Arizona

The helicopter trip over the Grand Canyon was even better than I expected. I thought it would be louder and bumpier but it was smooth even when we dropped a few thousand feet quickly. The noise cancelling headphones allowed us to chat and blocked out external noise. Very cool!

We stayed in Sedona and took a day trip to Grand Canyon. Sedona and the red rocks were super beautiful. We ate cactus fries, pickle fries, rattlesnake and prickly pear margaritas. It was my first opportunity to use my new camera, too. The scenery is so different from South Florida where I live which made it more interesting.

We took the opportunity to go horseback riding on some pretty tough trails. My horse’s name was Cowboy. I kept singing the Kid Rock tune to him. He liked to eat a lot of the dry awful looking grass. I had to stay in control and be the boss to keep him on track with the group. It was challenging for sure.

The other best excursion was the Ghost Town of Jerome which is an abandoned mining town. I must admit it seemed like aliens came down and wiped out the town. A little creepy. I liked it there though :)

Canada

My first artist retreat in Sudbury on Lake Charleston. We took a boat everyday to where we would paint all day. We came back for lunch to the cabins. Each morning I was awoken to the squirrels who were dropping acorns on the roof. It was very loud. I liked this way to wake up though. It was a reminder I was in a cabin in the woods. The cabin was well equipped so it was not a hardship.

I really enjoyed this adventure and it really set me on the painting journey I am pursuing today. We would return to the cabin and after dinner there was a very thorough critique of everyone’s paintings.

I learned of the Group of Seven painters that are famous to the area. The other painters and instructor were suggesting at one point I was channeling Carmichael, one of the seven. We were able to meet and speak to his grandson and visit the residence by boat while we were there.

The instructor post-impressionist painter, Keith Thirgood, shared with us the markers he uses and his color wheel. This has influenced my drawings and the color choices and paints in my work today.

Germany

I went to Berlin and Dresden. Dresden is a city that was destroyed in WWII and is being painstakingly rebuilt down to the finest details. I found this restoration and recreation to be very impressive. Others felt differently. There was a woman on the trip who didn’t take photos because she felt everything was fake. Personally, I think she missed the point. They were importing fabrics from Italy to match what existed before and the expense was of no object.

When I visited East Berlin, the buildings built during the communist era were brown plain boxes of no architectural significance. This is juxtaposed to other the other places like Dresden and West Berlin. In Berlin, there are

many monuments and exhibitions and reminders of the Holocaust more than I expected and I was thankful for that. What is interesting too is they are encouraging graffiti well beyond the art on the Berlin Wall museum. Somehow it fits there. In Italy I find it appalling. I liked all the bears around the city, too.

Crazy but I never got a pretzel or bratwurst. Mostly because they were sold on the streets and I was always looking to go inside a restaurant so I could get a hot chocolate with some type of liquor. The weather was in the 40s so I am sure that you understand.

Prague

Prague is amazing and Charles Bridge is the entryway to a real life Disney World. Here we were admiring the bridge entryway and another tourist comes by and her friend says “What is this?” and the woman replies “Oh its just a bridge.” What a mistake! And what an understatement. I cannot imagine a city that has more of a fantasy feel then Prague.

It is the one place that distracted me from food. I only wished to soak it all in and take pictures. I wondered what it was like to live here centuries ago.

It is a pure wonder.

Austria

My word for Austria is ostentatious. It was surprising but not surprising. I was interested in the country because a year or so back my sister in law did our ancestry tree and discovered that we had a lot of ancestors from Austria. My one half was always known to be solid Italian and that was validated but the Austrian side was an unknown. I was curious to see if I felt at home here. I was glad to be associated by blood but I am not sure if it felt homey. It felt more like when you go to a friends home and they have plastic on the couch. I don’t think it is common anymore but either way it definitely inhibits one from getting too comfortable.

We went to get a famous 8 dollar chocolate cake and the waitress was in the French maid outfit and there was an amazing chandelier in the middle of the cafe. This fit my impression.

I went to Belvedere museum to see Gustav Klimt’s Kiss and it was worth it. The property of the museum itself was worth it. The Kiss was square and large. For some reason I thought the painting was rectangular. I was allowed to take a photo in front of it too which is rare for museums. I was glad because I wanted to share the experience with my boyfriend at home who loves art.

Bratislava

We took a half day trip to Bratislava the capital of Slavakia. This is a creative place where Mozart stayed. It felt like a artsy place albeit very tiny.

Hans Christian Andersen visited once and there was a statue created of him. It was a nice little excursion.

Hungary

How come people do not talk about Hungary? Can you imaging a place more beautiful? Maybe but still it is amazing. I cannot believe that photo cruising down the Danube. It was amazing. Manificent! Hungarian goulash delicious! Long live paprika! :)

Hero’s square, Fisherman’s Bastion I could easily go back there or have stayed but then I would have not have made it to Prague. OMG!

San Francisco

First time I tried Uber. We clicked for a ride and literally the car pulled in less than one minute the driver popped out and said “Michelle?” This was quite startling. He owned a Mongolian restaurant and we decided to go. There is a very strong Russian influence to the Mongolian plates. He had us try their vodka which is really spoiled milk. I would not recommend this even to my enemy :)

I came here for a conference for work but given that I was on a different time zone I was able to fit a lot of tourist excursions in, plus, we stayed some extra days. This was very cool especially give San Francisco is so expensive.

Of course the highlight for me was seeing the Edvard Munch exhibit in the San Francisco MOMA. How fortuitous that the conference and the exhibit were at the same time.

Another surprising event was on the first night when we went to eat at the Fisherman’s Wharf. Humorously I was struggling to photograph a sea lion in the water. He was bobbing in and out so it was proving to be quite difficult. Then I was looking across the table and I noticed a hundred of them. Literally! :) We went down to look at them and they were so loud and boisterous. What a joy!

We were on East Coast time so as if I do not get up early already we were easily up before 6 am on the West Coast. We loved the ferry station. That was our breakfast place and then we would take a morning walk which turned out to be very lucky. We were able to get tickets to Alcatraz that weekend because a tour had cancelled ten minutes before. Apparently people buy them months in advance.

We got lucky again when we visited the Golden Gate bridge. We were able to go to the top because the day was so clear. No smog! Can you believe it?

Mexico

Okay I am not a cruiser. We visited Mexico by way of a cruise ship. We like excursions and typically like to meander. Getting back to the ship in a timely manner proved difficult. We even got lost from our tour so maybe it is us. I do like traveling and vacationing at the same time and seeing the massive ocean from my room. Mexico has the bluest water I have ever seen even surpassing Aruba.

Holy guacamole! So delicious! I discovered for myself that you can mix all Mexican food together and it still tastes great. I am sure I am not the first to realize this.

I found the echoing ability and the calendar aspects of Chichen Itza’s El Castillo part of the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan to be fascinating. And I found it humorous that Yucatan was from the Mayan word Yucatec which when the Spanish arrived the Mayans were replying and it means “I don’t understand what you are saying.”

I think Mexico has some of the better souvenirs if one is tourist shopping or in a hurry trying to catch a ship. :)