Waxahachie

Friday before last, I joined Hector after he finished working in Dallas all week. It was a shock to see how brown everything is this time of year. Our Marriott "Suites"was pretty ho hum. Friday night we had dinner with my niece and hubby, JAnne and Colin, at Mi Cosina in Highland Park. They're expecting a baby named Cohen Jacob Lenhart. Mi Cosina was absolutely squirming with yuppie blond couples and their kids with expectations.

Then we had dinner with Diane and Marc and his son, Michael, at another Mexican restaurant on Saturday night. Sunday, we drove down to Waxahachie to check up on all the family graves, of which there are many. Hector made a nice little arrangement of WalMart perma-flowers (plastic) for Mom and Dad, then we headed out to the sticks to visit my great grandfather, who is buried in a tiny 100 year-old cemetary called Greathouse. As always, the bored local teenagers had come through knocking over headstones, so we re-arranged the place a bit. Great grandad is hidden behind a tree so he was safe. Later we drove to Red Oak Cemetary and found Aunt Velma and her clan.

We had lunch at the 1886 Cafe, across from the Ellis County Courthouse (see photo). It was busy with all the families getting out of church. We drove around town a bit so I could show Hector, for the 500th time, all the houses I once lived in there. I made many original remarks about how much things had changed, and we returned to Dallas. On Monday, we fled back to San Diego.

Disneyland

Yesterday, Friday, Leslie and I snuck off and went to Disneyland for the day. She goes all the time with grandkids and such, and she has always had an annual passport. Hector and I used to go quite often, too, but I had not been in a couple of years. It’s always a thrill, walking up to the entrance gate. I find I always want to start running, just like the 6 year-olds. It was a gorgeous day and since we got there early, we rode a bunch of rides quickly before the crowds made their way back toward Frontierland and New Orleans Square. Got a 10 am drenching at the log ride.

She was pretty set on eating lunch at Blue Bayou, or whatever it’s called, overlooking Pirates of the Caribbean. That place is so over-priced and the food is never great, of course, but it was nice to be out of the sun and away from teenagers for a bit. Why weren’t they all in school? They all seemed to know each other, walking around in giggly throngs. Fortunately, Frontierland is mostly too square for them; they were all congregating in Tomorrowland. Leslie was very entertained by all the teenage girls, with the attitude and cell phones and nonsense, but really I was thinking they all need a good shaking. There were many clumps of 3 or 4 girls; each clump had a sullen younger brother attached to it, who hung off to the side, looking humiliated. My sympathy was entirely with the brother.
By 3pm I was beaten by the sun so we walked back through Downtown Disney toward the parking structure, where we wandered for over an hour until we finally found the car in a different building altogether. Dropped Leslie in Carlsbad, home at 630!

Christmas Over

I suppose we're back in the swing of things now. It always takes me several weeks to get over the holiday comedown. Rush, rush, excitement, travel, parties... hangover. Hector was recovering from pneumonia all of December, but was well enough for us to take a little pre-vacation vacation to Palm Springs for 3 nights. We stayed at the charming Viceroy, a swanky place created from the ruins of a couple of old 1930's Hollywood getaways. Just a block off Palm Canyon Dr, so it was very convenient to walk around. We got an upgrade to a one-bedroom casita with fireplace because the joint was pretty dead. Did a spectacular drive through a snowy Joshua Tree National Park.

Then we left for a week in San Francisco with Mark and Arturo. Our Marriott at Post and Mason was very nice, but the Exec Lounge was closed for the holidays so we didn't get all the free breakfasts we usually do. Lots of walking, San Francisco is such a great city to walk around in, even with all the hills. Let's see...we rented a car and drove up to Napa/Sonoma one day to do some wine research, hiked in Muir Woods, we visited the new Academy of Sciences Museum in Golden Gate Park (along with a million others), ate wonderful Dim Sum in Chinatown, went to a great restaurant for dinner one night, Gary Danko's, which is across the street from Ghiradelli Square. They did a 3-course tasting menu that was out of this world. Great food, wonderful service. After three hours, the 4 of us got poured into a taxi by the sweet hostess, with hugs and little gift bags of cookies each.

Next day we toured a coffee factory that supplies Mark's bakery with coffee and tea. It was wonderful. Big, loud roasting and grinding machines and automated assembly lines, with that heavenly smell everywhere. They made us swear we wouldn't divulge any of the Labels we saw being packaged but one was Trader Joe's.

I had expected the city to be sort of quiet, but because of all the department store sales it was crawling with shoppers from all over the place. In fact, dowtown was gridlocked most of the time we were there. Lots of French and Spanish overheard. People dragging huge shopping bags up the hills. We bought nothing. Came home in time for a relatively quiet New Years Eve, after which we both caught bad colds. Have now gone through 3 boxes of Kleenex with Aloe Vera.

Athens

Cafe in the Plaka

Temple of Olympian Zeus

At the Ancient Agora

Acropolis

Parthenon

So I flew into Athens to meet Hector after he wrapped up a week-long work trip to Dubai. I had upgrades all the way but I’ve come to the conclusion that all that pampering (relatively speaking) isn’t really that satisfying when you fly alone. One leg was Chicago to Brussels-- which we also took in September on the way to Berlin--and it’s a great airport. Minimal immigration, no Customs. American Airlines has joined up with Brussels Air so it’s a much better alternative than Heathrow when passing through Europe.

Our Marriott was nice but a bit faded, but had a well-equipped Executive Lounge. It was about a mile walk to the tourist area and the Acropolis but entertaining; it was our daily obstacle course through life-threatening intersections, sizzling electrical wires sticking up through the sidewalk, abandoned cars parked bumper to bumper along the street and the endless stray dogs, any of which might choose to adopt you, following you for several blocks, only to abandon you later.

There were very few tourists in town this time of year, so we had the run of the place, basically. We walked miles each day, explored all the historical sights, visited the wonderful Archeological Museum, made a number of hikes up to the Parthenon (undergoing huge restoration), and endlessly wandered the narrow streets of the Plaka and Monastiriki neighborhoods. It would have been ideal to have a hotel in that old charming section, but we enjoyed all the walking and of course the history is just unbelievable.

I’ve heard lots of people say that Athens is really not that great a destination, other than the Temples and such, but we had a very enjoyable and relaxing week, traveling the way we do (leisurely, to say the least). The trip home was okay, except that Hector was developing pneumonia and got really sick with a high temperature on the plane. He’s recovering just fine now.

The Athens riots began the day after we left so we really can’t be held accountable.

London and Dublin

Canterbury Cathedral

Friday, another easy flight into London City Airport. The city seems crowded and congested after serene Switzerland. After a cranky afternoon getting our Marriott room straightened out, we went out to fabulous weather and did a marathon walk through St James Park and down along the Thames, then up to Charring Cross for fish and chips.

Saturday we hopped a train for Canterbury. The train and the town were full of rotten teenagers with spikey hair and bad attitudes but we toured the spectacular Cathedral and walked around town. It’s totally tourist, with every shop and café themed around the olden days and Canterbury Tales. Full of local riff-raff. Then back to Victoria Station in London, where we raced back to our hotel and free glasses of wine.

Sunday we discovered a new area for us- Spitalfields and Brick Lane. It’s on the East End and full of Bangldeshis, Bohemian types and big street markets. Thousands out on the streets! It was very festive and fun. Stayed all day, toured a church, saw an old pub that Jack the Ripper met one of his victims in.

Monday, we opted NOT to take a train to Stratford but just stay in the city and roam around. So we walked across Hyde Park to the new Whole Foods, had pastries there, then went on to another new area for us- Holland Park. It’s lovely, there’s an actual park that is just beautiful and the residential area around it is wonderful. We decided that’s where we’d be living if we lived in London (and were billionaires).

Tuesday we flew to Dublin, where we met Hector's colleague, Terry, a fun Irish guy. He took us around to see Trinity University, The Guinness Museum, and then we had dinner at an historic Irish Pub named Johnny Fox's. We stayed at the beautiful Shelbourne Hotel in downtown Dublin. Back to London next day.

Thursday and Friday we just walked a lot, up and down the Thames Walk, toured fabulous Buckingham Palace, and had a final dinner with Marc and Al, who had just returned from Spain, where they are hoping to buy a home. They showed us pictures of a picturesque hillside estate in Southern Spain and now I just hate them. On the other hand, they said we could come stay in the guest house so maybe I don't after all.

Zurich

Zurich Old Town

Lucerne

Quick/easy/cheap flight on Airberlin to Zurich. The Marriott here is a bit old and run down but the spread in the Exec Lounge is to die for. Huge breakfast and huge evening snacks with free liquor and cappuccinos all day! There are lots of well dressed business people staying here. We walked around the historic district of Zurich the first day, which didn’t take long. Everything here is placed along the River Limmat that runs down into Lake Zurich. It’s really quite pretty.

Next day we took a bus tour with 5 other couples (Italian, Argentinean, Canadian, American) to Appenzell, where they make famous cheese and the natives are little ruddy-faced hobbits. The tour guide says they are the joke of Switzerland. But the area is gorgeous, all rolling hills and little Swiss cottages with dairy cows. The town itself is very quaint, chock full of tourists and all the little hobbit people snuffling around. Later we toured a rather dull chocolate factory and then drove back through the gorgeous countryside to Zurich.

Thursday, we decided at the spur of the moment to take the train to Lucerne, about 2 hours away. It’s beautiful too, right on the shores of Lake Lucerne with grand 19th century hotels and casinos lining the shore. Lucerne has more of a historic district than Zurich, which means there’s a lot to see, but also lots of tourists as well. Everywhere we’ve been, we’ve seen mostly European tourists. I guess the Americans are back in school and too broke to travel. We are definitely being frugal this trip.

Berlin

At the Reichstag

Holocaust Memorial

What a comfortable flight! San Diego to JFK, then to Brussels, (very nice, efficient airport) then on to Berlin. Comfortable bed-like seats on the overseas leg. American has spruced up their big planes. Immigration at Brussels Airport was so easy and friendly, very different than the assholes at U.S. immigration. Our Berlin Marriott was brand new and very nice, and the executive lounge was so well stocked and staffed that we didn’t even mind that we got a tiny room. So, our plan for this whole trip is to have 2 meals a day for free at the lounges. They do serve a full, delicious breakfast here, and then for dinner heavy hors d’oevres with our (free) cocktails! Take that, inflated euro!

First jet-lagged day in Berlin we did the double-decker city tour and strolled around nearby sites: Bradenburg Gate and The Holocaust Memorial. Out Marriott is right on the Tiergarten (big Central Park-style garden) so we went through there too but not sure how safe it is at night. Then, Sunday we walked hours up Unter der Linden street to Alexanderplatz to see all the old historic buildings. This part of the city was all East Berlin at one time and a lot of the tourist focus is on the history of the Nazis and the Wall, of course. There are still portions standing as a memorial.

Monday we went the other direction toward Charlottenburg. Visited the zoo, designed like a beautiful Hansel and Gretel fantasy and walked around the main shopping district. Then we went to the Reichstag, which was once the big Parliament building until it was burned during the War, now it is rebuilt as a combination of old remains and brand new modern design. It’s fantastic. Berlin is really clean and well-designed, so much was destroyed that they had to come up with new ideas to rebuild around all the old stuff so it’s a great combination of new and old.

Panama

Plaza Bolivar, Casco Viejo

Hector with Panama City in background

In Panama City now, on a work trip with Hector. Since it's summer, it's considerably more humid than when we were here in February. Every day it rains a bit in the afternoon. They've taken to referring to their seasons as the "Dry Season" and the "Green Season", which sounds a bit less wet, I suppose. Even with the humidity I like it here a lot. The people are very easy going.

Our Marriott is big and bustling, it has a nice gym, a lovely pool and, best yet, a casino. We went for dinner last night over to the old colonial part of the city, Casco Viejo, where things were pretty quiet. When we were here in February, they were filming a James Bond movie in some abandoned buildings down here. Panama is standing in for Bolivia, I believe, which is making the Panamanians irate. We caught no glimpse of Daniel, although we decided we might as well say we did. Who's to know?

We had planned to come home Thursday but decided to postpone a day so we could return through Dallas and avoid any weather delays that might stick us in Miami. That will give us a full day to goof off-- we want to go back to visit the Panama Canal.

Yesterday I took a taxi back to the hotel from a nearby shoppping mall around noon. The traffic was just horrendous- things would just stop dead for 10 minutes at a time and my driver was cursing at everybody and honking nonstop. The trip should have taken 10 minutes but took 40 and the poor old man was red and sweating, it had just stopped raining and I thought he was about to explode. At last we pulled up at the hotel and he turned around and looked at me like he was going to either kill me or start crying. I asked him how much and he said, "two dollars".

Do you, Steven...?

Hector & Steve with City Hall halo

I've been pretty ho hum about this whole gay marriage deal here in California. Basically, I haven't noticed it doing much good for straight people, not to mention that Hector and I don't really need it-- we've got our domestic partner registry and our wills and powers of attorney all done. But, at the last minute, we decided to do it while at our annual week in Palm Desert. We got our license last Friday in Indio (the pits), then drove over to the Palm Springs City Hall, where we were given a very sweet, moving ceremony by a very friendly Justice of the Peace. It was really great. And now I have to say, I really DO feel married!

Saturday night in Boulder

Lilah meets Grandpa

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Bette Midler in Vegas


Carlos & Vanessa at Mission Beach


Steve, Pollard, Lucien in Boulder

Oh hell, rather than pretending that I was keeping up with this blog all summer but forgettting to hit the publish button, I will just do one entry that encompasses the whole summer. But fear not-- I shall try to be concise. We went to Vegas in June (112 degrees) to celebrate Bob Brady's 50th birthday with a bunch of guys. Kent and Bob rented a big house with a pool and we all just partied and hung out there, even though Hector and I stayed at Bellagio. We went to a local art gallery gala of what looked like high school art AND we went to see Bette Midler's show at Caesar's and it was lots of fun, possibly even $225 worth of fun. Tons and tons of foreigners all over the place, they're the only ones who can afford it now. I did very little gambling this trip. We're poor Americans.

In July, Hector's niece and nephew came from Kentucky for their annual visit with the bachelor uncles. Carlos is 10 and Vanessa is 13, they were exhausting but lots of fun. We learned last year to limit their soda intake. It makes for a much more enjoyable stay. We had a few Ramirez reunions at our house while they were here so we got to see everybody we hadn't seen for a while. Oh, they all grow up so fast.

Then, Hector and I flew to Boulder, Colorado to celebrate my brother, Lucien's, 70th birthday. The whole family met there: siblings, his kids, new grandbaby, and us. We had a great, quick weekend. Boulder is really pretty, the weather was gorgeous. It reminds me of Santa Barbara. We took over a couple of restaurants for dinner, we kids (ha) took a hike one day, sat around visiting, very enjoyable.

Finally, I finished summer classes and I have to say I really enjoyed them, especially my freshman english class. We read a bunch of interesting literature and had to do a lot of writing, but it was fun. Probably not so much for the 19 year olds that were in class with me. I'll get an A in that class and a B in my Intercultural Communications class. So, now I'm done with school for a couple of months... just enough time for a trip to Panama at Labor Day, 3 weeks in Europe in September and a trip to Athens in November. Heaven!

Del Mar Fair

We made our annual trip to the San Diego County Fair (formerly known as the Del Mar Fair, but changed because it sounded too snooty) with Mark, Arturo and Sonia. We started doing this ten years ago with M&A. We'd spend hours, wandering among the prize hefers, the botanical show, the arts & crafts. But these days we've thinned our priorities and now we begin at one end and eat our way to the other end, and then back, then go home. This year I had a hot dog on a stick, BBQ sandwhich, homemade potato chips, and a chocolate dipped ice cream bar. Hector had even more, if you can believe it. Now, 2 days later, I'm still in a kind of lard-induced stupor.

The Parker, Palm Springs

Entrance of The Parker

Our room

The Main Lobby

Hector returned from Bogota late Saturday night, then we left early Sunday for Palm Springs. This was a birthday getaway for him, fortunately it was also Memorial weekend and we both had Monday free.

We arrived at The Parker amid throngs coming and going. It's a big property but there were people everywhere. I think a lot of them were sight-seeing. A Bravo reality show (Welcome to the Parker) was filmed here a couple of years ago. No way were they going to let us into our room before 4pm, so we just wandered the grounds, had lunch, then wandered some more. There's a croquet lawn, petanque courts, 2 pools, hammocks, a fire circle, and a big spa, all tucked into a nicely landscaped desert area. It's actually the former estate of Gene Autry. They've done it all up sort of 60's funky. Actually, I read that the designer described it as a place that looks like where your Auntie Mame used to live. It's fun and funky and comfortable. And really expensive. I hate to sound like an old lady but My God. When you check in and give your credit card for the room charges, you think the worst is over, but no... wait until you order a lemonade by the pool ($6) or have a light dinner from room service ($100 for 2). So we just tried not think about it and have a good time. Breakfasts were delicious ($65 for 2) but we skipped dinner at the signature restaurant in favor of a steak in Palm Desert for 1/2 the price.

On Sunday there were so many people we couldn't get a chair at the pool, but by Monday morning they were all heading back to LA and we had a nice long day poolside with a manageable crowd. It was a very nice mix of gay/ straight. I'd say 50/50. Plus lots of families. Service was pretty good, much better after things calmed down. Loved the spa! Full pool, steam and sauna for men and women separately. Our room (the cheapest) was very nice and spacious, with quality bathroom amenities: L'Occitane and Hermes.

We decided we'd gladly go back but maybe during a slow week when the prices are perhaps not so high. Plus, it's MUCH more enjoyable not to have to share it with people from LA.

Atlanta

I came with Hector to Atlanta because he was presenting at the International Reading Association Convention. 25,000 chubby, middle-aged teachers in sneakers and pedal-pushers. We stayed at the Marriott Marquis downtown, one of those concrete behemoths with a huge open atrium that soars upward 50 horrifying stories, including glass elevators, in case you're not already freaked out enough. We were on the 42nd floor. I can honestly say I did not look down once in 4 days.

Atlanta is a charming city. It immediately reminded me of Dallas and that opinion never changed. It’s very green and slightly rolling, it has a respectable skyline but the downtown area is filled with these huge concrete hotels so it’s not so great a downtown for strolling. It must have the largest black population in America. I had plenty of opportunities to overhear the use of AAVE, or African-American Vernacular English, which we’ve been studying a bit in Linguistics class. (formerly and infamously known as Ebonics.)

All the cab drivers must have recently gone through a required course in boosterism because they all acted like unofficial tour guides, pointing out highlights and providing tourist data. Did you know that the new Atlanta Aquarium is the largest in the world? So we went to the aquarium. It’s very nice but still doesn’t come compete with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Did the Botanical Garden: very nice, CNN Tour: pretty entertaining (Did you know that the escalator in the CNN Building is the longest freestanding escalator in the world?) Last night we attended the Braves vs Padres game at Turner Field to watch the San Diego Padres get their lazy asses kicked. The stadium is fun, it’s newish, like Petco Park in SD.

Hector, Tere Rivera, and I had a great Southern meal of fried, horribly unhealthy food on Monday night at a restaurant I can’t remember the name of. I had hoped for more of that kind of thing but after that one I really couldn’t take much more, so the rest of the meals were a bit lighter in the carbs. Fortunately, we did a lot of walking.

Istanbul

Hotel in the Sultanahmet District (me on top)
The Blue Mosque
Grand Bazaar
1000 year old mosaic in the Haghia Sophia Mosque

We just returned from a week in Istanbul. I met Hector there, where he was presenting at a teeny little conference of Eastern European Schools. Five hours to JFK, then 10 more to Istanbul. But Turkish Airlines is quite comfortable, unless you find yourself sitting next to a retired army sergeant who wants to talk from the instant she flings herself down. Fortunately, my coffee cup-sized Bose earphones always do their job. We did have individual TV screens, 2 meals and free booze, in coach! I watched 4 movies and still had time to sober up.

Istanbul was much cleaner/friendlier/prettier than I expected. We left our Marriott after one night because it was so far out in the suburbs and moved into the Alzer Hotel, a charming guesthouse directly across the street from the Blue Mosque, so we could watch the minarets light up at dusk as the muezzin did his loudspeaker call to prayer. There is absolutely no way in the world one could not hear this, as all the mosques seem to have a competition for who can be loudest and most overly dramatic. We were there for some special event where the baying went on into all hours of the night and men were scurrying in and out well past bedtime.

The Turks are a pretty friendly bunch. Granted, we were staying in the tourist area, but even strangers approached us on the street, wanting to converse in English. It was kind of sweet. In the US when a stranger walks toward you with a big smile, you quite naturally assume they are crazy or wanting money. In Istanbul they would say,"Where are you from? Are you enjoying Istanbul?" And then just walk on. Turks think Istanbul is just the greatest thing in the world-- just like New Yorkers: Aren't you thrilled to be here? There were very few American tourists, but a million loud Spaniards, Germans, tough-looking Russians, aloof Japanese.

The food was good, lots of lamb and beef kabobs, vegetables, rice. Superb desserts. Mostly we just walked around, getting a bit lost, stopping for tea at a cafe, seeing all the hotspots: Topkapi Palace (2 days worth), Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia Mosque, The Bazaar and Spice Market, Aquaduct, Basilica Cistern, Archeological Museum (fantastic!). We bought a lamp and a tile mosaic. It was fun chatting with the locals-- they are eager to not be mistaken for a fundamentalist Islamic country. Several said they wanted to visit the US but it's very difficult to get a visa, big surprise.

Back from LA

I'm trying to keep up with Hector's movements on the other side of the world but since he's going to bed as I'm getting up and taking flights at all hours it's pretty hard. I send him a good morning email as I'm going to bed and vice versa. He told me he was walking through the Dubai airport last night and out of nowhere heard someone shout "Hector!" It was a former Harcourt employee who used to be head of the International Division. So they chatted a bit and are going to get together for coffee later.

I just returned from LA where I went for the weekend to visit with my nieces, Rohanna and Hari. Ro is breathtakingly pregnant. You can almost see the baby's face pushing through her belly. Had dinner with them & their mom, Sophia, and Tom, the baby daddy, at Parc in Hollywood. Good food, fun atmosphere but very loud. I hate to say it but I'm too old for those places. After dinner, I walked back to my hotel, The Renaissance Hollywood, just a couple of blocks away, past the amazing freak show that is Hollywood Blvd at 10pm on Saturday. On one corner, a bunch of hip hop kids performing for tips next to a group of Christian something-or-others singing What a Friend We Have in Jesus. I kid you not.

I also worked on Saturday for Mary Carlisle Blakeley, my old customer on Rodeo Drive I've known for 20 years. Mr Blakeley, her wonderful 97 yr old husband, has died and she had a bad fall 2 weeks ago that left her pretty banged up. But she was outside with me as I built some shelves in the garage: sweeping up, shoving old rotten fainting couches out of the way. Her old mausoleum of a house is just falling down around her ears but still she's talking about pulling it all together to have dinner parties, maybe even replacing the old burned-up Rolls Royce... This morning she showed me a gold ring given to her by Anna Q. Nilsson, a silent screen star in the 20's! Really, when she goes, she must surely be the last of that era. It's hard not to be taken aback when she starts talking about swimming at the Basil Rathbones' and visiting San Simeon with Marion Davies.

Off to Istanbul

The school quarter is winding down, only ten more days to go. But the assignments are becoming more fevered and frequent. Big lesson plans due, papers on foreign cultures, final exams. Keeping my head above water, though. I might actually make an A or two.

I've got the dreaded nasty-cold-that-you-thought-was-over-but-came-back-a-month-later that everyone seems to have. Just when San Diego was ready to come out into the sunshine, we're struck down again.

Hector leaves tomorrow for an extended work trip to the mideast that, by all that is right, I should be accompanying him on. He goes to Kuwait, Dubai & Abu Dhabi, and then Istanbul, where I'll join him next weekend when classes are done. We'll spend a week exploring, eating yummy food, smoking water pipes and whirling in circles with long, white skirts on.

Now I Can Die

It must have begun in Mrs. Sharpley's 4th grade geography class because I've always had a strong desire to see the Panama Canal. It just always has seemed so exotic to me, like it was unimaginable that I could ever be there, just like the Pyramids at Giza.

Gaspar drove us over yesterday and we had lunch at a little restaurant overlooking the Miraflores Locks. I mean really overlooking. You could throw a dinner roll and hit a passing ship, were you so inclined. But it's a real production, all the ships' crews come out and wave to everyone on the observation deck. As we had lunch, 3 big ships went through, along with a few sailboats they throw in as a package deal. You can see the tankers lined up for miles, waiting their turn.

Panama City

Sitting at the Dallas-Ft Worth Admirals Club Lounge en route to Panama. Hector is working there next week and I am going along for the ride. I’m looking forward to seeing the Panama Canal. Bad storms in Texas so our arrival was like a tilt-a-whirl.

I was awake most of last night with a weird vertigo sensation. Every time I tried to move, my head would feel like it was spinning. It felt exactly like when you were a kid and you’d spin in one direction a bunch of times then stop and try to walk straight. Very unsettling. And since it was me, my thoughts naturally turned toward brain tumors, spinal meningitis and worse. Around 330 am I was planning my own funeral.

But today I’m fine, no dizziness, just exhaustion and the low-grade crankiness that goes along with air travel.

Later… Finally we arrived at our hotel (Courtyard) in Panama City at 2am., then slept until almost noon the next day. We went over to the old section of the city, Casco Antigua, and walked around and had a late lunch. It’s very much like the old city in San Juan, Puerto Rico, maybe 10 years behind in restoration. Still a lot of families living in the old colonial buildings with laundry hanging out on the balcony--loud music coming out the windows. We might have been in Havana. We had drinks under a big umbrella at an outdoor café and a huge rainstorm blew in. It was very nice.

Today, Hector is working and I am heading to the mall next door to see if there’s a latte with my name on it.

Later still... found two lattes with my name on them, also a red windbreaker at a store called Helly Hansen. Reminder: grave error to shop alone when the staff is a couple of bored, good-looking young guys who want me to buy something.

Unfortunately, I haven't had much time for my posting here but I thought I'd better check in. School is going well, we're into week 5 now and I have to say I'm really enjoying all my classes, even though I'm forced to read chapters and chapters of this kind of drivel: "...parallel to the interest in developing rational principles for vocabulary selection was a focus on the grammatical content of a language course." Say what? I've enrolled in 3 more classes for next quarter so that means I should be done with the class work by the end of summer.

We're off to Panama for a Hector work trip next week (I'm cutting class) and then to Istanbul during the spring break. Very excited about both. I've always wanted to see the Panama Canal (actually, I've always wanted to sail through the Panama Canal but this will do for now) and I'm especially thrilled about Istanbul, of course. I think my desires to see all these places are related to movies. I keep thinking about that silly Peter Ustinov movie Topkapi that takes place in Istanbul.

Also, we're tentatively planning a Country Walkers trip to Slovakia in September. The tour begins in Budapest and ends in Krakow so you get 3 passport stamps for the price of one. Anyone care to join us?

Okay, I'm not as stupid as first feared. I got to my Teaching Grammar class and no one, NO ONE knew anything about past participles or 3rd person singular or copulas. And some of these students are already teachers.

In San Diego, even more rain this weekend! I had a quiet few days, Hector spent the weekend in Guatemala between work weeks there. I went for a few long walks, between rain showers, and had dinner last night with Dave at Kitima. Just trying to be frugal and studious. Translation: dull. I'm ready for a trip!

TGIF

When did I become so old and stupid? At the end of my first week of classes I'm exhausted and confused. I can't remember which textbook is for which class (granted, they all are connected to teaching English) and I'm not sure if I'm doing the right homework. It reminds me of the shock I went into when I attended the Spanish immersion school in southern Mexico a few years ago. For ten days I was a nervous wreck, not sleeping, walking around in a daze. Then, one day it all just changed and I got it and became the star pupil. Hope that happens here, but for now I don't know a past participle from a gerund.

Hector is back on the road again (and not here to do my homework for me) and I'm doing a few measly jobs but spending most of time being a student. Most of my classes are filled with giggly Asian girls over here from Japan or Korea to get some sort of credential for back home.

Bit of a gloom at our house. After much anticipation over the supposed new international staff for Hector's company, it turns out that almost everyone got fired from the International Div. and there are no plans to hire anyone new. That rather puts the kibosh on our overheated fantasies about ending up in some exotic locale. Of course, there has been no official word to Hector but still we moped around, kicking the cat, for a couple of days then just decided-- what the fuck. I'm still going to do the teaching certificate program (beginning next week) and we'll sit tight for a bit. Hopefully, our planned (and ticketed!) trips to Panama and Istanbul can still be managed.



Currently it is raining like crazy here. Usually, when the weather forecasters are screaming "storm of the century!" like they did all last week, it means that it will cloud over and you may need to turn on windshield wipers. But this time they were more or less correct. San Diego...code orange...heightened alert!

Redwood Highway, part 2

Kenwood Inn

Now where was I? Oh, yes. Driving out of Mendocino. We took an easy meander north and arrived in Kenwood early afternoon, all drizzly, cold and foggy. I don't know if you've ever been to the California Wine Country before but it's a real experience. For one thing, it's really picturesque. We stayed at the charming Kenwood Inn and Spa, got upgraded to a suite with fireplace and jacuzzi tub. It was pretty nasty out so we stayed by the fire, killing off a good bottle of wine. As a matter of fact, we spent pretty much the entire 2 days at the hotel-- steam room, heated pool, breakfast room, winebar, room service, reading our books in front of the fire. Armchair travelers.

2 days later we drove in to San Francisco, over the Golden Gate. Checked into the Renaissance Stanford Court on Nob Hill and that night we met Hector's brother, Jorge, and his family (in town for shopping) for drinks at the St Francis Hotel on Union Square. We had dinner at Cafe Tiramisu on Belden St.

Next day, hiking at Muir Woods, hamburger in Sausalito, drinks at the Fairmont Nob Hill. We also visited Grace Cathedral. Next day we flew home, joined by all the traveling holiday families, cranky because they didn't get what they want for Christmas.

The Redwood Highway

World Famous Paul Bunyan
World Famous Tour-Thru Tree
World Famous One Log house

We're on a big road trip now- just like when you were a kid. We actually saw all these world famous things in ONE DAY! We flew up to Medford Oregon (airport like a bus station) on Dec 22 (holiday crowds, lost luggage, squealing babies), picked up our rental car and immediately headed for California Highway 101, the Redwood Highway! We spent the first 2 nights in Trinidad, CA and I fell in love. It's a wonderful, picturesque, authentic fishing village. It's the first time I ever experienced massive redwood forests that come up to very edge of the sea. We stayed in a cabin among the trees, it drizzled the entire time and it was just perfect. We hiked for 2 days among the redwood forests, had dinner at the Seacoast Cafe right off the fishing pier, where the crabs were being hauled in right then. At night we were back in our little cabin by 7pm. Almost no other tourists around and trust me, they like it that way.

Next we drove up to Mendocino along Highway 1, hugging the coastline for hours. Mendocino is another charming little village in an unbelievably picturesque location but this one is all about the tourists. In summer it must be utter hell. But now, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it was quiet and friendly. Almost everything was closed, except for the B&B's. They were all full of people from San Francisco. And us. The Mendocino Headlands separate the town from the sea with dramatic cliffs and trails with incredible views. We stayed at the Sea Rock Inn, on the edge of town, overlooking the rocky coast. Lots of walking, chatting with other gay couples.

Now, Wednesday, we came down toward the wine country and I can see we're leaving paradise behind. Lots of traffic and strip malls and cranky people. We just checked into the Kenwood Inn and Spa and I'm guessing we won't be leaving here the rest of the day. It's pretty spectacular. We're killing a bottle of wine in front of the fireplace right now.

Whale Watching

Today I cancelled all my vital appointments and we took Diane whale watching from San Diego Bay. Neither Hector nor I had ever done this. Huge boat, but only 10 guests. It was quite cold out on the high seas and Di and I got a bit queasy. Saw no whales-- just lots of dolphins and sea lions. There were more guides than guests on board and by the end we were hiding from them so they'd leave us the hell alone.

Now I've taken her to the airport to go home and we have a dinner party to go to. I'm just tired from all this hosting and partying. I'm really looking forward to leaving on our driving trip on Saturday.

Hector's International boss called him last night at home. Ostensibly to personally let him know about upcoming changes but clearly she was fishing for info about his interest in working overseas full time. Actually, she is leaving the new company in 6 months and wants to start a consulting biz in the Arab Emirates. I think she was fishing about his interest in doing that. But I'm not sure that's his cup of tea, although it would certainly be mine.

Welcome to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers

Hector got his official welcome in the mail, so apparently he has a job. It was nothing but a form letter, full of legal mumbo jumbo. Today there was a company-wide conference call announcing new executive positions, everybody congratulating each other. But the good news for us is that the new president wants to do an international expansion to spread the business worldwide. (This is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Inc-- not George Bush) Like the sound of that. Maybe we'll be going somewhere after all.

UCSD Library

And now I'm a college student, yet again. I enrolled at Univ of Cal at San Diego Ext. for their TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) Certificate Program. I begin Jan 15 and it should take about 6 months. So if we really do get to move out of the country I should be able to teach English. The first thing I'll teach them is to say nuclear instead of nucular.

Wait A Minute Mr Postman

Al and Marc from London paid us a surprise visit. Since Al lived here 7 years ago before he became a Eurogay, he wanted to show S California to Marc, a Eurogay from birth. We dragged them to several Xmas parties and they continued their pub crawls into the night. The verdict is that bar life in San Diego isn't what it once was. Listening to them talking about London, their plans to move to Spain etc really, really puts a fire under us. I wanna go. go. go.

We're having cold and rain. Most unusual. More parties the next 2 weeks to contend with, then we get the hell out at last.

Hector finds out this week, via mail, whether he has a job with the new owner of the company, who is a direct competitor. I'm watching for the mailman even as I write this.

Full-on Christmas. The tree is up and the carols are wailing. At least I have a litle insulation since Hector does virtually all the gift shopping and wrapping. The malls are already hell.

Our neighborhood is all torn up with termite repairs. The association is going house to house replacing rotten wood. We're last on the list. The young couple who was renting next door have moved and we've been fearful of another house full of college kids moving in but the owner, Ernie, tells me he's going to rent to "two women" who have an 8 year old daughter. Sounds like Heather has two mommies.

Hector and I are still discussing our desire to relocate. We have to wait to hear how it all turns out with the sale of his company. No one is going to know anything about their jobs until right before Christmas so speculation is rampant. Every day Hector hears another wacky story from a co-worker. I don't really care where we go I'm just ready to do something different. The fantasy, of course, is to move to a different country but I'd gladly move to another city (within certain parameters) in the US. Here's my wish list in order of preference:
Europe or "over there" somewhere.
Central America
New York City
Chicago
Santa Fe
South America

New Mexico

Hector had a little conference in Albuquerque but really it was an excuse to get our needed Marriott points for the year and to visit Santa Fe. I couldn’t tell you what the conference was even about. We stayed at the Marriott Pyramid North. That name may sound promising but really it’s just one of those 1970’s hotels that have an indoor atrium that goes up ten floors and some tacky fountains and things. It’s in dire need of a remodel. We had a cave-like suite with battered furniture.

Albuquerque has a nice little historic district, with a plaza and some cool old buildings around it. Nothing like Santa Fe, of course. We drove up and had a few meals there, took a hike in the Santa Fe National Forest and drove around looking at gorgeous houses we can’t afford. We still haven’t given up on our fantasy to live there some day.

We saw Kent and Bob last night. They are well, fit and slim (bastards). And busy as usual. We all had dinner at a restaurant named Trattoria Nostrani and just as we were lamenting that we hadn’t seen any celebrities this trip, as we normally do, in walked Jeremy Irons. He sat alone, dressed like a homeless person, and had dinner reading a magazine. Nobody knew what he was doing in Santa Fe but clearly he wasn't hiding.

Hector and I, in our shallow way, collect our celebrity sightings. The best are at restaurants because it's something a bit more than just passing them in the street. My all time fave is dinner with Paul McCartney and Heather Mills at Kampa Park in Prague.

Home from Puerto Rico

We left Rincon on Saturday and not a moment too soon! By Friday the place was filling up with--of all things-- tourists! At least we had a couple of days of solitude. I barely got out of the water the entire time and by Friday afternoon was feeling a little waterlogged and parboiled.

We drove back to San Juan on a different route, through Ponce on the Southern Coast. The landscape was very different. A lot like California with green rolling hills instead of the lush jungle of the Northern Coast. Checked back into our Marriott for one night and believe it or not we went to the local mall to see a movie-- Lions for Lambs. It was good. But the Spanish subtitles were a bit distracting, and the other viewers were a rowdy bunch. Lots of cell phone talking, bags rustling, people coming and going. I didn't do my usual huffing, puffing and throwing dirty looks because we were most definitely in the minority.

Now on the way home, business class San Juan to LA (7 1/2 hours) but we're in an old American Airlines 757 bucket so there's no glamour. Except that sitting in the seat behind me is a pop star named Nick Lachey and he and his girlfriend are both very pretty, in that overdone Hollywood way.

We're home for one day then we leave again for Albuquerque on Tuesday. This is one of my favorite things to to do: take a long trip, then come home for a day or so then take off again. It's like a little vacation from vacationing. I can do laundry, sleep in my bed, check the mail, but I don't really have to let anyone know I'm here.

Here's Where I Am, Where Are You?

In lovely Puerto Rico now. We're basically recreating the trip we made here at Christmas of 2005 (?) but this time with Mark and Arturo in tow. We spent 4 days in San Juan, lots of walking, eating, gambling at the hotel casinos, splashing in the surf. We took a hike one day in the Bosque National Forest, known as El Junque. It's a rainforest and very beautiful. And wet. Lots of waterfalls, huge dripping ferns, noisy animal life.

Now they have gone home and Hector and I have come to Rincon, on the western Caribbean coast, to a nice little beach hotel (see foto) with spectacular views and a gorgeous warm surf to play in. We came at the right time of year because the place is pretty quiet and we got a better deal this time than before at Christmas. Maybe 25 people here at most. The poor employees are bored to distraction.

We just took a drive into "town" to buy some water and alcohol and, God, is it poor. The grocery store looked like something in Communist Russia, with empty shelves and a few sickly vegetables. No shortage of alcohol, naturally.

One more day then back to San Juan for a night and home again.

The fires are mostly out now, the air is clear, the millionaires have all gone back to what's left of their homes. Hector and I fled for a few days to Palm Desert to stay at the JW Marriott there.

Before the fires we went for a few days to Portland, which I keep hearing is the new West Coast in place. Well, thank you, but I'll stay in Southern California. Oh, there's lots of nightlife and good restaurants. Art galleries, shopping, music venues. And they have better mountans than we do.

In fact, we took off one day to hike in Mt Hood National Forest. We drove for hours and the road kept getting smaller until finally it was about 4 feet wide and just dirt. So we got out, admired the view for a bit but then we began to notice that the ground was covered in little colored plastic tubes. Everywhere. Then it hit us. Shotgun shells. Thousands of them. As we looked around more we saw old beer bottles, condom wrappers, potato chip bags, all the signs of... the locals. I immediately thought of Deliverance. We had not passed a soul for many miles.

We couldn't find our trail so we just roamed around a bit, waiting for Freddy Kruger to jump out but he never did. As we left we did pass a pickup with a couple of hillbillies in it-- no doubt searching for us.

Back in town, I explored the Portland Japanese Garden while Hector worked. It's gorgeous, laid out on 5 hillside acres. We had some good food, did a lot of walking. Had dinner one night with Tere and Martin, in from LA for work.

Now, this week, I'm getting ready to leave for Puerto Rico. Mark, Arturo and I will meet Hector there on Saturday. We're staying a week, hurricanes be damned.

Too Darn Hot

No, this is not Kuwait after Saddam Hussein got finished with it. It's Southern California on fire and I'm in there somewhere. Things are not as bad as 4 years ago but I still have my box of valuables next to the front door in case of an evacuation order.



Just heard on the news that the relative humidity is between 0%-1%. About like the Sahara, except that it's raining ashes.

Home Sweet Home

We made it back home, upgraded all the way, thank you. No nasty immigration officers, no cancelled flights, no lost luggage. In short, a real travel success story.

The weather in San Diego when we left was hell but now it’s gorgeous and balmy, the days are shorter, and today we finalized our Christmas travel plans. We’re doing a driving tour of the Northern California coastline: Redwood forests, seaside spas, the wine country, and wrapping it up with a couple of nights in San Francisco.

And in March I’m meeting Hector in Istanbul for a week, then in May we’re doing an exploratory visit to Tuscany in search of places we might want to live. Yippee.

Bye Bye Brazil

Today is our last day in Sao Paulo. We have to check out of the hotel at 2pm but the flight doesn’t leave until 10pm so the luggage and I are in weird travel limbo while Hector works. Like most South American hotels the staff here is very helpful so I can hang out in the Executive lounge all afternoon and even take a shower before our flight if I want. So far, we have not been upgraded to business class and I’m uneasy. It’s a long way home in coach.

I can’t say I’d rush back to Sao Paulo but it’s been a nice visit. Of course, the locals are so eager for us to be impressed and they are rightly proud of their restaurants. They have none of that American shame about eating meat. At a restaurant yesterday we were sitting near an attractive young woman in her twenties and she ordered a filet mignon for lunch. I tried to imagine that happening in Southern California and burst out laughing.

Bom Dia from Sao Paulo

Yes, this is the view no matter which direction one looks so it's best not to look around. Down at ground level things are much nicer. SP is a very clean city, we took the subway yesterday and it was absolutely spotless- far better than anywhere I've seen.

The Paulistas are quite friendly. English is not as common as I expected but by combining Spanish, English, Sign language and Head nodding one can get by. On paper, Portugese looks similar to Spanish but boy when it falls out of their mouths it's more like Vietnamese.

Our hotel (Renaissance by Marriott, of course) is in a very upscale neighborhood called Jardim, with lots of trendy shops and restaurants. Meat features very highly here in the restaurants. I've had a great chateaubriand (all to myself) and a couple of sirloins. This would be a great place to do the Atkins diet.

Hector's working this morning at a nearby school, then this afternoon we're going to a local fleamarket to ascertain what the locals think of as junk.

Palm Springs

We just got back from our annual week in Palm Springs, or rather, Palm Desert, next door. But we spent a good amount of time in PS, which is more festive and definitely gayer, in every sense of the word. We went hiking one day in Indian Canyons, which has beautiful natural palm oases, saw a couple of movies, baked by the pool in the 112 degree heat, observed the locals (all of whom are 90 plus years old and also spend a lot of time baking themselves). It was very relaxing. We also celebrated our 10th anniversary and my 52nd BD.

I've been selected to write a weekly blog about travel tips for an online resource called onlineorganizing.com. I start in a couple of months so I better get busy and make up some stuff. No money involved, just the international recognition and deep sense of self-worth.

Summer Reads

Don't be alarmed, I'm not becoming a book critic, I'm not smart enough, though that hasn't stopped me with movies. But even though I've complained about the crappy summer movies, it has been a good summer for reads.






The Night Watch

It's World War II in England and lesbians are taking over. No, it's a story about a group of women whose lives intersect as do their war jobs in London. Great period detail, lots of surprises.


Gone With The Windsors
The cover makes it look sort of dry, but it's really quite funny. It's in the form of the diary of a fictional friend of Wallis Simpson as she recounts the affair that brought down the monarchy. Lots of name dropping, grand parties, scathing remarks. According to this he was a dimwit and she was a harridan, no big surprise.





A Share in Death

Abandoned because it was too stupid to continue. Murder at a time-share. If only.

Suite Francaise

More World War II, this time in France. It begins by following several families as they flee Paris as the Germans invade and ends with the tale of a love affair between a French woman and the German soldier assigned to be her boarder. The author, Irene Nemirovsky, was a Jewish writer living in France until she was taken to Auschwitz, where she died. Bleak story.

Middlesex

This was a great read. Oddly, the copy I bought doesn't say Oprah's Book Club on it, it says Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. I didn't know both could happen at the same time. It's a family epic, following the Stephanides family from Greece through several generations as they end up in Grosse Point, Michigan. The herione, Calliope, is an undiagnosed hermaphrodite and along the way she discovers and accepts the truth about herself.

Harry Potter

Bye-bye Harry. I really have a hard time accepting that there's no more. As with all of the books, it's overwritten, because who is going to tell JK Rowling to take out that bit please. But there's lots of tension and excitement. Of course, there's the final big showdown with Lord Voldemort. Ralph Fiennes is going to get several weeks work out of it when they do the movie. And contrary to rumor, no one particularly important gets killed here, Dumbledore died in the last one. But I salute JK Rowling for giving kids (and me) some good books to read. I had good books as a kid and it made me want to keep reading.

Summer Movies

Overall, this was a pretty unexciting summer for movies but fortunately I got past the real stinkers early. These I enjoyed.

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

They sure grow up fast, don't they? Harry is quite the young man now, and if you've seen any of the racier photos from his West End production of Equus, you know I'm right. If you have stayed a faithful Harry Potter fan, as I have, then this one is quite enjoyable. It's got all those rich production values and a wonderful cast as always. Imelda Staunton steals the show as Dolores Umbridge, the tight-assed new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. But now that I have finished reading the final Potter book [no one important dies, almost everyone lives happily ever after] my Hogwarts fever has abated a little and I need a Potter break.

Hairspray

I'm not sure why it was necessary to remake this movie but the songs are a lot of fun. I prefer John Waters' sick humor, though, to this scrubbed-up version. John Travolta is NOT good as Edna Turnblad. He just isn't clever enough. And poor Michelle Pfeiffer needs a good nights sleep and a hearty meal-she looks like the mummy of Hatshetsup. Queen Latifah is good as Motormouth Maybelle and Allison Janney is funny as Prudy Pingleton. If you need to go to the bathroom, leave during the scene between Michele Pfeiffer and Chris Walken in the magic store.


Ratatouille

Very cute, wonderful animation. Pixar beats Disney all to hell. Great scenes of Paris, and lots of fun French caricatures. It's about this French rat who dreams of becoming a chef... and... just go see it.

Sunshine

I'm still not sure what to make of this. I have to say I really enjoyed watching it, even though it got pretty fucking silly toward the end, with a monster on board the ship and our hero, Cilian Murphy, riding the back of a bomb into the sun, just like Slim Pickens in Dr Strangelove. But most of the time it's an engrossing sci-fi on board a cool spaceship with that interesting, just-took-a-Seconol feel of the first Alien. It seems the sun is slowly burning out so a group of astronauts are taking a big bomb up there to try to explode a new star out of it to save mankind. Gee, it sounds silly when I say it.