In early November, I spent two serendipitous days in the tiny resort town of Eureka Springs, located in the Ozarks, at the edge of Arkansas. I had accepted an invitation from a friend in the American Midwest to join her on her ranch in Kansas, and she was taking me on a road trip. Since we would be riding through Missouri, I asked if I might see something connected with Mark Twain. “Hannibal is on the other side of the state.” I was mildly … [Read more...]
An Unfinished Dream
Every Wednesday evening between March and October, Charles Dickens visits the house in which he made an early London home. He must have great affection for it. “Oliver Twist” was born here; so were his two eldest daughters...At 7:30, the lights in the basement library are dimmed, and a long-haired actor in full Victorian dress strides through the open door, marches towards a burgundy-coloured velvet armchair, and regales his “guests,” their … [Read more...]
Cosimo Cavallaro’s Jelly Bean Exhibition
Who: Cosimo Cavallaro What: Jelly Beans Exhibition When: April 2013 Where: Nye + Brown Gallery, Los Angeles When I heard about Cosimo Cavallaro's Jelly Bean exhibition featuring sculptures practically the size of a Mini, I had to see it for myself! Gleaming, glossy, and perfectly shaped resin coated beans lay before me when I arrived at the Nye+Brown Gallery in Los Angeles. Placed at just the right angles, the smaller and massive … [Read more...]
Corregidor: A Legacy Of War
Roiling thuds from warship mortars, swishing sounds from fighter planes, the wailing and myriad of death probably depicts the actual scene of the blood-spattered battle in the summer of 1942. All of it reverberates in my mind while my passenger ship passes through the waters of Corregidor. Taking a quick video of the battle site, I can imagine how frightening it was: below a pale grey sky, a huge black smoke perhaps darkened overhead, old … [Read more...]
Onward And Upward To Machu Pichu – Part 1
My heart kept beating like a tom-tom drum feverishly signaling an imminent enemy attack. It kept racing, and thudding, and pounding – not allowing me to get a wink of sleep. I recognized the symptoms. I knew what was happening. I had tried to prepare myself for it. It was oxygen deprivation, and it could lead to altitude sickness. Although I wasn’t in any immediate danger of becoming stricken with the illness, I knew that I was … [Read more...]
Onward & Upward To Machu Pichu – Part 2
The morning sun had ascended to its throne in the brilliant sky. The mist had excused itself for the day. Before us lay the grandeur of Machu Pichu swathed in golden sunlight. Everyone whipped out their cameras and started taking photos of the venerable gift that history had unwrapped for us. One by one, we captured the sight that we’d seen only in books. Angle by angle, frame by frame, we sought to imprint the majestic vista into the … [Read more...]
Our Family Glory in the Holiday Attributes of Punta Cana
Thinking of the sun and palm trees, one snowy and stormy weekend in Toronto, I decided to take my daughter Muna, along my grandson Mazin, and his wife Margarita, as a belated honeymoon gift, to the Dominican Republic. Now as we explored the huge Bahia Principe resort complex in Punta Cana, the Republic's resort par excellence, we were living our dream. As we walked the white sandy beach, Mazin remarked, "A great trip! I love your … [Read more...]
Learning to Fly at the End of the World: Travels Down the Yucatan Peninsula
A second huge palm frond hits my left shoulder, catching a little of my face this time. It smacks the woman behind me dead on. She squeals and leans down to her daughter, placing the girl’s little hand on the offended cheek. The salsa pounds and the colored flashing lights pulsate to the beat of the blaring music. The top of the bus sways as we follow the curve on this part of the Bahia Boulevard, a beachfront drive that snakes down the peninsula … [Read more...]
To the Lighthouse (Ila Al-Manara)
You can't understand the sense of triumph I felt as I crossed the street unless you've been to Beirut, a city in which I had been in and out over a two year span. My latest stint was nearing its end and I felt reflective and nostalgic and disappointed that the world has decided where you are allowed to live and work based on the coincidence of your birth. I had resolved to take advantage of a hole in the stormy sky and wander the streets of what … [Read more...]
Myanmar or Burma – What’s in a Name?
The excitement and optimism in the Yangon air these days is palpable. In 2011 the impossible happened. The half century of rule by an oppressive military junta was over and longtime political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi had been released and duly elected to parliament. It was shortly after her election that I met with Burmese friends in a crowded coffee shop on Bogyoke Aung San Road, not far from Scott Market. We were there to talk … [Read more...]
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