Art Predator Arrives in Lisbon!
That’s right, I made it!
I will post later about the trip across America, over the pond to Zurich and then on to Lisbon. Along with pictures with my new Canon Ixus! And video with my new flip style camera!
But right now, I am busy with the European Wine Bloggers Conference! I can’t wait to tell you about my trip so far and about the incredible wine from Douro I had last night with dinner (at 11pm!).
So in the meantime, I will be posting about the European Wine Bloggers Conference as much as possible, then share with you my adventures in the Alentejo Wine Region and then more about Lisbon.Thanks again to Enoforum Wines for sponsoring my travel here.
Watch this space for more stories!
Art Predator En Route To Europe!
I’ve got my ticket and passport in hand (more on how soon!) and I’m on my way! Europe, here I come! I am so excited! I leave tonight, Thursday, and arrive tomorrow night, Friday, just in time for dinner (and wine!) at the European Wine Bloggers Conference at the VIP Hotel in Lisbon.
Don’t miss a word–subscribe to my blog by clicking the link in the upper right hand corner. I’ll also be posting on twitter and facebook. (If you want to be my friend on facebook, please write me a note saying you read my blog.)
Yes You CAN Get A Passport in 48 Hours or less: Here’s How Part 1
When I heard on Friday that Sonadora wouldn’t be going on the Enoforum Tour of the Alentejo Wine Region of Portugal, I wondered whether I would get an opportunity to go. Since my passport wasn’t up to date due to a birth certificate snafu when I got it for a trip to Peru in January 2001, I knew I’d need to move fast if an invitation was extended.
Would it be possible for me to acquire my birth certificate AND my passport in time to make it to Portugal for the tour Monday Nov 2? And hopefully sooner so I could participate in the European Wine Bloggers Conference? That was a big question.
And when the answer was YES, I set the wheels in motion.
So how can YOU get a birth certificate and passport on short notice? Stay tuned for Part 2 where I tell you how how to get a passport in 24-72 hours give or take a dash across 15 miles of LA on Wilshire Blvd in order to make an appointment with the Passport Agency.
Going to Portugal: Where they have wine & corks & PORT!
As I pour myself my usual evening port (Jonesy from AUS $9 at the Ventura WIne Company), I have to laugh to myself because it just now occurred to me that I would be in Portugal, land of PORT! Seriously, I’ve been thinking about the trip we’ll make to a cork forest, and traveling the Alentejo wine region with Enoforum Wines as my host and live blogging at the European Wine Bloggers Conference…and and being in EUROPE where I’ve never been and so much to think about with travel and passports and packing and and and
I realize that I will be in the land of Port. Wow. I think I’ll have a little more please. Thanks!
PS Don’t miss a post from my trip to Europe! Subscribe in the upper right hand corner!
Last year I led some writing workshops in my son’s class. His group wrote a poem, “I am a Scary Smelly Skeleton Pirate” which my son and I turned into this YouTube video. Here’s the text to the poem and here’s two more Halloween oriented poems from that workshop.
And here we are as un muy pequeno calavero with Art Predator aka Ms Frizzle of the Magic School Bus fame.
River of Skulls: the perfect wine for Halloween & Dia de los Muertos & more
Yep, Twisted Oak’s River of Skulls: This is the wine you need for Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, and maybe for all the sinners on your list: Twisted Oak’s River of Skulls, a mourverde with a little syrah thrown in.This is a special creature, this wine. Sorry to say that unless you have a trip planned to Calaveras county, you’re out of luck. You can get on the list now for next year! Sign up here.
While my favorite blend on Earth has to be GSM (grenache/syrah/mourvedre), seeking out a mourvedre– “the sinner” in all its wild gamey glory–seems perfect for this time of year. And for my money, I’m going for Twisted Oaks “River of Skulls” which conveniently arrived a few weeks ago in my “Twisted Few” allotment!
I had the amazing opportunity to taste this wine at last year’s Wine Blogging Conference 2008 and it wowed the socks off of me. (OK, I admit, I’m a sucker for mourvedre!) This year, El Jefe aka Jeff Stai served it up during the live blogging portion of the 2009 Wine Bloggers conference. This wine not only wowed us bloggers but in recent competition and tastings, it’s done well: they just got word
from Wine Enthusiast magazine that the 2006 Spaniard will receive a score of 92 points, and the 2007 River of Skulls will receive a 90 point score, in their December issue. Congrats to Jeff and crew!
For more poetry, jump on the TRAIN! For more about wine, head over to Wine Predator! That’s where I plan to aggregate my wine posts and where I will post first from the European Wine Bloggers Conference and from the Enoforum Tour of the Alentejo region of Portugal. (Oh, you didn’t hear about that? You didn’t hear my joyous noise? Go here to learn more.)
There is some ghostly formatting going on here–just attribute it to the hi-jinx of los calaveras!
This just in–Jo Diaz from Wine Blog.org called less than an hour ago to let me know that YES I could go to Portugal for the Enoforum Wine Tour of Portugal’s Alentejo region! And arrive early enough to attend most of the European Wine Bloggers Conference!!
OH MY GOODNESS!
I leave on Thursday. I have A LOT to do between now and then including learning a little more about what this adventure will entail!
What an amazing opportunity! I get to attend the European Wine Bloggers Conference as soon as I get off the plane in Lisbon, followed by a trip sponsored by Enoforum to the Alentejo Region, in the south of Portugal.
OK, I’m giddy with excitement. Please let there be wifi on the plane so I can do some research adn some blogging too about what’s in store for me in the coming 10 days.
Next week at this time I will be in LISBON!!!
This weekend last year was the First Wine Bloggers Conference, held in Santa Rosa, the heart of Sonoma County Wine Country. And next weekend is the second European Wine Bloggers Conference to be held in Lisbon, Portugal Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
I remember when I first found out that there WERE wine blogging conferences in the US and in Europe. Excited, I looked on-line at videos and other reports about the EWBC, and dreamed that one day I’d be able to go.
I love Wine Blogging Conferences. Actually, I love going to conferences! The two Wine Bloggers Conferences that I’ve been to have been a blast: I learned a lot (A LOT!), met so many fabulous people, and tasted so many amazing wines. Here are links to my posts over on Wine Predator about WBC 2008 and WBC 2009.
And then I got so close to going this year when I was named first runner-up Read more…
Greg Norman, CA Pinot, Angels & those dam Yankees
Tonight, since we don’t have TV, we went to Golden China, a local Chinese restaurant for dinner and to watch the Angels lose to the Yankees. My husband had a Firestone on draft. I wanted a glass of wine but the wines by the glass list was pathetic. Not much to choose from by the bottle either.
Yes, it was a really sad wine list and a really sad game for Angels fans. That was the game that ended the season for them. No World Series this year for my son to go to with his dad!
What was even more sad for me was that no one in the restaurant had a key to the display case which showed a few other oddball but interesting wines that weren’t on the list Read more…
350 Day, Harvest ArtWalk, Kinetic Sculpture Race–and presenting my son, The Wizard!
There’s plenty going on around here what with 350 Day activities today, the Ventura Harvest Artwalk this weekend downtown as well as the Kinetic Sculpture Race along the coast and in the Harbor today!
Bell Arts Factory is always a highlight of any ArtWalk, but tomorrow, Sunday at 2pm, my son will be performing there in a very unusual and free theatrical presentation, “We Source” about “magical beings in a magical forest who discover what empties the spirit and feeds the soul.”
About 11 children from 5-12 have been developing the story and rehearsing the play two afternoons a week for two months. Numerous adult artists from Bell Arts and the community have also been involved in various aspects of the play written and directed by Tracy Hudak, created by the young artists of the Bell Arts Youth Program, and with live music. The set includes a fabulous tree created by MB Hanrahan, Rosel Weedn, and Michele Foster. Bell Arts is located at 432. N. Ventura Avenue.
My son plays a Wizard and he’s very excited about being part of this performance. He’s worked very hard to understand his character and the character’s motivation. Being part of this play has been an important journey in his life. He’s had lots of fun but he’s taken it very very seriously. I see how much he’s grown in terms of understanding the world, 
his place in it, and how we are each motivated by various factors. As he has come to understand what motivates the characters in the play, and why and how they respond to conflict and opportunity, he has understand to himself and the world better.
If you can’t make the performance of the play on Sunday at 2pm at Bell Arts, a second performance has been added for Tuesday Oct 27 at 4pm. Hope to see you there!
And if you can’t make either performance, drop by Bell Arts to check out the set. Or join us for the First Friday ArtRide –it will still be up and lit up for our Bikers Ball gracing the stage where band The Sideshow Preachers will be performing!
Participating in 350 Day? Enjoy local & organic food & wine!
Tomorrow, October 24, is 350 Day–a day where citizens of the world who are concerned about climate change will take various actions. On 24 October, we will stand together as one planet and call for a fair global climate treaty. United by a common call to action, we’ll make it clear: the world needs an international plan that meets the latest science and gets us back to safety. For more informaiton: http://www.350.org –
So how will I, the Wine Predator, participate? We’ll ride our bikes around town for the Harvest ArtWalk, we’ll enjoy locally caught shrimp bought from the Fishermen’s Market here at our harbor, which we’ll enjoy with locally grown vegetables from our CSA box (consumer supported agriculture).
But which wine will we choose to enjoy with our evening meal?
Wines appropriate to the occasion would be grown biodynamically and certified like Bonny Doon and Quivera, or organic and sustainabe like Michel-Schlumberger or grown and made locally like Vino V. Guess I’ll have to hit the cellar to see what meets the needs of the meal, our budget and availability!
How will you be participating in 350 Day?
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