Love this!

Just really appreciated this set of posters advertising an art exhibit in Dakar.  Nice, storng graphic statement.  Love the blue-black-white print.  Nice going, Dakar!

Things that make me happy

Because you just can't help but smile, when you round the corner, and see Big Ben....
on a clear blue sky London day...

...or after a stupendous evening.

Smart & Sushi

Best Cocktail of My Entire Life

In between my Tuesday late afternoon meeting and meeting the fam for Indian dinner, I stopped by the exquisite Brown's Hotel in Mayfair for a cocktail.  Best mixology I've ever encountered! - see below photo of the counter along the bar of potions and mists to make these tasty chic and tres cher cocktails.

In anticipation of a lovely dinner ahead, I enjoyed The Indian Touch, a sparkler composed of fresh mottled raspberries with gomme syrup and cardamom seed infused Brockman's gin topped with fine French champagne. ($25- ahem)

I can't say I've ever had a memorable cocktail before.  This totally qualifies!  The bartender took good care of me - I think because at the crowded bar, I was the one who was savoring every sip, every moment.

Long distance train travel? Why, yes, I'd love to!

A wonderful article in this week's WaPo travel section extolled the virtues of long distance train travel.   This particular article highlighted the writer's trip on the DC-Chicago line Capitol Limited, and then from Chicago to San Francisco on the California Zephyr, through the glorious Rockies!  There's also the Empire Builder that takes a northern route to Seattle across the Dakotas.  Wow.  I am enchanted.  Check out the breathtaking photo gallery.

I love train travel.  Even on my regular trip to NYC a few times a year, I just stare out the window mostly at industrial NJ along the I-95 corridor, but also across the Chesapeake and its tributaries as we race through Maryland.  It's a short-trip, about 3 hours, but I always feel relaxed after a train ride.

Last summer, I took Dear Daughter to NYC by train.  She was dying to see the "snack car," which i think she imagined like a DC-subway car filled with all the goldfish crackers and granola bars you could ever want.  I've been tempted to take her on a longer train trip to Burlington, Vermont or even Montreal, Canada.  It's still in my sights, though I haven't worked out all the details. On one of my trips, I sat next to a guy who had taken his teenage son on a train trip to Chicago to visit family.  Tempting.

And these long-distance more exotic trips across the country or down the west coast sound even more magical.  The Coast Starlight (Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles). The Lakeshore Limited (NYC, Boston, Albany, Chicago).   Amtrak Cascades (Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Eugene, Salem). I'm blissed out by the routes alone.  Forty-hours on a train?  Perhaps it would lose its allure quicker than I think - for me, let alone a nearly-8 (!) year old.  But I imagine a panoramic window seat, lots of card games, a few books, an iPad, and a iPod Genius soundtrack would while away the time just fine.

What's holding me back? I haven't worked out the logistics, and silly as it may sound I can't figure out what we are doing when we get to our destination, or how we get back....Not rocket science, I know, but still puzzling me for the moment.

Book here.  All aboard!

Most Pink. Bakerloo Line, London

Can you find La Nouvelle Observatrice?

Most Awesome Kid on the Planet. Southbank, London

More London photos to be posted in due course....

London!

I'm very much looking forward to having Dear Daughter join me on my upcoming business trip to London at the end of the month.  The trip has been on the work radar for a while.  At one point, it included Paris, but that became too complicated and expensive.  Only recently, did Dearest Mommy aka Grandma decide to join us, making it actually feasible to both work and sightsee, and extending the 3 days of business meetings into a 6-day working holiday.

And what a pleasure it's been to read the guidebooks and children's literature accounts of London, and hitting YouTube and the Mary Poppins DVD for more inspiration.  I'm so psyched she'll get to see some of my favorites - the Tate Modern (and the entire funky Southbank), Big Ben (and the princely Houses of Parliament and Westminster), Mayfair's staid offices (and my falafel and fresh juice lunch shop), the thrilling, one-of-a-kind, London Eye (that pretty much triggers an anxiety attack in me that I must actively manage with deep breathing. But, whatever, SO worth it).  We'll make it to the Globe Theatre (or else I'll never get the free pass from the Shakespeare-obsesses teacher for the days out of school), and other London icons like St.Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.  At some point we'll pass through the dreaded Picadilly Circus and Covent Garden going from somewhere and to somewhere.  We'll breeze throughTrafalgar Square, because its lovely St. Martin-in-the-Fields hosts daily free concerts, and is the architectural model for our beloved home church, All Souls.

No trip is complete for me without the food teasers. I was delighted to see today's New York Times article by my crush Mark Bittman, "In London, Flavors of India without the Fuss."   Such a difficult choice among four delectable restaurant descriptions.  I was first tempted by the 70's decor and the incredible descriptions of dishes at Cafe Spice Namaste.  I was also momentarily seduced by Sitaaray, and its Bollywood theme (this and other pictures at the NYTimes slide show).  But, we have decided quite happily to check out Chor Bizarre in Mayfair, just a few blocks from our London offices.  I like its irreverent and self-depracating allusions to pick-pockets and pawn shops, it's cheesy antiques decor, and its Delhi-London pedigree.  The black lentil daal sounds amazing, as does the Bhagare Baingan - see full mouth-watering menu here.  

I'm so excited to speak British English - I'm teaching Dear Daughter to say 'loo,' 'lift,' and 'lorry' - and to travel by tube, taxi, and doubledecker bus.  It's all such a grand adventure isn't it?

The 45 Places to Go in 2012

Bali:  Eat, pray, love.

Another favorite annual feature in the New York Times, "The 45 Places to Go in 2012" gets the juices flowing with some enticing travel destinations to go to now and why.

Of those, I've already been to Panama, London (UK), Tanzania, Glasgow (UK), Florence (Italy), Wales (UK), Vienna (Austria), and Uganda.  Lucky me!

Of the others on the list, there are several that are especially appealing.

Helsinki (Finland) -  for the design and architecture, but not for the herring.

Havana (Cuba) - because one day its gonna be just a bunch of beach resorts with a faux Cuba backdrop.

Chatttanooga, TN because that sounds, tastes and feels like the Deep South, and I'd like to make a go of it.

and Dalarna, Sweden - Midsommer!  Need I say more?  Nordic countries really appeal to me for so many reasons - the design, the quality of life, the natural landscape, winter nights, and summer joy.  I have a friend in Copenhagen to visit on my list!

The real travel plans of this year for work and for play might end up quite enviable, if I do say so myself - New York (of course, and in multiples), London, Paris, Massachusetts, Senegal, Thailand, and Bali (!).  If I pull it off, it will be a minor miracle, though all are in the works in some capacity.  The Thailand-Bali trip is starting to look and feel a little like the idea was hatched among two friends drinking too much prosecco at a bar at Christmastime - and it was!

Vespa Ride, Nighttime NYC

New York City Food Tour

Mmmmmmm...just back from a delicious four-day trip to New York.  All fun, no work!  Here's a meal-by meal account...

Balthazar - First stop after the train, a quick lunch in SoHo.  This spot is known for the rich and gorgeous, and this Sunday was no exception.  Instead of the sit-down, expensive, tres chic brunch, we opted for the take-away counter - a gorgeous patisserie - where a jambon-fromage sandwich on a crusty baguette and a fresh mint-lemonade on the bench outside while people-watching was simply low-key perfect.

Motorino - Later in the Deep East Village, we had to try to best pizza in New York (at least according to the New York Times).  OMG.  Heaven.  The fennel salad was impeccable. The well-balanced mix of fennel, orange, olives, capers, and parmesan had a lovely fresh, salty, minty, citrus-y pop - perfect for a summer evening.  The Margherita pizza (the true test of the best) met expectations - yeasty crust with just enough black char and a creamy fresh buffalo mozz was delish (though I found the tomato sauce a bit soupy).  A simple glass of Nero d'Avola- my summer favorite in Italian wine was a perfect complement.

Shake Shack - New Yorkers line up for this local chain serving burgers and shakes (now also in Dupont Circle, DC).  I haven't tried either - but I did did a kick out of those stylish hipsters lining up fro them in the summer twilight of Madison Square Park.  We hit the B-line (no hot food, no shakes) where with no line, no waiting, I soon had a sweet corn ice cream cone in my hand.  Another park bench served as a perch for fabulous people-watching and eavesdropping.

Tom's Restaurant - In the morning, it was off to Morningside Heights, my old stomping ground at Columbia, for a little walkabout.  First stop, Tom's - the 24-hour diner institution of Seinfeld and Suzanne Vega fame - for a greasy spoon breakfast.  Sadly, a bit of a disappointment.  The place has been refurbished, and lost it's dive-y charm.  The egg and ham sandwich on an English muffin was lackluster, and the coffee was weak.  I think coffee expectations have changed over the years from Folgers to Brooklyn Roasters...and Tom's is still with the former.

Petrie Cafe at the Metropolitan Museum - The gorgeous summer afternoon hopping between art museums and Central Park beckoned us to the Petrie Cafe at the Met.  The setting was perfect - cooled from the mid-day scorcher, but the wide windows to the courtyard presented the tall green shade trees and the Central Park scenery as if we were immersed in it all.  Here, desperate for vegetables, I had an early summer bounty salad of asparagus, peas and fava beans, and four glasses of NYC tap water.

Eataly - A surprising number of our first choice bistros were closed for the July 4th holiday, but we finally found one good option open.  The Italian food emporium is a huge warehouse of Italian groceries and food purveyors - shelves of pastas, aisles of olive oils, butcher, dairy shop, cheese, incredible espresso, a gelato store...and five sit-down restaurants, each with a specialty - fish, meat, vegetarian, pizza and pasta.  We opted for the pasta - actually the pasta opted us, as all the others were fully booked. A simple antipasti dish - pickled cremini, roasted beets (with crumbled pistachios - yum), shaved asparagus with pecorino, and olives - started us off.  Then, we enjoyed two simple pasta dishes - an earthy, rich ravioli stuffed with prosciutto and gran padano in a brown-butter sage sauce and a lighter, fresher cavatelli with cherry tomatoes and arugula.  All al dente... A good bottle of Italian red - what was it again? - completed the meal and the day.

Bagels - Poppy seed with cream cheese and a coffee from the corner take-out.  It was excellent - and so great to be amidst all the New Yorkers getting the same order as they headed to work.

PJ Clarke's (not worth the link) - Not surprisingly a food disappointment, but we weren't there for the meal, we were there for the New York Harbor view in the Financial District. Some sailboats heading out and Lady Liberty standing watch were five-star all the way!  My Maine lobster roll was bursting with sweet meat...but the iced tea was weak, the coleslaw bland, and the service abhorrent.

Paradou - After a walk on the High Line - my new favorite place in New York, though my recent discovery of Madison Square Park with the luminescent sculpture of a girls' face (Echo, Jaume Plensa) is a close second - we ate dinner in this little bistro in the Meatpacking District,  We ordered our most decadent meal of the trip, and it was hit and miss.  An insanely rich, curated foie gras was incredible - served with macadamia nuts drenched in Lillet! -  started the meal.  This was the highlight of the meal.  A medium rare steak was well cooked, but a poor cut- chewy and fatty.  However, its accompaniment of potato gratin -  finely slivered potatoes, layered with a nutty cheese and a dash of allspice - was heavenly.  The tiny pile of greens on the plate added lightness, but its lackluster flavor was not worth the effort.  A nice bottle of Cote du Rhone kept it all very French in the elegant courtyard garden.  While the overall experience was quite pleasant and warm, the meal itself was merely fair and tepid. Next time, I think I'll go back to exploring the West Village.

Bon appétit!

Radio City Music Hall, New York

A blogging tear

I seem to be on a blogging tear here...:-)  Did you notice? ;-)

I'm just so happy to have a normal weekend.  Five of the last six weekends have been taken up by travel for work and for play - to Philadelphia, Guatemala, Disney World, Philadelphia (2), and Portland.  I forget what kind of toll that takes, until I'm finally sitting down again on a lazy Saturday at home.  Laundry, blogging, cleaning, cooking, a walk and cultural fair with Dear Daughter, seeing friends, and a swim.  And my mind is quiet and happy, my thoughts take a leisurely stroll around my head.  Time to relax, time to reflect.  And a little blogging.  Oh, little blog, how I've missed you.  xo.

Portland, Oregon

During my recent business trip to Portland, Oregon, I especially loved my visit to the Mercy Corps offices. These new digs for the $200m international development and relief non-profit are just incredible. The LEED Platinum design is so inspiring. I especially loved this central staircase in the middle of the building. A central lightwell fills the space fills the atrium and surrounding offices with natural sunlight. And it's inviting views, central mid-air bridge, and easy access invite one to choose the stairs (A small elevator was tucked away in a corner). It's frame was a brushed steel, warmed by reclaimed wooden planks. Just gorgeous.  

Mommy Track

I am a working mom to a wonderful 6 year-old daughter.  My job is demanding - in responsibility, in scope, and in hours.  My typical business trips are to New York, London, Mumbai, South Africa, Geneva, and Silicon Valley.  I often work with heavy hitters from the business, non-profit, and philanthropy sectors.  You might recognize some of their names - they appear in some of your major media outlets, or at the very least are highly Google-able.  I absolutely love my work.

But recently, I think I have come face-to-face with the limits of my ambition.  Travel is not nearly as attractive as it once was.  I am equally tempted by staying home.  In the last few weeks, I've been approached by some executive search firms for a few stunning opportunities.  One, in particular, based in London, was especially tempting.  But after a lovely lunch and talk with Dear Headhunter, I decided not to pursue it.  No one is more shocked than I am.  I have always, always wanted to live and work in Europe.  This job, in particular, was a dream. But ultimately, I realized, I do not want to travel more, or work longer hours, or be farther away from my family and support network of friends and routines.  Most of all, I did not want to give up precious time with my daughter or outsource my Mom responsibilities anymore than I already do.  I've Mommy-Tracked myself.

It's an unusual Mommy Track, to be sure.  I have not quit my job to stay at home (I couldn't anyway - no one else around here makes an income).  I did not cut back on my hours or shift positions.  I remain a pretty plugged-in, high-powered, intense-as-ever professional - and I intend to keep it that way.  I still have goals and dreams, including somehow, one day to perhaps live again in a great European city, even for a short time.  But at this time, these hopes, dreams, and ambitions have run smack into to my desire to be a mom - and recently, right here, for now, perhaps forever -  I chose the Mommy Track.

Quetzal (Patzicia, Guatemala)

Not my usual fluff and fold (mature audiences only)

Today I heard a woman yelling for her life. She was drowning in a pile of trash at the Zona 3 Guatemala City dump. I was walking along the embankment, some precarious twists and turns, steep gravelly inclines, and death defying drops to the dump, which lies in the ravine of an old river. We were walking within the small shantytown of impermanent shelters made of corrugated metal and cardboard boxes where families live, eat, sleep, laugh and make love (or sometimes just have sex, or sometimes just suffer sexual abuse and molestation). These people live in extreme poverty. The way they make money is by picking, sorting, and salvaging pieces of junk within mountains of trash at the dump. Some people call them recyclers, a more dignified way to name their toil. But the truth is picking through the small pieces of salvaged metal sold for pennies hardly seems like dignity.

As we walked, we heard shouts for help. "Que paso?" we yelled down into the ravine. And as she shouted her predicament, her voice trembling with fear, we called for help. Some piles of trash float on top of water, and it is hard to distinguish between the trash piles on sold ground, and the floating ones that act more like quicksand, pulling one under the filth. She had begun to be pulled under, in imminent danger of drowning and being buried alive by trash. It makes me shudder.

Our colleagues ushered us out of the way, while some young men half-ran, half bounded down the steep hillside to go and save her. She was pulled to safety by several of these men and a rope. A few minutes later the bomberos that had been called were running down the hillside to help, and check her for injuries. I later learned that this woman, was a member of the Health and Safety Committee of these informally organized collective of wastepickers. She goes house to house, talking about the dangers of the dump, and practices for better safety - like working in groups of 2 or 3 in case of mishaps. But her husband had recently died; she had six kids. She was desperate. Extreme poverty drives one to desperation for survival which leads to horrific unimaginable choices. 

This story is no exaggeration In this very same dump in 2008, a trash avalanche buried 40 wastepickers. Their bodies were not recovered, many of their names were not documented. This disaster orphaned several many children, including a family of six siblings living in a shack adjacent the dump, who lost both their parents in the trash avalanche.

Certainly, witnessing such a thing can put life and our problems into perspective. Is it a luxury problem we’re dealing with? Or is the problem on the order the magnitude of a pesky mosquito? Are we truly desperate? Or merely dramatic?

Along the way, an older women from the community association held my hand on the steep inclines, as I struggled with my unsure footing and irrational (now seeming all the more rational) fears of the steep paths. After the event, as we called the police, and then were ushered away from the scene, I did not see her again. She was an angel to me today, and I send her my gratitude out here in cyberspace.

The Sartorialist. Like.

I'm a big fan of The Sartorialist blog by Scot Schuman.  This photographic blog is focused almost entirely on street style - pictures of people on the streets of New York, Paris, Milan, London, Seoul - who just look good.  Sometimes it's about the fashion, but more often it's their straight-up personal style.  The people are regular people - ok, beautiful regular people - just walking around the city minding their own business without a hair stylist, a make-up artist, or a studio, and The Sartorialist just captures their individual essence expressed just so in what they wear.

I'm especially drawn to the way he captures street style on the fly like this beautiful woman with her bike in Milan or this smiling woman with her checked coat walking across a square in Florence.  I'm completely enamored with these funky, casual threads in the NY winter chill.  And the shades of blue with Dansko clogs and warm woolen socks in Soho.  I love this older man whose individualistic style just seeps from his pores  - or is it eccentricity?  Either way, he totally owns it.  I also like this young scruffy handsome with his portrait collar.

Wanderlust

I'm a traveller. I recently tallied that I've been to a total of 46 countries since my first trip abroad when I was 15. Another travelling friend said she aimed for the same number of countries as her age - so I can slow down my pace a bit to reach 50 by 50. In fact, I wouldn't mind slowing down the pace - visiting a bit more of the US and cutting down on grueling long-haul flights. But no doubt, I have a little wanderlust in my blood. As soon as I land in a foreign place, my senses are stimulated, and the adrenaline kicks up. And while I talk about being 'done' with the travel, I think I'd still like to get to Egypt, Vietnam and Turkey and so many other places, so I suppose as long as I have the opportunity I'll keep getting on planes.

This NYTimes article, 41 Places to Go in 2011, is an annual feature, and got my blood pumping again. A few picks tickled my fancy...

Tlemcen, Algeria; Oualidia, Morocco; and Tozeur, Tunisia were three destinations on the list. I don't have a particular favorite, but I'm drawn to northern Africa by its geocultural junctures of Islam, Africa, the Middle East, the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea.

Salonika, Greece I've never been to Greece, and I'm not a beach person, but I've lately found myself thinking it would be an awfully nice vacation - sailing, exploring pristine and remote coasts, ancient history and amazing food. Enough to do to accompany a good chillax. Direct flights from London on BA...

Erzurum, Turkey I'm not psyched that Erzuram is a winter sports capital, but this mention reminded me that I'd like to go to Turkey sometime, and definitely go to Istanbul and well beyond.

Koh Samui, Thailand My good friend Michele's move to Thailand next month makes it all the more likely that I'll try to go there for a visit. Bangkok for sure - been there, love it! - and this place is called a lower-key Phuket, with a focus on wellness and food (no need to say more...). And when in Thailand, hopefully get to Cambodia or Vietnam.

And closer to home... Fogo Island, Newfoundland I'm finding "remote and rugged" more and more appealing these days (if it can't be Paris). This place sounds blissfull. The NYTimes tagline? An art colony blooms on remote and rugged shores....Take me away, I'm yours.

Other destinations in the article are appealing in some way or another  - Milan, Melbourne, Estonia, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, the San Juan Islands - but these just captured my imagination. As for the US, I totally want to explore more here...and don't know where to start. Perhaps some national parks, New England or the Blue Ridge mountains....

As for me for real, the current travel I've got possibly teed up - New York and Guatemala in February, London, Geneva and...Disney World (!) in March.

Beach in November

Fenwick Island, DE

The beach in the off-season is so wonderful.  I love its vast expanses - ocean, sky, sand in the clear, crisp air - that are not nearly as noticeable among the summer throngs/thongs.  I like its different rhythms - games inside, not outside; and warm foods, instead of iced ones.  I like how the glow of the house lights beckon you in the 5 o'clock darkening evening.  And that the broad winter-night starry sky meets the horizon, a scene not seen from the city or the even the wooded camping trip.  I like the empty streets, the closed seasonal shops, and even the boarded-up houses that suggest you have it all to yourself.  I love how the ocean - as it always does - draws you to its edge, but, this time, not in.