Sun, sand, and fun by the seaside

Here I am with my sisters and nephews.

Today we headed to an old, old hangout...Bridgeport's Seaside Park for a few hours of relaxation by the beach. I know what you are thinking...all you've heard and see me do is relax but do you blame me when I'm still on vacation. This is THE hangout for any Bridgeport natives...young and old. I was pleasantly surprise by the state of the park as its so nice now as compared to my experience in my younger years. I only remember it as a very dumpy park...literally it use to be a landfill!! Well, today's visit did not remind me of the dumpy days so I leave pretty happy. The weather was perfect....sunny with absolutely no clouds and lots of nice breeze. We enjoyed a nice spanish lunch (arroz con pollo, bacalua fritas, platanos, y papas)...very yummy.



Brandon is silly happy at the beach.


My nephews wrote "Help mom" and "I love mom"



The boys in a very rare moment of peace and not bugging or hitting each other.



this is along the coastal drive of the park.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures on Picasa (click above). The best parts about summer...hanging by the beach.

Berry, berry, strawberries!

Our annual family tradition of picking strawberries is still worth it. This year we changed location (from Bishop's to Jones's farm, a closer location) and our clan has grown as well. The berries were red like gemstones and ooh so sweet. The berry picking crew (above) were given "strict" orders to eat only a few berries while picking...needless to say they filled both their bellies and bucket!! Once we got home, the berries were further enhance with a dip in dark melted chocolate ;-))

I've uploaded more berry picking pictures on Picasa....enjoy and don't drool!

Sunrise in Copenhagen

It was 4:05am when I decided to take this picture. For some reason I couldn't sleep so I watched the sunrise instead. Typically, I'm a sunset girl but this sunrise was just as magical especially in the backdrop of an old city like Copenhagen. For this stop of my trip, I did not take too many pictures (since I have made a few visits before work) so hope you enjoy the ones I did take.

Back in the USA

As Jack would say "I'm baacccck"! Just a week or so left for the complete circle around the globe. For now, its so good to see my family again. This has to be one of the best parts of traveling...coming home to see families. Its like a warm hug.

My east coast plans will consists of eating (big surprise!) my mom's home cooked meals, do some hiking, pick strawberries and try indoor rock climbing with my nephews, and see friends. Not much sightseeing at this stop but just checking out the local hangouts and hopefully enjoy some old fashion summer festivals.

My fashion violations

If the fashion police was on my case there would be plenty of citations handed out...thought I take a review of the different types of outfits (from head to toe) I've worn over the duration of this trip. I've made some fashion sacrifices in the name of exploration and adventure. Some outfits are not so bad while others I have no words to decribe it so its best to let the pictures speak for themselves...just try not to laugh so hard!

Australia: Sidney Bridge Climb..."star trek" outfit.

Australia: Pigtails and bushwalking in the Blue Mountains.

New Zealand: hang gliding "apron" look.

New Zealand: bungy jumping, "towel" tide around my feet.

New Zealand: glacial hike, 1st outfit "red fanny".

New Zealand: glacial hike, 2nd outfit is the "spiked boots" with axe.

New Zealand: Waitomo caving, a cross between "a mine worker and a blue smurfette".

Malaysia: Visiting a mosque, I call this the "pepto bismo" look, at least I match the dome.

Taiwan: In my cousin's maternity shirt I may qualify to weigh and look like the wind damer!

My footwear of choice in Athens (got these in Taiwan of all places) and super comfortable.

Barcelona: Got these in Athens the day I left, these only saw the pavements of Barcelona.

Denmark: viking museum, this outfit was begging to be worn...its missing a sword or something.

That's all I have. Who knows what else I might have worn if given more time on the road.

Sweet dumplings and Rainbows

Its Friday morning, my last full day in Prague and I woke up to a gray, rainy, and cold day. Not the best of conditions for outdoor activities but as you’ll see it turned out to be one of the most charming and sweet days of my RTW trip. The evening before we got home at 1am from Prague so I didn’t get to bed until 3:30am and shamelessly slept til noon. I woke up feeling exhausted, my body and feet were slightly aching (like after a good hard long run) from the three full days of walking and sightseeing. I start to think twice about the plans Alena and I had made the night before given how I felt, getting up so late, and the weather! We had made three rough plans for today…plan A was a 3 hour bus ride to the countryside to more castles…plan B was a 1 hour bus ride to the outskirts of Prague…finally plan C was to hike the hills around the village area. The endpoint of any of these plans was to be home by 5pm to make sweet dumplings for dinner with her cousin Kafta. At the end of the day, we only managed to lounge around the house, check emails, pick-up grocery for dinner, walk the dog and make the sweet dumplings. We head out to the supermarket called Albert which is about 15 minutes drive outside of the village of Lhota. If I haven’t admit this to all of you, here is my confession….I love, love perusing through the market aisles in any destinations I visit. So much so that it is mentally written into my sightseeing list along with the tallest buildings and/or castles. I realize that it borders on the wacky side but I think it’s one of the best ways to experience the culture and life of the local people no matter the location. For my last supper in Prague I was bound and determined to have more tasting of Czech food, so we picked up many varieties of bread, meats, sausage, and beer (for tonight it’s the label “Gammbrinus” pilsner).

Once home, Kafta and Alena immediately put on their aprons and prepared the kitchen for making sweet dumpling. Dumplings rule, it is the bread, rice, and carb of choice in this region and typically on the savory side. In contrast, the sweet dumplings are so called sweet because the dumplings are filled with the season’s fresh fruits (this happens to be strawberry season) and serve with sugar and cheese. The strawberries were picked from the backyard, some slightly tart and some sweet...with the additional toppings it didn't matter if it was tart.

Alena and Kafta introduced me to the concept of having “sweet dumplings” for dinner…its like having dessert for dinner. It is a new concept to me but very Czech. Our first course was a leek soup which was also yummy. Our night ended even sweeter when we looked outside and saw two rainbows...it was the first time I've seen a rainbow from end to end (check out the video). After my shameless consumption of 8 dumplings I decided to join Alena to walk the dog and hopefully walk off the dumplings. Unfortunately this also worked up my appetite, so we return to enjoy wine, beer, sausages, and salami.

Don't be shock but it really is me in the kitchen making sweet dumpling as taught by Alena and her cousin Kafta. I'm putting the fresh strawberry in the middle of the dough then it gets shaped into a round ball.

The dumplings then go into a pot of boiling water for 4-5mins.

The cooked sweet dumplings are then topped with hard fresh cheese, sour cream, melted butter, and finally granulated sugar. Breaking the dumpling open reveals the sweet strawberry center. It is a very rich but ooh so good ;-) and not to be eaten all the time!

After a copious consumption of sweet dumplings, we got this fantastic view of two rainbows end to end. It was amazing to see the complete semi-circle (check out the video).

Taking the family dog "Dick" for a walk after dinner through the forest.

Roses are just more beautiful after the rain.

Wild poppies grow along the rye wheat fields. Its really a sight to see the sprinkling of red flowers along the perimeter of the fields.

A field of rye wheat at sunset looking into the next village.

This day turned out to be as sweet as the dumpling ;-)

Prague...a glimpse

I arrived to a very hot day in Prague and to the warm and smiling face of my friend Alena. For accomodations, I am staying at her cousins house in a village 30min by bus outside of Prague called Lhota. Its a village of only 100 houses, based on her cousinś house it is no means a cottage. Its beautiful and with a backdróp of the forest and open land...absolutely wonderful. Its strawberry season so they pick strawberries in the backyard for breakfast...how wonderful. I always say I´m a city girl but places like these make me think twice that I love the countryside just as much.

The things that rule here in Prague at least based on my one day introduction and personal tour guide "Alena"....Pilsner beer, dumplings, meat, castle, classical composers, Franz Kafta, great architectures, and gorgeous views from the river. There are lots of great pictures as usual and here I have some examples.

Sunset....this is the view from the garden by my bedroom...its gorgeous. I love the countryside.


A view of yours truely with the backdrop of the town from the Prague castle.


View from the Prague Castle of the roof tops and a restaurant called "The Cowboys".


Many irresistible narrow streets and stairways, this one is at the base of the Prague Castle.


Franz Kafka fans....this is his house along the Golden Lane.

Siesta - Barcelona style

Here I am doing as the locals do....siesta on the beach! Its sunday afternoon and I found out that most Barceloneans do not work today and prefer to spend most of their sunday enjoying the sun and sand. This btw was a top optional beach....I didn't know that ;-)

Tapas, tapas, and more tapas! Oh, how I miss thee..

Its crazy but I woke up the day after leaving Barcelona missing the rituals of tapas....terribly. Its the whole process of going to the La Boqueria market sitting by the bar stool and ordering a just about as many plates as I can see and washed all down with a glass of wine or beer. Its not my normal routine to have vino or cerveza with my afternoon meals but this is Barcelona so I order away. My agenda in Barcelona has been simplified to the following; wakeup, eat tapas, walk off the food, do some sightseeing, take a siesta, walk to find the next tapas eatery, eat tapas, walk off the food, sleep....and do it all over again the next day. I love it here, the food is just fantastic for food lovers especially meat lovers. Of all the places thus far, I was able to converse comfortably in spanish...its not perfect but my ability is better than I thought. Spanish words rolled out of my mouth as if I´ve been taking lessons, I don´t even know where it comes from but it sure came in handy as we navigated through the streets and menus. For those who enjoy taking photos, Barcelona has fantastic architectures and lightings for you and your camera to get lost in. Most notable architect is Antoni Gaudi...check out the videos...once I upload them in the meantime you can tantalize your eyes with the wonderful images.

A Roman detour...

Friday 06.06 - On my way to Barcelona I had a four hour layover in Rome so I decided to take the train to Rome city center to visit the coliseum (along with a bro+sis team on the same flight from Athens who were on their way to Brazil). With the transit time, we had exactly a 30min. window to see the coliseum, take some pictures and get back to the airport. Luckily we had enough time to enjoy some gelati. A worthwhile detour...

Athens

Visiting Athens in the early June is the perfect time, the weather is just right with lots of sunshine and not too much humidity, the tourist season has just started so the number of tour buses can still be counted in one hand (this is the best its going to be). I have two very strong recommendations if you plan to visit Athens, use the metro system and avoid group tours…this is a city you can discover more on your own. Most destinations are in bilingual thanks to the Olympic so no need to bring your Greek dictionary. I fully embraced the metro system, its convenient and much cheaper so save your Euros for the food and souvenirs, you’ll need with the weak USD. As for coping with the different tour groups, I have developed a simple strategy and have successfully employed it. I have learned that if I wait patiently, usually no more than 10 minutes for the each tourist group to get their fill of photo snapping then I was left with a nice window of time (~10 minutes) to enjoy the view all to myself before the next group shows up. With the exception of a few, most tour groups are on a set agenda so they only come for the that one picture of the monument and rarely linger the grounds…something I LOVE, LOVE to do until no stones are left unturned.

Walking through the streets of Athens I am in the midst of my avorite pastime activity, “people watching” when I noticed a few different groups of women, some young and some older in their summer dresses or their barely their tops with a dip or size too small that begs anyone to have a look at their beautifully tan skin…I find myself secretly smiling inside. Here’s where I’m coming from…Greecian women are volumptuous, their hair full and wild tendrils and they are not shy about their Athenian curves. It must be the weather but their skin looks amazing in the sundresses and the strappy sandals. I feel more at home walking through the streets of Athens compare to Singapore or Taipei where I constantly felt “extra” plump and my hair too curly and wild...just my POV!

After the drama with the flight into Athens, you’d be happy to hear that the remainder of my stay here has been drama free. My transit to the hotel was via the metro and absolutely stress free…got help from a young lady (Valentina) who is just returning home from the university to see and work at her family’s restaurant on an island for the summer (very cool). We commiserate a few minutes about the flight from hell and twenty minutes later I was at my stop (Mexahourglio). I arrived at my hotel at 10pm absolutely famished. Luckily the hotel café closes at 11pm so I decided to order the "mousaka", it was like coming home and reminded me of the days working at "Souvlaki Hut" with Valvas family learning the in's + out's of greek cuisine. My hotel was called Hotel Rio, family run and very basic in its amendities. Its abit away from the heavy tourist areas of Plaka (old neighborhoods) and Syntagma but it will do for the price. My room had an abismal view of the back of the building so it was kept closed the entire 3 days stay. How lucky was I that the building construction next door started promptly at 8am!!! Whether I wanted to or not I was up. My biggest complaint was of course the intenet access...I paid I rediculously price of 5.00 eros for 1hr so I only used it in extreme cases. One of the reasons I booked this place for the internet access but hadn't realized the cost. I later found out that at the city center its was 10o% free wi-fi...oh well, you live and learn.

The following day, I start my day at the hotel cafe with a good breakfast before heading out. I began at Syntagma and Plaka before taking out Acropolis. Walking down towards Plaka amongst all the shops I am overtaken by the rows of shoe stores...l Love shoes so my first views of Athenien life wgoas not of Acropolis but of the shoe stores. Finally I make it to the grounds of Acropolis and began my exploration from the bottom up starting with the Roman Angora, the thearter of Dyonisis, the south and east slope before climbing the marvel steps to the top of Acropolis. Walking around the area its easy to be in awe in the design, layout, and architecture of the area and buildings. Once I reached the bottom of the steps of Acropolis, I quickly noticed the number of tours ahead of me so I patiently allowed them to pass. I just came to accept that taking pictures o f tourist is a natural part of vacation at hotspots.

Taipei Part 1 pictures ready for your viewing.

Part 2 still to come, expect more eating, buildings, and cheesy tourist poses!

My Odyssey to Athens..the Greek gods are at work!

Have a nice big cup of coffee or tea before reading this...

My journey to the Athens according to the itinerary was to take 18 hours of flying time covering over 9,000 miles, these are the conditions I've come to terms with to spend my day in transit and the only sightseeing to look forward to were the advertisements and duty free stores at the airport. I was to get into Athens at 1:45pm, early enough to enjoy the afternoon and walk around the city. If not for the jetlag, flying from Taipei actually works out well as it gains me 6 hours. My flight from Taipei to Bangkok to Amsterdam was a non-event, we arrived at Amsteram’s Schipol airport at 5:30am which is way too early if you are in the middle of deep REM state sleeping so I immediately seek out coffee. With approximately 3 hours before my next flight to Athens I jumped online and did some light shopping. As 8:30am rolls around, I headed for the gate and here is where the all DRAMA begins or I like to think it was an "Odyssey".....keep reading and let me know what you think.

The first delay was by 25 mins. followed by another which pushed us back to 11:30am due to the unavailability of the incoming plane...so far I can deal with these types of delays. Than as the 11am approaches, we were told to switch gates (btw its 1 mile away and if you’ve been to Schipol airport you’ll sympathize) nonetheless we dutifully proceed to new gate. Once there, we didn’t board until 12pm...there goes the 11:30am departure. I am starving at this point, I made a mad dash to the nearest café to grab a sandwich, a decision that proved to be a such a foresight to my survival on board as the drama unfolds. It took at least 45mins to complete the boarding process…it might be the prelude to “the Mediterranean time” but dripping molasses would be faster!

The clock keeps ticking away, its now 1pm at which point the captain announces that one passenger can't be accounted for (luggage on board but not the person) and crew is unable to reconcile by the computer system so we were all asked to produce our tickets to verify against the passenger list...what a hassle! At 2pm, the MIA passenger is finally accounted for and boarded our plane (you can't help but feel bad for her as everyone stares her down for delaying the take-off). Thinking we are all set for take-off, we clapped and smiled but our moment of celebration quickly disperses when the captain makes another announcement that “a passenger” (never saw who it was) was very sick and therefore he has decided to return immediately to the gate to avoid any medical risk while in flight. I think all of us at this point were willing to wait this out however the next announcement quickly shaved away our patience. The captain makes the BIGGEST announcement of them all that “due to the compounded delays he will not be able to fly us to Athens as he is approaching his maximum 12hrs shift work schedule and is required by law to not exceed that limit”. All I can say is that everyone was in an uproar and if there were fresh tomatoes on board there would be a bloody mess!

Everyone frantically pulls out their cell phones to connect with friends and families. The two ladies next to me asked to use my phone and then wants to pay for the calls…it was so cute but I don’t think I would even know how much the call was. As we reach our 4th hour waiting and sitting we unwillingly begin to accept that we may not see Athens until tomorrow. The captain has called a replacement crew to take us to Athens in the meantime we were to wait in the plane for one and a half hour....$$###!!!!! are the words and sentiment out of everyone's mouth. With no other choices, we can only wait and wait. At 3pm (that’s 2 hours on the plane) we were served water, well except that the flight attendant forgot to give me mine and I’m dying of thirst (for some reason I got the smallest bottle which I finished with my sandwich). Then we were served some snacks of yogurt, cheese, and a candy bar which unfortunately I couldn’t eat because of my lactose intolerant and I wouldn’t dare take any ounce of dairy in the absence of my lactaid pills which would be an internal drama I don’t want to deal with certainly not on this flight. I resorted to my own food supply….nuts and a lunar bar. The two flight attendants does their best to appease everyone but all is not happy. A lady next to me was asked how she was doing and she replied only in a way an old Greek lady can mustard up, “Don’t Ask Me!”….it was perfect and I loved it! The flight attendants then proceeds to pass out a feedback card for KLM regarding this flight and ask if anyone wants one, even the two Greek ladies in my row who didn’t speak English (someone interpreted for them) took the cards and handed it directly to me and egged me to send the feedback. I whipped out my laptop and feverishly typed my lethal feedback to KLM. At 4pm the new crew showed up, we finally took off at 4:30pm…no clapping or cheering was to be heard but only the whisper of relief that we would reach Athens tonight. Everyone quietly fell asleep. If you’ve lost count, we were delayed for approximately 5hrs getting into Athens at 8:30pm versus the original 1:45pm arrival time! The Greek gods must have finally fallen asleep as we reached Athens safe and sound ending our Odyssey. The End.

Singapore and Malaysia pictures posted

The pictures are finally up and ready for your enjoyment. The problem with being a shutterbug...way to many pictures so I try to only post the ones that best capture the spirit of the places. Well there's also the 500 limit Picasa web gallery puts on me. Anyhow, enjoy these. Still filtering the ones from Taipei.

Taipei, the "Food + Building" tour

I leave Taipei with a (very) full stomach and a warm heart. Unlike my previous destinations, I approached Taipei with no set agenda other than to spend time with Anna and Tommy. Taipei being the midpoint of my RTW itinerary, I selfishly used it as a base to recalibrate myself, do some laundry, and reconnect with people (online that is) before heading out to the next leg of my trip...glad Anna and Tommy was OK with my plan. Taipei was coming into its autumn/rainy season as such the forecast of mist and rain dictated my sightseeing plans which I was ok with. The umbrella was to be our constant companion along with plan B (incase of rain).

Due to my rigid itinerary in the previous destinations, the one thing missing from my agenda was the enjoyment of the local cuisine (not counting the cow party which was special onto itself). Taipei turned out to be the culinary tour that I’d hoped for but denied of due to my time limitations. I completely lucked out that my family loves to eat be the local guide. Anna, Tommy, and Tommy’s Dad (William a native Taiwanese) has some serious knowledge and connections when it comes to the “secret” places to eat. Here are some yummy, tentalizing food pictures. You can find more pictures in the slideshow link.


My visit to Taipei was sweet, very sweet! I will need to come back to visit the family and the food especially the fried rice. Next time I'd like to see and hike the mountains.


The best fried rice I've ever eaten, perfect balance of flavors and texture...yummy!


"Mango Bing (ice)", I'm deliriously happy to eat this given the hot + humid day.


Sea urchin on rice, reluctant at first but I liked it after the first bite.



huge prawns with glass noodle in a simple broth.

Earthquake hits Taipei...yikes!

My last night in Taipei was rocked by an earthquake at approx. 12:10am the entire building shook for about 10 seconds. It was an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale has rocked northern Taiwan. We were all quitely in bed, the shake made us all jumped out of bed. There was no damage and no one got hurt but it sure made our hearts skipped for a moment!