potatoes surrounded by egg roll wrappers and of course fried, served with a spicy plum sauce. In the picture on the right, the Asian fries are the ones that look like bread sticks in a tall cup.

Another Park City cocktail and our entrees arrive: Crisped Pork Ramen -- crispy fried pork loin medallion served over imported Japanese ramen noodles with fresh vegetables -- and Seadiver Scallops and Shrimp – nicely spiced with a chili pepper sauce and accompanied by roasted bok choy and rice.

WOW.

Lazy Daze, Sunday, Nov 25

It's a lazy, lazy day. Both of us are catching up on the sleep deprivation from the night before. We venture out for a mid morning Starbucks and stocking up at Albertsons.

The highlight of the day is “Death at a Funeral”, a movie presented by the Park City Film Series. The series is shown in the Park City library that boosts a real theater. A rousing comedy set on the day of a father's funeral. We won't spoil things for you, but this is definitely a movie to add to your Netflix queue.

We make our way to Main Street, the happenin' place in Park City. But on a Sunday night, it's not so happenin'. Shops were closed and very few restaurants appeared to be open. We happened on 350 Main . The facade is quite unassuming, but the interior is beautiful – stamped copper ceiling being the most notable feature.

We were impressed by the Menu de Santé (Vitamin and antioxidant rich items, low in saturated fats and calories, yet high in flavor and variety. ) Paul ordered the Grilled Vegetable and Lentil Griddle Cakes - With coconut-laced yogurt raita, fiery green bean salad, and peppered mango (having been warned of the heat level, he confirmed his choice). Annette opted for a house special starter: Tower of Ahi and Hamachi - With tobiko caviar, pineapple shoyu, and wasabi aïoli. For entrees, Paul ordered the Calypso Seafood Nage: Shrimp, warm water lobster, clams, and sliced fish slowly simmered in a coconut-lobster broth, with yams, julienne vegetables, and steamed rice. Annette was drawn to the Hapuapua (black sea bass) special – lemon, herb marinated, pan seared served atop a bed of yams with a saffron butter sauce. She was so impressed, she asked for the recipe. Our waiter tells us the chef is very open to sharing his “secrets”. We passed on dessert, determined to “just say no” to the additional calories, though the choices were very tempting.

Once we return to our “home away from home”, we settle in for a movie to end the day.

UTAH EXCURSION - Day One: To Snow or Not To Snow?

We've been looking forward to this voyage for many weeks. And watching the weather in the Park City area for the fluffy white stuff, since we are staying at the Marriott Mountainside resort. It's ski-in, ski-out at the base of the Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR). Many visits to weather.com told us that all of Utah was suffering from unseasonably warm weather. Which means no snow making either. Resort opening days had been pushed back and then back again. PCMR officially opened the day after Thanksgiving with one run and one ski lift. A huge disappointment for Paul and a "whatever" for Annette. Annette set out to find other activities: Pilates, indoor tennis, movies and tours of the 2002 Olympic Park. And maybe a run or two for Paul. We plan for ALL of it.

Our flight leaves SFO at the ungodly hour of 6:10am. When you back up and do a time line, it translates into a 4:45AM (gasp!) departure from home. Neither of us got much sleep, having left packing to the late hours of the evening. A quick drive to the airport, a smooth check-in at SFO, we even have time for a quick breakfast at Perry's. Annette doesn't even remember take off, she fell asleep immediately. Paul dozed as well after feigning interest in the book he took out of his carry on. Baggage pick up was quick, except for Paul's skis (they decided to stay at SFO). Rather than go directly to the resort and run the risk of our room not being available, we decide to take a quick tour of the Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Fodor's tells us it is a must see if you have a short time in SLC. The Nuvi is proficient at directing us to downtown SLC and Temple Square.

It's crispy cold and sunny, good weather for a short walk. A beautiful visitor's center depicts ancient Jerusalum and wonderful paintings of Jesus' life. The temple (pictured here) is magnificent and dominates the square. Nativity scenes from around the world are sprinkled throughout the square. A helpful docent suggests we head immediately to the Tabernacle (it's the background for another of our famous self portraits below) for an organ recital. A 30 minute performance that we enjoy, catching a little bit of shut eye as the music wafts over and around us.

For lunch, we decide to follow a recommendation of one of the Elders to eat at the Lion House Pantry. This house was were Brigham Young's home, built to accommodate his very large family. He died in this house in 1877. The Pantry offers a cafeteria style menu with a selection of 4 entrees. The rolls are the best (per the Elder). It's a nice lunch, just nice.

We make our way to Park City, and our resort. Oops, we don't have a reservation for you. Do you have a confirmation number? Very guiltily, Paul admits that he should have brought the confirmation for our time share trade. No problem, we'll call and confirm. Oops again, they are closed for the Thanksgiving weekend. Annette decides to "check out", Paul doesn't need any additional guilt, he's generating enough of his own. It does work out and we are given the keys to our suite. We then settle in for a much needed nap.

Our dinner plans are simple: take a quick walk around the resort complex and find a decent restaurant for dinner. The only restaurant open is the Baja Cantina. Reasonable Mexican fair with a few margaritas and a Modelo Negro beer. The dessert is killer: Grand Mulege: a baked banana with brandy, Grand Marnier, butter, and brown sugar topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, nutmeg and almonds. It put us both over the top and we waddled back to our room to crash after the sugar high.

Day Nineteen – Monday, June 18 – Munich

Given our busy day yesterday, we decided to sleep in a bit and got up around 8:30. Our first order of business, after showering and dressing, was to take the car to the Munich Auto Drop-off Agency (MADA) of the shipping company, E.H. Harms. We set the address for the Nüvi for the last time on this trip, with a quick stop at, what else, a McDonalds (!) for breakfast. Once we found the parking area for MADA, which turned out to be not on the main road but up a ramp at the end of the road, the rest of the process for turning in the car was easy. We removed the front license plate and first aid kit from the trunk (as had been suggested on bimmerfest), took a picture of the windshield nick, and only had a short wait behind some other people dropping off their cars. While we were waiting, we chatted with an American couple who we had seen yesterday on the Linderhof tour, who were enjoying a short trip with their college age grandson and now shipping their car to Ohio. The guy at the Harms office was a tall German who looked like he belonged in Texas rather than Munich, with his expensive cowboy boots and boot-cut jeans, but he certainly had the full German efficiency going on. We were through the paperwork and out by noon.

We walked a short distance to the nearby bus, which took us to the U-Bahn station and swiftly to Marienplatz via the #6 line. We wanted to spend one last day of full-packed sightseeing, and followed one of the guidebook suggested walks around the Marianplatz area. We saw the Alte Rathaus and Neue Rathaus (which was partially covered with scaffold for some renovation work), and walked to the Frauenkirche.

I would imagine that Munchiners are proud of their cathedral, and the Frauenkirche is often pictured on posters and guidebooks about Munich, but in our eyes it’s got to be one of the uglier churches we’ve seen! Like people trying to find a kind adjective to describe an ugly baby, we found ourselves searching for words: “well, it’s certainly…monumental!” “yes, and very…brown!” After a fairly quick walk around the inside, we decided to go up the tower, bracing ourselves for what would probably be about 400+ steps. It turns out that there were only 92 steps and then – an elevator. That was unexpected! The views from the top were great, and we could use our Eyewitness guide and the labeled panoramic photos to identify some of our objectives for the afternoon.

After we descended, we embarked on an unsuccessful search for restaurant that was recommended in the Eyewitness book. Fortunately, the attempt to find the place revealed some other areas beyond the Karlstor Gate that we might not otherwise have seen. We finally gave up, and having almost walked a complete circle, settled for the outdoor seating area of the Augustiner Restaurant. In our usual way, Annette had a Radler and Paul had a helles (light) beer. As I write this, it’s been a couple of weeks since we were in Munich, and neither of us can remember exactly what we ate (thus the need to chronicle promptly!)…but think it was a goulash and dumpling and perhaps a cutlet of some sort with a mixed salad. One the other hand, we remember that the couple sitting NEXT to us were both eating Leberkäse mit Spiegelie with the fried egg on top, and we remember that our dumpling was doughy and pasty and got us talking about why, unlike pizza, sushi, burritos, hamburgers, Chinese food and other regional specialties that have become international favorites, the German/Czech style dumpling had never made it big outside of this area.

After lunch, we headed toward the Residenz by way of the marigold colored, baroque Theatinerkirsch (St. Cajetan) and the Feldherrnhalle, the Florentine-looking, tri-arched logia housing statues of Bavarian field marshals, which we had seen on our first evening in Munich as we walked to the Hofbrauhaus from the Odeonplatz U-bahn station. A trip to the Residenz was an opportunity to extend our picture of the living spaces of Ludwig II from yesterday, although as the primary urban residence of the Wittelsbach dynasty over many centuries, it was only his crib for a few decades at best. We wandered around several courtyards trying to find an entrance before heading back onto the street and eventually finding the proper entry. After hooking up with our audio guides, we toured around a fraction of the enormous palace complex. We mostly saw areas of the Alte Residenz built under Maximilian I and Ludwig I, including the Grottenhof courtyard with its odd grotto of seashells and volcanic crystals and the Persius fountain. We both loved the Antiquarium, the huge Renaissance hall built to house ancient busts and other artwork, which is the oldest surviving part of the Residenz. We were amazed to learn how much of the Residenz was destroyed during WWII bombing raids and has been restored to its former state.

After the Residenz, we re-fueled with a java chip frappacino and a mango passion frappacino at a Starbucks (!) off Max-Joseph Platz. Then we walked down Maximillianstrasse and took a detour to check out the Bavarian State Chancellery, with its mix of old and new architecture and walk through the Hofgarten (with a quick opportunity for a silly picture of Paul with the Temple of Diana centered on his head like a giant headdress a la Beach Blanket Babylon). We then headed toward the Isar River, following another of the DK Eyewitness walking-tours up Maximillianstrasse and along the Isar. When we found that it wanted us to cut through what appeared to be someone’s backyard, we veered back and made our own way to the Maximilianeum, which now houses the Bavarian parliament. Eventually, we caught the U-bahn for the short hop back to Odeonplatz station.

Book-ending our vacation with an encore trip to the HB haus had struck us as the right thing to do several days ago. Usually we’re anxious to try new things, but in this case, a return to the familiar was appropriate. This time, we sat outdoors in the central patio area, which lacked the proximity to the oompah band, but was significantly cooler on this warm evening. Our order was pre-destined: radler, helles, pretzel, schweinshaxe! Yum…

After chatting with a group of French guys who were in town for a convention (they were in precision laser cut manufacturing) and enjoying the evening, we headed back to our hotel for the last time on this trip – already getting nostalgic for the past few weeks of travel. We don’t want it over :-(.