The longest pre wedding layover ever
We’re at the Honolulu airport and ready to take off on an 8 day trip to my cousin Clementine and her fresh new husband Benjamin’s “wedding” in Menorca, Spain. Menorca should be laid back and home to many Mediterranean style beaches for us to discover. If you noticed, the term wedding is in quotations because as it turns out, Clem and Benjamin already got married! civil union in L.A. a month ago. Friends and family are due to show from the US and France to the big event.
This is my new life, by the way. house slippers. lol
Originally airline ticket costs were in the $3k range! After initially declining the invite, June prospered on in her search and thanks to her relentless and nimble fingers she was able to get us to Menorca for way less. props.
Things ended up being two separate round trips, one of which June booked through a non-english website. Slick
Eventually we ended up with a trip consisting of 1) an eight hour layover in BC Canada, 2) a few day stop over in Frankfurt Germany and 3) the wedding in Menorca Spain. We’ll just think of it as an extended layover to get there.
We packed pretty much as light as possible for this one. No headphones, no reading materials. I lightened my sink laundry kit and even brought the lightest slippers I could find. To cut weight even more we left Paxton at home. Yup you read that right.
For the first time we’re not traversing the earth as a unit. Our eldest made the strategic decision to stay back to attend summer school in order to get an extra free period during the next school year in 9th grade. (If I were Paxton I would have jumped on the plane.) This will be a great chance for him to explore a bit of independence during the start of summer when things are a bit slower. Thanks grandma Susan for allowing this to happen.
British Columbia
Now that we’re sitting at the airport June and I just realized we don’t even know if we can leave during the 8-9 hours we have here. We assumed we could. We found out we’ll definitely have to go through customs upon arrival. I guess we’ll just ask. Please please please. This is how we travel. Squeeze in extra stuffs whenever we can. At least our (2) tiny rollie luggages got checked through to Frankfurt so we won’t have to worry about storing them or lugging them around. Hopefully they show up at our destination.
I’ll set the mood. It’s a Sunday, June 9. The temp is 48 degrees farenheit at 745 am. Im still wearing my travel pants and long sleeve flannel from the airplane.
We picked up (2) day-passes while leaving the YVR terminal for public transportation and decided to head north to Chinatown for later breakfast. Kids under 12 are free. 32.5CND or $11 USD for a day pass. Chee!
We’ll have 5 hours or so of actual ground time before we should be to be back at the airport to meet the 3 hour pre flight rule.
Chinatown is slow. Lots of homeless though. Is it because it’s a Sunday morning? Can’t tell ya. Most places are closed but we found our way to a dim sum place called Jade Dynasty Restaurant. This is the original Chinatown, not the currently active one at Richmond. Probably similar to San Francisco’s Chinatown where people get priced out and then move.
The service was mediocre esp given how slow the place was and so was the food. Turnip cake was ok. Mochi rice and Shanghai dumplings not so much. No wonder Richmond is the new Chinatown.
After dim sum our plans are to head to Stanley park for a bit of Canadian nature and then either eat poutine or more Chinese.
While gazing at the map we set one destination goal at the park but failed to locate Beaver Creek. That’s not entirely accurate I think we were just lazy and only made it uphill enough to get to the aquarium. Eventually we decided to make the most of things by going geocaching in the park. Twice!
Forebears-the old bear exhibit
Movember-“just inside the stump”
These ravens are so clever. While we were walking along the pathway beside the water a raven flew up and dropped a fresh clam on the pavement to crack it open.
Turns out they were looking for clams along the waters edge then dropping them from above to crack them open. I was thinking I should have tried one of them clams. Hand picked by a raven. Too early in the trip to get sick tho.
I can’t believe we’re getting more food. Im still full from earlier. Poutine or more dumplings? Both actually. First to Dinesty, located a few blocks away from Stanley Park. Wow soup dumplings that have soup, are well separated, aren’t broken and come with a spoon. I guess our bar was set low. This place was quick and attentive like how a Chinese eating establishment should be.
Here are some pan fried xiaolongbao.
Next, let’s find poutine-french fries, gravy and cheese curds. Why are we even eating Chinese food with only 5 hours to experience Vancouver?
There are so many places to choose from. Walk 20 minutes or public transportation 20 minutes to poutine? We gonna make use of these passes today.
La Belle Patate wasn’t what I expected after reading the reviews. It’s a casual place full of character and an ambiance of hockey mixed with Rage (against the machine) playing in the background. The window fronting the street is a garage door. I think we’re in the LGBTQ district?Here’s a medium traditional poutine and a few local drinks. Honey ale and a pear cider. Hudson is indeed sleeping.
Since we didn’t know if there was food back on the plane I veered off at the bus stop to get Strawberries. When the bus showed up I had to make a run for it.
Man we really made great use of our transportation passes today. We must have jumped on and off at least 5 times including a to and fro from the airport. I don’t think we waited much more than 10 minutes to get on a bus or subway. On a Sunday too. Amazing job, Vancouver public transportation.
We’re on the subway heading back to the terminal to try to meet the 3 hour before flight rule to be safe. Man it feels like we banged out Vancouver as best as a half-a-century old dude could.
Frankfurt
Our Condor Air flight looks like it’ll be on a brand new plane. Hopefully they give headphones because I never bring em.
Monday 1 pm hit the ground.
Transportation-we purchased 3 one day passes for public transportation. Each day is around 20 euro and is a group pass good for up to 5 people.
We just arrived and have an hour until our room is ready. Hudson is hungry and June is navigating us to a homestyle restaurant-Adolf Wagner or as I meant to say Apfelwein Wagner.
The main drink here is apple wein. Apple juice for hud. There must be plenty tourists because the dude at the front told a few people that they don’t serve beer. lol. Note the glass pattern.
We got a frankfurter schnitzel with grüner SoBe (green sauce). Throw it on everything! Herby and light, a Frankfurt regional specialty. It’s also white asparagus season which I didn’t realize was seasonal and also very popular.
And a homemade bratwurst with sauerkraut and mash.
After a hard to wake up from afternoon nap we decided to head out to the rebuilt old town of DomRömer and an eating street to top off our night.
The Frankfurt public transportation system must be based on the honor system. We’ve never had to show our pass yet. The subways don’t even have turnstiles!
Our first choice’s kitchen was closed. Too many guests. They pointed us to Paulander 10 min away.
No luck again…and again. Man we must have went to 4-5 different home style German restaurants looking for dinner (starting at 9pm or so on a Monday), and either the food was sold out or the kitchens were closed. Must be an especially busy Monday. We saw the last of the pork knuckles get served at the first place.
Naïv bottle shop was open. They have food next door. We grabbed pasta, cheese platter and a guyere brat for dinner.
Day 2. We’re kicking off our first full day going full blast food at noon at a traditional restaurant called Atschel in the area of Old Sachsenhausen-a traditional German town with lots of apfelwein places to eat at. We’re making up for lost food from yesterday as you will see.
Apfelwein with sparkling water, with orange juice and apple juice to start.
Deep fried pig knuckle with sauerkraut for me and a huge hunk of ham for Hudson. Been waiting for this fella! Well helloooo! I kind of got used to eating meals without rice or plain starch. Day drinking too.
One Riesling and an apple strudel.
While walking up to pay the bill I looked at some of the bar items and ended up I sampling a mispelchen-Calvados, a loquat (like a peach) and loquat syrup (not pictured) with liquor. Sweet and strong.
We totally overate while hanging out for a good two hours before starting our Rick Steves city walk.
We start at the main train station
Make our way through drug dealers and pan handler women looking for the market.
Aha! Here is the Kleinmarkthalle market where we stopped to buy souvenirs and get a drink.
We ended up at Eiserner Steg bridge which is covered with love locks. I don’t need no lock to show my love. Just a blog.
And back to the old town square for drinks 13,10 euro
Mcds for dinner. We always do. Potato stuffed with chili (jalapenos) and a bite taken out and a McRib. Year round. How magical. The sauce is different-not as tangy.
Last full day. Tomorrow we leave super early.
Today we’re up and out at 930am. We’ll get a chance to try a German breakfast near the water.
Pipe organ. Mean.
Picked up a rosary from St Bartholomew for Harvey…
And onto the Main Tower for views of the city. I liked how uncrowded it was up here. Surprisingly not windy also. Euro20 for a family.
June wanted to go look at the cute clock tower at Berger Strabe. As we popped out of the subway we were surrounded by a market selling foods and veggies. We snacked our way to the end only to find that the clock tower was partially obscured by a florist’s tent. Hah. Oh well it didn’t seem that cute anyway.
Next we had a solemn visit to a the Jewish museum Museum Judengasse and adjacent cemetery. Lining the outside of the cemetery are tiny squares as a memorial to each deceased Jewish including the location of death. The rocks placed atop symbolize that someone is thinking of the deceased.
The men are required to wear headgear when visiting the cemetery. They lend you one if you don’t have and you borrow the entry key at the museum. The interior has headstones intact as well as piles of broken tombstones simply piled up in a heap.
For a change of pace we’re off to the zoo. At first I thought most of the animals were in hiding but the further we went the more we saw. Euro 30 for a family. Saved 2-3 euro that way.
Our fitting last dinner is at Zwölf Apostel as it’s our last supper here in Frankfurt.
Sausage sampler of beef and pork with sauerkraut, pork schnitzel with fried potatoes and smoked ham and a side of the Frankfurt green sauce. Had to one last time.
Notes-Frankfurt is an ok town to visit as a tourist. Nothing monumental to see but for a first taste of Germany it was just that. The nice thing is that the prices reflect the intensity of the city.
Drinking notes-Dark beer is surprisingly hard to find here. People (mostly scrubby men) drink on the subway. Not rowdy like, just drinking casually and talking. June developed a like for mixed light drinks such as radlers or applewein mixed with fruit juice.
People-It might be my own perspective but on the street there’s a light tension. Me asian? People either stare, or avert eyes. No friendly nods like you’d get back home. Hawai’i nice.
Frankfurt culture-smoking at outdoor dining is normal and I tried to mimic the locals by exhibiting restraint on talking loudly in public.
See ya, Frankfurt.
Menorca, Spain
17.5 total flight hours to get here
Ooh boy two hours of sleep last night. Up at 3am in Frankfurt to Uber to the airport. Here we rented a car fairly inexpensively. Freedom! And ooh, get to use my international driver’s license! Look out Menorcan roundabouts.
I wasn’t too worried about language as Menorca was once a British colony or at least under British possession. (Hope I got that correct.)
After grabbing the rental car we got some light groceries at a large supermarket near the airport called Mercadona. What I noticed were lots of seafood and very little fresh meats. Some chicken and also cured ham. Many items were so inexpensive-a pack of band aids 1.5 euro. Bag of salt 1 euro. Chiccarones-1 euro to 1.5 euro for the one with the fat. We got fresh pastries, a teri chicken bowl (Hudson was craving rice), flan, chips and snacks and wine for 20 euro. I couldn’t believe it. We sat at the front and dined. lol gotta eat somehow.
Then off to our first beach-Son Bou. Menorca is supposed to have 365 beaches and I think we hit 6 on our trip. This one was crowded. I think it’s the equivalent of Menorca’s Waikiki Beach. Easy access, several of the more secluded beaches elsewhere require a short 10-30 minute hike to get to. The water was chilly but nice. June and I had to take turns going to the beach since Hudson was crashed out on the backseat of the rental. Oh the body positivity was refreshing. Lots of small swimsuits or topless women. Good perspective on our American customs. I got lots of stares but it was probably because it seemed like I was the only Asian on the entire beach. Not to mention my blue straw hat and moustache.
Our first real meal on Menorca is here at Ciutadella the old capital.
Octopus, suckling pig and prawns three ways. Locally sourced from fishermen and growers. Advertised on the website and menu this is how lots of Europe just does it. Italy, Greece, seasonal and local. Logistically makes the most sense. The meal was a bit pricey but delicious.
https://ulissesbar.com/ulisses-es/
Ciutadella has its own water inlet which was used for port back in the day. Big mullet and my fingertip.
We walked about the empty cobblestone streets thinking about how it looked like a combination of Crete and Porto Venere with a touch of Cuba….This turned out to be the best place to explore buildings on Menorca for us.
… and eventually decided to head to our one night apartment which was a town over from Ciutadella.
The next town over Cala en Blanes was bustling on a Wed. The main strip of restaurants were very kid friendly. They were intertwined with mini water parks and amusement areas for kids. Surprising how kid centric this place is.
60 euro dinner. So. Much. Food.
? We heard there were open markets today in different places. Although we didn’t find one we came upon a place in Sa Plaça that had different vendors. For the first time in our entire trip we bought stuffs. T shirt for me, flowy pants for June and a cheap hat for Hud.
Today we will head to the east side of the island for Clem’s wedding gatherings.
First we visit the beach below our first hotel in the west. Small beach with umbrellas, a bar and food.
Then on our journey eastward we stopped up north for food and a look at the ocean. North beaches are supposedly rocky and sandless.
Hey I thought they were supposed to be rocky! All the beaches we visited had clear, blue water but Playa Arenal d’en Castell ended up being one of our favorites, mostly because of its soft sand.
And then we arrive at the Menora Experimental.
Rest up at our luxurious room and then we mass bussed off to Mahon town to meet the many Bernards and Benjamin’s family at a seaside bar called Tarambana. Let the wedding weekend begin!
The wine flowed like water. We heavy snacked on meat and cheese and lots of small plates were served to us as we mingled with the other wedding guests.
There were so many new family members I met for the first time.
The next morning we had a great breakfast and then went exploring in the new capitol of Mahon and the (supposedly) white painted town of Binibeca.
Ok so it wasn’t that white and the homes were comfortably spaced out. We did find an open space at beach parking so we went to take a peek.
No big waves so I never rush em.
Hudson wanted paella so we went hunting somewhere along the way in Mahon.
Chef Montes it is. This is a different kind of paella. Duck, artichoke and garlic shoots. Great choice!
We learned a couple of things about Valencian paella. Kids eat off plates and adults eat right from the paella platter usually starting from the outside and making their way to the center. Waiting at the center bottom is a crust which is the best part. That what our server told us!
If you go, bring some mac nuts from Hawaii as a gift to blow their minds!
Back at the Experimental I asked the front desk if there was an accessible beach from the hotel and they pointed me down a pathway…
… Which led to the groom
… Which led to a quick pre wedding swim in the kelp filled ocean. Awesome!
The Wedding!
That night for the main event we had cocktails, dinner and dancing with the bride and groom.
The event was held at the Menorca Experimental, the hotel we were staying at which was off the beaten path on the south eastern part of Menorca. We celebrated just out back of the main lobby outside and eventually under the stars…
…with my French family I’m meeting for the first time (well second if you count last night). A bit blurry taking pics at night but here are the Brothers Bernard at center, two of them looking like they’re about to start something. lol!
This song that I’ve never heard before begins playing and soon everyone is waving napkins, and dancing on the chairs and tables. So much fun.
The wedding cake was a giant ensaimada. A fitting traditional Spanish desert.
It was great to make new friends.
I’m so glad we made the crazy trek to celebrate with you guys!
Classic and unconventional. Congrats to the beautiful couple!
The WOO family page 