New Art Lovers...Sao Paulo!

This is Sao Paulo, Brazil.  This is one of the largest cities in the world, and the largest in the Americas.  This place is sprawling, covering far more land than Los Angeles and harboring far more people than New York City.  It's huge.  It's massive.  It has all the perks and problems of a large city.  Well, almost all.

This is the Open Air Museum of Urban Art.  It's an underpass.
 
I'm not kidding.  It's an official museum.  Brazil once had a problem with graffiti, just like many other cities around the world.  But, at one point, you have to make a decision as to which battles are worth fighting, and in Sao Paulo, they decided that this one was not worth it.  Since graffiti has been embraced as art in this city, things have changed.  Now, an underpass is a museum.  And that's not all.

This is the Museum of Art in Sao Paulo.  Like many other galleries and museums in town, they have some graffiti art on display.  As a matter of fact, Sao Paulo is one of the most noteworthy places that you can visit to see graffiti art on display all over the place.
 
This is Batman's Alley.  That's the most common name for it.  It's also known as Beco do Batman.  This is an entire street or alley devoted to graffiti art.  It all started in the 80's when someone painted Batman on one of the walls of this tiny alley near Cemeterio Sao Paulo.  In the decades that have followed, the entire alley has been covered in some dynamic and beautiful graffiti art.  It is an open gallery, so it changes a lot.  Any two visits can mean completely different works.

 

You never know what you'll find.  How does it work?  Are there rules?  Well, as with any other artistic community, this one has some of it's own rules.  Technically, you are supposed to ask the artist of a painting before painting over it.  Does it work?  I don't know, but the art is beautiful and ever evolving.
 
In Sao Paulo you will find graffiti art everywhere, and it suits them well.  Brazil has long since been known for it's bright and vibrant materials, clothes, art, food, and everything.  Graffiti art fits right in.  It's a feast for the eyes wherever you go.

They even import it from out of the country to put on display.




The variety of styles, artists and locations are endless.  It makes Sao Paulo one of the most colorful and artistic cities in the world.
 This is a far cry from the things that you normally read about in Sao Paulo.  Normally, the most often written about thing in the city is the traffic.

This city is known for traffic jams over 100 miles long.

The perk to sitting in traffic is that the street vendors, which were just recently given their licenses back, will come to you.  You can buy virtually anything you need, from a snack or drink, to clothes and jewelry from the comfort of your car.  This is all if you have the patience and the time to bother to drive in the world's worst traffic.

Or you can go on the fly.  There are over 200 heliports in Sao Paulo, because some of the city's wealthier citizens have had enough traffic.  They just fly right over it.  Does that sound extreme?  Maybe, but since there is an extremely high standard of living in this city, it fits right in.  It's an amazing town.  I've read that you should try and make friends online or get a really good contact before you go there.  It is a primarily Portuguese speaking country.  The city of Sao Paulo has some of the largest groups of ethnic Japanese and Italians in the world outside of their native countries.  It's the biggest and the richest and the hardest to drive in.  That may make it sound like an undesirable destination, but it's not.  It also has some of the best ethnic food, shopping, and oh yeah, the art.

You won't want to miss it.

http://www.cidadedesaopaulo.com/sp/en/what-to-see/sightseeings/201-masp
http://www.cidadedesaopaulo.com/sp/
http://www.fodors.com/world/south-america/brazil/sao-paulo/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/sao-paulo
http://www.brasilcontact.com/brazil-TravelService/TravelAgencies-SP-Sao-Paulo.html
http://www.toursbylocals.com/Sao-Paulo-Tours?s=BA_14_021B_Sao%20Paulo%20tour&utm_source=MSAC&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=14_021B
http://www.brazilforless.com/packages/tours-sao-paulo.php
http://tourinsaopaulo.com.br/
http://www.helicoptersaopaulo.com/
http://geostreetart.com/theblog/nove-open-air-museum-urban-art-sao-paulo/
http://www.travelchannel.com/video/sao-paulos-urban-art-museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C9Pk2LRayg 
http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://pixels.com/profiles/terri-dixon.html
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings


Enjoy! 

A Christmas Story...From Russia

It's that time of year, when I take a break from recommending wonderful things to do around the world and instead, tell a story.  You all who have looked in on this blog over the last several months probably think that I am either never at home, or that I have never been anywhere.  Well, it's a combination.  I'm not as young as I used to be, and I don't get to globe trot as much as I used to.  I have dreams of going places and doing things, but I have also done some things that none of you have ever done or will ever be able to do.  I say that because they are some things that only happened once.
Above is a picture of Red Square in Moscow at Christmas time.  I do recommend going there to take in the excitement.  I do this for a couple of reasons.  First, because you can have Christmas at home and then take off and go for Christmas in Moscow.  Their traditional Christmas is on January 7th.  That gives you time to do the family thing and go to Russia.  Second, I recommend this because Christmas is new here.  Not truly new, but for 78 years it was not celebrated in public because of the Soviets.  January 7, 1992 was the first Christmas celebrated throughout Russia publicly in decades.

These were the decorations at the Kremlin for that first Christmas in 1992, and I was there.
I had been to the Soviet Union just before the August Coup, and I returned to see what things would look like after Communism.  It was primitive that first year.  There weren't a lot of Christmas lights all over the city, but there were a few well placed Christmas trees outside the Kremlin and on Arbot Street.  It was the awakening of a spirit.


 
They've come a long way.
So begins my story.  January 6, 1992.  There was a pretty good snow storm in the Moscow area.  The locals didn't think anything of it, because it was normally a lot worse.  I was traveling with a group of students around Eastern Europe, and we'd come to Moscow for the brand new Christmas holiday.
A group of law students from the University of Moscow asked me and my group if we would be interested in going out to a local village to help the local children learn about the meaning of Christmas.  We jumped at it.  We then sat on a rickety old school bus of sorts for four hours through the snow and the countryside in the dark to get to a village that I to this day do not know the name of.
When we arrived, we found a village of a couple hundred people who were all anxious to meet the Americans and see what we were like.  Most of them had never traveled far from home and it was quite an exotic experience for them as well as us.

The method of getting around at the time was mostly by skis for those people, and the building was part of a summer camp that the surrounding villages came to.  That was where we stayed for the night.  It was a lovely accommodation, especially since the weather got so bad that no one wanted to try and go back to Moscow in the middle of the night.
So, the first thing that we went about doing was meeting some of the people who lived there.  They were wonderful and so curious to see what our take on Christmas was.  They were prepared to teach us about how they rang in the New Year, but Christmas was a little bit fuzzy for them.
Everyone crammed into the building which turned out to be set up more like a school in America.  It had a gymnasium with a stage for plays and other performances.  We decided that due to the language barrier that we were all feeling a little bit, we would tell them about Christmas by doing a play.  We felt that even though we all spoke some Russian, the people there were frustrated because they spoke absolutely no English, and our Russian was probably awful.

We did our best to perform the Nativity for them, even though we had no set, and not much to use for props or costumes.  The good news is that they understood us and afterward we were able to show them references in their bibles.

We then set about trying to explain Santa Claus, which we discovered was the part that they had learned before we arrived and called him Father Frost, and then we sang some of our Christmas carols to give them an idea of American things.

The children of the village jumped right into the spirit of the cross cultural education and did a play about their local life, then they did some dances for us.  It was a wonderful way to spend the evening.
Now, it's rude to us to go to a Christmas party empty handed, so we'd all grabbed a toy in the city and brought it for the kids in the village for their first Christmas Eve.

Little did we know that they'd prepared a huge party for us to celebrate the holiday with the entire village.  There was a feast and presents and everything.  It was one of the most fun holiday evenings I've ever had.  We got to talk to everyone and through that language barrier we all did a pretty good job of getting to know one another.  The children were all excited, because it turns out that they thought that this was only going to happen once.  They thought that this was something that they were doing to celebrate the end of Communism.  When we explained that this was a religious holiday celebrated throughout the world every year, they were thrilled.  Their little faces lit right up and stayed that way the whole time we were there.
In this village they had a tradition.  Remember, we were there to learn too.  Since New Year's was on the 14th, and we would be long gone by then, the locals wanted to show us their New Year's traditions.  So, at midnight the locals in that village had a tradition.  You took a piece of paper and wrote down your regrets from the year past and your hopes for the year future.  Then at midnight they all took turns pitching them into a fire that they built outside in the snow.  Then, after you throw the paper in the fire, you're supposed to jump over it to leap from the old year to the new.  We gladly took part in that tradition and it was a wonderful night.  After that, we all danced around the fire until we were so exhausted that we had to go to bed.
In the morning everyone had come back to the building where we stayed and made a pancake style breakfast for everyone and the whole village.  They all brought their presents and opened them as a group.  It was one of the most touching Christmas mornings I'd ever been a part of.
Unfortunately, by noon it was time for us to go.  We were scheduled to go to Red Square for the first Christmas celebration that evening, and we didn't want to miss that either.  It was sad saying good bye to our new friends in the village.  They'd gone out of their way to make their first Christmas special for total strangers from America.  You don't meet people that outgoing and gracious very often.  I don't know who did the biggest favor that night, us or them.  I saw the looks on the faces of the children as we were leaving.  They really didn't want us to go.  In a way, that felt good.

It was very hard to leave that little face, although Anna probably has her own kids by now.
Travel is a wonderful thing.  Don't ever shy away from it, because you're afraid that you won't feel comfortable, or you won't like it, or you won't be able to talk to people, or you're afraid you'll get lost.  Embrace it.  If you never decide to take the plunge and do take that exotic vacation that you've always dreamed about to a place that is completely alien to you, you could miss something that only happens once.  I've always been glad that I went to that little village that day.  It's one of the few experiences that I've had that no one else can really have.  It's special to me, and I have and will always cherish it.
So, that's my story.
I still will say that spending a Christmas in Moscow is going to be an experience for anyone.  They're crazy about Christmas over there, because they were denied it for so long.  So do go and enjoy.
Merry Christmas!


http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings
http://pixels.com/profiles/terri-dixon.html

Enjoy!

The Canal of all Canals...Panama

Panama is one of the smallest countries in the world, but it's location has made it one of the most important, historically and one of the best known.  The map above is of it's canal, and the reason why this tiny land is so well known world wide.
It started out as a simple idea.  Instead of risking life and limb and wasting a lot of time going around Cape Horn to get to the west, make a canal that goes through the narrowest spot in the America's, and cut that time of travel dramatically.  How to do it was another matter entirely.  The French tried it in the 1800's, but they couldn't get it right.  After a lot of fuss, and a really long drawn out sometimes tragic history of construction, the canal opened officially on August 15, 1914.  Since then, it has been on of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and one of the most famous engineering feats as well.  It's sometimes been called the 8th wonder of the world.

The canal has a little bit of everything to see for the weary traveler.  There are locks such as the Gatun, Miraflores, and the Pedro Miguel Locks.  There are also dredged out natural waterways, man made and natural lakes.  There are some pretty impressive bridges along the way as well.  It's not all one kind of crossing.  It runs for about 40 miles across the isthmus of Panama.
Now that you know something about the canal, why am I suggesting it and what exactly am I suggesting?


While you're in Panama, take a day, buy a ticket on one of the ferries that runs day tour full transits of the canal and see it for yourself.  There are several tour companies that offer this tour.  It's a great way to see an amazing feat of engineering.  Not to mention, the scenery is beautiful.



 
You'll be surprised at all the amazing sights you'll see along the way.
Panama is one of those countries that you'll be glad you visited.  It's portrayed as a drug lord run wild west type of country, but that's not the whole picture; not even close.

Panama is home to several indigenous tribes who have stuck to the cultures and traditions over the years, despite the countries rush forward into the modern world with it's canal and all that comes with that from around the world.
The Kuna Tribe is probably the best known, because of their applique art.  The women of this tribe are known for their bright clothing made with bright hand sewn tapestries called Molas.  The tribe also will show you their day to day lives and you can enjoy some music while you're there.

The Embera Indians are more known for their body painting than their clothes.  They have some different traditions, and different clothes.  They also play different types of music, chant and dance a lot more.
Either way, you will find that a visit with an indigenous tribe is something that you will never forget.

So come down to Panama, and experience the amazing city life,
beautiful beaches,

rain forest,

indigenous peoples, and of course, the Panama Canal.

http://www.panamacanal.com/index.html
http://www.panamainfo.com/en
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/
http://www.city-discovery.com/panama-city/tour.php?id=2250#
http://www.thepanamareport.com/culture/people/the-history-of-the-kuna-indians.html
http://www.destination360.com/central-america/panama/panama-canal-tour
http://www.pmatours.net/pacific-queen/tours.htm
http://www.panamatourismtravel.com/vacation-in-panama.htm
http://www.visitpanama.com/index.php?lang=en
http://panamatours.com/
http://www.adventuretourspanama.com/attractions/indigenous-cultures/indigenous-groups-of-panama.html
http://www.focuspublicationsint.com/focuspanama/en/indigenous.htm 
http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://pixels.com/profiles/terri-dixon.html
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings

Traverse the major oceans of the world.  Go from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa.  Experience the Panama Canal for a day and have memories for a lifetime.
Enjoy!

Lanzarote...The Spot for Riding Camels Around Volcanoes in the Canary Islands

Timanfaya National Park is one of those places that a lot of people don't think about, or don't know about.  It's an unusual place for a number of reasons, one of which is that it's in the Canary Islands.  The Canary Islands are just off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic.  The closest port on the mainland would be in Morocco.  It's known as a luxury playground for the Brits, but to the rest of us it's kind of a mystery.  It is a combination of tropics, volcanic activity, and desert tradition.  Odd combination, I know.
What would you come to these islands to do?

That's right.  You would come here to go to Timanfaya National Park and see the volcanoes and the magnificent lava sand land around them on camels.  The island is Lanzarote, and the camels are known as Dromedary Camels.  This is a tour and it only takes a day.  The land where the volcanoes are most amazing and beautiful can get very hot, so camels are the best way to travel on the area.  The camels don't leave an ecofootprint either, which makes the tourists happy.  A lot of people that come to the Canary Islands are strong on saving the planet, and the local companies are right there with them.  So, in some locations around the world, you would take an ATV or four wheel vehicle on this trip, but not on Lanzarote.

The area in Timanfaya is still very active in a passive kind of way.  There are no erupting volcanoes and there haven't been since the 1800's, but there are hot spots and geysers to remind you that Mother Nature could change her mind about it all any minute.


The surreal landscape is something that you won't soon forget.
 
You can drive through it, or more commonly done, take a tour bus.  The lava sand and the calderas will amaze you either way, but I think that the camel ride is more of an adventure.  Lanzarote is desolate, but beautiful.  It's unique in a lot of ways.  The volcanoes are fascinating.  The geysers are great.

Lazarote and Timanfaya also have some seaside lava tubes that are fun to explore.  There are boats and kayaks for an up close look at them.  They are all inactive, so they are safe and really cool.  It's that one more thing that puts the whole experience of Lanzarote over the top.
 
Now, Lanzarote is not the only island in the Canaries, but it is the desert and the place to see volcanoes.  This will not take up an entire vacation.  The Canary Islands are also known for their beautiful resorts, surfing, boating, diving, and many of the typical island activities that you hear of around the world.


In many places, it would resemble a trip to any island in the Caribbean.  So, it's not just for the hardy traveler who would like to ride camels around on desolate old volcanoes.  There's windsurfing and beach bumming to be done here.  There are plenty of bars serving Mojitos.  There are plenty of beautiful people relaxing and soaking up the sun.

But if you want something a little different, you'll love Timanfaya National Park.

And you'll love getting to know this guy.

http://www.turismodecanarias.com/canary-islands-spain/holiday-travel/excursions-tours/camel-riding/index.html
http://www.turismodecanarias.com/canary-islands-spain/index.html
http://www.thestar.com/image/1298054--camel-riding-in-the-canary-islands
http://www.ihoppers.com/en/canary-islands/lanzarote
http://www.pocruises.com/destinations/canary-islands/
http://www.adventuresofagoodman.com/canary-island-holiday/
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ports/group/home.do?portCode=ACE
http://www.vista-lanzarote.com/lanzarote/
http://lanzarote-guide.com/
http://www.lanzarote.com/canary/
http://www.discoverlanzarote.com/ 
http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://pixels.com/profiles/terri-dixon.html
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings

Come and get away from it all on camelback.  Enjoy!

Frankenmouth, Michigan..One of the Best Christmas Wonderlands

Somewhere in there is Santa Claus, just waiting for all the kids to stop by and tell him what they want for Christmas.


Welcome to Bronner's.  This place is a Christmas wonderland all year long.  This is a great place to go if you want a really big Christmas experience.  Frankenmouth, Michigan is it's home, and the whole package is called Michigan's Little Bavaria.

Bronner's has been around since 1945.  It's the biggest Christmas store in the world.  They do everything up right all year long, not just at Christmas.  The place is unbelievable.  They offer 50,000 Christmas ornaments, and that's just the start.  It's a great experience.
But, the best part about Frankenmouth is that it isn't just Santa.  It's not like you would go hundreds of miles, see Santa and go home.
There's plenty to do, in the wintertime in Frankenmouth.
 
There are indoor water parks.

Big ones.

There's an indoor fun center, complete with mini golf.

You can take a horse and carriage ride, and so much more.
This town is set up for great family fun.  The German/Bavarian theme is all throughout the town, and they love Christmas there.  Thanks to Bronner's, the place is all set for Christmas year round, but at Christmas time, they still make it more special.  That's when it spills out of Bronner's and into the streets, making this little Michigan town one of the most festive places on Earth.

It's a beautiful place to be.

If you love Christmas, and you want to take your kids for the fantasy trip of a lifetime to see Santa Claus, Frankenmouth is your spot.  It's like a little trip to Bavaria, with indoor entertainment, and the world's biggest Christmas store in Bronner's.  Santa is the centerpiece from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve here, when he has to take off and deliver presents for all the children, young and old.  Come, take a carriage ride in the snow, eat some great chicken and wiener schnitzel, and take the kids to visit Santa and buy the best decorations anywhere.
I hope that you find your best experience for the holidays ever.  Frankenmouth is a good one.
http://www.frankenmuth.org/
http://www.zehnders.com/index.html
http://bavarianinn.com/
http://www.bronners.com/
http://www.frankenmuthcheesehaus.com/
http://www.mirrormazeusa.com/
http://www.grandpatinysfarm.com/
http://www.frankenmuthcity.com/
http://www.michigan.org/hot-spots/frankenmuth/
http://www.frankenmuthmichigan.com/
http://www.frankenmuth-hotels.com/
http://www.frankenmuth.org/index.php?show_calendar=1&page_id=209&month=12&year=2012&day=24 
http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings
http://pixels.com/profiles/terri-dixon.html

So, head a little north from Detroit, not quite to Lansing, just east of Lake Michigan, but past all the dunes.  That's where you'll find Frankenmouth, Bronner's, Santa, and a winter wonderland of family fun.
 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Enjoy!

That Gorge in the Cadillac Commercials is Real and in Taiwan

The Eternal Spring Shrine is only one of the magnificent sites you will see if you take the plunge and go to Taiwan to drive through the Taroko Gorge.  The shrine is one of the places where you can stop along the way and get some culture for your trip.

Taiwan is one of those places that not too many people in my arena think of as a vacation destination.  Most of the people I know have no idea what goes on in Taiwan, which was what made me want to figure out what there was to do there.  It's not a country that comes up in vacation conversation like France, Brazil, or Japan.  It is, however, part of China technically, even though the place certainly shows it's own personality.
 

This is a great place to take a drive.  This is 19 km of the best driving in the world.  I remember when I checked out an e-mail that I got from a reader saying that I should check it out.  They said from the gate, to the turns to the tunnels to the shore, there was no better place to take a drive.  I'm not much for using a drive as a tourist attraction in and of itself, so I didn't think much of the idea.  I've seen Top Gear and I've seen the world's greatest roads that they always manage to find.  I don't normally care about a really good drive.  The piece that I'd been sent wasn't with images.  So, out of curiosity I looked up images and found out that this road was the road that I'd been seeing on recent Cadillac commercials.  Now that's not all.
 
The road through Taroko Gorge is so magnificent, that when I'd seen it on TV, I thought it was computer generated.  I saw all the tunnels carved in that narrow gorge with a lot of twists, turns, half caves and bridges.  It looked fake.  I was really surprised to find out it was real.



It doesn't look real.  It's carved out of marble.  There's tunnels and carved overhangs of the cliffs everywhere.  There's a tunnel that people walk through call the Tunnel of Nine Turns.  That's amazing.  The cliffs of the canyon rise up to 1,000 feet in some areas.  It's deep and it's narrow.
 
  The Swallow Grotto is the narrowest part of the gorge.  There are holes in the rock here that were forged by nature and are now inhabited by swallows' nests.  It's a beautiful place to hike and is a wonderful area to experience nature in the gorge.
 
Buluowan is where you will find the best part of your cultural experience in Taroko National Park.  Here is where the Atayal Tribe lives and lets travelers see into their lives as they were in the past and as they are now.  There is the Leader Hotel Taroko where you can stay and get an idea of the atmosphere of the culture.  It's right in the national park and it's a beautiful hotel with great amenities.


In Buluowan you can learn about traditional music as well as try the native foods.  The shopping is not bad either.
But remember, the real attraction here is the road.  There are statues along the way.  There are shrines and amazing hiking trails.  The only problem is that the hiking can be quite strenuous and not for everyone.  This needs to be approached like any other adventure of mine in that virtually anyone can do it. The statues are great.  They show the culture and the personality of the local people.
The hiking is great.  And in the summer, the swimming is great, although I hear that the Taiwanese people have a problem with getting in over their heads when they go swimming.  So, don't encourage the locals to swim unless you know them and are sure that they can swim.  It sounds nuts but it leads to hundreds of tragic deaths in Taiwan every year.

It's about the drive, baby.  And if you really feel uncomfortable driving yourself, you can hire a taxi or take a bus.  They are easy to get hooked up with and plentiful.  This is an easy one to do.  This is the most popular tourist attraction in Taiwan.  I'd just never heard of it before.  Now that I'm in the know, I have to caution you.  This should be a winter trip.  In the summer time the gorge and park are overrun with tourists.  So, even though it means that you won't be doing a lot of swimming, you should come in the off season and avoid the crowds.


The scenery is spectacular.  The road starts at sea level on the coast and runs up through the gorge to it's high point at 3700 meters through 38 tunnels and a winding road that you will not soon forget.  There are hiking trails and places to stop to eat, study the culture, and spend the night along the way.  Best of all, you can feel like you're in a Cadillac commercial.  It's the best of Taiwan and it's an amazing drive.  So, fly halfway around the world and take the drive of a lifetime.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/taiwan/east-coast/taroko-gorge
http://www.traveltaiwanguide.com/attractions/taroko-gorge/
http://sinotour.com/tourguide/hualien/buluowan.html
http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/pda/m1.aspx?sNo=0002124
http://www.city-discovery.com/taipei/tour.php?id=2548
http://www.guide.taiwan-adventures.com/2012/taroko-gorge-hikes-and-walks/
http://www.taiwan-travel-experience.com/taroko-gorge-hotels.html
http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002038&jid=123
http://www.taiwanholidays.com.au/taroko-gorge-tour 

http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://pixels.com/profiles/terri-dixon.html
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings

Leave the ordinary behind.  Enjoy!