Orkeed

This would be a suggestion for a nice romantic getaway.  Going to another country is always the perfect way to make things more interesting.  For one thing, there’s a pressure that gets taken away.  In a new place, there are many expectations that tend to follow us around that seem unable to cross borders.  This is very good news, especially for people who are typically nervous.  Wanting to know outcomes is a sign of an anxious personality, and traveling in new lands always means giving up this need to know, and it’s a great way to learn how to give into the flow of it all.

That’s something that’s also a good lesson for romance, because when you’re with another person, sometimes it does feel like a foreign country.  There’s no way of knowing, and no one around to translate.  In Singapore, however, the majority of people speak English, so there’s a chance of being understood, and it’s safer than love, perhaps.

A dinner in an Italian restaurant is always going to be a good move.  There may be two people in the world who don’t like Italian, and even if you’re gluten-free, chances are good that you’ll find something.  This is an important principle in a relationship, to find something you both like.

Another one of the pressures that we lose when we’re traveling has to do less with control, and more with anonymity.  Coming to a place where you’ve never been sometimes suggests that you may never be back, and with that comes a sense that you can probably be as free as you like.  Sometimes we’re not so free because we’re afraid we’ll look silly.  On a vacation, however, it doesn’t matter, and everyone looks silly, so it’s the perfect chance to find out who your partner is again, and have some lovely food.

It could be the first of May.  It could very well be raining.  Dallas is the place where I will have to find something else to do with my time.  It is not a difficult thing, finding things, not in this place.  It might be difficult to settle in on a choice, however.  Every choice looks at first like it must be the best choice, because it is the only choice.  The moments go on, and more choices present themselves, and it’s starting to become apparent that there is no only choice.  Moments like these I will go back to my room, back in my Dallas hotel, and reassess the situation from there.

The room is nice.  There’s space in this room, almost enough to make it look and feel roomy.  This is perhaps just as it should be.  I have my doubts, anyway.  At the end of the day, I always have my doubts.  I have showered and I have also eaten something.  They tell me it is an armadillo and they laugh.  This is probably terribly terribly funny, and when I try to laugh, too, they don’t try to make me laugh any more.  I have been told that my smile is not a pretty thing to look at, and that it’s better if I just refrain.  That advice suits me well.  I would rather be thinking about the rain.

But it is not raining.  It is not raining any more today, nor tomorrow, is what they say.  I still have hope.  This is too much, this weather.  I can’t find my way around when everything is lit.  It is all for the best, because I have no place to go.  Because I have no place to go, I go to the opera, where I might be able to see myself on the stage, telling my story to myself, if it is in French.  It is not in French, it is in Italian.  I am lost, and there is nothing on the stage to remind me of me, and I realize, with sorrow, that I will perhaps never be able to wear buffalo horns.  Such things are not up to me, decided long before I set foot in Dallas, where I am inordinately happy, but not smiling, and not raining.

Coming into Hartford again, and remembering the things that we saw here before.  So much of what I know, and what I have to keep in the palm of my hand, is made up of pieces of things that I cannot explain to anyone.  And only you would understand.  When we were here, it wasn’t that long ago, but it seems like we were too young, and didn’t know anything, and life lived sweetly, in a Hartford hotel, where there was no care in the world, just something that felt like time moving across my wrist…

It was too long ago, and it wasn’t long enough ago, and we were young and older than anyone would have guessed.  I found you here, even though we’d known each other all our lives.  There was a show, there was music, and all our friends told us this was the best club, this was the one where you could move like they do in San Juan, and for a few moments I could see white sand falling from your mouth when you spoke, and the waves were in your eyes.  It’s grey here, greyer than I imagine, the kind of grey that I like, awake in the morning and again just before the light of day goes away…

This is why I can’t imagine Hartford without thinking of that mix of white sand and sun, and the blue of the sky and the water.  Those colors fall over everything, like a dream of Yemaya in her younger version Asesu, calling somewhere beneath the first layer of wave, wearing it like a blanket, while she is peeking into the hearts of her sleeping children to find out why they are still awake.  And I can’t tell her that we are always awake, because we never sleep.

One of the hidden wonders of Central Park is the Conservatory found just past the Vanderbilt Gate at the entrance of 5th Avenue and 105th Street.  It is an amazing experience to step from one of the busiest areas of the city, down into the fragrant and sheltered garden, which during the spring and summer months is filled with the delightful scents of the flowers in bloom.  This was the original entry way to the mansion owned by the Vanderbilt family, however that mansion was demolished in 1927.  The artistry found on the wrought iron gate is not to be compared, and is one of the finest examples of metalwork and skill in the state.

The glass conservatory was originally designed by the creators of Central Park, Olmsted and Vaux, however it was not until the new head gardener, Ignaz Pilat took over that it really flourished.  The glass house was eventually torn down and replaced with the garden that is still cared for today…this happened in 1934, at a time when the city was growing into the metropolis that it has become today.  The foresight to put in a beautiful garden, as with the many of the gardens throughout the city, give people a chance to escape the hustle and bustle, to hide a bit away from the cabs and buses, and just sit a bit in the beautiful outdoors.

Located close by, are many hotels, perfect for business travel or holiday plans, many are found here at www.newyorkcheaphotel.com. There are three sections to the garden, the North Garden, the Central Garden and the South Garden, all designed just a bit differently with their own unique styles and species of trees, shrubs, plants and flower gardens.  This is a must stop for anyone loving the botanical world, the world of peace, and the world of calmness and well being…in the most populated city in the country.

Dayton’s in Dayton, Ohio! I’ve been blessed with sunny skies and it’s 75 degrees outside. It did rain a little this morning, but that’s okay. I;m on my way into Dayton, I hit rush hour, but what was really freaky was the hood of the Nova rental car I was driving, flipped straight up and went up against my windshield. Apparently, the rivet in the hood hinge broke loose. I was fortunate and managed to pull over quickly. I got the hood secured for the moment and proceeded cautiously to my destination.

When I checked into my hotel, I asked the gal at the reception desk if they know where I can find the certain company with which I used to rent my car. She was extremely helpful, as a matter of fact, she called up the car rental company and told them my dilemma and the company said they would deliver a new rental car right away. I had no idea that when I used the Internet to book my room in Dayton that I picked a great hotel; a very helpful and great hotel. If you ever plan to visit Dayton, visit this site first. You won’t be disappointed.

The rest of the day, I spent at the Expo Center checking out the car show and talking to some vendors. When I got back to my hotel, my new rental was waiting for me. I took it to a drag strip to see a Pontiac race, but before I reached the drag strip, I was rear-ended. I can’t help but wonder if there’s some reason I can’t get to where I’m going, unless something happens to my rental car. This time, when I pulled over, I called up my rental company and asked if it was possible to get a new rental, pronto. They were at first a little weary of me, understandable, but when they found out I had bought the extra insurance, their response to me was to ask me how soon I needed one?

If you’re traveling in the South of Florida and happen to find yourself in Ford Lauderdale, you might like to take a ride on the Jungle Queen Riverboat.   Some people have been known to like the ride so much they suggest you go twice, once in the day and once at night.  It’s a sightseeing cruise up the New River, past downtown Ford Lauderdale, and the basin for great yachts.  A tour guide gives you the history and facts behind mansions and plantations you’ll see on the river, and at the JungleQueen’s Tropical Isle, you’ll see rare trees and exotic birds and monkeys.

I recommend this trip, in part, because some friends of mine went last august, when they were on a two week vacation to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West, where they checked into a variety of hotels along the beach in Florida.  When they came back, claiming that this riverboat was the most entertainment they had for the money they spent (they were clearly money conscious, because they went off-season specifically to save).  The tour guide, they said, was funny and interesting, and they were able to reserve chairs at the front of the boat, so they’d be able to see everything on both sides.  If you go, that may be something you want to do.  They talked about the Junglequeen Island as well, and said the food was pretty good and lots of it; you can even order alcohol there and keep the souvenir glasses.

My friends took the night trip, because they commented at how few bugs there were out on the island, and how they liked the entertainment.  They noted that they were especially impressed by the juggler, so congratulations to that performer!  They also noted that if you have kids, you may want to bring something along to entertain them, as riverboat travel can be unpredictable at times.  They said if a train comes along during the boat ride, you may have to wait as much a half hour for the drawbridge to open up.

Across the world, there’s a fascination with coffee and coffee pots.  When coffee shops began really proliferating in the 1980s, I thought it might be a fluke event, a kind of fad popping up, but it became obvious as the disapproval of bars and taverns grew, the acceptance of coffee spread like so much spilled espresso.  Throughout America, you’ll find homages to coffee, from Tacoma, Washington, to Greensboro, North Carolina.  Not only will you find the accustomed corporate coffee shops (as well as the independents, hanging on for dear life), you’ll find entire buildings and giant reproductions of the coffee pot.  The oldest such monument to caffeine may be found near Greensboro, in Old Salem.

North Carolina contains a three city metropolitan area, consisting of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point, known as the Piedmont Triad.  In this area, you’ll discover over in Old Salem, a twelve foot coffee pot made of metal that dates back to 1860, one hundred and fifty years ago, intended to act as an advertisement for a silversmith.  It’s clear that this nation’s love affair with coffee is an honest one, as you might find by taking a look at all the other structures intended for revering the coffee bean: Stanton, Iowa has two water towers, one shaped like a coffee pot, the other like a coffee cup, the former 120 feet high, the latter 96 feet high; Lexington, Virginia, Tacoma, Washington, and Bedford, Pennsylvania, all have two-story buildings shaped like coffee pots.

While you’re in the city, take a look around; there’s a number of interesting places, such as the Greensboro Historical Museum or the Guilford Couthouse National Military Park. If you’ve had enough of coffee and are simply looking for a place to sleep, then you might stop in at one of the hotels in the Greensboro area and relax in comfort and style.  However, if you can’t sleep, then there’s sure to be a coffee shop nearby to keep you company.

Plymouth, Massachusetts is one of the most famous towns in the nation and when considered in association with the country’s history it is definitely at the top of the list. There are a few towns in the area of Plymouth and the general region is something of a community of small towns. There are numerous beds and breakfasts and quaint inns Plymouth area hotels, which makes it an attractive tourist destination. And while Plymouth stands out as the most famous, another small town in the area has the distinction of producing the most famous actor from the area. Geena Davis is an American actor, writer and producer, musician and athlete who was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, which is about 17 miles southwest of Plymouth. She is one of the most famous personalities to have been born in the area and is an Academy Award winner.

Davis was born in January of 1956 and developed and early interest in music. She had become adept enough at the organ, flute and piano to serve as the church organist in Wareham. She became an exchange student while in high school and learned fluent Swedish while she was in Sandviken, Sweden. She graduated from Boston University with a degree in Drama, which would serve her career choice. Davis has had many film successes and is popular with audiences. She received an early brake in the film Tootsie, which starred Dustin Hoffman and went on to star in films such as The Fly, Thelma and Louise, A League of Their Own and The Long Kiss Goodnight, among others. She was married to Jeff Goldblum, who starred with her in The Fly. They also worked together on other projects. Davis is currently married to Reza Jarrahy MD, who is a plastic surgeon. Davis is active in various social agency and supports gender equality in sports and education.