After a week in Mexico and a stint in Italy, the jet-setting is at its end. Not that I'm particularly fond of flying... United managed to lose my backpack for an entire week and my flight back to Holland was cancelled. Huh. But who cares! I had a great time shopping in a random mall near Verona and the bus to the Marco Polo airport is actually quite efficient.
Mexico:Mayan Ruins at Chichen Itza
Thousands of resorts in the Cancun area, and I manage to stay at the same one as my supervisor and another colleague (50+). LOL, it was great actually. Big pool, beautiful weather, nice beach...and the all inclusive food/drinks were decent! Nod to the Pina Colada and the catchy theme song (just imagine twenty people in silk shirts wiggly wildly). A field trip to Chitchen Itza broke up the week nicely. There are some crazy acoustics in these Mayan temples!! You clap...and the echo sounds like a bird! No kidding!!
Italy:
Venice is ALL tourists! It's ridiculously overpriced, but the canals and depliated buildings are so charming. Rob and I ventured there without a map, and we when we stumbled upon St. Mark's Square, our response was..."this is it?!? are you sure?" Then we decided to brave the Italian motorways (passed on the SMART car - LOL) and headed towards Padua + Verona. The traffic at Padua was so bad we decided to not head into the city centre...and went to the IKEA instead. HAHAHA. European IKEA has almost the same stuff as the Canadian one. Maybe better cappucino. Verona was nice, very quaint! The we headed toward Lake Garda - amazing views and delicious seafood. We followed the recommendation of the aimiable lady at Hotel Conca D'Oro and visited the mountainside curch, Maria della Corona, and the magnificent Sass Pordoi and Tre Cime de Lavarado passes in the dolomite mountain range. Check out the photos!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/mary.g.lee
Beware: You'll want to get on a plane today!
Netherlands:My second course over in Rijswijk...nice to see some old friends and refresh my geophysical knowledge base!
Painting workshop in Amsterdam...Picasso anyone! ha ha...
New Orleans:
Culture hub of the states... after an excellent jetlag recovery session at the luscious W Hotel, I was ready for a day of exploring! Maybe half the businesses are running back in the touristy bits of the French Quarter. It was Sunday afternoon, and there was a parade! most people on the streets just assumed...well, it's Nawlins...there's always a parade. Actually, a German told me it was to celebrate OKTOBERFEST! Sweet! I've got a sizable collection of beads that I didn't have to work for now. ha ha. New Orelans is buzzing...Live jazz on the blazing streets, the rich, bold flavours of fresh cajun seafood, and just super friendly folks. Great place for a geophysics conference. LOL, I think I went to the House of Blues 4 times that week...