Travel Possibility

Dwayne and Tyler ended up being extremely grateful that Willis insisted that they gain transportation through one of the Cape Town car rentals during their stay in South Africa. Dwayne and Tyler had traveled together numerous times before and always preferred to rely on the public transportation. Willis however was new to the group and he was not comfortable in any situation without his own wheels. Because of this he insisted that they rent a car. At first Dwayne and Tyler wondered if Willis might become more of a hassle than an additional fun aspect of their trip. However, once they arrived in Cape Town and had a car to drive around in, they realized there were many locations outside the city and in the nearby region that they wanted to visit and that Willis actually had a good idea in renting the vehicle.

One of the places they visited more than once is the Caledon Casino and Spa. While they had all had experience in casinos before they really enjoyed the atmosphere at this one. That might seem like a silly thing to consider when evaluating casinos, but it was clean, fun feeling and not at all shady. These were more than enough reasons for the three amateurs to like it. Dwayne had the most prosperous time there on the first day and came away a slight winner. Tyler, however probably had the greatest time as he was particularly thrilled to sit down at the card table and play against what he considered to be some high quality players. Willis also had a good time, though he didn’t really do much gambling. He spent some time at a few of the machines but quickly moved on. Tyler was particularly captivated by the Comet Room, which was a closed off table room that catered to the much higher bankroll players. He really wanted to get into that room and at least watch if he couldn’t sit down. He tried to talk Willis and Dwayne into returning the next day so he could withdrawal a large sum of money, however, his friends advised him against this and instead insisted on going to visit the campus of the University of Cape Town.

There’s an energy here that’s unlike anywhere else on earth.  The city has a heartbeat that is always familiar, and to those who spend time away, coming back feels more and more like home each time.  It also has probably the most diverse population on the planet, with many nations, cultures, and languages existing simultaneously in the streets of its boroughs.  It has some of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, and attracts the best and the brightest, generation after generation.  It’s not an easy place to live, but it certainly is a fantastic place to visit, and there’s nowhere else like New York, USA.  Hotel accommodations are plentiful here, being one of the most savvy places on earth for genuine hospitality.

We’ve selected some of the finest hotels, to offer a range of styles and personalities to suit your own tastes and budget.  Wherever you stay, you’ll be close to a dizzying array of events and attractions, and the streets are always filled with activity that is simply bewildering.  It’s a nice thing to have a wonderful and comfortable place to lay your head, and that’s what we offer, so you can feel a sensational sense of rejuvenation night after night, and see the city in style.  There are so many parts to see, but one area that’s fantastic for a night out is DeNiro’s Tribeca.

It’s true that it’s not really his, and it’s been around long before he got here, but his name is all over the neighborhood now.  He started taking an interest in developing businesses here in the early 1990s, and has opened restaurants here and owns a number of buildings.  He’s always been fond of the place, and has been absolutely central to its rejuvenation.  With restaurants like the spendy but magnificent Sobu, the TriBeCa Grill, and the Tribakery cafe, there is a lot to do here.  Also check out the Tribeca Productions building, which is also the origins of the famous Tribeca Film Festival.  It’s a great way to get introduced to this particular New York.

While the food to be found on any of the Balearic Islands is truly and traditionally Spanish, each of the islands has variations that are known throughout Spain as some of the finest cuisines of the region.  Typically Balearic and specific to each of the islands.  One of the most famous recipes for sandwich condiments and salad dressings in each country of the world, is the Menorcan recipe of mayonnaise.  Also known as a speciality of the island of Menorca is a seafood soup made with lobster, onions, tomatoes and garlic.

A signature dish is Perdiz Menorquina, which is a partridge prepared with similar ingredients, and is well known as one of the must try dishes when in the island. One of the more popular meats in all of Spain, is the Sobrasada Mallorquina.  The fat created when cooking this sausage is often used as the cooking oil for many other meats, as well as eggs and vegetables.  Mallorca is known for the clear soups, meat and seafood and the variety of vegetable sauces and vegetarian dishes.

Many more dishes are specific to the island of Mallorca, and perhaps the most varied of all of the Balearic menus exists here.  Turkey in a sauce made from almonds, and Pigeon cooked in a sauce made of chestnuts are just two of the many sauces the chefs here on Mallorca have perfected.  Mallorca is also the only one of the islands to cultivate and produce wine.

While more known for the party atmosphere and hip hotels, Ibiza too has their own special recipes.  Many of the recipes include a liqueur made on Ibiza that has a delicious herb flavor.  Many of the dishes on this tiny island are also mainly seafood, and are garnished again, with an array of sauces made from fruits, vegetables, herbs and nuts.  From mainland Spain to the islands in the sea, traveling culinary vacations are well set in this region.  The food ingredients are fresh and locally grown, and the seafood is just minutes away.

There’s a lovely sense of mystery to hottubs, and their appeal is sometimes obvious yet also very unknown.  It has something to do with the way the body is naturally attracted to water, and it offers a sort of return to an elemental level of being that is simply a nice feeling.  There are certain health benefits, such as reduced stress and tension, and better circulation, that have something to do with their popularity, but there’s something that’s simply inviting about them that’s hard to pin down.

It doesn’t matter at the end of the day, because when you start to relax into the warm water, you’ll just know that you’ve made the right decision in having your own personal spa.  They do offer fabulous health benefits, and a well-maintained hot tub can help in easing the transition to sleep, stress reduction, and heart health.  But for the mysterious qualities, you might want to check with your friends and neighbors when they’re visiting you, enjoying these benefits, and find out what they think.  Or you might forget the question and decide to just enjoy it, because it’s simply amazing and that’s really more than enough.

Water has fascinated human beings since the beginning of time, most likely, and almost every system of thought includes water in its cosmology, representing one of the major building blocks of everything there is in the universe.  When thinking of the four elements, earth, air, water, and fire, most people will go to European sources and the court magicians for the sources.  It’s actually older than that, however, and may have origins in Ayurvedic philosophy.  But then again, it’s also found in Maya writings, and the case could be made that it was part of the philosophical principles of every civilization on earth.  In most of these systems of thought that try to explain the cosmos, there is a fifth element, ether, to make things even more interesting.  What’s ethereal can either get washed away in your hottub, or, if you like, soaked into the skin so you can meditate on it all more deeply.  You’ll have the opportunity.

There’s a world of difference when you move into a living or working space where the management cares about its clients.  From the very beginning, when you first start looking at our listings on the internet, you’ll see that great care has been taken to make your search easy, and that we offer a fantastic selection of properties to choose from.  We provide all the necessary information to help you determine which space is the right space for you to begin looking with us.  That care doesn’t stop there.  At TransGlobe Property Management, we consider your relationship with us to be a number one priority, and it continues as long as you’re here.

We have an excellent record of customer service, and are very proud to be serving the communities and neighborhoods here.  Canada is one of the best places to live, and ranks with Australia for its livability.   This means that there are generations before us who have worked very hard to make our way of life possible.  Investing time and energy in the communities we serve is our way of giving back, and paying a debt for the future.  Civic sensibility isn’t something that comes naturally to most people, but for some reason Canada has a fantastic reputation for it.

This is something we find very exciting at TransGlobe Property Management, where our commitment is to our clients.  Civic mindedness means leaving a good legacy for the generation after us, and we’re delighted to participate in the life of the neighborhoods we serve.  We offer splendid spaces to live and work, so that you can be at your best, and we promptly handle all issues that come up, so that you know you’re working with people who care.

One of the nicest cities to visit in all of Asia, Jaipur has some wonderful things in store for you. There are many splendid attractions that will appeal to guests of all ages, and the fantastic city of Jaipur is something to behold.  The grid of the city is shaped like a mandala, from a design in the 18th century, that was intended to give health and luck to anyone who walks the streets of Jaipur. Hotels are spectacular here, carrying traces of the past, in all its mysteriousness and curiosity, along with all the amenities of contemporary times.  It’s a gorgeous balance between tradition and innovation, keeping you well-connected to the world at large, but also offering a place to get away from it all.

Jaipur is a marvelous place to get caught up in other adventures, pursuing the perfect shopping trip, soaking in some of the living traditions of India by visiting the temples, or even participating as a witness to some of the spectacular fairs.  There is a sense of grace and a lust for life here that is a wonderful combination that speaks to the hearts of travelers.  There is a classical sense of the city that speaks to an older India, one that existed before written histories, and there are many unwritten texts that line the walls of memory here, in buildings and temples that have seen their share of travelers and residents.  There is also a great written tradition here, and of course, in contemporary times, it’s very well-established, and one of the great attractions is the Jaipur Literarature Festival.

This is an annual event that brings together some of the best writers in the world, and has seen the likes of Ian McEwan, among many others.  International and local writers are featured, and famous Bollywood actors will sometimes make a showing, to the delight of their fans.  Actor Aamir Khan has also attended, and was famously quoted all over India for a quip he made about the media today.  It’s a fabulous chance to meet authors and discuss books, along with all the pertinent issues to literature and the world today.

A few years ago I was visiting my friend Robert in Brooklyn.  He wanted to pretend to be on vacation too, so we booked a few rooms, at different locations, and as Robert’s tastes are very refined we stayed only the best hotels New York City has to offer.  I just so happened to have booked my trip over the week in which Halloween happened, and I am forever grateful of that fact.  I had been to other Halloween celebrations in other cities.  And until I went to New York for the holiday, the Red Moon Puppet Theater in Chicago had been my number one memory of the occasion.

But then I went to the Village Halloween Parade, and I was forever changed.  Puppets are not for everyone.  Some think that they are silly, some think that they are spooky.  I think that they are both and that is why I dig them so much.  I had tried to make a life sized puppet upon returning from the Chicago trip, they are hard to design and so I also respect the artistry that goes into creating this little bit of magic.

This year the Village Halloween Parade will celebrate its 35th year.  In 1973, a local puppeteer and mask maker started a small parade in order to entertain the people in his neighborhood in the Village.  He simply went from door to door.  He did this for two years in a row, and quickly got the attention of the Theater for New York City.  They took over and turned this small neighborhood event into the grand scale event that it has become today.

This parade in the village is now known as the largest Halloween festival in the entire world.  Festivals International bestowed the honor of just that, the “Best of the World” Halloween celebrations.  I will be on my again this year, and I am looking forward to the pageantry, and the artistry that just seems to be born and to live on the streets of that incredible town.  This year I am even bringing that puppet I started years ago, as inspiration finally resulted in the completion of my silly and spooky “masterpiece”.

The moment we woke up, we looked out our states room balcony and was we were in the port of Dubai. My wife and I could see all the definitive and common symbols of the city; the construction cranes, there were tons of them. The whole city appears to be under construction, from the high-rise luxury hotels Dubai UAE to some of the worlds highest skyscrapers. As we disembarked our luxury liner, we were given a quick history of Dubai, the entire Federation of the UAE is desert and was the land of the Bedouins that are a nomadic tribe of desert dwellers.

Apparently, three days before our visit to Dubai, there was a heavy rain. Luckily, the rain stopped just as our ship came to port. Before we walked to find our tour guide and, by the way, the weather was perfect, we had to go through emigration. We were also informed about the dress code here, so I wore long pants and a golf shirt and my wife made sure most of her skin was covered, plus we refrained from any public displays of affection, which was hard on both of us. We hooked up with another couple and found our tour bus.

The entire tour would take about four hours and we would then be dropped off so we could do some Duty Free shopping before it was time to head back to our ship. Back on the ship, we had a snack and talked about the city of Dubai. It’s a modern city with no signs of slums or poor inhabitants. It’s so unlike Saudi Arabia, which believes that the riches accumulated from oil belongs to a single family, where as the UAE believes that the riches accumulated from oil belongs to the UAE native population. The spreading of the wealth means all citizens are able to enjoy the bounties. Not a bad way for a government to run a country.

I received several warnings or cautions about Barcelona, but now that I’m here, I’m pleased to report that I have been having an absolutely fantastic time. I don’t speak Spanish or Catalan, well only the words I learned while watching Sesame Street really, but despite this hindrance, I’m faring really well in this robust city by the sea.

Barcelona is the last stop of my journey, so I treated myself to one of the five star Barcelona hotels close to the marina where my boat for the States leaves on Monday, which, by the way, is the start of a new adventure. I go into that in a later blog, so stay tuned.

The marina was only a short walk from my hotel and only a short walk from the marina was the spire of the famed explore, Christopher Columbus. The spire points west, to my home. I was surprise at how this tribute gave me mixed feelings about my exploration of the last city of my world tour. The feelings didn’t last long, because Barcelona swooped right in and whisked me away. Las Rambla called to my heart first. It’s a pedestrian main street of town and an entertainment zone too. I walked past some street performers, but stopped a one who made me laugh, he was so funny. I dropped a Euro in his hat. The walk led me to Placa de Catalunya. It’s a big square with fountains, statues all along this huge plaza where major streets intersect.

There were a lot of motor-scooters and motorbikes parked here. Later, I learned that Barcelona has the most motorcycles of any European city; it’s due to the excellent climate. Plus, Barcelona has over 100 kilometers of bicycles lanes, which makes the traffic here less hectic like most major cities. I decided to see this city by foot mostly. I only took a bus or a taxi if I needed to get somewhere quickly. I was fortunate enough to see the Flamenco dancers and culture. I sat next to a woman from Cape Town, South Africa. We immediately hit it off and afterwards we enjoyed some drinks and tapas at this quaint little tapas bar that was hidden in the ancient, winding alleyways of Barcelona. We exchanged email addresses, so we can stay in touch. She was a fellow traveller just like me, we had virtually the same experiences, and all the naysayers about a woman travelling alone. We both understood just how wrong all our relatives were, we both were just a glow with our adventures. So, I say to you fellow single women, don’t let people talk you out of traveling alone, it actually is a mind-blowing experience and one I will cherish the rest of my life.

No matter all the guide books I read and all the stories I’ve heard, nothing could’ve prepared me enough for my initial reaction to India. After my flight to India was cancelled in Bangkok, I had to book a room at an airport hotel for the night. The next flight would be until the next morning.

The next morning, I did get to fly into Delhi. I did notice though that there was a definitely amount of females lacking on the plane. It was mostly men. There were a few foreigners, like myself, but they were all men. I wondered if women in India don’t like to fly. When the airplane landed, all the men cheered, like they thought landing to be a rarity in planes. Then I got involved with a mix up at the airport, due to my luggage not arriving. The airlines told me they would have my luggage delivered to my hotel once they find it. Things weren’t going so well on this trip so far.

When I stepped outside of the airport I was instantly hit with the smell of India, then the heat and then just how many people there are in India. I was completely surrounded by people. When I headed toward the parking lot, there were even people lying on the curb of the road, like they were settling in for the night. There was no compunction about their activity, it seemed to be a very normal activity.

Delhi was a mess. I woke up early to tour the Jama Majid, Connaught Place, the Red Fort and Gandhi Smriti. I enjoyed the tours, but it was the heat and the chaotic nature of the people all around me the seemed to be making my visit just okay. One of the most interesting places that day was the visit to Gandhi Smriti. It was so great to read about his life, and this place was the actual place where he was assassinated and there were imprinted footsteps leading up to the location of his death. Really interesting and creepy at the same time. When I got back to my hotel room, my luggage was waiting for me.

The next morning, I meant to get up early and head to Agra and visit the famed Taj Mahal, but for some reason, I miss set my alarm clock, so I missed the train. I decided to head to Dharmasala, which would last two weeks, so I checked out of my hotel and took the train to Dharamsala. When I got there, I was suffering from severe stomach pain, so I was given some Tibetan medicine which did wonders for me. All in all I did enjoy India, but really, nothing, no books, no videos, no nothing will prepare you for this vastly strange country.