In My Own Backyard (or close enough)

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and Santa Fe, New Mexico

I've never been in a hot air ballon and I honestly don't know if I'll ever get the guts to go up in one. But when I heard that the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was the most photographed annual event in the United States, I decided that it was something I couldn't miss!! My friends and I planned a long girls weekend to Albuquerque and Santa Fe to coincide with the Fiesta and we ended up having a great time!

My friends indulged me with a very early start to see the 'Mass Acension' at dawn on October 1, the first day of the Fiesta. One piece of advice for anyone who plans to do the park-n-ride is to go VERY early (people in the front of the line had to have been there by 5:00am because we got there at 6:30 and there were hundreds in line ahead of us...) We ended up getting turned away because the buses were stopping at a certain hour. And after seeing the lines of people waiting to get home from the event on the park-n-ride buses, I would tell anyone to just drive themselves. That's what we ended up doing and there was little traffic.


Once at the Fiesta, however, we found that the headache was well worth it. Hundreds of hot air balloons were in various stages of lifting off- from unpacking the balloon, to blowing up the balloon (it was all just air- no gas) and to lifting off. The public is welcome to mingle on the field with the balloon teams, ask questions, take photos, help set up, etc. I took over 350 photos in the 3 hours we were there. Here's just a sample...






After we were fiesta'd out, we hopped in the rental and started our drive up to Santa Fe, NM via the 'Turquoise Trail'. You can access this scenic by-way by driving I-40 East out of Albuquerque to Route 14 North. The trail cuts a rural path through the countryside, passing several tourist attractions, scenic stops and quirky small towns. One town we stopped in was Madrid, a mining town built in the 1800s. When the use of coal died down, the town died. But in the 1970s, it became a popular artist community. We parked our car on the side of the road and made our way to the various art galleries and craft shops. I would definitely recommend a stop here for lunch, although we continued on to Santa Fe for an early dinner.







Some highlights in Santa Fe include:

• The Palace of Governors- Local Indians line up here in the mornings to sell their handicrafts- you'll have trouble choosing which piece of jewelry to buy! The museum inside is one of the best history museums I've been to- it told a very interesting story of New Mexico, Santa Fe and the building itself, which has changed over time.


• Eating!!! Man, we ate a lot! Some of the restaurants we hit were: Cafe Pasqual's (pricey breakfast fare, but it was ok), Coyote Cafe (had a very good dinner on the rooftop cantina- and the watermelon mojito was good, too!), El Farol (great tapas restaurant with yummy sangria and has a bar attached that features live music nightly), The Shed (great tacos but get there early if you plan on lunch or you'll be stuck with an hour wait), and Il Piatto (good Italian). Wow- it's making me hungry again thinking of these places!!


• Georgia O'Keefe Museum- located downtown, it's an easy place to visit. The $12 entry is pricey for the size of the collection, but if you're a fan, I would recommend it as it featured pieces I never knew she'd done.


• The Plaza is great for people-watching!


• Shopping. You can find everything from designer clothes to kitchy tourist items, but one thing Santa Fe does not skimp on is shopping!

We never made it over to Canyon Road to visit the art galleries but we did do a scenic side trip up Bishops Lodge Road into the mountains (we climbed over 2,000 feet). I would tell anyone that Santa Fe is worth a good long weekend- especially around Balloon Fiesta time!!! If you'd like to see more of my balloon photos, click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=redhd2872&target=ALBUM&id=5525106115771947793&authkey=Gv1sRgCKGBnfq5z4e0FA&feat=email

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:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=92145&id=1421950426&l=a0d3c0ca27

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:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=430370602408%3A1229574212&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

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:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=635235109308%3A474740808