After a two week break from school... wham! I'm back in it up to my earholes.

It's October now. We went to Monterey, California, Labor Day weekend for a nice little getaway, improved greatly by the fact that it was about 75° there and about 105° in San Diego at the time. Got upgraded to a big suite at the Marriott. We visited the always wonderful Monterey Aquarium, which, take it from me, is the best in the world. Avoided Bubba Gumps and places of that creepy ilk, but had a truly marvelous dinner at Stokes, on Hartnell Street; had an unfortunate Gyro sandwich at a local Greek Street Fair, which made me vom.

Boy, Monterey was hopping. Those local tourists with their baby strollers were everywhere. Took an all-day drive east into Salinas County to the Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad. We briefly imagined ourselves living in the hill country around Monterey but then got over it.


Last weekend was my brother Lucien's birthday. He is living in San Diego now, so his daughters, Rohanna and Hari, drove up from LA with Lilah, Ro's 2 year old daughter. She was a lot of fun, especially at the zoo the next day. She really came alive at the turtles exhibit, which is kind of creepy. In addition to the normal turtles swimming around, they have some with really, really long necks, which look a little too prehistoric.



We've made 6 months of travel plans: Guatemala at Thanksgiving, Thailand and Hong Kong at Christmas, and Buenos Aires for spring break 2010. Woo hoo! Almost all of that is on air miles and Marriott points. Suck on that, American dollar!

Summer vacation 09

Dear Diary: Where HAS the time gone? Summer is long gone now, San Diego is starting to be chilly in the mornings and dark when I slink away from my classes each night. Anyway, Diary, we had a good busy summer, filled with all that traditional summer business like family visits and quick weekend getaways and summer school and work and such. I always hope for a big 4th of July barbecue somewhere but I think maybe I'm just hanging on to my childhood.

So in no particular order: Went to Lubbock for a July weekend sibling reunion (there's the Berrier men below) at my sister's house. Sandi and her husband, Ron, live right around the corner from the old Hayloft Dinner Theatre, where I once performed in the classic "Not With My Daughter!" It was fun to see everyone and meet my latest great-nephew, Cohen. Lubbock was as expected: quite hot and quite Texas-y.

That asparagus won't cook itself!

Hector & Steve & new great-nephew Cohen Lenhart. He still has the price tag on!


Also, Carlos and Vanessa Ramirez came from Kentucky for their annual visit with the bachelor uncles. We took them up to Santa Monica for one night and walked along the pier, went up to Griffith Observatory (jazzed up since I was there a decade ago), wandered around the 4th Street Promenade, shopped on Rodeo Drive. They are very fun kids; it's our annual opportunity to learn the latest fashion trends from the Midwest.

Carlos & Vanessa on Rodeo Drive



We also had the pleasure of attending nephew Jorge Ramirez's high school graduation in Chula Vista. Here he is with his big sister, Ericka. Are they movie stars or what? Each time a grad's name was announced, hundreds of Dominguezes and Ortegas and Escalanteses rose to their feet in a show of family pride. No such thing happened at my graduation, which I didn't even attend now that I think about it...


We did our annual August week at our time share in Palm Desert , where it was so hot that you could fry an egg on the top of my skull. Our Marriott Vacation Club there is getting more and more crowded with ... well, people... every summer so we have decided to throw in the towel on that tradition and trade for a more exotic locale. Currently awaiting news on our request for Aruba in August 2010. Will keep you informed, diary.




Hiking in Palm Desert

Las Vegas

New Las Vegas Shoes

We used to come here several times a year. I like to play the slots and Hector likes to lay by the pool and go to the spa. But the past couple of years it's felt like a real extravagance, so the last time was last summer for Bobby's fun 50th birthday bash.

So Mark and Arturo got offered 3 free nights at Bellagio as part of a Players Club promotion, so I called and they offered it to us, since we're members, too. That shows they are really trying to drum up business because there is no chance in hell that we gamble enough to get comps. We came in on Saturday and got a great corner room, 7th floor, pool view, big window above the jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. It often takes a little work to get a good room. Hector likes to pick out a Latino desk clerk for check-in, then proceed to become their long-lost best amigo. I love to see people breeze in and try to act like a hot shot at check-in. Nobody can shut you out like a Las Vegas front desk clerk.

I always have an eye out for who's in town; it's always fascinated me that foreigners seem to love to come to Vegas as much as [many] Americans do. Each time we're here there seems to be a particular country heavily represented, and this time it's the French. I mean, they are everywhere. I used to think it was really funny to see French people just at Paris Las Vegas, since it's such a garish American copy of the real thing, the kind of thing you'd think French people would just LOATHE, but they stay there. There's always many Mexicans and Asians here, of course, just like all over.

I hear how Vegas is really taking it hard in the recession, but there seems to be lots of people here right now, although the upscale stores here at Bellagio are deserted and MANY restaurants, even upscale ones, are offering good deals for 3-course prix fixe menus. We're seeing no shows this time. I just bought a pair of sneakers at d. fine downstairs and the sales clerks were all over me, like pigs on shit. By the time I left, they had pulled down half a dozen silk jackets off the rack, offering 40%! NO, 50% OFF!! It was like fleeing from the market in Marrakech.

Tonight we're eating at Aureole, at Mandalay Bay, tomorrow morning we head back home. I haven't won anything, Hector did pretty well at a 1-cent slot machine. The most you can hope for is to spend a bit less than you planned, that's my Las Vegas motto.

....................................................................................................................................................................

Post script:

Days later and we're home sweet home now. Our dinner at Aureole was good, but very inflated. Service was apathetic, except for the sommolier, who was charming. Can't say I'd recommend it. Eat at Joel Robuchon at MGM instead. Reminder: never book Las Vegas departure before noon.

San Francisco

Shopping in Chinatown

After our 2 Up With People houseguests moved on to continue their tour of the least interesting parts of America, Hector and I left for San Francisco. He had to work for a couple of days so naturally we stretched it into a longish weekend. Flew into Oakland, always the better alternative, and returned to the Renaissance Stanford Court, an historic old building atop Nob Hill. They've remodeled since we were there a year and a half ago and it's really nice. We got a comfortable corner room and settled into some intensive relaxation. Well, I did for sure.

We walked, did a small amount of shopping in Chinatown and environs, visited the wonderful De Young Museum, and ate at a few fun restaurants: L'Ardoise, a great French bistro on Noe Street, Scala at the Francis Drake Hotel, and our little Chinatown dive, New King Tin, at the corner of Washington and Waverly. In order to appear frugal to the Company, we didn't rent a car this time, just walked and took expensive cabs. There's so much to see on foot there's not really a need for a car unless we want to leave to go to Napa or Muir woods or somewhere. Weather: partly cloudy and breezy, just what one wants in one's San Francisco weekend.

Granada

Balcony View of Alhambra

Alhambra Courtyard


Carved plaster in the Alhambra

The Generalife Gardens at the Alhambra

As a break from luxuriating at Al and Marc's house, Hector and I drove up to Granada for two days. I'd heard a lot about this town, mostly the famous Alhambra, which is a restored palace, built by the Moors, who controlled Spain until the 13th Century. The drive through the mountains was spectacular, and Granada itself is quite beautiful. We stayed at another Room Mate Hotel, the Migueletes (115€ for a balcony room with a view of the Alhambra), situated on a narrow little alley off the Plaza Nueva, very centrally located.

There was some doubt that we would be able to get tickets without an advance reservation to tour the Alhambra, because it's very popular. And after hiking to the top of the mountain where it's located, we were indeed turned away in shame. So our hotel booked a group tour for us, we were with about 25 others, which was fine. We got a lot of historical background we wouldn't have touring it alone. It's an incredible structure, or series of structures, really, since it was changed and added to over the centuries.

The rest of our stay we walked around town and visited churches and museums and ate tapas and drank wine. Granada has a very large university so there was a definite college town atmosphere. All the restaurant workers were students, and there was no shortage of pot smoking backpackers. It's not a place I'd like to live, but it is fun for a few days.

Returning to Al and Marc's, we chose a different route that took us south to follow the coastline, which was dotted with little resort towns, full of sunburned British and German expats, looking very out of place. Not my cup of tea. We had a good seafood lunch at Nerja, then back to our mountaintop for more luxuriating until time to return to Madrid and home. Once back in Madrid we visited all the places we liked so much the first time. Adios.

Costa del Sol

Al and Marc's House: El Carligto

Ronda

View from the Hilltop

After 4 days in Madrid we caught the brand new high-speed train heading south. Oh, what a pleasure…clean, quiet, stress-free travel. Our coach ticket was 78€ each. 165 miles an hour and 2½ luxurious hours later we arrived in Malaga, which is on the Mediterranean at the Costa del Sol. We never got to see much of the city because we rented a car at the train station and headed immediately out to Al and Marc’s house, near a village called Canillas de Aceituno (trans: Olive Crossings or Olive Pits, depending on who you talk to).

I began to get a little concerned as our directions led us higher and higher up into the mountains. By the time we reached the village, I had already stopped breathing, and was hanging upside down from the ceiling. This fucking village is quite literally hanging on to the side of the mountain. Marc and Al met us at the village roundabout and proceeded to lead us around a series of twists and turns on a cliff-face dirt road just wide enough for a car and a half. After about 15 minutes we reached their property, perched on top of a summit facing south, toward the sea. They have a 4-bdrm house with pool and 500 yards away is a duplex with another 4 bdrms and pool. They are about to refurbish it into a luxury guest house so we snuck in before they start charging people. They are surrounded on all sides by hillsides of olive orchards and grape vines, although how anybody can pick grapes at a 45 º angle is beyond me.

We spent 4 luxurious days here at El Carligto (trans: the eucalyptus tree), sunbathing, sleeping late, drinking wine, and having long dinners. It was heaven. The four of us took a day trip to Ronda, a gorgeous little town built over a ravine so deep that I can’t even talk about it.

Madrid

Changing of the Guard

At the Plaza Oriente

On the Gran Via

Spiderman at Plaza Mayor

Well, we had a strange route. San Diego-Dallas-Miami-Madrid, but lucked into a full upgrade using VIP stickers or something instead of air miles… not sure how that happened, but more to the point, why doesn’t it happen more often? Incredibly, there are no Marriotts in Madrid so we were forced to actually stay someplace different. And pay for it. I stumbled online onto a charming little Spanish hotel chain called Room Mate. They are all small boutique hotels with that loungy minimalist look and basic amenities. Free breakfast and wifi and I loved the location of ours (Alicia 90€ a night)—smack dab in the center of the historical district at the Plaza Santa Ana. So we were happy.

I guess I expected Madrid to be like Mexico City: trashy, chaotic, obnoxious. But it’s just wonderful. The tourist area is spotlessly clean and the architecture gorgeous. Every day we walked miles around town, from Plaza Mayor to the Parque Retiro to the Palacio, it’s just a fantastic city for walking. We visited the Prado Museum, (celebrity sighting: Ethan Hawke) went rowing on the lagoon at Retiro, sat for hours at the Plaza Mayor to watch the flow of tourists and performers, and generally dithered until it was time for more tapas and wine. On weekends, thousands of local families stroll through the parks and plazas; it was extremely civilized. I’m smitten. We spent a couple of extra nights in Madrid at the end of our trip. The Alicia was booked so we moved to the eccentric, wonderful and considerably more costly (285€) Casa de Madrid. Check it out.

Sunday at El Parque Retiro

Catalina

Steve, Ron, and Sandi

I made my first trip to Catalina last week. Imagine living in Southern California 23 years and not going to Catalina! As the song says, it’s just 26 miles across the sea. Anyway, my sister, Sandi, was in town for a visit, so six of us drove to Dana Point, caught the ferry ($70 roundtrip each), and made a day of it. The ride over was fun-- an hour and a half, calm seas so there were no barfing passengers. We saw no whales, it’s a bit late for them, but we did see a huge school of dolphins surfing in the wake of the boat. It was just spectacular.

The view as you enter the harbor is the best one; it’s the famous one of the hillside and the old casino, now turned into a museum or something. Things were pretty quiet in town, but Ron, Sandi’s husband, knew the place well, so he was our guide. We had lunch at one of the cafes on the harbor, then rented a six-person golf cart ($60 per hour!) to circle around above the town for all the views. The botanical garden is a great place for a walk, heading up the hill through all the native plants to the huge Wrigley Memorial Phallus. More great views as we continued the drive around the top of the mountain above the town. Most of the island is controlled by the military so it’s only possible to see a small portion of it. We saw deer but none of the famous wild bison.

Back in town we stopped for a coffee and a stroll around the dull, touristy shops selling T-shirts and birdhouses. It’s odd, nobody mentioned it until later but it looked like everybody who lives and works on the island is Mexican. Where does everybody live? Surely not in the expensive condos and vacation homes. What do they do until all the tourists arrive in summer?

We caught the 7pm ferry back to Dana Point, drove an hour back home to San Diego, exhausted as though we’d swum home.

Waxahachie

Friday before last, I joined Hector after he finished working in Dallas all week. It was a shock to see how brown everything is this time of year. Our Marriott "Suites"was pretty ho hum. Friday night we had dinner with my niece and hubby, JAnne and Colin, at Mi Cosina in Highland Park. They're expecting a baby named Cohen Jacob Lenhart. Mi Cosina was absolutely squirming with yuppie blond couples and their kids with expectations.

Then we had dinner with Diane and Marc and his son, Michael, at another Mexican restaurant on Saturday night. Sunday, we drove down to Waxahachie to check up on all the family graves, of which there are many. Hector made a nice little arrangement of WalMart perma-flowers (plastic) for Mom and Dad, then we headed out to the sticks to visit my great grandfather, who is buried in a tiny 100 year-old cemetary called Greathouse. As always, the bored local teenagers had come through knocking over headstones, so we re-arranged the place a bit. Great grandad is hidden behind a tree so he was safe. Later we drove to Red Oak Cemetary and found Aunt Velma and her clan.

We had lunch at the 1886 Cafe, across from the Ellis County Courthouse (see photo). It was busy with all the families getting out of church. We drove around town a bit so I could show Hector, for the 500th time, all the houses I once lived in there. I made many original remarks about how much things had changed, and we returned to Dallas. On Monday, we fled back to San Diego.

Disneyland

Yesterday, Friday, Leslie and I snuck off and went to Disneyland for the day. She goes all the time with grandkids and such, and she has always had an annual passport. Hector and I used to go quite often, too, but I had not been in a couple of years. It’s always a thrill, walking up to the entrance gate. I find I always want to start running, just like the 6 year-olds. It was a gorgeous day and since we got there early, we rode a bunch of rides quickly before the crowds made their way back toward Frontierland and New Orleans Square. Got a 10 am drenching at the log ride.

She was pretty set on eating lunch at Blue Bayou, or whatever it’s called, overlooking Pirates of the Caribbean. That place is so over-priced and the food is never great, of course, but it was nice to be out of the sun and away from teenagers for a bit. Why weren’t they all in school? They all seemed to know each other, walking around in giggly throngs. Fortunately, Frontierland is mostly too square for them; they were all congregating in Tomorrowland. Leslie was very entertained by all the teenage girls, with the attitude and cell phones and nonsense, but really I was thinking they all need a good shaking. There were many clumps of 3 or 4 girls; each clump had a sullen younger brother attached to it, who hung off to the side, looking humiliated. My sympathy was entirely with the brother.
By 3pm I was beaten by the sun so we walked back through Downtown Disney toward the parking structure, where we wandered for over an hour until we finally found the car in a different building altogether. Dropped Leslie in Carlsbad, home at 630!

Christmas Over

I suppose we're back in the swing of things now. It always takes me several weeks to get over the holiday comedown. Rush, rush, excitement, travel, parties... hangover. Hector was recovering from pneumonia all of December, but was well enough for us to take a little pre-vacation vacation to Palm Springs for 3 nights. We stayed at the charming Viceroy, a swanky place created from the ruins of a couple of old 1930's Hollywood getaways. Just a block off Palm Canyon Dr, so it was very convenient to walk around. We got an upgrade to a one-bedroom casita with fireplace because the joint was pretty dead. Did a spectacular drive through a snowy Joshua Tree National Park.

Then we left for a week in San Francisco with Mark and Arturo. Our Marriott at Post and Mason was very nice, but the Exec Lounge was closed for the holidays so we didn't get all the free breakfasts we usually do. Lots of walking, San Francisco is such a great city to walk around in, even with all the hills. Let's see...we rented a car and drove up to Napa/Sonoma one day to do some wine research, hiked in Muir Woods, we visited the new Academy of Sciences Museum in Golden Gate Park (along with a million others), ate wonderful Dim Sum in Chinatown, went to a great restaurant for dinner one night, Gary Danko's, which is across the street from Ghiradelli Square. They did a 3-course tasting menu that was out of this world. Great food, wonderful service. After three hours, the 4 of us got poured into a taxi by the sweet hostess, with hugs and little gift bags of cookies each.

Next day we toured a coffee factory that supplies Mark's bakery with coffee and tea. It was wonderful. Big, loud roasting and grinding machines and automated assembly lines, with that heavenly smell everywhere. They made us swear we wouldn't divulge any of the Labels we saw being packaged but one was Trader Joe's.

I had expected the city to be sort of quiet, but because of all the department store sales it was crawling with shoppers from all over the place. In fact, dowtown was gridlocked most of the time we were there. Lots of French and Spanish overheard. People dragging huge shopping bags up the hills. We bought nothing. Came home in time for a relatively quiet New Years Eve, after which we both caught bad colds. Have now gone through 3 boxes of Kleenex with Aloe Vera.

Athens

Cafe in the Plaka

Temple of Olympian Zeus

At the Ancient Agora

Acropolis

Parthenon

So I flew into Athens to meet Hector after he wrapped up a week-long work trip to Dubai. I had upgrades all the way but I’ve come to the conclusion that all that pampering (relatively speaking) isn’t really that satisfying when you fly alone. One leg was Chicago to Brussels-- which we also took in September on the way to Berlin--and it’s a great airport. Minimal immigration, no Customs. American Airlines has joined up with Brussels Air so it’s a much better alternative than Heathrow when passing through Europe.

Our Marriott was nice but a bit faded, but had a well-equipped Executive Lounge. It was about a mile walk to the tourist area and the Acropolis but entertaining; it was our daily obstacle course through life-threatening intersections, sizzling electrical wires sticking up through the sidewalk, abandoned cars parked bumper to bumper along the street and the endless stray dogs, any of which might choose to adopt you, following you for several blocks, only to abandon you later.

There were very few tourists in town this time of year, so we had the run of the place, basically. We walked miles each day, explored all the historical sights, visited the wonderful Archeological Museum, made a number of hikes up to the Parthenon (undergoing huge restoration), and endlessly wandered the narrow streets of the Plaka and Monastiriki neighborhoods. It would have been ideal to have a hotel in that old charming section, but we enjoyed all the walking and of course the history is just unbelievable.

I’ve heard lots of people say that Athens is really not that great a destination, other than the Temples and such, but we had a very enjoyable and relaxing week, traveling the way we do (leisurely, to say the least). The trip home was okay, except that Hector was developing pneumonia and got really sick with a high temperature on the plane. He’s recovering just fine now.

The Athens riots began the day after we left so we really can’t be held accountable.

London and Dublin

Canterbury Cathedral

Friday, another easy flight into London City Airport. The city seems crowded and congested after serene Switzerland. After a cranky afternoon getting our Marriott room straightened out, we went out to fabulous weather and did a marathon walk through St James Park and down along the Thames, then up to Charring Cross for fish and chips.

Saturday we hopped a train for Canterbury. The train and the town were full of rotten teenagers with spikey hair and bad attitudes but we toured the spectacular Cathedral and walked around town. It’s totally tourist, with every shop and café themed around the olden days and Canterbury Tales. Full of local riff-raff. Then back to Victoria Station in London, where we raced back to our hotel and free glasses of wine.

Sunday we discovered a new area for us- Spitalfields and Brick Lane. It’s on the East End and full of Bangldeshis, Bohemian types and big street markets. Thousands out on the streets! It was very festive and fun. Stayed all day, toured a church, saw an old pub that Jack the Ripper met one of his victims in.

Monday, we opted NOT to take a train to Stratford but just stay in the city and roam around. So we walked across Hyde Park to the new Whole Foods, had pastries there, then went on to another new area for us- Holland Park. It’s lovely, there’s an actual park that is just beautiful and the residential area around it is wonderful. We decided that’s where we’d be living if we lived in London (and were billionaires).

Tuesday we flew to Dublin, where we met Hector's colleague, Terry, a fun Irish guy. He took us around to see Trinity University, The Guinness Museum, and then we had dinner at an historic Irish Pub named Johnny Fox's. We stayed at the beautiful Shelbourne Hotel in downtown Dublin. Back to London next day.

Thursday and Friday we just walked a lot, up and down the Thames Walk, toured fabulous Buckingham Palace, and had a final dinner with Marc and Al, who had just returned from Spain, where they are hoping to buy a home. They showed us pictures of a picturesque hillside estate in Southern Spain and now I just hate them. On the other hand, they said we could come stay in the guest house so maybe I don't after all.

Zurich

Zurich Old Town

Lucerne

Quick/easy/cheap flight on Airberlin to Zurich. The Marriott here is a bit old and run down but the spread in the Exec Lounge is to die for. Huge breakfast and huge evening snacks with free liquor and cappuccinos all day! There are lots of well dressed business people staying here. We walked around the historic district of Zurich the first day, which didn’t take long. Everything here is placed along the River Limmat that runs down into Lake Zurich. It’s really quite pretty.

Next day we took a bus tour with 5 other couples (Italian, Argentinean, Canadian, American) to Appenzell, where they make famous cheese and the natives are little ruddy-faced hobbits. The tour guide says they are the joke of Switzerland. But the area is gorgeous, all rolling hills and little Swiss cottages with dairy cows. The town itself is very quaint, chock full of tourists and all the little hobbit people snuffling around. Later we toured a rather dull chocolate factory and then drove back through the gorgeous countryside to Zurich.

Thursday, we decided at the spur of the moment to take the train to Lucerne, about 2 hours away. It’s beautiful too, right on the shores of Lake Lucerne with grand 19th century hotels and casinos lining the shore. Lucerne has more of a historic district than Zurich, which means there’s a lot to see, but also lots of tourists as well. Everywhere we’ve been, we’ve seen mostly European tourists. I guess the Americans are back in school and too broke to travel. We are definitely being frugal this trip.

Berlin

At the Reichstag

Holocaust Memorial

What a comfortable flight! San Diego to JFK, then to Brussels, (very nice, efficient airport) then on to Berlin. Comfortable bed-like seats on the overseas leg. American has spruced up their big planes. Immigration at Brussels Airport was so easy and friendly, very different than the assholes at U.S. immigration. Our Berlin Marriott was brand new and very nice, and the executive lounge was so well stocked and staffed that we didn’t even mind that we got a tiny room. So, our plan for this whole trip is to have 2 meals a day for free at the lounges. They do serve a full, delicious breakfast here, and then for dinner heavy hors d’oevres with our (free) cocktails! Take that, inflated euro!

First jet-lagged day in Berlin we did the double-decker city tour and strolled around nearby sites: Bradenburg Gate and The Holocaust Memorial. Out Marriott is right on the Tiergarten (big Central Park-style garden) so we went through there too but not sure how safe it is at night. Then, Sunday we walked hours up Unter der Linden street to Alexanderplatz to see all the old historic buildings. This part of the city was all East Berlin at one time and a lot of the tourist focus is on the history of the Nazis and the Wall, of course. There are still portions standing as a memorial.

Monday we went the other direction toward Charlottenburg. Visited the zoo, designed like a beautiful Hansel and Gretel fantasy and walked around the main shopping district. Then we went to the Reichstag, which was once the big Parliament building until it was burned during the War, now it is rebuilt as a combination of old remains and brand new modern design. It’s fantastic. Berlin is really clean and well-designed, so much was destroyed that they had to come up with new ideas to rebuild around all the old stuff so it’s a great combination of new and old.

Panama

Plaza Bolivar, Casco Viejo

Hector with Panama City in background

In Panama City now, on a work trip with Hector. Since it's summer, it's considerably more humid than when we were here in February. Every day it rains a bit in the afternoon. They've taken to referring to their seasons as the "Dry Season" and the "Green Season", which sounds a bit less wet, I suppose. Even with the humidity I like it here a lot. The people are very easy going.

Our Marriott is big and bustling, it has a nice gym, a lovely pool and, best yet, a casino. We went for dinner last night over to the old colonial part of the city, Casco Viejo, where things were pretty quiet. When we were here in February, they were filming a James Bond movie in some abandoned buildings down here. Panama is standing in for Bolivia, I believe, which is making the Panamanians irate. We caught no glimpse of Daniel, although we decided we might as well say we did. Who's to know?

We had planned to come home Thursday but decided to postpone a day so we could return through Dallas and avoid any weather delays that might stick us in Miami. That will give us a full day to goof off-- we want to go back to visit the Panama Canal.

Yesterday I took a taxi back to the hotel from a nearby shoppping mall around noon. The traffic was just horrendous- things would just stop dead for 10 minutes at a time and my driver was cursing at everybody and honking nonstop. The trip should have taken 10 minutes but took 40 and the poor old man was red and sweating, it had just stopped raining and I thought he was about to explode. At last we pulled up at the hotel and he turned around and looked at me like he was going to either kill me or start crying. I asked him how much and he said, "two dollars".

Do you, Steven...?

Hector & Steve with City Hall halo

I've been pretty ho hum about this whole gay marriage deal here in California. Basically, I haven't noticed it doing much good for straight people, not to mention that Hector and I don't really need it-- we've got our domestic partner registry and our wills and powers of attorney all done. But, at the last minute, we decided to do it while at our annual week in Palm Desert. We got our license last Friday in Indio (the pits), then drove over to the Palm Springs City Hall, where we were given a very sweet, moving ceremony by a very friendly Justice of the Peace. It was really great. And now I have to say, I really DO feel married!

Saturday night in Boulder

Lilah meets Grandpa

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Bette Midler in Vegas


Carlos & Vanessa at Mission Beach


Steve, Pollard, Lucien in Boulder

Oh hell, rather than pretending that I was keeping up with this blog all summer but forgettting to hit the publish button, I will just do one entry that encompasses the whole summer. But fear not-- I shall try to be concise. We went to Vegas in June (112 degrees) to celebrate Bob Brady's 50th birthday with a bunch of guys. Kent and Bob rented a big house with a pool and we all just partied and hung out there, even though Hector and I stayed at Bellagio. We went to a local art gallery gala of what looked like high school art AND we went to see Bette Midler's show at Caesar's and it was lots of fun, possibly even $225 worth of fun. Tons and tons of foreigners all over the place, they're the only ones who can afford it now. I did very little gambling this trip. We're poor Americans.

In July, Hector's niece and nephew came from Kentucky for their annual visit with the bachelor uncles. Carlos is 10 and Vanessa is 13, they were exhausting but lots of fun. We learned last year to limit their soda intake. It makes for a much more enjoyable stay. We had a few Ramirez reunions at our house while they were here so we got to see everybody we hadn't seen for a while. Oh, they all grow up so fast.

Then, Hector and I flew to Boulder, Colorado to celebrate my brother, Lucien's, 70th birthday. The whole family met there: siblings, his kids, new grandbaby, and us. We had a great, quick weekend. Boulder is really pretty, the weather was gorgeous. It reminds me of Santa Barbara. We took over a couple of restaurants for dinner, we kids (ha) took a hike one day, sat around visiting, very enjoyable.

Finally, I finished summer classes and I have to say I really enjoyed them, especially my freshman english class. We read a bunch of interesting literature and had to do a lot of writing, but it was fun. Probably not so much for the 19 year olds that were in class with me. I'll get an A in that class and a B in my Intercultural Communications class. So, now I'm done with school for a couple of months... just enough time for a trip to Panama at Labor Day, 3 weeks in Europe in September and a trip to Athens in November. Heaven!

Del Mar Fair

We made our annual trip to the San Diego County Fair (formerly known as the Del Mar Fair, but changed because it sounded too snooty) with Mark, Arturo and Sonia. We started doing this ten years ago with M&A. We'd spend hours, wandering among the prize hefers, the botanical show, the arts & crafts. But these days we've thinned our priorities and now we begin at one end and eat our way to the other end, and then back, then go home. This year I had a hot dog on a stick, BBQ sandwhich, homemade potato chips, and a chocolate dipped ice cream bar. Hector had even more, if you can believe it. Now, 2 days later, I'm still in a kind of lard-induced stupor.

The Parker, Palm Springs

Entrance of The Parker

Our room

The Main Lobby

Hector returned from Bogota late Saturday night, then we left early Sunday for Palm Springs. This was a birthday getaway for him, fortunately it was also Memorial weekend and we both had Monday free.

We arrived at The Parker amid throngs coming and going. It's a big property but there were people everywhere. I think a lot of them were sight-seeing. A Bravo reality show (Welcome to the Parker) was filmed here a couple of years ago. No way were they going to let us into our room before 4pm, so we just wandered the grounds, had lunch, then wandered some more. There's a croquet lawn, petanque courts, 2 pools, hammocks, a fire circle, and a big spa, all tucked into a nicely landscaped desert area. It's actually the former estate of Gene Autry. They've done it all up sort of 60's funky. Actually, I read that the designer described it as a place that looks like where your Auntie Mame used to live. It's fun and funky and comfortable. And really expensive. I hate to sound like an old lady but My God. When you check in and give your credit card for the room charges, you think the worst is over, but no... wait until you order a lemonade by the pool ($6) or have a light dinner from room service ($100 for 2). So we just tried not think about it and have a good time. Breakfasts were delicious ($65 for 2) but we skipped dinner at the signature restaurant in favor of a steak in Palm Desert for 1/2 the price.

On Sunday there were so many people we couldn't get a chair at the pool, but by Monday morning they were all heading back to LA and we had a nice long day poolside with a manageable crowd. It was a very nice mix of gay/ straight. I'd say 50/50. Plus lots of families. Service was pretty good, much better after things calmed down. Loved the spa! Full pool, steam and sauna for men and women separately. Our room (the cheapest) was very nice and spacious, with quality bathroom amenities: L'Occitane and Hermes.

We decided we'd gladly go back but maybe during a slow week when the prices are perhaps not so high. Plus, it's MUCH more enjoyable not to have to share it with people from LA.

Atlanta

I came with Hector to Atlanta because he was presenting at the International Reading Association Convention. 25,000 chubby, middle-aged teachers in sneakers and pedal-pushers. We stayed at the Marriott Marquis downtown, one of those concrete behemoths with a huge open atrium that soars upward 50 horrifying stories, including glass elevators, in case you're not already freaked out enough. We were on the 42nd floor. I can honestly say I did not look down once in 4 days.

Atlanta is a charming city. It immediately reminded me of Dallas and that opinion never changed. It’s very green and slightly rolling, it has a respectable skyline but the downtown area is filled with these huge concrete hotels so it’s not so great a downtown for strolling. It must have the largest black population in America. I had plenty of opportunities to overhear the use of AAVE, or African-American Vernacular English, which we’ve been studying a bit in Linguistics class. (formerly and infamously known as Ebonics.)

All the cab drivers must have recently gone through a required course in boosterism because they all acted like unofficial tour guides, pointing out highlights and providing tourist data. Did you know that the new Atlanta Aquarium is the largest in the world? So we went to the aquarium. It’s very nice but still doesn’t come compete with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Did the Botanical Garden: very nice, CNN Tour: pretty entertaining (Did you know that the escalator in the CNN Building is the longest freestanding escalator in the world?) Last night we attended the Braves vs Padres game at Turner Field to watch the San Diego Padres get their lazy asses kicked. The stadium is fun, it’s newish, like Petco Park in SD.

Hector, Tere Rivera, and I had a great Southern meal of fried, horribly unhealthy food on Monday night at a restaurant I can’t remember the name of. I had hoped for more of that kind of thing but after that one I really couldn’t take much more, so the rest of the meals were a bit lighter in the carbs. Fortunately, we did a lot of walking.

Istanbul

Hotel in the Sultanahmet District (me on top)
The Blue Mosque
Grand Bazaar
1000 year old mosaic in the Haghia Sophia Mosque

We just returned from a week in Istanbul. I met Hector there, where he was presenting at a teeny little conference of Eastern European Schools. Five hours to JFK, then 10 more to Istanbul. But Turkish Airlines is quite comfortable, unless you find yourself sitting next to a retired army sergeant who wants to talk from the instant she flings herself down. Fortunately, my coffee cup-sized Bose earphones always do their job. We did have individual TV screens, 2 meals and free booze, in coach! I watched 4 movies and still had time to sober up.

Istanbul was much cleaner/friendlier/prettier than I expected. We left our Marriott after one night because it was so far out in the suburbs and moved into the Alzer Hotel, a charming guesthouse directly across the street from the Blue Mosque, so we could watch the minarets light up at dusk as the muezzin did his loudspeaker call to prayer. There is absolutely no way in the world one could not hear this, as all the mosques seem to have a competition for who can be loudest and most overly dramatic. We were there for some special event where the baying went on into all hours of the night and men were scurrying in and out well past bedtime.

The Turks are a pretty friendly bunch. Granted, we were staying in the tourist area, but even strangers approached us on the street, wanting to converse in English. It was kind of sweet. In the US when a stranger walks toward you with a big smile, you quite naturally assume they are crazy or wanting money. In Istanbul they would say,"Where are you from? Are you enjoying Istanbul?" And then just walk on. Turks think Istanbul is just the greatest thing in the world-- just like New Yorkers: Aren't you thrilled to be here? There were very few American tourists, but a million loud Spaniards, Germans, tough-looking Russians, aloof Japanese.

The food was good, lots of lamb and beef kabobs, vegetables, rice. Superb desserts. Mostly we just walked around, getting a bit lost, stopping for tea at a cafe, seeing all the hotspots: Topkapi Palace (2 days worth), Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia Mosque, The Bazaar and Spice Market, Aquaduct, Basilica Cistern, Archeological Museum (fantastic!). We bought a lamp and a tile mosaic. It was fun chatting with the locals-- they are eager to not be mistaken for a fundamentalist Islamic country. Several said they wanted to visit the US but it's very difficult to get a visa, big surprise.

Back from LA

I'm trying to keep up with Hector's movements on the other side of the world but since he's going to bed as I'm getting up and taking flights at all hours it's pretty hard. I send him a good morning email as I'm going to bed and vice versa. He told me he was walking through the Dubai airport last night and out of nowhere heard someone shout "Hector!" It was a former Harcourt employee who used to be head of the International Division. So they chatted a bit and are going to get together for coffee later.

I just returned from LA where I went for the weekend to visit with my nieces, Rohanna and Hari. Ro is breathtakingly pregnant. You can almost see the baby's face pushing through her belly. Had dinner with them & their mom, Sophia, and Tom, the baby daddy, at Parc in Hollywood. Good food, fun atmosphere but very loud. I hate to say it but I'm too old for those places. After dinner, I walked back to my hotel, The Renaissance Hollywood, just a couple of blocks away, past the amazing freak show that is Hollywood Blvd at 10pm on Saturday. On one corner, a bunch of hip hop kids performing for tips next to a group of Christian something-or-others singing What a Friend We Have in Jesus. I kid you not.

I also worked on Saturday for Mary Carlisle Blakeley, my old customer on Rodeo Drive I've known for 20 years. Mr Blakeley, her wonderful 97 yr old husband, has died and she had a bad fall 2 weeks ago that left her pretty banged up. But she was outside with me as I built some shelves in the garage: sweeping up, shoving old rotten fainting couches out of the way. Her old mausoleum of a house is just falling down around her ears but still she's talking about pulling it all together to have dinner parties, maybe even replacing the old burned-up Rolls Royce... This morning she showed me a gold ring given to her by Anna Q. Nilsson, a silent screen star in the 20's! Really, when she goes, she must surely be the last of that era. It's hard not to be taken aback when she starts talking about swimming at the Basil Rathbones' and visiting San Simeon with Marion Davies.

Off to Istanbul

The school quarter is winding down, only ten more days to go. But the assignments are becoming more fevered and frequent. Big lesson plans due, papers on foreign cultures, final exams. Keeping my head above water, though. I might actually make an A or two.

I've got the dreaded nasty-cold-that-you-thought-was-over-but-came-back-a-month-later that everyone seems to have. Just when San Diego was ready to come out into the sunshine, we're struck down again.

Hector leaves tomorrow for an extended work trip to the mideast that, by all that is right, I should be accompanying him on. He goes to Kuwait, Dubai & Abu Dhabi, and then Istanbul, where I'll join him next weekend when classes are done. We'll spend a week exploring, eating yummy food, smoking water pipes and whirling in circles with long, white skirts on.

Now I Can Die

It must have begun in Mrs. Sharpley's 4th grade geography class because I've always had a strong desire to see the Panama Canal. It just always has seemed so exotic to me, like it was unimaginable that I could ever be there, just like the Pyramids at Giza.

Gaspar drove us over yesterday and we had lunch at a little restaurant overlooking the Miraflores Locks. I mean really overlooking. You could throw a dinner roll and hit a passing ship, were you so inclined. But it's a real production, all the ships' crews come out and wave to everyone on the observation deck. As we had lunch, 3 big ships went through, along with a few sailboats they throw in as a package deal. You can see the tankers lined up for miles, waiting their turn.

Panama City

Sitting at the Dallas-Ft Worth Admirals Club Lounge en route to Panama. Hector is working there next week and I am going along for the ride. I’m looking forward to seeing the Panama Canal. Bad storms in Texas so our arrival was like a tilt-a-whirl.

I was awake most of last night with a weird vertigo sensation. Every time I tried to move, my head would feel like it was spinning. It felt exactly like when you were a kid and you’d spin in one direction a bunch of times then stop and try to walk straight. Very unsettling. And since it was me, my thoughts naturally turned toward brain tumors, spinal meningitis and worse. Around 330 am I was planning my own funeral.

But today I’m fine, no dizziness, just exhaustion and the low-grade crankiness that goes along with air travel.

Later… Finally we arrived at our hotel (Courtyard) in Panama City at 2am., then slept until almost noon the next day. We went over to the old section of the city, Casco Antigua, and walked around and had a late lunch. It’s very much like the old city in San Juan, Puerto Rico, maybe 10 years behind in restoration. Still a lot of families living in the old colonial buildings with laundry hanging out on the balcony--loud music coming out the windows. We might have been in Havana. We had drinks under a big umbrella at an outdoor café and a huge rainstorm blew in. It was very nice.

Today, Hector is working and I am heading to the mall next door to see if there’s a latte with my name on it.

Later still... found two lattes with my name on them, also a red windbreaker at a store called Helly Hansen. Reminder: grave error to shop alone when the staff is a couple of bored, good-looking young guys who want me to buy something.

Unfortunately, I haven't had much time for my posting here but I thought I'd better check in. School is going well, we're into week 5 now and I have to say I'm really enjoying all my classes, even though I'm forced to read chapters and chapters of this kind of drivel: "...parallel to the interest in developing rational principles for vocabulary selection was a focus on the grammatical content of a language course." Say what? I've enrolled in 3 more classes for next quarter so that means I should be done with the class work by the end of summer.

We're off to Panama for a Hector work trip next week (I'm cutting class) and then to Istanbul during the spring break. Very excited about both. I've always wanted to see the Panama Canal (actually, I've always wanted to sail through the Panama Canal but this will do for now) and I'm especially thrilled about Istanbul, of course. I think my desires to see all these places are related to movies. I keep thinking about that silly Peter Ustinov movie Topkapi that takes place in Istanbul.

Also, we're tentatively planning a Country Walkers trip to Slovakia in September. The tour begins in Budapest and ends in Krakow so you get 3 passport stamps for the price of one. Anyone care to join us?

Okay, I'm not as stupid as first feared. I got to my Teaching Grammar class and no one, NO ONE knew anything about past participles or 3rd person singular or copulas. And some of these students are already teachers.

In San Diego, even more rain this weekend! I had a quiet few days, Hector spent the weekend in Guatemala between work weeks there. I went for a few long walks, between rain showers, and had dinner last night with Dave at Kitima. Just trying to be frugal and studious. Translation: dull. I'm ready for a trip!

TGIF

When did I become so old and stupid? At the end of my first week of classes I'm exhausted and confused. I can't remember which textbook is for which class (granted, they all are connected to teaching English) and I'm not sure if I'm doing the right homework. It reminds me of the shock I went into when I attended the Spanish immersion school in southern Mexico a few years ago. For ten days I was a nervous wreck, not sleeping, walking around in a daze. Then, one day it all just changed and I got it and became the star pupil. Hope that happens here, but for now I don't know a past participle from a gerund.

Hector is back on the road again (and not here to do my homework for me) and I'm doing a few measly jobs but spending most of time being a student. Most of my classes are filled with giggly Asian girls over here from Japan or Korea to get some sort of credential for back home.

Bit of a gloom at our house. After much anticipation over the supposed new international staff for Hector's company, it turns out that almost everyone got fired from the International Div. and there are no plans to hire anyone new. That rather puts the kibosh on our overheated fantasies about ending up in some exotic locale. Of course, there has been no official word to Hector but still we moped around, kicking the cat, for a couple of days then just decided-- what the fuck. I'm still going to do the teaching certificate program (beginning next week) and we'll sit tight for a bit. Hopefully, our planned (and ticketed!) trips to Panama and Istanbul can still be managed.



Currently it is raining like crazy here. Usually, when the weather forecasters are screaming "storm of the century!" like they did all last week, it means that it will cloud over and you may need to turn on windshield wipers. But this time they were more or less correct. San Diego...code orange...heightened alert!

Redwood Highway, part 2

Kenwood Inn

Now where was I? Oh, yes. Driving out of Mendocino. We took an easy meander north and arrived in Kenwood early afternoon, all drizzly, cold and foggy. I don't know if you've ever been to the California Wine Country before but it's a real experience. For one thing, it's really picturesque. We stayed at the charming Kenwood Inn and Spa, got upgraded to a suite with fireplace and jacuzzi tub. It was pretty nasty out so we stayed by the fire, killing off a good bottle of wine. As a matter of fact, we spent pretty much the entire 2 days at the hotel-- steam room, heated pool, breakfast room, winebar, room service, reading our books in front of the fire. Armchair travelers.

2 days later we drove in to San Francisco, over the Golden Gate. Checked into the Renaissance Stanford Court on Nob Hill and that night we met Hector's brother, Jorge, and his family (in town for shopping) for drinks at the St Francis Hotel on Union Square. We had dinner at Cafe Tiramisu on Belden St.

Next day, hiking at Muir Woods, hamburger in Sausalito, drinks at the Fairmont Nob Hill. We also visited Grace Cathedral. Next day we flew home, joined by all the traveling holiday families, cranky because they didn't get what they want for Christmas.

The Redwood Highway

World Famous Paul Bunyan
World Famous Tour-Thru Tree
World Famous One Log house

We're on a big road trip now- just like when you were a kid. We actually saw all these world famous things in ONE DAY! We flew up to Medford Oregon (airport like a bus station) on Dec 22 (holiday crowds, lost luggage, squealing babies), picked up our rental car and immediately headed for California Highway 101, the Redwood Highway! We spent the first 2 nights in Trinidad, CA and I fell in love. It's a wonderful, picturesque, authentic fishing village. It's the first time I ever experienced massive redwood forests that come up to very edge of the sea. We stayed in a cabin among the trees, it drizzled the entire time and it was just perfect. We hiked for 2 days among the redwood forests, had dinner at the Seacoast Cafe right off the fishing pier, where the crabs were being hauled in right then. At night we were back in our little cabin by 7pm. Almost no other tourists around and trust me, they like it that way.

Next we drove up to Mendocino along Highway 1, hugging the coastline for hours. Mendocino is another charming little village in an unbelievably picturesque location but this one is all about the tourists. In summer it must be utter hell. But now, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it was quiet and friendly. Almost everything was closed, except for the B&B's. They were all full of people from San Francisco. And us. The Mendocino Headlands separate the town from the sea with dramatic cliffs and trails with incredible views. We stayed at the Sea Rock Inn, on the edge of town, overlooking the rocky coast. Lots of walking, chatting with other gay couples.

Now, Wednesday, we came down toward the wine country and I can see we're leaving paradise behind. Lots of traffic and strip malls and cranky people. We just checked into the Kenwood Inn and Spa and I'm guessing we won't be leaving here the rest of the day. It's pretty spectacular. We're killing a bottle of wine in front of the fireplace right now.

Whale Watching

Today I cancelled all my vital appointments and we took Diane whale watching from San Diego Bay. Neither Hector nor I had ever done this. Huge boat, but only 10 guests. It was quite cold out on the high seas and Di and I got a bit queasy. Saw no whales-- just lots of dolphins and sea lions. There were more guides than guests on board and by the end we were hiding from them so they'd leave us the hell alone.

Now I've taken her to the airport to go home and we have a dinner party to go to. I'm just tired from all this hosting and partying. I'm really looking forward to leaving on our driving trip on Saturday.

Hector's International boss called him last night at home. Ostensibly to personally let him know about upcoming changes but clearly she was fishing for info about his interest in working overseas full time. Actually, she is leaving the new company in 6 months and wants to start a consulting biz in the Arab Emirates. I think she was fishing about his interest in doing that. But I'm not sure that's his cup of tea, although it would certainly be mine.

Welcome to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers

Hector got his official welcome in the mail, so apparently he has a job. It was nothing but a form letter, full of legal mumbo jumbo. Today there was a company-wide conference call announcing new executive positions, everybody congratulating each other. But the good news for us is that the new president wants to do an international expansion to spread the business worldwide. (This is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Inc-- not George Bush) Like the sound of that. Maybe we'll be going somewhere after all.

UCSD Library

And now I'm a college student, yet again. I enrolled at Univ of Cal at San Diego Ext. for their TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) Certificate Program. I begin Jan 15 and it should take about 6 months. So if we really do get to move out of the country I should be able to teach English. The first thing I'll teach them is to say nuclear instead of nucular.

Wait A Minute Mr Postman

Al and Marc from London paid us a surprise visit. Since Al lived here 7 years ago before he became a Eurogay, he wanted to show S California to Marc, a Eurogay from birth. We dragged them to several Xmas parties and they continued their pub crawls into the night. The verdict is that bar life in San Diego isn't what it once was. Listening to them talking about London, their plans to move to Spain etc really, really puts a fire under us. I wanna go. go. go.

We're having cold and rain. Most unusual. More parties the next 2 weeks to contend with, then we get the hell out at last.

Hector finds out this week, via mail, whether he has a job with the new owner of the company, who is a direct competitor. I'm watching for the mailman even as I write this.

Full-on Christmas. The tree is up and the carols are wailing. At least I have a litle insulation since Hector does virtually all the gift shopping and wrapping. The malls are already hell.

Our neighborhood is all torn up with termite repairs. The association is going house to house replacing rotten wood. We're last on the list. The young couple who was renting next door have moved and we've been fearful of another house full of college kids moving in but the owner, Ernie, tells me he's going to rent to "two women" who have an 8 year old daughter. Sounds like Heather has two mommies.

Hector and I are still discussing our desire to relocate. We have to wait to hear how it all turns out with the sale of his company. No one is going to know anything about their jobs until right before Christmas so speculation is rampant. Every day Hector hears another wacky story from a co-worker. I don't really care where we go I'm just ready to do something different. The fantasy, of course, is to move to a different country but I'd gladly move to another city (within certain parameters) in the US. Here's my wish list in order of preference:
Europe or "over there" somewhere.
Central America
New York City
Chicago
Santa Fe
South America

New Mexico

Hector had a little conference in Albuquerque but really it was an excuse to get our needed Marriott points for the year and to visit Santa Fe. I couldn’t tell you what the conference was even about. We stayed at the Marriott Pyramid North. That name may sound promising but really it’s just one of those 1970’s hotels that have an indoor atrium that goes up ten floors and some tacky fountains and things. It’s in dire need of a remodel. We had a cave-like suite with battered furniture.

Albuquerque has a nice little historic district, with a plaza and some cool old buildings around it. Nothing like Santa Fe, of course. We drove up and had a few meals there, took a hike in the Santa Fe National Forest and drove around looking at gorgeous houses we can’t afford. We still haven’t given up on our fantasy to live there some day.

We saw Kent and Bob last night. They are well, fit and slim (bastards). And busy as usual. We all had dinner at a restaurant named Trattoria Nostrani and just as we were lamenting that we hadn’t seen any celebrities this trip, as we normally do, in walked Jeremy Irons. He sat alone, dressed like a homeless person, and had dinner reading a magazine. Nobody knew what he was doing in Santa Fe but clearly he wasn't hiding.

Hector and I, in our shallow way, collect our celebrity sightings. The best are at restaurants because it's something a bit more than just passing them in the street. My all time fave is dinner with Paul McCartney and Heather Mills at Kampa Park in Prague.

Home from Puerto Rico

We left Rincon on Saturday and not a moment too soon! By Friday the place was filling up with--of all things-- tourists! At least we had a couple of days of solitude. I barely got out of the water the entire time and by Friday afternoon was feeling a little waterlogged and parboiled.

We drove back to San Juan on a different route, through Ponce on the Southern Coast. The landscape was very different. A lot like California with green rolling hills instead of the lush jungle of the Northern Coast. Checked back into our Marriott for one night and believe it or not we went to the local mall to see a movie-- Lions for Lambs. It was good. But the Spanish subtitles were a bit distracting, and the other viewers were a rowdy bunch. Lots of cell phone talking, bags rustling, people coming and going. I didn't do my usual huffing, puffing and throwing dirty looks because we were most definitely in the minority.

Now on the way home, business class San Juan to LA (7 1/2 hours) but we're in an old American Airlines 757 bucket so there's no glamour. Except that sitting in the seat behind me is a pop star named Nick Lachey and he and his girlfriend are both very pretty, in that overdone Hollywood way.

We're home for one day then we leave again for Albuquerque on Tuesday. This is one of my favorite things to to do: take a long trip, then come home for a day or so then take off again. It's like a little vacation from vacationing. I can do laundry, sleep in my bed, check the mail, but I don't really have to let anyone know I'm here.

Here's Where I Am, Where Are You?

In lovely Puerto Rico now. We're basically recreating the trip we made here at Christmas of 2005 (?) but this time with Mark and Arturo in tow. We spent 4 days in San Juan, lots of walking, eating, gambling at the hotel casinos, splashing in the surf. We took a hike one day in the Bosque National Forest, known as El Junque. It's a rainforest and very beautiful. And wet. Lots of waterfalls, huge dripping ferns, noisy animal life.

Now they have gone home and Hector and I have come to Rincon, on the western Caribbean coast, to a nice little beach hotel (see foto) with spectacular views and a gorgeous warm surf to play in. We came at the right time of year because the place is pretty quiet and we got a better deal this time than before at Christmas. Maybe 25 people here at most. The poor employees are bored to distraction.

We just took a drive into "town" to buy some water and alcohol and, God, is it poor. The grocery store looked like something in Communist Russia, with empty shelves and a few sickly vegetables. No shortage of alcohol, naturally.

One more day then back to San Juan for a night and home again.

The fires are mostly out now, the air is clear, the millionaires have all gone back to what's left of their homes. Hector and I fled for a few days to Palm Desert to stay at the JW Marriott there.

Before the fires we went for a few days to Portland, which I keep hearing is the new West Coast in place. Well, thank you, but I'll stay in Southern California. Oh, there's lots of nightlife and good restaurants. Art galleries, shopping, music venues. And they have better mountans than we do.

In fact, we took off one day to hike in Mt Hood National Forest. We drove for hours and the road kept getting smaller until finally it was about 4 feet wide and just dirt. So we got out, admired the view for a bit but then we began to notice that the ground was covered in little colored plastic tubes. Everywhere. Then it hit us. Shotgun shells. Thousands of them. As we looked around more we saw old beer bottles, condom wrappers, potato chip bags, all the signs of... the locals. I immediately thought of Deliverance. We had not passed a soul for many miles.

We couldn't find our trail so we just roamed around a bit, waiting for Freddy Kruger to jump out but he never did. As we left we did pass a pickup with a couple of hillbillies in it-- no doubt searching for us.

Back in town, I explored the Portland Japanese Garden while Hector worked. It's gorgeous, laid out on 5 hillside acres. We had some good food, did a lot of walking. Had dinner one night with Tere and Martin, in from LA for work.

Now, this week, I'm getting ready to leave for Puerto Rico. Mark, Arturo and I will meet Hector there on Saturday. We're staying a week, hurricanes be damned.

Too Darn Hot

No, this is not Kuwait after Saddam Hussein got finished with it. It's Southern California on fire and I'm in there somewhere. Things are not as bad as 4 years ago but I still have my box of valuables next to the front door in case of an evacuation order.



Just heard on the news that the relative humidity is between 0%-1%. About like the Sahara, except that it's raining ashes.

Home Sweet Home

We made it back home, upgraded all the way, thank you. No nasty immigration officers, no cancelled flights, no lost luggage. In short, a real travel success story.

The weather in San Diego when we left was hell but now it’s gorgeous and balmy, the days are shorter, and today we finalized our Christmas travel plans. We’re doing a driving tour of the Northern California coastline: Redwood forests, seaside spas, the wine country, and wrapping it up with a couple of nights in San Francisco.

And in March I’m meeting Hector in Istanbul for a week, then in May we’re doing an exploratory visit to Tuscany in search of places we might want to live. Yippee.

Bye Bye Brazil

Today is our last day in Sao Paulo. We have to check out of the hotel at 2pm but the flight doesn’t leave until 10pm so the luggage and I are in weird travel limbo while Hector works. Like most South American hotels the staff here is very helpful so I can hang out in the Executive lounge all afternoon and even take a shower before our flight if I want. So far, we have not been upgraded to business class and I’m uneasy. It’s a long way home in coach.

I can’t say I’d rush back to Sao Paulo but it’s been a nice visit. Of course, the locals are so eager for us to be impressed and they are rightly proud of their restaurants. They have none of that American shame about eating meat. At a restaurant yesterday we were sitting near an attractive young woman in her twenties and she ordered a filet mignon for lunch. I tried to imagine that happening in Southern California and burst out laughing.

Bom Dia from Sao Paulo

Yes, this is the view no matter which direction one looks so it's best not to look around. Down at ground level things are much nicer. SP is a very clean city, we took the subway yesterday and it was absolutely spotless- far better than anywhere I've seen.

The Paulistas are quite friendly. English is not as common as I expected but by combining Spanish, English, Sign language and Head nodding one can get by. On paper, Portugese looks similar to Spanish but boy when it falls out of their mouths it's more like Vietnamese.

Our hotel (Renaissance by Marriott, of course) is in a very upscale neighborhood called Jardim, with lots of trendy shops and restaurants. Meat features very highly here in the restaurants. I've had a great chateaubriand (all to myself) and a couple of sirloins. This would be a great place to do the Atkins diet.

Hector's working this morning at a nearby school, then this afternoon we're going to a local fleamarket to ascertain what the locals think of as junk.

Palm Springs

We just got back from our annual week in Palm Springs, or rather, Palm Desert, next door. But we spent a good amount of time in PS, which is more festive and definitely gayer, in every sense of the word. We went hiking one day in Indian Canyons, which has beautiful natural palm oases, saw a couple of movies, baked by the pool in the 112 degree heat, observed the locals (all of whom are 90 plus years old and also spend a lot of time baking themselves). It was very relaxing. We also celebrated our 10th anniversary and my 52nd BD.

I've been selected to write a weekly blog about travel tips for an online resource called onlineorganizing.com. I start in a couple of months so I better get busy and make up some stuff. No money involved, just the international recognition and deep sense of self-worth.

Summer Reads

Don't be alarmed, I'm not becoming a book critic, I'm not smart enough, though that hasn't stopped me with movies. But even though I've complained about the crappy summer movies, it has been a good summer for reads.






The Night Watch

It's World War II in England and lesbians are taking over. No, it's a story about a group of women whose lives intersect as do their war jobs in London. Great period detail, lots of surprises.


Gone With The Windsors
The cover makes it look sort of dry, but it's really quite funny. It's in the form of the diary of a fictional friend of Wallis Simpson as she recounts the affair that brought down the monarchy. Lots of name dropping, grand parties, scathing remarks. According to this he was a dimwit and she was a harridan, no big surprise.





A Share in Death

Abandoned because it was too stupid to continue. Murder at a time-share. If only.

Suite Francaise

More World War II, this time in France. It begins by following several families as they flee Paris as the Germans invade and ends with the tale of a love affair between a French woman and the German soldier assigned to be her boarder. The author, Irene Nemirovsky, was a Jewish writer living in France until she was taken to Auschwitz, where she died. Bleak story.

Middlesex

This was a great read. Oddly, the copy I bought doesn't say Oprah's Book Club on it, it says Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. I didn't know both could happen at the same time. It's a family epic, following the Stephanides family from Greece through several generations as they end up in Grosse Point, Michigan. The herione, Calliope, is an undiagnosed hermaphrodite and along the way she discovers and accepts the truth about herself.

Harry Potter

Bye-bye Harry. I really have a hard time accepting that there's no more. As with all of the books, it's overwritten, because who is going to tell JK Rowling to take out that bit please. But there's lots of tension and excitement. Of course, there's the final big showdown with Lord Voldemort. Ralph Fiennes is going to get several weeks work out of it when they do the movie. And contrary to rumor, no one particularly important gets killed here, Dumbledore died in the last one. But I salute JK Rowling for giving kids (and me) some good books to read. I had good books as a kid and it made me want to keep reading.

Summer Movies

Overall, this was a pretty unexciting summer for movies but fortunately I got past the real stinkers early. These I enjoyed.

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

They sure grow up fast, don't they? Harry is quite the young man now, and if you've seen any of the racier photos from his West End production of Equus, you know I'm right. If you have stayed a faithful Harry Potter fan, as I have, then this one is quite enjoyable. It's got all those rich production values and a wonderful cast as always. Imelda Staunton steals the show as Dolores Umbridge, the tight-assed new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. But now that I have finished reading the final Potter book [no one important dies, almost everyone lives happily ever after] my Hogwarts fever has abated a little and I need a Potter break.

Hairspray

I'm not sure why it was necessary to remake this movie but the songs are a lot of fun. I prefer John Waters' sick humor, though, to this scrubbed-up version. John Travolta is NOT good as Edna Turnblad. He just isn't clever enough. And poor Michelle Pfeiffer needs a good nights sleep and a hearty meal-she looks like the mummy of Hatshetsup. Queen Latifah is good as Motormouth Maybelle and Allison Janney is funny as Prudy Pingleton. If you need to go to the bathroom, leave during the scene between Michele Pfeiffer and Chris Walken in the magic store.


Ratatouille

Very cute, wonderful animation. Pixar beats Disney all to hell. Great scenes of Paris, and lots of fun French caricatures. It's about this French rat who dreams of becoming a chef... and... just go see it.

Sunshine

I'm still not sure what to make of this. I have to say I really enjoyed watching it, even though it got pretty fucking silly toward the end, with a monster on board the ship and our hero, Cilian Murphy, riding the back of a bomb into the sun, just like Slim Pickens in Dr Strangelove. But most of the time it's an engrossing sci-fi on board a cool spaceship with that interesting, just-took-a-Seconol feel of the first Alien. It seems the sun is slowly burning out so a group of astronauts are taking a big bomb up there to try to explode a new star out of it to save mankind. Gee, it sounds silly when I say it.

Las Vegas

Love



Citycenter Complex


Just to rest from our strenuous trip to NYC with kids in tow, Hector and I drove over to Vegas on Sunday the 15th. We got a good rate at Bellagio ($149 a night with an extra $50 upgrade for a lake view) and Vegas was the quietest I have seen it in years. All the local workers said it's always pretty quiet this time of year, but that usually just means 95% capacity as opposed to 100%.

When we drove in it was 109 degrees but I love that baking desert heat. We had a low-key few days by the pool, in the spa, ate at Olives and Noodles, I got a professional shave at the salon, we saw LOVE at the Mirage. It was a very fun show, this is the 6th or 7th Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas now and we've seen them all. They're very entertaining but they all tend to have pretty much the same expensive look, the same acrobatics, the same exorbitant ticket prices. I have to say, though, that the sound system was absolutely superb and the very best part was hearing the Beatles so loud and clear.

I kept myself on a tight gambling budget so I didn't really lose much. I wandered around, looking at all the changes. Wynn is building a 2nd tower, The Venetian is doubling its size, The Aladdin is gone and is now the Planet Hollywood Hotel. Serious work has begun on the Citycenter complex, next door to Bellagio. So I guess Vegas is still booming. There were a lot more foreigners this time: the standard Japanese of course, English, German, Arab. I like that.

New York

All-American Vanessa & Carlos at Battery Park



Eating NY Pizza with Uncle Steve (notice bruise on Carlos' left cheek where his Uncle Steve kicked him in the head on the trampoline 3 days previously)

New York

All of us made it back alive after the trip to NYC. There was no doubt about me and Hector but I wasn't sure about the kids. Actually, we all had a great time. We flew to Cincinnati where we spent the night (my first visit to this very middle American city), picked up the kids, flew in to La Guardia and were hammered by the heat the instant we stepped out of the airport. Remember that scene in Ab Fab when the girls go to Morocco? They've been boozing it up on the plane and the instant they step out into the heat, they both pass out.

Here's what we did: Statue of Liberty (the days are over when you can climb to the crown), Central Park featuring Hot Dogs and Ice Cream, Museum of Natural History, Times Square (countless times), shopped for junk in Chinatown, Ground Zero viewing (very uninteresting, don't do it), Double decker bus tour, we saw Harry Potter when it opened, went shopping at FAO Schwartz, Apple Store, Bloomingdales, saw Blue Man Group, had room service (amazing the mileage we got out of that) and a lot of aimless walking designed to wear down their little resistance quotients so they'd go right to sleep.

It took a couple of days to figure out that if you give a kid a soda, they go fucking nuts for about 2 hours, needless to say we clamped down quick. They were dying to ride the subway but the one day we did it there was a lunatic preaching on our car so they pleaded for taxis after that. And regardless of your feelings toward Starbucks, I thank God for them. At last, in New York there is someplace to pee every block.

I think I enjoyed the trip to the Statue of Liberty best. The ferry ride was fun, and I love all that old time Americana. Overall, a fun trip. We flew out on Friday, dropped the kids back home and continued on home to San Diego to find that all our luggage was scattered all over the country. It took 24 hours to reel it all in.

I Heart New York

Hector and I are taking his niece and nephew to New York for a few days. This was their choice after we offered to take them someplace fun this summer. How did a 9 and 11-year-old in Kentucky get the idea to go to Manhattan? It will be fun to see their reaction to the big city.

I guess we'll take them to all the usual stuff: Harlem, the Midtown Baths, Hell's Kitchen.

Happy 4th of July

In a move that surprised no one on the face of the earth, Monday George Bush commuted the sentence of old pal Lewis "Scooter" Libby, convicted of lying and obstructing justice in a CIA-leak case. This is not exactly the same as a complete pardon, but when asked if that might eventually happen, Bush replied, "I rule nothing in or nothing out."

In more patriotic news, Minnesota has passed a law stating that flags sold in the state have to be US-made but they stopped short of requiring all flag-holders to be Christian.

And locally there is still no agreement in talks between grocery store chains and union workers. I fear a strike is impending.

The grocery workers strike in 2003 went on for nearly 5 months and one risked harrassment if one went through the picket line to purchase some turkey sausage or shampoo/conditioner.

Seasons Greetings

We're expecting a really terrible "fire season" this year. May 1st signalled the end of the official rain season and the beginning of fire season, although there's usually very little difference.

Flying into San Diego it's completely brown, as we're having the driest 2-year period in a century. Already, areas around Julian are burning, even though I'm surprised there's anything left to burn after the fires there a few years ago. People forget that we're in a desert, even though we are sitting right on the ocean.

And the really sad thing is that most of the time the authorities find out later that these really big fires were intentionally set, sometimes by pyromaniac firemen. Figure that one out.

God Save the BBC

My deepest, most fervent desire is not to be rich and famous, nor is it to retire to a gorgeous tropical island. I don't care about being young forever. What I really really want is to move to St. Mary Mead and become Miss Marple. Even as a kid I fantasized about solving murder mysteries and I tortured generations of neighborhood kids by forcing them to be in my detective squads.

So thank God for the English- they really know how to put together a good murder.

Midsomer Murders

Actually, this is little more than an English version of Murder She Wrote. It's pretty tame and often downright silly. But it's got great locations- all those little villages in the fictional county of Midsomer, and a much more interesting cast. John Nettles as Inspector Barnaby. He always has a good looking sergeant as his assistant. There must be about 50 episodes by now, adding up to hundreds of corpses.

Inspector Lynley

These mysteries are dark and realistic, from the books by American author Elizabeth George. Thomas Lynley is an aristocrat as well as a detective and his assistant, Barbara Havers, is from a working class background. This leads to lots of tension and snotty remarks using the word posh. My only complaint is that ex-wife of his. She needs to be one of the murder victims.

Foyle's War

Oh boy, is this good! It takes place during World War II and it perfectly captures the mood of the time. Hastings is a small coastal town, apparently full of smugglers and Nazi sympathizers and black marketeers. Inspector Foyle is quiet and retiring but don't let that fool you. He always, always catches the murderer. Honeysuckle Weeks is great as his nosy driver, Samantha.

Prime Suspect

What can I say? This is the best of the best. There will never be another Jane Tennyson, nor another Helen Mirren. She's an alcoholic, a terrible daughter, she's unashamedly ambitious, and she'll claw your eyes out if you get in her way. (Jane Tennyson, not Helen Mirren.) The writing and acting are without fail top-notch.

The Summer Blockbusters

Shrek 3


I always have a good time with Shrek. It's cleverly written. But like all the blockbusters this year, those same old jokes are getting a bit tired. And I honestly could not remember whether I had seen Shrek 2 or not.

Spider-Man 3

What a putrid excuse for a movie this is! We made it through an hour but just couldn't take any further punishment. So we left, which is almost unheard of for Hector. I'm so sick of that phony Toby Maguire I could puke!

Pirates of the Caribbean

Another stinker but at least it had a lot of fun action sequences. But I really really hope they're done with this one. I have to say my favorite part of the movie was the much-anticipated appearance by zombie Keith Richards. It's so jarring to see non-actors in movies because they stick out like sore thumbs. It's as if you're completely involved in a very serious movie and suddenly your Mom walks onscreen.

Patagonia

Hector is all hot to go to Patagonia. He's been talking it up for several years. I really like the theory of going because it is gorgeous. But every time I read anything about it there is lots of talk like: "breathtaking views"... "narrow trails leading up to Alpine peaks"... "we begin our ascent"... and very worst of all... "as we cross the suspension bridge"...

I only barely survived Machu Picchu without heart failure. For those who don't know the joys of vertigo or acrophobia then let me tell you that just reading about high places can work up a good sweat. And during the opening sequence of Casino Royale, my sphincter turned to steel.

Normally, when Hector mentions Patagonia I quickly counter with "or what about Morocco" or "let's do Turkey this year and Patagonia next year." But sooner or later I'm going to run out of diversionary tactics.

AMSTERDAM & LONDON

Amsterdam













Steve and Hector in Amsterdam
















Amsterdam















Nephew Pollard, Steve, Al, Hector at dinner in London




After Bruges we had another easy train ride to Amsterdam. I really loved all this train travel. It's so easy and relaxing, compared to all the revolting crowds and security nonsense at airports. Anyway, we got there and immediately stepped into the seediest part of Amsterdam, which was a bit of a shock to the system after little storybook Bruges. But eventually we learned to steer clear of the hash house/ whore district as I am well past my hash days and the whorehouse days are yet to come. We enjoyed 2 days of long walks along the canals and took a day trip to Haarlem, which is really cute and charming, unlike it's little step-sister in New York. We met Kaj for dinner, who lives in San Diego and was in Amsterdam visiting her sister. Our Marriott, actually a Renaissance, was okay but hovering on the edge of the Red Light District. Not sure I'd stay there again. All that stuff is fun to see but it's full of stoned kids and crowds of tourists. It's a bit like Bourbon Street. The next morning it smells like vomit and piss.

Then we flew to London and checked into our wonderful Grosvenor House on Park Lane. The weather was perfect and Hyde Park was crammed with locals enjoying the sun. On Sunday we took the train to Hampton Court, one of the palaces where Henry VIII lived. It has beautiful gardens and tours of all the royal living quarters and kitchens. Bought some tourist crap there.

My nephew Pollard was in town for his band, Archive, to do a concert so we met him and our friends Al & Marc for dinner. Then on Monday night we went to Camden Lock to see the Archive concert. It was very fun. Loved the music and went backstage to meet the band, just like groupies. The venue was small and crowded and smoky. Both Hector and I were keeping an eyeball on the nearest exit. I was formulating the next day's headline: Band Member's Uncle Trampled in Nightclub Melee.

So Tuesday we got up, took an hour and a half ride to the airport, got our seats in Biz Class and now we're home. We're still fantasizing about living somewhere in Europe.

BRUGES

Bruges Canal




















At the Pand Hotel

















Afternoon Latte

















Yet another postcard view




Oh My God, I can't believe this place! For years everyone has been telling me, "Oh you have to see Bruges, it's just wonderful!" So Hector and I caught the high-speed train from Paris and 2 hours later we arrived in Bruges, Belgium. After we got checked into our adorable hotel, The Pand, we went out for a walk and I just literally was dumbfounded. It IS the most picturesque place I've ever seen.

Centuries ago it was a very prosperous port city but as the canal began to silt up it sort of faded away and has remained unchanged. Now it's all about tourism and the place is one big postcard. Gorgeous old buildings, cobbled streets, winding canals, large parks and millions of tourists. While we were there it was some kind of 3 day weekend in Europe and the place was crawling with middle-class visitors from the UK (rowdy), Netherlands (fat), Germany (loud) and Belgium (fatter). It was fun. We just wandered and got lost and discovered great little cafes and wine bars. Every resident seemed to speak 6 languages.

We spent a lot of the time doing what most of the other tourists were undoubtedly doing: fantasizing about living in Bruges. We found our perfect little house for sale and decided what kind of cafe we would open. I guess I better start learning some more languages.

At 5pm on Monday the whole place went dead quiet as the tourists left, the shopkeepers went home, the canal boats stopped. It was like closing time at Disneyland. But we got to wander around by ourselves and enjoy the peace.

PARIS

Mark, Steve, Arturo at the Tuileries

Arturo & Mark being tourists

lunch in Montmartre

Okay, Paris, I forgive you. The first time I was in Paris, Christmas 1998 with Hector, it was so cold I wished I was dead. We were staying in Paco & Franck's empty little studio above their cafe and I was sick with a cold. All I remember is the all-night rumble of the Metro. The second time we went through, in 2001, Hector developed pneumonia in Prague and was so ill by the time we got to Paris we thought he would die. He was literally unconcious the whole time while I was so stressed I was hardly in the mood for the City of Lights.

So finally, with Mark & Arturo, this trip was just great. Our wonderful hotel, the Westminster, was located a block off the Place Vendome. How could you get a better location than that? We upgraded to a suite and had a gorgeous room with a balcony that overlooked Rue de la Paix with Cartier, Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels below. The four of us walked all over the place, spent a day at Versailles, hit the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay. We had a great dinner at Paco & Franck's new restaurant, Le Reminet, on the Left Bank. Old friends Tom & Yoshi hosted us for an over-the-top French dinner (cooked by Mark) one night in their 18th century apartment right off the Champs Elysee.

For a whole week we shopped, we drank gallons of wine, we ate tons of bistro food and pastries, walked for miles and miles and, believe it if you can, even the locals seemed happy to have us.

Dinner at Tom & Yoshi's flat

It was such a pleasure to have some non-U.S. news to pay attention to. Since France has a new President there was lots of talk about Sarkozy but no riots, alas. People I talked to seemed willing to wait and see... Paco and Franck, as business owners, are disgusted by the atmosphere of entitlement among French workers. They basically said you can't get French people to work, so they hire mostly foreigners in their restaurants. EVEN BIGGER NEWS: Paris is going smoke-free later this year. Smoking will be prohibited in bars and restaurants. Never thought I'd live to see it!

A departure at last!

Well, we're off! We're going with Mark and Arturo to Paris, then Hector and I are on to Bruges, Amsterdam, London. I won't be posting any photos until we return in June so here's some stock footage to hold you until then.

Ta ta.

There's Nowhere to Hide

Unbelievable! Infuriating! I'm sick again. After recovering from a nasty bout of bronchitis in March, now I've come down with it again. Not as bad this time but my God. I went back to my Dr. and with no little indignation I demanded to know what the hell was going on with my immune system. A shrug and a handful of prescriptions was all I got in return:

Septra

Albuterol Inhaler (no thank you)

Robitussin -AC Cough Syrup (oh yes please! with that little extra soupcon of codeine)

I used to get sick like this when I was a smoker and living in LA at the same time, a deadly combination. But I've been pretty healthy since then. Could this have something to do with... with... GLOBAL WARMING?

Or is it that infamous CIA plot to get rid of...GAY MEN?

What next? Al Qaeda spreading mono on AIRPLANES?

(photo is representational only, not from author's actual home, for God's sake!)

It's May 1st and I understand that Fidel Castro, like a groundhog on Feb. 2nd, failed to appear as promised. I suspect he's long dead and they're keeping it a secret as long as possible.

In more local news, a couple of morons are here to re-install our home theatre system. They were supposed to be here yesterday but of course failed to appear. They can't seem to speak, won't make eye contact with me. It was only when I pointed out that the TV needed to be lifted onto a shelf that I heard some noises come from one of them.

Later... all done now. They actually did rather a good job and even had some wires left over. Most efficient! Everything sounds new. They offered to replace all our remote controls with one big one but I demured. It's only been 6 years, we're still learning how to work the 6 we have.

Minneapolis

Just returned last night from Minneapolis, where I attended the National Association of Professional Organizers Conference. I went with my friend and business partner, Leslie. As she and I are starting a new "organizing" business, we thought it would be useful to attend their annual conference. It was quite fun, actually.

There were about 900 in attendance, of which about 20 were males, at least 19 of them gay. After getting a good look at the the other attendees I rechristened it the National Association of Bossy Women. We went to seminars, and luncheons, and "power breakfasts" and were very, very organized. Sadly, there was not a lot of info on our area of interest: doing consulting on going green and using eco-friendly, sustainable products. I guess we'll be pioneers.

Minneapolis is a very average city. All the usual stores, people look pretty average, average amount of traffic. They have high hopes for their downtown redevelopment but right now you need to get the hell out before dark. Interestingly, I guess because of the winters, one can walk all over downtown without ever going outside. They have these warrens of glass skywalks that cut through the buildings above street level and all the fat, bossy white women were using them even though it was 70 degrees outside.

There were no memorable dining experiences. Stayed at the Marriott, ate at the Marriott. Next year's convention is in Reno, another average city.

Taos for Orrie's Birthday

Our Marrakech Suite

Taos Street

A while back ago we spent a few days in Taos to celebrate Orrie's 70th birthday. He'd never been to Taos or Santa Fe! Of course we stayed at El Monte Sagrado, the spa resort we act like we own there. After flying into Albuquerque and breezing through Santa Fe, we took our leisurely amble along the high road, through Chimayo and the gorgeous mountains with a dusting of snow. Then we pulled into the parking lot at Sagrado to find a HUGE construction project going on. Oh dear, something rotten in Denmark. Seems the place has been purchased by a...a... corporation and they are expanding to double the size of the place.

According to an unnamed employee (Linda) there is definite discord. The hotel corporation (Kessler) has turned off all the eco-friendly part of the resort, like the natural water purification and such and are concentrating on making it more of a conference center. A sad day. I guess we'll have to shift our focus back to Santa Fe, which we also love.

Had a great dinner with Karla and Kelly at Byzantium. It's a small place off the south side of the Taos Square. Only 7 tables, the menu changes according to the seasons and the whims of the chef. Karla says that some days they just leave a note on the door saying if you want to eat, just call them at home and they'll come in and open the place.

My New Passport!

After no small amount of sweating, my passport arrived today. I of course waited too long to send it off for renewal, then I began to hear horror stories of how backlogged the passport people are. Since the guvmint now requires everyone to have a passport to go even to Mexico or Canada there has been a flurry of applications. It was good for another year but I was running out of space for stamping!

First, I sent it off with a check made out for the wrong amount so to punish me for my stupidity they kept it in a drawer for a month then sent it all back. By that time I decided to go through an expediting service, which cost triple, but since we're heading off to Gay Paree in May I didn't want to fuck around.

So it's here, all shiny and new and colorful, with some sort of electronic bug in it so George Bush can keep track of me in case I visit the Axis of Evil.

Rome vs I, Claudius

Now that HBO's Rome has ended (Caesar long dead, Antony and Cleopatra have killed themselves in Alexandria) we are sorely lacking in the classical costume drama department. So we've decided to return to a beloved old favorite, I, Claudius. It's adapted from a great book by Robert Graves and conveniently takes up historically more or less where Rome left off, during the reign of Augustus (known as Octavian through most of Rome). Love them both.

1. Acting: Well, both have wonderful casts but I must say that I, Claudius beats Rome. Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, John Hurt as Caligula!

2. Script: I, Claudius is actually better writing. It's consistently compelling, while Rome tended to be uneven at times. Both have the best lines going to the villainesses: Atia in Rome and Livia in I, Claudius get to say just the most outrageous things. And who can forget the scene in which a campaigning Caligula is asked by his security chief to name a code phrase for the following day. John Hurt cocks his head in thought and replies, "give us a kiss."

3. Budget: Oops. No contest here. Watching Rome you could see every nickel spent on production, from the locations to the costumes. It was very rich. On the other hand, I, Claudius was one of the very early Masterpiece Theatre productions and they apparently had no budget. It was shot on video, with sets that look like painted cardboard. At times you can see Derek Jacobi's old-age latex peeling off the side of his face.

4. Nudity: Rome...lots!! I, Claudius...very little and that's just tits.

Therefore, the award goes to...Rome!

Hollywood

The Hollywood & Highland Center




Mary Carlisle Blakely (1920's)


I drove up on Thursday, collected Hector as he was finishing up a conference in lovely Long Beach (that's sarcasm) and we checked into the glamorous Renaissance Hollywood. It's connected to the new Hollywood & Highland Center, which is where the Oscars are now held, in the Kodak Theatre. I can remember a number of years ago on this very spot I observed a crack whore getting an Easter morning beating from her pimp, so this corner has definitely come up in the world.

On Saturday we had brunch at Cha cha cha in Silverlake, which was both fun and delicious. They serve Caribbean tapas. Made me want to go back to Puerto Rico. Then for dinner we drove to Santa Monica to La Botte Ristorante. Another winner. It's a small neighborhood place, with a big wine list and good service. The owner was all over the place, that's a good sign. I had White Corn Soup with Lobster Tail ($15) and Tagliatelle alla Bolognese ($17). Both wonderful.

Sunday there was a National Geographic Seminar on Travel Writing, attended by me and several dozen unemployed screenwriters. Later Bill Graff and I had dinner at Fabiola, on Sunset near Vine. Mary Blakeley was going to take me to lunch on Monday at the Bel Air Country Club but she got sick and cancelled on me. (She is 95 or so*, after all). I just came on home instead of staying another night.

I know it's so tired to be going on about how things change but I mean really. The traffic! My God, there is no escape. I have lived in LA many times throughout the 1970's, 80's and 90's and it was always possible to find a secret route somewhere that would avoid the traffic jams but not anymore. I just didn't want to go anywhere. So I apologize to everyone that I didn't even call while I was there. Come here instead.


*pure speculation, since she had never told anyone her real age. that includes her son.

Movies and more movies!

Having not gone ANYWHERE for nearly 3 months, I don't have any trips to yack about but I have been seeing movies. And now I have been laying low for several days with a bad case of bronchitis so I've been lolling about on the sofa, taking a little celluloid therapy. Here's a sampling, along with highbrow critique.

Chumscrubber. Never even heard of this movie! Have you? But it has an incredible cast: Jamie Bell (Billy Elliott), Glenn Close, Carrie-Ann Moss, Ralph Fiennes, John Heard (where the hell has he been?), Allison Janney. It's a very dark comedy set in a cesspool suburbia, narrated by a video game character. Drugs, alcoholism, adultery... 2 Thumbs Up!




Bright Young Things. This one I had heard of but just briefly, then it disappeared from my radar. Directed by Stephen Fry, it's based on one of Evelyn Waugh's novels, Vile Bodies. Decline of the spoiled upper class youth. Good cast, love all those 1920's costumes. Just barely recognized Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair in The Queen. James Mcavoy from Last King of Scotland. Give everyone an English accent and I'm there!




The Dish. I've seen this over and over I just think it's great. A small movie, as they say, but it's very honest and tender and funny. It's about a group of astronomers in a little town in Australia that get picked by NASA to beam the pictures from the moon landing. Lots of funny local characters.




The Da Vinci Code. Wretched. Just like the fucking book.




Three Kings. Here's another one I've seen lots. It's good! Mark Wahlberg is wonderful in this, so is Clooney. And Spike Jonze (director of Being John Malkovich) as Conrad is absolutely great! Nora Dunn as the reporter! These three Desert Storm soldiers hear about the location of Kuwaiti gold stolen by Saddam and they decide to steal it. The country is in such utter chaos that they are able to just walk in and take it but then of course are plagued by one catastrophe after another as they try to help some local Iraquis. It's funny and sad and very well written.

Flags of Our Fathers

After trashing Ryan Phillippe for Breach, I have to say he was pretty good in this. Granted, he was not called upon to do much more than a lot of falling down and looking tired and war-weary. But he was very convincing at that.

This whole thing is pretty Spielberg-ian. It's unashamedly hoaky and you can count on every soldier that you really like getting blown to smithereens. Along with Ryan, there's Jesse Bradford and Adam Beach as the three surviving soldiers who raised the flag in the famous photo. Paul Walker, whose face you'll recognize if you don't know the name, had a really small part. I always wonder if their good scenes got cut out when I see popular actors in these little almost-nothing roles.

And Jamie Bell, the original Billy Elliott, is in as Ryan's best friend. He's a really good actor, (I hate to remark on something so shallow but he does a very convincing American accent) and of course he gets killed. In fact, his death is so gruesome they don't even show it. That's saying something because there's plenty of severed arms and intestines and brains flying all around.

But frankly, I just don't get all the hoopla. I think Clint Eastwood is a good director but Americans think any movie that makes them cry is a masterpiece.

Zodiac

Being a real suspense buff, I liked this movie. And I don't mind dating myself by saying I remember hearing about the Zodiac killer although I was a mere tot. The huge cast is great, it's just one familiar face after another for 2 hours and 40 minutes. And even a barely recognizable Candy Clark (American Grafitti) in a small role! I think I spotted Armistead Maupin in the background during a scene in which they were talking about him.

The real Zodiac killer was never caught, although according to this movie, after about 15 years everybody and their dog knew who it was. There was just never enough evidence to arrest him. So the film takes us from about 1969 to the early 80's, following Jake's character, Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist for the SF Chronicle, as his interest in the case turns into an obsession. He follows all the leads that the police somehow missed and eventually tracks down the culprit...

It's filmed beautifully, starting out with a kind of 60's exuberance and becoming more realistic as the deaths pile up over the years. There's plenty of fun touches to remind one of the sixties: mimeograph and "telefax" machines, big clunky typewriters, the clothes of course. Jake was good, Mark Ruffalo was great as the detective, and Brian Cox was wonderful as a pompous Melvin Belli.

Reno 911: Miami

Oh yes, we did.

I love this show on Comedy Central. It's very silly but very politically incorrect and I just laugh til I cry. So Hector and I decided we wanted a feel good movie and we chose this. It started out funny with all their usual gags but then when it tried to actually sustain a plot for an hour and a half it just couldn't do it. It's like The Simpsons, more than a half hour and one starts to feel queasy.

Breach

Last night I went alone to see Breach. It's the story of the capture of FBI super-traitor Robert Hanssen. I love Chris Cooper (Hanssen), and Ryan Phillipe (agent Eric O'Neill) is always enjoyable to look at. The movie is actually better than I expected, it's a good story to start with.

Chris Cooper is his usual dour but interesting self. I heard a radio interview with him on NPR last year and he is just as serious in real life as the characters he plays... zero sense of humor. Laura Linney is also just great as O'Neill's boss Kate Burroughs. I'm not sure why she has yet to achieve Streep status but I think she's that good, perhaps a little on the chilly side. I wish Ryan Phillipe was a better actor. He sure tries hard but there's no way he could have carried this movie without Cooper and Linney along for the ride. He just doesn't have it.

The movie has all the requisite spy plot twists and gimmicks- bugged offices, cars being tailed, our hero escaping detection at the last possible second every time he snoops around his boss' office. My one big complaint is that we are supposed to believe that Hanssen more or less let himself be duped by O'Neill due to some kind of spy burn-out.

Oscars!!

As you are all waiting breathlessly for my predictions, here they are:

Best Picture

Babel

Best Actor

Forest Whitaker- Last King of Scotland

Best Actress

Helen Mirren- The Queen

Best Supporting Actor

Djimon Hounsou- Blood Diamond

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls

Best Director

Martin Scorcese- The Departed

I'm more or less satisfied with all of them this year. Sometimes I strongly disagree with who I think will win, but it's pretty clear this time. Happy Predicting!

Valentine's Day

We had a quiet but sweet Valentine's Day, our 10th. I waited a bit late to make reservations anywhere so we were shut out by our usual favorites: Laurel, Oceanaire, Prado, so we ended up at Parkhouse. That was fitting because it was the place we went on our first date. Had the usual delicious liver pate (smaller portion than previously), followed by a former favorite of mine, the beef stew. Unfortunately, the new owner changed the recipe and now it's a ghastly bowl of dog food topped with gorgonzola cheese (can you imagine?!) Gone are all the wonderful vegetables and the sprinkling of sweet cornbread. It was a sad, sad evening. Hector loved his pork chop with smashed potatoes, though.

Hector gave me a certificate for a massage at the Knotstop, our new massage joint in Hillcrest. It was wonderful. We have also started taking a Pilates class there. It, on the other hand, is murder. It's all about working the areas that thought they had earned early retirement: abdomen, thighs, etc. But I do enjoy the stretching.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia was really, really cold. I met Hector in Dallas on Thursday and we flew in to Philly together. He gave me his first class upgrade which was very sweet. Since he worked all day Friday I just wandered around looking at everything. Our Downtown Marriott was directly across the street from Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia's answer to Quincy Market-Fisherman's Wharf-Pike's Market. You know, an old historic building they've turned into a tourist trap, with cafes and T-shirts and worthless crap. Anyway, I ate at one of the little cafes run by adorable Quakers, then shopped among the few attractive stalls that sell gorgeous fruit, cookbooks, homemade desserts, etc.

There was a time when Philadelphia was known as the fattest city in America and maybe officially it's not anymore but I must say they still have a lot of fat people there. Huge people. Monstrous. Even now it's a really Northeast America kind of city, with blue collar Archie Bunkers all over the place. It has that industrial feel, still. We didn't really do much of the Independence-y stuff because we'd seen it twice before and once was sufficient.

We had dinner at Oceanaire on Friday. I had Shrimps de Jonghe and a Dover Sole. Both great. We got the celebrity treatment from the staff because we were about the only ones in the whole crowded place NOT there for Philadelphia Restaurant Week, hence we were paying full price for everything. The other diners were mostly enjoying the standard "eat-pay-get out!" class of service. On Saturday night we asked the concierge about a good family-style Italian place. I guess she thought we meant cheap, because she started describing places that sounded like tourist hangouts, but then she got it that we wanted a nice place where locals go for good Italian so she steered us to La Famiglia, near Penn's Landing in the Old City. It's a beautiful place, very family, a place the Mafia probably loves. I had an arugula & pear salad and a butternut squash ravioli.

It's raining here at last. Really raining, not San Diego raining, which is when a few clouds fly over and the humidity goes up a little. And since the streets are damp, there is that air of hysteria out and cars are skidding all over the freeway.

On Thursday I'm meeting Hector in Dallas, then we are flying on to Philadelphia, where it is God knows how cold. He has a presentation there on Friday and we'll hang out until Sunday. He's been working in Guatemala City this week, which he says is like being in Tijuana. That's not a compliment.

This week I'm working on a large armoire for Chris & Jim's house. The lower section is complete but I need to get in there and start building the top part. And yet... strangely... I don't feel like it. I wonder what's on TV?

The Pictures

We have a long to-see list of movies before the Oscars in a month. Last night we saw The Last King of Scotland, which is getting lots of hype over Forrest Whitaker's performance. He is great and it's a good story but I'm not sure he deserves the Oscar.

Also good are James McAvoy and lesbian icon Gillian Anderson. McAvoy was adorable as the faun in Narnia and he's adorable here too, but it was difficult for me to have much sympathy with his character, a naive do-gooder who goes to Uganda out of boredom and casually becomes involved with Idi Amin. I mean really.

Notes On A Scandal was absolutely delicious! Judi Dench was superb and Cate Blanchett was right with her all the way. What a great pairing. Watching it was like watching Ripley, where I just couldn't believe the way things were heading but I was relishing every second of the mahem. I wonder how many middle-aged gay men secretly wish they were Judi Dench?

Children of Men has received a lot of mixed reviews but I love movies that have such a dark, depressing view of the future like this. It's been compared to Blade Runner and I have to agree, although this has a much more coherent story than BR. Clive Owen is very Harrison Fordish here. But, as always, when Julianne Moore appeared onscreen I wondered, "what the hell is Julianne Moore doing there?"

The art direction is just spectacular. I want to see it again just to be able to catch all that richness behind the main action.

Ali's Jeans

This week I received an email from Ali, our sweet local guide from central Morocco. One day while we were with him he helped us negotiate for a carpet at one of the merchants. When we thanked him he replied "I want jeans". After a few moments of just staring at him I finally got it that he wanted us to send him a pair of jeans from the States. And not just any jeans but black jeans.

He had no idea of his waist size, so he scrounged up a piece of string which we put around his waist and knotted where it met. I brought this string home and used it as my guide for his size. (it was 33" even though he looked a lot thinner). So I bought him the jeans and mailed them to his village in Morocco ($45 shipping thank you).

This was all weeks ago. Finally he wrote that he received the jeans at last and thank you so much but even though they are too big they fit his brother. I wrote back, " your brother owes you a pair of black jeans and may God be with you."

Vegas Update

Lovely little weekend. The drive over was easy in the new car, the fumes weren't so bad. When we got to Bellagio, we were grabbed by a bored front desk girl who liked the look of us (we must've reminded her of her gay uncle) and upgraded us to a 28th floor lake view room for free. The place was not nearly as crowded as previous trips so that was nice. We enjoyed the spa, gambled [lost], strolled up and down the strip, had nice meals, took it easy. What more can one ask of Las Vegas?

Vegas

Hector and I are leaving on a surprise trip to Las Vegas this morning. Well... the surprise is that we're leaving today instead of Saturday as originally planned. Mark called last night to say that Bellagio had screwed up the reservation and we don't have a comp room this weekend. Hmmmm, suspicious. Be that as it may, Hector and I decided to go now by ourselves and just pay for it. The rates were good for Thu-Sun, so off we go.

Hector got his new company car. We've been waiting since August for the damn thing. It's a lovely silver Chrysler Pacifica. It will be nice for the drive to Vegas except that all that new vinyl and plastic inside is emitting a toxic cloud and I start coughing and gagging the instant I get in.

Movies

Didn't watch the Golden Globes last night, saw 24 instead, but of course recorded it. I understand Babel won for best pic. I thought it was really good, but the problem I have with movies that jump among different stories is that I don't develop an emotional attachment to any of the characters. Somehow that lessens the impact of the movie for me. All the performances were great and the scenes in Tijuana and Morocco were absolutely authentic. We walked through those villages in Morocco and it is just like that. It's not a country one wants to get shot in.

Helen Mirren deserves every award she gets as far as I'm concerned, although I thought she was much better in Elizabeth I than in the Queen... Haven't seen the Last King of Scotland but everyone always raves about Forrest Whitaker and I'm sorry I just don't see it. He's not bad but he's just not that special to me. And that lazy eye drives me crazy... Poor Annette Benning. Another loss, but she should know by now that if Meryl Streep is nominated she should just stay home in bed... We'll see Dreamgirls this week sometime... Apocalypto I liked better than I thought I would but it is ridiculously bloody. There's something wrong with Mel... I guess I'll see Borat eventually but I just know it's going to be fart jokes and queer jokes, regardless of what the critics are saying.

Home Sweet Home

What a blessing to be back home for a while. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the whole trip immensely. Rome was just wonderful... well you can tell from the pix that we saw all the hotspots (and the food!). But by the time we arrived home I had had it with airports, lost luggage (how did BA lose both my bags?), tight layovers and funny sleep schedules.

Now Leslie and I are gearing up with the new organizing business, Hector and I have a little weekend in Vegas planned on the 20th and I'm studying for my contractors license. All in all, very sensible and adult, wouldn't you say?... Check back in a few weeks and I'll be ready to hit the road.

We shipped a beautiful old brass chandelier from Cairo and it arrived yesterday in 1,000,000 pieces. I had packed it myself so I know that the foul Egyptian Customs/Antiquities people opened it up and didn't re-pack it properly. The cheap tin lamp we bought naturally arrived in perfect condition.

Ciao, Roma!

Arriverderci Amman

Steve and Ibrahim

Amman turned out to be a very nice, friendly place. The people are really warm. The highlight, of course, was the trip to Petra. I didn't really know much about Petra so it was a nice surprise. Our driver, Ibrahim, was a fun guy, very talkative after we got him warmed up. On the 3-hour drive there he gave a lesson in Islam and the Hajj, the trip to Mecca. We told him a few bible stories. Mostly, though, he talked about his 6 girlfriends scattered all over the Mideast. When we got stopped at a roadblock he opened the glovebox and pulled out a handful of ID cards, then proceeded to explain to the police that we were on business for the Jordanian Royal Family, which was apparently not so outlandish because they just nodded and we drove on.

To approach the site of Petra you walk down a narrow canyon, then enter into the Siq, a deep crevice in the mountain that extends nearly a kilometer. After walking 45 minutes through this channel suddenly you can see a narrow opening of light. Then, unbelievably, you are standing out in the open looking at a huge shrine carved out of the solid rock. The whole city is carved from the stone, tucked down into a protected valley. It was the perfect defense for the Nabateans, who built it around 6th century BC.

Petra, Jordan

Mount Nebo, Jordan

Looking toward the Plain of Moab and Jericho
Steve at the Tomb of Moses
Dead Sea 20km thataway

If it's Wednesday it must be Amman

It seems I have no photos from Cairo. We didn't really do any sightseeing but I wish I had some of Anna and Shoukry, at least.

Now we're in Amman, which was a quick Egypt Air flight on Monday. Amman seems a bit...sleepy, to be kind. It's dusty, all the buildings are bone-colored, and the nightlife seems to revolve around the bars in the American hotels. 3 American hotels were bombed in November of 2005.

Yesterday Jihan, the Jordan rep, took us to Mount Nebo, nearby. It is where Moses is buried! Who knew? You can stand at the tomb of Moses and look out across the Plain of Moab to see the Dead Sea and Israel. She pointed out the town of Jericho and the Israeli border. Then we stopped for lunch at a wonderful little restaurant in Faysaliyah.

Hector has a presentation this evening, then tomorrow we get up early for our private tour of Petra, 3 hours away. Jihan arranged for us to have the driver used by the Minister of Tourism. Is this a good thing? We'll see.

The Cairo Eye Doctor

Hector accidentally tore his last contact lens so we went off last night (8pm) in search of an optometrist recommended by the hotel concierge. All we had was a business card totally in Arabic and some vague directions that it was "near for walking". After taking twenty minutes to cross the street outside the hotel, we were then plunged into a completely non-tourist area. We stopped 5 times to ask directions and after a lot of pointing that way, we were standing in front of an old apartment building. Hanging from a 5th floor balcony was a dirty banner with a lot of Arabic writing and a picture of an eyeball. That had to be it.

Up four flights I knocked on a blank door that was thrown open by a woman who looked at us, screamed and slammed the door in our faces. After a few seconds of more screaming behind the door she opened it a crack and I stuck the business card inside. (scream, scream) "upstairs!"

On the next floor we found the Dr's receptionist and Hector managed to explain who he was. We sat a few minutes in the crowded waiting room, like a pair of fucking Martians, and then we got ushered into the Dr's office. It turns out that he was educated in Spain so he and Hector, of course, were immediate best friends. After an exam and a lot of jokes about the silliness of U.S. medical care, Hector got his box of contact lenses. Total cost for the evening: $19.22

Cairo

I was so excited that I was flying Emirates Air out of Dubai to Cairo, first class no less, while Joan and Hector were in business. But our plane was an old bucket and it was no better than some crappy American airline. What a disappointment. I had always heard it was ultra-elegant.

But we're here now. Good old Cairo. Good old filthy, stinking, chaotic Cairo. This is our 3rd time here. Our hotel is the Intercontinental Citystars, attached to the fancy schmancy Citystars mall and in the area, Heliopolis. We have the same sweet, funny driver as last time, Shoukry. He's a hunky former U.N. soldier and I'm certain he carries a gun in the car somewhere, in addition to the 3-foot long club he already showed us. He sees himself as a bodyguard as well as a driver and keeps an eye out for all the Harcourt people here.

We met up with Freddy, our Egyptian friend, last night for dinner. We went to the Four Seasons Hotel for their Lebanese buffet, which was delicious. But the hotel is incredible. It sits right on the Nile and is absolutely gorgeous, by far the nicest in town. As we were walking out of our hotel, trying to negotiate through the heavy traffic, a car ran over my fucking foot! Luckily for me it was a small car and they must have needed air in their tires because it didn't really hurt at all. Mostly my pride.

Today Hector is presenting at the American University of Cairo. I joined them all this morning for the opening but they said I could take Shoukry and get out of there so I did. Outside it's cold and dusty, a rotten combination, so I imagine I'll be staying in the hotel or the Citystars Mall all day.

The Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai

Looking up inside the atrium
In the Lobby
In the bar, 27th floor

Dubai

Burj Al Arab Hotel


Indoor ski slope at Mall of the Emirates

Dubai

We're here at last. After three long flights, we made it to the hotel at 3 am Monday after leaving SD at 1030 am Saturday. Our hotel, the Montgomerie, is just great. It's a brand new boutique property located on the grounds of a private country club.

Dubai is one big construction site. It's as if Sheikh Mohammed woke up one day said "let's build a city today" and they started on the whole thing at once. My cousin, Babs, said it used to be a charming little sleepy place when they first came here in the 1970's. Her husband, Crawford, works for one of the big construction firms.

Best of all, the schedule is easy and I've had 2 days now to play on my own. Yesterday I met Babs and her friend for lunch and we took an abra ride up the Dubai Creek. Today I went to the incredible Mall of the Emirates, which has the only indoor ski slope in the Mideast. Shopped at Harvey Nichols.

Hector has had afternoon presentations in Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain. Tomorrow night we're going to a barbeque at a local's home and then Thursday we leave for Cairo. I'm still fighting jet lag. It's only 4 pm and I'm eyeing that luxurious bed... maybe just a little nap...

Last night my old friend from 2nd grade, Chris, called to let me know that he was in a Tulsa hospital after nearly dying from a ruptured appendix. Apparently they kept telling him he had an ulcer and sending him home until finally someone did the right diagnosis. Further proof that a hospital is the last place you want to be if you're sick.

Then this morning I was talking to my old friend, Diane, and she was on her way to the clinic with a bunch of suspicious symptoms like nausea and lightheadedness but no fever. She was scared. At our age it could be anything.

Plus, my old friend, Kent, needs to have a hip replacement! He's younger than me, for God's sake (but only by a couple of years). We were with him in Palm Springs over the weekend and he was limping around like Grandpa from The Real McCoys. By Sunday I had developed a sympathy limp.

Today, however, I'm feeling by far the healthiest of my contemporaries.

Fun-filled weekend in Palm Springs

Just returned from a whirlwind weekend in good old Palm Springs. Our friend, Rob Lang the photographer, was having a gallery reception there this weekend and invited us over. So Bob and Kent flew in from Santa Fe, we collected them here in San Diego, then all drove over together Friday evening. H and I stayed at the antiseptic Courtyard by Marriott (have to build up those points), they all stayed at the Mirasol, a charming gay guest house that was built in the 1940's by Howard Hughes, though not as a gay guest house, of course.

Rob's reception was fun, even though it was competing with the annual Christmas Parade outside, which was mostly a parade of city utility trucks decorated with Xmas lights. But we met lots of new folks- some from LA, some from PS, discovered some new restaurants, and did some lounging by Howard Hughes' pool. Hector and I are buying two of the pieces from Rob's show.

Back in San Diego now, I have dropped them all at the airport. Hector is going to Seattle for work, K & B returning to Santa Fe, and I am vegetating for the rest of the evening so stop bugging me.

Jimmy Carter

Last night I watched Jimmy Carter on 3 different talk shows in the space of about 2 hours. He's selling his new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. He basically answered the same questions and told the same story on all the shows but I always love hearing him because he's so obviously informed about world events, he is still involved, and I always feel he's telling the truth. Like saying that an honest discussion about Israel/ Palestine is missing in the US, even though it's occuring everywhere else in the world. I was too young to understand his presidency when it was happening, but I think these days that he's one of the few honest voices we have in this country.

Last night we put up our new phony Christmas tree. Once I got the thing out of the box I realized it's 9 feet tall and six feet wide! But the good news is that the lights are on it permanently. We simply hung a few ornaments and congratulated ourselves on a job well done. I realize it's a bit early but since we're leaving on Dec 9...

Happy Thanksgiving

I can't imagine a more gorgeous Thanksgiving Day. Here in the desert it's about 72 degrees , just a few clouds. From our 3rd floor balcony we fed the ducks old bread this morning and I pitched a few carrots to the families of bunnies frolicking in the marsh grass. The only thing spoiling this serene picture is the loud, cigar-smoking old men on the other balconies.

We loved Bond on Tuesday. Daniel Craig is a more serious Bond than the others and I like the way they've removed a lot of the sillier aspects of the genre. The realism makes it more suspenseful. Last night we saw The Fountain. Very surreal, but really engrossing. Hugh Jackman is great.

I guess we won't be having turkey today but what we will be having is repeated trips to the ATM machine at the nearby Agua Caliente Casino.