First dinner in Amman: Tahini Kufta

Amsterdam to Amman is about 5 hours. Flight was uneventful and I was able to sleep for an hour. The Royal Jordanian airplane was half full, obviously due to the Middle East situation very few tourists are travelling to this part of the globe. Lekker rustig. Royal Jordanian has the only direct flight from Amsterdam to Amman. KLM flies via Paris and we would have arrived past 11PM if we chose this option.



So after checking in to our hotel, we went to Al Rainbow Street (a local hangout area with many coffee and tea shops) located in 1st Circle, Amman and we had dinner in a restaurant that has a bar and outdoor cafe terrace called -- Old Times Restaurant.



Old Times Restaurant at Al Rainbow Street







The view from our table is the terrace and the busy Al Rainbow Street.



We ordered Tahini Kufta, a typical Arabic (Jordanian) lamb meal with potatoes and while enjoying our first meal in Jordan we did some people watching as well. It was so tempting to do the hubbly bubbly but we'll wait for another night perhaps.



Tahini Kufta for dinner













The restaurant seems to be a popular and chic place to hangout?



And oh, Jordan is 1 hour ahead of Amsterdam time. We have free internet in the hotel so making the most of it by blogging =)



Laters!

Douro River Valley Tour 5: A visit to a Port wine estate — Quinta do Tedo

This is the last stop of the Douro River Valley Tour, a visit to a Port vineyard located in Armamar (Viseu district) along the Douro River and Tedo River just before reaching Pinhao. Maria told us that this estate is a very small, single Quinta A classification. Quinta in Portuguese is equivalent to an estate, hacienda or domaine.



Wine estate classifications runs from A to F with A being the highest. You can find more information here: Portuguese Quinta Classification







Quinta do Tedo on a much better weather (blue skies!) day. Picture from wiemax.com



Quinta do Tedo



From my seat in the mini bus (I was sitting in front), I could see Quinta do Tedo coming into view, the estate is perched on top of a hill and is waiting for us. Maria said the views up there are beautiful. I am sure I will not disagree. This part of the Douro River Valley is very peaceful, raw and pure. It was raining when we drove up the private road leading to the estate but when we jumped out of the mini bus, the rain drizzled down a little bit providing us the opportunity to enjoy the breath taking views while we took the obligatory pictures.



The place is soooo lovely, even on a bit gloomy and rainy day!







There are 3 dogs in the estate but this one is the sweetest. He came to greet us.









Breath taking views are they not? Even for a bit gloomy day...









The man from the winery welcomed us as we stood there in awe of our surroundings. He told us that the valley we are looking at—35 acres of vineyards including the body of water, all belong to Quinta do Tedo. There are another 22 acres of land planted with olives and fruits that belongs to the estate as well.



Then he urged us to follow him to the cave where they store and age the wines in oak barrels. The cave is located at the other side of the estate and as we rounded the corner, we were again confronted by the beautiful scenery, he had to patiently wait for everyone until we were done snapping pictures. I can probably hear him mutter under his breath, ‘Ah, tourists…’ Haha, he must be used to this.













Port Wine Cave



Mr. wine man explained to us the aging process of Port wine and all that stuff, yadda, yadda, etcetera. Anyway, there’s a ton of information about Port wine available online for those who are interested. There is google for that so I will not be posting that here. But in this winery, I learned that for Port wine to be called vintage, it must be at least 10 years old. Naturally, the value of a bottle of vintage Port follows its age.



The wine estate is actually now owned by a Frenchman coming from the Bouchard wine growing family in Burgundy, France.







Isn't she just too cute? This is the little girl of the Japanese couple living in Frankfurt, Germany.

















Here I am smiling reluctantly (disapprovingly!) at the camera because of the bad weather. Unfortunately, after our short Port cave session, it rained again. Here I am walking back to the main part of the building for the next part of the agenda which is the Port tasting.



Port Tasting – Vintage is my favourite



I really would have wanted to buy a vintage bottle of Port from this winery but I came by plane with a carry-on luggage. It is also too much of a hassle to have to ship a bottle of wine to the Netherlands but I really enjoyed their vintage here very much. So smooth and elegant.



Read here my entry about the types of Port wine and my visit to the Calem Caves in Vila Nova de Gaia: Port cave tour and tasting at Calem: You drink Port at the end of the meal!







We had a tasting of Port wines, from left to right: 10-year old Tawny, a Ruby 2007 and a Vintage .











The estate also offers Bed & Breakfast accommodation. In fact, many quintas offer this in the Douro River Valley. My wish would be that during the warmer months, I’d be able to come back here and stay in the valley for a few days.



So we have come to the end of the tour and as we drove back to Porto, my last memory of the drive and everything else were these pictures below before I dozed off.







I woked up just in time when we entered Porto. The streets seem to be dry, so I am grinning and hearing hallelujah ringing in my ears. The evening is going to be promising!



Previous entries:



Douro River Valley Tour 4b: Lunch in Peso da Regua at Restaurante Douro In

Douro River Valley Tour 4a: The flood in Peso da Regua

Douro River Valley Tour 3: Wine, Cheese and Presunto tasting in Lamego

Douro River Valley Tour 2: A rainy and misty 'Douro viewing point' stop

Douro River Valley Tour 1: Amarante village, Vinho Verde (green wine) and some Travel Agency rant

Upper Meadow Project

Winter is our favorite season here in the Laurel Highlands.

Laura and I spent a wonderful snow filled day at Upper Meadow Run in Ohiopyle State Park. It was my day to pick where I wanted to work out and Laura was my belayer. I decided to spend a little time working on the project that was bolted last year. After it was equipped I spent 2 or 3 days working on it, until the pillar fell and it went out of condition. This season I've spent one day on it about a week ago, but didn't have much success. It was like being on it for the first time again. I had to refamiliarize myself with the moves, which was a workout in itself.



Here's the route description:It begins with about 15' of ice and dry tool moves to the roof. From the roof you work horizontal about 20' while moving up about 5' clipping as many bolts as you can along the way. From there you exit out the cave onto the largest free standing ice pillar and climb it to the anchors at the trees. Sounds easy enough...



I can't remember, but it takes either 6 or 7 draws and an optional ice screw. All of the draws are now prehung, except for the first and last. Its a pretty strenuous climb (at least for me) and has yet to see an ascent. Todays session went much better than the last. I managed to link the line together in about 3 goes and felt better now knowing most of the moves. Laura did a great job keeping me moving while on the route. She was giving me the encouragement only she knows how. While resting between goes, the large falling snowflakes made for an incredible view. The landscape turned white and fresh throughout the day which was a nice contrast to what started out as a drab and overcast day. Sorry "butt" our climbing shots weren't that good since it was just the two of us today. You'll have to be amused by what we did get. Happy climbing!

checking out the view

Eyes closed flipping a tool around? Not good sending technique.

Starting out into the upside down

in the middle somewhere

Exiting and happy to be on ice...

L found these critters crawling around the ice

Laura killing time between laps

Laura standing beside the pillar that the route finishes on

Laura walking back to the car after our fun day!

Heart Rate monitors?

Before jumping to conclusions read below




"Just double your heart rate once a day for 30 minutes!"



It is what one of my climbing partners tells the initiated to this day.

And so help methat has to be one of thedumbest remarks ever :-)

No matter if it is 30 minutes or 3 hours.



My resting heart rate even today is generally 40/42. It is creeping up from my 20's when it had been in the high 30s. I hit the mid 90s just walking my bike from the garage to the street, bathroom to desk. 190+ in a hard physical short term effort, gasping for breath.








This is a 48 minute 2000' gain, uphilleffort




So for most normal human beings doubling your heart rate means NOTHING!



It still means nothing even if you actually know what your resting heart rate is!



Helps to know that your heart rate number are personal, yours alone.And they have very little or nothing to do with your age. My maximum heat rate by those that are suppose to know is 160BPM. And seemingly "they"don't know shit! Or at least aren't telling us much!



http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/Target-Heart-Rates_UCM_434341_Article.jsp



160BPM is hardly a difficult an effort for me running. Even less so on the bike.



The above 231 number on my bike computer?



The 231 MHR on my bike computer is in error. Simply a bad chest strap connection. I know that because I have seenmy actual MHR incontinued testing, long term over severaldecades. Testing? Or at least the number very close tomy MHR, which is 194 running. A beat or two lesson the bike andless than that swimming.



In straight talk...a 190HR for me, hurts. But in a good way. I know it is a hard work out and I also know I can't hold that HR for long.Sitting here at my desk, on a good day, well rested and well hydrated while typing? My average HR is 46bpm. That I can hold as long as I eat,drink and keep my body temperature stable :) Today it is up to 50 after two days previousof moderately hard work outs. Which I feel this morning. Ageing does slow recovery time.







I have a personal connection to HR monitors that I've mentioned previous. I'll get to that again eventually.



For the most part, when Ihave "trained", and I use that term loosely, it was at what ever maximum I could muster. There was no long slow efforts. There were just efforts...as hard as I could go as long as I could go. Stupid way to train. Almost as dumb as the "double your heart rate method".....almost.



Endurance efforts just meant getting it done. Getting something "big" done climbing wise was as much luck with the nutrition as it was my "training". Thankfully for most reading this that has changed. Not so much for my buddy and doubling his HR. But he has never trained that way, anyway :)



There is a ton of info out there for better/smarter training using a HR monitor. If that kind of thing interests you check it out. Eventually for most it turns into Perceived Effort anyway. HR generally matches that effort. But not always, which is where things start to get really interesting for me. And why a HR monitor makes sense if you want to train smart.



http://exercise.about.com/cs/fitnesstools/l/blperceivedexer.htm



I've been a big fan of Polar products for a decade or more. But I have used Mio in the past as well. Just recently been testing the newest Mio Alpha.









Party line below:



"MIO Alpha Strapless Heart Rate Monitor




The world of strapless, continuous heart rate monitoring has changed. Introducing: the MIO Alpha. This MIO strapless heart rate monitor is the world�s first strapless, continuous heart rate monitor that offers chest-strap free monitoring right from your wrist. Using groundbreaking optical sensor technology, the MIO Alpha gives you user-settable heart rate training options and monitoring like never before. Use your favorite fitness apps to track GPS, distance, speed, and pace, and take your workout to the next level.



The MIO Alpha offers long battery life, able to charge in just under an hour, and offer 8-10 hours of continuous monitoring. When you�re not training, shut off the HR feature and wear as a sleek daily watch for up to 2 to 3 weeks before needing another charge.



The MIO delivers monitoring at performance speeds, so you never have to slow down or modify your workout to get accurate tracking. Finally � untether yourself from chest straps and train in comfort at top performance speed with the MIO Alpha strapless heart rate watch."



I've been using one on and off for a week now. Not having a chest strap is a cool thing. Limited information is not. More to come on the Mio Alpha'stechnology.














And if all else fails...sure, "double your heart rate" every day ;)



Some titles I found useful on HR Monitors and their use:



http://thesallyedwardscompany.com/sallyedwards/books-by-sally-edwards.php



and



Joe Friel's2006 edition Precision Heart Rate Training

Cross-Cultural Relationships

Cross-cultural relationships are complicated to navigate. Once the novelty wears off, the differences can create a rift between partners. But the differences can also bring the couple closer by compelling them to communicate about things that are taken for granted by same-culture couples. In the process, the couple may discover that despite their different backgrounds, they actually have more in common with each other than with their own kind. Three months into their life together, I think that myGazelleand the Co-Habitant'sPashleyare accepting each other's differences and discovering their similarities in the nicest way possible.



ThePashley Roadsterhas the lower-set North Road handlebars characteristic of English bicycles, but in other ways it seems to have more in common with the Gazelle.They sharenot only the 28" wheel size, but also frame proportions, angles, relative weight, and handling. The Pashley Princess seemed to be a much smaller bicycle when it stood next to the Pashley Roadster than the Gazelle does. And I have already written about the mysterious differences in ride quality between the men's and lady's Pashleys. The Gazelleseems like a better-matched companion in terms of acceleration and hill-climbing. I would also say that the Pashley Roadster is more similar to the Dutch Gazelle than to the English Raleigh DL-1 Roadster. There is a certain heavy stateliness the Pashley and Gazelle share that the Raleigh DL-1 does not. Despite the rod brakes and the vintage vibe, the DL-1 is actually a lighter and sportier bike than either of these two.



What exactly in the design of the Pashley Roadstermakes it more similar to my Dutch bike than to my previous English one, I do not know. But these similarities have certainly been a positive factor in the Gazelle and Pahsley's relations.



The English gentleman and the Dutch lady... a case in point that cross-cultural relationships can work.

Tropical Heliconia Seedling

Here is one of the long-awaited heliconia seedlings. So far three have germinated out of about 20 that were planted. If the weather gets warmer, the seedlings should start to grow a faster pace, and maybe they'll bloom in time for summer. We shall see...

Hi-Ho Silver!

I admit that I cannot resist a silver bicycle - especially one that looks slightly "steampunked" with copper and leather accessories. I saw this one at DBC City Bikes in Somerville, Mass. last week:

This bicycle was built up using a custom Gerhard Marshall frame (originally made for Velorbis), with Sogreni, Brooks and Nitto components. I take it the frame is either chromed or stainless steel, but I cannot recall which. If anyone has any info on Gerhard Marshall frames, I would love to hear it; cannot seem to find anything about them.

Here is a view that shows off the fenders and handlebars better. The fenders are Sogreni, but were altered to fit the frame and tires.

Sogreni chainguard.

Copper and leather - mmmmmm...

Braided bar tape, inverse brake levers, brass bell.

All in all, this is one of the most striking bicycles I have ever seen in a bike shop. Though I understand it has a decidedly weird geometry, the build-up is incredible. Some inspirational food for thought for those considering silver frames!