Mbabane, Swaziland

"Switzerland?"

"No- Swaziland!!"

"Where's That?"

Swaziland is a pea-size country in southeastern Africa- bordering South Africa and Mozambique. It was described to me by co-workers as 'Africa-lite'. And it is! There is sufficient infrastructure- roads, electricity, internet, etc around the cities. But even from the 'suburbs', you are able to see winding dirt roads leading to houses set up on the rocky mountain landscapes, so the infrastructure doesn't go far. The poverty isn't as striking as I've seen in other African countries. And because it doesn't have the violent past that the west coast has, there aren't the war injuries so commonly seen elsewhere. I observed that many of the people were friendly, active and very social. Since we arrived on Sunday, we also got to see them dressed in their Sunday best. Churches are very common- in every denomination.

The primary means of making a living is agriculture- sugar and corn. I asked one of our drivers if industry was the driving factor in the development of Mbabane and he said that it grew in size due to the fact that it was named the capital. Industry followed government. An interesting note- the photo above is of the mountain called 'Executioners Rock'- so called because in tribal times, they would march the offender up to the top and make him jump over the edge. (The photo was taken from our new property, so I'll make sure the views of this are featured in certain windows.....)

There are a few flights from Johannesburg per day- the flight is about 1 1/2 hours. That means the pilot gets a lot of practice landing the plane, which is great considering the 'airport' has one short runway in a small valley! I swear that the plane had already stopped in mid-air and the pilot just parked it on the runway. The airport has one gate in and out and the plane basically parks in a cul de sac so that it is turned around and ready to head out again.

The hotel we stayed at was in the Ezulwini Valley, about 20 minutes down the mountain from the city of Mbabane and because Swaziland is considered a mountain retreat for people in Maputo (Mozambique) and Johannesburg, it was complete with a golf course, casino and pool with a bar. Combined with the 80 degree sunny weather, it was hard to get any work done. During the trip to Mbabane, we climbed over 2,000 feet up a highway that I was told used to be the most treacherous road in southern Africa. I can believe it because even at the widened four lanes, the mountain dropped steeply away from the sides!

We managed to hire a cab for an afternoon visit to the Ngwenya Glass Factory, about 1/2 hour away in the country. A popular tourist spot, the glass works specializes in making figurines, drinking glasses, candle holders, and dinnerware completely from recycled glass. There is a platform where you can watch the workers create their items- I watched a beautiful elephant come to life from a blob of glowing gunk. Needless to say, there was plenty of money spent that day between my co-workers and me!!!

Also worth mentioning (to me, anyway) is the cafe on the top level of the factory where I happened to have the BEST quesadilla of my life. In Swazliand. Go figure. The cafe also had three peacocks strutting their stuff on the patio. I also have to mention the 'Appletiser' soft drink and my fervent wishes that it extends it's distribution into the U.S!! Other crafts we saw were woven baskets, beadwork and carved wood figurines. I picked up another nativity set for my rapidly expanding collection.

I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to return to this nice little country, but I hope so! And I will definitely plan a side trip to the Kruger National Park- one of the best game-viewing areas in Africa!!

To see all of my photos, click here:

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I promise you don't have to have a facebook account to see these!!

Dublin and Malahide, Ireland

Early Fall weather is glorious in Ireland- at least this has been my experience. But the locals insist that it can change on a dime. I guess I tempted fate by forgetting my umbrella, but I got lucky. Four days of beautiful weather was exactly what I needed after a sweltering, oh-my-gosh-I'm-gonna-die-from-this-heat summer in DC!


I decided to start my week in Dublin with a visit to one of it's suburbs, Malahide. A 20 minute ride on the DART commuter train, Malahide might as well have been a village in the middle of the Dingle Peninsula. The train station is right next to the village, and signs tell you the way to both the village and Malahide Castle, which was my first destination. A 15 minute walk will get you to the castle itself, and the walk is enjoyable. Open to the public, the park consists of playing fields, picnic areas and a large playground. Because of the weather, families were out in droves and, though I had to dodge strollers and bikes, it was fun to watch them all enjoy themselves. I heard more than one parent say 'ok, then, we're walking away....you can stay if you want, but we're leaving.....' Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.

I caught this family playing a game of 'Duck Duck Goose' in front of the castle and I couldn't resist taking a shot. I just love this photo! I wish I'd had the foresight to ask them for their email so I could send them the picture, but they packed up and left before I thought of it.

I made my way down to the village and to the harbor, stopping along the way at a Farmers Market to, of course, buy some jewelry. I thought about buying some soda bread, but I'm glad I didn't, as that was all the hotel served for their 'Continental Breakfast' for the next four days!

Another area I explored in the city itself was the Temple Bar District, which I didn't realize was NOT named because of it's numerous...well....bars! Sir William Temple built his house and gardens on the land in the 1600's and his son, Sir John (evidently an early land developer) built a new sea wall, acquired more land and developed the area into something similar to what is there now. 'Barr' back then meant a 'raised sandbank'- usually meant for walking on. (or so the nice plaque on the wall said...) Nevertheless, the area is lousy with pubs and late night clubs now. It's a little rough around the edges- not as polished or touristy as Grafton Street. But it was a great place to people watch and take photos! If I were 10 years younger, maybe it would have been a great place for some other activities, too....

I was also fortunate enough to get a chance to see the U.S. Ambassador's Residence, located in Phoenix Park. It is legendary in my office and I've heard so many things about it. I learned that Winston Churchill actually spent some childhood years there, too! The grounds are beautiful- and all the views include the park, which itself is quite impressive as the largest park in Europe.





A wonderful trip, indeed. For more photos, click here:
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Coming Soon.....more Ireland, Mbabane, and Tegucigalpa!!!

Helsinki, Finland May, 2010

I had the opportunity to visit Helsinki for a week for work. This trip has been on/off since the Iceland volcano erupted, so I was just glad to finally get it scheduled and done!!

Helsinki is at about the same latitude as Juno, Alaska and is the farthest north of the equator I've been. I had the chance to use all my sweaters for the last time this year- the weather was mostly rainy and didn't get above 60 degrees F. We did luck out with a couple of sunny days, however, and the evening light was so good that it allowed plenty of time to run around and do the 'quick and dirty' tour of the city. Overall, I think it would be a great place to live if you don't count the 9 months of cold and snowy weather.....so probably not a good place for me! We heard plenty of stories about the winter and its enough to kill any impulse to visit between the months of September and March! But the people are overall very polite and friendly- and people that we worked with there talked about how industrious and honest they are, as well.

Our hotel was outside the city center by about a mile, but it was an easy walk down to the Norra Esplanaden, (the 'esplanade' to us American folk) which is the main pedestrian/shopping avenue. We concentrated on this area of the city, as it is close to the marina, restaurants and, most importantly, shops!! Because of the balmy weather, I think all of Helsinki was out when the sun was actually shining. And because the shops close down at 6 or 7pm, we had to make that our top priorty when we were done work. Some of my colleagues and I were very enchanted by the store, Iitalla, which features Scandanavian glass, including blown glass art by Toikka. He specializes in birds, which sounds strange when you say it out loud, but they are very beautiful and interesting in person, I promise. Several in my group bought one. I bought the 'Willow Grouse', which looks like a dove in my opinion, so that's what I'm going to call it. I have the feeling I'll be visiting that store again if I should ever go back....

Eating was a great pasttime of ours, as well- the first time I've ever had reindeer, thank you very much! And it was gooooood! I'm not a big fan of venison, but this was much milder and very tender. Don't tell Santa. Salmon, whitefish and the Morel mushrooms are other commonly found dishes on menus. They're all good!! Its also suprising how many people eat ice cream.

The national language is Finnish, but most people also speak Swedish and English. Good thing because the Finnish language is impossible to understand and more impossible to speak- even if you don't know what the word means. I'm convinced that they insert gratuitous syllables in their words- not to mention random consonants. 'T's shouldn't be next to 'K's in my opinion. Or 'K's next to 'V's. Seriously- try it- its hard!!!

The character of the city reminded me alot of other western European cities I've visited. There were not alot of buildings over 10 stories high, really. Most buildings were pretty simple and lacked alot of architectural doodads. We did visit a couple of beautiful churches. And the train station is designed by the famous architect Eliel Saarinen and is really beautiful inside and out. Alot of the streets are cobblestone and there are wide sidewalks with bike paths. The trolley system connects most of the city and is very easy to ride. And the Fins do a great job of planting their bulbs in the fall because tulips were in abundance!

Overall, it was a great trip. Supposedly, we'll be back again in the fall- I'm hoping its more like 'late summer', but I guess I'll have to get my fleece out just in case!! If you're interested in seeing the rest of my photos, please visit : http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=285832260408%3A1077217493&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Morocco- Rabat and Fes

Sorry its taken me so long to put this up! I was in Morocco the 3rd week of January for work. It was a pretty short trip, 7 days, but we were lucky enough to fall over a weekend, which gave us some free time to explore!!

I stayed in Rabat, the capital city. Its not the largest city in Morocco, or the fanciest or the most touristy. Locals consider it 'provincial' and it kind of shut down at night- we had a hard time finding places to eat dinner. The official languages are Arabic and French, which meant that Erin couldn't understand a thing that was being said. The Rabat airport is the smallest I've ever been in. One room for incoming, one room for outgoing. (plus a business lounge, which we managed to find on the way home...) The weather was a nice change from DC- highs in the 60s and sunny for the first part of the week, but of course it got colder and rainier on the weekend!!!

Saturday, we arranged a day tour to a town called Fes. I'd been told that I had to go visit- and I'm glad I did, but I don't see myself going back- haha!! We took the train (about 3 hours) and were met by a guide at the Fes train station. The countryside is amazingly green- I expected more desert, but that occurs more inland. Our guide spoke English extremely well and with a British accent, which he explained was because he learned English from watching BBC! I'm sure he was exaggerating.

Fes is like a town that time forgot. It was established during the Berber period and was a major stop for the camel caravans that brought goods up to Europe. The 'medina' is the oldest part of the city and is a huge market place. We saw spices, tourist stuff, lanterns, home goods, silver, copper, leather goods, fruits, meats and even a camel head and goat hooves for sale. (ugh!) Its not just a tourist site- people live, work and shop there. The buildings are 3-4 stories high- they have businesses on the first level and apartments on the upper levels. The 'roads' vary in width- some are probably as wide as 12', but most others are about 5-6'. This makes for very crowded conditions!! Especially when you factor in the donkeys that are used to transport stuff. Its no joke that you have to pay attention to whats going on around you- if you hear someone yelling, get out of the way because that probably means that a donkey is coming up from behind and I don't think the donkeys really care about stepping over your dead body!! haha!! Seriously- the smells, sounds and sights of that place will stay with me (and haunt me!) forever!! Our guide told us that the sounds of the medina was actually the inspiration of poets of long ago and were the foundation of the Arabic poetry styles. I can hear it- taken apart, the sounds are jarring, but they are musical when they are put all together- very interesting.

We visited the tanning 'factory' in the middle of the medina- actually, we smelled it long before we got there. At the door, they hand you a sprig of mint leaves and believe me- those leaves were pretty much stuck up my nose! I have some photos from the observation area of the vats of dye. We were told that Fes is most known for its leathergoods. I guess it gets processed here and sent up to Europe for fabrication. All kinds of leather- sheep, goat, and camel. No cows over there!! It was a great trip- a full day! When I got home, I realized that the entire day, including a fantastic lunch, train, tour, etc- only cost each of us about $40. Amazing!

Here I have to pause for a moment to talk about the food. Normally, I am an 'American' eater- I like things that are recognizable and while I'll try some things, others I'll just pass on. The food in Morocco was some of my favorite! We had a meal the first night that stands out as one of my favorite of all time. It was course after course of pitas, cous cous, schwarma, vegetable 'salsas' (because thats what they most reminded me of and I don't know what the real word is) for pitas, lamb and veal that just melted in your mouth- man, was it good! I even tried my first date (Indiana Jones style) and, well, I didn't like it, but at least I tried it!!!! Finish it all with a shot of hot mint tea (LOVE IT) and a spritz of scented water for the hands and I was in heaven. I can't wait to find a Moroccan restaurant in DC to compare it to!



Ok- so back to Rabat. I felt safe there- the women wore modern clothes and worked outside the home. It was a standard Middle Eastern city in that there was alot going on in the streets- the cars were a bit crazy, there was no crosswalk, etc, and the buildings and streets were a bit on the dirty side. But the people seemed nice enough. I did get taken advantage of financially a couple of times, but everything was so inexpensive I didn't even mind that too much. I actually didn't see too many sites in Rabat itself because we worked all day, but I did get to see Rabat's medina (nowhere near the experience of Fes!) and the Kasbah, a small community that is a maze of streets with pretty whitewashed/blue buildings. It seemed mostly residential, but there were some shops mixed in. When you wind your way to the top of the hill, you find the look out, where you can see the ocean. They do have a beach, but it was way too cold. The only people there were surfers.

I will be going back probably in the summer, so I left Casablanca and Marakesh for those trips!! You can see the rest of my photos here:
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Jerusalem Part 2

Well.....not much else to report on the trip because food poisoning took me out of commission for the 'free weekend'!!! Drats! Anyway- its no fun to be so sick so far away from home, I can tell you that. But I survived..'sigh'.


I was feeling a bit better by Tuesday, when we were done with our work and could run around a little bit. Suzanne and I went down into the Old City and then met the others for lunch. We walked from the hotel through an area called Yemin Moshe. It was developed in the 1800's (new for Jerusalem!!) as the first suburb outside the city walls. From what I read, it seems to have gone the route of all suburbs in the US- it boomed, then sank into ghetto, then was 'gentrified' in the 1980's. Now, its extremely expensive- apparently alot of American Jews have property there and use it as a vacation home. Very picturesque.



We met the others for lunch and I managed a few bits of a Falafel and some Schwarma. Good stuf! Then, we shopped!! The stores are a mix of leather goods, olive wood carvings, ceramics, jewelry (Roman glass or Eliat, which is a greenish stone). There were some nice spice stores that also had olive oil and soaps. Some people say the demeanor of the shopkeepers varies from quarter to quarter (The Old City has 4 quarters- Muslim, Jewish, Armenian and Christian. We were allowed in all of them, but the Muslim quarter can get a little rough and there's not as many tourists there.) I didn't really see a difference. They are all very polite (a few helped us as we became hopelessly lost.) and very insistent that you at least come in and see their stuff. A couple seem to have caught on that Americans aren't used to that- they would let you come in on your own and just say quietly 'I will let you look...'. But it is pretty fun to shop there.



We went to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I'd been before, but I wanted to see if I could get some better photos. It wasn't very crowded, which is nice. For those that didn't hear my spiel the first time, the Holy Sepulcher is (it is believed) the final 3 (4?) stations of the cross are located- and where Christ's tomb is located. Golgatha is there- that is where the cross was built into the stone. You can get into the actual tomb through a 3' high opening you have to crawl through. Only 3 people can fit comfortably, so there's usually a guy at the door telling people to come out and let others in. Well, that guy was not there this time, and there were some very rude (Russian???) tourists who decided they would bully their way in to the front of the line. It's hard because you get pissed off, but then I realized where I was and I had to literally say to myself, 'Now, Erin....what would Jesus do?' Hahaha!!


We then took a cab ride up to the top of the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the city. The cab drivers are all expert at this and usually offer you a 'tour' of the sites out there. And I really only trust a cab driver to navigate the road up there- very tight quarters!!! It was freezing and windy, so we didn't stay long and it was almost impossible to get a photo in focus w/ the wind. But it really is neat to see the cemeteries (Muslim, Jewish and Christian) with the Old City and the new high rises in the background. Someone told me that that is the most expensive place to be buried in Israel, and I believe it. The golden dome of the Dome of the Rock is always the focal point. I'd love to get to see it, but we can't get anywhere near it. Literally. A guy who was traveling with us was raised Muslim and he tried to go- they told him he had to read from the Koran even though his passport shows he was born in Turkey. I guess finally his cab driver got him inside. Lucky dude!! It looks beautiful.

We then went to Gethsemene and the Tomb of Mary. Very quick visits, as we were trying to beat the rain!

The airport home was another fun adventure. I got stuck with a '5' sticker, again, which I knew meant that I'd get searched quite thoroughly. All my stuff unpacked, swabbed, packed again. Oy. I guess I should be relieved that they were that thorough, as it makes my flight safer. And they are really nice about it.



Anyway- good to be home! I'm now ready to rush myself into the Christmas spirit!! Merry Chrismtas to everyone!!!!

Jerusalem, Israel December 2009

Thursday

We finally got some time to relax a bit today! After lunch we went to a Christmas Bazaar at the American Colony Hotel that had all kinds of homemade gifts. Nativities, purses, ornaments, etc.. .. .. Suzanne and I both got photographs. They were old Reproductions from Glass Negatives that a family has had for generations. Most of the photos were taken in the late 1800's, early 1900's. I debated over 2 and ended up with one of the Garden of Gethsemane (I need to check how to spell that!) It is Sepia Toned and is printed on silver paper, so it has a gold glow and really has a lot of depth. Beautiful! I can not wait to get it framed. I took a photo of the 'Grandpa' who took the pictures, his son and his Grandson.

And here's a photo of my photo! Ha!

(It looks better in person ..) It was taken in the early 1900s before the garden was so 'Touristy'. Looks a lot different today! I really may go back and get another one. There was one with a shepherd, sheep over looking the Old City before everything was built up-gorgeous!

We did a fast pass through the Old City-in Herod's Gate (Muslim Quarter), out Jaffa Gate (Christian Quarter). I literally got kicked in the butt by a boy about 10 years old. He got me as I walked by him. I was so surprised I just turned around and yelled "HEY!" Which only made him laugh harder. I am now wishing I had grabbed him by the scruffy neck and given him what-for, but I'm glad I did not start World War 3! But after walking up the street this morning and having dirty floor water dumped on my foot by a shop keeper, I'm feeling a little beat up! I hope tomorrow is better.

Had dinner out with the group-really nice group, very fun. Its way more fun to be here with people than on my own!

Some random things I learned today:

1. never, ever call the Dome of the Rock "Temple Mount". It's Dome of the Rock unless you want to get a beat down or start WW3!

2. While walking around, everything feels very normal and you can almost forget about the undercurrents of hostility. No guns this time. Lots of kids walking around after school. Very few sirens, and I have not seen any police yet. Bethlehem (West Bank) is unstable and controlled by the Palestinians, so therefore not accessible for us, unfortunately.

4. Jerusalem has a McDonalds, but it is advertised with the tiniest golden arches I've ever seen. Only about 4 'off the ground and probably a foot high. So cute!

5. The Old City: Definite difference between the Muslim quarter and the Christian Quarter. The Muslim quarter was active, busy, Hectic, full of merchandise and kinda dirty. As soon as we crossed into the Christian quarter, the shopkeepers were more interested in us, the shops were more touristy, streets were clean and there were much less people. Just interesting to note-no judgments are being made!

.................more later!!!