Eiffel Tower Restaurant

We chose an iconic location in which to have dinner tonight. We liked the fact that the Eiffel Tower Restaurant has windows overlooking the Bellagio Fountains. In addition, the restaurant is a Michelin rated venue ranking it among some of the best restaurants in the world.  Since we are staying at the Bellagio it was nice just to walk across the street to a fine dinner.

Bellagio Hotel with the fountains as viewed from across the street at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

Once inside the Eiffel Tower the cooling air from the AC felt good since it was over 100 outside on the street.  Unfortunately the cooling comes at a price as my senses were assaulted by the noisy clanging of gaming machines in the Casino and worse, my lungs and respiratory system had to deal with the smelly, smoky air which is an unfortunate prelude to a wonderful dining experience. 

Eiffel Tower Restaurant Elevator.

Once we made our way to the elevator, a hostess at a podium verified our reservation before allowing us to board the elevator for the ride to the second floor where the restaurant is located.

As we stepped off the elevator we had a great view of the kitchen and the food prep by a large team of very talented chefs. The Maitre D greeted us and walked us across the dining room to our front row window table. We paid an extra $40 each for window seating since we wanted the whole experience including a front row seat to the fountain show.  The fountain launches every 30 minutes in the evening. Our only disadvantage from this vantage point is we can not hear the music that accompanies the synchronized water, light and sound show. It was none the less spectacular from up here.

The restaurant dining room has a very elegant vibe with muted conversations, a quiet atmosphere with soothing French Parisian music, white tablecloths and red chairs.

Our dining table could not have been in any better of a location. Our view of the fountain show was a perfect backdrop  to an elegant dinner.

 

Chihuly Garden and Glass

At the base of the Space Needle in Seattle is the Chihuly Garden and Glass.  The exhibit was built in 2012 and consists of a Garden, Glass House, Cafe and Exhibit building featuring the best glass works of Dale Chihuly.

Entrance to Chihuly Garden and Glass at the base of the Space Needle

When we first walked into the exhibition building we were greeted by a neon glass display titled "Forest". The room was dimly lit which allowed the neon to give an eerie glow and perfect introduction of what we were to see in the following rooms.

Forest (neon glow)

Next stop after the Forest is the Northwest Room which is a tribute to the Native culture of the Pacific Northwest.  Colorful native weavings hang on the whole wall at the end of the room.

A  thick long slab of polished sawmill lumber extends from the room entrance to the wall of weavings on the other side.  This piece of wood is the perfect object to represent the Northwest and is used to showcase several Chihuly forms.

A single Slab of beautiful Polished Wood runs through the center of the room used as a table for the glass work

Some of the artists early experiments with baskets and colors are in this room.

Glass Basket designs

detail of experiments with glass baskets

In the center of the next room we encounter a 15 foot tower representing the sea life in nearby Puget Sound.  The room is titled "Sealife" room and besides the centerpiece of the glass tower contains various glass representations of sea life.

Fifteen foot high tower of Puget Sound Sea Life

detail "Sea Life"

detail "Sea Life"

Pacific Bonsai Museum

On a typical Seattle morning we set out in the overcast skies and light rain to walk along the Seattle waterfront and admire the Sculpture Garden which is overseen by the Seattle Museum of Art.

From the conveniently placed walking bridge over the train tracks on a rainy Sunday morning

View from the waterfront Seattle Sculpture Garden

The walk through the garden was short but our goal was achieved.  We needed to avoid the baseball and football games which were taking place in stadiums downtown.   The price of Uber was 300% higher during the time before the games so we needed to wait a little for all the Sports Fans to get to where they were going.  Personally I thought looking at Bonsai in the rain at the Pacific Bonsai Museum was a better choice for a Sunday afternoon.  

Pacific Bonsai Museum

In 1989 Weyerhaeuser Corporation opened the Bonsai collection as a symbol of the company connecting people and it's forest resources.  In 2013 they donated the entire property and collection to a newly formed non-profit, The Pacific Bonsai Museum  The Museum has the mission of connecting people to nature through the living art of bonsai.

Located about 25 miles South of downtown Seattle, the collection is nicely nestled in a conifer woods.  As we arrived in a seemingly remote location we were unsure if we would be able to get an Uber ride back to the city.

The museum grounds were designed by the architectural firm Hoshide Wanzer and consist of an open maze of neutral walls that form effective backdrops for the plants.  Contained within the maze are a collection of 150 bonsai specimens from all over the world.

For our visit the museum was featuring a recurring theme of "Principles of Design".  Attractive posters featured design elements such as Movement, Shape, Rhythm, Form and Proportion.

Principles of Design Poster featuring "Shape"

Favorites

With 150 bonsai specimens to choose from it can be hard to find a favorite.  I found a few that appealed to me.  Of course each person has a different perspective and idea of which plant is a favorite.  In the greenhouse just before the outdoor collection is this Banyan.  The artist found this plant growing under a wall where it was beginning to damage it.  The plant was cut away from the wall but interestingly new roots began to form.  Artist Rong Yiao Xie placed a section of the tree on it's side and trained sprouts from the live roots into individual trees.

Chinese Banyan bonsai since 1985 

The following Coast Redwood by Toichi Domito has been under bonsai since 1967.  I like it because it looks like a real Redwood that should be growing in a forest of Redwoods.

Coast Redwood bonsai since 1967

Another favorite in a section of trees that suggest Movement is this Tucker Oak.  The leaves are Holly like but the species is Oak.

Tucker Oak bonsai since 1940

The landscaping surrounding the maze walls of the Bonsai garden are landscaped to reflect the bonsai specimens they contain.  An example of the beautiful complementary landscaping is here:

As we leave the garden there was this very large bonsai, over 6 feet tall, a Trident Maple.

Trident Maple

Disney World Grand Floridian

Grounds of the Grand Floridian

In a last minute decision we decided to go to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival at Walt Disney World in Florida.  Even though we were staying  on the Florida West Coast 2 hours away in Sarasota, FL we chose to find accommodations inside the park at Walt Disney World, something that we had never done before.  On the Walt Disney World website I found that at this late date there were no rooms available on Disney property.  By chance I checked Priceline.com and found that we could get a room for 2 nights at the Grand Floridian with Palm Club access for $750 per night.  The Grand Floridian is Disney's premiere resort hotel and is on the monorail line.  At the time I did not know what Palm Club access was but we booked the room anyway.
The Palm Club is the upper 3 floors of the Grand Floridian and includes amenities such as private lounge areas, a private concierge desk, free wine, beer and liqueur as well as specialty prepared hors d'oeuvres available all afternoon and into the evening.  It also includes a very nice continental breakfast in the morning.  The artistically presented hors d'oeuvres alone were a sight to behold.

Grand Floridian Lobby

We arrived at the Grand Floridian in the early morning since we wanted to spend the day in the park and take advantage of the free parking for hotel guests.  The valet took our suitcases and put them in storage until our room was ready which wouldn't be until the afternoon.  In the meantime we were invited to go upstairs to the Palm level to take advantage of the Palm Club offerings which we did.  We admired the beautiful lobby and all the arrangements of fresh flowers before finding the elevators that allowed us to use our "Magic Bands" to access the upper floors which were the members only Palm Club level. We went up and had some complementary coffee and pastries before walking to the Grand Floridian platform and getting on the monorail for our day in the park.

Monorail approaching Grand Floridian Station

One of the big advantages of staying at the Grand Floridian Resort is convenient monorail access from the hotel station to the Parks. A short monorail ride to the transportation center and then onto another monorail and we were at the gates of Epcot.

About mid-afternoon as we were admiring the topiaries we got a text that our room was ready.  This was a great time to have a glass of wine, sample some of the Grand Floridian's legendary Hors D'oeuvres and leave the topiaries behind.

One of the more than 100 topiaries at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

New Orleans

Feb 22, 2017 Morning

Mardi Gras is approaching and 2 New Orleans natives that we know through our Ballroom Dance Studio in Cary, NC arranged for a trip to Mardi Gras.  A big thanks to Sharon and Darryl for finding things for us that we never would have been able to discover on our own.

We were staying in Sarasota, Florida for the Winter thus we chose to fly from Tampa instead of driving home to Raleigh to fly with the rest of the group.  As luck would have it, Southwest Florida has been experiencing a drought.  The only rain in several weeks happened the morning of our flight.  It did not impact us much other than a bumpy flight and our decision to choose to park at the Tampa Terminal instead of dealing with suitcases and a shuttle bus in the rain.  Tampa is one of those airports where you can park in a parking garage directly above the ticketing and check-in.  A simple elevator ride down puts you into the Airlines check in area.  Since it was an early morning drive to the airport we did not have breakfast yet so we unfortunately chose to have breakfast in the Southwest Air gate area.  At Quiznos we had one of the worst breakfast sandwiches ever.  Reheated egg product on a soggy and chewy biscuit that was microwaved and served with instant coffee.  I have never had a worse breakfast experience.

After the short on-time (thank you Southwest Airlines) flight to Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans we tried Uber for the first time. This was a very positive experience.  After entering our destination, the Blake Hotel on St Charles, the Uber app calculated our fare at $33 and debited our credit card when I pressed the "request" button.  The on screen app gave us our driver's name, Jamie, a car description and license number.  From the Uber app a map showed where our driver was located as she made her way to our pickup point.

Blake Hotel, St Charles, New Orleans

We had a hotel in a great location on St Charles where all the parades travel and also convenient to the French Quarter for our entertainment and dining needs. Because we arrived mid morning I wasn't sure if we could check in yet but they accommodated us and gave us a room.  Our first order of business was a walk into the French Quarter on Royal St for Beignets and Coffee.  We couldn't wait to get covered with powdered sugar.  We went to a small cafe, the Cafe Beignet, with outdoor seating in an enclosed courtyard.  Outside on the sidewalk, which was on the  other side of the iron fence surrounding the courtyard a gentleman was singing and playing near our table.  Welcome to New Orleans!  There is music everywhere.

Beignets and Coffee!!!

French Quarter

Feb 22, 2017 Afternoon

The French Quarter is known as the Vieux Carre (Old Square) and is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans.  It is also the one most people think of when they think of New Orleans.  The French Quarter is noted for some of the finest restaurants in the world and also it's incredible selection of bars, pubs and other drinking establishments.  It's without a doubt the rowdiest section of the city and yet a few blocks from Bourbon St. you can find a quieter and more gentrified selection of art galleries, antique stores and music venues   We took a walk through the French Quarter on our first day to get the "lay of the land" so to speak.

We started our day in the French Quarter with Beignets and coffee at Cafe Beignet. Cafe Du Monde is better known but Cafe Beignet has excellent Beignets without the long line of tourists and as a bonus there is always live music.

Cafe Beignet on Royal at night

We'll start our tour with the pink building across the street from Cafe Beignet.  This is the infamous Brennans, a noted 5 star French Restaurant known for their impeccable service and outstanding food.
Founded in 1946 by Owen Brennan.  The building was originally owned by Tulane University since 1920 and leased by Owen.  He eventually purchased the building in 1984.  The restaurant was recently renovated by it's latest owner, Brennan cousin Ralph Brennan.  The Brennan family own many restaurants throughout the City, most of them are among the best restaurants in new Orleans.

The Original Brennans, founded 1946

The architecture of the French Quarter is very distinct and colorful. Most of the buildings were built in the early 19th Century when building codes required brick construction.  Iron railing balconies are prevalent throughout the narrow streets.  Many residents colorfully decorate their balconies for the many holidays that are celebrated here.

Decorated Balconies of the French Quarter

Decorated Balconies of the French Quarter

Decorated Balconies of the French Quarter

Dinner at Brennans

Feb 22, 2017 Dinner

We had an evening reservation at Brennans Restaurant on Royal St in the French Quarter which we made a week in advance.  

Our Dining Room in Brennan's, one of seven.

The Banana's Foster was invented by Owen Brennan back in the 1950s to honor his friend Richard Foster.   Owen's Father, John Brennan, owned a produce company that had an excess of bananas.  Owen had his chef at the time, Paul Blange' create a dessert dish using bananas.  Breakfast at Brennans with Foster's became a signature dessert.  

For dinner we started with an appetizer of Gulf Shrimp accompanied by a bottle of California Cabernet Sauvignon.  For the entree I had the Poisson Blange which is a unique New Orleans dish, Brennan's calls it a "Brennan's Classic".  It consists of a slow baked Gulf Fish, Pompano in this case, butter poached lobster knuckle, oysters and shrimp, fennel-potato purée, and herbsaint nage.   Herbsaint is an anise flavored liquor only made by the Sazerac Company of New Orleans.  It's their brand name for a very unique liquor and is the base ingredient for the local New Orleans cocktail, the Sazerac.

Needless to say, the meal was delicious  but more was to come.  We just had to have a Banana's Foster for dessert in the restaurant that invented the dessert.

Our Waiter prepares our Banana's Foster table-side.  This is quite a show (movie below)

Our dessert tonight

Brennan's recipe for this dessert:

• 1 Ounce Butter
• 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon 
• 1 1/2 Ounces Banana Liqueur
• 1 1/2 Ounces Aged Rum
• 1/2 Banana Per Customer

• Combine butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambe´ pan.
• As the butter melts under medium heat, add the banana liquor and stir to combine.
• As the sauce starts to cook, peel and add the bananas to the pan.
• Cook the bananas until they begin to soften (about 1-2 minutes)
• Tilt back the pan to slightly heat the far edge. Once hot carefully add the rum, and tilt the pan toward the flame, to ignite the rum.
• Stir the sauce to ensure that all of the alcohol cooks out.
• Serve cooked bananas over ice cream and top with the sauce in the pan.

Lunch at Andreas

Feb 23, 2017
We had breakfast with Blaise & Cathy, a couple who also traveled to New Orleans a few days ahead of the group from Raleigh. Thanks to Lyft we got a ride to Andreas restaurant in Metaire to meet the group who had flew in this morning.  While waiting at Andreas we admired the very nice wood carved bar.

Carved Bar at Andreas in Metaire

While there we picked up our tickets for the Mardi Gras Endymion Ball at the superdome. These tickets apparently are hard to get but Sharon & Darryl managed to get enough tickets for the group.

Endymion Extravaganza Tickets

After lunch Sharon managed to demonstrate the march/dance she choreographed for the Second Line Parade tomorrow.

Dancing to the Bus leaving for the Blake Hotel, New Orleans

Walk to The French Market

Feb 23, 2017
After having lunch with the Raleigh group at Andreas we rode the bus back with them  to the Hotel Blake on the corner of St Charles and Poydras St outside the French Quarter.   We decided to take a walk down to the Mississippi River and stroll towards the French Market.
Poydras St is a 4 lane wide city street with a landscaped median.  Art installations adorn the median at various intervals.  New Orleans truly supports the arts.

Poydras St Median

Even though it was late February we passed a hotel front entrance where the beautiful landscaping of mostly azaleas was in full bloom.

The streetscapes are also nicely landscaped with a variety of plants.  Here a mass of Palm Trees serves as relief from the architecture of the concrete and steel buildings of the city.

Once we reached Decatur it's a short walk along the Mississippi River to the French Market.  The River serves as the Eastern border of the French Quarter,  Facing the river are many colorful buildings, colorful in the paint that coats them and colorful in the many music venues inside some of these buildings.  

Eventually we arrived at the Cafe Du Monde which marks the start of the French market.  As usual there was a large crowd standing in line waiting to get covered with powdered sugar as they enjoy Beignets and Coffee.

I was a little surprised to see how the Cafe Du Monde has expanded their merchandising with Cafe du Monde logo-ed products sold in several stores in the French Market.