StringGrrl sees the World

Starting out in the quarter near the Eiffel Tower, we strolled all over Paris Notre Dame Cathedral viewed from a Bridge back over the river Looking back over the river Seine Fan of Duck Breast  Bordeaux by the pitcher Not sure who StringGirl is waving to, but she makes friends everywhere Nice Diner-like atmosphere, certainly not stuffy. A Neighborhood eatery... The Louvre

StringFellow with the mixologists concoction, Mezcal Smoke Bank Having the chance to eat at one of Denver's hottest spots for Gastronomy was certainly a high point of November. Mizuna is one of Chef Frank Bananno top rated restaurants in the Mile High city, in fact it is one of the highest rated cities in all of Western US. Appetizer, Scallop  Mizuna has an intimate dining room, which gives the feeling that one is eating in a private dining room, almost homey. But the food served was by no means what I would expect as home cooked food, unless you were a first class chef. The Bar is very inviting and the mixologist provided first class cocktails from their list, but also welcomed the challenge to provide new palette for drink tastes (we had something they called a "Peanut Butter and Jelly Old Fashioned" with special home-brewed simple syrup from distilled Peanut Butter with house made muddled fruit serving as the jelly).  Dry Aged Duck Magret Duck Breast, with...

On the 16th street mall On my second trip to Denver, this time got to see more of the city center and experience some more of Denver's impressive food culture. While spending days in the convention center, we were not willing to just make due with the food on campus. So each day made an effort to head out and find something to eat. Was pleased to find this Ramen noodle bar in Downtown Denver on the 16th Street Mall. The mall is a very well executed pedestrian area with two lanes for electric "Free Mall Ride" buses, plenty of trees and planters, and thriving foot trafficked storefronts. Tantanmen: Spicy Ramen

Welcome to 71 above, the penthouse of LA is the "highest restaurant west of the Mississippi" After the second day of SIGGRAPH, NVIDIA was kind enough to invite me to dinner at 71 Above. Which was a mere stones throw away from our hotel in the Los Angeles Downtown area. It had recieved high praise from other members of the NVIDIA team who dined there earlier, so we booked our table and came out for dinner.  https://www.71above.com/ After arriving at the US Bank Tower and navigating the two separate elevator rides to arrive at the 71st floor and 71 Above, you are greeted by a sweeping dining room with panoramic views of Los Angeles. Not the view of the the restaurant we were looking forward to.... (from the film Independence Day) From our window seat, secured by luck with short reservations and no "Window Seat Deposit" which is a thing apparently  StringGirl is notably absent from these galleries as she decided to before this dinner abandon...

On a recent trip to Colorado for some VR related customer visits, StringGirl and Kam made a stop off at a neighborhood coffee roaster while waiting until a reasonable hour to head to the Airport. This brought us to Kaladi Coffee Roasters. The neighborhood had a definite bohemian (nee "Hipster") vibe going on with lots of what appeared to be 1000 sq.ft. or so bungalows, ranch homes, and other Ozzie and Harriet era construction houses sprinkled around. Evans Ave and the area around had a few little bars, coffee shops, and restaurants in this stretch leading into the university, and very limited parking other than street side where apparently 1 hour parking is strictly enforced to prevent the students from parking on residential streets all day. StringGirl makes new friends with Ian at the Roaster counter In addition to a friendly staff and accommodating locale, the coffee here is well balanced in flavor profile. All the coffee is Air Roasted which as Ian informed u...

Crossing from the English Gardens to the Bayerisch National Museum The class was on a whirlwind tour of Germany, while StringGirl and Kam were in Germany for work. Arrangements were made to travel from Essen, where Kam had spent the work week slinging VR for ESI Software GmbH, to meet the group down in Munich. The Eisbach just downstream of the famous urban surfing spot Among the stops made during the day together in Munich was a stop by the English Gardens and a chance to cool down in the Eisbach. Pictures that we took would not do the surfers on the Eisbach justice. But there is plenty of good footage on YouTube. The Class in front of the Neurrathaus, Marienplatz Munich The Munich Altstadt is well known for the large clockwork on the Neue Rathaus (New Town Hall) several times each day the bells will ring while automation will put on a show commemorating the 1568 tournament held for the marriage of Duke William V and Renata of Lorraine in the Marienplatz. A meta p...