Residence Inn By Marriott Palo Alto-Mountain View

... for getting lost, which meant I would have to leave my hotel at 4am, in full dark... Hmmm... A woman alone, trudging through a dark maze of alleyways in a city she does not know well, with 28 or so pounds on her back...? Not exactly my ideal way to conclude this journey. I mean, knowing self-defense is great and all, and Venice is a pretty safe town, but still... No thank you! I'm not that much of a risk-taker. Thankfully I remembered that there are (expensive) water ...

... than a clothes line for drying wet clothes.) I remember when I was in Spain with my parents in 2001 I ended up not wearing half of what I brought, and determined to bring less next time around. (Yes, you really do only need 2 prs of undies and socks.) So this is it! All of my clothes, except for the outerwear, fits in the large packing cube -- very convenient! What else am I bringing? Lots of toiletries (the hardest ...

... I've made plans to stay with a CS member in Malmo, Sweden for 2 nights. I've also made plans to meet up with fellow Virtual Tourist members in Malmo for dinner and drinks on Saturday night. Can't wait to meet all these new acquaintances! After Malmo on Feb. 2nd & 3rd, I think I'm going to fly to Stockholm, via Copenhagen, since the flight is cheaper than the train fare ...

... child needed to be held to a different merit system. Some children it was a big accomplishment for them to sit still for 30sec. and needed to be praised for that, knowing it would take many "baby steps" to "expected behavior" to sit silently and listen the entire time. Another important lesson to learn is that we do not need to always be teachers but also listeners. That when we take the time to listen, children are also filled with profound wisdom and blunt ...

... roads, public art and fountains. the people are well dressed and wear disinterest upon their faces. Uphill and encroaching upon the downtown is the sprawling Chinatown. A wave of trendy tea bars are sprouting among the nick-nack stores and older-style eateries where bronzed ducks hang in the windows. In the public square a hundred games of cards are going on and petty change is exchanging hands across improvised cardboard box tables. A few higher, slower games ...

Krystle and Jon spend the previous night at my house. We arrive at SFO at 8:50am and are checked in by 9:40. We managed to get seats next to each other for this flight and the connecting flight from NRT (Narita, Tokyo, Japan) to BKK ...

... or ideas you have. And, of course, I'd love to hear any general travel ideas you and updates on what's up with you. I know a lot of you are planning travels in the next year. I'd love to hear what you're planning and try and meet up at some point if it's feasible. At some point I will visit Bill Haverty in Thailand and Chris and Ann in New Zealand. I'm guessing those will both come after the ...

... through the community, and the drums and tin cans and buckets and sticks and slides and shakers and grooves and rattlers gained force, and the momentum of the afternoon crescendo enveloped the daylight and burned with an energy that would light the taut drum skins aflame. And the music of the carousel got lost in the fervor of the beat. This was San Francisco. San Francisco was ice cream from a corner store and a can of candied yams from ...

... he spent most of his time in Solitary. The areas of the Island that were open were a little restricted as they are 'seismic retrofitting', something that happens with all old buildings all over the City, as every now and then they have an Earthquake that tends to destroy quite a lot. All new buildings have to be built to withstand earthquakes, so most of the City stands on rubber pads to allow movement. The hills are steep and the best way to get around is on the cable cars ...