Farsighted Fly Girl

I blame it on Montreal. Roaming through  the streets of La Belle Ville means encountering all manner of circus arts, from stilt walkers in front of stores to aerialists on the streets. It's not the home of Cirque Du Soleil for nothing. I think such close encounters with high flying performers lodged a lot of curiosity in my mind. So when the notion of doing something unusual for Leap Year arrived what did I do? I signed up for flying trapeze class. I don't think this sort of learning environment would have seemed fun to me before Montreal.  I have not thought fully about all the details, I've just decided to do it.  After all, Chicago Trapeze School' s  motto is "Forget fear. Worry about the addiction."  Right. So have your travels inspired you to do anything you wouldn't ordinarily do?

I was greeted with a variety of expressions when I visited Kaua'i. Besides the famous Aloha, which claims many layers of meaning, from hello to love, I learned that Hawaiians pour a lot of thought into saying hello. It's all about the Aloha spirit, which literally translates to sharing breath and being present in the essence of life. From younger Hawaiians, I heard, Pehea 'oe?  which means how are you or what's up?  I was also  honored with a traditional greeting of  gently pressing foreheads together, which threw me off guard initially. Now I understand that according to traditional Hawaiian beliefs, words and bones contain mana  or energy and spiritual power. The frontal bone of the forehead represents the true self and pressing your forehead against some else's opens the true self to each other. Most memorably, I was instructed in the Hawaiian "Shaka" greeting by the imitable Dickie Chang , above.  Dickie is a popular TV show host and a membe...

So I love tea. I won't have anything to do with coffee but tea? I have a special cabinet crammed with dozens of boxes and I never pass up a chance to sample a new flavor.  When the opportunity to explore a tea tasting trip arrived, you know I was there. A handful of countries  are noted for excellent tea. No, I didn't visit India, China or Japan, this trip unfolded on a frosty winter day in Chicago, at the Loose Leaf Lounge. I've experienced all sorts of tastings, from chocolate to conch but I never tried a tea tasting. There were many categories to choose from, including tea for health, unusual teas and intro to teas but I couldn't pass up dessert teas.  Just look at the teas we sampled above. I don't know about you but names like Chocolate Indulgence and Almond joi  are tempting just from the names alone. Our guide was the genial Lester, owner of the Loose Leaf Lounge. He informed us that his original idea was for a Kool Aid Cafe but I'm...

One of the most memorable experiences that I had in Montreal wasn't the Jazz Fest (sorry Cubano) or the impressive art and foodie scenes. I was actually blown away by "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From The Sidewalk to the Catwalk" at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art.  I expected to spend a few hours browsing through this traveling exhibit but I ended up devoting six straight hours to this exhaustive, multimedia, display of  the art of fashion.  Walking up the black carpeted steps with Jean Paul Gaultier's name in lights, I didn't  quite know what to expect. This didn't look like any museum exhibit I had ever witnessed. How right I was. This was clearly unlike any museum show, fashion or otherwise. I was greeted by a talking mannequin of Jean Paul himself, shown above. He spoke in his own voice, in French, English and Spanish. The mannequin's face flashed with expressions and movements. It was eerie but fascinating all the same...

The sheer force of passion and pain that pushed through Etta James' voice transcended genres, eras and cultures. She was known as a singer's singer who could sing rock, r&b, blues and jazz with equal ease but Etta earned the title of blues diva long before the term became popular.  She believed in the honesty of blues music. I'll never forget when I first saw her perform live in Chicago, she declared, "Blues is life. People who don't like the blues are phony people." That may be a highly generalized statement but that was Etta, she didn't mince words or hold back what she felt. And neither did her music. Her voice could roar with authority, it could purr with sultriness. Whatever she sang, from covers like her signature "At Last" which was a Glen Miller tune, to the songs that she wrote like "I'd Rather Go Blind,", she stamped them with the undercurrent of sass and ache in her voice and made them her own. With four Grammy Awar...

Montreal is an art-loving city. That's part of the European flavor of this town. Museums, art galleries and public art fill every block. But Montreal also hosts lots of theater, fashion, concerts and fashion so you almost need a separate visit just to view the art. Rushing about from place to place, I was amazed at how much art I encountered.  My first art encounter was the painting above,which was actually in the press offices for the Montreal Jazz Fest. I was immediately struck by its energy and 80s vibe. I stopped to snap this sculpture on my way to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.  The carvings remind me of Native American art. I know this just looks like two twirly pipes but it is an art installation, I checked. It sits near the Montreal Harbor and I pondered the pipe and water connection. Monuments and statues are popular in Montreal. They litter the streets and parks like shiny ornaments. This piece decorates the entrance of a hotel in Old Montreal...

It's the new year and I can't think of a better place to kick it off than Peru.  The country that invented ceviche holds a special place in my heart but I quickly discovered other Peruvian dishes to love as well. Stepping into the steaming South American heat is a welcome relief to Chicago winter weather but I had to settle for the cozy warmth of Between Peruvian Cafe. My hubby and I journeyed there for our first dinner with the social dining network, Grub With Us.   Between the sultry ambiance, the tasty dishes and the gregarious group of diners, many of whom were Peruvian, it was almost as fun as munching a meal in Lima. The decor grabbed me as soon as we walked in. The space is covered with crimson walls, sheer curtains over banquettes and interesting lighting as you can see above. I stared at these quirky chandeliers for  quite awhile, trying to figure out what they were made of. They  really supplied the restaurant with a sexy, mysterious vibe. ...