Iberian Adventure:
Paella, Palaces and Plenty of Port
(Dispatch #1) Story and photos by Tom Weber
ere
I sit, tapping my fingers anxiously on the armrest of seat 16A –
like castanets accenting the beat inside a café cantante
(singers cafe) – aboard TAP Airlines flight Eight-Six-Niner as
I wing my way towards Lisbon,
the first leg on a six-day, whirlwind Insight Vacations' (Insight) journey
around Portugal
and Spain.
Once down on terra firma, I'll marry
up with another intrepid "band of merry media," 29 fellow
journalists and photographers from around the globe invited by Insight
to sample a portion of its Iberian Adventure itinerary.
The Insight "road map" guarantees
a healthy dose of the sweet life along two sides of the Iberian Peninsula:
a doce vida in Portugal – via Lisboa, Sintra, Azeitao, Évora
and Monsaraz – and la dulce vida in Spain – via Seville
and Cordoba.
Pack a bag and join me and my intrepid
"band of merry media" aboard a business-class legroom motor
coach as we experience firsthand the "art of touring in style"
on Insight's Iberian Adventure, an adventure sure to be filled
with "signature" moments, fine dining and restful nights in
five-star hotels.
For complete information on Insight's premium
and luxury-escorted itineraries, including the Iberian Adventure and
112 other journeys throughout Europe, just click HERE,
or call toll free 1-888-680-1241, or contact your travel agent.
Uh-oh, the seatbelt light just came on.
We're making our descent into Lisbon. Look out Iberia, here I come!
Let Tom know what you think about his traveling adventure.
* * * * *
Feedback
for Destination Bosnia: Inside Sarajevo's Tunnel of Hope
Spent time in Sarajevo in the fall of 1973…beer was excellent!
--- David
* * * *
Hi Tom,
I must say, you're photographs are always amazing. They are
top notch. You bring so much class to Traveling Boy. It's photographs like yours
that make me want to go out and do my own traveling. Please don't get tired
of sending us your amazing adventures. It's such a delight for the soul.
--- Raoul, Whittier, CA
* * * *
Hi Tom:
I'm also an American living in Italy. I've read with interest your blog and
articles. I'd like to speak with you regarding residency and citizenship for
Americans in Italy as you do seem to have a great deal of knowledge on all of
these subjects. Would it be possible to give you a call on the phone? If so,
please let me know how to reach you. If not, I can ask my questions via email.
Thank you!
--- David
* * * *
Hey Tom – Wow! Love those photos – they are so super
that they make me A) Want to start eating NOW. B) Go there myself. C) See all
that pristine beauty that looks so restful and peaceful. Great story, superb
pix!!! Bravo!!
--- John, Los Angeles, CA
* * * *
Feedback
for Destination Southwestern France: Saint-Émilion
Good job, Tom, and timely info. St. Émilion is in the
list of places Jim Hayes and I will visit in September 2014. If we get the chance,
we will exploit your experience to enhance the trip!
--- Bobby Harper, Dameron, MD
* * * *
Feedback
for Vicenza Walks – Monte Berico
I lived in Vicenza for 4 years in the U.S. ARMY from 1963 to
1967. A wonderful place to explore. Palladio’s works are amazing. Have
been back twice since and find new places to visit. My favorite is MONTE BERICO
where I have some wonderful photos of my family.
--- Dr. Albert Pizzi, Hanover, MA
* * * *
I liked the new TB particularly the Vicenza article that took
me back as a youth when we lived in Naples and travelled up there for a baseball
tourney (U.S. Military Bases dependent schools played each other.)
Took me back to the plaza.
--- Bill
Feedback
for A Canterbury Trail (Sutri)
Very interesting note. I have wedroned which route the early
pre-Christian and Christian pilgrims travelled to Rome from England. Is it still
possible to travel the Francigena trail?
--- Pawel
You can find out more info on walking tours of Via Francigena
at this site: http://www.compagniadeicammini.it/en/.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting..
Tom
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Good article, enjoyed reading it. Saved your recommended sights
for future use.
--- Dardenne Prairie, MO
* * * *
You're going to be great at this Tom. Congrats.
--- Donna Vissa -Montreal
Three Musical Pilgrimages: Mozart, Grieg and Hendrix
Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
could read and compose music, plus play the violin and piano, when he was
five years old. Born into a musical family in Salzburg, Austria (then the
Holy Roman Empire), he had a unique ability for imitating music, which first
became evident when he recited a musical piece by simply observing his father
conducting a lesson to his older sister. This led to a childhood on the
road, where the young prodigy performed before many of the royal courts
of Europe.
Relaxing at The Inn at Laguna Beach
There is nothing like sleeping in an ocean-front room
and awakening to the sounds of waves crashing against the sand. It is
one of the finer things in life. And it is exactly what I experienced
recently on a memorable getaway to The Inn at Laguna Beach. The adventure
began when a friend I pulled off the 5 Freeway in Orange County and took
SR 133 south nine miles through winding lush hills and wilderness areas
to the ocean.
Two "MUST SEE" Truly Spectacular Places
in Europe. Here's Why.
The Han Grotto and Culzean Castle. As the name
of my Traveling Boy feature is "Travel With a Difference," it's
important to me to always bring you offbeat and unusual tourist places around
the world you may not know about. These two fit that category to a T, and
they're absolutely worth a visit. One's in Scotland and one's in Belgium.
Culzean (pronounced CULLANE) Castle is located near Maybole, Carrick, on
the Ayrshire coast of Scotland.
Highway 49 Revisited: Exploring California's
Gold Country
In the 1840s, the population of California was only
14,000, but by 1850 more than 100,000 settlers and adventurers had arrived
from all over the world – and they came for one reason: gold. James
Marshall had discovered the first gold nugget at Sutter’s Mill in El
Dorado County, creating the largest gold rush in history.
Lake Charles’ Family-Size Low-Key Mardi Gras
The Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras in Lake Charles,
the second largest in Louisiana, does not need parents there to avert their
children’s eyes. This is family entertainment and children are very
much part of it. The main office of the Lake Charles CVB has costumes from
last year’s Mardi Gras but it also has figures to fascinate little
ones from country boys fishing for their dinner to alligators who have already
fed and are rubbing their stomachs.
Puerto Vallarta: Magic and Mayhem on the Malecon
So I heard that you could spend from dawn to dusk on
the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and never get bored and I thought,
"Okay, I'm up for that challenge." Well, maybe not the dawn part
– I'm not a morning person – so I had no problem leaving those
early hours to the joggers and those seeking an early start to catch their
red snapper for dinner.
Costa Rica's Green
Sitting at an umbrella table in downtown San Jose overlooking
the Plaza de la Cultura is like a page out of Hemingway's "The
Sun Also Rises." The plaza is laid out in a maze of stalls where
passive vendors sell sparkling silver jewelry by the trayfull, hand-carved
clay masks, colorful Guatemalan belts, area rugs, and hammocks perfect
for a midday siesta. Three men play an old wood marimba over the buzz
of the crowd while a steaming plate of Gallo Pinto (rice and beans) is
served to an elegant lady who was performing with her guitar...
Tahiti and Her Islands
Just their names (pronounce each vowel!) conjure up romantic
images: Tahiti Nui, Moorea, Bora Bora, Huahine, Ra'iatea, Taha'a. Her
people are gentle; the air, tiare-perfumed. Warm lagoons, majestic peaks,
tropical fruits from the land and bounty from the sea all tantalize the
senses. Paradise! As near as can be found on planet earth. And, in my
experience, the finest way to explore her is on a ship designed for that
single purpose.
Japan: Bullet Trains, Monkey Shows and Whale Steaks
Last month, I went to Japan for three things... Ok,
let me back up a little bit already. The #1 reason I went to Japan was to
visit my girlfriend, Yuki, and she will kill me if I don't say that, so
there it is. Hi Yuki! Anyway, so after that, reasons number 2, 3, and 4
were the following: I wanted to ride a bullet train, go to a monkey show,
and eat a whale steak. That's right. That's right.
Tim Robbins On His Road To Stardom
Award-winning Tim Robbins began his career on episodic
television. Robbins' film work, however, is what catapulted him into becoming
a major movie star including "Bull Durham" and "Mystic
River" for which he won multiple awards. Equally at home behind the
camera, he directed the riveting "Dead Man Walking." He is Founder
and Artistic Director of The Actors' Gang, which he formed thirty-five
years ago and has directed multiple provocative productions.
John January and Linda Berry Have Chemistry
Chemistry by its very definition is the spontaneous reaction
of two people to each other, especially that sense of mutual attraction
and understanding. This month John January and Linda Berry release their
new project, Chemistry 101 and together they explore a range and
depth of musical styles on both organic and physical levels. As a joint
labor of love, January says Chemistry 101 is pretty straight-forward.
NOLA: New Orleans, Louisiana
Mardi Gras, the French Quarter, the Garden District,
the streetcar (now a bus) to Desire, the jazz clubs, the beignets at the
Café du Monde and breakfast at Brennan’s come to mind when you
think of New Orleans. But that’s not all there is to this unique American
city, filled with treasures both culinary and cultural.
Samish Island's Modern Pilgrims
Skagit County is in the northwest area of Washington
where the majestic Cascade Mountains appear to the east overlooking the
fertile valley and a variety of crops. World famous tulip fields blanket
the valley and in the Spring when flocks of Canadian geese and trumpeter
swans can be seen. Bald eagles soar overhead year round and blue herons
stand proudly on the Samish Island beaches.
Remembering My Dad
My father died while I was roaming through Northern Italy.
He was 52. He passed away peacefully in his sleep in his home in Florida.
I found out about it at the American Express office in Istanbul three
weeks later when I opened a letter my brother sent me. This was 1970.
There were no computers, no smartphones, no Skype.
Monte Verità: In the Footsteps of Anarchy
Just as I reach the end of a squiggling, multicolored
path, an acorn plummets from an oak tree above me. It lands at my feet,
just as the path culminates at a mandala of Venetian glass, eight feet in
diameter. On the worn-out front lawn of Monte Verità, the Mountain
of Truth, this path, Chiara's Rainbow, evolves through the colors of the
spectrum – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and finally violet
– before arriving at the mosaic mandala where psychic energies supposedly
prevail. The falling acorn brings me to the present moment.
Leviticus 20:13 Sent by Tom of Pasadena,
CA
It all makes sense now. Gay marriage and marijuana
was legalized in the last election. Leviticus 20:13 states
"If a man lays with another man, he should be stoned..." We've
been interpreting it wrong all these years!
ere
I sit, tapping my fingers anxiously on the armrest of seat 16A –
like castanets accenting the beat inside a café cantante
(singers cafe) – aboard TAP Airlines flight Eight-Six-Niner as
I wing my way towards 
Let Tom know what you think about his traveling adventure.
