Farewell to 2017

Hello friends one and all!

It’s time to say goodbye to 2017 and hope 2018 brings much brighter things.

The biggest thing that happened this year was I had to say goodbye to my mother. In May, with no warning, she was diagnosed with cancer and given 2-4 weeks to live. Together we decided to follow the principle “if you only have two weeks to live...," which led to a profound 4 weeks of love and celebration of life that let my mom live out her last days surrounded by friends and family and delicious food, music and dance. The most meaningful moment was when her dance group came to dance for her can get a glimpse of here and here.

London Street Art

I spent Christmas week with my sister and her family in London.  That gave me a chance to take another swing around and see the new street art.  Once again London's art wowed me!

You can see my online album HERE.

Berlin Street Art

Berlin is one of THE street art cities and that meant lots of exploring and plenty to see.

You can see my full album HERE.

Michael Jackson in Munich

Stumbled upon this random monument to Michael Jackson in Munich, set up across from the hotel he stayed at. It’s still lovingly cared for and even had fresh candles burning. We played a few of his songs in his honor, before moving on.

Christmas Markets in Germany

After 18 months of being grounded by life circumstances, I finally was able to take another adventure and joined two high school friends for a week of Christmas Markets in Germany. We stopped in four places: Munich, Nuremberg, Bamberg and Berlin. Each city was a little different and each Christmas market was different.  Nuremberg has the most famous Christmas market in Germany. Market stalls fill every open square. Gluhwein, special German mulled wine, is available morning to night. Nuremberg is known for its lebkuchen, special German gingerbread and it was delicious! About 2 million people visit Nuremberg over the month of December filling the square and enjoying the holiday fare and music.

You can learn and see more by clicking HERE 

to see my photos.

2017 UN General Assembly Week

My job now forces me to focus on NY and medical and family circumstances have kept me stateside lately, but that doesn't mean that I still don't think about the wider world a lot. Each year I take advantage of UN General Assembly Week to get a small window into various international development issues. Today I'm attending an event about developing sustainable tourism in Africa. My travel in Africa has been eye opening, stereotype smashing, nurturing and helped me change my perspective on what is important in life. Travel builds understanding and I hope that more and more people will get a chance to visit Africa and to counter the misinformation about the continent and promote economic growth there. #2017unyearofsustainabletourismfordevelopment #unwto

Who needs to travel when the French President comes to me?

I just got to say hi to French President Macron! Happy United Nations General Assembly Week! It's my favorite time of the year in NYC! The streets are literally filled with world leaders! Now if only I could find Justin Trudeau! #worldleaderheartthrobs 

Peaks Island, Maine - Summer 2016

This year has been crazy with my surgery and Dick's death and then my mom's death so I didn't get to travel much. My one big trip was a wonderful long summer weekend in Peak's Island, Maine.

I hadn't been to Maine in a while and it was fun to enjoy its simple pleasures. Yummy fresh wild blueberries the are all the rage heathwise lately so I ate extra.  And of course, I had to have a lobster roll, since those were my mom's favorite Maine food.  Plus, plenty of summer ice cream to satisfy my nephew.

One fun silly activity on Peak's Island is to rent a golf cart to tour the island with. For two hours we drove the perimeter of the island and up and down the interior streets. Mostly that meant beautiful coastline views, rock pile sculptures, pine forests and creative mailboxes. My brother has been going to Peak's Island for a long time, so he also knows all the special cool places like an old World War II military installation built to protect Casco Bay which was a major location for military shipping. Battery Steele is an example of the largest battery ever built anywhere in the United States. Now its a relic and covered with graffiti... but its interesting to think about its history and to think about World War II on this side of the ocean. Another special place my brother took me to is the Umbrella Cover Museum.  Yes, you heard that right, a place with 700 umbrella covers from around the world. The kind of place that could only exist in a sweet little place like Peak's Island.

Mostly being in Maine meant quality time with my brother and his son, which made the trip even more fun. I think this is a trip I might have to start doing more often.

Here are some photos from my trip.