Old Bridge - Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Two hours and four border crossings later, we had just about arrived at our destination, Mostar. As we drove farther away from the Adriatic, the Southern Herzegovina scenery started looking vaguely familiar with hints of Southern California style landscape. The dusty brown hillsides were a canvas of mossy greens desert scrub and not much else. As we approached the outskirts of Mostar, the skyline was peppered with minarets to the left and a Catholic Church spire to the right.

Prior to the war in the early 1990s, Mostar was probably best known for its Turkish style architecture and its 16th century single-arch bridge, the Old Bridge, also known as Stari Most.

However, in 1992 Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia and Mostar quickly became famous for being one of the main front lines of the Bosnian War. The war divided the city in half and the bridge acted as a natural barrier between the two fighting ethnic groups, the Muslims and the Croats. Sadly, in 1993 the Old Bridge was destroyed by shells and much of the stone from this historic structure fell into the Neretva River below, where it stayed until rebuilding efforts began in 1998.

Photo courtesy of Smithsonian.com

Croatia Through My Eyes

Over the past month, many of you have asked for more details about Croatia and here is my attempt to address all your burning questions.

Croatia Love

Prior to booking my trip to Croatia, I actually knew very little about the country. A dear friend had spent a day in Dubrovnik on her honeymoon a few years ago and her photos of the walled city are images that have stuck with me and inspired me to consider Croatia as my next destination. From the moment I arrived in Croatia, I was quickly pulled under the spell of her beauty and seduced by the rich history and the gracious people I encountered. Croatia is a fabulous fusion of Central European and Mediterranean influence and boasts of having over 1200 islands.

English is widely spoken and though we attempted some of the language, all the locals we encountered were anxious to practice their English. Tourism is fast becoming a pillar of their economy and the locals want to do all they can to encourage and entice others to visit their land. Currently, most Americans tend to just make the day trip to Dubrovnik as part of their Mediterranean cruise itinerary. My advice is to dedicate more time exploring other parts of Croatia as well and try to get there before the secret of this spectacular country gets out and becomes part of everyone’s travel agenda.

Favorite Moments - Croatia

Since my return from Croatia, images and moments of this stunning country have been swirling around in my head. The calm clear-blue waters of the Adriatic, limestone cobbled streets and stairways, walled cities, palace ruins, pivo (Croatian beer), hours spent sitting in outdoor cafes, wooden walkways, waterfalls, and the odd snake in Plitvice Lakes National Park, naps and nauseous bus rides through the countryside, margarita pizza, morning white coffee and chocolate croissants, Billy Ocean on the radio, walking the roads in Korcula, dogs walking with purpose, aggressive pigeons, getting lost in Zagreb and Dubrovnik, and the unforgettable day trip to the city of Mostar. And I must not forget the kindness of all the people I encountered on this journey.

Here are the top things I have been reminiscing about since my return to reality.

Favorite moment - Zagreb

Given that Zagreb was largely chosen for logical reasons as the gateway in and out of the country, I was pleasantly surprised to find the city full of energy and with a robust café culture. The nights were warm and balmy and perfect for café hopping along Tkalciceva, a lively avenue full of cafés and patios, near Trg Bana Jelacic, the heart of Zagreb. The fantastic people watching and inexpensive drinks along this boulevard of cafes made this a great way to begin and end my time in Croatia.

Croatia Teasers

Sadly, I'm back from exploring Croatia. However, I am chock-full of stories and escapades that I can't wait to share with you. To tide you over while I'm furiously scribbling away, here are a few photos from two amazing Balkan Peninsula countries.

Croatia

Plitvice National Park

Split

Korcula

Croatia Bound!

In just a few short days, I am off to explore the wonders of Croatia. My Croatian escapade will take me to the following locations:

Zagreb

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Split

Korcula

Dubrovnik

I have no doubt that this journey will yield some blog–worthy adventures! So stay tuned my friends. I will return shortly with all sorts of juicy Croatian tidbits.

Snapshot of London - St Dunstan-in-the-East

After all the media attention last week, featuring my beloved city of London, I found myself becoming homesick for this fantastic city (yes, even more than usual) and feel compelled to showcase one of my favorite pockets of London.

To me the heart of the city is the City of London. This historic square mile is the oldest part of London and its original city center. Hidden gems lurk along each narrow cobbled lane. Perhaps because this area is the financial and business pulse of the city, many travelers often overlook this vicinity altogether.

One of my most cherished City of London activities is to while away a few hours sitting in a garden that happens to be located amidst the ruins of a church. It really is as marvelous as it sounds. The garden within the church is St Dunstan-in-the-East (Monument tube station).

Why We Travel

“For in traveling to a truly foreign place, we inevitably travel to moods and states of mind and hidden inward passages that we'd otherwise seldom have cause to visit.” Pico Iyer

Why we travel indeed. My passion for travel has been such a constant in my life the last 15 years that it is hard for me to remember a time when it wasn’t a part of me. The passion has intertwined itself so deeply into my daily thoughts and is always within arms reach whether I am dreaming of new adventures or wistfully recalling fantastic escapades of the past. It has forever redefined my outlook on life and has influenced me in irrevocable and positive ways.

Travel gives me a much needed break from the realities of life. It is also an opportunity to clear the cobwebs from my head and recharge. But more importantly it is a source of immense inspiration. Traveling gives me the space to be exposed to other cultures, discover new locales, and allows me to learn about myself. Over the years it has given me the confidence to believe in myself again; to dream and aspire to do great things with the life I have been given. And what is no doubt going to be lifelong project, it is slowly teaching me how to become the person I want to be.

Pico Iyer, a favorite travel writer of mine, tackled this still very relevant topic over a decade ago. His essay, Why We Travel, is one that I reread every few months when I am in need of an extra dose of stimulation and motivation.

Iyer starts off his essay with one of my favorite passages:

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again -- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”

I think that Iyer captures and eloquently expresses the reason that travel is such a passion for some of us. But don’t take my word for it, read Why We Travel for yourself and let me know why it is that you travel.

Park Life – Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego, CA

  

Three weeks ago, you may remember that I wrote about my love of parks and the inspirational sculptures that can be found in Vigeland Park. The park I would like to showcase this week is Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego, CA. This national park is named after Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, who has the distinction of being the first European to set foot on the West Coast of the United States.

Name: Cabrillo National Monument

Location: Southern tip of Point Loma Peninsula, San Diego, CA

Size: 160 acres

Park Highlights

Cabrillo Monument

The monument of Cabrillo commemorates the 1542 landing at Ballast Point in San Diego Bay. The sandstone monument, which stands 14 feet tall and weighs 14,000 tons, was donated by the Portuguese Government in 1939. Additional details of the life of Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo can be found at the Visitor Center.

Perfect Day Out and About in Salzburg, Austria

If someone were to ask what I think the perfect ingredients are for a day out on the town, I would have to say that the day would need to include good company, some sort of outdoor exercise, a bit of culture, and an afternoon drink in the sun. This agenda has served me well in many fine cities around the world. I have found that I can get a good sense of a city’s character using this set of criteria.

This week’s perfect day out is Salzburg, Austria. The city is probably best known for being the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and providing some of the stunning city scenes from The Sound of Music.

During a recent a nine day Eurotrip adventure that started in London and ended in Zurich, I found myself in Salzburg for two nights and one full day and knew just how I wanted to spend the time.

Biking

First order of the day is to get out and explore the exquisitely preserved city of Salzburg. One of the most enjoyable ways to get around Salzburg is by bicycle. Bikes can easily be rented from the Central Train Station or many hotels also offer free or inexpensive rentals. After picking up pastries from a bakery in Old Town, join the locals and other tourists on the numerous bike lanes strategically placed around this compact city. Head out along the banks of the crystal-clear Salzach River with the pristine Alps looming in the distance.

Picture of the Moment - Japanese Friendship Garden

Overlooking the Koi Pond

Park Life – Vigeland Park in Oslo, Norway

There are few things in life that I enjoy as much as a ramble in the park. Any city park will do. Maybe it’s being surrounded by greenery and breathing in fresh air. Or perhaps it is watching people and dogs of all shapes and sizes embrace their temporary freedom from the concrete jungle that most of us live in. Whatever it is, time spent wandering the grass-lined thoroughfares of any city park always rejuvenates me. I purposely chose to live just blocks from Balboa Park for this very reason and soak in its beauty as often as I can.

One of my favorite activities when traveling to a new city is to carve out time to explore the city park on offer. Throughout the years, I have logged a fair amount of miles roaming some of the world’s most fantastic city parks.

The park I would like to showcase this week is Vigeland Park. Vigeland Park has the distinction of being the world’s largest sculpture park all thanks to the talents of a single artist, Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943). Vigeland Park contains over 200 bronze and granite sculptures which can be found scattered throughout the park.

Name: Vigeland Park (also known as Frogner Park or Frognerparken)

Location: Frogner - a suburb of Oslo, Norway

Size: 80 acres

Park Highlights

The Big Reveal

Who knew that it would be so hard to compose a list of five destinations? Since I last wrote to you about our little experiment, I have been frantically working on my list; adding and removing places in preparation for the deadline this past Wednesday. About an hour before the big reveal, I was still struggling with what to put for my fifth selection. Time was running out.

The plan was to email our Top Five list to each other. At the appointed time, I made a last minute choice for my fifth destination, held my breath, and hit send. KJ’s email arrived moments later. I eagerly opened her email only to find that two of her destinations were the same as mine! We were off to a great start.

So without further ado, here is the final list in alphabetical order:

Columbia
Corsica
Croatia (on both lists)
Easter Island
Honduras (on both lists)
Iceland
Philippines
St. Petersburg, Russia

Each place on the list is a worthy destination. How were we going to narrow it down to just one? We had some hard choices ahead of us.

Bridges of Bankers Hill - San Diego

There’s a lot to love about living in San Diego. I could lie to you and tell you that it isn’t as great as its reputation, but why would I do that? I would much rather boast about the beauty of this fine city and gloat about the almost perfect year-round weather. All to entice you to come visit this pocket of California, of course.

When I first moved here in 2002, I was fortunate enough to settle into a great neighborhood near Balboa Park where I am able to be pedestrian and enjoy the eternal summer days.

One of my favorite parts of living in Bankers Hill is walking the historic streets lined with turn of the century homes and taking in the canyon views that are sprinkled throughout the neighborhood. Bridges provide the best vantage point for such views and Bankers Hill happens to be home to three of my favorite bridges.

Here are three unsung treasures of San Diego. Next time you are in the neighborhood, come check them out for yourself.

Travel Wish Lists

Tick tock. It is the beginning of March and I still haven’t figured out the destination of my spring trip. I realize that this is a fantastic problem to have and I’m certainly not complaining, just waiting for some travel inspiration to arrive.

Unfortunately, there is no method to my madness or surefire process that I use. Typically I have a few destinations in mind and I will start with some high-level investigation of the chosen places. I have been known to devour guidebooks as though they were some fast-paced crime novel and then supplement my findings with more in-depth online research until I cobble together the perfect combination. Some trips come together in a matter of days. The detail falling into place with such ease and grace that I know it is meant to be. Other trip planning sessions start down one path only to evolve into something entirely different.

Just last year, I chose Egypt for my spring trip and had completed my research to such a degree that I was ready to book my flights. It was at this particular stage that I realized that I was craving nature and the great outdoors; not chaotic city life or the dusty desert. I suddenly longed to escape somewhere where I could ramble up a mountainside. So Egypt was put back into the “places I want to go, just not now” bucket.

Days later I stumbled on an enticing article about Norway and it clicked. I must go to Norway immediately! Never mind that up until that moment I hadn’t ever thought much about Norway and in fact knew very little about the country. Turns out Norway met all my needs and was even more amazing in the flesh than I could have hoped for.

Right now my destination queue is empty or at the very least greatly unorganized. Sure I have my prerequisite list of must go to places, such as Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Africa. But each are places I want to spend a fair amount of time exploring and don’t fit the timetable for this particular trip.

Snapshot of Slea Head Drive - Dingle Peninsula, Ireland

There are so many pockets of the world that I have yet to explore and while I try to discover new places on each adventure, I can’t help but be drawn to Ireland time and time again. I have been fortunate enough to make five journeys to the Emerald Isle and for me a visit is not complete without spending time in the Dingle Peninsula, my favorite corner of the world.

The jewel of the Dingle Peninsula is Slea Head Drive, one of the most magical coastal drives I have traversed. The circular drive around Slea Head begins and ends in Dingle Town; a fantastic fishing village that should be your home base while exploring the area. To properly soak up the magnificent beauty of the awe-inspiring windswept beaches and the startling rolling green hills dotted with sheep and low meandering stone fences, you will need at least a half a day to do it justice. If you are lucky enough to visit during the off-season, you are likely to have the narrow country lane to yourself with various stray sheep as your traffic. Driving alongside ancient beehive huts, farmhouses, secluded beaches, and breathtaking views of the Blasket Islands, one can’t help but feel as though they have stumbled onto something mystical. And to me it is something mystical. Maybe I am biased. But I have a sneaking suspicion that you too will feel the same way.

Monkey Mayhem - Hua Hin, Thailand

 

I’ll let you in on a little secret; I have a few irrational fears. Two in particular are clowns and monkeys. I know they are ridiculous things to be scared of, but I guess that is the irrational part of it all. Throughout the years, friends and family have taken great pleasure in tormenting me with clowns of all shapes and sizes. However, it wasn’t until a recent trip to Thailand that I realized that I was equally terrified of monkeys. One or two monkeys I can handle, it was the gaggle of monkeys that did me in.

On a recent Christmas vacation, I made my way to Thailand to visit my dear friends Nat, Hendo, and Patrick, who were living in Bangkok for the year. After a few days in Bangkok, Hendo drove us the 200km to the Gulf of Thailand and the Royal resort town of Hua Hin for Christmas. After a few days of lolling around in the sun and playing in the pool, we decided to venture out and check out Hua Hin. The agenda for the day was to explore the Khao Takiab area south of Hua Hin.

As we drove up the steep winding mountain road to the temple, Wat Khao Lad, I was a bit apprehensive because this area is known for its monkeys. In fact, the temple is often called Monkey Temple or Monkey Mountain. And the name certainly delivered. There were monkeys everywhere.

Perfect Day Out and About in Inverness, Scotland

Armed with two nights and one full day in Inverness, the six of us (four Americans and two Brits) set out on an early summer day to explore what the area had to offer.

Loch Ness

First stop of the day was a boat tour of Loch Ness. After seeing the giant purple sculpture of Nessie outside the gift shop, where the boat docks, I was weary that the excursion was going to be a little too commercialized for my taste. Happily, my fears subsided once I was sailing along the dank murky waters of Loch Ness.

The scenery is quite simply breathtaking; the beautiful ruins of Urquhart Castle sit forlornly on the shore of Loch Ness and the majestic mountains shimmer on the glassy surface of this famous deep watered lake.

China Through A Lens

For my last post on China, I thought I would do a visual recap of the highlights. Enjoy!

 Hong Kong

 

China Through My Eyes

Since returning from my trip to China, friends have been kind enough to humor me and ask for details of my adventure. After several recaps of my trip, I noticed a pattern of questions emerging.

“Did you like China?”

“How was the build?”

“How was the food?”

“How was it getting around China?”

“How was it traveling on your own?”

So here is my attempt to satisfy everyone’s curiosity.

China Love

China passed with flying colors! Even though China previously had not been on my must see country list and my expectations were fairly low key, I loved every minute of it. I was blown away by the intoxicating views of Hong Kong from the Peak; mesmerized by the orchard covered mountains of the Guangdong Province; stimulated by the energy of the historic, sprawling, and chaotic city that is Beijing; and was pleasantly surprised to really like modern Shanghai. I regret not getting to cover more ground on this journey, but I think I was able to see enough to know that I will someday return.

Favorite Moments - Habitat for Humanity

The task of narrowing down my favorite moments from the Habitat for Humanity build in China was harder than I thought it would be. Here are today's top contenders:

Moving Bricks

On the afternoon of the first day, eight of us were tasked with moving a large pile of bricks from the dirt road into several rooms of a half built house. It became clear that teamwork was going to be our strongest ally in achieving this goal. Within minutes we had organized ourselves into various roles and over the next few hours honed and perfected our brick-moving process all through the power of communication, flexibility, and hard work. And laughter. We had so much fun that our fellow volunteers working on the roof that day surely had to be jealous of the amount of laughter that came from our group. And if that didn’t get their attention, we tried our best to rub it in with our team huddle shout outs of “Masons!” The final hour of work was our finest moment. Under the leadership of Foreman Hoa and fueled by Turbo Kyle working the dragon head of the brick pile, we raced against the clock and successfully moved every last brick. I felt proud to be part of such a great team.

Tangerine Dreams – Habitat for Humanity

This is the first in a series of posts from my trip to China

Ah, China. Images and moments from my Habitat for Humanity build rotate like a slide show stuck in a perpetual loop in my head. Chickens, tangerines, candy designed to shock and awe (corn candy that tastes like well, corn. Cream of corn at that), watching morning Tai Chi to Ole, Ole, Ole, karaoke, cement beds, mastering squat toilets, meat juice, cucumber facials, breakfast greens, the masons vs. the roofies, fireworks, overwhelming kindness of the village families, and laughter. Lots and lots of laughter.

From the moment that I met the 20 other volunteers on the bus ride to Conghua, at the start of the Habitat for Humanity build, I felt like I was part of a family. Albeit, one big crazy, fantastic, and inspiring family.

Village Life

The village where we spent the week working is surrounded by tangerine orchards, vegetable gardens, lovely green hillsides, and waterfalls and creeks, which sadly were often polluted with trash. Traditional mud brick houses are peppered throughout the village. Chickens and dogs walk freely in and out of houses and along the dirt paths. Our Habitat for Humanity host, Michael Cheng, informed us that during the weekdays, the village mainly consists of elders, very small children, and the women who helped in the orchards. The older children go to a boarding school and the villagers who can work, work in Guangzhou in factories during the week. Everyone returns home on the weekend. A large part of the village income also comes from tangerines; the orchards dominate the hillsides surrounding the village. Given how precious the tangerines are, we were told to never take tangerines from the village unless we are offered them. Needless to say, we were inundated by the generosity of the villagers who gave us so many tangerines that we would often walk around with our hands and pockets overflowing with these delicious treats. Mr. Tao, one of villagers, even threw tangerines at us during a hike one day, in his excitement to share with us.

Vacation With A Purpose

Life has certainly been interesting this past year. As many of you know, I’ve made some big changes recently and I’m currently forging a new life path on my own. I am slowly finding my footing and I am anxious for what this next chapter in life will mean for me. Part of this new journey is about challenging and exposing myself to new adventures where I can learn and grow from others. Traveling has always been my preferred choice for just such things and has already played an enormous part of my growth throughout the years. When faced with two weeks of vacation that I typically take off around Christmas to travel, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do for my first big solo event. Somehow the thought of traveling just for the sake of travel sounded empty and while a break from life was needed, I didn’t exactly feel like celebrating with the usual holiday. I wanted to do something productive and completely out of my comfort zone.

While researching travel destinations that fit this criteria, I decided to look into global volunteer opportunities. A close friend of mine had done two tours of building homes with Habitat for Humanity during law school and inspired me to check out this organization. As luck would have it, the only Habitat for Humanity volunteer opportunity offered during the holiday season was with their Global Village program in China!

To be honest, China wasn’t high on my list of places to visit next. Not sure why, but I think the size of the country is intimidating in the same manner that India and Africa are and it certainly wasn’t a place I ever envisioned traveling to on my own.  Figuring I had nothing to lose, I applied and interviewed for a volunteer position building a house in the Guangdong Providence in Southern China. When I received the acceptance letter a few days later, I knew I had picked the correct path. Everything about this decision just felt right.

Here are some details of the China build:

Being a Tourist in My Own Backyard

I have a confession to make. I have lived in San Diego for eight years and this past weekend was my first visit to one of the city’s fine museums. To make matters worse, I live two blocks from the heart of Balboa Park, which houses 15 museums alone, and I walk past each one of them several times a week when I am out on a ramble. Disgraceful.

I love museums and will often visit cities near and far just for the chance to explore various collections. When I first moved to San Diego, I enthusiastically toured the delights of the city. But the emphasis was largely on the natural beauty of the beaches, coastal life, and enjoying the glorious year-round weather. For some reason, the museums went untouched and unnoticed. As the years went by and I settled into a routine, exploring new places in my adopted hometown became less of a priority. I took the city’s culture offerings for granted knowing I could visit at a moment’s notice. Yet, I never did.

The Toulouse-Lautrec's Paris: Selections from the Baldwin M. Baldwin Collection at the San Diego Museum of Art is what finally got me out of the house and pushed me to do something cultural in my own backyard.

The collection showcased over a 100 works of art that haven’t been shown together in more than 20 years. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) is a French Post-Impressionist artist who is probably best known for his lithography posters; in particular posters depicting the late-19th-century bohemian lifestyle in Paris. He was a fixture in the bars and cabarets in Montmarte and his sketches of the patrons often became focal points in his artwork.

Mastering the Art of Solo Travel

There is nothing I like more than to be on my own in a big city. Being solo in a big city means the possibility of being anonymous and going entirely unnoticed since you are one among many as the locals go about their day. I love feeling invisible as I slink in and out of museums, cafes, pubs, and shops along my journey. The freedom empowers me and there is a decadent delicious excitement when faced with the prospect of having no one’s agenda for the day, but my own.

Up until very recently all of my solo travel has existed in big cities. I tend to explore less of the tourist areas and concentrate on the heart of the city itself. I like to imagine what it would be like to live in different North American and European cities as I get coffee alongside the locals during their morning commute, encounter them on their lunch breaks, and frequent the same places where they celebrate the end of their workday. I am a voyeur at heart and can spend hours observing people and their interactions and watching life unfold around me. The buzz of the city creates an energy which stimulates and inspires me creatively.

Pictures of the Moment - Aloha

Oahu by day

Oahu by night

Magnificent Seven - Brompton Cemetery

                                                      Part III of III

The final cemetery from my Magnificent Seven adventure is the “open-air cathedral” designed Brompton Cemetery.

Cemetery: Brompton Cemetery; originally known as West of London and Westminster Cemetery

Established: Planned in 1836 and opened in 1840
Location: Old Brompton Road in South West London
Size: 205,000 people buried on 39 acres
Architecture: Great Circle, the main thoroughfare, is said to be based on Piazza at St. Peter’s in Rome; includes domed chapel, colonnades, and catacombs
Famous inhabitants: Political activists and leader of the British suffragette movement, Emmeline Pankhurst and shipping tycoon, Sir Samuel Cunard
Notable items of interest:

• Only Crown cemetery
• Close to 35,000 memorials
• Beatrix Potter took the names of many of her animal characters from the gravestones in Brompton, including one Peter Rabbett