Beauty & Creativity - Fez & Marrakesh, Morocco
Friday, November 21, 2008 at 9:46AM One of my favorite places visited is definitely Morocco. The colors, sights and smells are nothing like my home in the States and it's a place to really change one's surroundings. We visited Fez, Marrakesh and a brief stopover in Casablanca (which was a good choice, as there's not much to see in the capital).
It's a land of unique beauty. Even this old guy was beautiful. He's a Water Man and walks around the bustling souk selling a cup of refreshment (for those accustomed to local bacteria, tourists should stick with the bottled variety).
In the winding Fez markets, we got to see some talented young women who sit day after day weaving rugs in the sweltering heat. And they create the patterns from memory.
Family Fun - Valencia, Spain
Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 10:29AM This April I visited Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, for a spring break with my husband and kids. It's a city which offers something for everyone, whether you're there for the buzzing nightlife in the Barrio del Carmen, getting your art fix at one of the many great museums, or enjoying your paella on the beach boardwalk.
Here are some of the things that might appeal if you're visiting with your family but also if you're travelling alone or with friends;
The Mercado Central is Valencia's main food market and is a great place to choose a picnic from the specialist stalls. We stocked up on empanadas (pastries with savoury fillings), olives, peppers stuffed with soft cheese and jamon iberico (air dried ham). Even if you're not buying, the large airy building, specialist stalls and bustling atmosphere will tempt you in.
Just across the road is La Lonja, the old silk exchange. It's twisting stone
Simple, Bright, Beautiful, New - Paris, France
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 12:04PM 
I am experiencing some francophile rage and indignation and a deep sense of loss. I’ll share. Of course.
It started with Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Paris métro station, that is, and my absolute favorite. I rarely had cause to take the 1 line as far as that, and when I did, I kept telling myself that I would hop off and take some pictures next time. I live here. Plenty of time, right?
Wrong. One day a few months ago, I rolled into FDR and, to my horror, it had been stripped. It sat there cold and naked and shivering. The station had been betrayed and violated. I felt betrayed and violated. Those bastards.
Fortunately, other people did take pictures…
Love that font. (We’re into fonts.) Love the orange with the semi-opaque glass and the shiny metal. Love the seat separators. Love the design.
Now, I’m sure plenty of people thought the FDR station was an abomination when it was created
Lost: Pet Rabbit – Porto Alegre, Brazil
Friday, October 24, 2008 at 2:33PM Note: I am writing this on a dare.
On my website, I talked about my experience shipping a pair of boxes of personal goods to my new home south of the equator. In my American shoes, I was a compulsive organizer. Marcelo, my stateside Portuguese teacher and friend, gave me the hot tip that a local Brazilian import goods shop offered shipping to Brazil for a fraction of the cost of other methods I checked. The shop teams up with the New Jersey-based moving company Fastway (oh, the irony!). You drop your boxes off at the shop and Fastway collects them once a week, theoretically. I was advised that it takes roughly eight weeks for the boxes to travel to the east coast, be loaded on a ship, sail, unload, clear customs, truck, hotel. Great. So if I ship them on February 17th, the boxes should arrive at my temporary hotel in the middle of April, and give or take 10 days, I’ll be there—at least, that’s what I figured.
I became slightly concerned when I noticed a couple weeks later that my check hadn’t been cashed. Hmmm. Visit website. Enter tracking number. Hmmm. The following week: website, tracking, hmmm. At least my boxes left before I did, I was pleased to learn a few days prior to my departure.
I lucked into an apartment on my fourth day here, but the hotel staff was very accommodating and assured me they would be on the lookout for my boxes. Excerpting my Box Adventures from my travel diary:
4/21/08
The boxes, which I have named Fernandão and Girassol, are making progress. “Em Processo de Liberação” which means, I cautiously presume, they have landed and are awaiting clearance at customs. I’m not sure if they sailed to Santos, Porto Alegre, or some other port city—so those two kids still might have many adventures ahead.
5/9/08
My old friend Ricardo at Hotel Lar called yesterday morning to announce that the Fernandão and Girassol had arrived. Phone conversations are tricky because I don’t have the benefit of gestures or expressions to aid my understanding. So, in my sleepy haze I rushed to the hotel at 7:45am to learn that the delivery truck had been re-routed to my apartment. Oh, that’s what Ricardo was telling me! D’oh!
I rushed back home and found three delivery men trying to telephone the apartment. Next thing I know, I'm excitedly digging into my new wealth of clothes, books, and photos. The juicer! The George Foreman Grill! (Must! Buy! Chicken!) But certainly, it was my comforter, which was packed as an afterthought, merely box stuffing, that I was happiest to receive. I love it. It's warm, weighty, and delightful. The nights are getting progressively more brisk, and I've resorted to wearing a sweatshirt to bed more than once. Gladly I post to you now surrounded by goose feather pleasure.
Ahem, what I didn’t say on my site (as it’s read by my Dad and my old boss, among others) is that Fernandão and Girassol had been opened by Customs. When I received them, everything was in its place; everything except one thing...
A Château Stay - Lyons-la-Forêt, France
Friday, October 10, 2008 at 6:45PM These photos are from a few years back when I was showing my parents around Europe while I lived overseas. My son decided to begin breakfast with a little baguette. Well, make that a big baguette.
a baguette-eating toddler...or is it the other way around?
the kitchen is full of history and its iron stove dates to 1679 --also noteable: the highchairThe above photos are taken inside the historic kitchen of Château de Fleury la Forêt, a beautiful and affordable place to stay. There's a big suite with two bedrooms and