Snow in a Quiet World

The snow is falling like cotton balls from the sky. It's heavy and wet. The layer sitting on top of the grass is soaking into my old running shoes as I stand there in the silence. My feet are wet. But I have to stand there, still, as I wait for my black lab to sniff the ground. 


My old dog is blind and arthritic. She doesn't move very fast and cannot see anything at all. I wonder if the blanket of heavy silence brought on by the snowfall is like the blanket of darkness that is the world my dog lives in. My sweet old lab- she just stands in one spot until it is all sniffed out, then takes a few small stiff steps and sniffs that area. 


I'm not even cold as I watch her. She has such a small world now. My world was small once, and simple. I only required my basic needs to be met. But now I've seen the world, and have vivid, cascading, billowing thoughts rushing through my head all the time. I don't know if these urges make my world complicated or exciting. But I'm enjoying this serene moment just standing here with nothing more to do than walk my dog, leading her a few feet at a time, steering her away from walls and curbs, keeping her on the snowy grass, and just listen to the silence. I stand here in the grey cloud enjoying the heavy atmosphere.  

Budapest's Chain Bridge

Conceived and constructed over 10 years starting in 1839, the Chain Bridge is one of Budapest's best loved points of interest. It was closed for widening in the mid 1910s, and then was destroyed by the Germans in 1945. Only the pillars remained after WWII. Rebuilt in its original image, slightly altered for modern traffic and technical reasons, the Chain Bridge is an image I'll hold dear after our beautiful visit this past fall. 

Souvenirs...Memories

Souvenir is one of my favorite French words. It literally means "remember" or "memory". And it means something different and personal to everyone. For me, the Christmas season is a great time of memories. My husband and I (continuous travelers- for work and for joy) collect an ornament for every destination we visit. It is the most fun thing for us to unpack our memories each year as we hang them on the tree. We laugh for hours and hours as we retell stories of that huge heavy parrot ornament from Barbados, the Santa in a canoe from Maui, the Virgin Mary emblem from her home in Ephesus, Turkey, and all of the cruises, towns and people we have experienced along the way. Then the entire holiday season we can reflect on the meaning of the season, the importance of our time together, and our bond in life and with travel. We love our global adventures. I hope you all have some great memories of your own. Always bring yourself a souvenir to accompany the memories of you travel. Peace!

Bacar: a Tapas Enclave in the Heart of Hong Kong

Tucked neatly along the elevated pedestrian walkways and escalators of Hong Kong's SoHo district is Bacar wine and tapas bar. I was delighted to stop in here for a leisurely Saturday brunch. 

I sat at this table right on the edge of the restaurant so that I could have a good view of the people walking along outside and still be in the restaurant atmosphere inside. It was a sunny cool day, just right for an open-air brunch. Here's the view inside and outside, right from my table:

Inside, the cafe has an elegant feel with a good selection of wine and tapas. But the brunch menu was too good to pass up, so I stayed on that menu. Brunch begins with your choice of bloody mary or prosecco. The prosecco was a soft bubbly start to the meal. The glass was tall and very thin, making the delicate flavors swirl perfectly as you drank. I ordered the artichoke and pancetta quiche with side salad. I loved the crispy, flaky crust surrounding the spiced egg and artichoke center. And when you least expected it, a piece of pancetta would pop with flavor in your mouth. Tropical fruit salad was rich and decadent in comparison to the balsamic dressing on the salad. This was definitely a meal to savor slowly, watching the pedestrians hurry by with their holiday shopping bags. 

A Trip Around The World (Part 4)

In the distance we could already see the skyscrapers of Dubai, Palm Island and The World. We made our descent north of the city, made two right turns and landed to the northwest. This viewpoint put the Burj Khalifa to the front of the aircraft on my side, and it was a sight to see the entire way down final. Later that night we sat outside the Dubai Mall admiring the view of the Burj Khalifa and the dancing water fountains. There were lots of people out to celebrate the 40^th National Day, the anniversary of the UAE’s collaborative government. To celebrate, we took a trip up to the viewing platform of the Burj Khalifa. We waited for our elevator in an interactive room where you could touch the displays and learn about the construction of the building and compare tall buildings from around the world. A group of men and boys danced to traditional music as we waited. We boarded the elevator to the 124^th floor and ascended at 10 m/s. I stepped out into the night air and saw the city lit down below me. It was quiet, and the multitudes of lights made the city stand out in high definition. Viewing devices let you compare daylight, night and historical views of the city. Above, you could see the rest of the tower stretching high above us. Interestingly, the lights let you peer into some of the windows above us, and it looked like there were several floors still unfinished, as occupancy has to be tough in this economic environment.

The next day I took the metro to the Mall of the Emirates. Watching people ski was fun, and a meal of lamb kebobs and lentil soup completed the shopping trip. Of course I was looking for chocolate from UAE. I’m a big chocoholic and it’s fun to experience the local hunt for chocolate. I found a few things to buy for myself and send to some friends. In the evening, we went to Barasti Bar on the Dubai marina. The waiter told us that earlier that day there were 6000 people on the beach there to celebrate National Day. Fortunately, we missed the crowds! After dinner we walked past the Fendi Racing Team’s powerboats. Still trailered, these magnificent, shiny vehicles looked like amazing machines. I just stood there and admired the engineering. They were beautiful.

 I left the next morning after a stop at a little pastry shop. I had an excellent latte and muffin- the perfect comfort food to start me off for another day of travel adventure. There’s nothing better than a smooth (hot!) soy latte and dry oat bran muffin in the morning. Yum. 

Back to Germany! The trip went fast, as we were occupied watching the 747 slowly overtake us, 2000 feet above and .02 mach faster. He slowly joined our airway from the left and then passed us slowly overhead. Contrails from the numbers 1 and 4 engines spun up and inboard between the contrails for numbers 2 and 3 engines. Between that sight above and the beautiful landscape of Iran, Turkey, and Eastern Europe below us, we set down for approach to Cologne in no time.

It was lightly raining, getting cold, and the cloudy darkness hid any view of sunset. Security at the airport was heavier than normal. I couldn’t believe how many police cars I saw patrolling the ramps and entry points. I didn’t know that we were landing in Cologne Bonn the same time that Chancellor Merkel, President Karzai, Secretary of State Clinton and delegates from 80 countries were gathering in Bonn for an Afghanistan conference. What an interesting coincidence of global action happening all around me.

Between all of that action, the several business meetings happening in our hotel, and the packed Christmas markets happening in the squares surrounding our hotel, I needed to spend some alone time. Early the last morning, I set out for a run. I bundled up in my warm clothes (…ok, I put on anything that was still clean in my bag) and headed out into the crisp morning. Down the stairs to the Rhine River, headed north, a turn westward toward the train station, then through the shop-lined streets. I navigated from church steeple on the horizon to church steeple on the next horizon. And then suddenly…I was lost. Ugh. I’m usually pretty good with navigation, but I had gotten so swept into my own thoughts and the freedom of my music and the running. At first, this was liberating, to have no ties and lots of time to figure it out. But then the cold started to set in and I needed to ask for directions to get back to the hotel. And because of the extra time, I missed lunch. Fortunately, the agenda called for a walk through the Christmas markets, a spin through the Cologne Cathedral and a piece of Apfelstrudel at Café Richard overlooking the Cathedral façade. The Apfelstrudel was amazing- crispy layers of cinnamon pastry between layers of warm apples, swimming in hot vanilla sauce and topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar. It was the ultimate comfort food. I finished with a dry cappuccino. It was a decadent snack.

After nearly circumnavigating the globe, I had one last exciting tour before the final leg home. Right in the middle of Cologne, on the banks of the Rhine River… The Chocolate Museum. (!!!cheer!!!) I couldn’t wait to see this chateau. It was an overwhelming 3-story space of the history of cacao harvesting, global logistics, craftsmanship, sustainability, marketing and culture. It was worthy of its own review and I’ll write about that soon. To remember the event, I made a few purchases at the gift store. Of course!

Late that night, I boarded the flight home. We flew westward on a northerly route over Greenland. We landed in the states at the same place I departed from nearly two weeks earlier. And then I was home. I love coming home. It balances me as much as traveling does. Being a Libra, I need this beautiful balance. So I’m enjoying a week at home, and then, I’m headed to Asia again next week. There’s always something to look forward to.