The Scottish poet Robert Burns supposedly penned the song many of us hear around the closing of the year, Auld Lang Syne. It is widely debated however whether Burns actually wrote the song or liberally borrowed from a folk song. Regardless it is a song about togetherness and recalling the days that have gone by in the year with auld lang syne meaning old long since or for old time’s sake. When I’m not traveling, I often feel like a great deal of time has passed since I last explored new lands and uncharted waters. However looking back on 2012, I realize that the stationary traveler’s Continue Reading
Inside The Chocolate Box in Switzerland
My eyes are transfixed on a faucet flowing with chocolate. A man dressed in head to toe white creates a chocolate Santa. Ever so nonchalantly, he occasionally dips his tools into the free flowing chocolate foundation to create the eyes, nose and buttons on good old Saint Nick’s suit. The air perfumes in the scent of a freshly broken chocolate bar as employees shuttle about this cocoa heaven with trays of ample samples. A truffle hot off of the presses finds its way into my hand and quickly heads for my mouth. And from the minute this piece of chocolate hits my tongue, I am on another planet, Continue Reading
Nine Reasons To Go Back to High School in Little Rock
Big yellow school buses perch outside of a high school in Little Rock. The fact that it is a Saturday morning makes them somewhat haunting in their emptiness. I never cared much for high school. Those that did usually didn’t have braces, bad hair and pants that were permanently high-waters. However I never thought of walking into the doors of my high school at 14 years old thinking of that walk was anything but a personal struggle, one that would pass in four years. For nine students in Little Rock, Arkansas that walk into school was the difference between right and wrong, a good society and a Continue Reading
The Meeting of Time, Travel and Money on Back Roads in Arkansas
The road on the map is a squiggly line that appears to connect with the Pig Trail Scenic Byway in the Boston Mountains of Arkansas. That darting line of indecision proves to be the rockiest of roads with no cushy marshmallows to break up the bumps. The car stops as the windows roll down. I listen to the chatter of the leaves in the wind. The sound is magically uninterrupted. Time suspends. Lately I have been struggling with travel, time and money. There never seems to be enough of these three. Travel and time collided for me on a whirlwind trip through Dusseldorf, Copenhagen, Vienna, Zurich Continue Reading
Giveaway Greatness: Win a Free Hotel Night with Radisson
With Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday here in the United States, it is always nice to say thank you to anyone who enjoys reading my travel tales. Thanks to Radisson, they are making it possible for me to say thank you in the form of a one-night free hotel stay at a Radisson hotel in North America. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Radisson, the hotel chain is giving away 50 rooms on 50 blogs as part of its “50 Years, 50 Days, 50 Rooms” campaign. Everyday at 10AM EST a blogger’s name will be revealed on the Radisson Facebook page, pointing you in the direction of where to snag the free Continue Reading
Düsseldorf, Germany Wishes You Were Here
The buildings before me appear to be dancing to the beat of their own song, much like the city that contains their movement. Serving as the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf had no definition for me. We were strangers until I danced with the city’s Gehry buildings. The work of American Frank O. Gehry, the three waving complexes make up the center for arts and media in Düsseldorf. Each piece bears its own identity, shape and color. They set Düsseldorf apart from other German cities. They define a city with no preconceived definitions for visitors like me. The Gehry Continue Reading
Finding The Voices of Dusseldorf: A Night At The Opera
“And then I found my voice,” she says ever so casually. Musical capability, especially in terms of having a voice, does not come easy. The character of Musetta in La Bohéme, played by Elisabeth Selle, sits before me at the Operanhaus Dusseldorf. The performance is set to begin in just a handful of minutes, but she is cool, calm and collected. I guess when you casually find your voice, you aren’t too worried about losing it. Her face is ready for the stage, but her attire and manner are not. She sips on coffee and recounts her character tonight, a role of love, joy, passion and Continue Reading