So here’s what I’m thinking after reading a few guidebooks about our trip to Panama in February (yes, Panama. February!). We’ll stay in Panama City a few days then fly to David and stay in Boquete, an eco-tourism spot in the highlands near the Baru volcano in the western Chiriqui region, then onto the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, seven islands in the Caribbean – specifically Bocas Town on Isla Colon for a few days. Yes!
Category Archives: 4) DESTINATIONS — not in U.S.
Dreaming of…Panama
My husband has a business trip to Panama City in February and I’m hoping to tag along for a few days (sure beats Des Moines in February). Thought maybe we’d go to Costa Rica afterwards but now thinking we can find some of Costa Rica’s eco-tourism in Panama – and save money and complications with flights between Iowa and Central America. Just cracking open the books on this country but so far the places in the running to go to after Panama City are Boquete, an eco-tourism hotspot, and the San Blas Islands. Also heard good things about the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, outside Panama City, although we’re not really resort people.
Filed under Adventure travel, Panama
Bon voyage to my brother – off to Spain and France
Have a great trip M and H! Here’s a few parting words of advice – most fairly obvious but just in case….
In Barcelona, see any and all things Gaudi – the half-done church/temple (Sagrada Familia); the really cool park (Park Guell, it’s out of the way but worth the trip). We also visited another house in the city that I can’t remember the name of – both Casa Batllo and Casa Mila look incredibly cool. (We got the Gaudi bug in Barcelona and everywhere else we visited in Spain, we searched out nearby Gaudi buildings.)
In the Dordogne, remember to check out the “art way” (“chemin des arts” billed as “a funny way” to experience Sarlat. I think they meant “a fun way”) and one of our favorites, Sophie Noellet’s studio at 4-6 rue Alberic Cahuet.. And of course the outdoor market (I bought foie gras there for dad…) And here’s a long-shot request: We bought Lily her favorite all time necklace in Sarlat – which she lost last summer in the Dominican Republic. We found it at a little unimpressive-looking postcard-gift shop just off the artist’s studio walk. It was a horseshoe nail bent into the shape of a heart on a string of rawhide. Nothing fancy or expensive – but if by some remote chance you find something like it, please buy and I’ll reimburse you.
In Talloires, I’d love to know if the Hotel Beau Site is still there. And the Annecy market of course. And the Gorge du Fier.
Have a wonderful time! x0x,b
Consider Curacao?
A friend recently returned from a vacation in Curacao and suggested I put it on my list. So I have, after reading a bit more about it. Apparently it’s an island in the southern Caribbean, near the Venezuelan Coast – and part of a Dutch stronghold that includes Aruba (which is more familiar to me – my parents used to go there.)
D is going to Panama next February for work so I’ve been daydreaming about where I could meet him down there – have been thinking of Costa Rica, which is just north. Curacao seems too far from Panama for an easy rendezvous.
Filed under Caribbean, The Americas
Shakespeare – Stratford (Ont), Ashland (OR), Des Moines
Shakespeare is here, there, everywhere and we’ve seen some of it – unfortunately not in Stratford, Ontario for about ten years. I used to go there a lot as a kid growing up in suburban Detroit and judging from a recent NYTimes review of “Stratford’s” latest season it’s as good as ever with Christopher Plummer, at age 80 no less, among the performers. In March we saw a very modern Hamlet at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland
And on Thursday, we saw a lively production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (a rather silly play methinks) performed by the Repertory Theater of Iowa on the lovely grounds of Salisbury House, an old English stone and brick mansion in, of all places, Des Moines that provides a perfect backdrop for a Shakespearean play. A local tycoon built Salisbury House in the 1920s, inspired by a visit to the King’s House in Salisbury, England, which dates back to the 13th century according to Wikipedia. (And judging from the pix of Kings House, the Des Moines replica is pretty darned close.) Catch the “Merry Wives” while (and if) you can – performances through this Sunday…
Filed under Canada, Des Moines, England and U.K., Oregon, theater
When in Brazil
D went to Brazil three years ago, right after his 50th b’day (perfect!), on a two-week agriculture tour (ostensibly for work) and I got to stay home with the kids and listen to a CD of Brazilian music (which I loved.) Ever since, I’ve been itching to get there myself – preferably with D – and a short item in the NYTimes travel section last sunday had all kinds of advice or where to go/what to see. during a first-time trip to Brazil, including goign to Ipanema rather than Copacabana for “beautiful people-watching”; a visit to the colonial towns of Minas Gerais including Tiradentes and Ouro Preto; a visit to the coastal city of Bahia (with its modern at museum) and cobbled hilly streets of the Pelourinho district. Best time to visit: September (rather than August.); Travel agency to use: Florida based Brazil Nuts (no joke)
Filed under Brazil
TakeBetsywithyou 