I'm back!

I've taken a very long and unintentional hiatus from my blog but...I'm back. I realized that this is a great way for me to exercise my brain cells a bit with some (hopefully) creative writing and picture-posting. This year is quickly coming to a close and I've been lucky to have done quite a bit of traveling so sit back, relax, grab a cocktail and enjoy the new posts.

Barcelona Nights!

Desperately in need of a long-weekend getaway my partner and I decided to go to Barcelona, one of my favorite cities in the world.  It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it didn't take me long to put together a fantastic 3-day itinerary.  Having been to Barcelona several times before, we wanted to scope out the city that may be our  home away from home in the future.  I booked a room at the B Hotel .  It was totally my style... hi-tech & minimalist but warm, with an awesome roof-top infinity pool and lounge that overlooked Placa d'Espanya.  As soon as we arrived at the hotel we dropped our stuff and headed off to Aire de Barcelona for a few hours of uninterrupted sybaritic bliss.  It was a brand new Arab-style bath / spa that I had read about online and wanted to check out.  Whenever I travel medium to long haul, I like to go right from the airport to a spa, or get a massage.  For me it really helps to de-stress and diminish the effects of jet lag.   I also found a new online resource for restaurants, bars, clubs, shopping, etc. from the Easyjet website.   We went to two of the restaurants that were recommended, Balthazar and Bar Ra,  and were pleasantly surprised.  The small description the website gave for both was very accurate.   I will definitely be using this resource again in the future.  

Fortunately the US $ has gained some on the Euro so I did a bit of  shopping.  One place I had read about in wallpaper* and wanted to check out was Xocoa.  I loaded up on their funky chocolate flavors like white chocolate with lemon, chocolate with green tea, and various dark chocolate bars with rose petals, wasabi, or chili.   I plan to have a little wine and chocolate party soon!  

It was a fantastic break from our crazy lives back in Miami.  Barcelona is a city I could easily see myself living in a few years from now.   It is a city full of energy and incredible architecture; a place I like to describe as funky, hip, quirky, sophisticated, and on the cutting-edge.   If things keep going the way they are back here in the Unites Slaves of America, I may find myself living there sooner rather than later.  

Brazilian Viagra

As you now know one of my favorite things to do when I travel is eat.  Earlier this year I was in Buzios, Brazil, where some friends and I rented a house to just hang out for a few days.  We rented a beach buggy and cruised around to all the beautiful beaches on the peninsula.  Cocktail hour was approaching so we decided to stop at a little beach shack and order up a round of passion fruit  caipirinhas.  While we were enjoying the sublime view a local fisherman came around hawking his recent haul of fresh oysters.  He offered up a sample and that was all it took.  They were just plucked from the sea and had the intense taste of saltwater.  We sat there and gorged ourselves on Brazilian viagra.  

Fried grasshoppers, anyone?

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is eat.  As a kid I was a really fussy eater but as I grew up my taste buds started to evolve.  Nowadays I will try (almost) anything.  This pic captured a somewhat sublime moment for me a few years ago in Bangkok.  My best friends and I were having a cocktail in the lobby of the beautiful JW Marriott  when my friend Wayne excused himself and said he would be right back.  A few minutes later he arrived back at the hotel with a plastic bag full of deep-fried grasshoppers.  Having been in Bangkok a few years prior he new just where to get the juiciest ones!  One by one we all took turns sampling the little critters.   They actually were not that bad.  To me they tasted a bit like fried pork rinds.  So there we sat having a cocktail and eating fried grasshoppers before a crazy night on the town. 

I 'll take one in every color

While speeding through the streets of Denpasar I snapped this dude on a scooter with the most awesome shirt.  I wish I could have stopped him to ask where he got it.  I'd love to have one in every color!  Terrorism is a sad reality in today's world but it will not stop me from traveling.  I've always said that if I have to die, I want to die doing what I love.  

FLOWER POWER - TAKE 2

As I was searching my iPhoto library for a pic on which to base my next blog entry, I came across these that were snapped in Bali last year...if only they were scratch and sniff! 

FLOWER POWER

My partner snapped a close-up of this flower while we were in India.  The center appears to be radiating this intense energy, as if it were an otherworldly power source.  

This one was snapped in our backyard...

This is a lotus flower I snapped in Thailand...one of my favorite pics for that trip!

...and sunset time in Santorini, one of my favorite islands!