Armi Grano's Blog

Are we there yet? PV to Vancouver

2009-06-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

We got up at 7:30 am with no alarm clock and started doing last minute stuff around the house. We planned to leave at 9 am but didn’t get away until 11:30 am. After saying goodbye to the neighbors, we finally pulled out of the gate, fill up the car with gas and last stop at the Mega for coffee and snacks for the road. It was sad leaving our house in Bucerias but we are excited to do our next adventure. It was a stressful and windy road up to Tepic until we hit the toll road to Mazatlan. We spent over 300 pesos in toll fees to cover about 300 km of toll roads. It was worth the money because the highway is less curvy and smoother. It was around 4 pm when we entered Mazatlan in the state of Sinaloa. My first impression of the town was there were more older cars than around Banderas Bay and more air pollution. Then we hit the waterfront and it was beautiful. The road around the waterfront was lined with hotels and restaurants. It was longer and bigger than Puerto Vallarta. We came down to Paseo Claussen (Ice Box Hill) then headed north towards Los Pinos (the hotels look like the 60’s hotels on Sunset Blvd in LA), then we ended up in the Golden Zone of Playa Gaviotas. Azteca Inn is where we decided to spend the night. It is a nice small hotel with a courtyard and pool in the middle. We like these kinds of hotels when we are traveling because we can park our car in front of our room. We had a swim and met 2 older ladies who are just vacationing while their condo in Puerto Vallarta is being renovated (what a life!). They were very interested in my stories that we ended up like old friends. Dinner was at a beach restaurant called Pancho’s . You have to go through an shopping arcade to get to this restaurant. Food was good and enormous and very reasonable. The town has very little tourists but this restaurant was busy. There was a man doing a fire eating show on the beach right in front of us. I gave him money hoping he will go away because the kerosene fume was killing my appetite. I feel bad for the vendors and the business community. The swine flu media circus has devastated the tourist industry in Mexico. The government and the business community is doing such a good job trying to stop this so called epidemic to the expense of small business owners and employees of the tourist industry. I still have to meet someone who knows someone who has contacted the flu. Its early bedtime tonight and we’ll leave tomorrow when we are ready. Hopefully we will spend the night in Guaymas/San Carlos Bay.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I didn’t sleep well last night. There were a couple of mosquitoes hovering around me and they kept me up all night. I plan to come back again and spend more time in Mazatlan. We left early and drove to San Carlos Bay near Guaymas. It was another long drive but quite pleasant. I got a chance to drive this time. Just for 2 hours. I got to use the cruise control. It felt weird. I think the reason that John does not want me to drive is because I’m a much better navigator than him. He gets antsy when we’re approaching directional signs. San Carlos is a nice seaside town mostly visited by Americans. It looks like Beverly Hills with its trimmed palm trees and wide boulevards. It has a sign like the Hollywood sign on a hill. The sea of Cortez is so blue and peaceful and I heard it’s great for fishing. We drove around looking for a hotel for 30 minutes. We settled at a place called Creston Hotel near the beach. It is a simple clean hotel with a pool in the middle. I like this better than last night’s. I slept really well because it rained so hard and there were loud thunders and lightning. I haven’t seen rain for the last six months.
The main road through town is lined with hotels, restaurants and manicured trees. It has a marina at the end and condos farther from the water. However, the town is very quiet as a result of the economic downturn and the flu warning. Dinner was okay at a restaurant called Bananas.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

It feels fresh this morning with the rain last night. We looked for an OXXO store to get our coffee and muffins for the road. San Carlos looks pretty with the morning sun and the streets. Back on the road again, we head to the US border of Nogales. The toll roads make a big difference with driving. They are well maintained and the toll fees are necessary for the upkeep. We paid around 900 pesos ($90 Cdn$) since we started our trip. We reached the border at around 1 pm with no problem. Our car was searched but we went through okay. I felt sorry for the trucks drivers who have to line up for kilometers. The drivers, mostly Mexicans have set up their stools and cooler beside their trucks. It’s a good time to eat and socialize while waiting for their turn to be cleared at the border. I guess you make the best of the situation. We went to the first Wendy’s just outside of Tucson. We don’t eat breakfast or lunch on long drives. We figure we lose daylight hours if we stop and sit down in a restaurant. So we buy yogurt, bananas, and sandwiches and eat as we drive. This way we can stop driving at around 4 pm and rest for the evening. It was another long day of driving so we look for a hotel just before Phoenix on Highway 10. We chose the Inn Suites on West Baseline Rd. The beds are so nice and soft and wireless internet. And the best part of it is there is a huge mall right in front of the hotel. It’s called Arizona Mills. I decided we are staying for 2 nights here since we are really tired. As part of my exercise regime, I need a long walk in the mall for a full day tomorrow. Dinner was at Claim Jumper (chicken pot pie and steak), it was delicious!

May 22 and May 23, Friday, Saturday

We decided to stay an extra night in Tempe Arizona (in front of the mall). You can guess what I did the whole day (shopping what else?) I got frustrated after 4 hours because I haven’t even made it halfway through the mall. I had to go back to the car twice to bring back my loot. The hotel is just across the street but I had to bring the car to the parking lot of the mall so I don’t have to carry my bags from one store to the next. I bought almost anything from chopping board to pot holders to linens to clothes. I was exhausted and a relaxing bath was a great way to end a busy day.

I woke up early on Saturday and went for a jog around the perimeter of the mall (it doesn’t open until 10 am). We had a good breakfast at the hotel (included in the room rate). I don’t know how the hotel makes money. On the road again at 9 am using Highway 10 to Lake Havasu City. This is the water playground for the area. The Colorado River divides California and Arizona. We took this scenic route and stopped at Lake Havasu to see the London Bridge and watch all the girls in their bikinis walk the resort streets. It is Memorial Day weekend so it’s busy and the lake and river is full of campers, seadoos, speedboats etc….After a brief stop, we proceeded to tackle Highway 40 heading west. It’s a long deserted highway (duh! It’s the Mohave Desert). I’m having a terrible headache at this point probably because of the dry heat which I’m not used to. We were listening to a novel by David Baldacci, “Split Second” between our favorite cds and the local commentary on the local radio. Time flies fast this way when you’re driving. I just realized that we were driving parallel to the old “Route 66”. …Flagstaff Arizona don’t forget Wynona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino,…….Right now, Route 66 is sometimes passable and sometimes it just disappears into a dead end and reappears again after a few miles. It became so popular with motorists that it the 1960’s it was a 2500 mile traffic jam so the new bypass interstate highways were built including Highway 40. Most of the small towns became ghost towns after that. We are spending the night in Barstow and a much needed early dinner. We’ll see if we have time to go to the museum tomorrow.

May 24, 2009

This is Sunday morning in Barstow, CA. We grabbed our continental breakfast to go and headed towards Main Street of the town. The buildings are pretty old, kinda 60’s style. This road was part of the Historic Route 66. We connected with Highway 99 and headed for Fresno, CA. It was a very smooth ride until we reached Sacramento (watch for the signs and overpass). We stayed on Hwy 99 and decided to stop in Yuba City. We passed by a lot of orchards (almonds and pistachios). It was pretty going through the orchards instead of the rat race on Highway 5. It was a long drive again today. So I rewarded myself with a bag of pistachio nuts ( a great way to pass the time on a long ride).

May 25, 2009

It’s getting cooler now. I put on my khaki pants and a long sleeve t-shirt for the road. I planned our trip today so we could overnight in Eugene, Oregon. We were contemplating on staying 2 nights in Portland but we just wanted to get home at this point. We checked in at a hotel in Springfield. It was beside the Gateway Mall. It was only 6 pm so I headed to the mall. I bought presents for my daughter hoping she would like them. I’m a little bit light headed because of the long drives so I kept taking Gravol (Dramamine). The problem is I can’t sleep while we’re driving because I’m the navigator, waitress, disc jockey etc. At this point, we were almost finished with the book that we are listening (“Split Second”). We are down to the last 2 cassettes (remember the cassette tapes? Our car actually has one). The plot thickens as the end draws near and it’s quite exciting because we are trying to figure out who is the culprit. We would sometime stop the tape and discuss our own interpretation of the plot.

May 26, 2009

We were quite excited to start the trip today. This is the last leg of our adventure. The trees have turned into pines, maple and everything found in the rainforest. They look so green and fresh and clean. We finished the book. We didn’t guess who did it which made it a really good book. We got to the Canadian border with no problem. It was traffic as usual on Highway one approaching Surrey’s Portman Bridge. Yes, they need to twin the bridge. We traveled from Puerto Vallarta Mexico through five US states without any traffic jam. We hit Canada’s Highway 1 and there is the bumper to bumper traffic. Amazing! It is sunny and warm today. We met Cecily and Anthony to get our keys and we proceeded to our condo. It looked nice and welcoming. We are home at last! Thank you for travelling with us.

Total Mileage: Bucerias, Mexico to North Vancouver BC – 5, 641 kilometers
Total Driving Time: 56 hours
PS. My daughter loved everything I bought her (and some of my stuff too)

One flu over the cuckoo's nest,,,

2009-04-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

The recent news of swine flu outbreak emanating from Mexico has prompted a few friends to email me about our condition here in Bucerias, Nayarit. We are doing great and doing our usual routine with extra precaution. The states of Nayarit and Jalisco have no known cases of this flu virus. The Department of Education has suspended all classes until May 6 to keep schoolchildren from being infected (as a precaution). If you are tired of listening to your local Canadian or American news, here is a link to the Bay of Banderas news http://www.banderasnews.com/index.htm. It has different views of this situation. I hope that the WHO will find a vaccine and the flu will stop spreading (as the news say???)

We’ve had a long run at the Adriatico this year. We are still performing but with reduced days to Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 to 10:30 pm. Please call Adriatico at (329) 298-6038 or email at adriatico@adriaticoristorante.com. The food is great, service is attentive and the bar is gorgeous. Don’t forget the band is really good too! I will be heading back to Vancouver towards the end of May. So my last day here at Adriatico would be May 15 (I hope!).

My current band:

Armi Grano-Vocal
Julio Palacio-Keyboard
Javier Nunez/Doug Demeerleer-Bass
Danny Lopez-Drums

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who visited, recommended and supported us throughout this season. It has been a difficult year but your encouragement and company has sustained us through. I’d like to extend a big thank you to all the media members in the Vallarta and Vancouver area for supporting and promoting our show. I also would like to thank all the wonderful musicians who played with me this season, Bill Street, Gerry Palken, Richard Gordon, Eduardo Rubio, Julio Palacio, Doug Demeerleer, Danny Lopez, Javier Nunez and Georgina Enriquez. Muchas Gracias, Hasta Luego!

Saludos,

Armi Grano

Shop till you drop....

2009-04-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

April 21, 2009

Dear Everyone,

We just got back from a weekend trip to Guadalajara, a much needed break for me and a little shopping on the side. We decided to use the highway towards Mascota which to our surprise, was a very nice and quiet road. It was windy and it took us about 2 hours to reach Mascota where we had lunch at a café called Napoles. The church in the square was beautiful and so is the town itself. After about an hour, we continued with our driving and headed east on the Highway 90/70 until we reached Ameca. It only took us 2 and half hours and I guess we were already in the outskirts of Guadalajara. The drive was quite pleasant and quiet except when we get to the towns, where they put tons of topes (speed bumps), it’s hard for the car if you don’t slow down. Since it is our first time to drive that way, I studied the map thoroughly and we got to our friend’s house in the Guadalajara Centro with no problem. I had to shop for a dining room set so that was first on our agenda for that day and I found it. Dinner was at the Sirloin Stockade which was quite good.

I woke up early the following day because we were going to Tonala. I was excited! It was a thirty minutes drive from the Centro. We found parking in the market and my eyes were already scoping the hundreds of stalls as we were looking for a parking space. It is a great market, a feast for the eyes. All the artisans display their work and are still working as fast as they can sell their wares. I found everything I wanted in the first hour of shopping. I made a mental note of everything I wanted to buy then we proceeded to walk and look at more stalls! Wow! And everything is cheap and you can bargain too.

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant beside Kentucky Fried Chicken, it was not good I should have gone to KFC. I was excited to go back to my shopping so the food didn’t really matter to me. I bought huge vases, mirrors, paintings, lamps etc….all for 200 dollars. I was in heaven. I was so happy so I cooked dinner that evening. It was pasta with chicken, yummy. Much better than eating out.

I woke up early again because we are heading back to Bucerias today. But before that, I had to make a trip to the shoe alley which is 3 blocks from my friend’s house. It is about ten blocks of shoe stores. I was getting frustrated at first because I couldn’t find anything that would fit me. In the background, John is impatient. Then voila, I found 2 pairs in one store and another pair in the next store. I was a happy shopper.

We took Highway 15 back to Bucerias. It was a nice toll road which came to about $270 pesos. It went as far as Compostela and then we drove the Highway 200 down the windy road to the coast. I actually liked the Mascota road better and it’s free.

Hasta Luego,
Armi

Down by the riverside....

2009-04-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

April 12, 2009

Hello Everyone,

Happy Easter , Feliz Pascua! I am still here in Bucerias and enjoying the mild weather. We attended Easter Mass at the Nuestra Senora la Paz Church which was well attended and I felt lucky to get a seat. Then we had a nice brunch at a Huichol Gallery with their organic freshly roasted coffee…hmmm and the live music of a local latin trio. The beach area is so crowded because of the long Easter weekend and the local tourists have all descended from the inland cities such as Mexico, Leon, Guadalajara. We decided to head towards the road to Mascota and stopped by a roadside seafood restaurant by Rio Mascota. The fresh shrimps and deep fried snapper was a treat! It was interesting to watch the people and children swimming and playing by the river.

We are still playing at Adriatico every Tuesdays through Fridays for an indefinite time so please drop by when you are in town.

Adriatico Ristorante-Galeana and Lazaro Cardenas Streets, Bucerias
Tel 329-298-3820
Armi Grano-Vocals
Julio Palacio-Keyboard
Javier Nunez/Doug Demeerleer-Bass
Danny Lopez-Drums

Thank you for your support!

Ciao!

Not a boring day.......

2009-03-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

March 9, 2009

Hola Amigos y Amigas,

It’s John’s birthday today so I got him a cake for breakfast. He just realized that he is one year younger than what he thought he is. So he is extra happy. His cousin Lorena (the hairdresser) is coming in today from Melaque after a 5 hour bus ride. She promised me a really nice haircut and updo for one of my gigs. I can’t wait.

We had a very busy February and early March. Our friends Arlene (we got stuck in the elevator before, remember? ) and her husband Richard visited us. Their holiday went to a bad start because they missed their direct flight to Puerto Vallarta. So they spent the night on a plane going to Mexico City and finally to PV. It was a long day and night for both of them. But all of the stress and confusion disappeared when they arrived at Rancho Banderas on Distilladeras Beach.

The good thing about friends visiting is you get to show them around and I get reacquainted with places and discover new ones. You’ll remember Arlene from when we got stuck in an elevator. I used to work with her so we had a lot of things to talk about. Her biggest achievement this visit is learning how to boogie board. She was quite proficient after a few days.

I’ve met a lot of familiar faces while performing at Adriatico. They visited last year and came back again this year. Some snowbirds are getting ready to go back to their hometowns but hopefully the tourists are still scheduled to come this March and the Easter break in April. With the cold weather and a big dump of snow up north, you would think that people would just pack up and head to the sunny beaches of Mexico. Travel bargains and hotel discounts are everywhere because of the weak economy. I stopped watching television because of all the doom and gloom news. We have a starchoice satellite so we get all the American and Canadian channels. I believe that in due time, everything will find its equilibrium and the economy will start a big recovery. One thing with living in a small community like Bucerias, you are immune to all these news. Everyone is just busy getting their tan and walking on the beach. It’s business as usual. The prices in the grocery stores went up just because the Mexican peso is almost 15 to $1USD. It’s still cheap but I don’t know how the local people can afford to buy some of the groceries. All I know, is I’m going to be shocked with the prices when I do my grocery shopping back in Vancouver.

We are performing at Ritmos in PV on Saturday, March 15 at 7 to 10 pm. We are still performing at Adriatico on Tuesdays thru Fridays. See you at the gig.

Love,
Armi

Strollin' on the Malecon

2009-02-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

February 1, 2009

Hola Amigos y Amigas,

It is a holiday weekend here in Mexico, Constitution Day. We were at the Malecon last night with Brian and Diane and it was full of local tourists mostly from Guadalajara and inland cities. There were fireworks display and shows along the boardwalk. Dinner was great at “La Distilleria” and the live Mariachi Band (which Brian had to be a part of, in any capacity). My good friend, Miles Black sent me a song called “Malecon” which I sing with my trio in Adriatico. It is a beautiful song and perfectly depicts the atmosphere of the Malecon.

We visited the Naval Museum in Puerto Vallarta located beside the Los Arcos Amphitheatre. It was very informative and quite a pleasant surprise. There are different artifacts, maps, pictures and miniature replicas of the ships that the Spaniards used to explore the route from east to west. What was surprising to me was a big part of the display and history was about the Philippines. The galleon used the Fort in San Blas as one of their stops. When I was in Acapulco, Philippines was also a big part of the museum of the Fort of San Pedro. They had maps and pictures of the explorers landing in the Philippines. The Philippine islands played a big part in the history of Mexico under the Spanish regime. It was the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade that brought riches to Spain by bringing in spices, tea, silk, from all parts of Asia. The names of explorers are all familiar to me from my high school history such as Legazpi, Villalobos, Magellan etc. It brought a lot of memories to me.

It is Superbowl Sunday today, so the TV is blaring with John and Doug watching the game. January is just a blur for me now. What happened to the time? Why am I so busy? I seriously need a holiday. I think I still don’t know what to do with my unregimented schedule. It’s different when you have a set time to wake up and a place of work to go every morning. I miss my fitness classes at the gym. Instead, I do my pilates (in my room), walk on the beach and around town in the morning or swim in the ocean. Not a bad trade but there is really no timetable to do those things, which really throws off my usual hurried lifestyle. I don’t even have to deal with traffic or bad weather anymore. Speaking of weather, nobody talks about weather here. Everyday is sunny. Some days are just sunnier than others. Sometimes I wish it would rain even just for an hour, just buckets of rain. I wake up early everyday although I don’t go to bed until midnight. It must be the pull of the sunlight outside. I find mornings are good for reading and checking emails. That is, if I decide not to go for my walk. This lifestyle is so new to me that I still don’t know how to slow down. I feel guilty if didn’t do any work during the day. I had to cut down the maid’s cleaning days because John and I clean the house in between her visits.

The tourists are down significantly this year. There are conflicting reports. Some say it is down 40% some say it’s 20%. My observation based on the restaurant crowd is, it is down by about 20%. The budget value restaurants are doing okay and so are the high end ones. The middle of the road eateries and bars are the ones really suffering. As they say, the rich will always have money even in recessionary times. They just have to cut down on their jet fuel consumption.

We are playing four nights at Adriatico (Tuesday to Friday) and on Valentine’s Day. It is getting busier with tourists and regular snowbirds. We will be performing at Cuates y Cuetes on the Playa los Muertos beach (Old Town) on Feb 15 in the evening. Don’t ask me about the time. I guess we will play when everyone is ready.

Hasta Luego!

Love,
Armi

Listen to the birds.....

2009-01-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

January 8, 2009

My daughter Cecily and her husband left reluctantly for Vancouver last Sunday. The weather in Vancouver didn’t help much. I think she is already planning her trip back in April. We went boogie boarding in Rancho Banderas which is the perfect beach for this activity. It has big enough waves to push you to the long flat sandy beaches. They call me the BBQBB (Boogie Board Queen of Banderas Bay) LOL!!!!. On their last night, we went to the Malecon in PV and had dinner at the Bubba Gump Restaurant. It was okay and touristy. Then we headed to the Cuban place, La Bodega. It was so packed that it was hard to breathe inside so we decided to take a stroll on the Malecon. It was very lively and busy that evening as it is the last weekend of the Christmas holidays. We stopped for coffee and desert at Roberto’s overlooking the boardwalk and the Xiutla dancers sculpture. It was a great spot for people watching, watching the fireworks and just listening to the waves. It was a very enjoyable evening.

The evenings and early mornings are getting cooler that you almost need a light cardigan. The days are always gorgeous and warm. Yesterday, we visited friends staying at the Grand Mayan and we had a great time floating on the “Lazy River”. They have this manmade pool/river around the complex and you float around in an inner tube. John and Brian had the most fun. Yes, our friend Brian is here with his wife Diane. They love Bucerias and can’t wait to explore it. Diane loves cats so she is the most popular person in our neighborhood. The cats follow her around because she bought tons of cat food and a dish with four compartments. It’s like serving smorgasbord to the cats.

This morning, I was peeling a ripe papaya grown locally while the sunshine is peeking through my kitchen window. I couldn’t resist but admire the orange color of the flesh and when I bite into it, it was so sweet and busting with flavor, it was like tasting sunshine. I closed my eyes while savoring the taste and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and I could hear birds chirping from my window. God loves me! My poinsettias are healthy and thriving well, they almost look like fake ones. They are indigenous to Mexico and locally called “Noche Buena”.

People ask me what I do all day. And I tell them, I’m always busy. It seems that I spend a lot of my time waiting. Like this morning. I am sitting by the pool doing some computer work and waiting for the maid to finish cleaning the house. I am also waiting for a couple of friends who are visiting from Minnesota and I’m also waiting for the Telmex guy to hook up my phone. The waiting for the telephone guy is another thing, just like waiting for the plumber or the carpenter. The Telmex office told me that they are sending somebody today so I should be home. If the guy doesn’t show up today, he will show up tomorrow. That means I have to be prepared to wait for two days for the telephone guy to show up at my house. So I wait, wait ,wait. In the meantime, I can do some laundry, study some songs, sort my charts and make some salsa and guacamole.

We are playing at Adriatico Ristorante on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 to 10 pm and we are starting to see old friends and regular “snowbirds”.

Cheers!
Armi

Welcome 2009

2009-01-05T16:47:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2009

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!!! Feliz Ano 2009!!!

It’s hard to believe that today is the first day of 2009. The year 2008 has seen the best and the worst of the global economy but in the end the resiliency of human nature will always prevail. I have to admit that in spite of all the news of doom and gloom, 2008 has been one of the most exciting year for me and my family. Let’s all hope that we will all learn from our mistakes and we should look after our world better for the sake of our future generations.

We are almost settled with our house in Bucerias. There seems to be never ending things to buy. It is very helpful having a car so we can drive around and compare prices. We’ve been to so many stores that sometimes I forget what I was looking for and which store has the best price. I bought a coffee table set at Sam’s and a nice bamboo area rug from Wal-Mart. I bought most of my gift baskets from Costco and all my vases and centerpiece arrangements from a store in PV called Tlaquepaque (named after the shopping town). Waiting for the sub trades is another story. I would get a phone call that the plumber is coming in the morning so we wait all day but no show. The electrician is no better. My dryers are not working properly so I had to dry clothes on a clothesline for weeks now. But when they show up, they are very nice and they fix whatever is necessary.

There is a construction next door to our house and it is both annoying and interesting. The workers start at 6:30 am Pacific time. They said that it is the regulation time. They are building a retaining wall and the workers literally pick up these heavy rocks one by one and pile them up to build the wall. They would mix cement in a small rotating mixer and apply the mixture to hold the rocks together. They dig the trenches with pick and shovel. All of this work under the heat of the sun, and I can tell you, those guys work very hard.

We had a great Christmas with friends and family. My daughter and her husband arrived on Christmas day sans their luggage. With all the icy weather and airport chaos, I am not surprised that they lost their luggage somewhere in Salt Lake City. We had a lovely turkey dinner courtesy of John. It turned out to be the best turkey dinner we ever had and everyone had a great time. I was at the supermarket “Mega” the previous day and was frantically looking for ingredients and trimmings for the dinner. Can you imagine trying to look for rosemary, thyme and sage. I found rosemary (hojas de romero) and thyme (tomillo). No luck with the cranberry sauce. But our friends, Linda and Doug have managed to uncover a can somewhere in their cupboard.

Last Monday, we were in Sayulita and Cecily and Anthony were learning how to surf. It is a lively beach town with gentle waves that is ideal for beginner surfers. I love boogie boarding but I haven’t tried surfing. I don’t know if I can get up on the board before the wave flips me. The Mexican tourists were in full force this week because Christmas is their big holidays. Everyone from the neighboring inland cities descend to Puerto Vallarta to spend their holidays. This is quite a relief as the North American tourists are down significantly. There are a few vacancies in the hotels and the beaches are less crowded. We go to a beach called Distilladeras almost twice a week and it’s the most beautiful beach in the Banderas Bay.

We are still at Adriatico’s every Tuesdays and Wednesdays except last night which was New Year’s Eve. We had a great time at the Café des Artistes ushering the New Year 2009. I’ve never seen a lot of beautiful women in one place and lots of legs everywhere. They got to be the Four Seasons crowd. It was a great evening.

Cheers!

Armi

Christmas in the Tropics

2008-12-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

December 21, 2008

Merry Christmas to all! I will miss a lot of my friends in Vancouver but one thing is for sure, I will not miss the big snow storm over there. This is end of my third week in Bucerias and it has been a non stop schedule. The traffic is worse than usual and the malls and stores are full of shoppers. The Christmas decorations are in full display and people are looking forward to celebrate this festive event. I am surprised to see a lot of real pine tress being sold in the stores. They are actually cheaper than in Canada.

We were at San Pancho today visiting our friends Dave Guiney (great bass player) and his wife Hazel. It is a cute town which is about 20 minutes drive north of Bucerias. They showed us the town and where they were staying which boasts of a beautiful garden and pool and a great view of the mountain and the sea. Dave and I played in Vancouver and he jammed with us at Adriatico last Wednesday night.

Yesterday afternoon, we were playing at the Ritmos Café and Beach Bar and we really enjoyed it. It was a nice stage set up at the beach with great sound system and staff who are super attentive to the needs of the musicians (for a change).

We bought a turkey today for Christmas dinner and hope that our oven will work when it’s time to cook it. I don’t have a lot of kitchen utensils and gadgets so this will be a challenge this year. I don’t even have a turkey platter. I looked for a baster at the supermarket today, but no luck. Maybe I’ll go to Home Depot and look for a paint brush instead. It will do the job. If I can’t find brussel sprouts, I would buy some green beans instead. I shouldn’t have any problem with yams and carrots. I will definitely make some shrimp cocktail with avocado.

There is no midnight mass, instead they will hold the mass at 8 pm on Christmas Eve and 8 am on Christmas day. We are playing on Christmas Eve so it has to be the following morning. The Mexicans just like Europeans and Filipinos, celebrate Christmas on December 24. They have a big feast and party on Christmas Eve called “Noche Buena” or “Media Noche”. The main food is usually ham and Edam cheese. It’s quite interesting because on Christmas morning everyone is so tired or sleeping except for the children who are eager to open their presents and to visit relatives to collect more presents and money.

On New Year’s Eve, we are playing at the Café des Artistes in Punta Mita. There is a $30 cover and a special menu for that evening which would be a creation of the master chef/ owner Thierry Blouet and his staff of great chefs. It is a beautiful restaurant and lounge right on Anclote Beach in Punta Mita. If you have been to the Café des Artistes in Puerto Vallarta and you want to experience seafood at its best, come to the Punta Mita branch and you will not be disappointed.

Feliz Navidad!

Love,
Armi

First Weeks in Paradise

2008-12-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

December 10, 2008

It’s about 10 days since we arrived in Bucerias but I haven’t had a chance to swim in the pool or in the ocean. Some vacationers would have come and gone in the same period. There is something to do everyday whether it’s for the house or the gig. And of course we can’t skip our siesta in the afternoon. As soon as 2 pm hits, it’s siesta time until around 4 pm. The body can’t resist but succumb to this natural urge to lie down and have a nap. I don’t know what it is, it must be the heat. But it’s not really that hot, we barely use our air conditioners in the house. The first few days after we arrived were spent unpacking and putting away things (thank goodness for the maid who cleaned the house before we came). We also had to open all the stuff that we bought last summer. Last July, I came to check the progress of the construction of the house and during that time, I went to Guadalajara to buy basic furniture. Please note that I am furnishing 2 houses because Casa Artiste is an up and down duplex. Then John came in September to check on the final progress of the construction. He actually lived on the first floor at that time and was able to fine tune some of the deficiencies that was apparent during his stay. It was this time, when he bought a lot of the small appliances, dishes, pots, brooms, mops more furniture, kitchen stuff etc. Even with all this prior preparation, we still had to buy a lot of things for the house. Yesterday, we went to different stores like Costco, Sam’s, Wal Mart, Soriana’s and Mega. Our car was packed with garbage cans of all shapes and sizes, mats, plates, cleaning supplies etc. It is comfortable and livable now and we are very happy with the result. I would like to go to Guadalajara again to buy some artwork and nice lamps and vases. That would be so cool. I plan to leave at 6 am, arrive at around noon, shop for 4 hours, and then take the 6 pm bus back to Puerto Vallarta where I should arrive at around 11 pm. Am I crazy or what?

The complex where were in is decorated with different Christmas ornaments, some houses are over the top and our house looked so bare so I bought some poinsettias and Christmas lights for the front balcony. As soon as you come in the gate, you’ll notice all the lights, blown up Santas, Snowman, and Rudolph. Houses have moving displays on their roofs, balconies and lawns. It’s like Disneyland here. This morning, and every other morning I would take a walk to the market. I would zigzag my walk stopping at my favorite cross streets toward the beach. I take the back road where I could see through a thick forest with birds, butterflies and lush vegetation. Sometimes, an iguana would cross my path. The birds are beautiful and I lost track of the different species. I would buy fresh shrimp or vegetables and sometimes, the fruit truck would be parked at the plaza. There are fresh oranges, watermelon and pineapples. I bought some pineapples a few days ago for $2 for 3. They were so sweet, but guess who peeled them, moi. It’s not a like peeling a grape. I have mastered the art of peeling a pineapple complete with a spiral design around it.

We already had 5 gigs so far. We are at Adriatico’s, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and at Café des Artistes on Fridays. We have an outdoor concert next weekend at the Los Muertos Beach in PV old town at a place called Ritmos. They have an outdoor stage complete with sound system and lights. We’ve been rehearsing some Christmas songs in preparation for the coming festivities. The feast of St. Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta is celebrated every December 12 and there is a procession every night for about 7 days. During these times, the traffic in the downtown PV becomes more congested. It would be better to avoid it if you are not attending church or taking part in the procession. It is quite a spectacle though. We are also doing a fundraising on Monday, Dec 15 to benefit the orphanage here in Bucerias called Manos de Amor. Our show last Saturday Café des Artistes coincided with the anniversary of the Punta Mita Foundation. The expatriates who live here, mostly from the US and Canada, are heavily involved with the community and helping the local people in the area of sanitation/health, education, eco-tourism, recycling and overall betterment of their everyday lives. There is no time to be bored even though one is “retired” because there are so many volunteer work and social events that everyone can be involved in.

7 Days of Driving-Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta

2008-12-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

November 23, 2008 – Day 1

We woke up at 7 am today and we scrambled like mad people. Strip the bed, change the sheets, put new duvet on, last minute clean up, haul our luggages, mail letters. The condo looked so immaculate, I didn’t want to leave. My housesitter would be so happy when he sees the place.
We met our friend Bill at Ikea in Richmond and loaded more stuff in his cargo trailer. It is so packed I am getting worried if he’s going to make it to Mexico. I did my morning exercise by running 3 blocks to MacDonald’s and got our breakfast. It’s cold this morning. I could see my breath between my strides. We ate our sausage mcmuffin in ten minutes and we were on the road. The border line up at Peace Arch held us up about one hour but no problem. They just waved us with our pack to the roof vehicles. It reminded me of a Chevy Chase movie. We had everything in the trailer and our in our car to furnished a small condo and a small music studio. I feel like a hippie in the wrong year. We were ahead while Bill is behind us. After about 2 hours of driving, we think we lost Bill in Seattle. We tried calling and texting him but no answer. We were worried but we just kept going until we got tired and decided to spend the night in Eugene, Oregon. After dinner, we finally heard from Bill. He has actually driven all the way to Roseburg about one hour ahead of us. Thank God! We will rendezvous first thing in the morning in Roseburg and carry on to Reno. The day was a great start of our trip. I am already excited for the next leg.
November 24, 2008-Day 2

It is cold and foggy this morning in Eugene, Oregon. We headed down to Roseburg to rendezvous with Bill then had breakfast and drove to Mt. Shasta. It’s a beautiful mountain with a park with the same name. We took this road all the way to McCloud and stop for gas and stretched our legs. Tango, Bill’s dog needs his walk every couple of hours, otherwise, he seems to be enjoying the beautiful scenery. We are driving through thick forests of pine trees and winding highway. We arrived at Reno at 8:30 pm which is not good as it was hard finding a hotel in the dark. We left Roseburg quite late this morning, almost noon. We found a hotel and decided to have dinner at the Silver Legacy Hotel. The whole town is deserted. I don’t know if it’s the bad economy or because it’s a Monday night. We were so tired so we decided to head back to our hotel which is across the street after we ate. We were about to settle down, when Bill knocked on our door. He was so shaken because he couldn’t find his briefcase in the backseat of his car. We helped him looked for it but to no avail. All his money and important documents are there. We all had restless night which was confirmed the following morning.

November 25, 2008-Day 3
Bill was up early and was already puttering around his car. We went to see him and upon careful inspection of his car’s doors looking for a sign of forced entry, John noticed something on the soft cover of his car. The soft convertible top of his Mustang was slashed and that’s how the thief got his loot. It must have happened while we were having supper last night. My heart sank and felt a thud in my stomach. He paid $1700 for that top. Bill and John went to the police station to report the crime. John managed to tape up the convertible soft top with duck tape. Just leave it to John to be prepared with all the tools and gadgets. At least now we know how the bag disappeared from his car. We left Reno around noon and we decided to stop in Tonopah, about 2 hours north of Las Vegas. The drive from Reno was all straight on Hwy 95 breezing through a desert around 5,000 ft above sea level. The scenery has its own beauty punctuated by lakes, one of them was Walter Lake. It is huge and has some kind of salt around the edge. It was 4 pm and we all need rest and an early night. Tonopah is an old mining town lined with old buildings and a few hotels and shops. It’s even got a McDonald’s. We decided to check in at a local Ramada hotel. We are looking forward to our dinner as we have not had a decent meal all day.
November 26, 2008-Day 4

It is snowing and cold in Tonopah,Nevada. We are in Station Post Ramada in the middle of a silver mine relic. There are lots of old buildings and general stores. It’s like being in a set of an old western movie. This is the town where they discovered the silver mother lode “Mizpah”.

We plan to leave early so we could overnight in Phoenix or Tucson. But we got delayed again for some reason. We have experienced different weather patterns driving through the desert of Nevada. I just realized that we are in the Death Valley National Park. There was a different kind of vegetation, such as sage brush, tumble weed and weird looking cacti ( look like a dwarf palm trees to me). Then we passed by a prison and judging by its location, it must be maximum security. There was a sign on the road “Do not Pick Up Hitchhikers” I wonder why…..

We decided that we are not stopping for lunch anymore as we were losing day light driving time. So we would stop for gas and just pick up a burger or cold sandwiches. I should be about 20 pounds overweight when I arrive in Bucerias. We arrived at a town called Needles and pick up Highway 10 east to get to Phoenix. It turned out to be a nice drive through Lake Havasu City. It is a beautiful lake and the surrounding area although it was almost dark when drove through. We drove for about 3 hours on long stretch of highway 95. We finally found a hotel (Days Inn) on Hwy 10 in a town called Buckeye, about one hour west of Phoenix. We were so tired and settled there for the evening after having a bad dinner at Burger King. I am really craving for homemade soup or grilled rib eye steak.

November 27, 2008-Day 5

It’s cold again this morning. It feels like it will never get warm even when we are driving south. I didn’t sleep very well last night. I think I had motion sickness from all the driving so I took some Gravol. I woke up really tired, pack my stuff and headed to the breakfast counter in the lobby. I grabbed everything I could get- coffee, bagel, cereals, toast. I brought them all to the car because we are on the road again. We are aiming for Hermosillo in Mexico today. It was a smooth drive through Phoenix and Tucson. Arizona is mostly desert with dots of mounds of earth as high as a 20 storey condo. We arrived at the Nogales border around noon. We are crossing our fingers that it will be an easy crossing. The town of Nogales reminds me of a place in Manila called Quiapo. It is full of hustle and bustle of people peddling their wares. There are lots of pawnshops, money changers and stalls. It was quite a feat to navigate the traffic. My Filipino driving instinct kicked in gear. Forget about Canadian rules of the road. It was a sudden change from the manicured town of Nogales, Arizona. Once we hit the customs and immigration about 22 km after the border, we got off our vehicles and went to the immigration office to get our visa, car permit, car insurance etc. Everything went smoothly except that they ran out of Immigration forms so we had to wait about 2 hours for the forms to arrive. Then another “incident” happened with Bill’s papers. I had to help him sort it out with my broken Spanish (thank God, I was studying while I was in the car). I begged and followed the officer around for about 2 hours until he relented and stamped the documents. We were all relieved that it is over. I can’t even imagine what would happen otherwise. We both got the green light so they never question us or search our vehicles. Highway 15 is a good 4 lane road and becomes a toll highway. It was wide, well lit and smooth. We paid $2 for our car. We are not going to make it to Hermosillo as it is getting dark. It was 8 pm when we reached Santa Ana, Sonora and checked in the first motel we saw (San Francisco). Dinner was fillet of fish with tortillas, rice and salad at Elba Restaurant. Yummy!

November 28 2008-Day 6

We woke up to sunshine and blue skies. It’s amazing how the weather changed as soon as you get to Mexico. We are currently in the middle of the Sonora Desert and the temperature has just got warmer. We were on the road just before 9 am and drove through various kinds of vegetation and scenery. Every morning as soon as we enter the highway, I start practicing my Spanish reading it aloud so John can learn too. The first sentence I taught him was “Por favor, lleneme el tanque con Magna”. It means “Please fill up my tank with Magna”. Magna is regular unleaded in Mexico. There are a lot of checkpoints with uniformed men checking mostly trucks and local vehicles for guns or drugs maybe? As soon as they see our foreign plates and decals, they just wave us through. We used mostly the toll roads which ranged from $4 to $5 for a car or SUV. It is called “Cuota” versus the normal road called “Libre”. These smooth toll roads are 4 lanes with a wide divider between each direction. The gas stations (Pemex is the only gas station in Mexico) are well spaced every 200 km or so and have fairly clean restrooms (bring your own toilet paper just to be sure) and a convenience store where you can buy water, pop, snacks, sandwiches. Since we are using the toll roads, we bypassed all the little towns which would have slowed down our journey. Every time you enter a small town or community or approaching a toll booth, you have to watch out for speed bumps (topes) or a succession of smaller speedbumps (vibradores). Go figure it out,,,,We left the state of Sonora and entered the state of Sinaloa and decided to spend the night at a town called Los Mochis. It is quite a big city but I have no idea about this place. It is now 6 pm and we checked in at the Hotel Posada Real. It is a Mexican style motel with a nice courtyard where you can park your car just outside your room. We have no clue where we are. We have no maps and rely solely on the road signs to get to our destination. There was no restaurant in the hotel so we walked a couple of blocks to find a restaurant (Candiles). The food was okay. I can’t wait to cook my own meals. I don’t know what street we’re on but it is lined with car dealerships, Chrysler, Ford, Honda etc. It will be an early evening tonight as we drove almost 9 hours today. By the way, the duck tape on Bill’s convertible top is holding good so far, in spite of the various precipitations that we have gone through (snow, rain, sun).

November 29,2008-Day 7

We decided to wake up at 6 am today to be on the road at 7 am so we could be in Bucerias by evening tonight. I don’t want to spend another night in a motel. We went to the nearest Pemex gas station, filled up and got our coffee, muffins, bananas and sandwiches. I told myself that I am not eating another ham and cheese sandwich for a very long time. We headed south on the toll road to Culiacan which is about 360 km and hope that the bypass would take us to Mazatlan. Then we saw a sign to Mazatlan halfway to Culiacan on the freeway. We paid another toll fee which up to this point is approaching to $100 since we started using the toll highways past Hermosillo. We reached the city limits of Mazatlan at around 2 pm and we estimated that we would be in Tepic at around 5 pm. We are so determined to reach Tepic that we decided not to stop for lunch and just eat sandwiches from the gas station all the way. The toll highway to Mazatlan is great but it was almost 3 hours until we see another gas station. Same as from Mazatlan to Tepic. We were always worried about Bill because he is driving a Mustang towing a cargo trailer. He burns twice as much gas as our economical Hyundai Tucson. When we finally reached Tepic, I was elated because I know that we are 2 hours away from Bucerias, Nayarit. But it took us over 3 hours because of the winding highway down the coast and we were following a big truck which backed up the traffic for kilometers behind. The highway is one lane each direction so passing is almost a death wish. But a few people did it. I told John to stay put because I didn’t drive this far for 7 days without seeing Casa Artiste. We arrived in Bucerias at 9 pm after almost 13 hours of driving. I was numbed and so tired that I don’t know what to feel. When we entered the gate, I saw the pool and all the Christmas lights and blown up Santa and Snowman on the grassy grounds. It was like Disneyland. And there behind the pool is Casa Artiste, just like in the picture with its cupola shining from the moonlight. I thanked God that we arrived safely and ran inside the house just like a kid. I raced through downstairs, all the rooms, patio, upstairs, more rooms, toilets, kitchens, balconies. I’m home!

PS. There was no food at the house and we are so famished so I walked to the 7 Eleven (OXXO) to get bread, ham, eggs, milk and can of soup. I refused to eat the ham and bread. I had boiled egg and soup.

On the road again......

2008-11-10T22:44:00.000-08:00

November 4, 2008

Hello Everyone,

I want to start this email by congratulating the American people for their victory this last election. What happened was unprecedented. It is a historic moment that many of us can be proud of many years from now. Someday, I can tell my grandchildren that I watched this piece of history unfolded right in my living room while I sipped a glass of pinot noir. Awesome!

I’m going to celebrate a milestone birthday this month and it got me thinking of where my life is going and what do I want to do when I grow up. Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is I’m driving down to Puerto Vallarta towards the end of this month. I am really excited with my upcoming trip not only to see old friends but to finally see the finished house which I called “Casa Artiste”. There are some pictures posted on the blog. Please email me for the rates and more pictures. I will be doing a blog of our driving adventure. We will go through Reno, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Nogales, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. Please visit my blog at www.blogspot.com/armigrano as I will not be able to send emails while I’m on the road.

Finally, Christmas season is just around the corner so I have a great gift idea or stocking stuffer for your friends and loved ones. Please go to my site at http://www.armigrano.com/ and click my cd called “Holiday Party”. It will take you to the CD Baby site and you can purchase this beautiful cd for your friends and loved ones. Because I’m feeling generous, there is a 10% discount if you are buying more than one copy. I would very much appreciate it if you could write a review of the album. Just click on www.cdbaby.com/cd/armigrano4 and it will take you to the page. You can write anything, good or bad, a few words or a full page review. I’ll take it.

There are some exciting gigs coming up and I will keep you posted through my blog. I will try to send one more email before I go, hopefully with the final gig schedule. Take care everyone and keep swingin’.

Luv,
Armi

Old Friends, New Friends

2008-09-07T23:21:00.000-07:00

September 7, 2008

Dear Everyone,

It was a beautiful day today and we had a wonderful brunch hosted by our good friends Ann and Bruce. I was sipping tea (in a beautiful teacup embossed with pink roses) while admiring the beautiful flowers in their garden.

Thank you for coming to Rossini’s last weekend. It was a very enjoyable evening with friends whom I have not seen for almost a year. The Bob York Trio was awesome and we made beautiful music together. It was a lot of fun!

This Sunday, September 14, I will be appearing at the Jazz Vespers in St. Andrew Wesley United Church located on Burrard and Nelson. Show is between 4 to 5 pm and there is free parking underground. I am quite honored to be in the company of Miles Black on piano, Nino DiPasquale on drums and Dave Guiney on bass. It will be a fabulous set! I will be performing most of Miles’ arrangement for this show. Entrance is by donation. So please mark this date on your calendar and please bring your friends.

It was nice to see old friends from Vancouver again especially Cecile who celebrated her birthday that night. Yes, it was a treat to see the gang and my “survivor sisters”. Cecile, Marissa and I have battled hard to beat cancer and we are all feeling great! Thank you very much!

Arlene and Richard were there. (Remember Arlene? We got trapped in the elevator). Yes, she has recovered from our traumatic experience. And how can I forget Brian, Dianne and Maureen (my favorite audience).

This past week was about connecting with old friends. We spent time with our friends Mike and Marilyn from Minnesota and we toured them around Vancouver and the surrounding areas. That was quite a pleasant experience. It reminded us of how beautiful this city. Sometimes we take these blessings for granted.

It’s going to be sunny and warm this coming week so enjoy and see you soon!
Thank you for your support.

Luv,
Armi

Summertime and the livin' is easy.....

2008-08-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

August 19, 2008

Dear Everyone,

Summer is almost over and it seems that the brief heat wave we had has lost its steam. Thank you to all who came at the Cellar Jazz Club. We had a great time and the music was superb. As usual, the band was fabulous led by Miles Black on piano, Gabriella Ciurcovich on bass and Nino de Pasquale on drums.
Next week, August 29 and 30, I will be performing at Rossini’s in Kitsilano. This is my first gig this year at Rossini’s (since I’ve been away the first half of the year). So please drop by, have dinner or a couple of drinks. Bob York Trio will be backing me up and I m sure you'll have an enjoyable evening with us. My set starts at 8:45 till about midnight. For reservation, please call 604-737-8080.
Talking about Bob, we were at his “Do Nothing Cozy Cove” in Belcarra and we had a lovely afternoon devouring our picnic lunch, swimming (ocean) and soaking in the hot tub (salt water) and then climbing 150 steps of stairs. The tram is a work in progress right now, so if you have problem with your breathing, stay on the dock. The Indian Arm (Burrard Inlet) was so busy with kayakers, canoers, boaters, swimmers. It felt like we were sitting on Robson Street people watching. Thank you to Bob and Ingrid for a wonderful time.
Yesterday, my friend Arlene and I got stuck for over an hour in an elevator on the 8th floor of her condo building. This is one of the most dreadful things that could happen to you especially if you’re afraid of heights (Arlene) and claustrophobic (me). It was hot and waiting for help took forever (it seemed). We kept our sense of humour telling each other’s stories. It got so hot that we tried to imagine that we were in an igloo. When that didn’t work we tried to relax by sitting (doing a yoga pose) which also did not work because Arlene started banging the door and pressing the bell 10 times. When they plucked us out of there, it felt like being recued from a disaster zone.
Keep cool everyone. Thank you for your support and see you at the gigs. Hasta Pronto! .....Armi

luv,

Armi

Guadalajara, Mexico to Courtenay,BC

2008-07-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful trip to Guadalajara, Mexico about 2 weeks ago (again). The weather was mild and rainy. It is the second largest city and the cultural centre of Mexico. There is so much to see, beautiful churches, paintings, murals, sculptures, mariachi bands and all the shops of talented artists. There are two “districts” which are noted for shopping and arts and crafts of various designers, they are Tlaquepaque and Tonala. My head was spinning just browsing around and the price!!! Wow! I just recently learned that Guadalajara is a “shoe heaven”. One street was lined with several blocks of shoe stores. Guess how many pairs I bought?

We had a great show in sunny Courtenay,BC last weekend and it was a nice reunion with the Viva Jazz trio and some great musicians from the island. I would like to thank Bill Street (drums), Gerry Palken (keys), James Lithgow(bass), Dan Craven(sax), Dave Stewart(trumpet), The Elk’s Club and Georgia Straight Jazz Society. Everyone had a fun evening and the audience was so appreciative and very supportive. Thank you so much.

I’m back in Vancouver again so please don’t forget to see me at the

Cellar Jazz Club on August 7, 7:30 pm with Miles Black on piano, Gabriella Ciurcovich on bass and Nino DiPasquale on drums. There is a $10 cover charge,so please call 604-738-1959 for reservation.

I will also be appearing at the St. Andrew’s Jazz Vespers on September 14 at 4 pm with Miles Black Trio.

See you at the gig and enjoy the long awaited summer!

Sincerely,

Armi Grano

Happy Canada Day!

2008-07-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day! I celebrated it by wearing my red shirt and hat and a hearty brunch with my family at the Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. It is a beautiful warm day and everyone is out enjoying this special day except those trapped with the 7 hour closure of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge. So, my daughter and her husband was stranded in North Vancouver and the brunch turned into a nice drive and stroll in Deep Cove, then back to my place for an afternoon nap, dinner and a movie. This was the best day! It’s the simple things that make people happy.

The various music festivals have already started in Vancouver so please try to catch some acts in town. Just a short reminder that I will be performing:

July 18, 9 pm – Georgia Straight Jazz Festival
Elk’s Club, Courtney, BC
With the Viva Jazz Trio plus Dan Craven on Sax
Tickets and Info – www.georgiastraightjazz.com
This will be a fun event with outdoor live jazz throughout the day! See you there.

August 7, 8 pm – Cellar Jazz Club
With Miles Black Trio
3611 West Broadway, Vancouver
Cover: $10
Reservation: 604-738-1959
You can’t miss this show!

See you at the gigs and keep cool!

Sincerely,
Armi Grano

I'm Back!!!

2008-05-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

It’s nice to be back in beautiful Vancouver. I forgot how stunning this city looks especially on a bright sunny day. I have been in town for a few weeks now, but the tax deadline and endless mail and paper work kept me busy. I was a little sad when I came back because it snowed the next weekend and that is not a good welcome coming from a sunny place like Puerto Vallarta.

What a great musical and personal experience I had in Mexico! I especially enjoyed my trip to Guadalajara. It is great centre of culture and historical architecture. I was there for Easter to escape the big crowd who flocked to the seaside towns during this holiday. We stayed with my friend Joanna’s beautiful restored house just blocks from the historic centre. We walked non stop and had a blast at Tlaquepaque and Tonala. I will make it a point to stay and visit Ajijic and Lake Chapala next time.

I have a new site, it is my blog spot. Thanks to the hard work of my talented daughter, Cecily, I can write all my (mis)adventures and all of you can be a part of it by subscribing. It is still under construction but feel free to check it out at http://armigranomusic.blogspot.com/ . I would appreciate any feedback or anything you want included.

I plan to write about my music news, my daily experiences, commentaries on various topics, my past experiences in little snapshots and lots of pictures. How cool is this…..

Back to my music, this is a little blurb of my upcoming gigs, so please check out the side bar.

Thank you for all your support, comments and encouragement. I feel that the most rewarding part of my singing is the people I meet. It seems like my family keeps getting bigger and bigger. Take care and enjoy life!

Sincerely,

Armi Grano

www.armigrano.com

Welcome to my Blog!

2008-05-21T20:29:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone! Thank you for visiting my blog!