January 22, 2011 · 4:18 pm

“New” places to go in 2011

For future reference, here’s what I’ve culled from the NYT’s Travel Section story on 41 places to go in 2011.

Places I’ve already been: San Juan Islands, Wash; London; Milan; Olympic Park, Wash (went there on our honeymoon…along with the San Juan Islands. Would like to return to both!);  Miami;  Salonika, Greece (I called it  Thessaloniki);  Kosovo (I drove through then-Yugoslavia on the Magic Bus in 1982 and vowed to return on foot.)

Places I want to go: Park City, Utah; Loreto, Mexico; Oahu (going to Hawaii next January!); Sopot and Gdansk, Poland (Two terrific students from Gdansk stayed with in 2009 and my son visited them a few months later.  Also on my list – Krakow!); Pingyao, China (first I’ve heard of it but  ancient Ming architecture sounds like a must-see); ditto Hangzhou, China; Ezurum, Turkey (been to Turkey but not that far west.)

Places not on the top of my list: Iceland, Republic of Georgia; Cali, Columbia; Tozeur, Tunisia (not right now, given the political instability); ditto Iraqi Kurdistan.

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January 20, 2011 · 11:33 pm

Dog Collar Museum – in Kent, England

An old friend from London emailed me last week, after we fell out of touch for um, 16 years or so, and it has me thinking about all the adventures we had during the early 1980s when I lived in London.  Mima (my friend) comes from a family that has lived for generations in Herefordshire and had an crumbling ancestral home there, as well as another smaller country house we used to visit a lot.  It was beautiful.

She had a car – which was a big treat for me (a welcome break from hitchhiking) and we used to go exploring near London too. One place we visited was the Dog Collar Museum at Leeds Castle in Kent. I kid you not. I still have a photo of us with her sister Tilly standing in front of it. Now that I have a dog, I think I’d be even more interested/amused by the place and I’m glad to see that it’s still up and running. It has over 100 collars spanning five decades – many of them ornate metal affairs that puts my dog Ernie’s humble mass-produced cloth collar (it is embroidered with power flowers) to shame. I’ll be some of the hounds I watched during the latest episode of the superb PBS Masterpiece Classics series “Downton Abbey” wore these fancy smancy collars.

for more info see:

See: http://www.leeds-castle.com/goto.php?sess=u4120738|p136|n152|c2466436|s0|g1|d0&pg=Dog_Collar_Museum

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January 20, 2011 · 12:01 am

A good reasonably priced hotel in Chicago?

A NYC friend is visiting Chicago with her high school son this spring and looking for a reasonably priced, well-located hotel in Chicago. She  found three options for about $150 per night: Swissotel Chicago, Fairmont Chicago and Ambassador East. Friends from Des Moines report having good luck with Swissotel although they thought it was a little pricey for what you got.

Another option I suggested to my NYC friend is maybe taking her son on a college visit to U of Chicago, which as part of its offerings has a deal with Hilton Chicago to provide discounted rates.

 

 

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January 18, 2011 · 4:33 pm

The Kate and William Walk – in London

First there was the Lady Diana walking tour of London. Now, just in time for the next royal wedding on April 29, comes the Kate and William walking tour offered by Celebrity Planet, a travel company in London. The tour is part Diana-and-Charles, with a stop outside the posh jewelry shop where Charles bought the diamond-and-sapphire ring for Diana that Kate is now wearing (one might consider this bad karma.)

The walk lasts 2.5 hours and costs $24 (15 pounds). There’s also a chauffeur-driven version for $120.  As if.

for more info see: http://www.thecelebrityplanet.com/london/celebrity-tours/prince-william-kate-royal-wedding-walking-tour.html

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January 16, 2011 · 9:59 pm

A little culture to escape the Des Moines winter

The DM Register wisely, thoughtfully, ran a list of upcoming cultural activities that should make it worth leaving the cabin even in subzero weather. On my list:

– Philobolus Dance Theater, the acrobatic contortionists, who will be at the Greater DM Civic Center on Jan. 26, kicking off a first-time (i think) three group dance series. Not my favorite companies but a good start.

– Middle States, an exhibit starting on Jan. 28 at Drake University’s Anderson Gallery of paintings by six contemporary Midwestern artists. Regionalism in the vein of Iowa’s own Grant Wood  and Thomas Hart Benton might not be cutting edge but who cares? I like rural landscapes and small-town street scenes. Always have.

– Anselm Reyle show opening Jan. 28 at the DM Art Center – a high-profile show of an up and coming German artist who does odd things with Mylar foil, mirrors, bits of plastic, LED lights etc. We shall see.

– Next to Normal – the rock musical that won the 2009 Tony at…the Civic Center March 15-20. Cool!

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January 15, 2011 · 7:52 pm

Timing my visit to Chicago to catch Hubbard Street Dance Co.

Surely I’m not the only visitor to Chicago who times her trip so it coincides with the performance schedule of Chicago’s Hubbard Street Dance company. Or maybe I am. Anyway, just found out the spring series runs March 17-20 at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. They’ll be performing works by Israeli choreographers from Tel Aviv’s Batsheva Dance Company. I’m there!

 

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January 14, 2011 · 9:57 pm

Dreaming of: Panama

What better way to spend a gray, snowy, very cold January day in Iowa than reading up on Panama, where we’ll be in less than a month. I’ve got most of the itinerary nailed down except the last day or so when we have to somehow get from Boquete in the western highlands to the Bocas, del Toro, the Caribbean town to the north and west. Driving our rental car appears to be out since there’s no drop off. So we’ll either take a bus or hire a driver. It’s the one place I’m not sure we’ll really like so won’t be there that long – only one night – but am curious to see.

I did find about that with the rental car, buying the agency’s insurance is mandatory – unless your credit card company covers. Which I think ours does. But need to check.

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January 10, 2011 · 11:08 pm

Flying home from Atlanta on Wednesday?

My husband D is supposed to fly home from Atlanta on Wednesday after a business meeting there. Here’s hoping – He reports it’s “pretty awful” there right now due to a huge winter storm that is moving across the south and up the east coast. the airport there, the world’s busiest we’re told, was pretty much shut down today. And tomorrow doesn’t look much better. Meanwhile, here in Iowa, we’re having our very own little snowstorm which is supposed to dump up to 9 inches – last I heard – by the time it ends sometimes tomorrow. Ahhh winter.

D did report that he had a terrific meal in Atlanta at the Woodfire Grill, whose executive chef is  Kevin Gillespie (of Top Chef fame.)…so now we’ve each eaten at a Top Chef contestant’s restaurant (mine was Stephanie Izard’s The Girl and the Goat in Chicago.)

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January 9, 2011 · 5:26 pm

Struggling to get my bearings in the wake of the Tucson shootings

The horrific shootings in Tucson yesterday hit close to home for several reasons including that the Safeway where they occurred is very close to where my father lives in Oro Valley/northwest Tucson. I don’t think I’ve been to that Safeway but I’ve driven by it dozens of times and been to stores and restaurants nearby.

There are so many businesses on that suburban strip that it’s hard to place the exact location of the Safeway, in my mind.  One of the many news reports I’ve watched showed a  sign for “Beyond Bread” – which confused me since last I knew,  Beyond Bread (a favorite restaurant)  is on Campbell – not Oracle where the Safeway is located.  A minor point, obviously, given the overall tragedy. But maybe my determined effort, in the wake of the shootings,  to get my physical bearings is also, deep-down, an attempt to get my psychological bearings, to figure out how close we are, as we go about our everyday lives,  to danger.

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January 6, 2011 · 11:16 pm

NYC recommendations from a friend

A friend just returned from a trip to NYC and reports enjoying:  “Bloody, Bloody, Andrew Jackson”, the Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand exhibit at the Met and Upright Citizen’s Brigade.

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