Lavender Fields Forever

Bastille Day in France is a holiday that commemorates the storming of the Bastille, a military fortress and prison, on July 14th 1789; one of the pivotal uprisings reputed to have initiated the French Revolution. The Bastille symbolized the oppression and cruelty of the current monarchy at that time. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were known for their frivolity, extravagance, and disregard for the masses.‍The modern day French, however, seem to have repurposed such extravagance as a “gift for the masses”.

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October 1, 2024

Delicate Duality

The paradox of duality is present in art, relationships, and even spirituality. Two seemingly opposing forces converge to create a delicate balance. While this is a universal concept not unique to one culture, I found that it kept presenting itself during my recent trip to Mexico City. My boyfriend and I were visiting this vibrant city for a friend’s wedding and spent plenty of time cooking, eating, and exploring. One of our most notable stops was Templo Mayor in the historic downtown area. Templo Mayor was the centerpiece of the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Constructed in 1325, the temple consists of seven pyramids built over the previous as illustrated below. Each new temple corresponded to a different Aztec emperor.

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June 6, 2023

Captivating Chronicles

The best travel stories never begin with the words “and then I arrived at my destination on time and everything went according to plan”. I generally embrace the mishaps and laugh at my own misadventures while traveling. But during my recent trip to Portugal, for the most part, things did go according to plan. And I cherished it. This was my first international trip since COVID exploded in the United States and I was giddy, not only in anticipation of getting out of the apartment, but at the prospect of visiting a new country.

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October 5, 2021

Spellbinding Stars

Merriam-Webster Dictionary clarifies the difference between astronomy and astrology thusly: “At one time, these two words actually were synonymous (that is, astronomy once meant what astrology means today), but they have since moved apart from each other. In current use, astronomy is concerned with ‘the study of objects and matter outside the earth's atmosphere,’ while astrology is the purported divination of how stars and planets influence our lives. Put bluntly, astronomy is a science, and astrology is not.” However I can’t help but feel that both were at play during my recent visit to Cusco, Peru.

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April 6, 2020

Romancing Rajasthan

There is a great line in the movie “Romancing the Stone” when Michael Douglas’ character Jack Colton, when referring to a crocodile who swallowed a gemstone, says “Yeah, that poor old yellow-tailed guy...developed a fatal case of indigestion. He died right in my arms.” He had the crocodile made into a pair of boots. This reminds me of my recent trip to India in a lot of ways; the most obvious of which was my potential death from “indigestion”. However, much like Kathleen Turner’s lovably uptight character Joan Wilder, I often end up surprising myself with how many mishaps I can handle and still come out on the other end laughing and kicking ass.

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March 12, 2019

Awareness through Antiquity

There is a cherished art in Japan called Kintsugi. Kintsugi, literally meaning golden rejoining, is the 15th century craft of repairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold or silver dust. The object often becomes more beautiful than it was originally. The Japanese celebrate these cracks or imperfections rather than concealing them. So in this spirit, I feel that I should celebrate my recent trip to Japan, rather than focus on it’s flaws.

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October 9, 2018

Magical Melodies

Most of my blog posts are about travel abroad. But every once in awhile, I travel within the United States and fall in love with a city. One such city is New Orleans. I visited with a girlfriend recently for Jazz Fest and was completely enlivened by the music, food, and culture. Staying in the French Quarter, I was right in the middle of beautiful architecture and storied history. There was such a dynamic energy surrounding me on Bourbon Street every night, but what pulled me in most was the incredible jazz around every corner. Between the famous Preservation Hall venue, Jazz Fest, and Frenchman Street, there was always something going on. I was unable to walk a few blocks without encountering some new performer. Naturally, Anita Baker blew me away at Jazz Fest, as she always does. I even saw live jazz at an old record store!

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June 19, 2018

Classic Couture

My recent trip to Paris was an unexpected extension of my planned European vacation. I had not been since I was eleven years old and this experience could not have been more different (minus a rude French waiter or two - “mais oui”). I arrived on Christmas. The city of romance was alive with glamour and jazzy allure. Walking down the famous Rue des Rosiers on my first night, the smell of crepes drew me toward a small sidewalk stand. I took my first bite of a banana and nutella crepe. And it was all downhill from there. If I were in my own Eat, Pray, Love novel, Paris would most definitely embody the eat! Cheese, french fries, duck confit, wine, more cheese; and naturally, I took a class and learned to make croissants and pain au chocolat from scratch.

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February 6, 2018

Traumatic Traditions

My last minute trip to Madrid, Spain in May of 2016 was certainly an unforgettable experience. While I can’t say the people were as warm as I had anticipated, the architecture and history were fascinating. There were a few mishaps along the way, as is characteristic of travel, including getting locked out of my Air Bnb and an attempted mugging (I set HIM straight). A memorable incident (to say the least) occurred when I made the mistake of attending a bullfight. For those of you who are familiar with the “sport”, I want to preface this by clarifying that I had NO IDEA what happened at the end of a bullfight when I bought the ticket. I assumed that a bull just chased around a toreador and he yelled “Ole”!

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November 20, 2017

Intoxicating Islands

The islands in Thailand harbor some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I could not wait to see the ocean on my first trip to Thailand in December of 2016. I stayed on the mainland in Krabi for a week, and also took a brief trip to the Phi Phi islands for several days. This is where the magic happened. The only way to get around the island is by longtail boat. The driver of the small boat stopped several hundred feet or so from shore and said “ok, you walk from here, hotel right up there”. You should have seen my horrified expression! Thank goodness I only had a shoulder bag (as opposed to the 2 huge roller bags I had left on the mainland). I threw my bag of electronics and other expensive gear over my shoulder and, waist deep in the ocean, lugged it all to shore.

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October 23, 2017

Mesmerizing Memories

My first real solo trip was to Buenos Aires in December of 2015. My best friend was scheduled to join me, however she called several days before leaving to say that she had a work emergency and could only be there for half of our trip. I was frustrated by the situation and with the idea of having to fend for myself. My first day in Buenos Aires, I was alone and learned very quickly that no one spoke English; and I spoke no Spanish.

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September 15, 2017

Dreamy Dawn

One of my favorite trips was my December visit to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. While I was only there for one day, I found the scenery, architecture, and people to be incredible. The temples were steeped in history and tradition and the citizens were jubilant and effusive.

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August 16, 2017