Windy City Weekend

The timing of the Canary Symposium coincided nicely with one of Jerel’s meetings in Chicago, so I arranged a layover in Chicago en route back to Brussels. The layover was part of a master plan to re-connect with old friends and to meet their new little ones. Thursday night, we had an epicurean evening with Casey, Katherine, and ‘grandma’ Brown, and met their 3-month old baby Corinne. TJ and Christy joined us for the weekend, and we treated ourselves to a stay at a cool hotel (the W) in the heart of Chicago, right on the lake. None of us knew Chicago very well when we arrived, but by the time we left, we were unanimously smitten.
Highlights included: jogging along the lively lakeshore, admiring masterpieces at the Art Institute, cruising the Chicago River on an entertaining and edifying architectural tour, admiring the view from the John Hancock tower, and dining at Zed 451, a restaurant that claimed to specialize in meat but whose ‘harvest table' had us all going back for more…and more…

After two days of fun in Chicago, we road-tripped to Columbus on Sunday afternoon where we celebrated mother’s day with Christy, TJ, Jake and Christy’s parents. Jerel and I spent the evening competing for Jake’s attention and I think it’s safe to say that we both won. Jake charmed both ‘Cha Cha’ and ‘Jerjel’ with his warmth, cheerfulness, playfulness, and boundless energy.

For more photos please click here.

Canary reunion in California

Prompted by an invitation to attend the Canary Foundation’s Annual Symposium at Stanford, I made a short but sweet trip back to the Bay Area.  I arrived in California a few days before the conference so that I could spend the weekend hanging out with the growing Dean clan (Jed, Sara, Esther, Beatrice, and girl #3, expected in August).  Friday night, I received a huge surprise when we were sitting down for dinner and the doorbell rang… there stood Jerel, with flowers and a big grin on his face.  He had realized at the last minute that it made just as much sense to fly to his Chicago meeting later that week from Shanghai via San Francisco rather than via Brussels. Lucky me!

It felt just like old times as we passed the weekend hiking, discussing/debating, and feasting with the Deans.  The girls were cuter than ever, and as always, full of energy that we love to watch them burn off running circles around the house or dancing freestyle to pop music (Rhianna's “All the Single Ladies” still tops the Dean girls’ charts).  Bea stopped so much traffic at the SF Ferry building with her cuteness that we debated giving her a collection bucket!  We also made a fun trip to the SF Exploratorium with Stephen and his two little ones, where I tried and failed to get over my ‘gyrophobia’ (long story).

I had a great time at the Canary Symposium, connecting with old friends and colleagues and nourishing my hungry brain.  A few themes emerged from the meeting - that we should devote resources to identifying ‘pathognomonic’ markers (not produced by any normal cells) and that while we believe that there is a real window of opportunity for early detection, the tumors are likely to be very small during that window.  Another theme of the meeting was enjoying good wine, thanks to one of Canary’s supporters who dug into his amazing wine cellar for the occasion.

Sampling Belgium with Katharina

Ezra's girlfriend, Katharina is a notorious chocoholic, so it wasn't hard to talk her into coming to Brussels from Berlin for a weekend visit. She arrived the day after passing her grueling medical school written exams, providing a good excuse to indulge in a celebratory weekend.  Friday, we showed Katharina our favourite Brussels sites, shops and neighborhoods stopping to fortify ourselves with chocolate as needed.  We capped off a delicious day by inaugurating our balcony as we enjoyed some of Belgium's finest raspberry beer.

Saturday, we ventured to two nearby flemish cities - Antwerp and Ghent.  It was our first time in Antwerp where we were struck by the extent to which shopping dominated the city's activities - the main streets were bustling with trendy, upscale shops, while the rest of the city was strangely deserted. We had visited Ghent for the first time the previous weekend and were eager to return to this lively city - Ghent has much of the old-fashioned charm of its famous neighbor, Brugge, yet seems to have more of a real life going on beneath the surface. 

Jerel left for Shanghai after brunch on Sunday, so Katharina and I seized the opportunity to cruise Brussels' various antique and craft markets at a leisurely pace, again stopping for chocolate (or waffles) for fortification as needed!  The pink room is again ready and waiting for more guests...

For more photos from our celebratory weekend please click here.

Lausanne - Easter Wedding Extravaganza

The wedding of our friends Peter and Natacha in Lausanne gave us the perfect excuse to visit Switzerland. Lausanne was in peak form - the views across sparkling Lake Geneva towards dramatic snow-capped French Alps were amazing, and the city itself lived up to my Swiss stereotypes in being impeccably groomed and well-organized. Friday’s theme was getting to know our fellow guests while enjoying our surroundings. A group of twenty or so of us journeyed to a local winery, first by ferry then on foot through the vineyard-covered hills, before returning to Lausanne by train for an evening of pizza and drinks.

Saturday, Jerel and I jogged along what we agreed was probably the most beautiful jogging path in the world (challenge, anyone?) before donning black-tie attire for the big event. The celebration was held at the Beau Rivage Palace, a beautiful, grand, lavish hotel with a Baroque feel. The short and sweet marriage ceremony was followed by cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the spectacular hotel gardens overlooking the lake. The reception offered great food and entertainment, including risqué speeches, a comical newlywed game (the ‘shoe game’ – where bride & groom answer provocative questions from the guests), and live music and dance moves from across the decades.

Easter Sunday, Natacha let her game-loving side shine with a fabulous Easter-egg hunt involving over 1000 chocolate eggs hidden throughout the expansive hotel gardens. I may not have one the prize for most eggs but I think I won the prize for persistence (I was the only one that left with a grass-stain!). That afternoon, we worked off our chocolate spoils walking through hilly Lausanne, which was quiet even by European standards for a Sunday on account of the Easter holiday.

Hamburg - Day in the Life of a Chippendale

Anyone that knows my older bro won’t be surprised to hear that for the last few months, he’s been on tour in Europe with the Chippendales. They closed out the tour in Hamburg, inviting an easy weekend trip for me and Jerel from Brussels. We weren’t expecting much from Hamburg but it turns out to be quite a lively and scenic city. Canals and bridges abounded - I learned that Hamburg has more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice combined!

After a late arrival on Friday, we kicked off our weekend on Saturday with lunch at Ami’s regular haunt, a casual cafeteria where you are guaranteed the best bang for your buck when it comes to generous portions of healthy food. We spent the afternoon exploring Hamburg, meandering along the Binnenalster (inner city lake) and past the impressive Rathaus (city hall). Jerel and I continued on to enjoy a chilly panoramic view of the city from St. Nikolai’s church, whose ruins are a WWII memorial, while Ami went to rehearsal.

Ami had arranged for guest tickets to the Saturday night show, known to be the craziest night of the week…and crazy it was. I’ve never seen so many seemingly normal women going nuts – upwards of 600 women filled the venue that night. The crowd was on their feet for much of the show, cheering and shrieking. Fortunately, one of the other two men in the audience (the tour manager) was sitting at our table, which gave Jerel some comfort. He tried his hardest to look like he was on official business as well. The show was a lot of fun, with impressive dancing and music (and abs). To my relief, I didn’t have to close my eyes nearly as much as I had feared… The show also featured a good dose of audience participation, and to my dismay, Ami had ensured that I would be picked as one of the ‘volunteers’. Suffice it to say that I survived, with even greater appreciation for the nerve it takes to perform in front of a big audience.
After the show, I stood in shock as women lined up to take their picture with Ami, or requested an autograph. Either he’s a good actor or the experience hasn’t grown old even after 6 shows a week for several months! After the show, we navigated the bustling Reeperbahn together (Europe’s largest red light district) and joined Ami for his second dinner.

Sunday and Monday passed much the same as Saturday, to the rhythm of Ami’s sleep-eat-exercise-eat-perform-eat life. Katharina (Ezra’s girlfriend) joined us from Berlin as did her friend Jana who lives just outside Hamburg. Jerel returned to Brussels for work on Monday while I stayed behind. Katharina and Jana attended the show on Sunday and it seemed that they also enjoyed it …I caught them posing with one of the other Chippendale’s when I returned to meet up with them after the show in the ‘flirt lounge’. Sunday ‘apres-show’, Ami and I joined some of the guys for dinner, which made for some interesting conversation. Monday, Ami and I passed a pleasantly quiet day, lifting weights at the gym (my pecs are still recovering!) and lingering over lunch and tea. All in all a very satisfying and memorable weekend.

Morocco - Spring Getaway with Bronwyn

After several months of grey winter, Brownyn and I agreed that a spring getaway was in order. We settled on Morocco as our destination, for its warm weather, interesting culture, and easy access from Europe. Upon arrival into Marrakesh, we were initially taken aback by the dusty streets and worn stone buildings, but soon warmed to the city as we began to sample its exotic sights, sounds and tastes.

We spent our first 2 days exploring Marrakesh, a city that seems to never sleep. During the day, we struggled not to get lost as we navigated the maze of narrow streets of the souks (markets) where small shops displayed colourful ceramics, blankets, spices and teas. The bargaining skills that I acquired in China were indispensable, as prices were almost always negotiable. At night, we lingered at the main square ‘Djemaa el Fna, where tourists and locals alike congregated until the wee hours. On one end of the square was a collection of stalls offering freshly squeezed orange juice, dried fruits and nuts, and fragrant Moroccan cuisine, all manned by charming young men determined to convince you of their stall’s superiority. The adjacent courtyard featured an eclectic mix of performers (musicians, contortionists) and vendors (traveling pharmaceuticals, henna artists), each encircled by a rapt crowd.

We began and ended our days at a wonderful Riad (B&B) unexpectedly tucked away down a back alley, featuring elegant local décor, private pool, rooftop views and delicious mint tea…the perfect antidote to the craziness of the medina. The only downside of our accommodation was the mournful daily 5am call to prayer from the nearby mosque.

Next, we ventured to the coastal town of Essaouira for 24 hours of relative tranquility. Like Marrakesh, Essaouira remains very down-to-earth despite the thriving tourism industry – Brownyn described it as a ‘Muslim Santa Cruz’. As native ocean girls, we were thrilled to simply walk on the beach and inhale the sea air. The beach was alive with impromptu soccer games, while sunbathers were noticeably lacking. We also enjoyed exploring Essaouira’s lively port, filled with fishermen selling their catch, as well as seagulls and stray cats eager for a spare morsel.

One of the many memorable parts of the trip was our visit to a Hammam – the Moroccan equivalent of a Turkish bath - where we had the roughest scrubbing of our lives and had buckets of warm water dumped on our heads. It was a lot more fun than it sounds and Bronwyn and I both eagerly bought scrubbers so that we could recreate the experience. We wrapped up our visit to Essaouira with camel rides on the beach, a first for both of us. We couldn’t stop grinning as we climbed the sand dunes, the perfect ending to our Moroccan escapade. We returned to our respective homes the following morning, equipped with tea, spices, scrubbers and more, keen to bring a taste of Morocco home with us.

Bronwyn Visits Brussels - Quel Plaisir!

Last weekend, we hosted the first of hopefully many visitors to the pink room at “chez Jerel et Chana” in Brussels. The lucky guest was Bronwyn, who traveled from London for a short but very sweet visit.

We took Bronwyn on something of a culinary tour of Brussels on Saturday, starting with authentic Belgian waffles (far superior to the North American imposters) served from the Belgian equivalent of a California ‘taco truck’, moving on to gourmet chocolate tasting, and ending with ‘moules frites’ (mussels and fries). Along the way, we managed to take in a good number of Brussels’ main attractions, including the Grand Place, various beautiful churches, and the notorious ‘Mannekin Pis’, which some say celebrates a young boy who saved the city from fire by peeing on it.

Sunday, we opted for a day trip to Bruges, perhaps one of the world’s quaintest cities. This medieval town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and on the surface, seems to have hardly changed since its time as a thriving trading center in the 13th and 14th centuries. It truly feels like a step back in time, complete with horse-drawn carriages. There isn’t much to do in Bruges besides climbing the narrow, winding staircase to the top of the bell tower, strolling through the town and along the narrow canals, and sipping beer (or raspberry Lambec, yum!)…all of which makes for a great afternoon.

Monday, Bronwyn joined me and the other regulars for “Lundi matin RPM” (indoor cycling) at my second home, the gym. Quel plaisir! We then took a brisk stroll to the nearby ‘Etangs d’Ixelles’, scenic manmade ponds featuring an interesting assortment of birds, and where spring fever is in full swing amongst birds and humans alike! We had just enough time to squeeze in some souvenir shopping so that Bronwyn wouldn’t be chastised for leaving Belgium without chocolates (and beer) in tow.

I hope that this blurb helps to entice any potential visitors that are wavering on the allure of Brussels! For more photos please click here.