When in Panama…

I’ve been sorting through various restaurant recommendations for Panama City – and think I’ve settled for one touristy but classically Panamanian restaurant, Las Tinajas, that also has Panamanian dancers – and one upscale restaurant, La Posta, that’s not particularly Panamanian but more international in flavor and “Panamanian jet-set” crowd. Figure that will give us a variety.

I’ve never had Panamanian food – which I’ve heard resembles Cuban food, which I have had – so I figure when in Panama, eat like Panamanians which at Las Tinajas includes:  ropa vieja (spicy, shredded beef over rice), carimañolas (yuca rolls stuffed with meat), ceviche, and creole-style sea bass. At La Posta, food prepared by an american-trained chef  and served in a Havana-style dining room sounds a tad Italian, which is always good: yellow fin-tuna ceviche with capers; mero (a high-quality grouper) carpaccio; or fried polenta with Gorgonzola and portobello mushrooms plus thin-crust pizzas, risottos, seafood  such as jumbo prawns with passion fruit and rice pilaf. Also on my list is Madame Chang’s – which I wouldn’t ordinarily consider because it seems odd to eat Chinese food in Panama but apparently it’s some of the world’s best Chinese food.

 

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Exploring my Lithuanian roots?

My friend Francine in London blackberryed me today from her local gastro pub which is run by a Lithuanian guy who also has a sideline in mini breaks in Lithuania .  She’s keen on going to an “amazing folk festival” in Lithuania in June. One branch of my family hails from Vilnius.  The gastro pub guy’s website is http://www.aoootravel.com and I see that his trips include a stop in Vilnius.

Here’s the description:

Our summer trips take you back to nature in a beautiful yet undiscovered Lithuanian countryside. Mushroom challenges with a two-day combination of gentle kayaking, cycling and walking. Springs reduces activities to one day, offering you a more relaxed second day in Druskininkai, the famous Lithuanian SPA resort. Visit to Unesco-listed political capital Vilnius is on both routes.

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Dreaming of…Oahu

We’re hoping to go to Hawaii a year from now – when my husband has a conference in Oahu. So time to start gathering some string on Oahu and beyond starting with this mention in the NYT’s recent list of 41 places to go in 2011. (Hope that still holds true for 2012.).

Disney is opening a resort in Oahu called Aulani – part of the Kolina Resort and Marina – that will emphasize Hawaiian culture rather than Mickey Mouse and Co.  This culture apparently includes hula lessons and lei making. Not sure this will be my thing….

But…there’s also a new boutique hotel opening – the Waikiki Edition, a Marriott concocted by Ian Schrager. IT’s not on the each but five minutes a way and includes a restaurant by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoro; yoga; and a surf-and-bikini bootcamp (whatever the heck that is.)

Perhaps my best bet is the new visitors center and museum at Pearl harbor – with interactive exhibits about the famous attack told from both the American and Japanese perspective.

And then maybe I need to hightail it to Maui and rural Kauai…

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When next in southern Iowa…

The DM Register has a few suggestions for anyone wanting to explore southern Iowa. They include:

— Tassel Ridge Winery in Leighton, Ia.  http://www.tasselridge.com

–McNeill Stone Mansion, a  b&b in a 1909 limestone-faced home. http://www.thestonemansion.com in Oskaloosa. Looks very grand but reasonably priced.

—-Book Vault – and independent bookstore on the town square in Oskaloosa, inside a renovated bank building (books are displayed inside the bank’s ancient valuts. cool idea). Smokey Row, a coffee shop, is next door. There are several Smokey Rows now in Iowa, including a neat one in Des Moines’ Sherman Hill neighborhood.

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“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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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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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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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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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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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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