A Quiz, and a Prize!

In the spirit of the holiday season I have decided to construct a quiz with a real prize.   Of course it is about travel.  You may even find an answer or two in one or more of my  prior blogs.  Or maybe not.

First of all I would like to thank the many travel vendors who present webinars to me, as a  Virtuoso travel professional.  The depth of information we get in an hour or less, accompanied by exquisite photographs,   has increased my desire to globetrot and see some of the astounding places they represent.  I am often able to attend two or three a week and since things change rapidly in the wonderful world of travel, I am kept up to date.

Iolani Palace in Honolulu, the only royal palace in the current US, a beautiful yet bittersweet place to visit.  US business interests essentially staged a coup to overthrow the royal family.  A must-see, I think,  in Hawaii.

Since of course I cannot present photos of these places I am just going to scatter some pix that I have taken over the past few years  of some favorite things  (this time, not my adorable dog,  Ranger, who I used previously.)

1. What church will astound you with its interior of gold?  Hint, this place is high on my bucket list.  I hope to visit here in the next couple of years.  Name of the church and city please.  Let me know if you want to visit also.

      2.   What city has two of the most  architecturally unusual buildings in the world.  Hint, these are not  buildings from antiquity.  They are modern.  They will take your breath away.    If you want to see them in person rather than in photos,  call me.  

How thrilled I was to step into  the Victoria and Albert Museum  and see this installation which I immediately knew was from my favorite hometown artist, Dale Chihuly!

       3. Where will you find ancient cave paintings made by a people who today might be models and basketball players?   And you can visit them!  Just ask me how!

      4. Where are there conical homes with stone roofs which used to be taken apart to fool tax assessors into thinking the home was not finished?  

      5. In what city can you visit a building, now a museum, that was inhabited until not too long ago, whose first inhabitants were  Phoenicians?  This is a great place, packed with history.

A stylish pedicab in Tallin, Estonia

      6. In what country can you be transported on two non-motorized types of transportation,  one beginning with a K and the other ending in a K.  I want the country and the two types of transportation.   And, I can send you on a trip to this country with the author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, as she revisits one of them.

      7.  What archaeological site in the eastern hemisphere has been said to cause controvery in the archaeology world which thought that agriculture, which begat settlements,  was the first cornerstone in the foundation of religion?  

Ok I think this is enough!   Just go ahead and leave your answers in the comments section, click below to leave your name and comment.  The first person who gets all of the answers right will win something that I actually will have to pay for…no keychains for you!

Now for my commercial.  Just because the name of our company is Specialty Cruise & Villas doesn’t mean that is all we do!  Our membership in Virtuoso has allowed us to expand to enable you to visit some of the most  fascinating places in the world, even those not on a river or near the ocean.  I would love to help you  fulfill your most passionate travel dreams.   We can nearly always do this with our worldwide contacts.  Can’t take you to the moon yet, but maybe soon!    Call me at 425-454-1250 or 888-857-7379.

One more thing:  King Tut is leaving Seattle January 6.  This exhibit is spellbinding and this is the last stop in the US.  I can help you arrange this, including VIP tickets,  but you must act quickly.

Loving a Loooong Layover (am I crazy?)

Or:  Handed a Travel Lemon?   Make Lemonade!

Every once in awhile,  I am stuck with a long layover.  Sometimes it is just all you can get when going from point A to B.  But there you are, with  interminable hours at an airport. Chain restaurants, shops, uncomfortable chairs, frequent announcements, long lines, ugh.

Recently, faced with 7 hours at London Heathrow, I decided to put my  noggin to work and try to turn it into a positive.  My agreeable Travel Companion (TC), is happy with a sports lounge with banks of televisions so he can watch game after game.  Not me!

Going from a sunny day in Nice to  seven hours in an airport is not my idea of how to end a vacation!

On the lower floor of the terminal we found the local transportation information offices where we obtained  schedules and some ideas of where we could go that was nearby and would have some interest.  My TC is a good sport and will go along with whatever I decide,  so I took a stab and decided on a town called Staines.

Next, we pondered on what to do with our carry-on luggage.  Viola, a few feet away was a short-term baggage storage area which would, for a small fee, let us leave our bags securely for four hours.

Then out to the bus stop. Along it came, on we went, and before we knew it we hopped off near a shopping mall. Down the street we saw what looked like it might be a small hostelry and away we went to look for lunch.  As we came closer we discovered something that made my TC happy. The hotel was on a river, and the river was The Thames, with  there was a paved walkway alongside it!  That was a big thing, and I think worth the whole layover to him.   

The beautiful white swans brighten up a dreary day.

That particular hostelry was not yet serving lunch so we decided to walk along the path.  The weather was iffy, the current was fast,  the swans were plentiful,  and the scenery was pleasant for being relatively close to the airport.  Then I saw something that made my heart flutter…there, across the river,  was a picturesque little inn called the  Swan Hotel.   I remembered that I had enjoyed lunch there on a trip decades ago!    It had been a much more pleasant day and we had sat outside along the river for an outstanding meal.

This inn gave me a moment of deja vu!

A little farther down the path we found a  modern building overlooking the river with a pub called something that reminded me of my little vegetable patch at  home:  the Slug and Lettuce.   We had good food and a congenial waiter, adding  up to a memorable lunch.

The pub, called "the Slug and Lettuce", had a great riverside location.  On a warmer day, we would have eaten outside.

Like most small towns, it was a mix of  old and new architecture (the Slug and Lettuce obviously in a new building.)

The greenish neon sign brings the sedate Town Hall building a touch of whimsy.

 

Heading into the center of town we discovered a mall where the roads had been closed to traffic, making it a comfortable place to wander.   The historian in me was thrilled to see a marker commemorating a bridge that had been built there by the Romans in AD 43,  and another marking an event that happened over 400 years later.  

Marking an important bridge crossing the Thames here from 2,000 years ago.  Ramparts from some nearby bridges of the same era still exist nearby.

My favorite part of the outing, a bit of serendipity as I did not expect this, was the wonderful sculpture honoring the people who worked for years  in the local linoleum factory. It turned out more of that ubiquitous flooring than any other place in the world…until the market slowed and it closed.  But the town clearly survived!

This is where linoleum was invented, and most of it was produced, until it fell out of favor.

Then back on the bus, to the airport, grabbing the bags, heading up the escalators and back into the throngs of Terminal 5 to board the flight home. The nine hours was easier to endure because of the discovery of a small working-class British town.  Fresh air, stretching your legs, and a nice pub lunch is  much more fun than just another long airport layover. (I learned one lesson:  plan this before you leave home and save time!)

Commercial time!   The river cruise business is exploding and the various companies are building nicer and better river boats as fast as they can.  New technology is making these vessels more comfortable with larger staterooms and even balconies on some, giving you 24 hour access to great views.  The time to think about this is now, since many of them offer their best rates 12-18 months prior.  All over the world, towns sprung up along river banks as that was their best mode of transportation, so you will see history everywhere.    Europe, China, and the US are the tip of the iceberg...(you won't see any of THOSE on a river cruise by the way :)   How about a safari cruise in Africa, where the game comes to you as they quench their thirst.  Or the remote reaches of the upper Amazon, through the densest jungles.  Combine with with a Macchu Piccu trip before or after!  Call me at 888-857-7379,  Anne Johnson at Specialty Cruise.

What the Mummy Taught Me: The Joys of Small Museums

When I was a child we would often visit the smallish Museum of History in Tacoma because it was near where my grandmother had rental properties.   Why did we so eagerly await those visits?  Because it HAD A MUMMY.   Now,  this mummy was by itself in a case and there was no context for it.   But it thrilled us!!!  (Apparently in the late 1800s a Tacoman  purchased it during his world travels.)  AND if you went downstairs, there was a real covered wagon and the (now stuffed) ox that pulled it, which  belonged to Ezra Meeker, a local pioneer.   I was always a little disappointed that he was not stuffed and with her, to complete the vignette.   (The museum has now grown up and has moved and is much more sophisticated than it was back then.)

But the museum left its mark on me and I find it difficult to pass up any museum,  especially small ones!   The large and “important” museums can take your breath away….seeing the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, for example,  was a pinnacle in my lifetime of museum experiences.   The new Acropolis Museum in Athens is stunning.   Yet I have found that the smaller it is, the quirkier, and hence potentially a treasure.  I love quirky. 

See?  A little hodgepodge of things.  I think the candelabra is a treasure.

An example is a tiny little four  room museum on a little side street in Ajaccio, Corsica, A Bandera.  This museum covers about 10,000 years of history of this island,  which otherwise doesn’t let you forget the Bonaparte connection.   It was kind of nice to go into a place that didn’t have Napolean as the complete focus.  When you enter and pay your pittance of an entrance fee, you are handed a stapled and typewritten description of each room,  which is quite helpful if you speak French.  (Shopworn too because they ask you to return it as you leave.)  But people like me, who took Spanish or (fill in your own language) were able to figure out a lot of what we were seeing because of the very liberal use of….dioramas.  Some elaborate, some looking more like a school project, yet all very earnest and endearing.

My favorite of the dioramas depicting the dreaded Berbers from Africa attacking Corsica.

I think my favorite small museum of all, however, is one that has a very strict focus,  coaches and all of the related paraphernalia.    Sorry, guys,  I don’t mean Don James or John Wooden or Alonzo Stagg.  I mean inventive and grand and glorious horse, mule, or people pulled coaches, most of which were commissioned and used by the royals of Europe  during the second half of the second millennium.  (Are we in the third millennium already?   My, that went by quickly.) 

This is the National Coach Museum in Lisbon and I would say buy the guide book before you enter, as there are lots of little tidbits included that will make this even more intriguing for you.  Currently, the museum is in it's original location which, in it's prior life,  was the riding stable for the royals.  It is adjacent to the presidents' residence.  It is moving very soon to a new, modern location kitty-corner and don't ask the employees how they feel about it if you don't want to see a grumpy face.   I agree, the current setting feels just right for the contents. 

This is the oldest and perhaps least cared-for coach in the museum.    However it was the only one in which you can actually see the loo, the small circular shaped marking in the wooden seat, normally covered with a piece of fitted wood  Truly fit for royalty!

From here it goes onward and upward to some of the most glorious coaches you can imagine.  It makes the one used by Charles and Diana some years ago look like a VW Bug in comparison.   You could just hear the orders that came from the Kings and Queens:  "What we want can be defined by one word,  OSTENTATIOUS!"    I loved imagining the titled personages of the past who occupied these fabulously painted and ornamented conveyances.

By the early 1700s,  coaches had become true works of art and, in many cases, told a story.  This coach is one of 16 Embassy coaches used in 1716 sent to the current Pope in Rome.   We are looking at the rear of the coach.   The central figure is Lisbon,  and she is being crowned by  Fame.  To her left is Abundance, holding an overflowing cornucopia.    Below Lisbon's feet, a winged dragon, a symbol of the Royal House, is breaking a Moslem Crescent while being watched by shackled slaves, representing Africa and Asia.   In other words,  "Go Christianity!"

Some of the intricate detail on parts of the coaches is easily missed if you don't know what to look for.....

This coach was built in the early 1700s but was used as late as the 1800s to transport foreign dignitaries.  Why am I showing you the wheel?  If you have great eyes or a magnifying glass you can make out the 12 Signs of the Zodiac.  I was able to spot Cancer,  mine,   by leaning waaaay forward over the protective rope.

What, you might ask, would a tiny little thing like this hold?  This late 18th Century vehicle was built to transport a religious statue during a specific procession between two places south of Lisbon.

(Good thing the taxpayers didn't have anything to say about this...there were others built too.)

I could go on and on with the gorgeous, ornate, over-the-top coaches in the museum, which makes you suspect that Europe had, a few hundred years ago, contests to see who could build the most outrageous coaches for the silliest uses!  There are over 50 of them here.   Some were built for the little princes and princesses so they could go about the gardens of their summer estates.  Some were for processions only.  And some were, shockingly, simply for travel!

I saw Litters, Berlins, Coupes, Cabiolets, Chaises, Sedan Chairs, learning a new vocabulary along the way.  We saw the accoutrements of a well-kept coach including uniforms, musical instruments, weapons,  livery,  saddles, stirrups,  and paintings of the various rulers and royals.  This museum definitely had surprise and delight in store.  Don't plan to rush through this!

And now, the ironic coach.   It is rather somber.  Could they have known that tragedy was around the corner when it was built?  Further irony revealed in the caption....

The bullet holes tell a grim story: in 1908, King Carlos I and his son were assassinated in the streets of Lisbon.  How ironic that this museum was created by his wife, Queen Amelia, in 1905.

Do you have a favorite small museum tucked away in your memory banks in a city large or small?  Please go to the bottom of the page and leave a comment so we can all read it.  Perhaps I'll visit yours soon!

And now for my favorite part, the commercial.  I love passing along great travel deals on delightful sojourns, and news of my industry.   Silversea, known for their all-inclusive pricing with travel to smaller intriguing ports in style and comfort,  has purchased and will renovate a small ship to be sailing exclusively in the Galapagos Islands.  They have actually purchased the whole company who owned and ran the ship, the Galapagos Explorer II, and will continue to have these experts managing your vacation.  This is the second exploration vessel for Silversea, which currently has the Silver Explorer spending most of the year in both Arctic and Antarctic waters.  Look for inaugural sailings in the autumn of 2013 and call me for more details!   888-857-7379.  Can't wait for next year?  There is still some space on some other excellent Galapagos journeys.

 

Quite Possibly, the Best Travel Book Ever.

It isn’t even really a travel book.  It speaks to you of places mystical and remote,  down-to-earth and close by,  generally unheard of and immensely famous.

Monestary of the Hieronymites, Lisbon

It won’t give you directions, instructions, hours of admissions, nearby accommodations or the best local restaurants.   It will only give you dreams for future travel, and moments of delight when you discover you have already been to many of these places.  And the photographs……divine.

A pile of rocks?  No, one of the three pyramids at Giza.  From afar, they look perfect and smooth.

To top it off, it isn’t for everyone.  Some of you may travel for a specific purpose, such as scuba diving,  museum-hopping, or even shopping.   This is for those of you who see or hear about a place that makes you want to jump on the next plane and immerse yourself in the gloriousness of….whatever.

Three words describe Monticello:  Fascinating.   Gorgeous.  Fascinating.  A true national treasure.

It is, my friends, simply titled “World Heritage Sites” and is published  by UNESCO Publishing.  The book is organized by date of acceptance by this United Nations Organization and each site was chosen for one or more criteria:  the Galapagos Islands, the first entry, is honored for Natural Phenomenon or Beauty; Major Stages of Earth’s History;  Significant Ecological or Biological Processes and Significant Natural Habitat for Biodiversity.  That first year, the other sites were both urban and remote and came from the USA, Senegal, Poland, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Germany, and Canada.  Now, there are UNESCO sites in over 150 nations.  

Restorations in the Jewish Ghetto,  Historic Centre of Rome

Sometimes, a specific place is designated, and sometimes a region or several examples of a specific thing.  For example, in England,  both Stonehenge and Avebury, which are miles apart, are listed together.  Avebury is similar to Stonehenge but more accessible to visitors-there is even a small village on-site.  Other examples are “Venice and its Lagoon,” and “Old Village of Holloko and its Surroundings”  (Hungary).

A detail in an alley of the Old Town section of Tallin, Estonia

This is really a book for dreamers.  With 936 listed sites and more coming every year,  it would really be nearly impossible to visit all without unlimited time and budget,  but  each place would not necessarily appeal to everyone.   The book has over 800 pages but I decided to slog through it and note every one I had been to, and happily found about 50.  One is in my own backyard, and was a somewhat early entry,  and looking at my list I realized that each of these places had been a highlight of my days of wandering.  I was unaware, when I visited most of them, that they were so designated.

At first sight, this looks like....nothing much.  However I took this photo from the western wall of Masada, at the point where the Romans breached the walls of the city after months of siege and building a ramp over a spur of rock to gain entrance.  Imaging watching from above as, day by day, the Romans came closer and closer to the Jewish refugees.

 If you seek an understanding of the world, both cultural and physical,  this is a must-have book to keep on your bedside table.   Their website is pretty good too!

And now for my commercial:   I am hosting a group on a cruise of wonderful ports both large and small between  Rio and Buenos Aires in January.  If you would like to join me, our gift will be a  tour  of Montevideo followed by a visit to a  special winery  outside of the city,  with a relaxing lunch with new friends included.  888-857-7379 or anne@specialtycruise.com