Travel Destinations
So many people are in love with New York City. I have to admit, it’s a pretty cool place. It’s a different city every time you visit. Nothing stays the same. Keep reading to see my recommendations for a weekend trip to NYC. Stay at a Swanky New York City Hotel One hotel I’d recommend is the Hotel Boutique Grand Central, run by the Club Quarters chain. The rooms were reasonably priced for the location. It is walking distance from…
So many art forms surrounded me everywhere I went in Haiti. Artists found inspiration all around them. Boats, waterfalls, wildlife as well as the local people were displayed on many types of materials. There were artists who carved their designs into wooden bowls and urns, depicting life on the island. Wooden items, canvas and found items like metal scraps served as surfaces for paintings. Color and vibrancy filled every piece of artwork. Other artwork came from an unlikely source. Artwork…
So many destinations are popular winter getaways. Others just aren’t on the radar. Let’s change that. Think out of the box this winter and enjoy a few unexpected winter getaway destinations. Arizona Arizona gets extremely hot in the summertime. Once summer temperatures have cooled down and winter hits it’s the perfect time to visit all the places that are tourist traps in the summer. Think of famous sights such as the Grand Canyon. Aside from the Grand Canyon are the…
Getting There During my recent trip to Haiti, I took a local bus from Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, to a city called Hinche. The close quarters and lack of proper ventilation made the bus ride uncomfortable to say the least. However, the views of the countryside made it all worth it. The bus sped along, beeping almost constantly to pass slower vehicles and alert pedestrians in populated areas of its arrival. From Hinche I took a car ride to Cerca…
You’re planning your first trip to New York City and you are slightly intimidated by the Subway system. It’s the largest in the world, they say. They say you’ll get lost for sure. I don’t know who “they” are but you get the idea. Have no fear I’m here to share my go-to tips for navigating the Subway. Well at least to all the places you really want to go to anyway. I’ve included the map I used to use,…
Seoul The Coex Mall is said to be the largest underground shopping mall in South Korea. It is right next door to the Hyundai Department Store which I talked about in one of my South Korea travel diaries. It’s impossible not to get overwhelmed with all the shopping possibilities since there are stores as far as the eye can see. Gangnam subway station (underground) is for inexpensive items while the Gangnam neighborhood itself (above ground) is a great place to shop…
Cerca Carvajal is situated about 30 minutes from the city of Hinche and about 2 hours from Port-au-Prince. Houses similar to the cinder block ones found in Pétion-Ville are also found here. See my other post about the architecture there. There is a feature on some of the houses I’ve never seen before. There are windows that have no glass. They contain lattice made of cement. Screens behind them keep out insects. Other houses were made with found materials. Think of…
I’ll start off with the differences I’ve experienced so far with food. My first breakfast consisted of bread and peanut butter. The peanut butter had a kick and I was told spices were added and that it was traditional Haitian peanut butter. The largest meal of the day was served around noon. This is different from the U.S. where our largest meal is served in the evening. It usually consisted of a meat (goat, chicken, fish, pork), and a starch…
The first thing I noticed as I entered the area of Haiti called Pétion-Ville was all the different types of architecture. Like many buildings in the Caribbean, cement and cinder block are the construction materials of choice. Visiting Puerto Rico some years ago, I was told it’s because of the large amount of termites. Homes start as grey cinder block frames with grates for windows. They transform into beautiful “stone castles” on the mountaintop. I learned that while people are…
Growing up in the school system in the US, I remember hearing two things about Haiti: poverty and voodoo. I also had a lot of friends with parents what had left Haiti to come to the US. They told me horror stories of that really made me shy away from visiting the country. 6 years ago I started learning the Haitian Creole language. With all the stories I had heard, I waited a long time before making serious plans to…