The lyrics to one of my favorite Jimmy Buffet songs are  about a woman who is in the Caribbean and does not want to go back home because of the weather, winter in particular. Coming from a northern location I can  relate to her lament.  The cold winters are the reason I am a snowbird. I spend my winters in Arizona to escape the cold and snow.  Does this make me a climate refugee?

I come to Arizona for more than just the weather but the  climate has a certain appeal. I don’t like wearing socks. I love wearing open  toed shoes and sandals something I can’t do in January at home without the risk  of frost bite. My wardrobe here consists of sleeveless tops and cropped pants.  I have a few sweaters to wear in the air-conditioned shopping malls and restaurants  I frequent. This is a life style that was easy to adapt to.

Last week there was a blizzard in my home town. Six inches  of snow and below freezing temperatures engulfed the city. I would like to  think this was a freak storm but I know better. This kind of weather is normal  for April in central Alberta, Canada. The thought of returning home to snow is  too foreign for me to comprehend. I am sitting on my patio with a cold drink  writing this. The temperature is in the mid 80’s F. The temperature back home  is barely above freezing. I frivolously consider applying to US immigration for  refugee status. The cold weather will cause me undo pain and suffering thus  making me a climate refugee.

When you are traveling the most important wardrobe related travel decision you make will be choosing what shoes to wear.
Determine the type of trip and pack the appropriate shoes for the destination. For example, for a beach destination you probably won’t need your winter boots.
Make sure the shoes you choose are comfortable and well broken in.
Try and keep the number of shoes you take to a minimum. Walking shoes, flip flops and a pair of sandals are usually sufficient for any trip.
A comfortable pair of weatherproof walking shoes is always a good choice for any trip.
Flip flops or waterproof sandals can be worn in public showers.
A good pair of sandals can do double duty for dress up and casual wear.
Pack shoes in a cloth or plastic bag to keep them from getting your clothes dirty.
To help save space in your suitcase, stuff your shoes with socks and place a rolled up tie in the heel. Wearing your bulkiest shoes on the airplane will also save suitcase space

Who will ever forget the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center was destroyed by a terrorist attack? The western world watched in horror and dismay as the twin towers collapsed. Now ten years later we still remember that tragic day and pay our respects to the thousands of people who perished during this horrible event. 

One of the things we remember is how in the wake of this tragedy some unlikely heroes emerged to provide support and comfort to the injured and the rescuers during this trying time. Located directly across from the WorldTradeCentersite is one of these heroes. St. Paul’s Chapel, an Episcopal church that survived the fall of the world trade towers with minimal damage and became a relief and spiritual center for the men and women who worked tirelessly during the aftermath of 9/11. The 18^th century church stood as a sanctuary in the midst of chaos providing food, shelter, medical treatment and a safe refuge for everyone involved.  

The day after 9/11St. Paul’s became a relief center with “more than 5,000 people [from all over the world] using their special gifts to transformSt. Paul’s into a place of rest and refuge.” The center operated for nine months providing “comfort and strength” to rescue workers.  After the rescue center closed,St. Paul’s opened its doors to the public with an exhibit remembering 9/11 called “Unwavering Spirit: Hope and Healing at Ground Zero.” 

A 2006 visit to the exhibit and this remarkable church brought tears to my eyes. Although I am Canadian I was still greatly moved by this memorial to both the living and the dead hero’s of 9/11. ThatSt. Paul’s Chapel miraculously survived while everything around it was destroyed is a blessing in itself. 

September 11^th is a day of remembrance. In the USA it is also Patriot Day but you don’t have to be an American or a patriot to reflect on the horrific events that occurred on this day in 2001 or to pay your respects to the thousands of people who died and to those who worked tirelessly in the aftermath. So take a few minutes on the 11^th to remember the fall of theWorldTradeTowers; gone but not forgotten.

“How many pairs of shoes do you really need to travel with?” my insignificant other laments. Two pairs of sandals, hiking books, walking shoes, water shoes, flip flops, and maybe a pair of dress shoes just in case I go somewhere nice to eat. I wonder if that is enough. 

As I prepare for my next big adventure, a trip to Easter Island and the Galapagos, I have to ask myself what do I really need to take   I have everything I think that I will need spread out on the bed in my spare room. I haven’t started to consider what clothing I will take, the things I have on the bed are travel necessities that I can’t live without. I have bio-suds to wash my clothing, camera equipment and accessories, hand sanitizer, toilet paper (in small compact rolls especially designed for traveling), a towel and a facecloth,  bed bug spray, a power converter, travel alarm clock, a travel journal, a notebook to carry in my purse, a couple of guide books, some photocopied pages from another guide book, pens, travel size toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, a first aid kit, sun screen, mosquito repellent, dual voltage hair straightener, labels for postcards and several other things that I always pack in my travel bag. 

Why do I need all these things? I am thinking about taking my laptop, but do I really need another electronic thing to carry? What ever happened to traveling light? I have already filled up my large MEC backpack and haven’t even started to pack clothing or shoes. 

In my misspent youth I could travel for months with one small backpack, two pairs of shoes and three of everything else. Now I need three suitcases and a shurpa just to go away for a couple of weeks. I will likely spend the remaining week before I leave packing and repacking multiple times to try and get everything I think I need into my backpack. Traveling light? Of course I need to add a flashlight, a candle and some matches and maybe a reading light.

“You get what you pay for”. That is what I was told by the rather unhelpful young man at the reception. I was asking for a plastic cup. I don’t think I was making an unreasonable request. After all I was just asking for a plastic cup and this was not a low end hostel where you had to kill your own roaches. This was a summer student residence in a prestigious university in eastern Canada (location and name withheld in case I have to stay there again.) and it wasn’t cheap. I have stayed in low end hostels where roach killing was a necessity not an option and it was up to the guest to dispose of any unwanted roommates, like cockroaches, and even they gave me more than one disposable plastic cup. At least this place didn’t have any creepy crawlies that I saw anyway. When I checked in I was issued one towel, which I was expected to use for the duration of my stay, two coat hangers and a plastic cup. I …uh… used my plastic cup before I realized that it was the only one I would be getting. I did eventually acquire another plastic cup, which I took much better care of then the first cup I was given, but I felt like I had to beg for it. Did I get what I paid for? Probably not unless the plastic cup was gold plated.

It was the second week of a two-week Kenyan safari. We were in the Maasai Mara, the only game preserve in Kenya where you can actually drive off the road, right up to the wild life. We had already seen all the herd animals. The zebras, wildebeests, gazelles, and giraffes as well as elephants, hippos, crocodiles, baboons and even the elusive rhino. Now all we were interested in were the big cats, the lions.

In the South-East corner of Kenya and part of the Seringeti, the Maasai Mara is one of the best game reserves in East Africa. The 25,000 square kilometers (9,750 square miles) of vast plain, rolling hills and grasslands of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem is home a variety of animals including 450 species of birds from the tiny sunbird to the ostrich and the large birds of prey. The inner game reserve, established in 1961, is now a national park providing 518 square kilometers (202 square miles) filled with wild life and void of permanent human settlement. It is one of the few places where you can still the see the safari “big five” the elephants, rhinos, buffalo, leopards and of course the lions making it the most popular safari destination in Kenya.

Kitty Kitty. That is what we had been calling them for the last few days. There they were lying in the grass under the trees, three males and a female. Young adults, about three to five years old, likely brothers and sister, according to our guide, James. Lions do not reach maturity until about seven years.

Our landrover stopped beside them and I put my head through the sunroof. After I had taken a few photographs, I was drawn to one of the males. He lifted his head and looked directly into my eyes. At first, I was fascinated, staring into those beautiful amber eyes. Then I realized that there was intelligence behind them.

is she edible?

I could sense him appraising me.

Is she a threat? Probably not.

Is she edible? Probably.

Would she be an easy catch? Absolutely.

Would she put up much of a fight? Not a chance.

My fascination turned to fear. This was a predator, a vicious killer, not just a larger version of my house cat and he was considering eating me for lunch!

But would she be worth the effort? Nah

The king of beasts broke eye contact with me and resumed his nap.

Ok I am a shopaholic as well as a travelholic. I can’t resist shoes and handbags. When I was in Eastern Europe I was surprised to find an original unique handbag in one of the most unlikely places. On a side street near Cesky Krumlov, a medieval castle in the Czech Republic, is a small shop that sells funky hand painted high quality leather handbags.

Cesky Krumlov dates back to 1253 when the first part of the castle was constructed high above the Vltava River by the Vitek family. The caste was expanded and renovated over the next few centuries as was the village that surrounded it. Today it is a blend of medieval, gothic and renaissance styles and a UNESCO world heritage site.

There are several shops along the winding road that leads to the castle and hidden away amongst the souvenir shops and quaint little cafes that cater to the bus loads of tourists that visit the castle daily, is a small shop that has the most fantastic hand painted purses.

Each handbag is a work of art. Made of high quality leather and hand painted with various styles and designs these bags are unique. The bags are painted with animals, abstract art, and other original designs and come in various sizes and shapes. Made by Bambas, a Czech Republic company that has been making bags since 1990, they are true works of art.

“Every handbag is an artistic original“ reads the information on the company’s website. Designed for “conservative women as well as extravagant women who prefer espressionistic artistic motives“ these handbags are far from conservative. They make a statement. Their timeless design and impecable artwork combined with the high quality leather used to make the bags make them not only unique but durable. They are a bag you will use for years to come.

unique original handbags

So why not leave the designer handbags in the store and acquire a real status symbol, a hand painted bag that you will not see on the arm of every other women in the mall. Either visit Cesky Krumlov castle and take home one of these marvelous handbags or order from the company’s website (http://www.bambas.cz/en/) and you will have a one of a kind handbag that will have heads turning and women asking you “Where did you get that fabulous bag?”

“Do you want fries or rice with your sweet and sour chicken?”
At the time I thought this was a strange question since I was sitting in a Chinese restaurant in Dublin, Ireland. Not being much of a French fry eater, I choose the rice. As I waited for my food to arrive, I watched what everyone else was eating and several of my fellow diners were having fries with their traditional Chinese food. So just what is so special about the fries in Ireland that people would eat them with Chinese food? The Irish will tell you it is the potatoes. They believe they grow the best potatoes in the world in Ireland. And maybe they are right because by the end of my stay in Ireland I was a convert. I was eating fries with everything because they were so good. Why this was I can’t say but North American fries just can not compete with the Irish ones. They really do have the best fries in the world in Ireland and that’s no Blarney!

10 years later and I am in Dublin again. Temple Bar hasn’t changed much; the Chinese restaurant is still there. The city has gotten more cosmopolitan and you can hear European languages being spoken along with English. They still serve fries with everything but they are not as good as I remember. Why is that I wonder? I asked an elderly man selling vegetables at the market.
“It’s the potatoes, we don’t grow them anymore, now they come from Poland” he tells me.
What I don’t understand is why they would stop growing potatoes, once the best in the world, and replace them with cheaper imports from Europe. Can it really be cheaper for Ireland to import vegetables instead of growing their own? Is this progress or just stupidity? Whatever it is I am disappointed. I was so looking forward to those Irish fries. Guess I will just have to settle for rice with my sweet and sour chicken.

My name is Diana and I am a travelholic. Although I have visited all seven continents and over 40 countries there is still so much to see. I consider myself a traveler, although I am not really sure what that means. I have a bucket list – all the places I want to visit before I die and I hope my epitaph will read “Been there, done that, you should see my t-shirt collection.”