GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING at the de Young Museum of Art, San Francisco

Poster for the Girl with a Pearl Earring Exhibit at the de Young Museum, San Francisco

I read the book. I saw the movie.  And now I have seen the painting!  The Girl With the Pearl Earring by Vermeer is the focus of a wonderful exhibit of Dutch paintings from the Mauritshaus Museum in Amsterdam which I saw recently at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. Billed as the Dutch Mona Lisa, the girl (who has never been identified) looks over her shoulder out of the painting, seeming to invite the viewer into her world.  The exhibit includes dozens of remarkable paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch masters, organized by theme–a room each for portraits (formal and informal), landscapes (featuring huge skies over the flat water and land), still lifes (with flowers in brilliant detail), scenes of everyday life, and more. The paintings document the richness of Dutch life in the 17th Century.  The exhibit ended at the de Young on June 2nd but travels to the High Museum in Atlanta for the summer and will be at the Frick Museum in New York October 22, 2013–January 19, 2014.  See http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/mauritshuis for more information about this exhibit.

Tower Viewing Area

After viewing the painting exhibit and an accompanying exhibit of prints from the same period–exquisite etchings, drypoints, engravings and mezzotints by Rembrandt and others–we went to the museum cafeteria for a delicious lunch, which we ate on the enclosed outdoor patio facing the sculpture garden.  I had cream of parsnip soup, which was very tasty.  Everything on the menu had a Dutch theme–to coordinate with the Mauritshaus exhibit.

Pond in front of the de Young Museum (viewed from Tower)

One of the special features of the de Young Museum is the Tower and its 360 degree view of San Francisco from its 9th floor viewing area.  It was a beautiful sunny day, so after lunch, we took the elevator up to the top of the tower and got a spectacular view of the city.  Immediately across the plaza in front of the museum we could look down the living roof garden of the science museum.  These two museums, which share a parking garage under the plaza, are among the jewels of Golden Gate Park.

Sculpture and Shadows at de Young Museum

The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park are the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.  To find out more about these museums and their many exhibits both permanent and temporary, go to www.famsf.org.

TURKEY: Ephesus and Sights Around Selkuk

The Ancient Greek City of Ephesus, Temple of Hadrianus

Until I visited Turkey, I never realized the breadth of the ancient Greek and Roman empires.  A little over a year ago, after spending a week in Istanbul for a writer’s workshop, I signed up for an add-on tour of Ephesus and other sights in Selkuk, plus a trip to the ancient city of Hierapolis and thermal baths of Pamukkele.  We flew from Istanbul to Izmir (the ancient Greek city of Smyrna) and boarded a bus from there to Selkuk, about an hour’s scenic ride along a river valley to the south. There we spent two and a half days, jam packed with sightseeing.

View of Selkuk from the path to the Cave of the Seven Sleepers on Mount Pion

Our first day included a visit to the Temple of Artemis, the caves of the Seven Sleepers, the Ephesus Museum (where many of the sculptures from the the ancient city are displayed), the House of the Virgin Mary (said to be the final resting place of Mary the mother of Jesus), and finally, a tour of the ancient city of Ephesus itself, which is just two kilometers outside the city.  Our English speaking guide narrated as we went.  Here are some selected photos from our first day:

Statue on grounds of the House of the Virgin Mary

Beginning of the mile-long ancient road through the city of Ephesus.  We walked from from parking lot at the top of the hill, down through the city to what had been the ancient port, now silted in, passing the remains of temples, fountains, public baths and lavatories, amphiteaters, a library and more along the way.

Facade of the Library of Celcus at Ephesus.  It initally housed 12,000 books.  The first human settlements at Ephesus were around 6,000 B.C. and it gradually grew into a city/state.  Alexander the Great conquered Ephesus in 304 B.C.  In the Augustan period of the Roman Empire, Ephesus was one of the most important cities of Roman Asia.  The library was built after the death of Celcus, the Roman Governor of Asia Minor, who died in 114 A.D.

Ephesus Museum in Selkuk.  Sculpture from one of the fountains at Ephesus.  In ancient times three rivers provided water at the rate of 100 liters per second.  Water was used for public baths and lavatories, fountains, and for daily use.

Ephesus, upper amphitheater, the Odeion, with the Stoa Basileios (the Royal Walk) to the left.

Mosaic floor, Ephesus

A report of our excursion to Pamukkele will be in a future post (8/5/2013).
My other posts on Turkey:
4/8/2013  Room With a View
8/27/2012  Ephesus: Temple of Artemis
8/20/2012  Letter from Istanbul
8/6/2012  Istanbul: A Food Lover's Delight
5/28/2012  Istanbul:  Museum of Innocence

PATAGONIA: Spectacular Scenery and Abundant Wildlife

View from Hosteria Pehoe in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

The trip to Patagonia in 1995 is among our top family vacations ever. At the extreme southern tip of South America,  Patagonia is a land of rugged seashores, jagged mountains, enormous glaciers, and vast, windy grasslands. It is half the size of Alaska with just 1.5 million inhabitants. As the climber Yvon Chouinard, founder of the Patagonia outdoor clothing line, says, “It is a mystical, almost imaginary place.” 

Rounding up the cattle

Some people in Patagonia live on remote estancias, or ranches, but the majority reside in Punta Arenas, a city that had its heyday in the era of clipper ships.  In those days, before the Panama Canal was built, ships traveling from Europe and the east coasts of the Americas had to go around the southern tip of South America to reach San Francisco and other west coast ports.  Victorian style architecture still dominates Punta Arenas.

Magellanic Penguin

Punta Arenas (which means Sandy Point in Spanish) sits on the edge of the Straits of Magellan, the connector of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We flew into the Punta Arenas airport and then rented a car and drove north to the spectacular national park, Torres del Paine, passing few cars or signs of habitation on the way.  We did stop at a penguin colony and walked the paths between the nesting burrows of Magellanic penguins, who go there each Austral summer to raise their chicks. (See my post for June 20, 2011.)

Mustering the sheep on the Patagonian plain.

The broad plains bordering the Straits of Magellan provide rich grazing for huge herds of sheep and cattle and nesting grounds for millions of birds.  As we drove north we were awed by the giant flocks of flamingos, endless nesting geese, and vast array of small birds, all in the midst of laying eggs and rearing their young.

Torres del Paine is truly one of the last Edens on Earth.  Towering granite peaks rise above ice cold lakes, and flocks of giant Andean condors soar on the updrafts created by the ever present winds that collide with the mountains.  On the grassy slopes below the peaks, herds of guanacos, once in danger of becoming extinct, are now multiplying. Patagonia is a wildlife photographer’s paradise. I used a few of the photos we took of guanacos, foxes, penguins, and rheas (South American relatives of ostriches) to illustrate my book South American Animals (Morrow, 1999.)

Guanaco, Torres del Paine

In Torres del Paine we stayed at Hosteria Pehoe, a comfortable and somewhat rustic hotel with a spectacular view of the “torres”, or towers, of rock that are the iconic image of the park.  The hotel where we stayed when we went to Chile’s Atacama desert four years ago, the Tierra Atacama, has recently opened a sister hotel in Torres del Paine called the Tierra Patagonia.  Here’s a short (one minute) video from Tierra Patagonia that gives an overview of what you can expect when you visit the park.  It brought back many memories for us.  We’d love to go back someday.  Perhaps we will!

BANGKOK, THAILAND: Buddhist Temples, the Flower Market and More, Guest Post by Cynthia Watters

Bangkok, Thailand.  Temple.

In April, my friend Cynthia Watters and her husband Chris took a trip to China and Thailand.  While their visit to Bangkok turned out not to be exactly what they planned, it ended up being a good end to a full and exciting trip.  Here is Cynthia's report:

Ariyasom Villa Hotel, Bangkok

Following a great 17-day Viking River Cruises trip to China, we were to spend a week in Thailand and Cambodia with a guide plus car and driver through Kensington Tours.  By the time we flew into Bangkok, I was feeling under the weather with cough and sniffles and regretting the decision to see more of Asia while we had the opportunity.  We were met by our lovely guide Pukki and driven to the Ariyasom Villa Hotel in Bangkok.  The hotel was delightful—24 rooms in villas situated in lush palm tree gardens with a lovely pool and an excellent indoor/outdoor restaurant with a charming, attentive staff. 

Bangkok.  Temple.

The next morning we embarked on a full-day tour of Bangkok with Pukki and the driver.  We saw Buddhist temples, the flower market, had lunch in a boat on the river followed by a river tour in a smaller boat, and ended with a massage.  In the evening we attended a dinner theater with traditional Thai dance.  All lovely, but I was tired. 

When Pukki arrived the following morning, she recommended a trip to the hospital rather than the day’s tour.  It seemed our hotel was one block from what she said was the best hospital in southeast Asia, the Bumrungrad International Hospital.  Add medical tourism to our itinerary.  The clinic at Bumrungrad was fantastic: excellent, courteous care and relatively inexpensive fees, all from very competent Thai staff: a little over $400 for two sets of visits, involving a generalist and a kidney specialist (I had low sodium), chest x-rays and two rounds of blood tests (I had bronchitis).  The waiting rooms were filled with international patients.

Our guide, Pukki.

To reach the hospital we walked the short distance along a narrow street with vendors or driveways along both sides, which reduced navigation to one lane, with autos and motor scooter or motorcycle taxis weaving in and out.  Along the way, our route took a shortcut through the parking area for an overhead hospital dormitory, in which an outdoor “restaurant” was preparing and serving noodle meals for staff for about $1. The aromas were wonderful!

Pool and outdoor restaurant, Arivasom Villa Hotel

Since the doctor wanted to see me back in two days, we cancelled our scheduled flight to Cambodia, where we had intended to spend two nights and visit Angkor Wat, the extensive temple complex.  Instead, we relaxed at our wonderful hotel, with staff asking solicitously how ‘Madam’ was feeling and the owner recommending what I might eat (a lovely vegetable soup—on the third night I actually had the version with prawns added!)

Dining room, Ariyasom Villa Hotel

It was a lovely time despite my illness.  Now we need to go back to see Angkor Wat and more of Thailand as well as to luxuriate again (in good health) at the Ariyasom Villa Hotel!

NEPAL, Shrines, Temples and Breathtaking Mountains: Guest Post by Owen Floody

Nepal. Machhapuchhare Sunset

In March, our friend Owen Floody went to Nepal.  We have known Owen ever since he and Art were graduate students at Rockefeller University in New York.  Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. Here is a short reflection on his trip to Nepal and a few of his amazing photographs. 

Buddhist Stupa at Boudnath

Owen's post: I've been celebrating my recent retirement with a flurry of exotic trips.  On most, I've either assembled or joined a group of like-minded travelers, the latter by signing onto a trek advertised by a well-known specialist in all things outdoors.  Heading into one of these, one can worry about the group being too large and the experience too impersonal.  But is it possible to experience the opposite, to be overdosed with individual attention in an overly small group?

From L to R, Annapurna South, Annapurna Fang, Annapurna One

My most recent trip, an early-March camping trek to the Annapurna Sanctuary, in Nepal, certainly put this possibility to the test.  This was advertised as a group effort, but I was the only one to sign on and the outfitter generously elected to run it anyway.  So it was just me and my entourage of 7 (no sedan chair or gun bearer, but 1 guide, 1 cook, 2 kitchen boys, and 3 porters) hiking up and down the trails on the way to and from the Machhapuchhare (at an elevation of 3700m) and Annapurna (4100m) base camps.  Now there were advantages to this arrangement: If the pace or anything else wasn't to my liking, I had only myself to blame.  At the same time, I found it to be a peculiarly isolating experience and more than a bit anachronistic--not the happy medium that I will shoot for in the future.

Rhododendron of the season

The weather on my trek was a bit of a mix. It generally was clear in the mornings, so that it was then that I had my best mountain views.  On most days, it was cloudy much of the rest of the day and rained and/or hailed for at least part of the afternoon.  Not surprisingly, it was cold at the highest altitudes--39 and 34 degrees F at night, and that was inside of the "teahouse" rooms they put me in when snow at the base camps prevented camping.  The early spring weather also affected the rhododendron crop.  I had timed my trip partly to see these, but did not realize that the different colors bloom sequentially.  So rather than the array of different colors that I had hoped for, I saw pretty much only the deep red that is pictured.  It's great, to be sure, but perhaps not absolutely ideal for the color-vision-limited.

Durbar Square, Kathmandu

Of course the high point of this trip was the mountain views, especially of Machhapuchhare and several of the Annapurnas.  More of a surprise to me was my enjoyment of my walking tours, some guided and others self-guided, in Kathmandu and other former royal cities or attractions in the Kathmandu valley.  Each city's Durbar (royal) Square was chock-a-block with temples, as might be expected. 

Buddhist shrine encountered on walking tour of Kathmandu

But throughout at least the older parts of these cities, it seemed impossible to walk for more than a few yards without stumbling across a Buddhist or Hindu shrine or temple, all still in use, many very attractive, some also very old. If and when you visit Nepal, I'm sure that no one will have to tell you to seek out and enjoy the mountains.  But also spend some time walking the streets of old Kathmandu, and enjoying the shrines, temples and other buildings.

You can find out more about Owen's recent travels and see more of his amazing photos in his May 6, 2012 post about his trip to northern Tanzania.

HAWAII’S BIG ISLAND: The Kona Side

Kona, Hawaii, King Kamekameha Heiau

A little over a year ago, in April, I was in Hawaii with Art, who was attending a conference.  The conference was in Kona, on the Big Island (Hawaii), and while Art was at his meetings, I spent part of each day doing my own work, and part enjoying the local sights. This was our third visit to Kona and I was looking forward to its more relaxed pace of life.  Most people think of Kona as a jumping off place for trips to the volcanoes or the luxury resorts up the coast, but I find that the town has its own charm.

The main street of Kona, along the waterfront, is full of shops for tourists, but it also has several spots of historical interest including the first church in Hawaii, founded by Christian missionaries.  I love the museum across the street from the church where you can learn the history of the island both before and after Captain Cook.  On a previous visit I happened to be at the museum when a docent was giving a tour.  Afterward, when I went outside, a group of little girls were having a hula lesson on the front lawn.  This time there were no dancers, but I noticed that the palm trees had signs warning tourists to “Watch Out for Falling Coconuts”!

We were staying at the King Kamekameha Hotel and from the balcony of our room on the fifth floor I could see the ocean peeking though the palms of the courtyard below.  On a small island just beyond the hotel was a traditional Hawaiian structure, honoring King Kamekameha.. In front of the hotel, colorful canoes were stacked up by the beach and in the late afternoon each day I watched local rowing teams take the long canoes out into the bay to practice their racing skills.

We always wake up early when we go to Hawaii because of the time difference, so our routine was to get breakfast at our favorite eatery, Buns in the Sun (located in the nearby shopping mall and selling delicious sticky buns), and then take a walk in the old airport park.

Community Garden at Old Airport, Kona

Some years ago, the airport for Kona was enlarged and  relocated several miles to the north.  The old airport, along the beach just at the edge of town, has become a park with picnic tables on the beach side of the former runway (now a parking lot), and a walking/jogging trail on the other.  The land along the walking trail has become a community garden and half the fun is admiring all the different plots and the variety of plants. The other entertainment is watching the cats.  The park is filled with feral cats, all looking quite happy and healthy because of the “cat ladies” who bring food every day. 

Kona Farmer's Market

When I am in Kona I also enjoy walking along the waterfront, doing a little bird watching, and sometimes catching sight of dolphins in the bay.  The other wildlife seen all over the island are the mongooses.  Brought to Hawaii originally to prey on rats in the sugarcane fields, they have proliferated and become pests. On one of my afternoon walks I went the farmer’s market where people sell locally grown coffee, macadamia nuts, papayas and other tropical fruits, homegrown vegetables, exotic looking plants, and souvenirs.  That evening we at at Jackie Rey's, a local restaurant recommended by a Hawaiian friend, where we had a delicious meal.

On one of Art's free afternoons we treated ourselves to a game of golf--the challenge being to avoid hitting the ball into the ocean or piles of lava. When the conference was over we headed back to Los Angeles.  I had enjoyed my third visit to Kona.  To read about what we did in Hilo at the beginning of this trip, go to my April 30, 2012 post, Hawaii’s Big Island: The Hilo Side.

TANZANIA, African Wildlife Up Close, Guest Post by Owen Floody

Playful lion cubs, Lobo area of Serengeti National Park

In December 2012, our friend Owen Floody went to northern Tanzania, traveling with his wife, several friends, and a guide.  They stayed in tent camps and lodges and visited Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, the Seronera and Lobo regions of Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and the Ndutu region of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, going out each day to view the scenery and wildlife.  Owen’s photographs of the trip are superb—he is more than lucky—he is a talented photographer.  In 1971, when Owen and my husband Art were graduate students studying animal behavior, they were partners in a field research project studying Uganda kob (a kind of antelope) in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. (See my post for May 16, 2011.)  Owen has been back to Africa several times since then. Here is a short reflection on his most recent trip and a few of his amazing photographs. 

Elephant calves playing in the mud, Tarangire National Park

Owen's post:  In my opinion, a worthy goal on wildlife-oriented trips is to be grateful for what you're given, the latter being something that will never be completely under your control.  But it is nice to have the luck required to eliminate any suspense regarding your success.  On our most recent trip to northern Tanzania, in East Africa, we were so lucky that even our bad luck turned good.  

Stormy skies over the African savannah, Lobo area of Serengeti NP

I had timed this trip to avoid the rains, but this was not to be: We had some rain on most days, sometimes turning park tracks into what looked more like canals.  Fortunately, this did not faze our vehicle or guide, who somehow managed to keep us moving through everything but the aardvark burrow.  And in return for those rains we got two unexpected benefits.  One was the wonderful stormy skies that help to set off some of my favorite landscape photos. The other was the absence of potentially choking dust.  Initially, we greeted a short stretch of dry days with pleasure.  Quickly, however, we noticed the tracks becoming dustier and dustier, and found ourselves wishing for a return of the rains.  In moderation, of course.

Yawning hippo, Ndutu area of Serengeti National Park

Our luck also was good in all of the more obvious ways.  We saw great sights, including leopards lounging in trees, elephant calves and lion cubs at play (not with each other, unfortunately), lions and vultures cleaning up a kill, and hippos defending their spaces.  In some cases, we even were the first to come upon these sights, and so had them completely to ourselves for part or all of the time.

Cantankerous vultures, Ndutu area of Serengeti National Park

Though I speak of luck, I know that part of this is skill--mainly on the part of our guide--and another part attitude.  The broader your interests, the "luckier" you will be.  We were happy to see members of the "big five" (lions, leopards, elephant, buffalo and rhino--deemed to the top of the list for most tourists) but were as delighted to see attractive birds and vegetation. 

Lounging leopard, Seronera area of Serengeti National Park

Fortunately for us and others like us, there are lots of great birds out there, and you're likely to see many of them if you make the effort.  And the vegetation is least likely of all to get away from you (and surest to benefit from any rain).  Sometimes you'll even find small creatures hiding in or near it. 

I encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities and plan your own safari.  Be sure to make at least some of your own luck. 

Baobab tree with giraffe in distance, Tarangire National Park

Owen's trip began and ended in the town of Arusha, in northern Tanzania.  The group stayed in three places during the two week trip:  Lobo Wildlife Lodge in Serengeti National Park; Ndutu Safari Lodge in the southwestern Serengeti area near Olduvai Gorge; and Ngorongoro Farm House in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.