A Little Zumba, A Little Writing...

I had such a great time speaking at The Oaks Spa over the weekend.  My memories of The Oaks date back to when I was 16 or so and my mom took me for a weekend getaway. I've written about it before. After the first lunch I escaped the premises and ran across to grab a burrito - i.e. normal food. Now, I treasure the meals there - all super duper healthy and measured out calorically. (is that a word?) They are not drool-inducing, but they are very, very good. 

I gave a talk, and conducted three writing exercises, my favorites from the various courses I teach. They yielded excellent writing samples, and unlike the college students, the spa students were anxious to read out loud. 

Speaking at the spa (there really were people there, I swear)

My mom and our new friend, Frances

When I wasn't speaking, I was dancing, yogaing, hula-hooping, zumba-ing, stretching and sleeping. Happily, I'll be back at the end of March, doing it all over again.

Beauty by the Bay

Well, that was fun.

Had a great trip to the Bay Area, visiting Lafayette, Berkeley, SF, Petaluma, Redwood City and Menlo Park.  San Francisco was showing off with clear skies and perfect weather. I walked around like a tourist, taking pictures from every hill. Well, actually I WAS a tourist. It's been 20 years since I've lived there. SO HARD TO BELIEVE. I am in denial about the passing of time. An example of this is: when crossing the Bay Bridge, I picked through my purse for a dollar to pay the toll, completely forgetting that it was a dollar 20 years ago. It is 5 dollars now. Ooops.

It was great to see so many old friends, and new ones, too.

Twenty years ago I lived in this apartment (pic to the right) ------->
My unit was toward the back of the building, so I didn't have the Bay Windows, and also the building was grey and maroon when I lived there...

City Light Bookstore. It was so much fun browsing (and buying) in an actual bookstore. I'm so used to clicking on Amazon to purchase books, and even more frequently clicking on my Kindle to download books. Visiting City Lights and Green Apple, as well as some others, made me realize how much I miss the real bookstore community - the smell of books, the helpful advice of people... Above, my friend Amelyn poses for my pic by reading a book upside down. Book humor.

Beautiful Coit Tower.

Surprise visit with an old friend (Daniela) who happens to live in Redwood City...

Lisa's puppy: "GG". OMGG, I love this doggie. Such a cuddler. Those ears, that personality. 

Happy in the Bay Area.

Home

I am home after a lovely vacation in Mexico. 

Poor Mexico-- it gets such bad press. When I said I was heading there I can't tell you how many people grimaced and warned me to be careful. I travel a lot, and am careful everywhere I go. If you are fearful of Mexico because of all the negative press, don't be. It is a beautiful, culturally rich place to visit. Just try to stay away from the drug lords.

Catrina posing with spectators.

Church framed by trees.

Shoveling delicious coffee ice cream into my mouth. I ate a lot of street food and it's kind of a miracle I didn't get sick. 

Church at night. Cross lit up.

 Handcrafted jewelry.

Natural mineral baths at Escondito Hot Springs.

Lily pads and lily at hot springs.

Jen gets our stuff out of colorful lockers at hot springs.

On the bus ride from Queretero to the Airport in Mexico City, I read that Maya Angelou died. I was so shocked and saddened by the news. I teach Caged Bird every semester in my class and, as all teachers must feel, felt a special connection to this book and author, especially because the students respond so well to the story. I'm so grateful that I got to hear her speak at UCLA's Royce Hall three years ago. I blogged about that experience HERE. Rest in Peace, Dr. Angelou. Such a larger-than-life figure. She will be missed but her words will live on.

More Mexico

I'm finally able to post pictures of my trip:

 Rivera murals at Presidential Palace took my breath away.

In 1999 I participated in a residency at the Vermont Studio Center where I met wonderful people including the fellow on the right, Mauricio Alejo. Thanks to the power of social media, we were able to reconnect online, and then in person. It was a pleasure meeting his wife and new baby Bruno. Mauricio is a photographer for The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine, as well as countless other credits. You can see more of his work here...

Casa Azul is where Frida Kahlo was born and died. Among other things, her death bed and ashes are on display here. It was so thrilling walking around the property, seeing all the art work, and reading all the stories about her colorful, adventurous and tragic life.

Temple Mayor - pyramid being uncovered in the middle of the city. Hard to describe, but amazing to experience.

I am now in San Miguel De Allende, where my friend Jen moved almost three years ago. She was here on vacation a few years ago with her mom when she met the man she is now married to. What an adventurous girl my Jen is! Her husband Joaquin is an artist and his mentor is the artist Jordi Boldo. Are you following? Last night we travelled to the town of Quetero, about an hour away, to attend Jordi's opening at a museum.

 Jen ponders art.

And finally, some pix of just a few of the animals around here...

Mr. Bunny. Joaquin rescued him when he overheard someone at a market saying he'd make for a good soup.

There is a real Grey Gardens home across the street from where Jen lives. These are three of the 20ish cats that live there. Ewww, but ohhhh...

Below are neighbor dogs. So cute!

Oh, Mexico

Just a quick entry, sans pictures. I am having an incredible time here in Mexico City. I have never been to a more exciting city with so much history, culture, great food, kindness, heat and dryness. Okay, the heat and dryness are nothing to write home about, but everything else is.

Yesterday's trip to the Presidential Palace almost brought tears to my eyes, standing in front of the iconic Diego Rivera murals. They are so thrilling, grandiose and bold. Truly, they made my heart quicken.

We also went to an incredible museum nearby... Mexican artists are allowed to pay their taxes with their art. How cool is that? There is a contemporary museum housing these artworks for all to see.

Temple Mayor, in the middle of the city, is a pyramid that was discovered in the late 70's when the electric company was fixing a lightbulb. Upon further investigation, and now 40+ years later, the city is in the middle of an endless excavation exercise, pulling artifacts from centuries ago. In fact, many of the buildings downtown are built over pyramids. I will post pictures once I get to San Miguel De Allende.

I have thoroughly enjoyed wandering this city, stepping in to the many museums (a thrilling architecture one the other day), eating delicious food, drinking Mezcal and simply observing a new culture.

We have decided to stay one more night here - not in the original plan. I will be having breakfast with a very old friend Mauricio Alejo, whom I met at an artists residency in Vermont a lifetime ago. Mauricio has become a well-known photographer and I am so excited to catch up with him. Later, my friend Jen and I will head to Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo's home in Couyacan. In preparation for our visit we watched the movie Frida last night. Oy, what a terrible film. It may as well have been called "As the World Turns" - no exploration of anything interesting, including the pain that she lived in from her street car accident, or her eccentricities... like... say...where did she get the monkeys?

Adios for now.

Two Countries, One Summer

So far this summer I've hit two countries, and it's not even August. I just returned from Montreal where I was on a family trip celebrating my dad's 80th birthday. Both parents are from Montreal, so I've spent my life going to and fro, visiting aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, friends and other Canadian brethren. Nostalgia kicks in every time I land at the airport, remembering my Bubby and Zaidey excitedly picking us up, remembering the time we lived there for 8 months, remembering all the family events, weddings, parties, funerals and the like. 

This trip found us renting a house in Westmount, visiting a beloved lake house in the gorgeous Lorentien mountains, visiting with Bubby's 103-year-old sister, my great aunt Minchu, celebrating my dad with a host of other friends and relatives, eating, eating, eating. The trip was nothing if not intense - from the weather to the planning and executing of of various activities en masse. Ah, Montreal, je me souviens...

The country house, Cook Lake

getting ready to go swimming with the nephews

city house (red one)

Minchu is 103!

Mom and Minchu

Phenomenal meal in Montreal - toasted corn in the middle

Chihuly exhibit at the museum

Dad's cake at Moishe's!

Nephews lovin' the cake, too.

Home Sweet Home

As much as I enjoyed my June residency in Portugal, it was also nice coming home. Isn't that the best sort of trip? I did experience some hijinx as I toted my newly purchased painting from Lisbon to Los Angeles. Let's just say the strap broke in Lisbon, so instead of being able to sling it over my shoulder, I had to carry the box, along with my luggage and carry-on bag. But that was the least of it. In New Jersey, where I had a layover, security decided it was in their best interest to swab the contents of the box and so they took their sweet time slicing open the container (I had about 7 minutes to catch my flight) and making sure I wasn't toting any contraband. Luckily, my flight was delayed about an hour. I didn't know this at the time, of course, causing all sorts of panic on my end.

Now that me, and my painting, are home, we are settling in nicely.

Here is a link to the artist's - Sally Stafford - website.

Sally Stafford

The painting, when I first laid eyes on it in Portugal

Sally and her beau Ben. And my belly.

So happy this is in my home!

This Girl is on Fire

I sure had a blast at the Alicia Keys concert in Lisbon, thanks to Knox and Laurel. I left the farm on the 1:45 bus and arrived back in Lisbon, the big city, and checked into my hotel. Next, I found my way to the waterfront arena where the concert was being held later that night. Police were guarding it like the friggin' crown jewel, and yet somehow I saw Laurel and her son out of the corner of my eye, returning from a visit to the zoo. It was as easy as that. After a quick reunion we were whisked inside where we watched the sound check. Much later that night we watched the concert.

sound check

hey ho

I love this pic. My camera went berzerk when Alicia came on stage. She is the blue squiggle.

upon seeing this pic my sister asked if I was onstage with her. Sadly, no. But close.

This Girl is on Fire

Today, I found my way to Sintra - about 1/2 hour outside the city and the most enchanting town I've ever encountered. I hiked up the Moorish Castle, nestled in a forest, to capture these photos. Oh, it's hot here, but the heat didn't stop me from getting my tourism on.

Moorish Castle

Palace in the distance

Royal Palace

Interesting sculpture

Beautiful Sintra

I had two issues with the Portuguese today. One: when they say something is a 5 minute walk, they really mean 35 minutes. Why can't they just say that? Two: a little hotel snafu when the maid entered my room that had the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from it due to art and computers strewn about. Sure, my bed was nicely made, but...um...didn't I hang the sign so that wouldn't happen? When I phoned to complain they had the nerve to blame the transit strike for the confusion, and apologized with an odd fruit plate. Okay, okay...overall, I've had the best time here, I just needed to vent (she says while munching on a plum)