TRAVEL HAPPY

travel happy : senses wide open

The Business of Chocolate and Money

Läderach chocolate was the highlight of my 48 hours in Zurich, Switzerland this past week.  After 10 years of absence in private banking, I stepped off  the elevator of the fourth floor to rooms named after money centers of the world.  This is Zurich, in its true sense.  A bank not on every corner, but a bank,  a bank and a bank... all in a row.  But it is the chocolate that has me travel happy senses wide open!

Freshness, artisanal, individuality and family are the values of Läderach.  mine too.

photo of the store at the Zurich HB  train station.  My selection?  darkest chocolate with gold leaf and toasted euroscreaming hazelnut milk chocolate. . . paid for by a banker.  : )

Honeybird and the Birdies Kickstarter project

Direct from Italy!  Creating in 6 languages (English, Italian, Mapudugun, Catanese, German and Macedonian) with:

honeybird - charango, guitar, bağlama, berimbau, mandolin, vox

p-birdie - drums, percussion, ukelele, guitar, vox

walkietalkiebird - bass, u-bass, eko tiger, xuxuca, vox

you get a creative collective  unique sounding new album!  check out their kickstarter called, You should Coproduce The Birdies.

 

new travel to ancient country

Today, I will buy my first abaya.   I need one, as soon as I depart my flight from Istanbul to Jeddah.   I  look forward to sharing how my senses peak, as I travel, getting to know, life as they know it. 

 

 

P.S.   I am sorely over due in updating my travels.  Fresh out of the U.S. Peace Corps, now I can add to this blog!   If you wonder,  go over to Mention Macedonia  that is where, I traveled to and from  in 2009 - 2011.   or check out  RHIZ . 

Where in the World?

Where in the World?  Seems like I am quiet, sitting alone in a room for 2010 and the start of 2011 right?   No, this is similar to how I started this blog in 2006. What?  You didn't start this blog until 2008, you say.  Well, I see how it seems that way, but I started traveling in 2006  and scribbling down thoughts, outlines and stories. It was 2008,  when I  sorted through 5000 photos and  posted my travel stories. 

2010 was a travel year. I post "drafts" on typepad and  I am slowly gathering my thoughts, travel stories, photos, illustrations and links.   As a teaser, here is  a list of the towns I've been around in 2010. 

the balkan Influence

 

outside the box, TAS mania copyright 2010  goAWAY gear LLC

In the last few days, I have brushed off the dust to my computer and hooked in my new monitor.  My new apartment is decorated  in  deco pink corduroy and black.  My life in the balkans is beginning.  I am in wine country.  It is different than Napa, Stellenbosch, Marlborough or  Piedmont.  A land, where bulk grapes, become bulk wine, sold to bulk countries.  Little to no tourist here. The food best cooked at home. Artisans are few.

Crowds of men, dressed in black standing in the triangle of the town center, flocks of screaming birds, swooping from the dark comic like skyscrapers, scissors and shears to cut the new growth on the vines are what dominate my visual cue.   History revealing itself as the proud countrymen tell of mystical tales, turkish occupation, folklore and ancient times.   

 My senses are wide open and my illustration ideas percolating.  

 creating the view from my apartment window,  copyright 2010  goAWAY gear LLC

 

Find me on Polyvore

Arrival Time

Arrived in The Balkans.... no clear, dependable wireless internet.  So look for a post when I get my roots planted in December 2009!   Image Illustrations are piling up!

packing with four seasons in mind

What does it take to pack for four seasons?    With the various limits on weight and size among airlines, circling the globe can make my packin' head spin.  Layers and  lite ducky down is the way to go, but what about the sleeping bag?  My pillow?   Where is that going?  How about the piles of tanks, long sleeves, sweaters, jackets, coats and patagonia thin layers?  Do I really need them all? I'm going for an extended period ya know.

Something to know about me, once  I rode 500 miles in a week from Minnesota to Chicago on a bike with a bike bag, two water bottles, jacket and a lock.  It was within the first five miles, that I knew that the contents in my handle bar mounted bike bag  had to go and that extra water bottle.  I remember the moment, when I trashed the bag too. I felt free and light. 

It's kinda that way with my package.  I shed shirts and shoes, toss towels, leave behind my layers, early and often. This time I want to do it smartly and sustainably. 

I have two weeks to figure it out? Who stays and who gets to  go?  Time for a new bag, or with my record of tossing, I might have room for timely purchases.  so I can take off and travel happy!

Time in the woods

Cedars grow  tall. Time stands still. Nothing like swimming in an alpine lake with nobody around.  Art work is from the cabin clusters among the cedars in the High Sierras this summer. 

traveling in america

After four weeks in the forest of Lake Tahoe California, U.S.A, I noticed a lone American Flag peeking up from below the deck of our lodge. The inspiration for this t shirt with peace being the possibility of future.  Soon I will add some tales from the kitchen and hikes up Airplane Meadow, Cedar Meadow at 8,000 feet, the trek to Squaw Valley and around Emerald Bay. 

 

In somewhat hidden place, the travel happy tribe is forming.  Click and you will see 6 of 10 on buttons, mugs and aprons. 

virgin fairies

just got this in my email... now available on virgin america....  absinthe. . . how can this not be everybody's favorite airline? oh how i wish virgin routed to/thru Chicago. 

P.S.  stay tuned for my mid 2009 travel journal...  2 months working in  Lake Tahoe, CA  and a CA road trip for the summer months.