Review: Farewell Yellow Brick Road

Elton John was one of the first rock musicians I heard of growing up. In fact, I recall that "Your Song," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Crocodile Rock" were some of the first songs I heard played on my dad's record player.

I have seen two other Elton shows - the  Elton John's Made in England Tour in Tacoma Dome, Washington, on 9/9/1995 and the Million Dollar Piano at the Colosseum in Las Vegas on 10/13/2011.

"Made in England" is still my favorite rock concert, but I also really liked the "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" concert.

The concert started out (on time)  at 20:00 with "Bennie and the Jets." Elton was in fine form, and the band backing him played well. Despite the horrible acoustics at SAP Center, Elton did not sound too bad.

My favorite songs from the concert were "Rocket Man," "Candle in the Wind," "Funeral for a Friend," "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," and, of course, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

The special effects were very nice.

Although I made many video recordings, my iPhone 7 did not record them well.
The following YouTube video has much better video quality:

Setlist

1. "Bennie and the Jets"
2. "All the Girls Love Alice"
3. "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues"
4. "Border Song" (Solo)
5. "Tiny Dancer"
6. "Philadelphia Freedom"
7. "Indian Sunset" (Solo with Ray Cooper)
8. "Rocket Man"
9. "Take Me to the Pilot"
10. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
11. "Levon"
12. "Candle in the Wind" (Solo)

Band Intro

13. "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding"
14. "Burn Down the Mission"
15. "Believe"
16. "Daniel"
17. "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
18. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
19. "The Bitch Is Back"
20. "I'm Still Standing"
21. "Crocodile Rock"
22. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"

Encore

23. "Your Song"
24. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

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Half Day in Paris

After dropping off our luggage at Novotel Suites, 335 Rue de la Belle Etoile (near Charles de Gaule airport), we ordered an UberX to downtown Paris (Sainte-Chapelle).

We were picked up by an English Jaguar (right-hand steering wheel) and taken to Sainte Chapelle on the Isle-de-Paris. We purchased tickets (20 euros for 2 adults and 1 teenager) and explored the beautiful Sainte-Chapelle church.

The stained-glass windows on the second floor were genuinely breathtaking.

Since we were a bit hungry, we decided to stop by for lunch at the well-rated Café Brasserie Les Deux Palais nearby. Inna and I ordered a delicious "chevre chaud" salad (with goat cheese), while Alex selected the "Croque Monsieur" sandwich. Inna also called the "French Onion soup," which she enjoyed immensely. For dessert, we shared the delicious "Tarte Tatin," and Alex savored his "Mousse au Chocolat."

After lunch, we walked 7 minutes to the nearby Notre Dame Cathedral. It was beautifully decorated inside with Christmas trees and replicas of Jesus' birth. We marveled at the size and beauty of this one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

From here, we decided to walk to the Louvre Museum.

On the way there, we stopped by to taste Italian gelato. It wasn't bad - but not as good as Grom in Turin. Alex was astounded by the size of the Louvre museum. Although he had visited the museum when he was younger, he did not recall it.

Since Alex also wanted to see the Arc de Triomphe, we decided to save time by taking the underground metro.

We purchased a 10-pack of tickets for 14.90 euros and rode the metro to Charles de Gaule-Etoile station. We exited the metro and walked over to the giant Arc de Triomphe. We decided to climb to the top, so we purchased tickets and proceeded on the long climb up the narrow, winding staircase to the top. Inna was getting a bit tired and had to take a break.

When we reached the top, the view of the Champs Elysees and Eiffel Tower was spectacular.

After walking around and taking a few photos, we returned to the ground level and took the metro to Montmartre to be closer to the Moulin Rouge show.

When we reached Montmartre, we decided to get dinner before the show. We had difficulty finding well-rated restaurants and finally settled on Café des 2 Moulins. When we first sat in the cafe, loud rhythmic music played, and most other customers drank wine. I was a bit doubtful about the quality of the food here. Luckily, my apprehension was unnecessary.

I ordered the "Amelie Bowl" salad (an unusual combination of vegetables and fruits), while Alex selected the "Bacon Cheese Burger." Inna chose the traditional "beef bourguignon," which she shared with me.

The food came back very quickly, expertly prepared, and quite delicious!

We enjoyed our dinner very much. The service was speedy and friendly. And efficient. I didn't expect Paris to be so friendly.

After dinner, we rushed to the Moulin Rouge show nearby (for which we had pre-purchased tickets for the 21:00 show). After depositing our coats, we sat at a table across from the show (not too far away) with a bottle of wine to share.

The Moulin Rouge show was less exciting than anticipated. I hoped to hear more powerful, tuneful songs (like Edith Piaf's "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien") for the high ticket price. Although there were many beautiful, bare-breasted dancing girls, the show lacked substance. It was a strange combination of cabaret and Cirque du Soleil (with some great acrobat acts). The singing portion was relatively weak (lacking any singing talent).

I hoped for a more thematic show, with a logical progression between songs and acrobatic acts. In Moulin Rouge, the progression of acts seemed aimless to me. I am happy to have seen it, but I wouldn't necessarily see it again. I did like the Boogie-Woogie dancing act, the incredibly flexible girl, and the muscular guy acrobat. I did not understand the point of the girl swimming with snakes. I found her act boring.

The Cirque du Soleil shows (in Las Vegas) are vastly superior (and usually cheaper too: i.e., Love, KA, "O," Mystere)

Right after the show, we ordered UberX and were quickly driven back to our Novotel Suites hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport (chosen for the early flight back to San Francisco).


Tuesday, January 8, 2018

In the morning, we ate a buffet breakfast at the Novotel Suites. The yogurt croissants and slices of bread were quite tasty.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and boarded the shuttle to the Charles de Gaulle airport. We had to wait in a long line to check in our luggage, go through border patrol, and then security. We were tired when we finally boarded our return flight to San Francisco.

While on the plane, I felt fine and watched a few interesting movies. My favorite, by far, was the Grand Budapest Hotel.

• The Children Act (2017) with Emma Thompson

As her marriage crumbles, a judge must decide a case involving a teenage boy who is refusing a blood transfusion on religious principle.

• Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) with Ralph Fiennes

The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.

• Alpha (2018)

An epic adventure set in the last Ice Age, ALPHA tells a fascinating, visually stunning story that shines a light on the origins of man's best friend. While on his first hunt with his tribe's most elite group, a young man is injured and must learn to survive alone in the wilderness. Reluctantly taming a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before winter arrives.

• The Silent Revolution (2018)

I really wanted to watch this interesting movie about Civil Disobedience during the Cold War but there were no English subtitles available

• Peppermint (2018) with Jennifer Garner

Five years after her husband and daughter are killed in a senseless act of violence, a woman comes back from self-imposed exile to seek revenge against those responsible and the system that let them go free.

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One Day in Lausanne

After a delicious morning breakfast in our Hotel Bristol, where I consumed cold cereal with milk, chocolate croissants, and hot black tea, Inna, Alex, and I dressed and walked to the Verbier Gondola for our trip to Lausanne.

To get to Lausanne, we needed to take the following trains:

• 9:34 Gondola from Verbier to Le Chable (arriving at 9:42) (platform 50)
• 9:48 Train from La Chable to Martigny (arriving at 10:13) (platform 1)
• 10:16 Train from Martigny to Lausanne Train Station (arriving at 11:10)

When we arrived at Lausanne train station, we purchased day travel tickets (for use on the bus or metro) and boarded one of the buses to see Collection de l'art brut. This unique museum was only a few bus stops away.

Unlike most art museums, the Collection de l'art brut displays paintings and sculptures from sick, mentally ill, ill prisoners and other controversial artists. Alex did not like most of the art here, but Inna and I wanted a few items on display.

After spending an hour, we decided to try eating lunch at the Holy Cow! Gourmet Burger joint. I selected the "funky chicken" while Inna and Alex had burgers. The "funky chicken" was delicious, and the burgers were superior to American SuperDuper - but also quite expensive.

After lunch, we decided to explore the famous Lausanne Cathedral.

Despite being built in the 12th century, the beautiful Gothic cathedral was well-preserved.

It was pretty cold in Lausanne, and Inna and Alex wanted to warm up with hot tea. We found an open tea house/baker - Pauly Cafe. We sat down for hot black tea, fresh apple pie, chocolate croissant, and hot chocolate to warm up.

After this brief stop, we took the metro to The Olympic Museum - Le Musée Olympique. We arrived around 16:30, so we had little time to see all the exhibits.

Many beautiful displays describe the Olympic Games' foundation and subsequent revival. I wish we had more time to enjoy this museum.

On the very last floor, many fantastic games were to test one's Olympic fitness.

When the museum closed at 18:00, we ate dinner at Restaurant du Théâtre. Until then, we were pretty disappointed with pizzas in Switzerland.

Alex ordered the Margherita pizza this time, and I had the burrata pizza. The burrata pizza was of excellent quality (though not the same caliber as pizzas in Turin).

After dinner, we took the 19:50 IR90 train from Lausanne to Martigny, another train from Martigny to Le Chable, and the bus to Verbier.

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Snowboarding Verbier

I have always dreamed of snowboarding or skiing in Switzerland, so when an opportunity presented itself, I decided to seize it.

From the many possible Swiss resorts, I selected Verbier based on feedback from a Swiss citizen who has lived there. My alternatives included Zermatt, Chamonix in France, and St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria.

Since I originally planned to take the train from Paris, I needed the ski resort within an easy train ride (in case of heavy snowfall). Chamonix, Zermatt, and Verbier were possible, but St. Anton would be too far (even by train). Chamonix did not have a track record of adequate snowfall in early January, so I selected Verbier. Verbier is a substantial Swiss skiing resort with 45 lifts and a maximum vertical drop of 6000 feet, so it is the safest choice for early-season skiing.

When our plans to visit Paris changed, and we decided to travel and spend Christmas week in Turin, Italy, it added some complications in traveling to Verbier. In retrospect, Zermatt would have been much more accessible to visit by train (without a car). I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that driving a vehicle in January through Switzerland might be risky due to unexpected snowfall. However, all of the Swiss roads seemed dry and well-maintained. I would have been much better off (financially and time-wise) if I had driven from Turin to Verbier (or Zermatt) by car.


Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Our travel day to Verbier, Switzerland, started out with a train ride from Turin's Porta Susa train station to Milan's Centrale Railway station at 9:10 am, arriving in Milan at 10:40. From Milan, we boarded the 11:23 EC52 train bound for Frankfurt with a stop in Brig. We arrived in Brig at 13:26 and missed our connecting train to Martigny by one minute. Since the next commuter train was coming in 40 minutes, we did not have to wait too long.

We boarded the next 13:56 train to Martigny, arriving in about 45 minutes. We were supposed to board the special local train to Le Chable from here, but it required separate tickets (which I did not pre-purchase in Turin).

When I finally found a ticket vending machine that sold the required tickets, the unique local train already left! We had no other choice (and nothing else to do), so we waited for the next train at a local cafe. 

We decided to eat a quick lunch at a nearby Bar le Terminus but were shocked at the high prices for two Croque Monsieur sandwiches and tea - 20.50 euros! Instead of leaving at 14:41, we waited another hour until 15:41 for the next train.

When we arrived in Le Chable, we had to take the bus to Verbier, as the gondola did not have space for all of our baggage (the snowboard bag was quite heavy to carry around). The bus tickets cost CHF 6.00 per person and took about 30 minutes. At first, the bus driver demanded Swiss francs (CHF), but he settled for Euros.

We arrived in Verbier quite tired and checked into our Hotel Bristol. Our room on the 5th floor #509 was small, but well-furnished, with an up-to-date shower. The elevator only went as far as the 4th floor, so we had to lug all our heavy suitcases from the 4th to the 5th floor.

The hotel Wi-Fi worked well, and so did the T.V. After dropping off our luggage, we found a place to eat dinner.

The receptionist at Hotel Bristol was helpful, but we had expected more from a $400/night 4-star hotel. We had a better and friendlier service from our 3-star Torino Centro hotel. When we asked our receptionist to call a couple of restaurants to make dinner reservations, our receptionist explained that he doesn't make dinner reservations and that we must do so ourselves!

We had problems calling Swiss numbers on our mobile phones (a + is required when calling from U.S. phones to Switzerland), and it took a few attempts to figure it out. Since our receptionist was not helping, we decided to walk around the village and try our luck.

 Thus, we ate our first dinner at Borsalino Pizza.

Eating at Borsalino after Turin was a major disappointment. Not only were the pizza prices 3x Turin's, but even with its inflated price, the pizza was of significantly lower quality.

After dinner, we walked around a bit, looking for an open cafe or tea house, but could not find any! There isn't a lot of demand for coffee or tea in Verbier - a big surprise to us (who are used to multiple cafes in Whistler or South Lake Tahoe).

Exciting clubs and fancy stores were peddling expensive clothing for ultra-wealthy people.

Besides, most stores seemed to shut down after 19:00 (unlike Whistler). I thought that Verbier had a nightlife? There wasn't much happening in the evening. This is nothing like Whistler - where the fun doesn't stop until midnight.


Wednesday, January 2, 2019

In the morning, we enjoyed our prepaid breakfast at Hotel Bristol. The breakfast buffet included the following items:

• scrambled eggs 
• deli meats 
• various cheeses (Swiss, Camembert)
• various freshly baked breads 
• cold cereals (with nuts)
• yogurt 
• croissants 
• jams
• some fruits (mandarins, bananas)

We decided to sample all of the various items. I was looking forward to trying Swiss specialties such as Swiss Cheese. I tried the premade scrambled eggs (they were not well prepared), a sandwich with Swiss cheese and deli meat, and chocolate croissants. I also made English breakfast black tea. The breakfast was enjoyable (but I would not rate it as a 4-star hotel); it was on the same level as our 3-star Hotel Residence Torino Centro. I was surprised to see Philadelphia Cream Cheese! Really?

What could have made it better? Better quality scrambled eggs, more meats, fruits, and vegetables, and more pastries (only two types of croissants were available).

After breakfast, we purchased our Verbier lift tickets from the receptionist and walked over to the Verbier Medran gondola. The lift ticket prices were much cheaper than U.S. Ski Resorts.

For an adult like me, the Verbier 4 Valleys ski pass was CHF 66.00 (about USD 66), and for Alex (a young adult), the price was CHF 56 (about USD 56).

In comparison, Kirkwood costs $109, Heavenly costs $146, and Whistler charges CAD 164 (USD 123).

The walk to the Medran Gondola took about 10 minutes, which gave me time to warm up my muscles (and even sweated a bit).

During this time, Inna would try one of the nearby spas in Martigny. She had a fantastic time.

The line to get on the Medran gondola was very long, and it took us 20 minutes to wait in a long line before boarding the gondola.

During our first day of snowboarding in Verbier, we stuck to red (intermediate) pistes, avoiding black runs due to icy conditions and our general unfamiliarity with Verbier. Verbier runs are generally longer than they appear on the map and can be steep.

Here is a GoPro Hero7 Black video of my first day snowboarding:

Many dangerous cliffs need to be avoided.

Snowboarding at Verbier:

• lift1: 102 Medran from Verbier Medran base to Les Ruinettes
• lift2: 104 Funispace from Les Ruinettes to Attelas
• trail1:

After finishing snowboarding, we returned to Verbier by taking the Medran gondola to the bottom, as I was not sure about snow coverage. (I did snowboard to the bottom the next day).

Verbier is a beautiful ski resort with lots of steep runs and many runs with moguls. There are lots of opportunities to go off-piste.

When we returned home to Hotel Bristol, we dropped off our snowboards in our assigned ski locker and changed back into our regular clothes. We decided to eat something light and delicious at the nearby Milk Bar. I tried a lemon crepe, while Alex decided on a chocolate crepe.

The crepes were delicious but very small, and the other home-made cakes were much better. Prices were crazy high - $16 for a crepe?

When Inna returned from her spa, we ate dinner at Scalco Restaurant. We made reservations in advance, worried about getting in.

I had the Spaghetti with clams. Alex had the Risotto with mushrooms (which made him nauseous), and Inna had the lamb. As an Italian restaurant, Scalco served well-made dishes, but at 3x the price of Turin (and with slightly lower quality).

The overall cost was CHF 125 (quite expensive for dinner). I almost forgot my G7x Mark II camera, but thankfully, I remembered and returned to the restaurant to retrieve it.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

In the morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of cold cereal, croissants, and hot black tea at Hotel Bristol. After breakfast, Alex and I proceeded to the Medran gondola. Today, we explored the other 4 Valleys in this enormous ski resort.

Our snowboarding plan at Verbier was as follows:

• lift1: 102 Medran from Verbier Medran base to Les Ruinettes
• lift2: 104 Funispace from Les Ruinettes to Attelas
• trail1: Lacs trail from Attelas to
• lift3: 118 Lac des Vaux 2 to Chassoure
• trail2: Chassoure Tortin
• trail3: Tortin to Siviez
• lift4: 71 Tortin from Siviez to Tortin
• Boris & Alex separated and used Walkie-Talkies to meet up in Siviez
• lunch at La Tetine: macaronis montagnards, 2 black teas, water
• lift5: 63 Combatseline from Seiviez to Combatseline
• trail4: Combatseline to Siviez
• lift6: 71 Tortin from Siviez to Tortin
• lift7: 1 Col de Gentianes
• trail5: Gentianess to La Chaux
• lift8: La Chaux 2
• trail6: Fontanet to Les Ruinettes
• lift9: 104 Funispace from Les Ruinettes to Attelas
• trail7:
• trail8: snowboard to Les Ruinettes
• trail9: snowboard to Verbier Medran base (long, flat run)

On the run from Tortin to Siviez, we separated (I sped ahead of Alex) and could not find each other. I ended up in Tortin while Alex snowboarded to Siviez. Using our Motorola T600 walkie-talkies, we located each other, and I proceeded to snowboard to Siviez, where I reunited with Alex.

We decided to try eating lunch at a small French bistro called "La Tetine." It reminded me of the Chic Pea Hut in Whistler.

After a delicious lunch, we continued snowboarding. At the end of the day, Alex and I separated again on the final run, and we used the Motorola T600 walkie-talkies to get a hold of each other. We snowboarded to the same Medran base but did not see each other.

When we met, we returned to our Hotel Bristol and stowed our gear.

After some rest and a shower, we decided to try desserts at our nearby Milk Bar. I ordered the lemon cake, while Alex selected the chocolate cake. Alex also tried the mocha milkshake, which he really liked. The bill came out to CHF 50 with two hot black teas.

While we were snowboarding, Inna took a train to visit the beautiful Chillon Castle in Montreux. She really enjoyed her visit and took many photos.

After Inna returned at 7:00pm, we rested and ate dinner at the Restaurant le Caveau.

Alex selected the Classic Fondue Fromage, Inna selected the Fondue with Morilles (a type of mushroom), and I selected the grilled beef fillet.

The cheese fondue was filling, and we were thoroughly stuffed at the end of dinner. The final bill is $125 + $10 tip, for CHF 135. I liked fondue, but it wasn't anything special.


Friday, January 4, 2019

On Friday, we decided to take a break from snowboarding and visit nearby Lausanne (as Geneve was too far away). I write about Lausanne in a separate blog entry.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

I started developing cold/flu symptoms and was unsure whether I could snowboard on Saturday. After a delicious breakfast of a fresh deli sandwich with Swiss cheese and hot black tea, I felt better, so Alex and I dressed for snowboarding and embarked on another day.

I decided to have an easy day snowboarding since I did not feel 100%. We often stopped in the Igloo and other lodges for hot black tea and snacks (snickers).

Visibility was often poor due to fog, so snowboarding fast was dangerous. There were times when I could barely see a few feet ahead of me, and I did not want to go off-piste or crash into another snowboarder or skier. Snow flurries at Col de Gentianness started up in the afternoon, making visibility even worse than before.

We did manage to snowboard down one black off-piste trail: Gentianness-Tortin. It was a fun, icy way down to Tortin. We ate lunch at our favorite La Tetine bistro between Tortin and Siviez.

At around 15:00, I was tired and concerned about poor visibility. I ended our snowboarding early, and we took the Medran gondola to Verbier base.

After stowing our gear and some needed rest, we waited for Inna to return. She enjoyed her time in Martigny (visiting Barryland - a unique home for Swiss' famous St. Bernard dogs).

She also spent some time at Les Bains de Lavey, where she enjoyed the thermal baths.

When she returned to Verbier, we ate a light dinner at the Milk Bar. Inna and I ate savory crepes while Alex enjoyed his Croque monsieur sandwich. For dessert, we ate chocolate cake. Alex also drank the Mocha milkshake while I had the hot black tea for my sniffles.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

I woke up with a splitting headache and took a Tylenol to try to reduce it. Alex wanted to snowboard, but I was not in any condition. We rested in the early morning and enjoyed a late breakfast at our Hotel Bristol. I ate the usual sandwich with cheese and generous hot black tea.

When I felt better, we decided to stroll through Verbier to get some exercise.  We stopped by for lunch during our long walk at the Offshore Cafe.

I ordered the warm goat cheese salad, which was quite delicious. Inna ate the standard salad while Alex ate a burger. This was our best lunch in Verbier!

After lunch, we walked around Verbier and purchased a few T-shirts as souvenirs. All the shops were so expensive. $29 for a T-shirt!

We returned to our Hotel Bristol, where we rested a bit. Eventually, it was time for dinner, and we decided to revisit our friendly Milk Bar.

Inna and I ate a small crepe with meat while Alex enjoyed his Croque Monsieur sandwich.

We also shared one lemon and one homemade Apricot cake for dessert. Alex enjoyed his Mocha milkshake, and everyone drank hot black tea.

On our last full day in Verbier - I was still very sick with the flu. We asked our receptionist to make taxi reservations for 5:50 the following day. I checked multiple times since I needed the taxi to be on time.


Monday, January 7, 2019

Since we wanted to spend a day in Paris, we chose to take the earliest possible train. We woke up at 5:00, packed, and waited for our taxi at 5:50. No taxi arrived! Either our hotel did place the taxi reservation, or the taxi company was inept! Thankfully, Inna found the bus schedule, and at 5:57, we walked to the bus stop, boarding the 6:10 bus to Le Chable (saving some money in the process!)

From Le Chable, we took the train to Martigny, switching to another train heading to Lausanne (and Geneve). In Lausanne, we switched to the TGV bound for Paris ( I pre-purchased these tickets in advance using the OUI app on my iPhone).

Train Schedule
6:10 bus from Verbier to Le Chable (taxi did not show up)
6:39 train from La Chable to Martigny
7:16 train from Martigny to Lausanne (arriving 4 minutes late)
8:23 TGV from Lausanne to Paris Gare De Lyon, departing at 8:23, arriving at 12:03
12:30 UberX from Gare de Lyon to Hotel Novotel near Charles de Gaulle

Observations

• Switzerland has extremely expensive regtermstofvel (train, bus, taxi), restaurants, and hotels. 
• Despite the high cost of dishes, most restaurants are vastly inferior in quality, quantity, and service attention to their Turin or Paris counterparts. For example, the $12.00 Pizza Margherita in the Waikiki Pizzeria of the Italian Bardonecchia Ski Resort was vastly superior to the $26 pizza in the Barsolina Pizza in Verbier, Switzerland. 
• Verbier has world-class skiing (but more snow would have been fantastic)
• Lift tickets are much cheaper than U.S. and Canadian Ski resorts

I wrote about the Paris part in a separate blog entry.

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