I’m thrilled to share that my children’s book, Have You Seen Frenchie?, is officially self-published and out in the world! This project has been a true labor of love, filled with fun adventures, lovable characters, and meaningful lessons for young readers.
What happens when a family of potatoes embarks on a daring adventure to find their missing relative? In “HAVE YOU SEEN FRENCHIE?,” Mama Potato, Papa Potato, and their youngest son Tater set off on a road trip to search for Frenchie. Along the way, they encounter quirky potato relatives like Cousin Chip and Uncle Mash with the stash. This vibrant story is filled with unforgettable characters and vivid settings, complemented by captivating illustrations, conveying valuable themes of family and perseverance.
I hope this story sparks imagination, joy, and a little wonder in the hearts of kids (and grown-ups too)!
I couldn’t have done this without the amazing support of friends and family—thank you all! If you know any young readers (or young at heart!), I’d be so grateful if you’d spread the word. The book is available on Amazon in most countries. Here is the USA link if you click HERE FOR – HAVE YOU SEEN FRENCHIE?
I’ve written this before but I try to go to a new place at least once a year. This year so far, that would be Scotland. And it did not disappoint.
We flew direct from Mallorca to Prestwick, about a three hour flight. Prestwick is a super small airport but close to our first stop which was Troon, a small seaside town in Ayrshire that overlooks the Isle of Arran. And it was so lovely!
We stayed at The Marine hotel. We really loved this hotel – view of the beach out our window, a golf course for all you golfers, Felix said his hamburger there at The Rabbit restaurant was one of the best he’s ever had and a great bar with a large whiskey selection. It was a bit too warm in our room but that really isn’t the hotel’s fault, they did bring us a fan which helped a bit. No air conditioning in many hotels in Scotland.
But we weren’t in Troon to golf. No sirree. We were there to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Jessica and her new husband Colin. My parents flew in from Arizona for it too. So a big family celebration with Felix getting to meet my cousins and aunt for the first time. Lots of love! And lots of kilts! The celebration was a full day event, with the bride and groom arriving in a Rolls Royce and then onto cocktails and photos. Later a dinner with me getting to sit by one of the Queen’s former chaplains – very cool! And then we ended the evening with dancing. Troon, we will be back.
Next stop was Pitlochry. I tried to find a nice hotel around the Cairngorms National Park so we could do some sightseeing in that area plus a whiskey tasting at Tomatin. The Fonab Castle Hotelwas absolutely perfect, right on a loch, we ordered breakfast to our room (for a charge of 10 pounds) and it was a great location for the next day’s plans. We had dinner at their restaurant there the first night. Great food! A bit expensive but it seemed all restaurants were a bit on the expensive side.
We headed north to see some sights before our whiskey tour in the afternoon. First stop was the Ruthven Barracks which are the best preserved of the four barracks built in 1719 after the 1715 Jacobite rising. Set on an old castle mound, the complex comprises two large three-storey blocks occupying two sides of the enclosure, each with two rooms per floor. The barracks and enclosing walls were built with loopholes for musket firing, and bastion towers were built at opposite corners. It was destroyed by Jacobites following their retreat after the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
On the way to Tomatin it started pouring rain. And was still pouring when we got to the whiskey distillery, needless to say we got drenched when we tried to sprint the fifty feet to the front door. Just makes it more fun, right? Felix likes whiskey so I wanted to fit in a tour and tasting while we were in Scotland. He had never heard of Tomatin whiskey before but now it is one of his favorites. I can even find the Legacy one here in Mallorca. A very informative tour (we did the Legacy tour for 15 pounds per person) and then a tasting of three of their whiskeys at the end. Since I was driving I got the tastings to go. And of course, we had to buy a bottle before leaving, Felix chose the Tomatin 18 year old and WOW, it is dang good.
Afterwards, we drove up to the northern part of Loch Ness – about a 20 minute drive from Tomatin. I just knew I would be the one to spot Nessie! It was still quite rainy so I never got a great picture and sadly never spotted Nessie but we drove all the way down the eastern side of it on a very curvy and hilly road. Fantastic!
The next day we left for Edinburgh. My dad is a golf fanatic so a stop at St. Andrews was a must. St. Andrews is regarded as the “Home of Golf.” It has one of the oldest courses in the world, where the game has been played since the 15th century. It was a great experience and hopefully was a highlight for my dad to see. We walked around a little, you can walk the course if you stay out of the way. We just walked past the 1st hole on the Old Course and then you could cut across in the middle and be on the other side where the 18th hole was. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and watched some of the golfers. It is also right next to a gorgeous beach where “Chariots of Fire” was filmed.
Time for Edinburgh! As I said, I was the driver, and being in the UK the driver’s steering wheel is on the right side and of course you drive on the left side of the road. It was quite an experience! The first day was a bit nerve-wracking, I really had to concentrate but slowly I got used to it. Driving in Edinburgh was a challenge but in the end it all worked out. We stayed at The Intercontinental The George Hotel in Edinburgh. It was my least favorite of the three hotels and I doubt we will stay there again. The check-in people weren’t helpful at all and there really wasn’t anything extra special about the hotel. It was in a great location, right smack dab around everything. The next day was our Hop On Hop Off bus tour. My mom had knee surgery and needs a cane to walk to this was really our best option to be able to see most of the city. Sadly, it didn’t go to the castle but hopefully next time we will make it. Some pics from the day of Edinburgh.
And that was a wrap! I think we fit in a lot of fabulous things in the week we were there. We drove my parents to Glasgow where they were spending two more days, then we decided to go back to The Marine in Troon for a beer before having to drop off the rental. Thanks Scotland! We will definitely be returning soon.
Africa has been on my bucket list for a long time. It FINALLY happened and man, what a fantastic experience. I can’t wait to go back.
I saw the Big Five – Lion, Leopard, African Buffalo, Rhino and the African elephant within the first few days of starting our safari. My favorite, the leopard. WOW, which we were told, pretty much lets you see it when it wants you to see it. Otherwise, good luck. Thank you Ms. leopard, I was in awe.
There were thirteen of us in the group, not including Lucky, our tour guide extraordinaire. We called ourselves the Lucky 13. 🙂 In the group were my parents and 10 other Americans. We had this trip planned for 2020 but you know what happened then. The company we went with was OAT travel and I have to say that the interior of the trip (the safaris, the excursions, helping us with the visas, transports, hotels, etc.) was fantastic. But the exterior (the OAT online/ in office staff, the information, etc.) was not so great. We received different information every time we called, which we had to do because it took weeks to get back an email response. And because of that misinformation, my parents and I ended up paying about $1000 more because of things we needed to add – hotel rooms, flights. But that is all I will say about that because this post is about the fabulousness of our Africa experience.
First up is Kruger National Park. We were in three different National parks – Kruger in South Africa, Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and Chobe National Park in Botswana. All of them were a bit different. OAT broke up each safari stop with a more restful place so it wasn’t all safari safari safari. We stayed in each place for three nights and then would move on to our next adventure, the trip in total (with our Cape Town extension) was almost a month long.
We flew into Nespruit from Johannesburg and stopped at a road side market on the way to Kruger Park. I bought some delicious macadamia nuts and a handmade carved wooden statue of a kudu. And I must add that I NEVER saw that again – the kudu statue nor someone selling the nuts. Some people didn’t buy anything because it was our first stop but later regretted it. So if you like something and especially if it’s a road side event, BUY IT. Don’t just think that you will see something like it again. Here are the two men who make the wooden animals. They were so happy to talk to us about their craft.
We drove inside Kruger National Park which is the largest of South Africa’s parks, with a total area of 7,500 square miles, Kruger is also one of the largest parks in the world. Bordered by the Limpopo and Crocodile rivers, the land spreads a stunning 200 miles at its widest point. Once inside the park we switched vehicles to take us to Buffalo Rock Camp. About 10 minutes from camp we saw a beautiful elephant just hanging out. The welcome committee! When we arrived in camp, we were shown to our tent/cabins where we had a little time to unpack. Isn’t it lovely? The bathroom with shower was in the back – it was outside but had a roof and walls that had an opening at the top.
Then we met back up for a drive out – Saw many impalas, a few warthogs, an African eagle and some hippos playing in a lake. Next, stopped for a sundowner drink of Amarula Liquor which is a cream liqueur from South Africa. It is made with sugar, cream and the fruit of the African marula tree. Then it was dark and we drove back with a spotlight on to try to see night animals. We did see two hyenas finally. It was cold! We all called it a night after dinner since we had a 5:30 a.m. wakeup call. We were given a hot water bottle (which they called a bush baby) to keep us warm. Since it was dark you must be escorted to your room by a person with a rifle and a flashlight. That night I heard some animal making strange sounds out there. The camp is completely open so animals can walk through at any time – hence the people walking you to your room when it is dark with the rifle. If it’s light out you can walk to the lodge yourself – It’s only about 75 feet away. Just be sure to give a good look!
The animal noises I heard at night were hyenas fighting. WOW. Such a strange noise. We left around 6:30 a.m. where one of our first sightings was A LEOPARD!!! OMG what a gorgeous creature. Simply amazing. He was perched on top of a termite pile and stayed there for at least five minutes while we were all trying to take pics and get a closer look with the binoculars. Just look at this beautiful creature.
So now we’ve seen three of the Big Five – c’mon lions and rhinos! We went back for lunch and headed out after that for some more sightings where we saw zebras, giraffes, warthogs, steenboks (they are so cute), hyenas and near the end we stopped to take a picture of the sunset and there was a HUGE baboon in a tree with lots of baboon family around. After about ten minutes they started heading down the hill towards us – we were outside of the jeep taking pics of the sunset!!! We quickly made our way back to the Jeeps and watched them move from the hill to the other side where it was higher and rockier. Really cool to see the whole family progression. Do you see the big guy in the tree? And some of the family too his right and the ground.
The national park is home to 147 species of land mammals—the highest number in Africa—including all of the “Big Five” (lion, elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros). Thousands of zebra roam Kruger as well, but no species can keep up with the impala, which number more than a million here. On this day the park was having a few free to the public days so the park was a bit busier than normal but the cars needed to be out of the camp by sundown. We were driving around 6:00 pm and there were cars driving by us so fast. Why? They needed to leave! It was almost sundown and they were going to be fined. But as karma has it a huge pack of buffalo were crossing the road and just stood there. They were not going to move out of the road so they were definitely going to be late.
OAT Travel likes to include discussions about sometimes difficult topics. That night we gathered at the lodge for an enlightening conversation about gender stereotypes in South Africa’s game lodges—and how more and more women are challenging these outdated stereotypes that still exist in the game lodge and conservation world. The conversation was led by a female game ranger at Kruger. We learned that less than 30% of entry-level nature guides in South Africa are women—and in more specialized roles such as trail guides, less than 8% are women. And just 13% of head chefs in South Africa are female. She shared what it was like for her to break into this traditionally male-dominated industry. Kudos to her for being determined and fighting for what she wanted.
More animal noises last night! Wake up call person said to be a little careful because there were hyenas and possibly a lion in the area! Yikes. That got my attention. This was our last day in Kruger and we still hadn’t seen a lion or a rhino. But Lucky said he was feeling lucky. 🙂 We headed out again at 7 a.m. and within fifteen minutes we were rushing to see another leopard! As I’ve said, they are not that common to see so it was a treat. She was beautiful. Hanging out on a fallen tree for about five minutes before she decided she was tired of us.
Then not even thirty minutes after seeing the leopard we found ……. A pride of around 8-9 lions gathered around a buffalo kill. AMAZING. There were two large male lions and two female and then a few cubs which were around 3-4 months old. Just chowing on the buffalo (sorry and thank you mr buffalo). The older males were fighting a bit about whose turn it was to get a bite with a vulture circling overhead. They were about 90 feet away and in the brush so it was hard to get a really good picture but so cool. And the sounds!!
So luck was on our side. Next up, a rhino. The guides knew where they liked to hang out. It was about an hour or more drive but it was worth it. Because there it was, the first one was pretty far away walking through large bushes but I got a picture. The other was by a watering hole but it just wanted to rest in the shade and show us its backside. The Big Five – CHECK.
And that was our adventure in Kruger National Park. We arrived back at Buffalo Rock Camp around 3:00 where we relaxed until 5:30 – it was hot! Then it was a discussion about elephant dung (which was EVERYWHERE). It was actually very enlightening. Here are a few uses for elephant dung: If you forget insect repellent you can burn a dried piece of dung to keep insects away. You can also burn it and inhale the fumes to get rid of a headache or a nosebleed. Lucky actually did this because he had a headache and he said it went away! And as it turns out, elephants are a great source of biogas. This is due to their herbivorous diet and the large amounts that they excrete daily. Their dung produces gas for stoves, heat and can even generate electricity. Good job elephants! How about a picture of one from Kruger for you.
A HUGE thank you to everyone at Buffalo Rock Camp, especially JB and Nico – you made the experience so nice with your warm hospitality and happiness. I love that the place is powered by solar energy, leave the smallest possible foot-print in this pristine wilderness. That night we had a dinner under the stars, good conversations, some wine and went to sleep dreaming of the all the beautiful animals that we had already seen.
It had been over two years since I have traveled up to last month. Of course, you know the main reason – Covid. But even when restrictions were released I didn’t travel. I didn’t understand this immediate need to get back out there. Sure I missed seeing new places and going back to my favorite spots but why the rush? Covid was (is) still a big problem. There were a new surge of Covid cases in Mallorca when tourists were allowed back (naturally) and I just didn’t get it the immediate need to get away.
Anyways, I turned the big half a century last month and I wanted to go somewhere to celebrate the big 5-0. I felt so bad for the people who turned 50 or had any huge celebration during 2020. I know that had to have sucked. We looked into fun places that would hopefully be somewhat warm. Felix, being European, still wasn’t allowed into the USA so we couldn’t go there. We looked into a cruise but after REALLY looking into it we found out that our stops, mostly in Italy, we wouldn’t be able to get off the boat just ourselves. We HAD TO go with a group. Well, that’s not what we wanted to do. In the end, we decided on Tenerife. Felix had been when he was eight (how cute!) and the flight there was a direct flight. So, alright Tenerife, show us what you got.
View from our room
We chose the Gran Melia Palacio de Isora hotel which I may do a separate blog post about but just be careful if you choose this one, or it may be just the way things are in Tenerife. There are a few pros – friendly staff, the Bali beds looking over the Atlantic are nice and I liked the Clarins products in the room but sadly, the cons outweighed the pros – the restaurant situation is horrific, you need to book 2 or 3 days in advance if you want a table at a decent time, the service is slowwwwwww, the bars close at 6 except for the big main one which takes forever to get a drink. Again, a possible blog post. But I really didn’t want this one to be negative. But seems like it is so far, so let’s change that, shall we?
Alright, we enjoyed a few relaxing days renting a Bali bed, drinking some cervezas and swimming in Europe’s largest salt water pool. The lizards were fun to watch and I loved the red dragonflies buzzing around.
The cool breeze coming off the Atlantico was a nice feeling against the hot sun tanning our skin. One night we ventured out to a local Italian restaurant with great service and yummy food – Pepi Vintage Room Tenerife in Puerto de Santiago. Great food, wine and service. It is a bit small so I would call for a reservation at 673 72 56 61.
Close to the hotel was a black sand beach which seemed pretty hip with the locals.
After a few days of completely vegging out on the beds and swimming we decided to take a break from the Bali beds and rent a car to check out Teide and Masca.
Beer and Bali Bed. RELAX.
The rental car was booked at the hotel, it was super easy and 60 euro for the day. Off onto our best day of the trip.
Teide National Park took us about an hour from our hotel. Teide is an active volcano but the last eruption was in 1909. I must add to this post that we were in Tenerife at the time the La Palma volcano was erupting. We tried to get a view of it but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. My heart goes out to the people who have lost their homes and belongings from the erupting volcano.
Teide National Park is the biggest park on the Canary Islands. A trip that should be at the top of the must-see list of everyone who visits Tenerife. And the island was busy! It was a four day weekend for the Spanish (un puente as they call it), plus a two week school break for the Germans, lots of people had descended onto the island. And the closer we got into the park the more you could see it. All photo opportunity spots were full and when we got to the area where you could take a cable car to the top, forget about it! There were at least 200 cars lined up. And you do need tickets for the cable car so book in advance if that’s what you really want to do. We drove a bit further and found a spot that seriously looked like Mars – so cool. We got out and walked around and took some advantage of photo ops.
o Getting up to the timberline
Next we decided to check out Masca. Be prepared, the road to Masca is tight! If you are afraid of heights or get car sick, it might not be the drive for you. But the views are beautiful.
Until the 1960s, the picturesque mountain hamlet of Masca was only accessible on foot or by donkey. Nowadays, it is well connected to the rest of Tenerife by road. Winding roads lead to exciting hairpin bends and narrow corners. The trip will take you through deep ravines covered with lush green vegetation.
There weren’t any parking spots for a restaurant when we arrived in Masca so we continued on the curvy road and soon came across a cute restaurant overlooking the gorge. You can’t miss it, after passing Masca you will see it when the road starts heading back up. We stopped for a glass of wine and some roasted potatoes with mojo sauce. Super yummy.
It was so nice to get away from the hotel madness and actually have people attentively serve food and drinks! Seriously Gran Melia, you need to figure some problems out!
One more day at the hotel and we were looking forward to home and all the comforts one has at their home. And our six cats. 🙂
But one more thing.
When we first arrived there were a lot of plants under big tents that were on large plantations. I kept wondering what it was, they were even right outside our hotel window (see first pic). And then it hit me, BANANAS! B-A-N-A-N-A-S. This shit is bananas. Bananas are a particularly important crop, as Tenerife grows more bananas than the other Canary Islands, with a current annual production of about 150,000 tons. Nice.
See them bananas?
In the end, everyone that we encountered in Tenerife were really friendly and the sights in Masca and Teide were gorgeous. I am glad to have experienced the island and seen the sights. I’d give it at least a chance if your travel plans allow for a stop there. It’s always a nice to change your scenery view even with a few bumps in the road.
There is never a bad trip! Unless you took some bad LSD. Don’t do that.
Of course after the hustle and bustle of walking everywhere and seeing the sites of Athens we needed (we deserved) some down time to relax on a gorgeous Greek island – or two!
Since we were Greek virgins (how’s that going to pan out in Google search) we decided the top two islands we were going to check out on this trip would be Mykonos and Santorini. Mykonos is the party island, and Santorini was supposed to be absolutely gorgeous. And they both lived up to their name and more.
Our ferry from Athens to Mykonos was somewhat early and we were supposed to arrive at least an hour before it departed. I had researched the ferries on different sites and found a lot of people complaining that the ferry services were a bit of a shit show. So I was a bit concerned. But I can confirm that both ferries were just fine. I freaked out over nothing. Athens to Mykonos I believe it was BlueStar Ferry and Mykonos to Santorini it was SeaJets, or vice versa. They were both perfect. Easy boarding, comfy seats, food, tv, clean. NO PROBLEMS. Thank goodness.
Mykonos is VERY wiiiiiiiiiiiinnnndddyyyyyy. I didn’t know! Getting off the ferry we were almost swept away. I thought it was just the day but our driver said it was always quite windy in Mykonos. And speaking of having a driver – all of the hotels I booked in Greece offered a service to pick us up whether it was the airport or the port. But our Mykonos hotel is the only one that offered this service for free – including taking us back to the port on our departure day. That, for me, is great service. The hotel was lovely – The Mykonos Dove hotel. It’s directly on beach Platis Gialos and beach chairs are included (not the first three front rows), breakfast buffet is included and very yummy and lots of restaurants are close by.
Mykonos town is a quick 15 minute bus ride. For the most part I was very satisfied with Mykonos Dove. My only complaint would be when we checked in they gave us a welcome drink and we sat outside for over an hour before anyone would show us to our room or even tell us a timeline for when we could check in. We knew we were early but we would have happily just walked around a bit if we had known we would just be sitting there for an hour or more.
But finally we were shown are room. Cute, a little small but not too bad, it had a small balcony over looking the street. The hotel does offer rooms with a private small pool but we were good without one. We freshened up a bit and then needed some grub. That sea air was making us hungry. We wandered past some places – a small shop with a little bit of everything (we actually bought snorkels and face masks there later), some restaurants, some bars pumping out hip retro beats – and then we decided on Thea Restaurant. I’m not sure if you read my Athens blog post (see link in the first paragraph!) but our Greek eating theme was tzatziki. And this place did not disappoint. The stuffed mushrooms and calamari was so very excellent.
We had two entire days in Mykonos so this first day was a lounge by the beach and be a little lazy. It was exactly what the doctor ordered. The beach umbrellas had a outlet to charge your gadgets with solar power. I LOVED this. Nothing better than using natural resources to charge things. The sun was warm, the day was perfect and the water was … COLD. So very cold. But in the end, refreshing.
Next up, dinner at the hotel and then a night out in Mykonos Town. Since we were at the very end of the tourist season it wasn’t too bad. Crowds yes, but manageable. We wandered around. I loved the white and grey cobblestone looking streets. We stopped for a drink at Alley bar and then headed over to Caprice for a little dancing and then caught the bus back to the hotel. Easy peasy. Mykonos Town –
Jess’ New Year’s resolution was to snorkel. She had never snorkeled before so the next day was all about checking that off her list of things to do. We bought masks with snorkels and walked over to the next beach where we heard was good for snorkeling. It was about a 15 minute walk. We found a little place off towards the east side, caught some vitamin D and then waded in the water with snorkel and mask in tow. The water was clear, the fish were abundant and the sea floor dropped off about 15 feet to really get the experience.
That night was perfect with getting our fill of one last evening in Mykonos. A bit of people watching at the ritzy Scorpios restaurant and bar to see the magical sunset. There were some crazy people there! And it was super packed and SUPER expensive. It was by the beach we snorkeled at so we walked over again and then on the way back we stopped at Nikolas Tavern for some more delicious Greek grub. Check out more of the fabulousness of Mykonos in my pics and then we are off to Santorini!!!
Bring out the stuffed grape leaves, the tzatziki, greek salads with huge chunks of feta cheese then throw in a lot of old buildings and monuments and there you have it – my first trip to Athens, Greece. It is now a proven fact that I can indeed eat those things every single day. Because that’s pretty much all I had during my week in Greece. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. And it was the best food I’ve had in months – I must have been a Greek Goddess in my earlier years because I can’t get enough of everything Greek.
We arrived late in the evening, there was only one flight out of Barcelona to Athens leaving at 6:30 p.m. so we arrived at the airport around 10:30 (3 hour direct flight plus one time difference). The hotel, Grecotel Pallas Athena, had reserved a driver for us at the airport and he whisked us to our boutique hotel, smack dab in the middle of Athens. The location is superb, the eclectic design is super fashionable and I never turn down a free breakfast, which was delicious as well. But as I said, we arrived late, thankfully there were still plenty of options for dinner for us to choose from. We wandered through the streets to the restaurant the front desk dude told us about and enjoyed our first views of Athens. Here are a few sights from that first night:
We found where we needed to get some food in our bellies and guess what we had? Tzatziki!! And a few other things. And there were two singers to help us get into the Greek feeling and welcome us to Athens. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and crashed. A full day was upon us in the morning!
First things first. Breakfast! Yes, tzatziki was involved. 🙂 Along with fresh fruit, a pastry with spinach, a very hot tea and lots of water. Only then were we ready to venture out to the glorious Acropolis in the sky. And I do mean in the sky! It’s high up on a hill. AND we walked! Very proud of ourselves. It wasn’t too difficult but the day was super hot and I only brought a small bottle of water. From the hotel it was about a 30 minute walk to the entrance. You need to buy tickets (I think they were 20 euro each) and there is a place before you enter to buy drinks – lemonade slushes, coffee, beer but NO water! And I can’t even tell you how many times I heard people ask for water and every single one was incredulous that water wasn’t sold. Even one lady said to the man, “You don’t have water!?”. “No, no water,” he answered. “No water?!”, she asked again. He replied, “Maybe if you ask me twenty times more there will miraculously be water.” Needless to say she left without ordering anything. I smirked and ordered a lemonade and strawberry slushy. But then the joke was on me – nobody can enter the Acropolis grounds with any food or drinks. Ha! But water is allowed …….
So Jess and I tried to down my slurpie as quickly as possible, resulting in about 28 brain freezes.
And we were in! There were TONS of people there. But it’s quite an expansive place so you can move around pretty easily, minus those first steps to get up to the top of the hill but once you’re there people spread out. But don’t think about getting any pictures with only you – well, it’s probably doable but difficult.
I was already impressed. First stop was the Theatre of Dionysus – which funny story. We looked out over the Theatre and Jess said that she thought it looked different. I shrugged my shoulders and said wouldn’t it be cool to see an opera here. I think they must do things there still because there were lights set up and speakers, etc.
We continued on … but it was still bothering Jess. She said again, I remember it differently. How, I asked. Well, it seems very open to fight lions and animals. OMG, I laughed so loud that I think I scared people around us. I said, I think you’re thinking of the Colosseum in Rome. 🙂 Ahhhh, good times. Let it be said Jess is a very smart woman! She’s a lawyer in Los Angeles but we all have our blonde moment from time to time.
It was amazing how old this place was, pottery sherds of the Neolithic period (4000/3500-3000 BC) and of the Early and Middle Bronze Age, show that the hill was inhabited from a very early period. Seriously, walking around where people lived in 4000 BC really blows my mind.
The Acropolis was dedicated primarily to its patron, the goddess Athena. It was Pericles in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site’s most important present remains including the Parthenon, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. There is a restoration project that has been going on for years so we saw scaffolding, cranes, etc. But with things that old they all need a little help from time to time (don’t we all?).
We spent about two hours touring the grounds and taking lots of pictures, just like everyone else. Here are my favorites.
Alright, enough with the old stuff. We needed a cold brewski to take a break in the day. From the Acropolis we could see a very well preserved temple that looked interesting to check out. So after our beer, stuffed grape leaves and ….tzatziki!!! Sorry, I’ll stop. Maybe. We searched around for the temple. Turns out it’s located in Agora with lots of other ruins, a church and a museum. So, when in Athens, go see the temples.
It was the Temple of Hephaestus that we were seeing. The Doric order temple was dedicated to Hephaestus (naturally), who was the son of Zeus and Hera, and a god of blacksmiths, metallurgy, and craftsmen. This temple has been incredibly well preserved so one can easily see the Doric trademarks. The columns are fluted, or grooved. Above the columns is a thick, horizontal element called the frieze. Doric friezes are decorated with alternating patterns of triglyphs and metopes.
The metopes are blank panels in between the triglyphs. Very often, Doric metopes were carved with reliefs of scenes from Greek mythology, and the Temple of Hephaestus is no exception. The friezes of this temple depict scenes of the twelve labors of Hercules, the battle and fall of Troy, and an unidentified battle scene. It’s possible that the metopes that were not carved were, at one point in time, painted. We do know that some art has been lost from this site; records indicate that bronze statues of Hephaestus and Athena Ergani once stood inside as well.
As I mentioned, this temple is located in the Agora which was a place for the citizens of ancient Athens to meet, bond and deliberate on the issues of the day. The Ancient Agora was a dynamic place, where the great thinkers Sophocles, Socrates, Protagoras, among others, would meet and where ordinary citizens could come and interact with their peers, voice their concerns, agree on solutions and courses of action.
Nowadays, it a peaceful place with shady trees, paths and cats among the ruins. We checked out the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles and the Stoa of Attalos. The stoa was another place to meet but also an ancient version of a mall, it had 42 shop spaces on the two levels. It was destroyed in 267 AD by invading Herulians. Its restoration took place between 1953 – 1956 by the American School of Classical Studies with the financial support of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
I really enjoyed the Agro and check out the restaurant Heliaia close by the ticket entrance to the Agros. Yummy food! (see I didn’t say it) and a great view of the Acropolis while you enjoy your food and drink.
Some of my favorite pics from the Agros area.
After the Acropolis and Agros we were a bit pooped. We walked back to the hotel to shower and relax before dinner. I did a little research for dinner – I like to eat at nice restaurants and stay in nice hotels so I always do a bit of delving into the internet for the best places. And this time it also still had to be within walking distance. On our way to the restaurant we turned down this street and there was one cute restaurant or bar after another. And then there was the place I had chosen – Bandiera at Taki 19, Athens. They don’t have a website but the food and house wine was one of the best places we ate in Greece. We had the hot pepper and cheese dip, tzatziki 🙂 and a greek salad. YUM YUM YUM.
Now I’m googling good greek restaurants in Mallorca. Must have more greek food! After the fabulous dinner we stopped by A is for Athens and had a glass of wine at their rooftop bar. Nice place!
And there you have it folks – Athens, Greece. We had an early wake up call to catch our ferry to MYKONOS! Check the blog soon for my time in Mykonos and Santorini.
And our word for the week in Greek was thank you – Efcharistó!!!! xo -k
Long live the land of tequila, tacos and sombreros!
Mexico will always have a special place in my heart because of my grandparents. They had two trailer homes. One in Wisconsin and one in Texas and they would spend the summers in Wisconsin and the winters in Texas. Not a bad idea I always thought. Their home in Texas was in Brownsville, which is smack dab on the Mexico – US border. Many times we visited them we would go to Mexico. We would park and walk over a bridge to Matamoros, Mexico, the bridge was of course over the Rio Grande which separates the countries. There were always adorable, laughing and VERY tan children below on the bank yelling at us to throw money. I believe sometimes my grandpa would give me some coins to throw down to them. My grandpa knew where to go and we’d usually stop for lunch at one of his favorite haunts, where huevos rancheros, enchiladas and tacos were always part of our orders. And this was TRUE mexican food. No Taco Bell here, no siree. Much better than Chi-Chi’s, Taco Bueno, “insert mexican restaurant here”. I do miss my BoBo’s Cantina though – do you hear me Stillwater folks?! And then we’d wander around the marketplace. I bought too many maracas to count but my parents scored a fancy marble chessboard with marble chess pieces that has been well loved.
So I was really looking forward to the beautiful and sweet Amy marrying the talented chef Kary in ….. MEXICO! Flying into Cancun from Miami was a breeze (no pun intended). I ordered a Dos Equis from the steward and settled in my window seat glued to the scene below.
I booked Cancun Cheap Transfers to pick me up from the airport to take me to the hotel. They had already sent me a message they would be waiting for me by the Margaritaville stand just exiting the airport. And they were! I booked a private van so there were no other stops to get to the hotel as quickly as possible. It was $55 for a one-way private trip. And they were great! I used them on the way back too and the driver even carried my bags into the airport and helped me check in. I can highly recommend!
Hotel Occidental Xcaret Riviera Maya was where we all stayed. Upon arrival I was offered an ice cold beer while waiting to check in. It’s a very big resort and after check in someone walked me to my room where I had chocolate covered strawberries and a stocked mini bar waiting for me. The luggage guy arrived quickly so I could get settled in. I gulped down all of those strawberries in a matter of minutes and popped open a cold beer while unpacking and sending “where are you” messages to all my friends that were already there. One thing, you must pay for Wi-Fi. The price was about $45 for four days if I remember correctly, it is not included with the room.
Soon I met the fabulous Bess in the lobby and we grabbed a margarita before finding the others. The resort is all-inclusive so grabbing a drink or two or three is easy and you don’t need to worry about keeping track of how much you’ve spent! Or even how much you drink! 😉 We met most of the gang at the seafood restaurant – there are eleven restaurants to choose from and I enjoyed the Paco’s Tacos the best (pizza AND tacos), because you really can’t go wrong with either of those. But there is also a huge buffet restaurant with so many options of salads, fruit, breads, pasta, main courses, desserts …. more more more. And there you can wear what you want because some restaurants have a dress code. And breakfast every morning for me was the buffet by the lagoon. My morning view was this. Gorgeous, right?!
There are so many different and fun things to do at the resort and around the resort. At the resort itself are many swimming pools, a beach lagoon, a private adults only area with ocean access, many ruins around the grounds that you can even go into and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to mention this but ANIMALS!!!! Iguanas are EVERYWHERE but there are monkeys (!!!!) which most people saw every morning on their balconies but my area didn’t have monkeys – because I was told there are snakes (!) there and monkeys don’t like snakes (well, me neither). I also saw this weird small pig animal, a deer(!), a huge ass scorpion, birds and of course fish fish fish. I apologize for all the exclamation marks but animals y’all!
And part of the resort is their Eco-archeological Xcaret Park. I didn’t do this because it was a bit expensive but everyone who had kids did go and enjoyed it. There is a lazy river (which I heard is not that lazy), swim with the dolphins, cultural attractions and more. Besides the park, people went to Cozumel, went snorkeling with whale sharks (they are huge!) and a day trip to visit Tulum. Of course, you can always just be really lazy and relax with a rum runner on the beach.
Then it was wedding day!!! Yippee!!! It was pretty chill to start with and we hung out around the lagoon. Some of us got up early to save the big beach lounge beds and some lounge chairs down by the water. We soaked up the sun and worked on the song list and had a Rum Runner or two and then it was time for the nuptials. It was perfect, between the ocean and one of the bigger ruins on the grounds. The ceremony was simple and beautiful – that must make it simply beautiful. Then off for an hour reception to have a snack, a cocktail, take some photos, sign the wedding book and watch the bride seriously think about shoving a handful of cake in her husband’s mouth. A very lovely evening with many people I have known for most of my life and getting to see and meet their children. A time never to be forgotten with many lovely and funny memories made. Let the tears commence!
There was even a full moon that night.
Congratulations you love birds! So happy for you. xxoo -k
My parents moved to Phoenix, AZ a few years ago in their perfect retirement community. And every time I’m there I find so many fun and cool things to do, which I’d love to share with you!
Sharing is caring, y’all.
Take A Hike! Get your butt outdoors and breathe in the fresh air. Plus some exercise always does a body good. There are many great hiking trails but Camelback Mountain is the closest to my parent’s house so that’s the one I hike. Two main trails lead to the summit of Camelback, a camel-shaped mountain just 20 minutes from downtown Phoenix. Both are rated extremely difficult. The Echo Canyon hike is the more rugged of the two and requires steep climbs and scrambling over large rocks. The Cholla Trail, while a little bit less strenuous, is also a little bit longer. The beginning of the hike is easy, with switchbacks and even terrain. The last third of the trail requires scrambling up steep grades with drop-offs on each side. Both hikes are a little under 2.5 miles long. Plan on taking two to three hours, depending on your condition, to make either of the round-trip hikes. Please don’t forget to bring lots of water to stay hydrated!
Go See A Show! It doesn’t matter if it’s theatre or ballet or opera or a concert. Whichever is your jam go do it. There are just so many opportunities in Phoenix to find something that you would love. I recently saw Wicked at the ASU Gammage theatre. Great show! Great theatre. In August, The Book Of Mormon (SO GOOD) will be performing there.
Visit A Museum! I love the Heard Museum in downtown Phoenix. It’s one of the best places to experience the myriad cultures and art of American Indians of the Southwest. Since its founding in 1929, the Heard Museum has grown in size and stature to become recognized internationally for the quality of its collections, world-class exhibitions, educational programming and its unmatched festivals. Dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art, the Heard successfully presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitions that showcase the beauty and vitality of traditional and contemporary art.
Eat At A New Restaurant! Before seeing Wicked at the ASU Gammage we went to have an early dinner at Durant’s Steakhouse. We got there five minutes before actual opening hours, walked through the back entrance (through the kitchen – do it, be a regular), ordered martinis (extra dirty for me) and a brandy old fashioned for mom before we were seated. And speaking of seating, we slid into our red leather booth surrounded by red velvety wallpaper before having an excellent meal. Don’t get me wrong, Durant’s is not somewhere to get a quick, cheap eat. But if you want a culinary and cool experience go check it out. Quick fun fact – John Wayne, Clark Gable and Joe DiMaggio all frequented Durant’s.
Check out something just outside of Phoenix! Last time my mom and I went to see Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright‘s winter home and school. Ever since I was young I loved architecture and touring mansions – the Marland mansion in Ponca City, OK and don’t think I went completely insane in Newport, RI – The Breakers!!! Marble House. WOW, just wow. So definitely check out Taliesin West. But THIS TIME we went on a boat ride on Saguro Lake with my aunt and uncle who were visiting. Saguro Lake is about 45 minutes Northeast of Phoenix. The 1,200-acre lake is 10 miles long and reaches depths of more than 110 feet at its deepest point. Its 22 miles of shoreline include rocky crags, canyon walls, marshland, and desert shrubland. The area also offers a variety of recreational activities (kayaking, hiking, fishing, sailing) including a scenic and educational riverboat cruise. We took a ride on the Desert Belle riverboat, a 90-minute narrated cruise on the lake. Let me clarify, the Captain didn’t speak the entire boat ride, there were lots of groovy tunes and time to breath in the nature. Besides hundreds, if not thousands of Saguro cacti we saw a bald eagle and a bighorn sheep!!! I was super stoked about the sheep. I highly suggest to bring your binoculars.
Have a ton of fun on all your adventures. And I’d love to hear what you love to do in and around Phoenix. 🙂
This project has been a true labor of love, filled with fun adventures, lovable characters, and meaningful lessons for young readers.
If you know any young readers (or young at heart!), I’d be so grateful if you’d spread the word. The book is available on Amazon in most countries. Here is the USA link if you click HERE FOR – HAVE YOU SEEN FRENCHIE?
GOING NINETY MILES 