Taos, New Mexico + Sofia, Bulgaria
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We did the fourth show of our #10KDrivewayTour in Salt Lake City, Utah at The Pod Mill! You can watch the video episode here!
Alison is obsessed with Stoked Paddle Co. - and their “blow-up-able” stand up paddle boards. Inflatable is the word she was going for, but no matter, she doesn’t mind the verbal fumble because she just wants to communicate how cool these things are! They are made by Roger Seng, who was a guest in the episode where we visited Almaty and Accra!
Lulu is obsessed with mountains after all the mountains, hills, valleys, peaks, formations, etc. that we saw on our #10KDrivewayTour.
Alison is wishing for the ability to learn through osmosis, or divine interventions, or an upload/download system a la The Matrix. The process of learning is just too slow. Lulu wants a way to find her phone without logging in to the cloud…perhaps a Tile chip would work for her?
Alison has been feeling the great outdoors lately, so is excited to experience off-the-grid living in the beautiful high desert mesa just outside Taos, New Mexico at this Earthship Studio on Airbnb. What exactly is an Earthship? It's a totally off-the-grid housing concept, created with the goal of meeting human needs with little to no impact on the environment. The design concept was pionered by Michael Reynolds, as seen on the special edition episode of Building Off The Grid on the DIY network. It is made self sufficient by collecting its own rain water, generating its own electricity, and it's design ensures that it stays at a steady 72 degrees all year round without the use of any fuel or electricity what-so-ever!
Don't be fooled into thinking this off-the-grid lifestyle is devoid of amenities. This studio comes with a fully autonomous kitchen, a washing machine, a soaker tub, and a flat screen tv with Netflix! It's amazing what good design and solar panels can do, huh?! And at $125 a night, this eco-conscious stay is also a budget-conscious one! This spot is only 20 minutes away from the Taos Ski Valley, so it's a great base for any and all outdoor activities!
With the Earthship feeling like a bit of real-life sci-fi, Alison decides to rent a car that feels like a spaceship. The Citroën C4 Cactus is a sleekly designed subcompact crossover SUV produced by a French automaker. Technology such as the colour head up display - “an essential driving information onto a transparent panel in the driver's field of vision” - make Alison feel like she is driving in the future but now.
First stop is brunch at Old Martina's Hall. A restaurant-cum-dance hall vision in adobe clay, whose menu is "a marriage of refined European simplicity with traditional New Mexican dishes". Alison's order of breakfast tacos and a Belgian waffle prove that marriage turned out well, though it's the Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail that is blowing her brunch-loving mind.
Next stop is a pottery workshop at Taos Clay Studio, which is now Taos Sculptural Arts. Art gallery, resident sculptors, art classes, pottery workshops. This is the part of the U.S. to try your hand at ceramics, and Alison is going to give it a go, Ghost moment optional.
Alison finds some wooly hiking companions to explore the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on her "Take a Llama to Lunch!"® Wilderness Day Hike excursion. Along with the llamas come guides who impart knowledge as you wander on topics such as flora, fauna, edible and medicinal plants, history, and wilderness skills! After all the hikin’ and learnin’, they unload picnic ingredients from the llama’s packs, such as fruits and salads, sandwiches on fresh baked breads, natural sodas, and delicious desserts!
Taking advantage of the incredible scenery of the Taos Ski Valley and the activities it supports, Alison heads to the Ernie Blake Ski School for a full day of private lessons! Based out of The Blake Ski-In/Ski-Out Resort, for a private group of 1-4 persons the charge is $750, not including rentals. You can use your own gear if you or you can rent gear from Taos Sports! “Our Private Lessons create lifelong snowsports fanatics and a love for Taos for generations to come”!
Along her skiing excursion, Alison hears about the legend of the martini tree. Apparently a sourced martini helped a floundering skier overcome her nerves and get down the mountain smoothly, and after that, porróns of the beverage were nestled into the snow beneath certain trees. While no longer buried in the snow accessible to just anyone, the tradition lives on as a snow-school graduation jaunt into the woods to access a birdhouse-like lockbox mounted to a tree. Inside, martinis await everyone over the age of 21.
After Alison drank her martini, she wanted to replace the martini, so she brought some supplies down the mountain…
Alison looked up the most expensive martini recipe, and came across the Sapphire Martini that can be made at home with ease with Sapphire gin, dry vermouth, and blue Curaçao (an orange liqueur), and would normally cost you no more than $30 when ordered out. Ordered at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, however, and this simple cocktail gets an upgrade - sapphire and diamond earrings on a sterling silver pick added to the glass. Now have a very expensive beverage that’ll bring your tab to $3,000.
Alison bought three pairs of Shane Co's Traditional Blue Sapphire Studs in White Gold at $2,240 each, a travel bartender kit with stylish carry-all bag, and the ingredients to make three pitchers of the Sapphire Martini. This means she's dropping around $6800 on luxe martinis to hide amongst trees that line the slopes as she makes her way down.
On the way back to her Airbnb, Alison stops off at Chokola, a small-batch bean-to-bar chocolate maker for some hot chocolate to perfectly cap her day spent on the slopes!
Lulu is staying at this "Unique Estate" she found on Airbnb. With 5 bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms, it is definitely spacious. The "unique" part of this massive home comes from its 3 living rooms, 5 kitchens, 3 jacuzzis, a sauna, an infrared cabin, a steam bath, a hydromassage wave pool in its own structure, a basement-like tavern and an outdoor kitchen with a stone barbecue. Literally all of your vacation time could be spent on this estate. Lulu is particularly drawn to the indoor pool and all the bathroom-cum-at home spa features! You can book this Airbnb for around $2300 a night, and it sleeps 10 very comfortably, which makes this a great getaway for family or a group of friends!
Now Sofia - and all of Bulgaria, actually - are known for their mineral water springs. They even have mineral water coming out from their public drinking fountains! You will often see locals filling up loads of water jugs from these spigots...after all, it's free, so why not have mineral-rich hydration as part of your daily life?
To collect water for her day she brings a Vitajuwel, the original gemwater product. It's a glass water bottle that holds crystals to bring life and good energy to your water! Lulu picked the Via Happiness bottle for $120 that contains jade, carnelian, orange calcite, and clear quartz, and brings optimism, eloquence, and good luck to your life! Her day is often to a very healthy and happy start!
Lulu heads first to Gelato & Latte. They produce their buffalo and cow’s milk as well as cream from free-grazing creatures on their very own farm! You can choose buffalo or cow's milk for your specialty coffee beverage, and they are proud to have a "zero tolerance for bad coffee" stance. This is where you go in the city for on-point coffee and desserts, and Lulu goes for the Hot Chocolate made with buffalo milk! Yum!
Ready for an adventurous culinary experience, Lulu heads to one of Boom! Burgers’ three locations, called Boom! Burgers & Booze. Sounds like heaven, doesn't it? Lulu tried the "Mother of Dragons" burger, which comes with homemade habanero, chili sauce, and an ultra hot aioli. One reviewer on TripAdvisor says "The burger was tasty, juicy, and SPICY. AS. HELL. I had a pit of fire in my stomach for at least an hour afterwards, and loved it". Lulu is going for it but is also ordering a milkshake in case the kick is too much!
The heat of her lunch has her fueled for an adrenaline rush, so she found a hour-long ATV off-roading experience through Airbnb for $75. They pick you up from Sofia city center, then embark on a pre-planned route going through the Balkan mountain range known as Stara Planina, or "Old Mountain", before returning back to the city with enough time to "enjoy your emotion" of the experience. The experience comes with a helmet, but Lulu decides to drop some serious dough - nearly $2,000! - on the Street Bandit helmet by Supreme.
Lulu shifts gears and heads to Sofia’s Saint Nicholas Church, simply known as the Russian Church. One of the most ornate churches out of many ornate churches in the area, what's special about this particular one is the myth that wishes made on its premises are granted. After touring the site, a visit to the side entrance is where you can write your wish on a piece of paper while inside the crypt...apparently the secret to wish fulfillment! Worth a try!
Dinner is from the winner of Bulgaria’s ‘Masterchef’ 2016, Sevda Dimitrova, the chef at Ahora. The dinner menu features a six-course tasting menu and a three-course “surprise me” chef’s choice menu! No matter which you choose, creativity in composition and plating is coming your way, with details like foam, smoke, and edible flowers being regular features. They are so local and seasonal that there are often changes by the day, and sometimes even dish to dish. Any changes will be communicated by your server.
“We don’t know what it is going to be either. We will improvise. That will be our vision for you in your plate. Do you trust us?” Sounds intriguing, no?
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
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