Backmarket, a high-end refurbished smartphones online marketplace, is on a mission to do away with this. They hold a view that a phone can go for a long period with adequate care, much more than people believe. Here in this article, we will discover Backmarket’s secrets for making sure your phone lasts forever, or at least for a very long time.

• Buy Refurbished: The first step to prolong your phone’s life is to buy a refurbished phone. At their core, refurbished phones are phones that have been returned to the manufacturer or retailer, then inspected, repaired, and repackaged. Backmarket is a shop where you can buy refurbished phones from all the leading brands at a price much lower than a brand-new device.
• Invest in a Good Case: A great case will help ensure your phone is safe from drops, scratches, or other routine mishaps. Backmarket provides a diversified range of cases to fit everyone’s taste and wallet.
• Keep Your Software Up to Date: The regular software updates frequently include security patches and bug fixes and may consequently improve the performance of your phone. Make sure that you install the updates as soon as they are released.
• Don’t Overload Your Storage: If your phone’s memory runs out, it may cause slowness. Delete photos, videos, and apps that you no longer use from time to time.
• Be Mindful of Your Battery: Some of the ways you can improve the battery life of your phone include reducing screen brightness, closing unused apps, and avoiding extreme temperatures.
• Get it Repaired: When your phone breaks down, don’t be dejected. Backmarket repair includes fixing everyday phone issues. It usually saves your money and is more green to get your phone fixed rather than buying a new one.

Just Safeguard It

To prolong the life of your phone, one of the easiest and most effective things you can do is simply to protect it. However, we don’t mean safeguarding it in a way that it wouldn’t be harmed in our daily lives.

• Invest in a good quality phone case that could protect your phone against random drops and screen glitches.
• You can select from Backmarket’s diverse collection of cases and screen protectors.

Keep Your Cool

One of the tricks to make your phone stay with you for eternity is to keep it cool. Extreme temperatures can influence your phone’s internal components and performance negatively

• Keep your phone away from direct sunlight or extreme heat.
• Keep your phone in a cool and shaded place and do not use a case that traps the heat.
• When you charge your phone, make sure you do it in a cool place and try not to use it while it is charging.

Dry It Off

We all know, in particular, that horrible moment of dropping our phone in the water. The water can destroy the phone.

• If your phone falls in the water, turn it off right away, take it out of the water, and pat it dry with a towel.
• Additionally, putting an uncooked bag of rice in the area will help to absorb any residual moisture.
• If your phone has incurred water damage, Backmarket can possibly recover it.

Dust Off Your Devices

Another critical element of owning a phone that is everlasting is taking good care of the device. With time, your phone may get covered with dust and dirt, which can affect the way it operates.

• Clean your phone with a damp microfiber cloth frequently.
• Use 70% isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol wipes or disinfecting wipes to clean the phone and its case.
• Try to avoid using abrasive substances or harsh chemical products.
• Clean the ports of your phone by using toothbrush or soft-bristled brush.

Charge Your Phone in Compliance with Recommended Instruction

Contrary to the commonly held belief, overcharging your phone to 100% may turn out to be detrimental to the battery life as well.

• The best interval for battery conservation is from 20% to 80%.
• Many smartphones have inbuilt optimized charging features nowadays.
• Do not let the battery of your device drain down completely.
• Utilize options such as “Optimized Charging” on iPhones, or battery-saving apps on Android devices.

Regulate the Power Consumption of Your Phone

We’ve all faced: low battery notification. Here are some ways to make it less frequent.

• Update the apps and the operating system to their latest releases.
• One suggestion is to use airplane mode or even switch your phone off when not in use.
• Lower the screen brightness and avoid animated backgrounds.
• Use night mode when the sun has set.
• Avoid using vibration mode.

In so doing, you are able to keep your phone in good condition for as long as possible. This will save you money, contribute to less e-waste, and will help you be more conscientious. As you can see, small amounts of care make a big difference!

Backmarket also provides a warranty on all the refurbished models, which means that the device you buy has been properly tested and is in good condition. Also, there are different materials on their website that you can use to build your smartphone care knowledge.

Therefore, before you dispose of your old mobile device in a landfill, make the planet a better place by giving life to your device with Backmarket.Through some attention and the assistance of Backmarket’s expertise, you can extend the useful life of your phone longer than you expect. At the end of the day, you don’t need to upgrade if you can be comfortable using the one you currently have.

The post Phone on Life Support? Backmarket’s Tips to Bring It Back from the Brink appeared first on TripALoud.

(CNN) — Air travelers to and from the City by the Bay will now experience water in new ways.

What the ban includes

Purified water, carbonated or sparkling water, mineral water and electrolyte-enhanced water are all officially banned. This means airport vendors, including vending machines, can no longer sell or provide free bottled water in a plastic bottle, a sealed box, can or other container intended primarily for single-service use and having a capacity of 1 liter or less.

Critics may wonder if the new water-bottle ban is truly green or just greenwashing — falsely conveying that environmental responsibility has been factored into its operations. After all, the initiative does not apply to bottles of flavored drinks, such as soda, iced tea, coffee and juice.

Others, though, see the step-by-step progress made by SFO, the code for the city’s airport. Earlier this year, for instance, the airport transitioned away from single-use plastic food-service ware and utensils.

Annually, SFO generates more than 28 million pounds of waste, including about 10,000 water bottles sold daily — amounting to nearly 4 million each year, according to the airport. Consider, too, that scientists estimate a single plastic bottle takes anywhere from 450 to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

And, just as Mother Earth is finding it difficult to process all this plastic, our human bodies may be experiencing the same problem.

Banning plastics could improve your health

If bottled water (and not tap) is our only source of hydration, annual plastic particle intake via drinking water is estimated to be approximately 75,000 for boys, 127,000 for men, 64,000 for girls and 93,000 for women, the researchers noted.

CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji contributed to this report.

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(CNN) — To Matthew Adams, Ansel Adams was simply his grandpa.

“He was definitely a part of our lives, but I actually didn’t really grasp his national importance until after he had passed away” in 1984, said Adams, who was in high school at the time.

“He was Grandpa Ansel,” said Adams, 52. “I would have loved to have sat down over a beer with him (as an adult).”

His great-grandparents, Harry and Anne Best, first launched it as a summer gallery inside a tent. It has been located inside Yosemite National Park in one form or another since 1902. Their daughter, Virginia Best, married Ansel Adams in 1928. Raised at Yosemite, she was an avid climber and environmentalist and the first female board member of the Sierra Club.

Ansel Adams’ latest book will be released on October 29.

The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

Like the landscape painters and conservationists before him, Ansel Adams’ photographs — showing Yosemite in all its glory — have been instrumental in protecting this national park.

Ansel Adams’ latest book features a sequence of photographs that he selected before his death but are being published in this sequence in book form for the first time. The book includes a foreword by President Barack Obama’s chief official White House photographer, Pete Souza, and an essay by Adams’ darkroom assistant.

When asked, Matthew Adams, who has been involved in the family business most of his life, doesn’t pick favorites.

“What I’ve told people in the past is my experience and familiarity with Ansel’s work on a much broader basis has enabled me to see nuances in some photographs that other people overlook because they are looking for an icon,” he says. With some of his iconic pictures, “you need to look into them a little bit more to start to appreciate them.”

So he chose 10 photographs to share a range of Ansel Adams’ work. With some of his world-famous choices, he shares their hidden depths. Other choices are less well-known but also tell a story about Adams’ eye and technique.

‘Clearing Winter Storm’ (c. 1937)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“It is one of Ansel’s masterpieces, and simply stunning,” says Matthew Adams. “There are so many nuances in the image that people inherently grasp, and I think it is as popular as it is because it speaks to something that’s more primordial, more in the core of the human than something that’s more superficial that some people will appreciate and others won’t. I don’t know anybody that will look at it and say, ‘I’m not interested.'”

‘Fir Forest in Snow, Wawona Road’ (c. 1948)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“This is a relatively unknown image, but one to me that brings to mind the serenity, stillness and quiet that one can find on a winter excursion,” Matthew Adams says. “There is a crispness of the trees in the forest, plus the tree center in the distance is not dominant, but leads the viewer into the center of that winter wonderland.”

“It also shows the quality of the printing of the book. It’s super sharp,” he says. “Ansel was always very careful about how his images were published and reproduced … A little variation can turn a picture off.”

Adams created a trust and strict guidelines on how his work could be shown and reproduced. “We in the family and the trust have been very careful to maintain those requirements as these things are produced.”

‘Lodgepole Pines, Lyell Fork of the Merced River’ (1921)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

At the time Adams took this picture, in 1921, photography was not considered a fine art, says Matthew Adams. Most artistic photographers were trying to make photographs look like paintings, as Adams did at the time. “Later Ansel rebelled against the Pictorialists (as the movement was called) completely because his thought was crisp, sharp, and using the camera for what it’s designed to do.”

“It’s an interesting one, because it shows the light in the trees has this magical feeling, and it’s an interesting photograph from both a historic standpoint and an emotional perspective,” he says. “Ansel was able to create that magical feeling at age 19 in that photograph, and it exemplifies the range of what he was able to do as an artist.”

Lyell Fork is a special place, “and it takes two days to get in there by any method,” he says. “There are still places (like Lyell Fork) where you can’t get there very easily.”

‘Half Dome, Evening, From Olmsted Point’ (c. 1959)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“This photograph of the last light on Half Dome is magical,” says Matthew Adams. “The high country of Yosemite and the Sierra is unlike anything else I have experienced. Most people pass through, and miss the dawn and last light. This soft light in a hard and unforgiving environment opens your eyes to the delicacy and peace of the environment.”

“It’s one that I’ve always enjoyed, and I don’t know if it’s because of the photograph itself or the experience I associate to it. (Adams) had had that experience of being up in the high country for the last light and being in awe really comes through. It’s a special, beautiful experience to be up there.”

‘Mount Ansel Adams, Lyell Fork of the Merced River’ (c. 1935)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“This is maybe 100 yards from the place where he took the (Lodgepole Pines, Lyell Fork of the Merced River) photograph,” says Matthew Adams.

“My first visit to this site was a couple of years after Ansel passed. The whole valley is both serene and spectacular. From the peak of Mount Ansel Adams, you can see a chain of lakes spread below you like a necklace of sapphires.”

‘Cathedral Rocks’ (c. 1949)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“The lower end of Yosemite Valley is dominated by El Capitan, and rightly so,” he says.

“It is a massive granite face, the largest expanse of exposed granite cliff in the world. The other side of the valley, however, has this beautiful feature of Cathedral Rocks and Spires. This dramatic springtime photograph reminds visitors to take their time and keep their eyes open all around them, as one dramatic vista can make you miss another.”

Adams didn’t print many copies of this photograph, which is typically seen as a smaller 8 inch x 10 inch image, Matthew Adams says.

When they’ve tried printing larger reproductions, the mist disappears as it gets bigger.

“It’s one of the special edition photographs as a gel and silver print, printed by Alan Ross (Adams’ assistant, who wrote a foreword to the new book),” says Matthew Adams. “It lends itself to a smaller size.”

‘Tenaya Lake, Mount Conness’ (c. 1946)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“Tenaya Lake is one of the true jewels of the Sierra Nevada,” Adams says.

“Nestled between rolling domes and steep escarpments of granite, the pristine waters invite the weary and intrepid. The first vista of the lake from the west comes at Olmstead Point, when the vibrant blue of the sky is reflected in the lake and the bright granite face of Mount Conness in the distant background shines like a beacon, guiding you to a wonderland of polished granite, lush meadows, rushing rivers, and serene lakes.

“It’s really remarkable country, and we’re really fortunate it’s preserved for us and for future generations. The people and the mentality that set it aside 100 years ago need to be commended.”

‘Half Dome, Merced River, Winter’ (c.1938)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“Just about everybody who goes to Yosemite with a camera takes that picture. It makes me look every time. I will speed into the valley, but once I get to the valley I will slow down and enjoy the view.”

‘Bridalveil Fall’ (c. 1927)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“Bridalveil Fall is a spectacular early photograph of Ansel’s, and surprisingly hard to find as an original photograph,” says Matthew Adams.

“That may be because those who own it simply don’t want to part with it. Now, and for the next two years, the Yosemite Conservancy and the National Park Service are engaged in a major project to improve the trail access and restroom facilities at Bridalveil Fall, and we are supporting the effort through a donation of 10% of our proceeds from the sale of Bridalveil Fall Modern Replica reproduction.”

“As an aside, it’s commonly dated 1927,” but Matthew Adams is doubtful of that date. “We know Ansel was horrible with negative dates. It’s one of the things he didn’t make note of. He didn’t think was that important. Nowadays it’s considered very important.”

“Ansel was doing his first portfolio then, and I think he would have included it. It’s a glass plate negative, which he stopped using in 1929. Ansel’s first portfolio included many photographs from early 1927. It just surprises me that he would not have included this one. It’s not evidence, so it’s an aside, pure speculation.”

‘Merced River, Cliffs of Cathedral Rocks, Autumn’ (c. 1939)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“The frontispiece of the new book is a wonderfully abstract image,” says Matthew Adams. “I think it exemplifies, in a way, the range of Ansel’s work. Far from the dramatic grand landscapes and intimate details that people typically associate with him, this image really provides a taste of Ansel’s use of the natural scene to, as he would put it, ‘extract’ a feeling. Ansel printed this image very differently over the years. Each version has its own distinctive mood.”

“Ansel made a portfolio of Yosemite Valley in 1960, and this image was included in that portfolio.”

It’s not the only way this photograph has been seen. “Ansel printed it in at least three distinct manners. Some photos are brighter and create a different feel. This one is a little bit more moody. They’re all wonderful. It’s interesting because different people gravitate to different images.”

‘Moon and Half Dome’ (c. 1960)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“In many people’s minds, when you say ‘Yosemite National Park,’ they think ‘Moon and Half Dome.’ It has entered the collective consciousness. The portrait focuses tightly on Half Dome, the cliff to the left is present only as a boundary, and the moon provides both scale and an otherworldly symbol of wild and unknown. It is both familiar and majestic, and is easily one of Ansel’s most known and recognized photographs.”

‘Sequoia Roots’ (c. 1950)

Photograph by Ansel Adams/The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

“This is a fantastic image on many levels. By itself, it is a beautiful photograph of a beautiful object, an abstract composition of a familiar subject. I also enjoy it for the lack of scale. It’s hard to imagine, but the visible frame is approximately 6 feet by 4 feet. The Giant Sequoias are massive, and a remarkable testament to the diversity of nature.”

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(CNN) — Five esteemed women chefs and restaurateurs — four at present and one with a rich industry history — sat down in Alice Waters’ Berkeley kitchen to eat and drink and discuss their journeys as females in an industry once fully dominated by men.

Alice Waters of the renowned Chez Panisse opened her home to friends and fellow food comrades from across San Francisco’s Bay Area: Dominique Crenn, Tanya Holland, Gabriela Cámara and Cecilia Chiang.

While there was plenty of laughter and an easy rapport among the women around Waters’ table, the conversation was not all light and breezy — in spite of the pale, pink rosé making the rounds.

Running and owning a restaurant is, of course, a lot about the food on the table — where that food comes from, what dishes it inspires, how it’s presented to the diner — but it’s not the whole story.

Cámara, chef/owner of Contramar and Cala, calls San Francisco a generous society and views the role of restaurateur through the hospitality lens: “What you’re doing is taking care of people.”

“Female leadership! I think that’s the future,” Holland declares.

No one at the table challenges the statement.

Watch the full Family Meal: San Francisco documentary above for the chefs’ stories.

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(CNN) — Will it be cioppino, chop suey or a simply steamed Dungeness crab with butter, lemon and a hunk of sourdough bread?

With so many tempting specialties to choose from — many reflecting diverse immigrant communities — it’s hard to decide where a culinary journey through San Francisco should begin and what exactly it needs to include.

Some locals say that creamy clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl is a must. Others declare it sacrilegious to leave town without trying a Mission burrito, an oversized version of the Mexican staple wrapped in foil which, supposedly, was born in the city’s Mission Hill neighborhood in the 1960s.

With the sheer number of restaurants constantly opening in the Bay Area, it’s hard for even the most devoted food fans to keep up.

But for those looking for a taste — literally — of some of the best of what the city has to offer, the following restaurants from powerhouse chefs Gabriela Cámara, Alice Waters, Dominique Crenn and Tanya Holland are guaranteed hits. (If only Cecilia Chiang’s Mandarin was still open: That iconic establishment would for sure be on the must-eats list of the Bay area.)

Read on for where to eat in the Bay area now:

Cala

Not meant to be a Contramar replica, Cala, set in an airy, industrial space in Hayes Valley, is pescatarian heavy and features fresh, simple dishes bursting with flavor.

Courtesy Alice Yu

Mexican chef Gabriela Cámara already had a cult following for her seafood-forward restaurant, Contramar, in her hometown of Mexico City, and it didn’t take long for her to win more devoted fans after her Stateside debut in 2015 with Cala.

Although it’s not meant to be a Contramar replica, the eatery, set in an airy, industrial space in Hayes Valley, is pescatarian heavy and features fresh, simple dishes bursting with flavor. Cámara loves the access she has to the area’s bounty of seasonal produce, and her menu changes often based on the best ingredients she can get her hands on.

The tempting possibilities could include Dungeness crab tostadas with celery root and habanero and kampachi ceviche with green tomato and ginger.

Chez Panisse

It’s no exaggeration to say that Alice Waters is among the most iconic chefs in the United States and has influenced the way Americans eat ever since she opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1971.

Farm-to-table dining might be a ubiquitous trend today, but Waters is the one who started the movement of enjoying dishes that show off the prime produce, meat, poultry and seafood of the moment.

Close to a half-century later, she continues to be ever-relevant and has shaped the cooking philosophies of innumerable chefs, including Cámara.

Her eatery’s downstairs space, simply called The Restaurant and open for dinner only, has a daily changing three- to four-course menu. Up a flight of stairs, The Café is more affordable and serves an a la carte menu that changes twice a day.

Atelier Crenn

Dominique Crenn’s high-end but not overly formal restaurant is small and has a multicourse daily changing menu that no longer includes meat.

Courtesy Alice Yu

French chef Dominique Crenn opened the three Michelin-star Atelier Crenn in 2011 with the idea of using seasonal seafood and vegetables to recreate Bay Area versions of dishes inspired by her native Brittany.

That might mean Dungeness crab with seaweed or a black cod with coastal greens one evening and abalone with cabbage on another.

At $345 a person for the standard tasting, inclusive of service but without wine, a meal at Crenn’s namesake restaurant is a splurge.

However, Crenn’s two other spots — Petit Crenn in Hayes Valley and Bar Crenn just next door — are far more budget-conscious propositions and every bit as delicious.

Brown Sugar Kitchen

Brown Sugar Kitchen, a relaxed, 4,000 square-foot spot in Oakland features a menu inspired by French cuisine and soul food classics.

Courtesy of Cesar Rubio

Tanya Holland may have formally learned to cook at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, but she says that her desire to be a chef started as a child when she was living in Rochester, New York, and spent time in the kitchen making soul food classics for her family and friends.

Brown Sugar Kitchen, a relaxed, 4,000 square-foot spot in Oakland that recently reopened in a new location, features a menu inspired by this cuisine.

Look for dishes such as smoked chicken and shrimp gumbo, buttery, flaky biscuits with blackberry jam, black-eyed pea salad and crispy fried chicken with a cornmeal waffle that locals and tourists line up to try.

Holland’s stick-to your rib interpretations are comforting and generous on the portions. The San Francisco outpost, in the Ferry Building, is a walk-up counter.

Nightbird

Having honed her cooking chops in the kitchens of some of the Bay Area’s top restaurants, including the three Michelin-starred Manresa and the high-end Italian boite Acquerello, Kim Alter is passionate about showing off Californian ingredients in her cooking. As the chef and co-owner of the upscale Nightbird, which she opened in 2016 in Hayes Valley, she has the chance to do just that.

The menu, as its site describes, “celebrates the best of California’s diverse cultures and landscape.”

The choices change regularly and feature exquisite looking and colorful dishes — white asparagus with caviar, for example. There’s even a vegetarian menu that’s sumptuous enough to satisfy omnivores. Alter also owns the Linden Room, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar connected to the restaurant and the perfect spot to imbibe before or after your meal.

Che Fico Alimentari

Che Fico’s warm atmosphere is made for sharing a table full of Italian delights: Italian cheeses, salumi, antipasti, and as with the original restaurant upstairs, some of the tastiest pastas in town.

Albert Law

Inspired by the wine bars of Rome, Che Fico Alimentari is the latest hotspot from the gifted trio behind Che Fico, Chef David Nayfeld, Chef Angela Pinkerton and Matt Brewer.

The warm atmosphere is made for sharing, and made even this emphatic anti-sharer change her tune about a table full of Italian delights: Italian cheeses, salumi, antipasti, and as with the original restaurant upstairs, some of the tastiest pastas in town.

There’s also a takeout counter, so if you can’t manage to score a table, you can stock your pantry with a selection of olive oils, dried pastas and Italian flour.

Frances

Named after Chef Melissa Perello’s grandmother, Frances offers a daily-changing menu of elevated classics such as roasted duck breast with white beans and fresh herbs.

Courtesy Frances

Chef and owner Melissa Perello’s intimate 36-seat restaurant in the Castro neighborhood has been a hot ticket reservation ever since she opened it in 2009. Named after her grandmother, it offers a daily-changing menu of elevated classics such as a comforting bavette steak with an elegant caper salsa verde and a roasted artichoke.

Perello has deep relationships with many local farmers, and they visit Frances each morning with the best bounty of the day. Most of her staff here, as well as at her other more high-end restaurant, Octavia, are women who have been with her since day one.

Come here for a date night, with your kids or with a group of friends. Everyone is welcomed with warmth and smiles.

The post Where to eat in the San Francisco Bay Area now appeared first on TripALoud.

San Francisco (CNN) — “You know what goes well with Chinese food?” Cecilia Chiang asked as the small group gathered around to marvel at the sweet-smelling red pork simmering in a pot on her stove. The meat had begun to caramelize, its lovely aroma acting like a gentle (and silent) dinner bell.

“What’s that?” we asked.

Cecilia Chiang, 100, still has brag-worthy kitchen skills — and a nose that tells her when a dish is ready.

Courtesy Alice Yu

As we stood in the beloved culinary figure’s San Francisco kitchen, Chiang swiftly produced bottles of ice-cold Sapporo. As if watching the legend herself cook and listening to her share decades worth of rich stories weren’t enough, now there was cold beer.

So many firsts

Cecilia Chiang is widely credited with bringing real Chinese food to America.

Soraya Matos

Chiang is famous, a celebrity chef before celebrity chefs were a thing. And her kitchen skills — thanks to being invited to her table to enjoy red-cooked pork — remain intact; Chiang’s definitely still got it.

The owner, chef and mastermind behind the game-changing San Francisco institution, the Mandarin, Chiang is widely credited with bringing real Chinese food to America.

The 50-seat restaurant, opened in 1961 on Polk Street and later occupying a much larger space in Ghirardelli Square, wasn’t like other Chinese restaurants.

Its dissonance was purposeful.

But this is exactly what Chiang wanted to avoid. In fact, her early brushes with Chinese food in America had left her unimpressed and determined to show San Francisco what Chinese food was really like.

Not only was Chiang a woman trying to run a restaurant in a male-dominated industry, but she was also attempting to educate diners. Changing people’s minds was complicated. And, Chiang, who has been retired some 20 years, says there is still not a single restaurant comparable to the Mandarin.

Going high-brow

Chiang still loves going out to eat and talking about food with other industry trailblazers.

Soraya Matos

Chiang, who was born near Shanghai, was from an upper-class Chinese family. Cecilia married well — her husband was a diplomat in Japan. She acknowledges money wasn’t a concern, but she faced other, perhaps more hard-won obstacles.

Convincing the dining public that Chinese food didn’t have to be Thursday’s cheap take-out option, Chiang had her work cut out for her.

“Most ABC, American-born Chinese, even they didn’t know [about Chinese food],” Chiang explained. Never having been to China, this group also needed to be educated on the difference.

It wasn’t enough to present unfamiliar dishes to customers of the Mandarin. Chiang also insisted on showing them just how Chinese food could be elevated.

The restaurant’s wine list was part of her strategy. Chiang says she wanted to upgrade the Chinese dining experience. To do this, she also needed to be hyperaware of aesthetics.

Chiang has a stack of old restaurant mementos, including marked-up menus in Mandarin, in her San Francisco apartment.

Courtesy Alice Yu

A common misconception about Chinese restaurants at that time (and perhaps even one that persists today to a lesser extent) is that it ought to look a certain way. Chiang remembers people telling her her restaurant didn’t look “like a Chinese restaurant.”

“Why?” she always asked.

“Too clean,” was the typical response.

Chiang’s wearing of a traditional Chinese dress day in and day out was one way she rejected this notion.

A life worth living

Chiang and Alice Waters have been friends for years, and Chiang was excited to join a group of Bay area chefs at Waters’ house for a meal and conversation.

Soraya Matos

Chiang’s ownership of her success is refreshing. She shares a story about food writer Ruth Reichl telling her she wished the Mandarin was still open so she could eat there. And she reminisces about famous regulars who used to fly down via private jet every weekend just to dine at her restaurant.

At 100, Chiang proudly shares these memories, but there’s little sense that she’s living in the past.

“I just enjoy my life. I have a good time. I don’t want to waste my time, especially right now,“ Chiang says.

Food continues to be a recipe for enjoyment. Whether that’s flying to Tulum to eat at Rene Redzepi’s Noma Mexico, a short-lived pop-up Chiang had the privilege of trying, or getting together in the Bay area with industry pal Alice Waters and talking about food endlessly, Chiang hasn’t slowed down much.

And she has some advice for the rest of us: “Have fun … you don’t know [about tomorrow].”

The post Cecilia Chiang, the chef who brought real Chinese food to the USA appeared first on TripALoud.

“For the most part, I think they’re having a party,” she said in response to questions about what the animals have been doing since Yosemite closed on March 20.

Normally this time of year is difficult for animals at Yosemite because there can be “literally walls of cars, stop-and-go traffic or people in the park,” especially in the sort of “urban” Yosemite Valley area.

Katie Patrick, known as Ranger Katie, works with the Human Bear Management Program, mitigating conflicts that arise when you have humans and bears so close together.

“The goal of my position is to have as wild of bears as possible in this park,” she said during her presentation from Cook’s Meadow in Yosemite Valley.

For visitors, that means storing food properly and staying more than 50 yards away from bears.

Bears out and about

Yosemite is home to about 300 to 500 black bears, according to a Yosemite National Park post on Twitter.

“Though there hasn’t been an increase in their population since the park closure,” the post said, “bears have been seen more frequently than usual.”

During the talk on Sunday, Ranger Katie demonstrated some of the equipment used to tag and track bears that seem too habituated to humans. Less than 1% of the bears in the park are tagged, she said.

One viewer on Facebook asked whether visitors have ever been “eaten” by bears at Yosemite.

Fortunately not: No human deaths by black bears have ever been recorded there, park officials posted.

While Yosemite is about the size of Rhode Island, much of the human visitation is concentrated in areas such as Yosemite Valley, which is also a great habitat for bears, Ranger Katie said.

Black bears move around quite a bit every spring foraging for food, Yosemite officials posted during the event, but with fewer people around “bears also seem to be a little more relaxed when they are out in the open, possibly because it is much quieter in the park right now.”

There’s no estimated reopening date for Yosemite yet, park officials said in the Facebook comments.

The post Bears at Yosemite National Park are ‘having a party’ appeared first on TripALoud.

(CNN) — California, lake country?

While known for its Pacific Ocean beaches and chic coastal towns, the Golden State is also home to many pristine lakes and reservoirs where visitors can soak up the sun and cool off.

Shasta Lake

Shasta Lake is located just north of Redding, California.

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Shasta Lake is the largest reservoir in California at 30,000 acres wide. The lake is in Northern California and is a three and a half hour drive from San Francisco. With 370 miles of shoreline, it’s no surprise renting a houseboat is a popular activity.

Depending on their location, visitors can bask in the view of Mt. Shasta, which has snow on its peak year-round. Shasta Dam on the west side of the lake is was built between 1938 and 1945 as part of the Central Valley Project.

Castaic Lake

Castaic Lake is located in the Sierra Pelona Mountains.

Brian Baer/Courtesy of California State Parks, 2019

Castaic Lake is located northeast of Los Angeles, so it is the perfect outdoor escape from the smoggy city. There are two main areas, the Upper and Lower lakes, and each one has its own set of activities.

The Lower lake is reserved for canoeing, non-power boating and swimming from mid-May to mid-September. The Upper lake is where power boats are allowed, along with other activities such as fishing and Jet Skis.

Big Bear Lake

Visitors can hike Gray’s Peak Trail to see sweeping views of the lake.

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Big Bear Lake is another great option for those wanting to take a day trip from Los Angeles. It takes only two hours to get there from downtown Los Angeles. Animal lovers can stop by the Big Bear Alpine Zoo to get an up-close look at the lake’s namesake.

The lake also has many hiking and biking trails along with plenty of fishing spots. Visitors can rent boats and gear at half a dozen marinas around the lake’s edge.

Lake Havasu

California is located on the western side of Lake Havasu.

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Lake Havasu is split along the border of California and Arizona and is an oasis in the desert. It’s a five hour drive from Los Angeles and a two and a half hour drive from Las Vegas. Visitors can fish or go boating on the lake that was formed from the Colorado River.

Lake Havasu City sits on the Arizona side of the lake and has the original London Bridge, which was shipped brick-by-brick from England. They had to number the bricks to reconstruct it correctly, and some of the numbering can still be seen today.

Mono Lake

Tufa formations rise up out of Lake Mono.

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Mono Lake is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains and spans more than 70 miles. It’s a five hour drive from either Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Visitors into fishing should head to a different lake because this body of water does not have any fish. It’s a saline lake, which means that it’s filled with saltwater and is two to three times saltier than the ocean. Limestone formations are also scattered throughout the lake and are called tufa towers.

Clear Lake

Clear Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake located completely inside California.

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Clear Lake is located in the heart of Wine Country and features more than 100 miles of shoreline. Bass fishing is especially popular along with kayaking and boating.

Lake Tahoe

Camp Richardson is along the edge of South Lake Tahoe.

Courtesy Camp Richardson Resort

You didn’t think we’d leave out Lake Tahoe, did you? It straddles the border between California and Nevada and offers a variety of outdoor activities, from kayaking to horseback riding. It’s three and a half hours away from San Francisco and is under an hour drive from Reno, Nevada.

The lake itself is more than 2 million years old, and its deepest point is over a quarter mile to the surface. The lake is into two halves, North and South Lake Tahoe, but both offer their own sets of trails, beaches and water sports — and most importantly, what is also almost past description is its crystal blue waters, mirroring the surrounding mountain peaks.

The post Best lakes in California from Shasta to Big Bear appeared first on TripALoud.

(CNN) — Jenny Leveille is still planning to “chase the powder” this year. In spite of numerous Covid-19 related restrictions at ski resorts around the world, the most avid skiers and riders like Leveille might be able to scale the coronavirus obstacles.

But passion for the sport by itself won’t be enough to power you through the season.

The car as the ‘lodge’

As such, the release reads: “Many resorts will encourage outdoor dining, offer ‘grab and go’ options, and recommend use of personal vehicles as the ‘lodge’ this year.”

Steamboat Springs in Colorado isn’t requiring reservations but lift tickets must be purchased in advance.

Courtesy Steamboat Springs

Chris Linsmayer with Colorado Ski says some resorts in Colorado “are encouraging using the car as a home base.” He says it’s potentially a good place to eat lunch.

But what if you don’t have a car?

Many travelers fly to the ski resort of their choice or as close to it as possible and then rely on shuttle services or shared ride services to take them around town, to the mountain and back to their accommodations.

This year, shuttle service offerings will be reduced or suspended altogether, leaving visitors with hard choices and maybe the added expense of renting a car.

But for those who are able to drive to the mountain, there remains a question of access.

At East Coast resorts (much smaller than their Western counterparts) such as Stowe and Killington, both in Vermont, the walk from the car to the lodge and then back again can be long and awkward. Ski boots were not made for walking.

“It’s a hassle to get kids in and out of skis, boots and clothing to get into the car and then get out on the slopes after the break,” Pham says.

Zermatt, Switzerland, is implementing social distancing guidelines and limiting capacity in all dining areas.

Michael Portmann/Zermatt Tourism

But not all ski towns allow motor vehicles. Zermatt (Switzerland), Oberlech (Austria) and Valmorel (France) are all car-free.

Flexibility is key

Along with the requisite mandatory face mask requirement and social distancing protocols, some resorts are pushing for midweek visitation.

Linsmayer says Colorado ski areas are encouraging guests to visit midweek or at nonpeak times. “We absolutely realize this may not be possible for folks, but if you can, that is the best time to visit a ski area this winter.”

Jenny Leveille, who holds an Ikon pass this year, says she hopes to reach 50 days on the mountain.

Courtesy Jenny Leveille

“There will be no difficulty getting on the mountain during the week, and we do not anticipate overcrowding on the weekend, as we have made the decision to cancel all our events for the season,” explains Leif Williams, vice president of marketing for Hoodoo Ski Area in Oregon.

Of course, a midweek mountain excursion outside the holidays is not possible for everyone.

Leveille’s flexible work schedule coupled with her unique living situation — she lives in her van with her dog — means she can lace up and snowboard during the week, first thing in the morning. She can skip weekends and larger crowds altogether and still rack up days on the mountain.

“When you can ski any day, you don’t like lift lines,” Leveille says.

Pham, on the other hand, who had the Mountain Collective Pass last year, will not be purchasing a pass this year. While he says he’s OK with the reservation system required across many of the California and Colorado resorts he planned to check out, ultimately, he’s not satisfied with the protocols in place at the varying resorts. He says they feel like a reflection of the “piecemeal strategy throughout the country” with states and cities managing the pandemic differently.

Ticket to ride

Reservation or no reservation, passholders will have priority access. Some resorts are doing away with walk-up window sales, putting a hard stop to skiers and riders who wake up to several feet of fresh snow and see an opportunity.

Utah’s upscale Deer Valley Resort will be prioritizing access for season passholders.

Courtesy Deer Valley Resort

With mountains limiting their capacity, securing a spot ahead of time is bound to be crucial.

Deer Valley Resort in Utah will be circumventing overcrowding this season by “prioritizing access for season passholders and will tightly regulate the number of daily lift tickets that will be available by advance purchase only.”

Accordingly, peak season, the week before Christmas and New Year’s, won’t be quite as peak, but it may be more coveted than ever. In the US, long holiday weekends also tend to be equated with crowded slopes.

A spokesperson for Ikon says travelers should book holiday travel now.

“If snow enthusiasts are planning to go skiing for the holidays, I’d strongly encourage them to book their trip now.”

“Based on the destination they select, they should consult the measures announced by the resort (priority access to passholders vs. reservation system, etc.) and closely monitor the situation in that state.”

Aspen, a favorite upscale ski destination among Europeans and US residents, won’t be able to welcome international visitors anytime soon, but travel restrictions haven’t made the area’s holiday pricing any less competitive.

A stay at the four-star Limelight Hotel over Christmas and New Year’s costs over $1,000 a night; a five-star accommodation at The Little Nell has rates listed at more than double that. Meanwhile, The St. Regis Aspen Resort appears to be sold out during peak holiday season.

Planning for the worst

Across the board, ski resorts have been ironing out plans for worst-case scenarios.

The 2019-20 season was cut short abruptly amid the pandemic, leaving passholders bereft and at a financial disadvantage. For many passholders, the purchase only makes sense if you can bank enough days on the mountain; losing months in a season was costly.

Skiers with trips planned in mid-March and beyond this year found themselves scrambling for some kind of recourse. How successful their efforts were varied by pass and by individual resort in some cases.

Ski lifts in Zermatt, the Swiss ski village, will operate at reduced capacity.

Kurt Müller/Zermatt Tourism

Ikon, meanwhile, proffered a discount off the upcoming 2020-21 season and nothing for passholders who saw their season come to a sudden end.

The transparency around refunds and credits may put a few wary skiers at ease, yet plans-of-action for potential Covid-related closures falls short of addressing concerns like Pham’s.

He’s disappointed in the lack of a united approach and says he is worried resorts in his neck of the woods aren’t taking enough precautions. Pham believes skiing in and of itself is low risk because it’s outside, but he continues to express concern over exposure in enclosed areas, including gondolas, hotels and lodges.

Hoping for the best

Families with means may look toward on-mountain houses to avoid contact with strangers. This vrbo offering is located on Eaglepoint Resort in Utah.

Courtesy VRBO

Across the board, the two non-negotiable requirements are now-familiar concepts: Face coverings must be worn at all times, except when actively going down the mountain and actively eating, and social distancing guidelines must be followed — on lift lines, in dining areas, waits for restrooms and more.

Ski lifts will not be filled to capacity as in years past; rather, families or friends traveling together will be seated together. Singles will ride alone or spread out in larger chairlifts and gondolas, such as on the one at Whistler-Blackcomb.

Whistler-Blackcomb’s popular gondola will be reducing capacity in response to Covid-19.

Paul Morrison/Whistler

“With regards to lift transport, we are fortunate in that virtually all of our ski lifts are either gondolas for 10 persons max, chairlifts or drag lifts. This makes it much easier for social distancing because groups and families can remain in their own bubbles,” explains Chamonix Press Officer Claire Burnet. She did not respond to questions about single skiers, who historically have had the advantage of taking a spot on a ski lift or gondola with a nearly complete party for the sake of expediency.

It remains to be seen how new lift protocols will impact the solo traveler, but lines may be longer.

On the other hand, the looming uncertainty around Covid-19 and questions around air travel’s safety might ultimately mean battling crowds is a moot point.

Some skiers, including parents in Pham’s ski group, have decided to skip this season, thanks to the added layer of hassle.

Leveille, however, isn’t bothered by the protocols, many of which won’t apply to her snowboarding lifestyle anyway. She made it through the winter last year, her first living out of her van and admits her focus “was snowboarding and getting in as many days as I could in as many locations as possible.” She managed to clock in at 29 days when the pandemic extinguished the season.

Leveille, who holds an Ikon pass this year, says she hopes to log 50 days on the mountain.

The post How will coronavirus change skiing this season? appeared first on TripALoud.

It’s water — a benign and beautiful waterfall experience known as “firefall.”

So how does ‘firefall’ happen?

The rays of the setting sun create a pinkish-orange hue at firefall in Yosemite on Wednesday, February 24.

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Firefall occurs at Horsetail Fall, which flows over the eastern edge of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, according to the National Park Service.

It’s a small waterfall, and it normally flows only during winter. The Park Service said it’s actually easy to miss.

But on some days during mid- to late February, it might glow an enchanting and magical orange when it’s backlit by sunset. That gives it that lavalike look.

The Park Service says the dazzling effect happens only on evenings with a clear sky when the waterfall is flowing. Even some haze or a bit of cloudiness can ruin the effect. Mother Nature provides no guarantees.

Keeping things pristine

It’s about a 1.5-mile walk each way from the closest parking to the viewpoint near the El Capitan picnic area.

The park is very serious about crowd control and parking in the ecologically sensitive area, which has been trampled and trashed in the past. The website posts explicit instructions on parking and warns violators could be towed.

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