Travels in the 2nd half

I hate areas filled with tourists. Not just in NYC but wherever I travel. They are crowded. People just stop walking in the middle of the sidewalk. No one is really paying attention to what is happening around them. Unfortunately, sometimes I just have to bite the bullet and dive in. If you want to see Piccadilly Circus, the Parthenon, Florence or the Mona Lisa you are going to have to be part of a crowd of tourists. Here in NYC, if you want to go to see a Broadway play you are going to be part of a crowd of tourists. It is unavoidable. On a recent Saturday I had a ticket for a Broadway play so I decided to head down early and see what has been happening in Times Square. Now I grew up in NYC during the 60's, 70's and 80's. A time wen some people feel that Times Square was at the nadir of it's existence. From www.baldpunk.com On 42nd Street, the theaters were divided between "third-run" movies and porno. The street had its share of drug dealers and othe...

There are so many beautiful place in the world. However, the Catskills have always been a place that tugs at my heart. It is the place where my earliest memories of vacation reside. From the time I was little my parents rented a bungalow at a bungalow colony called Mirth in the tiny village of Mountaindale NY. I remember tree covered roads and lakes with turtles and streams with salamanders.  The Amazing Ms. D and I spent a weekend in the Catskills when she was invited as a participating writer at the 2nd annual  Festival of Women Writers in the town of Hobart NY . Hobart is a small hamlet in the north-west corner of the Catskill Mountains. It is the "Book village of the Catskills" with 6 bookstores in a town of around 440 people. The stores range from high end antiquarian and rare books to mass used mass market, and there is a wide range of choices. Blenheim Hill Books Mysteries and More The Amazing Ms. D in Mysteries and More Liberty Rock Books...

Didá is a unique drumming group in the city of Salvador, Brazil. It is comprised completely of young women. They perform on the streets of The Pelorinho every Tuesday evening around 7 PM.

At the end of our trip we spent 3 days in Rio. Needless to say, Rio has a totally different vibe than Salvador. It is a much bigger city, one that has thrust itself into the 20th century. It is a center of banking and business, home to Petrobras and the former capital of Brazil. It is also home to some of the iconic symbols of Brazil, Sugarloaf, Corcovado and the beaches of Copacabana and Impanema. Going to Brazil without stopping here is like coming to NYC without seeing Times Square. Windsor Plaza Hotel Our hotel  (The Windsor Plaza) was just 2 blocks off of the beach in Copacabana. This is a large hotel that is oriented to both vacationers and business people. It was a nice place to hole up, convenient to to ocean, the subway, restaurants and markets. On it 15th floor the hotel has a nice, if small pool and sun deck. The beach at Copacabana  The Windsor Plaza also has an excellent breakfast spread included. The staff in the restaurant, at the fron...