Cuba

I am glad I went to Cuba when I did because I think ultimately it will crumble or change to where the uniqueness fades. It is a fascinating place on one hand and disturbing on the other. It is a country the government is doing nothing for the people nor the infrastructure and by doing nothing it is crumbling. But the spirit of the people, the culture, the architecture are alive and well.

It was surprising for me to realize that transportation is the biggest problem. The people wait two hours for a bus to go to work. They still have horses and wagons. Between the horse and wagons and the cars you definitely feel like you are back in time.

You have to be careful when walking. The manhole covers have been stolen for materials. The buildings are crumbling and either people are squatting in them or they fall and become a grass patch or “park”. The cuban government refers to the US as the enemy. Given this hatred it is ironic that the Capital Building replica is being renovated..

Yet, it is a wonderful place to go. We were able to visit Vinalles. When they served my Pina colada in a coconut they gave me the bottle of rum to do my own pour. I appreciated this. Of course we visited a cigar farm and a museum which had a coffee maker sculpture in the entrance. How appropriate!

Brazil

Note to self do not go on a vacation with your boyfriend’s ex-wife for the child. All I have to say is thank goodness for Caipirinhas.

Must admit though her dad is amazing. He feeds the poor in the favelas. We went with him and they would run up to the car to greet him. He is a local hero for sure.

Not the safest place I have been nor my favorite but it does have arguably the best coffee. I did not expect that. Also, I was expecting to see many “bundas” being that we were in Rio de Janeiro. I only saw one. There are many more thongs and skin in Miami.

The highlights of the trip was the statue of Christ on Corcovado mountain with the monkeys that lived there and Petropolis which is where some of the family lived.

Sao Paolo is a busy crazy city where the motorcycles can kill you. Go with someone you know or a tour if you dare venture.

Spain

Got on the plane for Spain on my birthday and it felt terrific! I cannot think of a better celebration. In Spain, we visited friends, drank wine, ate pork and did the tourist thing. Given I am an early bird it was strange to adjust to the schedule. The kids didn’t even get up for school until 9 am. One time we tried to get coffee at 8 am this was not easy. We ate dinner one night at midnight. This was dinner not a snack. We had a big flounder type fish. The first two nights we were out until 3 am. We quickly adjusted this schedule as it was not conducive to our tourist plans.

We visited the Prada museum and Reina de Sofia. Funny though, the hours of Reina de Sofia are strange too so when we got there it was closed. We had to wait an hour so we went across from the museum to get a coffee. Apparently this is a pretty common tourist “problem”. Well, really any excuse to get a coffee and dessert is fine by me.

I ate some desserts instead of meals. I love European desserts. I would move anywhere in Europe just for the desserts. I was surprised by the wine selection. It is either red or white. You do not see the Merlot or Pino Noir options. So that is what we drank. This trip was riddled with drama. I had an anaphylactic-like attack on the train and went to a pharmacy because of the aggravated constant cough. I got a throat spray that is not sold in the US to ease the issue. At this time I did not make the connection it was the wine. I did not figure it out until two years later when I took a food intolerance test and grapes was number one. That is another story though. We did not let it stop us although there were some embarrassing moments like coughing crazy in the Prada museum. I am sure if they knew me I would not be invited back. I got to see Las Meninas and other very dark works of Velasquez. We were able to see Picasso’s Guernica in Reina Sofia and then visit the Basque country, Bilboa where that painting was inspired. In Bilboa, we visited the Guggenheim museum. It was a very art filled trip!

Peru

Ok so Peru Wow! Of course Macchu Picchu is impressive. I was successful with the elevation until 12,000 ft. That seems to be my breaking point. I did not try the Coco Tea because I was in the middle of a job search and did not want it to mess up a drug test. But supposedly it would have helped with the elevation according to the natives.

I am relatively young and active. Bless the older folks who were on the tour. I gave my package of Menthos up to an older gentlemen who felt faint and exhausted during the climb. My personal opinion is people should not wait until retirement to travel. It is way too taxing on the body.

I am not sure the difference between Alpacas and Llamas but I will always think of Peru when I see either one. They hung out peacefully on the ledges at Macchu Picchu amongst the ruins and I appreciated their presence.

Apparently the Incas did not survive that long there with the invasion of the Spanish and the plague. It is impressive what they built in a short period of time.

There is so much to experience in Peru. Lake Titicaca and Uros Floating Islands, Salt mines, mud houses even Starbucks and and an exotic art museum (Larco). Not to mention the food, ceviche, couza and chichamorada. I didn’t care for the Pisco sour but it is quite popular. It reminds me of Rocky Balboa drinking the egg for his workout.

The Indigenous people are about 25% of the population and their bright colored attire really enhance the cultural experience.It is surprising to learn some of the colors are made from corn. There are 55 types of corn in Peru and 3,000 potatoes.

It is a relatively poor country and this was never more obvious then when we visited a school that was covered with a blue tarp because the roof had caved. We got to play soccer with the young students and you could see their feet were mud covered from the long walks to the school. Some of them trekked to the school from the mountains. We met a shaman from the mountains and sat down to be blessed by him. We got sick for the rest of the trip so our joke was that he placed a curse on us. Hopefully, the shaman was focusing on the long-term of my life :)

China

This was another MBA adventure. I was invited as an alumni to participate with the graduating cohort in the consortium exchange to China. I took the opportunity to go to Beijing beforehand by myself. This was quite an experience. I failed to realize it was Golden Week. All I can say is China is crowded. Went to the Wall, Heavenly Palace and Tienanmen Square. I felt safe and stayed safe by avoiding the street food throughout the trip.

From Beijing I decided to take a train which I tried to book before my trip started. What a mistake! I ended up with the last hard chair. Twenty-four hours later crammed in with the Billion Chinese people I arrived at the school in Chongqing.

Some people suggested that the younger generation in China speak English and that would be helpful during my trip. I did not find that to be accurate.

One breakfast it took me four mimes to get a spoon. Primarily, I used my phone to communicate and showed it to people because the vocabulary was not phonetically written.

I must admit the people where very hospitable everywhere I went. We had a guide who brought her two nephews to help us in our day excursions. They entertained us and we ate at some excellent restaurants. We went to enjoy ‘hot pot’ which you cook your own food in a simmering soup stock. We went to a tea ceremony which made me reconsider how I poor my hot water for my tea. I was surprised how good the food was albeit spicy. Although I tried a lot of different plates I did not eat the cow blood or chicken feet. I reached my limit. I like pushing my boundaries and experiencing new things and this trip did not disappoint.

Key West

Of course living in South Florida I have been to Key West a few times. I appreciate their come as you are attitude. This time I was able to visit my roommate from college who came down for a short getaway. We ran around Mallory Square and Duval Street. People watching is especially fun in Mallory Square. I seek out the Coconut Man from Guam who sleeps on the hammock perched up high on his coconut cart.

One of my other favorite things to do is to go fishing and having one of the restaurants cook up the catch. This time though we did not catch anything which never happens! So, we befriended a nice gentlemen on his own who caught a boatload of fish and he shared it with us. Given it was his fish he fried everything. I would have blackened some of it but hey beggars cannot be choosers!

Italy

This was my third time in the country. Italy never fails to impress me and make me feel at home. Coincidentally, I have been there each time through school programs. This last time it was an educational consortium program for Executive MBA programs from Italy, Brazil, Russia and US (Miami). I chose to visit Italy, again. Italy has my heart. We completed a week long program with a school in Bologna visiting businesses and participating in lectures with the international cohort. Then, I took an extra week to travel with three other students. What an amazing adventure!

We visited with one of the student’s family in Abruzzi where they invested a lot in ceramics.

I stumbled through my broken Italian and entertained some conversation. We traveled the countryside to the Tuscan region hanging out in Moltepulciano. During this drive the highlights were listening to the monks chant at a monastery and then we stopped long enough to see a baby lamb be born.

Later in my trip in Milan, I had the opportunity to go to an opening of a ballet at La Scala and until this day think about the costumes juxtaposed from scenery and the celebration of the mother in the audience who was famous ballerina watching her daughter who was the star of the show.

So many more adventures to explain here but a trip I will never forget.

British Columbia

First of all British Columbia is beautiful. I stayed primarily in Fairmont which is a pretty remote location. I woke up to deer and fog. If you are new to snow sports Fairmont resort is perfect. I appreciated the peace. I went there to go snowboarding. The snow was great and it was quiet as opposed to the frequently traveled Colorado, I highly recommend it. I visited Lake Louise which was frozen over. It was surprising to see people that had walked to the middle of the lake. I was brave enough to walk out to some of the ice sculptures to take some photographs.

I also visited Banff Sunshine Village. This mountain was very cool. I took a Gondola to the base. I was surely in the middle of the mountains there. It was impressive. While I was there some local folk recommended Mount Norquay which was a less notable resort area but was known to the natives. It was another great mountain although I still recall the turn where I caught an edge and took quite a spill. Par for the course I guess in the sport of snowboarding. No injuries luckily just good memories.