Category: Travel

My new Briggs and Riley Compact Garment Bag

A few months ago I purchased a Briggs and Riley 22 inch carry-on suitcase. It has served its intend use for my 5-15 day domestic trips. However, for short trips 2-3 days in duration I usually throw some items in my backpack or a small duffle bag. When I arrive at the destination my shirt usually becomes wrinkled or I tend to throw too much stuff in the bag.

After studying different luggage options I decided buying a tri-fold compact garment bag was a good idea. I can place 7-10 items of clothing inside the bag and a pair of shoes. This is more than enough capacity for a short 2-3 day trip. From a size perspective, the bag conforms to all domestic carry-on regulations and is a fairly light bag and well constructed bag. One downfall of the compact garment bag is there’s really no place to store dirty clothes except in the front pocket.

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A New Suitcase

The likelihood of traveling frequently by plane and not having luggage damaged by mishandling is very low, making it important to invest in well-designed luggage backed by a good warranty policy. Briggs and Riley manufactured luggage fits both of these criteria, which I was introduced to by a sales associate while visiting Harrods in London. I purchased the Baseline, U122CX a two-wheel carry on meeting the dimensional requirements for most airlines I fly on. The four-wheel bag might have been more maneuverable but I felt the space trade-off made for the four-wheel bag was too great.

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The bag is extremely well-constructed with a garment system built-in to keep a suit from being wrinkled, a clever expansion system that compresses the bag by 25%, and parts that can be easily replaced. I’m very happy with my purchase and plan to buy more Briggs and Riley products in the future.

 

San Francisco

Three distinctive things come to mind when you think of SF: the Golden Gate Bridge, the Transamerica Pyramid, and Alcatraz. Along with Chicago, New York, Miami, Boston, and  Los Angeles — San Francisco takes its rightful place as one of the great American cities in the United States. I find SF closest to New York and Chicago in its style as it is walkable, a center for civic activism, art, and good food.  If you happen to be in San Francisco, I highly recommend you visit the Woodhouse Fish Co. for a pleasant dinning experience.

Part of the SF Skyline as seen from the bay bridge

From this picture taken while crossing the Bay Bridge (not to be confused with the Golden Gate Bridge) a few things are visible, the top of the TransAmerica Pyramid, that happens to be the tallest building in SF formerly the headquarters of the TransAmerica corporation. Also visible is the San Francisco Ferry building that houses a few restaurants and host to farmer markets on the weekend.

The San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge
Open on May 28, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco to northern California counties. The construction for the bridge was rather fast it took approximately four years, and the bridge was named based on the fact it transverses the Golden Gate Strait which is the entrance to San Francisco Bay.
IMG_2147Few people clamor to go to prison, but Alcatraz is somewhat of an exception constructed originally as fort to protect San Francisco from attack, the fort then became a military prison and then eventually a federal penitentiary from 1933 to 1963.  Visitors to Alcatraz not only get great views of San Francisco and the bay, but also get to walk where some infamous prisoners walked such as Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly.

Part of the SF Skyline from the Bay Bridge
A new section of the Bay Bridge being constructed
The Bay Bridge
Alcatraz
Taken From Alcatraz
From the Alcatraz recreation yard
Alcatraz
Famous Inmates of Alcatraz
Alcatraz Cell Block
From Alcatraz
SF Bay and Golden Gate Bridge
Pier 33
Fisherman’s Wharf
Farmers Market
Modern Art
Union Square
The Bay Bridge at night
Bar
The San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
Cable Car
Union Square
SF
Best way to get to SF from Sacramento is by Amtrak

Paris: A Grandoise Affair

Two hours and 15 minutes after riding on the Eurostar train from London St.Pancras with our journey under the English Channel we found ourselves arriving into an enormous train station known as Gare due Nord. What a wonder of engineering and diplomacy two countries at war for hundreds of years now have regular train service via the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world.

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Places to visit in Paris:

  1.  The Louvre – The Mona Lisa, I’m still unsure why so many people are captivated by the painting. Another must see is “exhibit” is Napoleon III Apartments located in the Lourve.
  2. The Musee d’Orsay – Houses a number of impressionist and realist paintings, perhaps the most famous painting housed is Starry Night by Van Gogh
  3. Musee de L’Orangerie – Here you’ll find Claude Monet’s Water Lilies
  4. The Eiffel Tower – For students between 16-24 it is just 3.50 Euros to go to the 2nd floor  of the tower
  5. Taking a River Boat tour of the Seine at night is completely worth it
  6. Visiting Versailles a short train ride from Paris, the gardens and castle make it worth while

London: An Aberration

When it comes to being a typical city London is not, few cities have the long and vibrant history that it does. A walk down the banks of the River Thames will reveal some of the most visited historical landmarks and tourist attractions in the world such as: the Palace of Westminster, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and the London Eye. The city has done a superb job at preserving its traditional architecture, however it has not shied from allowing modern architecture to take its place alongside more traditional forms.

Above is a picture of the Palace of Westminster, the home to the British Parliament which consist of two houses, the House of Lords and the House of the Commons. During the summer you can take a guided tour which includes visiting both the Lords and Commons Chambers, the Queen robbing Room and Westminster Hall. Each week when parliament is in session the Prime Minister (PM) holds a question and answer session on Wednesdays where members of parliaments (MPs) get the chance to quiz the PM. The ever so lively exchange takes place in the Commons Chamber, it was fun that I got to touch the dispatch box the PM usually leans on or places his documents while he responds. Unfortunately during the tour you are not allowed to sit down on the benches for a simple reason, we aren’t member of parliament.

Moving down the Thames you run into Tower Bridge, the bridge is often misidentified as London Bridge which is next bridge upstream. The ionic bridge is located next to another historical site the Tower of London serving as variety of functions over the centuries a royal palace, a prison, armory, home to the crown jewels and a very famous execution site.

Getting around London is fairly easy, using the London underground, bus network, and national rail services. We easily went from London Heathrow to Central London and then onto Limehouse Station on the Docklands Light Rail where our hotel was located.

The Côte d’Azur

Also known as the French Riviera in English, its largest city is Nice. Monaco is about a 15 minute train ride from Nice. The French trains seem to be up to Danish standards. Yes, I will forever be in love with Copenhagen. The average transit time by high speed train to Paris is six hours. I randomly decided on showcase these pictures, from my visit.

A commercial for a phone I worked on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYM-XTqcec

Where the song comes from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YcIkI3pTG0&feature=related

A picture of the shoreline in Nice

The train to Monaco or Monte-Carlo

A street in Monaco

A marina in Monaco