April's Adventures

Asia

Delightful Delhi

April April 16, 2023

I had a full day trip planned for Friday (to Jaipur), so I decided I’d spend my Thursday just sightseeing around Delhi. I also told myself that it would be a chill day, where I wouldn’t do too much. Funny how things can take a turn when you least expect it.

I had my breakfast at the hotel and then grabbed a ride to check out Humayun’s Tomb. It is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun’s first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum and designed by Persian architects chosen by her. It was the first garden tomb on the Indian subcontinent,and is also the first structure to use red sandstone at such a scale. The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993,and since then has undergone extensive restoration work.

After seeing the entire complex, I grabbed a ride over to Qutub Minar. Once I arrived, there was a large crowd of local tourists waiting in line for admission. When I went to the foreign tourist line, I was delighted to see there was no waiting. Once I secured my ticket, I was approached by a gentleman wearing a badge who told me he was a guide and asked if I wanted to use his services to explain the complex. I had remembered reading that often times around touristy spots, there would be guides who are not necessarily government authorized and to be careful when using. But he was very kind and his rate was very low (500 rupees) so I figured why not!

As we made our way into the complex, he took several photos of me while he explained the history and allowed me to take as many photos and ask as many questions as I wanted. Qutub Minar is a minaret and victory tower that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Construction on the minaret started in 1199 and it is 72.5 meters, making it the tallest minaret in the world built of brick.

Once we were done with the complex, he asked me if I had any more questions. I asked him if he could recommend somewhere to eat and he ended up walking me over to a nearby restaurant. He suggested the butter chicken and garlic naan so I went with that for lunch. I tipped him for his services and time and he told me that he’d come back to check on me after lunch. I figured I’d probably be done and gone before he came back but sure enough, he came back to see how my lunch was. I have to say it was one of the best meals I had in India!

Since he had not led me astray so far, I ended up hiring him for some more sights. So we hopped in a tuk-tuk and went to check out the Rashtrapati Bhavan, or the Presidential Palace in Delhi. By area, the complex is the 2nd largest behind Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy. We opted to just check out the beautiful gardens – and they did not disappoint!

After the gardens, my feet were killing me (blisters compliments of my new shoes and lots of walking since arriving in India) but we opted to check out another spot. We headed over to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib which is very close to the popular area Connaught Place in Delhi.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is one of the most prominent Sikh house of worship, and is known for its association with the eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan, as well as the holy pond inside its complex, known as the Sarovar.

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib was originally a home belonging to Raja Jai Singh, a Hindu Rajput ruler in the seventeenth century, and was known as Jaisinghpura Palace. In in 1664, there was a smallpox and cholera epidemic, and Guru Har Krishan helped the suffering by giving aid and fresh water from the well at this house. Soon he too contracted the illness and eventually died in March 1664. A small tank was later constructed by Raja Jai Singh over the well, its water is now revered as having healing properties and is taken by Sikhs throughout the world back to their homes. In March 2021, the gurudwara inaugurated the cheapest diagnostic centre with the aim to provide healthcare for the poor. Patients can get an MRI scan at ₹50.

As with all Sikh Gurdwaras, the concept of langar is practiced, and all people, regardless of race or religion may eat in the Gurdwara kitchen (langar hall). The Langar (food) is prepared by gursikhs who work there and also by volunteers who like to help out. At the Gurdwara, visitors are requested to cover their hair and not to wear shoes. Assistance to foreigners and visitors with Guides, head scarves, and shoe-minding service can be found inside the compound and are available free of charge. While photography is not allowed inside the temple, they do allow in the kitchen and in the outer areas of the complex.

It was a wonderful experience seeing how everyone comes together to help at the Sikh temple. I would absolutely recommend everyone who visits Delhi check it out!

Before going our separate ways, I had the guide put his number in my WhatsApp contacts but I think we didn’t change the country to India because I was not able to message him. Which was a real shame because he was so much fun and made my day so memorable!

I headed back to my hotel so I could get a good nights sleep. Until my next entry…..I’ll stay dreaming of my awesome time in Delhi!

Asia

Adventures in Agra

April March 26, 2023

Before heading to India, I of course knew I would want to see the Taj Mahal (it is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World after all) so I decided to book a tour. Since I was going to be traveling alone, I ended up booking a private tour from Delhi to Agra which would cover the Taj Mahal, Tomb of I’timād-ud-Daulah (aka Baby Taj) and Agra Fort. I booked my excursion through Get Your Guide.

Given the distance to Agra (about a 3.5 hour drive), my driver was set to pick me up very early (like 3:30am early) so I made sure to get to bed early the night before. My driver Pappu was there on time and had his car stocked with water, tissues, and antibacterial wipes for our journey. As we made our way outside of Delhi, fog started to build. At one point, it got so thick you could barely see right in front of you!

Shout out to Pappu for having mad driving skills in that insane fog!

We finally arrived in Agra and picked up our guide (whose name I cannot recall but he was a very lovely man) and headed to our first stop – the Taj Mahal!

The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631, to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died on 17 June that year, while giving birth to their 14th child. The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Indo-Islamic and earlier Mughal architecture. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones. The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a large, white marble structure standing on a square pedestal and consists of a symmetrical building with an arch-shaped doorway topped by a large dome and finial.

Like most Mughal structures, symmetry is a key element. The most spectacular feature is the marble dome that surmounts the tomb. The dome is nearly 115 ft high which is close in measurement to the length of the base, and accentuated by the cylindrical “drum” it sits on, which is approximately 23 ft high. The main finial was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made of gilded bronze in the early 19th century. This feature provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative element. The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif whose horns point heavenward.

The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal architecture. The calligraphy on the Great Gate reads “O Soul, thou art at rest. Return to the Lord at peace with Him, and He at peace with you.” The calligraphy was created in 1609 by a calligrapher named Abdul Haq. Much of the calligraphy is composed of florid thuluth script made of jasper or black marble inlaid in white marble panels. Higher panels are written in slightly larger script to reduce the skewing effect when viewed from below. The calligraphy found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb is particularly detailed and delicate.

On the lower walls of the tomb are white marble depictions of flowers and vines. The marble has been polished to emphasise the exquisite detailing of the carvings. The surrounding frames and archway headers have been decorated with inlays of almost geometric vines, flowers and fruits. The inlay stones are of yellow marble, jasper and jade, polished flush against the surface of the walls.

Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves. Hence, the bodies of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan were put in a relatively plain crypt beneath the inner chamber with their faces turned right, towards Mecca. Mumtaz Mahal’s cenotaph is placed at the precise centre of the inner chamber on a rectangular marble base of 4 ft 11 in by 8 ft 2 in. Both the base and casket are elaborately inlaid with precious and semiprecious gems. Calligraphic inscriptions on the casket identify and praise Mumtaz. On the lid of the casket is a raised rectangular lozenge meant to suggest a writing tablet. Shah Jahan’s cenotaph is beside Mumtaz’s to the western side and is the only visible asymmetric element in the entire complex. His cenotaph is bigger than his wife’s, but reflects the same elements: a larger casket on a slightly taller base precisely decorated with lapidary and calligraphy that identifies him. On the lid of the casket is a traditional sculpture of a small pen box. The pen box and writing tablet are traditional Mughal funerary icons decorating the caskets of men and women respectively.

The Taj Mahal complex is bordered on three sides by red sandstone walls; the side facing the river is open. Outside the walls are several additional mausoleums, including those of Shah Jahan’s other wives, and a larger tomb for Mumtaz’s favorite servant. These structures, composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of the smaller Mughal tombs of the era. The garden-facing inner sides of the wall are fronted by columned arcades, a feature typical of Hindu temples which was later incorporated into Mughal mosques. The wall is interspersed with domed pavilions and small buildings that may have been viewing areas or watch towers like the Music House, which is now used as a museum.

At the far end of the complex are two grand red sandstone buildings that mirror each other, and face the sides of the tomb. The backs of the buildings parallel the western and eastern walls. The western building is a mosque and the other is the jawab (answer), thought to have been constructed for architectural balance.

Soon after the Taj Mahal’s completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Upon Shah Jahan’s death, Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum next to his wife. The reason Shah Jahan was imprisoned is believed to be because he had planned on building a structure similar to the Taj Mahal across the river, made of black marble for himself once he died. But his sons felt he was spending too freely and had him arrested and held at Agra Fort from 1658 until his death 8 years later. Then his body was brought back to the Taj Mahal and buried next to his wife.

Of course I had seen plenty of photos of the Taj Mahal online but it is even more beautiful in person (and definitely worth the trip to see!). As you approach through the West gate (which is impressive itself), you start to catch a glimpse of the Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal in view as you enter through the gate

I opted for the sunrise tour, so it was a bit overcast still when I arrived (as you can see from pics above) but we were able to see the rising sun peeking though eventually, making for a beautiful sight.

Sun coming up – such a beautiful sight to behold in person

Shoe covers are required once you get up to the main building – quite the fashion statement!

The sun reflecting on the ground is not from any water – it’s from the marble. So stunning!

After the Taj Mahal, we headed over to Tomb of I’timad-Ud-Daulah, often referred to as the Baby Taj. In fact, the tomb preceded the Taj Mahal. It was built between 1622 and 1628. The mausoleum was commissioned by Nur Jahan, the wife of Jahangir, for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg, originally a Persian Amir in exile, who had been given the title of I’timād-ud-Daulah (pillar of the state). Mirza Ghiyas Beg was also the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of the emperor Shah Jahan, responsible for the construction of the Taj Mahal.

Located on the eastern bank of the Yamuna River, the mausoleum is set in a large cruciform garden criss-crossed by water courses and walkways. The mausoleum itself covers about twenty-three meters square, and is built on a base about fifty meters square and about one meter high. On each corner are octagonal towers, about thirteen meters tall.

The walls are made up from white marble from Rajasthan encrusted with semi-precious stone decorations: cornelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, onyx, and topaz formed into images of cypress trees and wine bottles, or more elaborate decorations like cut fruit or vases containing bouquets. Light penetrates to the interior through delicate jali screens of intricately carved white marble. The interior decoration is considered by many to have inspired that of the Taj Mahal, which was built by her stepson, Mughal ruler Shah Jahan.

Many of Nur Jahan’s relatives are interred in the mausoleum. The only asymmetrical element of the entire complex is that the cenotaphs of her father and mother have been set side-by-side, a formation replicated in the Taj Mahal.

While not as well maintained as the Taj Mahal, it is still a beautiful complex.

The last stop on this tour was Agra Fort. Built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since the military still occupies a main portion of the fort, tourists are only allowed through one of the entrances.

View from where Shah Jahan was imprisoned – on a clear day, the Taj Mahal is visible

While in Agra, I also visited a marble shop with families of the same artisans who helped create the beautiful work at the Taj Mahal as well as another shop. It’s amazing how talented the artists are and it’s definitely worth checking out. We said goodbye to our guide and my driver got me back safely to Delhi, while pointing out many of the agricultural sites we passed along the way. If you ever need a driver, I’d definitely recommend Pappu – he was great! I met him through Get Your Guide but he has his own link so you can directly book with him under JNK India Tours (http://jnkindiatours.com).

In the next blog, I will tackle more of the sights in Delhi! Until next time…..

Asia

Daring to go solo in Delhi

April March 20, 2023

I had always daydreamed of going to India one day. I think my fascination with India started years ago when I was researching different types of religions. I was always particularly drawn to the Hindu faith. Not hard considering it’s the oldest religion in the world and 3rd largest in followers behind Christianity and Islam. And what I like the most about Hinduism is that it is a heterogeneous religion. Hinduism has no traditional religious order, centralized authority, governing body, or prophets. And while I never opted to follow any particular organized religion, I appreciate and respect many of the traits.

My best friend was traveling for work and had indicated she would be traveling to Thailand and then India on her trip. So I immediately jumped at the chance to parlay this into a good reason to finally visit India! When we talked about dates, I decided to travel to India solo for the first week or so and that we would then meet up once she arrived. So I immediately started my research (I’m a planner!) on the massive subcontinent that is India.

I did a ton of research online as I was initially concerned about traveling solo as a female. I will detail all of my experiences while in India over multiple posts, but I will say up front that my concern was misplaced. I experienced the warmest and most helpful people while in India, especially when I was there alone! If you’ve ever been scared to travel somewhere new solo, do it! Obviously common sense should always apply wherever you go but I can say my time in India was amazing and I’m so happy I did it!

I left Atlanta on Saturday afternoon and flew through London, arriving just after 1am on Monday, Delhi time. Once I landed, I realized I never updated my original reservation for the homestay I selected to include Sunday night. Thankfully they were very accommodating and were able to take me. I opted to stay in Sardarjung Enclave, which is located in South Delhi. The area was very nice and I loved the place I stayed at (Avatar Living – no paid endorsement….they were just so sweet and amazing!).

India is the land of temples! There are more than 2 million Hindu temples and more than 300,000 Islamic mosques! I decided for my first full day in Delhi to venture out and check out some of the tourist spots.

First up was India Gate.

Some of the 13,313 names engraved (of which 12,357 are Indian) on the structure

Since it was my first day and I was still trying to adjust to the time change, I opted to head back to the area I was staying in and found a local restaurant. But it was also my first time trying some Thali.

This was my first one and it was yummy! Although that red one was hella spicy!

Satiated, I walked through the neighborhood back to my homestay so I could get ready for the next day.

For day 2, I decided to keep it low-key since I knew I had an early morning scheduled the next day. I started off by checking out Lotus Temple. The Lotus Temple is such a cool design! It was designed by Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba and opened in December 1986. The temple is a Baháʼí House of Worship and like all Bahá’í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all, regardless of religion. The building is composed of 27 free-standing marble-clad “petals” arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides with nine doors opening onto a central hall with a height of slightly over 34 meters and a capacity of 1,300 people. Not only is it the only Baháʼí temple in India, it’s the only one in Asia. And it uses solar power – pretty cool! I really enjoyed walking through the gardens surrounding the temple. It’s free to visit and it’s a nice peaceful oasis in Delhi.

Like most temples, photography is not allowed inside. What I can tell you is that the interior is very sparse aside from the chairs but it’s still beautiful given the shape of the structure itself. And the exterior is even more cool when viewed from above. I’m not a drone user but here are a couple of pics showing the exterior and interior of the temple.

Exterior. The pools surrounding the temple are designed to help the temple appear to be a lotus floating in water.

After the Lotus temple, I had my Tuk Tuk driver suggest I check out the Iskcon Temple. He dropped me at a very nondescript location near an overpass and I walked through a park (I think) before I finally spotted it. I suspect he dropped me off prematurely but hey, it was a nice day so the walk was enjoyable.

Park where I was dropped off. I think the walk was over a half a mile from here to the temple.

The Iskcon Temple is also known as Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi Mandir, a Vaishnav temple of Lord Krishna and Radharani. It is situated at Hare Krishna Hills in South Delhi. ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) or Hare Krishnas are followers of Vishnu, one of primary deities of Hinduism. ISKCON describes Krishna as the source of all the avatars of God. Thus ISKCON devotees worship Krishna as the highest form of God, svayam bhagavan, and often refer to him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in writing, which was a phrase coined by Prabhupada in his books on the subject. To devotees, Radha represents Krishna’s divine female counterpart, the original spiritual potency, and the embodiment of divine love.

After the Iskcon temple, I decided to check out one more temple. I headed about 45 minutes away to Swaminarayan Akshardham, a breathtaking Hindu temple.

The main attraction of the Swaminarayan Akshardham complex is the Akshardham Mandir. It rises 141-feet high, spans 316-feet wide, and extends 356-feet long. It is intricately carved with flora, fauna, dancers, musicians, and deities.

The Akshardham Mandir was designed by BAPS Swamis and Virendra Trivedi, a member of the Sompura family. It is entirely constructed from Rajasthani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble. Based on traditional Hindu architectural guidelines (Shilpa shastras) on maximum temple life span, it makes no use of ferrous metal. Thus, it has no support from steel or concrete.

The mandir also consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, nine domes, and 20,000 murtis of swamis, devotees, and acharyas. The mandir also features the Gajendra Pith at its base, a plinth paying tribute to the elephant for its importance in Hindu culture and India’s history. It contains 148 life sized elephants in total weighing a total of 3000 tons.

Under the temple’s central dome lies the 11 feet high murti of Swaminarayan seated in abhayamudrato whom the temple is dedicated. Swaminarayan is surrounded by images of the faith’s lineage of Gurus depicted either in a devotional posture or in a posture of service. Each murti is made of paanch dhaatu or five metals in accordance to Hindu tradition. The temple also houses the murtis of Sita Ram, Radha Krishna, Shiv Parvati, and Lakshmi Narayan.

This place is nothing short of STUNNING! While no electronics are allowed inside, I’m sharing some of the photos of this breathtaking mandir available online. I HIGHLY recommend visiting this place – it is serene and feels incredibly spiritual. I loved it!

Wrapping up day 2 solo in Delhi, I headed back to my homestay so I could get a good night’s rest. The next day I had an early pickup – headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. So exciting! Stayed tuned….

Hunting for Northern Lights in Iceland

April December 15, 2019

After spending time in NYC, Paris and London, it was finally time to head to Iceland. This was after all the actual destination for this trip – everywhere else was added on during our planning!

We flew out of London and arrived in Reykjavik around 3:30pm. Since there is only about 6 hours of daylight during mid-November in Iceland, the sky was already getting dark. There was also a fresh dusting of snow which looked beautiful was we approached the airport.

Nanci is a happy clam – finally at her bucket list destination!

We had originally scheduled an excursion on a boat to check out the northern lights but I got an email that it had been cancelled that evening due to the weather – so we rescheduled for the next day. We then got all checked into our hotel and then ventured out for some dinner at a recommended spot, Sjávargrillid Seafood Grill. I was even adventurous and tried the fermented shark (first and likely last time!).

Fermented shark (not for the faint of heart or stomach!)

The next day, we bought some bus tickets and made our way to the harbor area to check out Fly Over Iceland. It is a ride that simulates flying over various points of interest throughout Iceland. It was a really cool experience, although sadly it did not last long enough for me! And I think we both agreed it made us want to come back as many of the beautiful places shown were on other parts of the island than we would be venturing to during our short visit. After that, we grabbed some lunch and then checked out the Icelandic Phallological Museum, which was really “something”.

Spots featured during Fly Over Iceland ride

Harbor – what a view!

Harbor

I mean – it’s so beautiful!

Why do I always gravitate to phallic themed places during my travels???

Sperm Whale’s penis

Atlantic Walrus

Humpback Whale’s

Talk about a handheld phone!

Is this for real????

I didn’t even notice these were penises when I was walking through the exhibit! So innocent!

Seems like most men may agree with these!

Unfortunately our rescheduled boat ride was once again pushed due to weather so we ended up canceling it and decided to book a tour with a Super Jeep for our last night (assuming the weather would cooperate). For the next day, we had a Golden Circle tour planned so we called it an early night so we could be fresh for our new adventures!

Our tour ended up getting upgraded to a private tour so Nanci and I had the driver and vehicle to ourselves for the day which was really nice. We drove for over 2 hours south to the first stop at Reynisfjara Beach, also known as the black sand beach. It was a cold and rainy day, exacerbated by some incredibly strong winds. Even with the bitter cold, the beach was a beautiful sight!

As you can see, some idiots will climb up for a better shot. Not a bright idea!

Our next stop on the Golden Circle tour was at Skógafoss. This is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland. On sunny days, the water spray droplets can produce double rainbows. Obviously, we were not fortunate enough to experience that but it was still a beautiful waterfall.

Next up was Seljalandsfoss – a waterfall you can actually walk behind!

We then headed more west to see Stokkur, a geyser located in a geothermal area along the Hvítá River in southwest Iceland. While the more famous geyser, aptly named Geysir, is also in the area, it erupts infrequently whereas Stokkur erupts every 8-10 minutes. We were fortunate enough to experience Stokkur erupt a few times while we were exploring.

Next up was Gullfoss, which I personally found to be breathtaking! We arrived just before dark so we didn’t have a ton of time to spend there since we had one more stop to make before heading back.

Obligatory selfie with waterfalls in background

For our last stop on the Golden Circle tour, we made our way to Þingvellir National Park. In addition to being the site of the world’s longest running (and still ongoing) parliament, it’s also where the North America and Eurasia tectonic plates intersect. The rift between the two plates expands 2.5 centimeters per year.

The pole represents where the first parliament was established

We had a wonderful time during our golden circle tour! The next day, we spent our morning and afternoon checking out Hallgrímskirkja and doing some last minute souvenir shopping. We started the day off optimistic about being able to see the northern lights and all of the workers in the shops kept telling us it was a good forecast. Not having received any cancellation notices about our northern lights tour, we started getting excited we may actual get to see them! We had met a woman from the UK the day before who said she had been to Iceland 8 times and had not been able to see the lights before.

Our northern lights tour was confirmed as being a go! So we got all bundled up and our ride picked us up around 9pm. The vehicle was a super high modified cross between a van and a large SUV. Thankfully our driver, Thor (yes, I swear that was his real name), had a stool we could use to get into the vehicle. The first stop was near a lake and we could see the peace light shining. We all set up our tripods and took some pics but then the guides decided there was too much cloud cover so we ended up moving.

The light going straight up in the air is from the Imagine Peace Tower. You can learn more about it at http://imaginepeacetower.com

You can see the green glow faintly

Once we moved further in, we were in a pretty dark spot so the electric transmission tower is the point of reference in the other shots. While not as scenic of a backdrop as the lake, we definitely were able to see more of the northern lights from this spot. Iceland is one of the only places in the world you can see red Northern Lights, which are produced at a higher altitude. While not the best night to see the northern lights, we were lucky enough to see the green ones, along with some slight red ones.

Nanci!

This is the pic that Thor took of us from his camera

Both Nanci and I agree that Iceland was the highlight of our trip! I would love to experience it in the summer. So Iceland – ég kem aftur! (I’ll be back!)

Thanks to Nanci for asking me to join her on her bucket list trip and for allowing it to expand to France and England as well! It was a FANTASTIC trip!

Lovely London

April December 14, 2019

After the drama we experienced in Paris, we were looking forward to having some time in London. We took the Eurostar from Paris to London, which proved to be an easy and scenic train ride. We even were able to buy some more macarons from LaDuree since they have a little kiosk at the train station in London! So yummy!

We collected our bags and grabbed a proper London taxi to our hotel. Our hotel was in the Kensington Gardens area of London, just across from Hyde Park. It was a beautiful neighborhood. We put our stuff away and headed out to grab our first meal in England.

Since we had an early meal, we decided to take an Uber down to Piccadilly Circus. While the center is reminiscent of Times Square with the large neon signs, it really has a charming appeal as well due to the architecture. They had the area all decorated for the holiday season and there was even a pop-up Christmas village full of vendors and entertainers.

The next day, we headed to Buckingham Palace and saw an exhibition at the Queen’s gallery.

We also checked out the Royal Mews exhibit.

Next up, we did the London Eye (also known as the Millennium Wheel). The London Eye is 135 meters (443 feet) tall and each rotation of the wheel takes about 30 minutes. It was cold and rainy but it still offered nice views of London from the temperature-controlled capsule.

The next morning, we headed off in search of Abbey Road for Nanci. Our Uber driver dropped us off probably about a half a mile from the actually famous crosswalk but we just took our time walking around, enjoying the sites in Camden until we finally found it.

You go girl! First the Beatles, then Nanci!

After the “walk” down musical history lane, we headed over to the flagship Twinings store at 216 Strand. Directly across from the Court of Justice, the store has been opened for over 300 years! Of course we both splurged and purchased some goodies to take home with us.

We spent the rest of the day on the hop on/off bus. We also took the boat back to the other end of the city once it was dark. It was nice since the boat moved slow enough you could stand outside and see everything (and the rain had stopped) and they also offered some commentary along the way.

We had a GREAT time in London! I definitely will return there someday so we can explore more! But for now, we had to prepare for our final destination of our trip….Iceland!

Paris is always a good idea

April December 5, 2019

After spending time with Nanci’s family in New York, we headed off for our next destination – Paris, France! American Novelist James Baldwin said of Paris – “It is perfectly possible to be enamoured of Paris while remaining totally indifferent or even hostile to the French.” While I was not really indifferent or hostile to the French, my sense of being was certainly questioned while there due an unfortunate event.

We arrived in Paris around 7:00am local time on Monday morning. After being on the long flight from New York, we were both looking forward to finally stretching our legs and dropping our bags off to start exploring. Before heading to baggage claim, I popped in my travel SIM card in my cell phone so I could use a local plan for coverage for our Europe travels. We collected the luggage and then finally figured out where to meet up for our pre-arranged transfer. As we zipped along towards Paris, I started checking my emails. After flipping through some work emails, I spotted a peculiar email titled “Urgent-Luggage at CDG” on my personal email account. Upon opening it, I discovered the sender was reaching out to me because I inadvertently picked up the wrong suitcase (we both have green Away suitcases – side note that Away bags are AMAZING bags!). I could hardly believe what I was reading! In all the times I’ve traveled, I’ve never picked up the wrong bag before! I was mortified! I immediately responded to her that I would verify that I had her bag once we arrived to our hotel. Once there, I was able to confirm the mistake I made! She assured me that she had waited for my response before leaving the airport so she had my suitcase and provided the address where she was staying so I could meet her to exchange our bags!

Nanci dropped her bags at the hotel and we hopped in an Uber to the address she gave us. It was only about 20 minutes away but I was definitely still in shock over my mistake! It was cold and rainy and we spotted the Eiffel tower on our way but I was still freaking out a little. The address was at a fairly nondescript building (not a hotel) so I emailed her that I had arrived and was outside. She was still in route but after a few moments, a young woman came to the door to let us in to wait. We discovered there was a group of friends in Paris to celebrate a birthday and the owner of the bag was arriving today for the festivities! As bad as I felt for making such a stupid mistake, I was very relieved that I had chosen to add my email address to my luggage tag. About 30 minutes went by and we were finally able to exchange suitcases as I apologized profusely for my mistake!

Proper luggage in hand, we headed back to the hotel to drop off that bag and were lucky enough to get an early check-in. We opted to take a power nap so we could be fresh for our first booked site since neither of us had much sleep on the flight from New York. While I’m not usually much of a napper, I will say a 3 hour nap did us a world of good! With our invigorated energy, we headed off to see the Eiffel Tower.

I think I enjoyed our trip to the Eiffel Tower the most during our time in Paris. We had tickets just around sunset so it was beautiful seeing the colors in the sky change as we ascended the different levels for the lifts to the top. Nanci wearing her UGA hat (was cold and very windy that evening) quickly made friends with some people from the US which helped pass the time in the queue. Once arriving at the top, we were rewarded with some amazing views!

After staring at the tower all lit up, we headed off to get a proper dinner before calling it a day. The next day, we headed to the Palace at Versailles. One word to describe the palace – excessive!

Hall of Mirrors

After grabbing a bite at a little cafe, we decided to rent a golf cart to check out the gardens.

Our fearless driver!

After Versailles, we had a fun evening planned to see the Féerie show at Moulin Rouge. We decided to buy Metro tickets so we could get around without relying solely on Uber. So we headed down to Moulin Rouge early so we could take some pics of the outside.

Pics aren’t allowed inside the venue but I snapped this one from the outside.

We were seated at a table with 3 professional Australian football players. They were really nice guys and were excited to see the show. My naïve self really didn’t believe there would be nudity – I was wrong. But topless dancers aside, the show was truly amazing! The entire cast was very talented and I would definitely recommend to anyone!

We were hungry after the show let out and decided on a little Indian place right down the street from Moulin Rouge. We had a great meal then headed back to the metro station to make our way back to the hotel. This is when the day took a sour turn….

We were on the on the metro with about 20 other people in our car. It was after midnight. I was scrolling on my cell phone looking at Instagram. When we came to one of the stops, a young man (he was probably in his early 20s) snatched my phone out of my hand and ran off the train with 2 other guys. It happened in a split second and yet it felt like an eternity before my mind registered what had just happened! Some locals on the train asked if he had just stolen my phone and I recall one remarking “welcome to Paris” in a sarcastic but sympathetic tone. They assured me that thieves also frustrate them and that they give Parisians a bad name. Still in shock, several of the other commuters helped us figure out where we needed to go as we had a transfer coming up. Once we got to our next train, we spotted a couple of police on the platform so we quickly got off the train to talk to them. That proved to be a mistake as 1) they really did not seem interested in assisting me at all (they told me to go to my hotel and ask which precinct was closest so I could file an incident report) and 2) we realized we got off the last train for the evening headed where were needed to go. Once again, a local was very kind and assisted us getting us to an alternative stop to get us as close to our destination as possible.

Once back at the hotel, I used my iPad to immediately lock the phone under my iCloud account. In speaking with Apple, they assured me that as long as the phone stays in a locked status on my iCloud, the phone would not be usable, even if the thief somehow figured out my password lock. While this made me feel a little better, it was still little help to the fact that I was thousands of miles from home without my cell phone. And the reality that I would have to spend money to buy a replacement phone set in.

The next morning we talked to the front desk clerk at our hotel who was shocked at what happened. She said she could tell us the station for the police but that in reality, I’d never see the phone again and I would probably spend many hours waiting to make a report. I decided to just count my blessings that it was just my phone that was snatched and we made our way to the Louvre (via the Metro) since we had a 9am scheduled entry time. The queue was slow and we didn’t stay very long (we actually spent the majority of our time seeing the Leonardo DaVinci special exhibition).

After the Louvre, we grabbed an Uber to the Apple store on Champe-Élysées. After dropping way more money than I wanted, I had a new iPhone and we were back in business! We then checked out the Arc de Triomphe and the beautiful Sacre Coeur (which offers amazing views of the city).

For our last evening in Paris, we had dinner at a place (Le Relais De L’entrecôte) recommended to me by a friend. It’s a little restaurant that serves only salad, steak and fries. People wait outside for the restaurant to open (we stood in line for nearly an hour and we made it into the first round of people seated). The waitress only asks how you want your steak cooked and then the rest is automatic. The steak, which is a cut of sirloin, is served in small strips covered in a secret sauce which is absolutely delicious along with homemade french fries. It’s an experience and the food is remarkable!

Full from dinner, we headed back to the hotel to pack for the next part of our adventure – London!

US Travel

Enjoying every New York minute….

April November 26, 2019

About a year or so ago, my friend Nanci decided she wanted to go on a trip. Knowing that I enjoy traveling, she sent me a text message asking if I wanted to go to Iceland. My immediate response was “duh!”. And with that, we started daydreaming about our trip to the land of fire and ice! Along the way, the trip expanded to a few other places and New York was one of them. So we will start with New York!

Nanci is from New York and thought it would be great to fly up for a few days to see some of her family and friends. We decided that we would spend 3 nights in New York and her daughter, Nicole, would come along with us for that portion of the trip. I had only been to New York a couple of times so I was eager to get a more authentic experience!

We stayed outside of the city the first night with one of Nanci’s cousins. She was kind enough to take us around the area and we went to Bear Mountain State Park so we could step foot on a section of the Appalachian Trail in New York (Nanci and I have hiked all of the miles of the A.T. in Georgia). It was a rainy and cold day but we still had fun!

That night we met up with a couple of Nanci’s childhood friends after seeing the small town that Nanci grew up in. It was lots of fun hearing all of their stories from “back in the day”. The best part was reading all of their old comments in their little memory signature books (in lieu of signing yearbooks they made these little scrapbooks which all of their friends would sign). I can’t remember what they referred to them as but I’d call them burn books (think Mean Girls style) because some of those entries were way harsh albeit hilarious! I even think some may have qualified as a crime if they had been written in today’s environment!

The next day, we took an Uber to Manhattan to stay with Nanci’s brother and his lovely wife. Her brother was kind enough to take us wherever we wanted so we decided to check out One World Trade Center.

They place flowers on the names to recognize their birthdays

We then walked through Central Park for a short while, enjoying the lovely fall day.

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We met up with more of Nanci’s family for a great meal. With our time in New York winding down, we found ourselves getting more amped up for the next portion of our trip – Paris! I had such a great time in New York and I really appreciated how all of Nanci’s friends and family made me feel so welcome given we had never met before. And they say New Yorkers aren’t friendly! NONSENSE!!!

Stay tuned for the next entry about our very eventful time in Paris!

Egypt

April December 26, 2018

Given how close Israel is to Egypt, I didn’t want to let an opportunity to see the Great Pyramids pass me by. So I convinced Donna to join me on a quick side trip to Egypt. And I do mean quick! We booked an excursion which picked us up at 9pm on Friday night from a hotel in Eilat (George stayed in Eilat since he opted to skip the side trip). The van drove us to the Taba border to cross from Israel to Egypt. The Taba border crossing is currently the only entry/exit point between the two countries that handles tourists. Since we made arrangements for the visit through a tour operator, we were provided with our Egyptian visa which had been arranged in advance (helped speed up the process for sure!). Once making it through security, we waited a few minutes for our van which would be taking us all the way to Cairo. During the wait, we talked with the 2 other passengers who would be joining us – a mother and daughter from Mexico who were spending 5 days in Egypt.

I’m legit!

When the van finally pulled up, the tour liaison said goodbye and we were left with the van driver who spoke maybe 5 words in English. He put on his music and we started on our way. Since it was getting late, the plan was to sleep during the drive through the Sinai desert (we crossed under the canal as well) so we would be fresh in the morning. I found myself pretty restless since I was excited to finally be in Egypt. Probably a good thing since the road conditions were not ideal for sleeping. For a while I was convinced we were driving on dirt roads but the roads were just bad and covered with sand which had been blown onto the road. We probably went through 50 security checkpoints (each stop met with someone toting a machine gun….a few times they would check the van and ask for our passports) and made a couple of stops in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

I got maybe 2 hours of sleep in total that night but we finally arrived in the morning in Cairo. We made our way through the city and it’s hectic traffic – our driver even pulled over on a very busy road and ran across traffic to buy everyone a falafel sandwich for breakfast. The first stop for the tour was the Egyptian Museum, one of the most impressive antiquities museums in the world. Once we arrived, the two ladies we rode with were assigned a tour guide who spoke Spanish and Donna and I were assigned a guide who spoke English. I was told that I was not able to take my camera into the museum which made me quite disappointed. My disappointment turned into frustration as I noticed many other tourists with their cameras once we got through the entrance security check. Apparently our guide had failed to mention there was an option to bring your camera in for a nominal fee. Grrr… Donna was not feeling well from the long drive so she opted to find a spot while the guide and I made our way through the many exhibits. The museum is HUGE and honestly it’s pretty overwhelming with the large crowds. But it was amazing to see so many artifacts in one place.

Outside of Egyptian Museum…..tourist

Wooden carving with some major creepy eyes – like seriously would follow you as you walked around the room creepy!

So much gold!

There were a lot of school field trips at the museum and a bunch of the kids would ask to take my picture (scavenger hunt game I’m assuming). Here’s one of the girls (said I’d take a pic with her if she’d take one with me). As you can tell from my sweaty face, it was HOT inside the museum. All of the kids were so polite and friendly. It was a nice experience in addition to the actual museum itself.

After the museum, we went to the Papyrus Institute which was also a cool experience. I will say they are full of very persistent salesmen but I did enjoy it and picked up a few items to take home.

After lunch, we finally made our way to the pyramids. The Giza pyramid complex is an archaeological site on the outskirts of Cairo. It includes the three Great Pyramids (Khufu/Cheops, Khafre/Chephren and Menkaure), the Great Sphinx, as well as some other sites. The Great Pyramids is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

Obligatory pose in front of the pyramids

Another reminder of the constant security presence in Egypt (part of Cairo is in the background which is literally what you see once you arrive at the Pyramids – amazing how close they are to everything. There is a plan to relocate part of the city to expand the area around the complex to help cut down on the issues caused by pollution to the pyramids).

Donna and I (oh yeah, and some Great Wonders of the World in the background if you’re into that sort of thing).

We then made our way around the complex to the area where the Sphinx is. I have to say while the Sphinx is not small by normal standards, it pales in scale to the pyramids themselves.

This angle makes the Sphinx seem larger than it actually is

Better representation of the size with proper scale against the pyramids.

Was really feeling my tourist shots in Egypt. Must have been that magical hat.

Donna and I

Our tour guide for the day (I can’t remember his name but he was very nice)

Once we left the pyramids, we made our way to another shop for some more hard selling for oils before getting back in the van to return to Israel (no staying in a hotel for us!). When we loaded the van, we quickly realized we would not be alone for the return as we found 2 men in the back of the van (who didn’t speak any English). But given we were headed back, we trusted everything was arranged properly and we made our way back through the desert and the bumpy roads. I think the driver was very motivated as he only stopped once for a bathroom break and was driving pretty reckless in between the security checkpoints. At one of the last checkpoints before getting back to Eilat, one of the security men got into a shouting match with the driver and the 2 men in the back of the van. Needless to say that was a bit awkward since we could not understand what the fuss was all about. The end result was the 2 men left the van and we continued on about another 30 minutes until we got back to the Taba border (thankfully!). Even though it was about 4am at that point, we had a bit of a wait to get through the border checkpoint in Israel before grabbing a taxi and heading to the hotel to wake up poor George and catching a quick nap before our next stop in Masada. Stay tuned for that adventure.

While our time in Egypt was short, it was definitely memorable. I would probably return to Egypt but would take a different travel plan to get there.

Middle East

Visiting Bethlehem (Palestine)

April November 8, 2018

Before my trip, I will admit I was mostly ignorant about the history of Israel and Palestine. As the time for our trip neared, I found myself becoming obsessed with watching all things about the people of Palestine. Part to learn what they think about tourists coming to visit and just to learn a little about their lives in general. I came across a great series of videos on You Tube called the Ask Project put together by Corey Gil-Shuster. If you ever find yourself on You Tube, I would really recommend you check his stuff out.

I was very excited to check out any of Palestine (aside from Gaza which you are not permitted to visit). We decided to spend part of a day in Bethlehem, since it’s obviously a very well-known place and also for it’s proximity to the border wall. I was under the impression we would have to get a taxi to the wall, cross over into Palestine and then get a Palestinian taxi once on the other side of the wall. We discovered in Jerusalem that Arab taxi drivers who have a special license are able to cross easily between Jerusalem and Area A, which was fine for what we needed.

Our taxi driver was super friendly and once were were inside the Palestinian area, he took us along the border wall to take in some of the art. I personally was very fascinated by everything I saw.

Along parts of the wall, there are stories such as this.

This image was so breathtaking in person. All of the art is so cool!

Apparently they also have opinions on our politics….

We made a quick stop at the Walled Off Hotel, which has been made famous by the artist Banksy. We didn’t have time to take a tour but we did check out the local art exhibit upstairs.

Can see the close proximity of the hotel to the wall outside.

Our taxi driver arranged to have a guide waiting for us at the Church of the Nativity (he waited for us during the tour so we didn’t have to call for him to come back). We were delighted to find our guide to be very warm and welcoming as well. He gave us a brief overview on the history the Church and forewarned us about the crowds which would waiting once we got inside. He was not wrong! Getting to the spot where they say Jesus was born was a stressful experience of merging a large group down into a small space. And all of those god-loving religious people were pretty damn pushy! So much for being kind to your fellow man! LOL!

Small entrance into the Church

Me making an ever so graceful entrance….

Our guide showing us an example of the columns before the restoration process (what a difference!)

Crowd waiting to narrow down into the entrance of the birth site. Everyone was pushing and shoving – very intense and stressful experience!

The metal star is the spot where they say Jesus was born

After finally escaping the crowds at the church, we finished our time in Palestine just driving around before heading back to Jerusalem.

I really enjoyed our time in Bethlehem and I wished we had planned to spend the night there or in another area nearby. I would have enjoyed talking to more people there and getting their insight on the whole situation and ongoing conflict.

In the next blog, I’ll cover the side trip that Donna and I made to Egypt. A truly memorable experience!

Adventures in Jordan!

April October 31, 2018

The next stop on our middle east itinerary was Jordan. Both Donna and George had family ties to Jordan but I was sadly under informed about this magnificent country. We decided to spend 2 days in Jordan and we narrowed our search to Wadi Rum and Petra.

There was lots of conflicting detail online about how to cross the border from Israel to Jordan and if you needed to procure a tourist visa in advance. We opted to cross the border at the southernmost part of Israel, near Eilat. The process itself was not too cumbersome – you pay an exit fee in Israel, get your passport reviewed at a couple of booths and next thing you know, you’re walking the short distance between borders to Jordan. The process on the Jordan side was just as simple – a quick review of the passport, a tourist visa slip provided, a security screening for bags, and we walked right out to the taxi we prearranged.

For anyone traveling from the Israel border to Jordan, I would definitely recommend arranging a taxi service in advance. There are plenty of taxis waiting once you cross, but it’s well documented that they will take advantage of travelers who don’t do their research and charge more than is reasonable. The hotel in Wadi Rum we booked recommended our driver, Nael, and he kept in touch with us during the border crossing process and was very patient with us since we were running over an hour behind schedule.

It took about an hour or so to get from the border to the Wadi Rum visitor center. Wadi Rum is an amazing place! It’s the largest wadi (arabic for valley) in Jordan. Wadi Rum has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It is the home to the Zalabia Bedouin people. They have made the area a haven for eco-tourism and it has become one of Jordan’s most popular tourist destinations.

Nael dropped us off since only the bedouins drive in the protected desert areas. We met up with a representative of the Memories Aicha Luxury Camp (who we booked with). We scheduled a jeep tour and camel rides (Donna and George only) and we then climbed in the back of the pick up to head towards the camp.

Cave we explored

Exploring

Petroglyph on rock inside of cave

Natural bridge formation

Groups assembling to watch the sunset

Memories Aicha Luxury Camp

Room with a view

Looking at our room from outside

Main tent for dinner

Night photo (unfortunately I left my tripod in Israel so wasn’t able to get galaxy pics)

Good morning Mars!

Such an amazing experience!

The next day, Donna and George rode their camel while I finished getting my stuff together and then we headed back to the visitors center to meet up with Nael again. The drive to Petra took about 2 and a half hours.

Petra is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Petra lies on the slope of Jabal Al-Madbah in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah valley that run from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra is believed to have been settled as early as 9,000 BC, and it was possibly established in the 4th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra’s proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub.

The city is accessed through a 1.2 kilometer long gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the Treasury. Petra is also called the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.[7] It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. UNESCO has described it as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage”. In 2007, Al-Khazneh (the Treasury) was voted in as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan’s most-visited tourist attraction.

Obligatory tourist photo opp!

Spotting the Treasury just ahead – I’ve seen what feels like a million pics like this but I have to say it’s exciting when you’re there and you catch a glimpse.

The Treasury (Khazneh)

Happy Tourists!

What a view! Thanks to the donkey who gave me a lift up to this section (even though it was terrifying!)

Tea time! Wearing scarfs representing Jordan (red) and Palestine (black)

Love all the color variation and how this rock looks like a wing chair!

The Monastery

We spent the night in Petra in town and the next day we headed back to Israel. I have to say I loved every minute of our experience in Jordan! The country is beautiful and all of the people we encountered were so warm and welcoming! I would definitely go back to Jordan for another vacation – maybe to explore the northern portion of the country and the Dead Sea.

Stayed tuned for the next blog entry as our middle eastern adventures were far from over!