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Category: Blogging

The Brilliant Colors of La Boca Tell Buenos Aires’ Stormy History

At first, it is all kitschy street drama. Tango couples inviting tourists in for the photo op with tipped hat and mimed kisses. There is much more to the story of La Boca. This colorful neighborhood located in southern Buenos Aires brims with street tango performances, soccer fans and art museums. Named after its location at “the mouth” of the river Riachuelo, whose waters flow into the Rí­o de la …

Ice Music! Patagonia’s Astonishing Symphony of Glaciers

Visually impressive, sure! I was startled and fascinated by their constant, changing soundtrack, so unexpected from this vast frozen panorama of limitless shades of blue ice formations. Shifting, moving, sometimes calving in great, majestic glacial chunks. Our first views were of the Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate Argentina’s Los Glaciales National Park with an ice field that controls the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water! Once every four …

The Tip of Chilean Patagonia: Formidable, Spectacular Torres del Paine

Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, Chile became a favorite within minutes of arriving. A park with everything hikers like me dream about. Narrow but stunning valleys that separate hypnotic geological features, glaciers, and lakes of impossible shades of blue. In fact, Paine means “blue” in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language.and is pronounced PIE-neh. Torres del Paine National Park, located in the extreme south of Chilean Patagonia, is world-renowned for its spectacular views, formidable mountain ranges. And …

From Aphrodisiac to Mummification: Explore Egypt’s Rarest Essential Oils

Essential oils are part of our culture…used in aromatherapy sessions, relaxation techniques, in massage therapy, for holistic medicinal purposes, in yoga studios and an expansive range of cosmetics, perfumes and skincare. And as a lifelong scent devotee…I found Egypt a mecca for magnificent essential oils which, as I write this, scent my home with rich and complex fragrances. My recommendations are at the end of this post. The Ancient Egyptians …

Truly Astonishing Facts About Egypt’s Incomparable Pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza

At first my jet-lagged brain could not process more than their looming yet beautiful presence, and proximity to the nearby town. I had imagined them constructed in the middle of some vast, remote, practically inaccessible stretch of desert wasteland…as is over 90 percent of the remaining country. But they were here in all their significant historical splendor. All three! The most famous, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest …

Enjoy This Sushi Symphony: Japanese Food as Performance Art

Before landing in Tokyo I was perfectly content with a plastic tray of wannabe sushi from the supermarket. Not any more. The preparation, presentation and consumption of this oh-so-subtle symphony of flavors, textures, aromas and colors and its accompanying description raised my culinary bar to previously unscaled heights. A caress of freshly “grated over sharkskin” wasabi and a fingertip of sweet/salt over the most perfect inch-wide filet of Deep Sea …