Foscam Baby Video Monitor

If you are about to have a child or just had one BUY THE FOSCAM baby video monitor.  It has completely changed our lives as parents. 

Why?

1. We can now watch our baby on our phones or on the computer.  Which means during the night, instead of getting out of bed and checking on our baby, we can pull out our cell phones, see if she's okay and then go back to bed (or get up and take care of her.)  My husband has also made the video accessible on his phone outside of the house so he can see, from work, when she's napping or check on her while he's headed home.  

2. This camera allows you to manually turn the camera from your phone or computer.  Again, this feature is great if the baby moves out of frame, or if you want to check the room for any reason.

3. The image is very clear during the day and night.  You can even zoom in on your phone and ensure she's breathing...which as a first time parent, seems to be on constant worry.

Below are the specs:

• Support Iphone &mobilephone（midp2.0 java） viewing  
• Simple to setup, friendly Gui, DIY installation  
• High image&video quality,Two way audio monitoring  
• Supports remote Pan/Tilt control(Pan:300°& Tilt:120°)  
• Auto IR-LED illumination for night vision (up to 8 metres)  
• Supports IE/firefox/google browser or any other standard browsers   
• Supports remote viewing & record from anywhere anytime   
• Wi-Fi compliant with wireless standards IEEE 802.11b/g/n   
• Automatically search wireless device  
• Support  WEP ,WPA and WPA2 Encryption   
• Multi-level users management with password protection   
• Motion detection alert via email or upload image to FTP  
• With audio jack, can output the audio to a speaker.  

I would recommend this to anyone with children or someone looking for a good security camera.  It's very easy to install and not very bulky. 

Performance Bike

Recently I purchased a new road bike at Performance Bike in Laguna Hills, California.  I got to admit, I've been riding for over 9 years and have always been a closest snob when it came to Performance Bike.  You see I bought my original bike from a very flashy and "hip" bike store in Salt Lake City. Consequently, from my perspective, Performance Bike was nothing more than a chain store, that only specialized in cheap and generic bikes and clothes.  How wrong I was.  If you are looking to purchase a bike - road, mountain or commuter I would highly recommend Performance Bike.

Why?

1. Price
My husband and I always joke about Performance having a sale (because it seems like every other week they are having a sale) but you can get a lot of bike for a serious discount.  For example, Performance is great about carrying last year's models which in many cases can be virtually the same bikes.  I was lucky enough to find a 2012 Fuji which had the exact specifications as the 2013, but $1,000 cheaper.

Also, whenever you buy a bike at Performance join their Team Membership because for $30.00 you'll get %10 off your purchase, which can cover new shoes, peddles, clothes etc.  The membership is also great for future purchases because you get 10% off everything you buy.  And as we all know - biking is not cheap.

2. Customer Service
Tell me one place where you can purchase a bike and then return it for a full refund a year later?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  When I purchased my bike I had just had a baby two months before and was in no shape to ride, but I had to get the bike because it fit everything I was looking for.  So, the guys at Performance told me to buy the bike, they would hold on to it for me, and when I was ready to ride, I could come back, pick up the bike, ride it and if it wasn't perfect I could just return it for a full refund.  That took so much pressure off buying the bike and continues to take pressure off me as I ride it now.  I'm still testing it every time I go out and it's great to know that I finally decide it's not right I can take it back.  (Which I won't be doing, but still it's nice to have the option.)

3. Lifetime service
I just took my bike in and for free I got the chain cleaned, the brakes adjusted and the gears checked.  That sort of service would have cost me at least $45 at another bike store, so it's pretty great that is available for the time I own the bike.

4. Fitting You
Before I purchased my bike at Performance I went to a lot of other bike stores, but couldn't find a bike that fit me. A lot of salesmen tried to fit me on a men's bike that sort of fit, and told me they could replace the handle bars and stems (which would all cost a good chunk of change).  Only at Performance did I not only find women bikes, but also the option of ordering anything on saw on their website.  They informed me I could have any bike sent to their store for free, which again, was nice because I just wasn't seeing a lot of inventory.

Overall, if you are looking to buy your first bike, or upgrade Performance Bike is a great place to start.  I've purchased three bikes from them, and my husband purchased one, and we have been incredibly happy.

Mazda CX9

Recently we purchased the Mazda CX9.  Before we decided on the Mazda we closely looked at the Nissan Pathfinder and the Toyota Highlander.  The following is why we decided on the Mazda:

1. The Drive
Initially, we were pretty convinced the Pathfinder was going to be our next car, but once we drove the Mazda it became the front runner.  Unlike the Pathfinder and the Highlander, the Mazda drives like a sedan. I couldn't believe the pick up the Mazda exhibited, the way it felt around turns and overall handling.  The Pathfinder and Highlander were great cars, but to get going it took awhile, and both felt like trucks.

2. Price/Options
As we really looked at all three cars we felt like they were very similar in appearance, but prices were very different.  In order to get a moon roof or GPS, you had to buy packages that contained pointless other features and jacked the price up almost $5,000.  To stay in our price range of $30,000-32,000 we were going to have to buy the lowest model of the Toyota and Nissan and sacrifice wants such as moon roofs, GPS, Bose Speakers and nicer wheels.  The Mazda allowed us to get our wanted features and stay below our price point.

Overall, after having the car for almost three months I've been very happy with the Mazda.  The way it handles has continued to be my favorite part of the car.  I love its acceleration and smoothness on side streets or the highway.  I also love the blindspot option - which causes a light to show up on your side mirrors every time a car is in your blind spot, and also features a beeping noise that engages every time you put your blinker on to change lanes, which again tells you when a car is in and has left your blind spot.  I have to admit, I've become a rather lazy driver depending on this feature, but with a baby in the back and running errands it's a great addition to my driving.  Also, I love the size of this car.  I am continually surprised on what I can haul in it.  I've hauled carpets, large pictures, bikes, suitcases, people etc. with absolute ease.  And lastly, I love the Bose speakers. These would never have been an option with the Pathfinder or the Highlander with our price range.

Zipadee-Zip

Over the past couple of weeks our daughter, who is six months old, has been waking up after a few hours of sleeping because she has decided she is finished with being swaddled.  To remedy this new development I tried to follow countless websites' advice on how to wean your baby off swaddling - only swaddling one arm in or swaddling from the waist down, but nothing worked.  I thought about the option of the baby sleeping bag, but again, with my baby's active arms, I knew leaving her arms out wasn't going to cut it.  So, I decided on the Zipadee-Zip because it keeps the baby nice and snug, takes the arms out of the equation, but still leaves them room to move around.  It's also great because it keeps our baby warm, and it stops the problem we had before of putting a blanket on our baby, which invariably ended up over her head.  The last feature I love, is the the little flap that hides the zipper.  Our baby loveesss zippers, so this is great feature that allows a  tight fit, but doesn't allow our little one to find a zipper to suck on.

We went with the light weight option because it's generally 65-67 degrees in our home and found a small fit our 13 pound 24 inch long baby.  Also, it shipped rather fast and I had no problem with their paypal or credit card options for payment.  I would definitely recommend this to anyone trying to wean their baby off swaddling.  Our little girl has become a champion napper and has been great at night.

St. John's Hospital Santa Monica

I recently delivered a baby at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica.  The following are the positives and negatives of my experience at this hospital.

Positives

1. The Tour
A few weeks before I delivered my baby I took an hour tour of the hospital.  I definitely recommend doing this with any hospital you choose.  It's nice to do a dry run through while you aren't in labor pain.  Trust me you'll retain a lot more and enter the hospital a lot more calmer.  The tour really sold me on St. John's.  They showed us the delivery rooms, the postpartum rooms and informed us about the services offered before your labor (breast feeding classes, parenting classes) and the information you'll be given once you deliver.

 

2. Facilities

St. John's was recently renovated and offers an incredible maternity wing.  The birthing rooms are very large and offer plenty of room for family, the husband to sleep and for the birth of your child.  I was amazed at the size of the room.  Larger rooms are offered at a slightly higher price, but from my experience, unless you are having a grand audience, the rooms are big enough to accommodate everything. 

Fortunately, this wasn't an issue for me, but St. John's also offers, on the same floor, rooms for C-Sections and has a very expert Maternal Fetal Medicine Team on site to help with high risk pregnancies. 

3. Staff for Labor/Delivery

I can't say enough about the staff during the delivery process.  I was admitted at night to begin inducing and found each nurse to be welcoming, calming and easily accessible.  When it came time to get my epidural, the anesthesiologist heard my concerns about a botched spinal tap a few years before, and did a perfect job in administering my epidural.  I literally didn't feel any pain when the epidural went in, and that is saying something because I also experienced my worst contraction at that moment.

During the actual delivery my nurse, Lori, was fantastic.  She helped me through almost 90% of the pushing and I found her to be incredibly calming and supportive.  I could tell my doctor and the nurses had a very good relationship, which made the whole experience very peaceful.

Once the baby was delivered I absolutely loved the newborn nurse, who cleaned my daughter, weighed her and checked her out.  I felt like all the nurses were generally concerned about my daughter and excited for her arrival.

Negatives

1. Postpartum Nursing Staff

Talk about night and day. Once I was wheeled over to the other section of the maternity wing I felt like I was entering a totally different hospital.  As opposed to the attention I received during the delivery, I felt like the nurses during my postpartum were busy, neglected to inform me of anything and were very hard to find.  For example, I didn't know if I could shower, if we were supposed to change our daughter's diaper ourselves, I didn't receive breakfast the following day until 11 and at one point we had an orthopedic nurse helping us, who really had no idea what was going on.  I understand they might have been busy, but as a first time mom, I was hoping for a little more attention.

2. Getting Information on Breastfeeding

On our tour of the hospital we were informed that lactation specialists would be coming to our room, after we had our baby, to help us with breastfeeding.  Unfortunately, the lactation specialist only showed up once we were checking out, and that really only felt like the hospital was just sending someone in so we didn't complain that we never saw a specialist.  I was rather angry when the specialist asked me, after I had had my baby for three days, and was sitting in a wheelchair waiting to leave, if I had any questions about breastfeeding.  Um, yeah, I did, about three days ago.  I guess fortunately the hospital did have videos on breastfeeding you could watch on TV while you laid there waiting for a nurse to show up, but I didn't really find those videos helpful. I guess, I didn't really enjoy looking at engorged breasts of strange women.

3. Parking
All I can say is ouch.  Be prepared to drop some cash to valet your car or to deal with moving your car every two hours on side streets near the hospital.

Overall, if I was having a baby tomorrow I don't think I would go back to St. John's.  It's considerably more expensive that UCLA, which was the other option for me, and I don't think I really got a better experience because of it.  The birth was excellent, but the care you really need after was seriously lacking.

My Fertility Journey

For about three and a half years I attempted to get pregnant, and finally, after working with California Fertility Partners in Los Angeles, was I able to get pregnant.  The following is my story and my advice to women who are trying to get pregnant.


Don't Waste Time With Your OB GYN
When I first told my doctor that I wanted to get pregnant, but wasn't having a hard time, I was referred to the "fertility specialist" in the office.  Other offices might be different, but this doctor was only the "specialist" because he threw different drugs at me.  I was first started on Clomid, which is typically the first drug doctors will start women on if they are having a hard time ovulating.  Each month I was given a higher dosage of the drug, but I was never able to ovulate.  After a few months, no one ever asked, "Why I wasn't ovulating?" but just assumed I needed more drugs.

I was then put on Menopur.  Menopur involves injections each night into either a fatty part of your leg or abdomen.  My first take with Menopur felt like someone throwing darts into the dark.  Every few days I would go in and have an ultrasound to see if my ovaries were responding. When no response was seen my doctor would just have me increase the dosage.  I began with 1/2 a vial and was injecting almost four at a time.  Again, there was no real monitoring going on or awareness that this amount of Menopur could be harmful.

After two weeks of the injections I began to experience an acute pain in my ovaries, which then became unbearable.  One night my husband took me to the Emergency Room and I was informed my ovaries were enlarged and had the potential of twisting.  The reason for this dangerous enlargement was because of the over dosage of Menopur.  Basically, my ovaries were freaking out.

After the trip to the hospital I was placed on bed rest for three weeks to ensure my ovaries didn't twist.  Once I was off bed rest I returned the doctor's office for a follow-up and learned I was pregnant.  Now, I wish this was the end of the story, but unfortunately, three weeks later, we were unable to see a heart beat and I suffered a miscarriage.  At this point we decided to stop working with this specialist and find out why I was not ovulating, why I did, and why I had a miscarriage?

How To Find The Right Specialist:
When I finally decided to consult with a fertility specialist I wasn't sure where to go. I was given a few recommendations, but probably the best advice I got was to do some research on my own and determine the answers to the following questions:
  

• How long has the fertility clinic's medical director been there?
• How long have the doctors and technicians been there? High staff turnover can be a sign of bad management and can contribute to mistakes.
• Which procedures do you do, and how often? Be sure the clinic has a wide range of infertility remedies available and is familiar with the latest technology, such as something called blastocyst transfer.
• Do you have age limits for treatment? If so, it's a good sign that the clinic is concerned about ethical issues.
• When you do an advanced procedure that involves fertilizing the eggs outside the woman and then planting them inside her, who decides how many eggs go back in -- the doctor or patient? Wisot recommends steering away from a clinic that gives complete control to the doctor. This is important because the more eggs planted, the greater the chance for multiple births.
• How many cycles per year do you do? Wisot notes that some clinics handle so many patients -- each of whom may be treated for multiple menstrual cycles -- that patients end up feeling like a number.
• What does treatment cost? While you don't want to choose strictly on price, it's good to know costs ahead of time so you know what you're getting into. Beware of clinics that offer a money-back guarantee if you don't get pregnant -- the doctor may have a financial incentive to treat you more aggressively than you want.

All these questions can either be answered on clinics' websites or with consultations. 

California Fertility Partners: 
Eventually, I chose California Fertility Partners because of their success rates, the facilities they had on site, the number of patients and because of Dr. Kelly Baek.  From my initial interview I felt like Dr. Baek was going to approach my case as methodical as possible, and was going to find answers to my ovulation and miscarriage questions.  

As before, Dr. Baek started me on Menopur, but with a small dosage and more visits to truly track my progress.  Eventually, after a few rounds she was able to see that my body took a long time to respond to Menopur, therefore, upping the dosage wasn't the answer, but longer periods of the medication.  Three times were able to get to the artificial insemination points, but each time I was unable to get pregnant.  

Dr. Baek then tried a combination of Clomid and Menopur, which got me a little faster to ovulation, and then used Progesterone, after the inseminations for added hormone therapy, or as an attempt to stave off a miscarriage.  Again, no success.  

At this point Dr. Baek was troubled because she couldn't fully diagnose me.  My blood work showed I was ovulating, but something was missing in communication from my brain to the ovaries.  Consequently, Dr. Baek ordered a MRI.  This decision was met with a lot surprise from her partners, me and my ob gyn, however, Dr. Baek was convinced I had a tumor in my pituitary gland, which was causing all my problems.  And she was right.  Apparently, the tumor was secreting a large amount of prolactin, which can cause you to experience headaches, which I did, not ovulate and can cause miscarriages. 

Initially, Dr. Baek tried the drug Bromocriptine, but we still saw high levels of prolactin in my system.  I was then referred to Dr. David Geffner, an endocrinologist, who put me on Cabergoline.  This drug finally brought my prolactin levels down, and for the first time, without drugs, I was able to ovulate.   Once I saw ovulation, Dr. Baek performed an artificial insemination and four weeks later we found out we were pregnant.  
 
I understand my story is not like everyone's else, but what I can say from the experience is this: 

1. If you are serious about being pregnant - go to a specialist.  They'll have you do blood work, perform x-rays to see that your fallopian tubes are working and open, will closely monitor the process and get results.
2. Don't give up. Unfortunately, with infertility each test, each round takes weeks, months - don't give up.

San Francisco

A few weeks ago the husband and I traveled up to San Francisco for a long weekend trip.  If you haven't had the opportunity to explore this city I recommend making the time.

First, transportation around and inside San Francisco is incredibly easy.  We flew into SFO and then took the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) directly into the city.  Buying tickets was very intuitive and stops were very clearly marked.  Then, while we explored the city, we utilized the public busing system.  For two dollars we were able to travel across the city, and because the initial tickets are good for four hours, we were able to jump back on the bus and cross to another part of the city.  I found the buses to be extremely clean and again stops were clearly marked.

For accommodations we decided to stay close to Union Square because there's a BART stop there, a trolley that travels all the way to the Wharf starts there and its close proximity to all tourists sites in the city. (ex: Chinatown, The Wharf, Market Street etc.)  We ended up staying at the Sir Francis Drake.  This hotel was built in 1928 and offers a great view into the glamorous history of San Francisco.  The lobby is absolutely gorgeous and the room, though small, was elegantly furnished.  In retrospect, I do wish the rooms had been slightly bigger for the price we were paying.  The sink, though very cool, offered no space for a toothbrush and if you wanted to use the bathroom there wasn't much space between the sink and the toilet.  However, again the location was fantastic.

As for sightseeing San Francisco offers an incredible wide range of sites.  Here's what I recommend:

Alcatraz: 
Alcatraz Cruises is the official ferry provider to Alcatraz and back. Departures start at 9:30 AM and are available every half an hour throughout the day. However, please note that these cruises frequently sell out, so as much as possible, plan and book your cruise in advance, especially in the summer and on holidays.
To purchase tickets, view the schedule and/or for more information, visit the Alcatraz Cruises web site at www.alcatrazcruises.com.

Golden Gate Bridge:
Pedestrians including wheelchair users and bicyclists can go on the sidewalks of the bridge during daylight hours but roller blades, skateboards and roller skates are not permitted. There are vista points on both north and south sides of the bridge with parking lots.

We decided to rent bikes through Blazing Saddles, which we were able to rent right at Union Square and ride across the bridge to Sausalito and then back through Golden Gate Gardens, Haight-Ashbury and back to our hotel.  Sausalito is a great little town and we had a delicious Italian sandwich at Venice Gourmet.  After a long bike ride it was great to enjoy a good sour dough sandwich and watch the town go by. 

Ultimately we ended up paying a little over seventy dollars for the day, and was definitely the best way to explore the city.  There are a bunch of bike companies around the city and all offer a daily rate, a great comfort bike, a detailed map and the option to take the ferry back once you reach Sausalito.  I would recommend forgoing the ferry because riding back is easily marked and the gardens are definitely worth seeing...and the ride back is mostly downhill.

Fisherman's Wharf/Ghirardelli Square:
The Wharf offers fishing boats, sea lions basking in the sun, seafood stalls, steaming crab cauldrons, seafood restaurants and sourdough French bread bakeries.  It also offers souvenir shops and historic ships with detailed signs detailing the history of the Wharf. The historic F-Line streetcar and two cable car lines terminate in the area and sightseeing boats and boat charters link to Alcatraz ("The Rock") , Angel Island and other points around San Francisco Bay.

Ghirardelli Square is worth visiting for the free samples the Ghirardelli store offers, or if you want to wait in line, you must try one of the many concoctions of goodness the Ghirardelli kitchen prepares. 

Haight-Ashbury / Chinatown:
Both of these areas can be easily reached through a public bus, through renting a bike or walking.  There's not a lot to do in these neighborhoods, but they are worth exploring to just see the different sides to San Francisco.

Lastly, I recommend coming up with a plan ahead of time for food.  There is literally amazing options on every street and it can be slightly overwhelming.  A few things we enjoyed were:

Crab at the Wharf:
Right along the Wharf you can buy a whole and very much alive crab.  They'll steam it right there for you and offer a loaf of bread along with the meal.  The husband went down this route and was blown away by the taste and size of the crab.

Cafe BaoNecci:
Located in the Italian district of San Fran, this was an outstanding dinner.  We started with a light Italian salad that literally tasted exactly like the salads we enjoyed when we traveled Italy and then chose two pizzas with prosciutto and fresh basil.  All the servers spoke Italian and the food was fast and hot.

Super Duper:
This casual burger place was fantastic.  I got a chicken sandwich with an amazing aioli sauce and the husband went for their classic double patty burger.  I loved the laid back atmosphere and only regret not trying their shakes.

Overall, this was a great trip and I will definitely be back. 

Century City Mall

Last weekend the husband and I went to Century City to grab some dinner and see a movie. Sadly, this was my first trip to Century City after living in LA for five years. What can I say, Santa Monica is just that cool - and I'm just that lazy.

I got to admit that I found the mall at Century City to be a very cool alternative to Santa Monica. First, there is an incredible amount of parking, and they have great deals with movie validations and allotted times of free parking. If you have lived in LA longer than a week, you know parking situations can be deal breakers - so rest assured this won't be a problem.

Second of all, outside of the great options for shopping, the outdoor mall also offers great options for getting food. Compared to the new mall at Santa Monica, the restaurants available at Century City are considerably better. For example, Gulfstream Restaurant offers an awesome menu of seafood and a very cool ambiance, and if you are feeling a little more casual, but still want a great meal, the mall has the Counter and Pink Taco.

The Counter is probably one of my favorite restaurants. Instead of dictating an order to the server, you are given a clipboard of options to build a meat or chicken burger with endless toppings and sauces. It might take two trips to get the order just right, as I learned with the mountain of grilled onions, but once you got your groove this will become a favorite. The Counter also offers a huge platter of fries (sweet and regular), onion rings and some of the most creative milkshakes. Each month they feature a milkshake. I recommend October for the churro milkshake.

As for Pink Taco, last weekend was my first try of the iconic LA establishment. To begin with I found the salsa to be just right. (For me, this can make or break a Mexican restaurant) and the service was awesome. I chose the Mexican cobb salad. I got to admit, it wasn't the best thing I've ever had. I was feeling like a traditional Mexican salad, but I found the blue cheese to be a little overwhelming. The husband chose some chicken enchiladas with a verde sauce, and I'll admit I was a little jealous. As for portions, it wasn't your typical Mexican restaurant. Things were slightly understated and not covered in cheese and grease - which I prefer. Overall, I would like to try Pink Taco again, but just order something different.

After dinner we headed over to the movie theater, which offered a lot of options and very comfortable seats. (What, I have strange levels of criteria.) We ended up seeing The Hunger Games. Our friends had reserved seats ahead of time. I might be doing this from now on when buying tickets for the movies. It was so nice to just walk in and know we had some seats. As for the movie, I was a fan. I had read all three books and had very low expectations for the movie, but I found the adaptation to be spot on. My husband even turned to me and said, "I'm actually liking this movie." For someone who hates all "youth books made into movies" I think that was saying something.

So, if you are in the LA area and you want a cool night out check out Century City. You might even be lucky enough to see some celebrities.

Nook Color

For Christmas I got a Kindle, but returned it because I found it hard to read without really good light. Therefore, I decided to get the Nook Color from Barnes & Noble, which I've found to love and hate. Below are my pros and cons of the Nook.

Pros:
1. Great screen size and very easy to read.
2. Internet connection is fast and loads pages well.
3. Good amount of storage for a lot of books and apps.
4. Compatible with files I can download or buy off Barnes and Noble.
5. Creates bookmarks for you without indicating them.

Cons:
1. Battery life is not great. If I read the Nook for most of the day I'll be out of battery. I think I've found I can get about six hours out of the thing.
2. I haven't figured out how to go back on things. For example, I was writing an email the other night and by accident I pressed something that presented options to cut, paste, select all etc. I had no idea how to get back to my email. Instead, I had to press the home button, go back into the internet, log into my email and find the draft.


Overall, I really like the Nook, but if I was making the purchase again I might think about the Kindle Fire, or wait for the Nook to work out its first edition glitches.

An Alternative To iTunes

I've debated about advertising this little gem, but since I know I have so many readers, who depend on my opinion, I feel it is my duty to share.

For about two years I've been using the site: www.gomusicnow.com to download my music. It's completely legal and I do pay for the songs, but the best thing about this site is this: songs range from $o.15 to $0.09. Yep, you read that right. AND, if you buy the entire album they usually discount it by 10%. Now, I know what you are going to say, "Do they have current albums?" Um, they actually have albums that haven't even been released on iTunes yet. "Is the quality good?" The download quality is actually a little better than iTunes. "How do you pay for the songs?" I set up an account from my debit card and with my account it keeps a great catalog of my downloaded songs and the amount of money I have left to spend.

So, here's what I do. I go to iTunes because I like the structure of this site. I like that you can see what are the most popular songs, preview them and then even find bands that are similar to what you like. I then find the songs I want to buy and then head over to my site and download. I would say the only downside, and this is the only one, is that sometimes for whatever reason they don't have particular albums. For example, they have an awesome live recording of Adele in London, but they haven't posted her 21 album, which has won a thousand awards. So, I'll admit it's a little random, but in the end, if you are willing to wait, almost everything you want will be posted.

So, if you are willing to walk away from the grips of iTunes and stop paying $0.99 for a song come on over to gomusicnow.com.

Malibu Golf Club

A few months ago the husband bought off groupon.com a groupon for two rounds of golf at Malibu Golf Club. With the groupon we were able to save about fifty dollars and had no trouble getting a tee time.

Malibu Golf Club is located up in the mountains of Malibu off Encinal Canyon Road. We decided to take PCH from Santa Monica and then traveled about fifteen minutes in the canyon until we came to the club. Before I talk about the golf, let me just say this drive is gorgeous. Encinal Road winds through the mountains and opens up enough so you can see the ocean and the expansive coast. The husband and I have ridden this road a few times on our bikes and it is definitely one of my favorite roads to drive or ride.

Okay, the golf. The course is nestled right in the middle of the mountains in this beautiful valley of rolling hills and trees. I didn't find the course to be overly complicated and definitely found the distances to be manageable for someone at my level. I did find each hole to be quite narrow and deeply forested on each side. The starter let us know to just stay left each time and we would be fine. His advice proved to be correct and each time the left side seemed to be the safe bet. There was not much in the way of water. The only difficult water hazard you have to navigate is on the 9th hole and if you hit a good drive you should have the distance to pop one on the green. The water isn't very long but snakes across the entire hole.

Overall I really enjoyed the course for these reasons:

1. The carts have GPS and were about 99% correct in your distances.
2. A lot of the tees are set up high and give you a great look down the hole and into the beautiful course.
3. There weren't a lot of bunkers, which I sort of hate, so approach shots were a little more forgiving.
4. Distances of the holes are manageable but challenging.
5. The club is organized well and we didn't have to wait for the groups ahead of us.
6. The club house has great chili. Just saying.

The cons:
1. The greens seem like they are in pretty bad shape. I have seen municipal courses with better greens. There's a lot of bumps and patches.


If you are looking for a great drive and a great course check out Malibu Golf Club.

Jersey Boys

If you don't have a particular show in mind when you get to Vegas, but you know you want some form of entertainment for the night, I recommend getting up early in the morning and hitting one of the tix4tonight kiosks located around the strip. These are great because they offer shows and buffets, for that night, at almost half the price. We decided to try the one located in Fashion Show Mall, which was close to our hotel and wasn't too busy. While waiting in line they offer great assistants that can let you know what is available and what is worth seeing. We decided to see Jersey Boys, and ended up paying about 40% less had we bought the tickets ahead of time. We also we were able to get great seats up in the second level.

We decided on Jersey Boys because of the amazing reviews on yelp.com and because the employees at tix4tonight said it was a guaranteed good show. In my opinion, which is obviously incredibly important, I found the show to be incredibly entertaining. The changing sets were dynamic and easily took you through the different places Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons experienced throughout their career. Also, the music was awesome. I had no idea The Four Seasons had written so many songs I was familiar with and had grown up hearing. The man who played Frankie Vallie had a ridiculous voice and sounded almost exactly like the original guy.

I would say the only disappointments of the show were, and this really wasn't the fault of the show, but the theater was almost empty. Therefore, I felt bad for the performers because there was almost no energy in that place. (A guy in front of us actually slept through the entire thing.) And lastly, I definitely wouldn't recommend this show to families. The language and comments are pretty intense and definitely could be slightly uncomfortable for families to hear.

Outside of those riveting opinions if you are looking for a good time in Vegas, on the cheap, try tix4tonight and check out Jersey Boys.

Food In Vegas

Recently, the husband and I went to Vegas to celebrate our anniversary. While we were there we enjoyed some amazing meals and shows. The following are my recommendations for doing Vegas right (and which don't leave you with a strange wife or disease.)

Food:

El Segundo Sol

This amazing Mexican restaurant is located across the street from the Wynn Hotel and in the middle of the Fashion Show Mall. You might miss it being tucked in the corner, but I promise you, you won't find a better Mexican restaurant in all of Vegas, or in the west for that matter.

First, you must start with their homemade guacamole and salsa. The guacamole is literally made to order and you can taste the ripe avocados, limes and cilantro. In addition to the guacamole is a salsa platter that comes with chips and offers awesome verde and regular salsa. Another amazing starter is the chicken taquitos. I'm not usually a huge fan of fried food, but this somehow comes off light and flavorful with the orange salsa.

Next, and I can't impress upon you enough, you must have the tacos. All of them are amazing. My husband loves the baja fish tacos, which again are fried, but come off just right, and I love the chicken tacos. The chicken has obviously been marinated over night and then grilled over a hot fire. It's so good that I could just eat without anything. However, as good as the meats are the tortillas make this meal. According to the manager, they literally have a woman designated as the tortilla maker and that's all she does. The tortillas are a perfect and made with a ground corn. In addition to the platter, you also get rice and black beans. Unlike other Mexican restaurants these sides are equal to their main courses.

Lastly, and again, you must somehow save room, you must order the tres leches cake. I'm not even a big dessert person, but this is insanely good. Again, somehow they manage to make a rich dessert so amazing and light.


Strip Burger
Next door to El Segundo Sol is a small outdoor eating area that serves awesome burgers, fries, sandwiches and shakes. It's the perfect place for curing a hangover and gaining some energy to go shopping. While we were there I had the California Chicken Sandwich and my husband had the Green Chili Burger. I love places that cook their burgers and chicken sandwiches on a grill and this was definitely the case. The portions were huge and warm as we sat outside. However, the winner of the meal were the sweet potato fries. They had some type of sugary taste to them and came with this amazing sauce. Every time we pass through Vegas I sort of crave those fries.



Mon Ami Gabi
First, this restaurant is amazing because of its location. It is located in the Paris Casino and faces the Bellagio Fountains. As you eat, you can perfectly see and hear the water show. We ate here once for my husband's birthday and it was so romantic to sit outside, enjoy a great meal and see those fountains.

As for eating, this place offers an amazing menu. To start I recommend trying either their French onion soup or the sea scallops. Both are cooked to perfection and show you from the very beginning what type of caliber this restaurant offers. I would however also mention for starters to stay away from their salads. I've had the house petite salad and the ceasar and found both to be very lackluster. They just don't seem to fit on the menu because of their lack of flavor and thought. Therefore, if you aren't a big starter hang with the delicious bread they provide and wait for the main course.

I've eaten at this restaurant four times and I've tried some of their specials. I've had a pot roast they advertised as being cooked for a few days, which was alright but I found to be very fatty, I've had a few fish dishes, that were amazing, but the real winners at this restaurant are their steak dishes. So, if you hear specials, close your ears and focus on the steaks. I recommend the classic filet mignon merlot. It is mouth watering good and the sauce...it's like butter. Also, what makes this meal are the frites that come on the side. They are the perfect compliment to add a little salt to the steak and soak up the juices and sauce. Another favorite is the bone-in ribeye. This is a monster dish, but again the ribeye is moist and juicy.

For dessert I'm not crazy about their selections. During the summer you get a lot of fresh fruit from California and the chef makes some amazing cakes and crepes with the fruit. During the winter months, they desserts aren't as amazing. We've ordered a few items, but were never overly impressed.

So, again remember come here for the steak and you will leave happy.

Lyon

From Chamonix we decided we didn't want to drive the entire distance back to Paris in order to fly home. Therefore, we decided to stop in Lyon, drop off our rental car, which was probably the hardest thing we had to maneuver since being in the country, spend one night there and then take a train directly to the airport the following day. We found this allowed us one more day to explore an additional city, and have a direct ride to the airport.

After finding the Budget Rental Car company, which was sandwiched between the train station and some side road, we took off to explore Lyon. According to Rick Steves' Europe travel book, he recommended walking through the Croix-Rousse district, which is the silk weavers district of Lyon. We absolutely loved walking these streets, which had secret passages, random off shoots and showcased gorgeous Italian architecture. It was slightly raining as we walked, but this little old part of Lyon offered many enclosed walkways and shops for us to stay dry.

Lyon, according to our research prior to traveling, was designated as the gastronomy capital of France, therefore we decided after exploring to treat ourselves to a very gourmet dinner. We decided on Le Winch, which was located on a quaint street lined with restaurants. My husband decided on an amazing dinner of duck and vegetables, and I finally, succumbed to steak and pom frites. (The first time I went Paris as a 13 year old girl I only order steak and pom frites, so this time around I promised myself I would try other things.)
After dinner we walked back to our hotel. We ended up staying at Hotel Central because of its location to the train station. Though this was a last minute decision, we were really impressed with this hotel. It has a very modern feel to it, the rooms are quite large and they offer a great breakfast in the morning.

Chamonix

From Annecy we traveled to Chamonix, which is located a little over an hour down the road. Chamonix shares the summit Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in the Alps, with its neighboring commune of Courmayeur in Italy, and has the appearance of a beautiful ski town like Aspen or Park City, Utah.

As we drove into the valley of Chamonix we were able to see several waterfalls coming down the mountains. Unlike Annecy, Chamonix was very easy to navigate and we were able to easily find our hotel. We ended up staying at the Hotel La Vallee Blanche. We decided on this hotel for its location, which was within walking distance of the Tourist's Welcome Center and the main streets of Chamonix for food. As for all our trips, we find Trip Advisor to be the best website to refer to for rates, reviews and recommendations. I have yet to find a hostel or hotel off this website we weren't completely satisfied with. As promised on Trip Advisor, the rooms weren't amazing, but the hotel is located next to a river, and while we slept, we were able to hear the river rustle by.

After quickly dropping our bags down, we headed over to the Tourist Welcome Center. I really enjoy starting a city this way because we find the best maps there and always get great recommendations on how best to see the city. (That's how we found out about hikes and bike rentals in Annecy.) After, learning a little about the city, we decided the best attraction in Chamonix, when there's no snow of course, is to take a cable car up to the top of Mont Blanc.

So, the following day we took the Aiguille du Midi cable car and traveled 12604 ft up into the clouds. It cost about 12,70 € per person, and it was completely worth the money. At the summit, are man made terraces that allow you a 360° view of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. While we were traveling up the cable car a cloud cover began to hide our view, but once we made it to the top the skies opened up and we were able to see everything.

At the top.
The terraces built on top of the mountain.
Separating each terrace and level were man made ice tunnels.
At the top an additional gondola ride can take you over Glacier du Géant to the Pointe Helbronner in Italy. We decided not to take this additional trip because of the cost, and we felt we had seen everything.
From the top people were taking off to hike down. They were equipped with ice cleats, tents and skis.

The cable car ride between Chamonix and Aiguille du Midi is broken into two stages. At the intermediate stop, at a height of 7, 578 feet, the Plan de l'Aiguille offers a departure point for individuals, who aren't equipped with ice gear, to hike the rest of the way down. We decided to get off at this point and walk the rest of the way down. The hike was long, but offered some amazing pockets of water left from glaciers, great views of Chamonix and different types of scenery from large boulders to forests.

Annecy

After six hours of driving we pulled off the highway into Annecy, which is located in the southeastern part of the country. (I should mention that we were not warned ahead of time, but Annecy is slightly confusing to navigate in a car. There didn't seem to be one main street, but a criss-crossing of one way streets. Eventually, we found our hostel, but I'll admit we drove around for awhile - and most likely drove by it a few times.)

Anyway, we ended up staying at the Alexandra Hotel. This place was perfectly located in the middle of town, close to restaurants and provided free parking underground nearby. We also really enjoyed this hotel because of the amazing service and the very filling breakfast they provided each morning.

Now, the reason we chose to stay in Annecy was strictly because of the beautiful Lake Annecy. Lake Annecy is the second largest lake in France and deemed as the cleanest lake in Europe. I can't describe how beautiful and blue this lake was. In order to truly enjoy the the lake and the surrounded trees and hills, we decided to go hiking our first day. According to Rick Steves' France guidebook we were able to find a trail and followed as it winded along the lake.
After hiking for a few hours, we decided to try one of Annecy's favorite meals: Raclette. I'm not sure how to describe this meal, other than I sort of want it to be my last meal if I'm ever on death row. It was amazing. Raclette consists of Raclette cheese being heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto your plate with small potatoes, ham and a small salad. In addition, to this delicious meal is always bread that is by far the best in the world. We enjoyed not only eating this meal, but preparing it at our table and taking our time enjoying the experience. If you travel to Annecy find Chez Mamie Lise Restaurant, which is right next to a beautiful canal and try Raclette. You won't be disappointed.

Here you can see the stove you are given to cook the cheese. On top you cook the potatoes.

Our last day in Annecy we decided to rent some bikes and ride around the lake. I can't remember the exact company we rented from, but I do remember it was near Chez Mamie Lise Restaurant, and it wasn't expensive.

Again, I can't emphasize enough how beautiful Lake Annecy was, and how fun it was to explore the surrounded towns and farms along the way. If you decide to rent bikes, don't feel like you have to be an expert rider. There's a very smooth bike path that travels almost half around the lake. It provides about an hour ride, and there are restaurants and picnic tables along the way.
If you are looking for a change from museums and large cities, Annecy is the perfect stop.

Get Off The Highway and Explore

Before we arrived in Annecy, we randomly chose a town off the highway and decided to do a little exploring. The city we chose was called Beaune, which is one of the key wine centers of France. In addition, Beaune is a fun stop because in the center of town are electric and quaint little stores, and around the city is an ancient wall and moat. It's not a huge city, but definitely a fun stop to just see a little French history.

Center of town is about four blocks of criss-crossing streets full of fun stores and shops.
Before we left we enjoyed some wonderful ham and cheese sandwiches at at Brasseire Le Carnot. The interior of the restaurant has the original wood and counter from the 1920s, and outside you sit where the roads of shops intersect into a quaint square. If you are looking for a short stop to break up the trip, grab a glass of wine, pull up a chair and enjoy an afternoon in Beaune.

Part II of Dos: Rent a Car

From Paris we decided to travel across the country and visit the cities Chamonix and Annecy. Initially, we thought we might be able to travel by train or by plane, but we ran into a few problems. One, unlike our experiences in other European countries, we were unable to find a sleeper train that traveled to the southeastern part of the country. The closest we could find was a train that took you an hour outside Annecy and then it was up to you to make the final part of the trip. The cost for this was absolutely ridiculous and would require a day plus of travel. Secondly, a plane ticket to this part of the country was equally as expensive and again you were left with finding some type of transportation to the your final destination. Therefore, we decided to rent a car. I can't express how much fun this was to have our own car and the freedom to go explore.

So, after four days in Paris we rented a car, quickly remembered how to drive stick, conquered a French roundabout of seven lanes and set off across the country. The French highways were easily marked, clean and interesting to travel on. I say interesting because unlike America, French drivers are weird. For one, it seemed like we were the only ones going the speed limit, and while we were traveling at the speed limit in the RIGHT LANE, a car would come speeding up on our bumper, ride it for a few miles and then finally we would get out of the way. Now, I should mention that there were usually no cars in the left lane. So, I'm not sure why one, a car would come up so fast on us in the right lane, not use the left lane and make us get over? Interesting right? The other interesting part of the French highway are the immediate changes in speeds. It seemed like through the whole stretch the speed limit, for no apparent reason, would shift from 70km to 40km without any real warning. And, then to compound the drastic shift in speed, there would be a traffic camera to take a picture of you being an idiot. To be honest, I'm pretty sure we got our picture snapped, but have yet received a ticket.

The last thing you should be prepared for, while traveling by car in France, are the tolls on the highway. These tolls can be slightly expensive, but when weighed against a train or plane ticket, they are still the less expensive option. The only truly expensive part of the tolls are the fact that, if you miss a turn off or decide to get off the highway, you have to pay a toll. We thought we missed one turnoff, and as we doubled back, we had to re-pay the toll. So, just make sure you are truly prepared to get off the highway, and literally, pay for any mistakes.

Check out http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/routes.htm if you want to calculate your costs for gas, tolls and get directions. We found this website to be very helpful in comparing prices against train and plane travel.

Normandy

My next recommendation for any trip to France is to take a day and travel to Normandy. There are many options in getting to Normandy and here's what I found:

1. There are many tour groups that organize train tickets, pick ups and informational tours of the various sites. Tours can be great, but also more expensive than if you did it on your own, and also strap you to a particular schedule. The experience of Normandy is not just about historical sites, but also exhibits a beautiful rural countryside. Therefore, as interesting as the historical facts might be, I think it's also worth it to have the time to just sit and enjoy the landscape.

2. There are several trains that leave Paris and travel to various cities in Normandy. The center of the D-Day attractions is a city called Bayeux. When I looked into booking a train to Bayeux I ran into a few issues. One, the earliest train I could find out of Paris left around 9:00 and took about two hours to travel to Bayeux. (Check out this website for train information.) This wouldn't be a problem, but once you arrive in Bayeux you then have to find a bus or taxi service to take you to the D-Day attractions. Again, this causes a bit of a scheduling issue, because you either have to pay the taxi to wait or wait for another infrequent bus to travel between the rural towns.

3. Eventually, we decided the best way to travel to Normandy and experience the sites was to rent our own car. We found a very cheap car rental place near our hotel and by 8 in the morning we set off for Normandy. Having the car allowed us to follow our own path through the attractions, spend as much time as we wanted and to fully enjoy the countryside. And after we priced everything out, the car was only slightly more expensive than a train, but the flexibility was invaluable.

D-Day Attractions:

Start your exploration at the seaside resort of Arromanches-les-Bains. This is a cool little fishing port that still exhibits wreckage of the man made harbor the Allies built in 1944. Next to the beach is a museum that houses maps, videos and photographs of the building of the harbor, but I wouldn't recommend paying the money to enter. Just buy or check out Rick Steves' Book on Paris and he'll give you the full historical background.

While you are at Arromanches-les-Bains walk up the hill and see a short, but very well done video, called Arromanches-les-Bains 360. As indicated in the name, the video is shown on screens around the entire room and show real footage of D-Day.

In the background you can see the port of Arromanche-les-Bains.

From Arromanche travel down the coast to Omaha Beach. Covering almost 173 acres is a fantastic and humbling museum of the events leading up to the D-Day battle, leftover lookouts and artillery from the Germans and the Normandy American Cemetery. Save yourself a considerable amount of time to fully experience this site.

At Omaha Beach.
The American Cemetery.

From Omaha Beach we traveled farther along the coast until we came to Pointe du Hoc. This was probably the most breathtaking site I had ever visited. To see the real effects of war and the destruction it can cause was incredible.

That's me standing in the middle of a crater from a bomb.
More craters.

I should also state that there are many other attractions in addition to the ones we saw. However, we felt like these three major sites told the story and allowed us to take our time and fully absorb the historical event that took place. So, don't feel overwhelmed when you start planning your trip. Touch on the highlights or spend a few days. Either way you'll still walk away with an appreciation for this monumental battle.

To finish our trip to Normandy we drove into Bayeux, which is an adorable town, and had our first real French meal at a Michelin starred restaurant called Le Pommier. My husband chose the set menu with Foie gras and an amazing apple pie, and I had a deliciously prepared cod. After dinner we walked the streets and enjoyed this charming little city.

Me after being very well fed.

The Do's Of Paris

A few months ago I traveled to France and spent ten wonderful days exploring the country. The following is what I deem "What You Must Do, If You Are An American and Have 10 Days In France, And Don't Want To Spend An Outrageous Amount of Money": (It's a work in progress title.)

Paris

Museum Pass

Of course, this should be your number one stop. I mean, it's Paris. However, here's what I recommend if you go. First, think long and hard about the Museum Pass that all guidebooks and museum entrances will advertise. I purchased the pass and then spent the next two days running from museum to museum in order to make it count. In retrospect, I wish I had just chosen a few museums I wanted to see, paid the admission price and enjoyed a more calm museum experience. I think because Paris offers so many museums you think you have to see them all, but in actuality walking around Paris is a wonderful experience in itself. So, again, think about what kind of tourist you want to be: walking all day in a museum looking at French art and statues, or laying on the grass by the Eiffel Tower with a baguette? If given the choice again I think I would have saved my money and eaten more crepes.

Hotel

For four nights I stayed at the Le Meridien Etoile, which is located just a few minutes from Champs Elysees. I was really impressed with the service of this hotel and the modern decor. However, I found the location to be perfect for our sightseeing excursions. Located just around the corner was a metro stop, and if you wanted to walk, you were close to all the major sites.

Food

To be honest, our best meals were getting fresh croissants and pastries in the morning and warm baguettes for lunch. I was constantly amazed how, no matter what pastry shop you walked into, the croissants and baguettes tasted the exact same - which was good because we tried a lot of them. The French definitely know how to bake so make sure you forget about calories and fat content and go to town - you won't taste anything like it. As for crepes, there was not the same quality control. Sometimes they were amazing and sometimes they tasted a little old. Make sure you only buy crepes that are made right in front of you. We made the mistake of buying a crepe from a shop that already had a stack of crepes made that they just warm up before serving. Don't waste your money on these! And lastly, for dinner, it's a little hard because there are so many tourist traps with really crappy food. Try to stay away from restaurants near Champs Elysees or museums. And if all else fails, but a baguette, get some cheese, find a nice park and have a quiet dinner for two.

Tomorrow we leave Paris.