Greencaviar Travel

The scent of ‘ tropical fruits, sugared oranges, lemons, and limes, redolent with lightly exotic mountain greens ’ filled the air.  No, it was not from the fresh Santa Cruz mountain air, but of the ‘Volcano’ candle I left in the car. The weather had been strange this winter – unseasonably warm, followed by rain and cold.  The sun finally came after a week of rain.  It was late February, and the Santa Cruz Mountains felt crisp.  I was driving on Highway 17 heading towards the Monterey Peninsula.  I’ve always taken this same route to take the kids to Santa Cruz boardwalk during spring break or play tour guide to relatives and friends to Monterey and Carmel.  This time, I had one purpose in mind – to get some sand from the beach in Carmel, so I could copy the candle display at the specialty shop where I bought the ‘volcano’ scented candles. Leaving the Santa Cruz Mountains and the town of Capitola behind, I passed a stretch of farmland, slightly naked...

I would not normally write about places I haven't seen or things I have yet to experience.   But I was inspired to write, and motivated to achieve my next goal by Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses.” I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone … ---  ---  ---  --- Though much is taken, much abides; and though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield . After a very difficult year,  I’m even more intent on my next journey – to run the Paris marathon, the Bay to Breakers and the walk of St. James in Galicia, Spain.  It may be overly ambitious to run the Paris marathon in April this year.  But  I’ve been spending my time and energy pre...

For the month of November, I wanted to write about the places closer to home. I started to write about the Monterey Peninsula including Carmel by the Sea (my favorite place to go to escape and be alone with my thoughts), but I’m unable to put much thought into writing these days. I’m taking a hiatus from writing about exciting travel destinations due to a life-changing event. I’m going to embark on a journey of a different kind.

I didn’t mean to gloat about the Giants winning the World Series , but…“Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!” Yeah, baby! That’s the sound of the San Francisco Cable Cars honoring the World Champion San Francisco Giants.  WS Champ Giants Parade @ Market & Powell It is difficult to write about one’s hometown without sounding cliché. My wanderlust has yet to prove the truth to the cliché, “the grass is greener on the other side or anywhere else.” I may have been to many places that have taken my breath away, but upon my return, I have always found a renewed appreciation for the San Francisco Bay Area. Of course, it is not difficult to embrace the joy of living in San Francisco. San Francisco has so much to offer - its beautiful topography and mild climate; diverse neighborhood of North Beach, Chinatown, Castro, Haight-Ashbury, the Fillmore, the Marina, the Richmond and Sunset Districts, Nob Hill, Mission Dolores; arts and culture through its museums– the Museum of Modern Art...

 The Parliament Building - A view from Castle Hill  My visit to Budapest seemed to have passed in a flash. First of all Budapest was not part of the much awaited Eastern European Study Tour program. It just so happened to be on the itinerary of this substitute trip, so I did not have time to check out any travel guides on Budapest. My introduction to Budapest was merely gathered from the requisite briefing given by the tour director prior to arriving at the next destination. Our tour director stated, “The Danube River flows through Budapest which divides the city into 2 parts – Buda and Pest. The name of the city, literally, comes from combining Buda and Pest. Buda is hilly and the older part of the city while Pest is flat and the newer and commercial part of the city…” Our tour director also mentioned on various occasions that her 2nd favorite city (2nd to Paris) is Budapest. Since Budapest was often compared to Paris, and I was particularly familiar with Paris, I thought I ...

According to the Salzburg Tourist Bureau, “ In October, autumn finally arrives in Salzburg …” Visitors to Salzburg are advised to bring normal clothing and dress in layers, and prepare for the worst (rain and temperatures under 10 degrees Celsius) and hope for the best (sunshine and temperatures over 20 degrees Celsius) for both levels are possible in October . Fortunately, we were greeted with the latter upon our arrival. In addition, we had the best hotel in Salzburg during this whole trip and surprisingly good dinner, and a glass of very good wine for less than 2 euros. A precursor to what’s in-store for us the next day.      Salzburg is small cosmopolitan city. It is a very picturesque city with fascinating architecture, and rich cultural heritage. As the birthplace of Mozart, Salzburg prides itself on being a destination for music. Every year the Salzburg Festival draws Mozart fans and music lovers in droves. ‘The Sound of Music” also put Salzburg on the map....

I was familiar with Prague, so I thought . I stumbled upon a TV program showing a video of Bedrich Smetana’s second symphonic poem in ‘Ma Vlast’ (My Country). The video opens with small streams swirling through the Bohemian countryside and widens towards the city of Prague. As the tempo rises , the video zooms in on the city of Prague. The city separated by the river Vltava and linked by the many bridges , the historic buildings , the imposing monuments , the castle and the towers that rise over the city provide a stunning backdrop to Smetana’s music . Conversely, the music tempo matches the mood and provides the background to stunning cinematography. I was so intrigued by the music and cinematography that I recorded the program and played it over and over . Prague, Czech Republic is steeped in history that to talk about Smetana’s music in terms of cinematography is deceptively simple . Maybe the sou...