emaehl

My kids were too young for any serious exploring – need to go back and see more.

I went to high school in Plantation – just outside of Fort Lauderdale. It was uninspiring. A lot of shallow beach bum/bunny types obsessed with flashy cars and big boats until you headed west and ran into the rednecks.

I left for Boston as soon as I graduated.

We visited Sevilla in 1998, during a trip across Andalucia. Sevilla seemed like a great place to live; manageable size, hopping nightlife, awesome restaurants. We lived on tapas and cheap wine, of course. I bought a CD of Flamenco guitar music by Sabicas – volume two of a two volume set; they didn’t have volume one.

There was a wild storm the night we arrived, tearing up trees in the park near the cathedral and cutting off rail transport, though fortunately not in the direction we were heading (towards Granada).

I love libraries. Imposing old libraries built of stone with dark paneled wood interiors and antique furniture. Silent temples of learning.

Steel, glass and formica? Not so much.

We did not manage to get our chakras re-aligned, nor did we experience a harmonic convergence nor get our auras read, but we did see some lovely red rock formations.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross was worth seeing, even for a non-believer like me, and the kids enjoyed building cairns of balanced river rock down by Oak Creek.

We also visited Walnut Canyon National Monument just east of Flagstaff, where we hiked down to see the ruins of the cliff dwelling of the Sinagua Indians (ancestors of the Hopi). Another highlight.

We stayed at the Sedona Springs Resort, a pleasant place with lots of pools and a fantastic games room for kids (ping pong, skee ball, board games, etc). Mostly retirees and time-share types. We enjoyed an evening of entertainment from “Cowboy Bob, the Singing Cowboy Poet” amongst other cultural experiences.

Unbelievable views, great hikes, fascinating history.

But watch out for the Elk! The day we arrived someone hit one with his car. And I had Elk Medallions for dinner that night. Coincidence?

Not wild about Elk – it’s a very deep, blood red, and a bit gamey.

We had dinner a couple of times in Tusayan at a place called Spaghetti Western. The pizzas and pasta were tasty, but not cheap.

Next time I want to hike down to the Phantom Ranch and spend a few days at the bottom.

Visited Singapore back in 1993 or so with my friend Steve. We kept getting kicked out of Raffles – first because Steve was wearing flip flops, then because he was wearing a tank top.

The last time we went he had a bottle of chinese gin in his bag – we’d gotten into the habit of spiking our soft drinks in expensive bars to keep travel costs down. As we came out of the subway, Steve accidentally swung his bag against the stairs and smashed the bottle, splashing us both with the gin, so that we staggered into Raffles reeking of cheap booze. Oddly, we made it through that time.

The highlight of the trip was definitely the food. Curries served on banana leaves, drunken prawns cooked at our table, and a genre-defining brunch at Raffles.

We stayed at a cheap hostel with a pet boa constrictor, which was unfortunate for Steve, who is deathly afraid of snakes.

We visited Istanbul in the winter of 1999, and stayed in a small hotel not far from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (both stunning).

We explored Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cistern, and took a short cruise up the Bosphorus.

Expect to be pestered by rug salesmen in the touristy areas (of course!). Expect to be amazed at all the languages they speak, and all the convesational gambits they’ve memorized (references to TV Shows, Bands, Sports etc. in every major country). Don’t be fooled by their claims that they just want to chat, or practice their English, or whatever – sooner or later, they will try to sell you a rug!

Poland was surprisingly interesting. It was my first experience with Europe, if you don’t count Russia…

We visited the Ghetto Uprising memorial museum, which was sad and fascinating, and enjoyed Warsaw’s little Old Town Square. We also traveled to Krakow to see Auschwitz and the amazing Wieliczka’s Salt Mine.

If you get a chance, don’t miss the Salt Mine – I can’t imagine there is anything else like it on the planet.

Stopped here for a few days on our Trans-Siberian trip back in 1994. We dipped our feet in Lake Baikal and visited a “traditional siberian village” theme park.

Lost a few bucks playing roulette in our hotel casino, amongst the local gangsters and hookers.

The mental image I’d always had of Siberia was that it was a frozen wasteland, so visiting in the summer was a bit of a let down.