Vienna, The Charmer

Chocolates from Demel

Two hours of sleep, dry sandwiches in the morning, and then we were flying over Swiss mountains. The plane cruised over a sea of clouds lapping at the bottom of the bluish peaks. We changed planes in Zurich and landed in Vienna.

A few hours later, after devouring hot wiener schnitzels with lemon basil sauce at an excellent vegan diner, we stepped into The Purple Cave. It was a small, slightly expensive vintage shop packed to the rafters with 60’s hotpants, 70’s dresses, patterned shirts and collectables including a white mini trench-coat and a leatherette catsuit with cutouts down both sides. I tried on an Ossie Clark-style navy wool dress. My company (El Lobo and Viri the pretty Hungarian) lounged in the tiny bar in the back of the store, surrounded by art books and torn sexy cinema posters. They sipped cold beers and listened to records. I bought the dress.

The Purple Cave

That afternoon we wandered around Vienna’s elegant streets past dapper old couples and horse-drawn carriages. A white-haired gentleman in a plaid three-piece suit put his camel-colored coat around his sweetheart’s shoulders. An Austrian Aphrodite with wavy red hair scurried to the metro in a long coat and stiletto heels. A young man with an angular face and sad eyes clutched a bunch of flowers on the tram. He looked just like an Egon Schiele painting. A car discreetly nearly ran us over…but everything was so calm and quiet we forgot about it moments later.

After investigating the whereabouts of the best Sacher Torte in Vienna, we visited Oberlaa Café. No queues, no obscene prices, just a café filled with locals and a glass case of sweet concoctions. We ate omelettes dusted with chives and oozing with melted cheese. And dessert? Behold the famous chocolate Sacher Torte and a Himbeer-Schaum Schnitte. The second treat was made of a layer of moist sponge cake, cream, tart juicy raspberries, and a thick layer of gooey meringue on top.  I also recommend the Austrian version of a Monte Bianco, a moist chestnut torte. It’s the perfect fuel for a museum marathon.

Industrial Vienna, very different from the rest of the city

 Another day, another thrill for the sartorially inclined: the dirndl outlet, right in the center of town. Imagine a forest of old-fashioned cotton dresses in every color. Viri and I parked the fellas at 1516, the nearby pub, while we tried on pale blue dirndls with cherry red aprons and crisp white blouses. I felt like Liesl in The Sound of Music, running to the gazebo.

We drifted in the frosty sunshine to a crowded restaurant, where El Lobo and I had a dramatic quarrel, the kind where you unearth shards of past arguments and present them with minor disappointments of the day. Tears on eyelashes.  Silence. He smoked a cigarette. I nibbled on a lemon wafer. Apologies. We walked in the fading sun looking forward to ice cream cones and the peace of sleep.

MARGO’S GUIDE TO VIENNA

(with help from the beautiful Martina)

TO DO

-Visit the museums. There’s a great Egon Schiele exhibit on at the Albertina (until June 18, 2017) but if you miss it the Leopold has a collection of Schiele and Klimt paintings. The upper Belvedere has a surprisingly boring collection, with the exception of Klimt’s ‘The Kiss.’ Skip it if you’re short on time. Vienna’s natural history museum is excellent.

-Take an Art Nouveau tour.

-Hunt for vintage clothes and stop for a beer at The Purple Cave. (Neubaugasse 78.)

-Buy spices, little gifts, and Middle Eastern snacks at the Naschmarkt (market) on Saturday.

-Visit old-fashioned, smoky coffeehouses like Café Bendl (Landesgerichstrasse 6, open late some days.)

-If it’s sunny and warm hang out in the bars by the canal.

-If you like traditional dress buy a dirndl. They’re pretty and usually very expensive…unless you go to an outlet like Original Salzburger Trachen, on Weinburggasse 8, near the metro Stephensplatz. Try on a size smaller than you usually wear. They also have new but vintage style suede shoes, blouses, and bras.

TO EAT

-Try the wiener schnitzel (a flat, breaded cutlet of veal, pork or chicken, often served with potato salad and a slice of lemon.)

-If you’re vegetarian/vegan Vienna has lots of options. I love Swing Kitchen, a cheap, casual vegan diner with fantastic schnitzel, “chicken” nuggets, homemade cola, apple soda and beer. Schottenfeldgasse 3, close to Zieglergasse metro station and The Purple Cave.

-Drink spicy chili beer and sample the apple strudel (a delicious combination) at 7 Stern Braeu, a microbrewery in the 7^th district. Seibensterngasse 19. Open 11 am-midnight.

-Snack on dreamy pastries at Kurkonditorei Oberlaa. Neuer Markt 16. Metro: Stephansplatz.

-If you like fancy chocolates in beautiful boxes buy presents at Demel. Kohlmarkt 14.

-Have a drink at Das Moped. They make a tasty curry mango cocktail and it’s open on Sunday. Avoid the cake though. Salmgasse 23, Metro: Rochugasse.

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CITY NOTES: Most shops and many cafes and bars are closed on Sunday, though most museums are open. If you’ll be zipping around town a lot get a 2 or 3-day metro pass. Many cafes and bars allow smoking inside (Das Moped has an awesome though fragrant 60s smoking room in the back.) Dogs are welcome in many restaurants, shops, and on the metro.

The metro in Vienna, March 2017

To Wander in Athens

I see him once a year, more if I’m lucky. He meets me at a small hotel near the Acropolis, elegant as always, sporting olive green trousers, a crisp shirt, English suede brogues, and an olive kerchief. His bearded face smiles. He pushes my suitcase into the small, mirrored elevator and I follow him. 

My bag is so heavy it looks like I have bite-marks on my shoulder. Luggage bites. I shouldn’t have brought so many books. Here I am in Athens with my father. I show him the present brought him from Spain: a chunk of manchego cheese. We hear a car stop outside and peer over the balcony. Daisy has arrived.

An hour later we are wandering around the Acropolis. We see a man singing on the street and Daisy stops to talk to him. My father shows us the city with an ice cream cone in one hand. He delights in pointing out the narrow streets, old neon signs, hidden corners, and fashionable bars. We stop in a subterranean spot, The Speakeasy. I order a gin & tonic with white peppercorns and a slice of grapefruit. More drinks, more stories. Dinner follows. We feast at Tzitzikas & Mermingas. After a digestive stroll to the hotel Daisy presents us with chocolates from Fortnum & Mason. My father leaves, manchego in hand.

The next day Daisy and I visit the Acropolis Museum. She marvels at the vertigo-inducing glass floors. We pause in front of a statue of Aphrodite. Her stone face is stained with copper eyelash tears.

I want to visit the Classic Car Museum but there isn’t time. Soon we are on the boat, perusing the 60s pulp paperbacks Daisy brought from London. They are obscene and hilarious. Together we devour the hours.

A QUICK GUIDE TO ATHENS (PART TWO)

Visit The Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, the classic car museum, and the Benaki Museum.

If you’re exploring the Acropolis, make an evening of it and walk to the fantastic gelateria La Greche, have a cocktail at Speakeasy (address: Lekka 12, Syntagma), then have a bite at Tzitzikas & Mermingas.

According to my Athenian friends here are some fun Athenian areas to walk around in:

Koukaki (artistic, good for nightlife, close to Plaka and the Acropolis.

Mets (hip bars and restaurants. Check out Hotel Chelsea.)

Petralona (cool cafés)

Here are some other semi-secret bars...

There are lots of hipper places to stay but if you want somewhere friendly, basic, and clean, in a convenient neighborhood the Acropolis Select Hotel is good.

You can read about my last trip to Athens here.

The view from the ferry.

Let's Swing by San Francisco

Heading to Twin Peaks.

I couldn’t wait to get on the road again. When my friend John called we decided to go on a spontaneous trip up to San Francisco. Would the city have the same magic I remembered? I feared San Francisco had been taken over by people who find their own reality so lifeless they’ve taken to wearing computers wrapped around their heads, disguised as spectacles…luckily, this was not the case. Not yet.

We left that night, which happened to be dark and stormy. The trouble started in Malibu. Hours of rain, flash flooding, and the endless line for In n’ Out Burger suggested the apocalypse was near. Then I remembered this is what happens when the sun doesn’t shine in Southern California. Fries in our laps, we floated down the highway. Captain Searcy steered through the deluge, past sleepy motorists, half-lit motels, the hours dropping away, until those famous streets unraveled before us. Blue skies unfurled in the Mission.

Jeff, an East-Coast musician who had journeyed west years ago, was standing on his porch. He wore a sweatshirt from the 80s with tight, faded blue jeans. Tall, smiling, happily familiar, he led us inside. We left our suitcases in a cozy room filled with instruments.

Jeff in the sunshine.

After lunch at the oldest soda fountain in San Francisco, Jeff showed us around his neighborhood. We walked up Valencia Street, stopping into most of the vintage shops. The best one was called Wallflower, where I bought a foxy baby-blue 1970s A-line coat. We had dinner, Eton Mess-flavor ice cream, and went home. Lights on, shoes off, Jeff gave in to sleep.

John, probably deciding what to wear tonight.

John and I prepared for the evening ahead, encouraged by glasses of Margoritas. John, ever straight and not feeling sartorially adventurous, disagreed with my suggestion of pairing his narrow Alexander McQueen suit with his high-top converse, and my 1960s polka-dot kerchief. I wore a long, backless 70s dress. Hands filled with brushes, powders, and clips, like some glamorous octopus, I teased my hair up as if my last name was Bardot.

Our taxi careened over to Rickshaw Stop, where The Chocolate Watchband was playing. My favorite part of the concert was the old man in the Greek fisherman cap who made all the psychedelic visuals by hand. He arranged his colorful sorcery with glass screens, plastic wrap, pipettes of vivid liquid, and a projector. The crowd was young, dancing, enchanted. Willowy girls smiled at handsome faces. Long hair brushed against long hair. They were all clad in bright patterned clothes made before they were born. It was exciting to see my new friends I had met in Austin and older friends made on previous trips. 

Afterwards, six of us squeezed into a little car. It was all hands and jostling knees in the backseat, soundtracked by Jacques Dutronc. Je suis content. Everyone tumbled out to a friendly party in one of those classic San Francisco houses with big bay windows. Cold beers appeared. Two pretty blonds melted into a large cushion shaped like a deflated brioche. Lanky pairs kissed in the corridors. We danced all night.

The next day Jeff, John, and Justin, (a favorite neighbor from my Echo Park days, now a local) drove up to Twin Peaks. The city stretched out all around us, framed by the Pacific Ocean. Afterwards, we strolled around Golden Gate Park and the Palace of Fine Arts. 

A few burritos later it was time to go. I said my goodbyes and we drove across the famous bridge, listening to the Beach Boys. Next stop, Los Angeles.

The Palace of Fine Arts.

Walking around The Palace of Fine Arts...

MARGO’S QUICK GUIDE TO SAN FRANCISCO

TO DO:

Get to the De Young Museum early – the temporary exhibitions tend to sell out.  50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, 94118.

Get lost in the newly-revamped SFMOMA. This massive modern art museum has an excellent Gerhard Richter collection and the kind of gift store you can pick up all your birthday/ Christmas presents in one swoop. 151 3rd St, 94103.

Admire the wonderful view from Twin Peaks. (No relation to David Lynch’s world of cherry pie and murder.) 501 Twin Peaks Blvd, 94114.

Have a lazy wander around the Palace of Fine Arts. It’s a picturesque building from 1915, (not a museum) bordered by a pond where swans loll about. 3301 Lyon St, 94123.

Check out the vintage shops on Valencia Street in the Mission. I loved ‘Wallflower’ at 1176 Valencia.

If you have time, explore Oakland. (When the tech boom led to the current over-priced housing market, that’s where most of the cool people without rent-controlled apartments moved.)

TO EAT:

Have brunch at the charming Saint Francis Soda Fountain, funded in 1918. Order the nebulous potato thing with eggs and cornbread, trust me. 2801 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110.

Pig & Pie, also in the Mission, also has delicious bunch/ lunch. Not for vegans though there is a great baked egg dish if you’re vegetarian. 2962 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110.

Ice cream fans, check out the imaginative flavors at Humphry Slocombe in the Mission. ‘Secret Breakfast’ is a big hit. 2790A Harrison St.

This city is also famous for burritos so ask around. Actually there are hundreds of fantastic restaurants there – feel free to comment.

I confess, I took this one on my previous trip to San Francisco.

Postcards from Hearst Castle

While wandering along Morro Bay I found these old postcards from Hearst Castle, California. Someone should invent glasses that make everything look this colorful...

Get inside the technicolor - just click to enlarge.

2 days on the road: radio, rocks, otters, one jacuzzi & a castle

Dominic picked me up in his white Buick. After a car swap, we were racing up the central California coast, listening to 80s R & B. (My friend Dominic is an excellent driver, gliding through time and space effortlessly. He’s the best kind of person to have on a road trip: full of stories, swift behind the wheel, and he’s got great taste in music. Naturally, he’s from Detroit.) He told me about his wild teenage follies in Mexico. I imagined him on the side of the road, wearing jean-shorts in the baking sun with his hands in the air, hoping the cops wouldn’t find what was in the trunk…

First stop: coffee in Pismo Beach. There was a massive sign for a palm-reader. A few children walked down the street barefoot.

Back in the car, we drove up to Morro Bay. Then it was before us: Morro Rock, sacred Native American land, ancient volcanic mass, and the home of peregrine falcons. This rock has been perching there for over 20 million years.

Dominic and I walked around the town, popping into the thrift stores and picking up snacks at the health food store. We dropped our bags off at the motel and set out to find Libertine, a pub with French fries like no other.

We entered the joint. The Beach Boys were playing and there was that late afternoon sunlight slanting all over the place. There was an empty table by the big windows that overlooked the water and Morro Rock.

Unfortunately the menu was uninspiring. Where were these mythical French fries? Hunger roused us from our seats and pushed us towards the door. As we drifted out Dominic spotted a small French fry menu. Ah ha – it exists! Table reclaimed, we found a stoner’s dream on a slip of paper. He ordered a beer and crazy fries tossed in herbs and served with spicy ketchup, beer-cheese sauce, and ranch. I picked “Southern Tots”: tater tots tossed in Buffalo spice, blue cheese crumbles, and melted cheddar, served with blue cheese ranch dressing on the side.  O America! I sipped tart cherry beer out of a little goblet while watching seals and otters play in the water.

America loves sauce.

Then we wandered along the bay, bought old postcards, and explored the main street. Dominic greeted everyone we passed. A scruffy white-haired biker chatted to us. He told us we could die any day and to enjoy life.

"Let's make Amaretto Sours!" I suggested. Swinging by the liquor store, we bought lemons, Amaretto, and soda water. A few minutes later we were back at the motel. I squeezed the lemons into plastic cups and stirred the cocktails with a straw. We sat on chairs and watched the sun set over the bay. It had a Mediterranean flavor in the semi-darkness. We sipped on the view.

After a swim in the pool, and a dip in the hot tub, we drove to Madonna Inn for drinks. It was my first time in the fabled inn that taste forgot. The bonkers semi-Baroque palace of kitsch was built around 1961. It's barely changed since then. It was as if Elvis and Liberace collaborated on a decorating scheme. What a thrill! I ordered a frosty pink strawberry drink, garnished with whipped cream, and sat in a pale pink leather armchair. Dominic ordered a Kir Royal and sat in a cherry-colored armchair.

Next we moved to the velvety magenta booths for dinner. Nearby, an old couple turned in each other’s arms on an empty dance floor. The band played covers with gusto, despite its diminutive audience. Dinner service was finished but they let us eat cake. We devoured delicious forkfuls of strawberry shortcake before exploring the dinosaur-sized fireplace, the café, and the saloon doors and giant gumball machines downstairs. Midnight led us back to the car. The road beckoned. 

Dominic took this picture of me looking rather Scooby Doo.

The following day we set out early, grabbing breakfast burritos on the way. I balanced mine over a newspaper in my lap, to cover my long, cream-color 1970s dress, as we sped down the highway. Beans, salsa, avocados… "Is it all over my face?” I sang, thinking of the Arthur Russell/ Loose Joints song.

When we arrived at Hearst Castle it was drizzling. The view reminded me of Southern Italy, and the architecture of Spain.

...Just pretending to be a ghost on the run.

Afterwards, we cruised down Highway 46, past rolling green hills and vineyards. The landscape changed to rows of trees, then the creeping of civilization began, gradually the foliage diminished, and Los Angeles grew nearer.

MARGO’S QUICK GUIDE TO MORRO BAY, CALIFORNIA

-Sleep at Breakers Inn Motel. The top floor rooms have the best view. There’s a modest pool and Jacuzzi. Double rooms are about $70-130 depending on the month.

-Eat crazy fries and have a craft beer at Libertine Pub. 801 Embarcadero. Open nightly until 11 pm or 12.

-Creature-watch along the bay.

-Drive 25 minutes to the legendary Madonna Inn. If you’re on a budget order a cocktail and dessert, or treat yourself to dinner. If you want to splash out book one of the wild themed bedrooms and stay overnight. You’ll definitely want to take a lot of pictures.

-Drive about 45 minutes to Hearst Castle. You have to book your tours online in advance. The 'Upstairs Suites' tour is the most interesting, followed by 'The Grand Rooms' tour. It’s usually open 8 am – 4 pm. Bring a coat; it gets chilly up there.