Above and below [Three unusual hotels]

Greetings all!

Recently a friend asked me if I heard about the hotel in space – so, of course, I had to look into it!

Below are 3 unforgettable hotel options for you!

1) Space may no longer be the final frontier – the world’s first luxury space hotel, Aurora Station, might be welcoming its first guests in 2022. The price to see 16 sunrises in 1 day? $9.5 million dollars! Deposits are being accepted but, I regret to inform you, four months of reservations are already sold out!

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/aurora-station-luxury-space-hotel/index.html

https://www.orionspan.com/first-four-months-sold-aurora

Image from https://www.orionspan.com/first-four-months-sold-aurora

2) What is cool in the world of hotels right now? Well, if you want to sleep on ice, the ICEHOTEL is waiting for you in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi – 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. The hotel has an ice gallery and an ice bar that serves champagne. Is it any wonder that the hotel is a popular destination wedding venue? 

https://www.icehotel.com/

 

Image from https://www.icehotel.com/ice-galleries/

3) If you ever wanted to join Jacques Cousteau in his underwater adventures, why not stay in a luxury undersea hotel in the Maldives?  Muraka hotel’s site says, “The first of its kind, in a class all its own. Introducing THE MURAKA at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. A triumph of modern design and technology, the two-level residence features integrated living above and below the ocean.”

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/maldives-underwater-residence/index.html

http://www.conradmaldives.com/stay/the-muraka/

 

Image from http://www.conradmaldives.com/gallery/

Which hotel is your favorite? Drop me a line!

Lazy Sunday [Hope you like the poem I wrote!]

In English:

We are impatient for the week to end,

To pause the hustle and the worry riot-

What bliss it is to linger on in bed!

What happiness it is to hear quiet!

In Russian:

Нетерпеливо ждем конца недели,

Чтоб никуда совсем не торопиться-

Какое счастье нежиться в постели!

Как сладко тишиною насладиться!

Hope you are having a great weekend! Drop me a line! 

Three strands of happiness – which one is yours? ["The Blue Zones of Happiness" book by Dan Buettner]

Greetings all!

I am currently reading Dan Buettner’s book "The Blue Zones of Happiness." I am enjoying it even though I do not agree with all of the author’s recommendations. Certain things, however, make a lot of sense - for example, short commutes contribute to increased happiness! The book discusses a lot of happiness-related topics but in this post I want to share just a couple of interesting points to pique your curiosity!  

What is happiness? In his book, Dan explains the three strands of happiness and provides guidelines on how to combine them "into a resilient form of well-being." His "three P’s" of happiness with countries that scored high in each category are: 

1. Pleasure (enjoying life – how often did you feel joy in the last 24 hours?). Costa Ricans have captured the idea of enjoying life and being happy in the country's unofficial motto 'pura vida' ('pure life').
2. Purpose (living out your values and passion). In Denmark, "people are more likely to pursue jobs that they love doing, work that fuels their passions."
3. Pride (being satisfied with your accomplishments in life - how will you rate your life on a scale of zero to 10?). Success in Singapore is "traditionally summed up as the 5 C's: car, condominium, cash, credit card, and club membership."

Note: According to the book, Boulder, Colorado, is the happiest U.S. community!

Of course, the best life weaves all three strands of happiness together. Which strand is prevalent in your life?

TAKE THE TEST: https://apps.bluezones.com/en/happiness

Dan’s lessons in happiness are also based on his research on longevity. Here are the best “Power9” practices to add happy years to your life (the pyramid is from his TedTalk): 

1. Move Naturally: Walk as much as you can. No gym is required unless you really enjoy it.
2. Purpose (adds 7 years to your life!): Why do you wake up in the morning? Is there something meaningful in your life beyond work?
3. Downshift: What can you do to stress less?
4. The 80 Percent Rule: Stop eating when you are 80% full.
5. Plant Slant: Eat less meat.
6. Wine @5: Drink alcohol moderately and regularly with friends and/or with food.
7. Belong (adds 4-14 years to your life!): Do you belong to a faith-based community?
8. Loved Ones First: I think this is self-explanatory!
9. Right Tribe: Does your social network support healthy behaviors?

I think some of these practices are not that difficult to incorporate. How about we walk (1) to a restaurant to share a glass of wine (6) and some vegetarian appetizers (4-5) with friends (9) and chat about happiness (3)? Spells "happy hour" to me!

Useful Resources:

More information (including more tests): 

https://www.bluezones.com/blue-zones-of-happiness/

Watch Dan’s TedTalk on longevity (VERY INTERESTING! transcripts available in several languages): 

https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100

Watch Dan’s Megyn Kelly Today interview: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZWufWmOvJI

What did you think? Drop me a line!

“…Take half the clothes and twice the money” [Travel Tips: Basic Packing]

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money." - Susan Heller’s saying is a great travel packing advice!

Greetings all!

I actually enjoy packing and unpacking. Packing is exciting because of the anticipation of the upcoming trip, and unpacking reminds me of the trip I just took. Today’s post is on basic packing, and I will cover interesting packing ideas at another time.

My two basic packing tips are to use travel vacuum/space bags and to pack light!

My absolute packing must is a travel space bag set which is a fantastic space-saver! I use the Ziploc brand (sold in many stores in the U.S.) because it seems more durable than the others I have tried.

No longer you need an actual vacuum – technology has advanced in the past couple of years and you just roll the bags to compress them! The new bag looks like a large sandwich bag with an extra perforated area on top. If you are going to have multiple hotel stops on your trip, you can decide in advance what to wear daily – then pack several days’ worth of clothes in a travel bag, label it with the dates, and unpack your bags in order. I have not tried this method myself but I can see its benefits, especially if your destination has consistent weather. 

Carry-on vs. checked luggage? Carry-on means no wait at the baggage carousel and no chance of baggage being delayed or lost. The disadvantage, besides the limited space, is rolling it with you at the airport and getting it into the overhead bin. Always check the airline luggage rules for dimensions and weight. For example, Air New Zealand currently allows carry-on luggage not exceeding 15 lbs (7 kg) - so even with a very light carry-on weighing 5 lbs, you can only pack 10 lbs worth of stuff. If you have a smartbag, beware that certain types are being banned by many airlines. 

https://www.orbitz.com/p/info-other/airline-fees.htm

http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/airlines-banning-smart-bags

If you do check in your luggage, make sure you have one change of clothes in your carry-on. Keep all important items (documents, money, jewelry, medicine, etc.) in your personal item as some airlines might require you to check your carry-on at the gate. 

http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/gate-checking-separates-passport-from-traveler

Here are my packing basics:

·    Clothes and shoes: Do not overpack, bring layers, and make sure your items mix and match well and do not wrinkle.

·    Purse and daypack: I really like Pacsafe crossbody anti-theft purses, as well as Baggallini purses. I highly recommend a daypack or a medium-size backback for your daily activities. There are lots of new devices to keep your documents and money safe (Neck/Shoulder/Waist Security Pouch, Hidden Pocket Wallet, etc.). Foldable nylon mini bags are handy for souvenir shopping.

·    Toiletries: Make sure to pack in TSA-approved-size containers! Some hotels do not provide conditioner or lotion and, of course, if you are staying in an Airbnb, you usually bring or buy your own. Bed Bath and Beyond and Target in the United States have amazing travel sections so check them out!

·    Medicine: For peace of mind, I bring a mini pharmacy with me with the hope that I will not need it. I pack prescription medications, hand sanitizer/antibacterial wipes, Neosporin, aspirin, cold medicine, stomach medicine, antibiotics, sleeping pills, water bottle (I like the ones that can hold hot/cold liquids), band-aids, etc. I always bring activated charcoal which might help treat a food poisoning. I also like Arnica cream for sore muscles and bruising.
         - Check for anything unusual about your destination: in Peru you might
           need high altitude pills, and in India - something to calm your stomach.
           

·    Miscellaneous: Sunglasses and sunscreen, a hat, a scarf, a light umbrella. In hot and humid destinations, I wrap a damp bandana around my neck to keep cool and prevent heat exhaustion. There are other similar products (e.g., Kool Tie) but I prefer a bandana (so many pretty options!) as I can also use it as a hand towel in the washrooms.

https://www.rei.com/product/807983/carolina-mfg-paisley-bandana

https://www.rei.com/product/691097/kafkas-kool-tie

Just writing about packing makes me excited about preparing for the next travel adventure!! What are your basic packing tips? Drop me a line!

The versatility of a cucumber cup [Hipcooks cooking class and recipe]

Greetings all!

I recently went to a cooking class with Hipcooks and what a fun experience it was! Hipcooks has several locations and provides hands-on cooking classes, all of which end with a dinner party! The classes have creative names and great menus. You can sign up for such fun classes as Pho Sure! (Vietnamese), Dim Sum and then Some (Chinese), Veni, Vidi, Vici! (Italian), J'aime, Paris! (French), and many more! Depending on the class, you might also learn some knife skills (click on the title below the image to watch the video):

Knife Skills with Hipcooks: The Draw

You can sign up for Hipcooks classes and check out their blog here: 

http://wh.hipcooks.com/class/description/

http://blog.hipcooks.com/chill-out-hipcooks-gazpacho-on-a-summer-day/

My culinary adventure was in Cocktails 3: Summer Infusions. We had a small group of less than 15 people and 2 amazing and enthusiastic instructors! We diced and sipped and cut and blended - and the food was incredible! We learned quite a lot of interesting recipes but the one that I particularly liked was Gazpacho in cucumber cups – here it is:

(Image courtesy of Kyrsten at Woodland Hills Hipcooks)

"Cucumber cups make a cute shot glass, and a lovely vehicle for appetizers. An English cucumber will yield 8 – 10 “shot glasses” – just hollow out with a melon-scooper, leaving enough on the bottom to support the filling.

1 large or 2 small super luscious vine-ripe tomatoes
½ cucumber (only peel if the skin is inedible)

¼ red onion
1 red pepper
1 small clove garlic
olive oil
balsamic or red wine vinegar
splash of Tabasco
Sea salt

Roughly chop and then blend all the ingredients with a little bit of ice-cold water to get the process going. Can be made in advance and chilled! Option: serve with toasted bread rubbed with a garlic clove and drizzled with olive oil."

What I really liked about cucumber cups was their versatility: you can fill them with gazpacho, crab or shrimp salad, a spicy salsa, etc. And the (chilled) cucumber cups are also perfect to serve tequila or gin! Summer party, anyone?

What will you serve in a cucumber cup? Drop me a line!

Airplanes and flowers [Dubai Miracle Garden]

Greetings all!

Airplanes and flowers are rarely thought of together but Dubai Miracle Garden managed that by getting into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2016 for the Largest flower arrangement/structure in the shape of an Airbus A380!

The Garden was wonderful to visit – the first word that popped into my mind was 'whimsical.' And then I was simply amazed how this feat was accomplished in the desert - Miracle Garden indeed! 

The garden is easy to get to by taxi, and it is definitely worth visiting!

I hope you enjoy the photos I took, and at the end of the post you can find links to additional information and photos.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/94999-largest-flower-arrangement-structure

http://www.dubaimiraclegarden.com/visitor-photos/

http://fit4brain.com/8713 [in Russian; many lovely pictures]

What did you think? Drop me a line!

Going in blind, or How does the color white smell? [Wine tasting challenge]

Greetings all!

I recently went to an amazing blind wine tasting challenge at Total Wine. This wine store has great wine selection and offers interesting classes. By the way, Pasadena location is now open!

We had 8 wine tastings in pairs:  2 glasses of white wine followed by 2 glasses of red wine and then another round. The challenge? Figure out the variety and the producing region.

Image from http://www.totalwine.com/

The bottles were hidden, the wine was poured from a decanter, and the only known was the color of the wine in the glasses. Our instructor Jon was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and funny – and he made the whole experience an enjoyable one. We had 4 white and 4 red varieties to choose from, and they were all mainstream ones - Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Malbec for reds and Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc for white. Guessing where the wine came from was much tougher (by the way, the winning answer was “from Total Wine”)!

Sommelier exam is definitely no joke! WATCH VIDEO HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKNmcCCE15E

Our class was much longer and much more fun!

Here are the basics (the 4 S’s) of the wine-tasting:

• Swirl – Look at the viscosity, shine, and color. Did you know red wine has over 20 hues? Nice for vocabulary-building!
• Sniff – 80% of our sense of taste is actually in our nose.
• Sip – Aha!! This is the moment we were waiting for!
• Spit – I am not a big fan of this one unless I am not enjoying the wine.

The “Sniff” step was fascinating! We sniffed a wine and tried to see what color it brought to mind. Do we ever think of colors having a smell? Or of smells having a color?

For example, for one of the red wines, we smelled – surprise! – red. Was it cherry red, or more plum red, or maybe it was actually more black than red? Black cherry, perhaps?

A lot of smells are connected to memories, and, of course, everyone’s nose is different. Some people have very sensitive noses and can distinguish a variety of interesting and subtle smells. Someone smelled a hint of green pineapple – now, I do not think I have even seen a green pineapple so I need to go on a field trip to a market and see if I can spot and sniff an unripe pineapple! Tasters also got petroleum, red rose, and honeysuckle, among other smells.

Someone actually smelled mud. Well, what color did the mud smell? Did it smell chalky? Or rich red? Was it dry or was it more like earth after the rain?

Another fascinating tidbit was that Old World (Europe) wines are usually crafted to pair with food, whereas a wine from New Word (Americas, Australia, etc.) can be enjoyed by itself. I am sure there are exceptions but it worked pretty well in our class. We tasted a French Cabernet Sauvignon, and I could not really imagine enjoying it without food. This was one of the few wines in the class that warranted spitting. We then moved to a Central Coast Californian Cab – and yes, I could (and did!) enjoy it without any food!

I definitely learned a lot about wine in this class but I also paused to think how we usually rush through our experiences and do not pause and smell the mud.

Did you try any interesting wines recently? Did you smell any interesting colors? Drop me a line!

Tap-dancing with a broom Or Kitchen sink as an art object [STOMP performance at Pantages]

Inventive, creative, funny, and noisy – this is STOMP!

(Image from http://www.stomponline.com/)

Greetings all!

A friend and I just saw STOMP show at Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, and what a fantastic experience it was! My friend took this picture just before the performance!

The theatre playbill describes STOMP as “a unique combination of percussion, movement, and visual comedy.” It was all that – and more! The theatre was full to capacity, and everyone seemed to have loved it!

SEE VIDEO HERE: https://youtu.be/e0je_rGH1ts

The very talented crew of eight used garbage cans, newspapers, tractor tire inner tubes, brooms, kitchen sinks and more in a show that had elements of tap-dancing, martial arts stick fighting, and tribal dance, mixed up with several comical pieces.

STOMP was originally created in 1991 in Brighton, UK. It has been running Off-Broadway since 1994 and won multiple awards. Now there are several STOMP companies touring the world to sold-out audiences. They also performed for 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremony.

Great show for all ages! If you have an opportunity, go see STOMP!

What would be your household choice to have your own STOMP moment? Drop me a line!

John Grisham, dried apricots, a tennis ball, and airport security lines [Travel Tips: Airport/in-flight]

Greetings all!

Today I will share my tips for airport/in-flight basics. I like this quote by American politician Al Gore, “Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo.” Waiting in the airport and being on the airplane for a prolonged period of time can indeed be a tiring and uncomfortable experience.

Here are my airport/in-flight necessities to make the experience more comfortable:

- water

- scarf and cardigan/sweater

- antibacterial wipes (also use them to wipe the tray table / remote)

- travel pillow

- books/Kindle/magazines (many hotels have a travel library where you can leave your books or you can share them with your fellow travelers)

- headphones (some airlines charge for them)

- toothbrush/toothpaste

- deodorant

- extra pair of socks (I have not yet tried compression socks but many people like)

- hand lotion

- chapstick

- aspirin, chewing gum, and cough drops

- earplugs/eye mask

- sleeping pills if you can sleep on the plane

- tennis ball for muscle stretches/massage especially if you are prone to getting tight muscles. If you can, get up/do some stretches. Getting a quick massage at the airport also helps!

- and, of course, food/snacks!! 

On a flight from China many years ago, I was seated in the very last row so by the time the food cart approached me, there were not that many choices. I asked for dessert but it looked like a science-class experiment ready to wobble away on its Jell-O legs. Fortunately, I had a granola bar!

Lesson learned, and now I always bring snacks with me for the airport and the flight. Also, I am not a big fan of airport food, and it is not cheap. 

My brown bag might contain:

·         boiled egg

·         sandwich (ham-and-cheese does the trick) or boiled potato

·         apple or banana

·         cookies or chocolate

·         nuts

·         protein/granola bar 

Here is a funny story that recently happened to me at LAX International Terminal as I was going through a security line. I never before had a problem with a hard-boiled egg wrapped in foil. This time, I was asked to unwrap the foil. But wait, they were not done with me! I was asked to take out a pack of antibacterial wipes from my travel tote because they contained “water.” How many antibacterial wipes would I need to yield an ounce of water, I wondered, but was not curious enough to conduct that experiment right then and there!

Finally, I was asked to open my luggage and get a book out onto the tray. As I recall, it was one of John Grisham’s, and I asked very politely why - since I thought the book was rather dry. The security officer said something about it being bulky.

As I was putting everything back, I could not help but notice that many people had to get out various snacks that usually pass unnoticed – I was wondering what threat a bag of dried apricots could possibly present, except maybe a cavity?

How do you make the airport wait/flight comfortable? Drop me a line!