Fancy doing it on a cruise? Well you’ve got one more day to book a trip that includes, not just some of the best jazz artists, but also the Caribbean. What could be better?
How about the 2011 artist lineup? David Sanborn, Alonzo Bodden, Simone, and so many more that you can visit here. And then again there are the countries! Nassau, San Juan, St. Maarten and Half Moon Cay.
Then of course there is the price! For nine days sail through the Caribbean, listen to the soothing sounds of Jazz and do it all for just $2,599 if you book with CTravel.
But remember you only have one more day so visit their website or their offices on Queen Street for more information.
While you’re there you might want to also ask about their special deal just for Bermudians. Bermudians who want to visit New York. That includes staying in the luxurious
Fitzpatrick Hotel in New York
Fitzpatrick hotel for just $199 a night.
That will also include the use of their health club, special offer coupons and it is available from Thursday to Sunday!
Why not treat yourself after Christmas for a little vacation? And even better when you book through CTravel then you can also book your theatre tickets!
Well not just theatre tickets, but discount tickets for the any event you’re interested in seeing while you visit the Big Apple. Check out what is available here.
And finally as a little bonus. A trip that is fun and out there for you….how about experiencing the haunting images of Vietnam or the beautiful ones of Cambodia
Experience a vivid world of monks in saffron robes, rice paddies, floating markets & ancient temples with a private guided tour.
Visit Hanoi, which is a lively mix past & present, the limestone karsts of Halong Bay, culturally decadent Hue, charming old Hoi An & Ho Chi Minh City before voyaging to Cambodia to explore the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat.
Enjoy an overnight cruise on Halong Bay, water puppet show, Tai Chi, cooking class, cycling, river cruises, hot air balloon ride, elephants & more.
Featuring a great mix of 4 & 5 star hotels, private guide, driver & internal flights, this tour promises to be the trip of a lifetime.
For 14 days it will cost you just $3,794 per person! How crazy is that? I know how crazy it is because I’ve traveled through that part of the world.
It’s a trip that is priceless but with a visit to the helpful staff of CTravel you can also visit the stunning countries of South East Asia.
Kielbasa? Check. Champagne? Check? A bridge that was not destroyed in WWII? Check. Thousands of people from Italy, France, China, and the USA? Check? Fireworks? At midnight.
I was knee-deep in freezing temperatures, but that’s ok. I could work with the frost. It was nothing a couple of glasses of gluwein and a lot of jumping, couldn’t fix.
As I found myself at the beginning of my trip around the world celebrating in Prague the welcoming of 2009, I realized I was glad I chose this spot. With the Christmas Market still doling out the famous sausage dish (kielbasa) and hot wine, coupled with the thousands of tourists in the Czech Capital there was a sense of unity among nations.
Well, unity until we all tried to head for the Charles’ Bridge. This structure survived WWII and just about survives the onslaught of tourists and Czech’s alike every New Years; it’s the best place to watch the fireworks. On the way everyone jumps into the shops on the corner to grab their champagne, absinthe, or the Czech liquor, Fernet.
Then the count-down begins. Five, Cinque, Cinq….Four, Quatro, Quatre…..three, tre, tre, Two, duo, due….One, uno, une!
But not everyone enjoys their New Years on a bridge. Of course I have never been in New York for New Year’s Eve but, as everyone knows, they drop a ball…in Times’ Square of course!
Sure the New Yorkers drop a ball, but that’s nothing compared to our onion in St. George’s, right?
Neither of those, I’m afraid, touch on the interesting New Years tradition in Peru, however. In this South American country, they dress-up a doll (yes I know machismo is gone for a night) in old clothes and then burn it.
Talk about cleaning your closet! To ensure there are replacements, markets spring-up catering to everything you need. New clothes not an option? Then at least new underwear is!
But, of course, yellow underwear is the only colour you want if you need happiness and luck (good thing that’s my favourite colour!) or red if you want love or green for, of course, money.
Red, green and….white? Well those colours will have you wishing: “Buon Capodanno!” That’s what I heard in Florence as I celebrated a New Year before starting my semester of studying in these Renaissance-lined streets. Of course the greeting came with the crescendo of bottles crashing onto these streets (perhaps a hangover from the Southern tradition of throwing your old things out of the window showing that you were ready for the new).
We didn’t dodge the bottles until after a massive fiesta! La Festa di San Silvestro to be exact. For my experience it was based on sea food and fish.
Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy!
Perhaps that was because I was up North and the Italians I was celebrating with were from the coast (sailors actually). In other parts of Italy the feast is based on lentils and pork! Of course once you indulge in these feasts only the Italians know how to work it off. That requires cracking a spumante or prosecco and finding a club to dance and then waiting for the new born sun.
A ray of light is exactly what you might think you see if you celebrate the new year in India. Parties have themes – colour codes or unique dress codes – filled with food and even the lighting of bonfires and the burning of crackers. Of course if you visit the tourist and hippie mecca of Goa (a province on India’s West coast) then raves are all the…rave!
Heading back for Silvester, or the feast of St. Silverster is the name of New Year’s Eve in Germany. Who was Silvester? Well, he was a pope who lived in the fourth century and apparently healed leprosy and baptized the Roman Emporer, Constantine the Great among other things. Fair enough. I guess he should get a celebration. In Berlin, however, the world-famous bash Brandenburger Tor is held and at midnight everyone wishes everyone else “Gutes Nue Jahr”. The next day, there is, of course, the need to know what is coming in the next year so the Germans enjoy Bleigiessen. A tradition, it requires dropping molten lead into cold water. Shaped like a heart or a ring? A wedding is in your future.
While we, in the West, might be celebrating New Years’ Eve in a couple of days, in Cambodia New Year or Chaul Chnam Thmey is not until April 13th or 14th and it is celebrated for three days! Yes, three days. That’s because it represents the end of the harvesting season. Makes sense, no? To celebrate means visiting temples to get blessing from monks and priests while building a sand hill on the temple grounds and decorating it with five religious flags – it represents the Buddha’s five disciples. Each of the three days also have their own significance.
Harvesting is what it’s all about in Korea, China and Vietnam! Only their’s is celebrated at sunset on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice (that was on December, 21 this year). It’s a three-day celebration too! Heck they know how to party out there. Almost all Koreans, apparently, head back to their hometowns to celebrate. On the eve, or Sut dal kum mum, people clean their homes and light them with colourful halogens. You think our New Years Eve is long? The Koreans don’t sleep! The belief is everyone needs to stay-up to see the new year coming in or….else.
The next day it’s all about eating and spending time with family even including the ancestors. Known as Chesa, a clean room, a table altar is places with food items and on a special paper their names are written. On a special paper called Chi Bang, the names of the ancestors are written. With the rituals done, it’s time to have fun with games and hanging-out.
The only tradition for their friends south, Australia, is a party of course! Beaches, pubs and clubs are all filled with crazy cappers and as soon as church bells ring at midnight loud noises also ring-out! Recovering from this fun, the New Year Day is a public holiday and people spend it with their family and friends. To get an idea of how much fun it is more than 3,00,000 tourists celebrate their New Year in Australia. I suppose that’s a party.
The Matterhorn can provide the background for New Year's Eve!
Of course the best I’ve seen/experienced was in Zermatt, Switzerland! I had the luck of having a friend with a house there. But that’s not where we stayed….well for New Year’s Eve anyway. Instead the party was taken to a five-story restaurant/bar/club in the middle of this traffic-free, mountain ensconced town. The Swiss know how to party.
Of course the next day the party the night before was nothing a little skiing with the backdrop of the Matterhorn mountain couldn’t take care of. Let’s hope I have the same luck this year in Vermont! So wherever you are and whatever you are doing this year, enjoy it! And come back next week for my next Rock Fever column for The Royal Gazette on traveling by book! (those following the blog will have seen it before:)
So I’ve started a new job. Yes, I still have the travel column, I am still working on freelance writing, but, well, health insurance, social insurance and payroll tax all cost a lot.
What am I doing? Well I’m running around Swizzle Inn Restaurant in Bermuda trying not to break too many things and keeping everyone full on nachos and Swizzle.
Yes, I am a waitress and let me tell you I had no idea. It’s constant. It kills the feet. It requires patience unlike many things I have done in my life.
And that’s not one of the hardest things. Nope. One of the hardest is the schedule! And today is Monday, but it is also a holiday. Why? Because Christmas and Boxing Day were on the weekend.
But rather than enjoying the day off I will be donning my helmet and scootering my way to Swizzle Inn in Bailey’s Bay (i.e. next to the airport).
But I won’t be alone. I will be with other waiters and waitresses and maybe even shop assistants! What’s even crazier about working holidays now as a waitress, I also work random days.
I work Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays…hell I even work on Sundays! But rather than be alone, I will be joined by many people around the world.
Actually in most countries the actual work week runs from Sunday until Thursday. Of course not in Bermuda, America, Canada or Australia. Nope. I’m talking about Islamic countries.
Let me tell you last year while I was traveling around the world last year, countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Indonesia I had to get used to the fact that most people had Friday and Saturday off!
Yes, who knew? I didn’t either. The different schedule while I was traveling was something hard to get used to. My work week is so ingrained (Monday to Friday) that anything else seems strange.
So I guess as I head to work I will think of everyone in Islamic countries around the world. Oh and other waitresses.
On to the world of jugs of Swizzle and Burgers with Spicy Fries.
Yes it’s December 25th. It’s Christmas. For some that’s a religious holiday.
For others, like myself, it’s simply a day to enjoy family. Yes, I said enjoy. I know, I know, but I actually do.
I mean once the holidays are over I don’t need to see them for another year…ha just kidding.
Anyway, this morning I awoke, as I do every year, to the smell of overnight coffee cake (hint: it’s made the night before and the spices get to soak in) and wishing my fam Merry Christmas!
In English of course. I mean that is my first language. But it’s not Bermuda’s only language. You didn’t know that did you.
Well let me tell you. Portuguese is the second strongest language spoken on this island. How will Portuguese Bermudians wish each other Merry Christmas? Good question.
And the answer is: “Feliz Natal”.
So “Feliz Natal” or Feliz Navidad if you’re Spanish. What if you’re Italian? Ok then Buon Natale! I mean these are just a few I am familiar with having spent enough time in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries.
That got me to thinking…..what about the rest of the world. What do they say?! Good question, Robyn. I know, I know.
So here is Merry Christmas from around the world:
The Czechs will tell you: Veselé Vánoce! (and you can too if you listen to the link!)
If the French are feeling festive they’ll tell you: Joyeux Noel!
It’s Vrolijk Kerstfeest, if you’re in Holland.
The Hungarians? No, they won’t eat you. They’ll wish you: “Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket”.
“Hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta,” from Finland
“Maligayang Pasko” from the Philippines
The Germans? Why they would tell you: “Fršhliche Weihnachten!”
Want more greetings from around the world? Of course you do. Well you can visit this link for more suggestions AFTER (of course) reading the latest from Robyn’s second Wanderer, Nicola Arnold.
She brings her very special greetings from….where else?! South Africa. I know, jealous much? I am. After navigating the snow in London and the streets of Rome Nicola is finally in her Christmas Destination: South Africa.
What are her Christmas plans? How is she going to hear Merry Christmas? Well for one here’s a hint….she’s going to be outside for dinner! And for two? In Africaans they say: “Een Plesierige Kerfees”.
Nicola in her Santa suit!
So Nicola, tell us what are you top five vacation experiences so far:
1) Barbequing our turkey on Christmas day – wrapped in bacon and smoked, more so – is going to be a real treat. The famous South African “braai” (bbq) is one thing we love most about visiting, and Dec 25th will be a family femy feast! Not to mention other Christmas-y things we may all recognize… mince pies, Christmas cake, and love ’em or hate ’em, brussel sprouts.
2) On a domestic flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town, I sat next to a very sweet lady who I chatted to on
Nicola on her camel in India! (a previous trip of course!)
our journey, everything from barge trips in France to my dad wearing a kilt (yes, I promise I will dedicate a who blog posting to THE KILT!). We said goodbye as we exited the aircraft, and went on our merry way. A friend came to fetch us at the airport to have tea with us before dropping us off at another friend’s house where we were staying. As we sat outside enjoying an African sunset and catching up, the neighbour dropped in to say hello… and it was none other than Estelle, my airplane friend who I had chatted with. Six degrees of separation, you say?!
3) If you have been watching the news, you may know that Heathrow airport in London has been snowed in a lot recently, and I mean SNOWED IN! But I don’t want to dwell on lost baggage (we only have hand luggage, whew), delayed and cancelled flights (c’est la vie!), but more on the fact that my dad picked up plenty attention traipsing around Terminal 5 at Heathrow wearing his kilt – compliments, stares, whistles, laughs, and from one couple trying to make it from Italy to New York, a photo request (which my dad had no trouble agreeing to!!)
Nicola (on the right) and her sister
4) Rome has a roundabout called Piazza della Repubblica, and when we arrived in Rome on Dec 17th, it was unseasonably cold and there were light flurries. As we took the bus from Termini train station to our accommodation, we passed this Piazza which has a great statue in the middle… which had been frozen with the 0C weather, and icicles were hanging from the statue where the water normally pours from. It was quite the sight! Unfortunately, the next time we drove past the same piazza, the icicles has melted and the photos were not so “n-icey” (but every bit as majestic).
5) As with every country/city, there are animals that are a bit of a nuisance or just run around all over the place in great numbers (try the squirrel in Canada, or the ferral chickens in Bermuda). As we drove around the western cape of Africa near Cape Town, we stopped to take photos on the coastal roads. One stopping point had a triangular sign with a big exclamation mark and the words “BABOONS”… beware of the cheek monkeys, as what you think is a cute animal may walk off with your picnic! Or worse, give you a nasty bite!
No, I’m not talking to the 80’s hit by The Bangles. I haven’t quite lost my head like that yet. Though….No no I haven’t lost my head like that at all.
Who was I talking to? Well just about every Egyptian man who lined the streets of Luxor desperate to get hold of me or catch my attention.
I’m not being vain. Believe me. The last think I wanted was to catch their eye. It was just something they did! To everyone!
What am I talking about? Well I’m talking about my trip around the world last year, that landed me in Egypt for two weeks. I went from Cairo to Aswan to Luxor and back to Cairo again.
It was an incredible trip that I did by train. Have you ever woken-up to see the Nile drift by you? I didn’t think so. It’s stunning.
Which is why you should book to go NOW! Don’t delay. Why? Well for one reason the CTravel agency in Bermuda can get you a great deal.
In fact if you book by December 31st you can received a discount of as much as $700 on a ten day trip through Egypt! Four of those days will be on a boat.
Need I say more? Well you’d be traveling the same route I did. But unlike the backpacker I was, you will travel from Cairo and along the Nile, in the company of distinguished Egyptologists, who will happily explain both modern and ancient Egypt.
Visit bazaars alive with color and fragrant spices, and gain an appreciation for Egypt’s unique diversity. And the best part? Sailing along the Nile on the 47-guest Salacia.
So make sure you contact CTravel today to book your discounted tour of Egypt.
Or do your cultural tendencies lean toward the musical kind? Perhaps a little Jazz will lighten your day? How about for nine days?
Jazz Cruise
Yep well through the company My Escapades and CTravel, you could be sailing with 80 Jazz greats for nine days!
With the likes of Johnny Mandel, James Moody, Wycliffe Gordon, Jeff Hamilton, Jon Gordon, Freddy Cole, Shelly Berg, and Ernie Adams to name a few.
Imagine listening to the soothing sounds of Jazz while navigating through the Caribbean! From Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, San Juan, St. Maarten and Half Moon Cay, you’ll have an amazing time for the price of just $2,599 per person.
The best part for Bermudians is that price includes flights from Toronto to Ft. Lauderdale to begin the trip. With the introduction of WestJet that’s an easy and cheap connection to make!
Or are you looking for something more hardcore? Maybe a trip up and down the world? How about from Cape
Rome
Town, South Africa to Rome, Italy?!
Well Princess Cruises through CTravel are offering a cruise in April next year that costs only $5,499 per person and is 26 days!
How cool would that be? It would be.
You’d be taken to Namibia, Ghana, Senegal, Togo and then to Spain, France and of course Italy!
And the price starts at just $5,999 per person for the 26-day cruise!
Of course I’m missing some of the countries in the list, but you wouldn’t when you travel in style with Princess Cruise lines!
So make sure you enjoy your holidays now, book your holidays for later and of course come back tomorrow for more Robyn’s Wanderings!
I had to stay. I had just completed my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course in Prague, Czech Republic. My apartment was new and so was the job at Berlitz language school.
I was not going to be flying back to Bermuda for Christmas. It was the first time I had spent the holiday away and I was slightly worried about how I would handle it in this landlocked country.
Where would I find a beach? What crazy Canadians would I watch swimming on Christmas Day? And then I saw the kiddie pool on my Prague corner. Huh?
The temperatures had descended below freezing and mittens upon mittens captured my hands, and the Czechs had pulled out bath tubs onto their streets.
What could possess them to do such a thing?
Well I wasn’t sure either when I spent a Christmas in Prague seven years ago. So as I walked home one day, trying to keep my toes from falling off in temperatures more suitable to snowmen, I watched as a crazy Czech dove his arm into a pool of water. Seconds later his arm and a massive fish (carp) came out.
I had to ask my Czech friends. This can’t be right. Is he really doing this? Why would he be doing this? Why wouldn’t they just go to a butcher counter in a warm supermarket? All of that seemed sane to me.
Unfortunately, for the butcher that is, warm and Christmas Eve dinner do not go hand in hand in Prague. Instead carp, which is the Czech’s Christmas Eve dinner, is supposed to be kept alive as long as possible before chow-time. That means tubs on the side of the road until they are butchered. Some Czech’s even forgo the butchering and take their carp home alive to sit in their bathtubs until Christmas Eve! Forget the goldfish pet!
Even crazier? Carp is supposed to be (I was never brave to try it) salty and boney, but it’s tradition. Don’t believe me? Don’t think the Czech’s are up for the cold? Check out this video:
Llama in Peru also on the menu?
Go figure. Christmas traditions around the world can strike the odd chord. Of course we have our own in Bermuda and sometimes they make sense (cassava pie) and sometimes they don’t (Elbow Beach boozing), which is why I’m writing about them this week for my Rock Fever Column in The Royal Gazette.
But last year I was not in Prague or Bermuda. This time last year rather than trying to decide which slippers I’m going to give my mom (ooops there goes the surprise) I was navigating Peru.
Well Peru and then Bolivia! These would be my last stops on my trip around the world. I would not, however, be spending Christmas in either place. Nope.
After 12 months on the road, I was ready to go home.
So I missed the celebration. But this year as I sit comfortably at home I was curious. What are the traditions in South America? What do Peruvians eat/do for the holiday? Well good thing my friend and soon-to-be travel buddy is from Peru.
According to my STB travel buddy, Christmas in Peru? It’s Turkey. Yeah, not very exciting or different from home (Bermuda).
I mean this is a country that eats guinea pig on a regular basis. No, I am not kidding. They eat what we call pets. Maybe they’re good? I wouldn’t know. Unfortunately all the menus I saw in Peru made the guinea pig look completely revolting.
However, according to my STB travel buddy: “People in different regions will vary their Christmas menu so some people may actually eat the little gerbil creatures, but for the majority, it’s turkey with various side dishes (often including tamales) and champagne. Panetón and hot chocolate are very popular too.”
Mmmmm….tamales. They were with a massive hit with me when I was in Peru! How can they not be? Wrapped in banana leaves, completed with corn flour and filled with meat there is literally nothing I can think of that would stop me from not loving them!
Want to learn how to make them? Yeah me too so I found this somewhat long-ish film on youtube for our enjoyment:
All this food is eaten at a get-together, party or dinner on Christmas eve which culminates at midnight and everyone wishes everyone else Merry Christmas!
Of course this is the hottest time of the year (we are talking the Southern Hemisphere here) so in Bolivia Christmas food generally focuses on picana.
Pic…what? Picana. It’s a soup made of a soup made of chicken, beef, corn and spices and is eaten usually on Christmas. Well it could be the Eve or the Day, but that just depends on the Bolivian family.
Accompanying the soup? Salads, roast pork or roast beef, and an abundance of tropical fruit and for a sweet it will be eat taffy-filled wafer cookies called “turrón“.
Unfortunately I never indulged in this amazing feast because I was whisked away by American Airlines.
As I touched my toes to Bermuda soil I was, in what can only be described as ironic, directed to arrive in London, England. My family was spending Christmas abroad.
With four days in Bermuda I packed a new bag and was set for London. Of course in England they have their own traditions for Christmas: It’s Crackers! Which of course we have in Bermuda.
Cross your arms for Crackers!
But not ones you can eat. Well I suppose you could and then you’d probably be quite sick. In any case, the Cracker tradition is not one I have ever seen in the United States.
It requires using one of these (pictured to the right) of bundles between two people and pulling them apart. Out pops a toy, a joke and a hat!
The history of it?
Of course this tradition started with who else? A Brit. Thomas Smith in 1846 to be precise. Why? Well because he had been in Paris and seen bon-bons wrapped in tissue paper. He took the idea back to England, wrapped poems in them and eventually transformed the entire idea with a banger (chemically impregnated paper that explodes when pulled).
His sons took over the business and in the 1900’s and in the 1930’s love poems turned to jokes. Ahhh the Christmas traditions explained.
Cassava Pie!
Unlike Americans, however, the British are not happy with one day-off and instead have two! Boxing Day (like us of course!), which is December 26th or Boxing Day. Want to know where our day-off comes from? Well that was a day when boys used to go round collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open.
This year, however, I will take a break from traveling. Yes, I will be in Bermuda and will only have to travel as far as one parish to another to indulge in Turkey, ham, beans, carrots and the traditional Cassava pie!
You don’t know what cassava pie is?! Sacrilege! It is of course based on cassava, which is a starch-filled root that grows in poor soil. Hence why the early settlers, dating back to 1612, made it into everything they could.
But just because it grew-up in poor soil doesn’t mean it tastes poorly. Never! And the best part is that it is totally safe for celiacs! Well, that is, once it is cleaned properly. Cleaned improperly and you have some serious cyanide poisoning.
Bermudians, me, traditionally, now, buy it frozen, drain it, fill it with eggs and plenty of butter, chicken and even sometimes pork.
It’s a weird tradition because though everyone eats it on Christmas Day, not everyone makes it the same way. Some make it sweet, some make it savory. It’s all about your taste buds.
Which has made me hungry! It’s time to enjoy and indulge wherever you are so have a Happy Holiday, visit the Bermuda National Museum for more traditions, and of course visit here tomorrow for all your vacation needs!
Ok it’s not. I mean it’s not the guards coming from Berlin. I know. Silly, but maybe it’s that time of year. The absolute silly season.
I should know. I tried to complete all of my holiday shopping yesterday in the pouring rain, dodging hail and the five o’clock closing of Bermuda’s stores.
But’s that’s not what I’m talking about either. Instead it’s all about Solstice Stocking Stuffers today. Why? Because today is the Solstice.
What is that? Good question and one I had to look-up myself. To break it down: solstice comes from the Latin sol (sun) and statum (to stand still).
To make it fun, Solstice is generally celebrated throughout the world with sacrifice or prayers for fertility. Doesn’t sound like as much fun anymore, does it?
For the chinese it is celebrated with making balls of rice (to symbolize the gathering of the family) and it’s called “dongzhi.”
In Korea? No they don’t attack each other. That’s for every other day. Today, instead they worry about ghosts coming into villages to haunt them. It’s lore, but apparently dipping the rice balls in sweet red bean called pat jook helps repel the ghosts.
Pakistani men have cold water poured over their head for purification and then are forbidden to sit in a chair. Finally their heads are sprinkled with goats’ blood.
For the Japanese and the Scandinavians (two completely opposite cultures), on the other hand it’s all about fertility and they go about this with either lathering butter on doors or visit farms to ensure the land is ready. read more on the New York Times editorial.
But for most of us today is all about having only four days until dooms day or Christmas. Obviously for the Christians out there!
So what are you going to do? Well you could surrender and believe me yesterday I did, or you could find-out what The Harbourmaster store in Hamilton Bermuda has to offer.
Tag your luggage for $13.25!
The traveler in the family (i.e. everyone in Bermuda) will need to identify their bags, no? Well why not use these fantastic name-tags from The Harbourmaster to help?
Need something else? Got someone a bit more on the hipster side? How about a pom-pom? Yeah I wrote it. A pom-pom.
Pom-pom for your luggage locations for just $9.95
Perhaps you have someone with pesky keys which they can never find? Have you done that? You know left the island and come home to find….no home! Well no home if you don’t have your keys.
What a pain trying to fish them out of your bag. Well why not find these beautiful and hefty key chains which well mean your keys are never lost:
Keys for Keys for $20
or these handy leather-bound key chains:
Leather Key Chain for $30
Finally there is nothing like trying to keep hold of your blackberry. So I hear. I don’t have one, but from those who do I hear you want them at your finger tips.
So why not get your help from The Harbourmaster? They have all sorts of beautiful, leather cases that can carry your mechanical device like this one below:
Blackberry case for $54
Or maybe you’re someone who keeps their cash wadded in your pockets? Floating around your purse? Maybe you know someone who does?
Well that’s ok because The Harbourmaster can help you out! They have all sorts of wallets that are handy, leather and beautiful!
Like this leather wallet from the LAND Meridian collection. The best part, and you will understand if you’re from Bermuda, it’s in stock! No waiting for it to be imported.
Wallets!! Starting at $75
Or The Harbourmaster also has this selection:
Wallet with credit card holders on the outside for just $59
Whatever you do make sure that you visit The Harbourmaster on the first floor of The Washington Mall and get all the help you need for your travel goods from their helpful staff.
And OF COURSE mention Robyn’s Wanderings! Happy Holidays.
A little Christmas cheer in Bermuda - Nicola escaping the Canadian snow
Welcome to the second edition of Robyn’s New Wanderer!
Every Saturday Nicola will be regaling you with stories from her trips, how to study abroad and all sorts of fun tips on travel!
This week? Well this week I finagled a piece from her on Christmas traditions as she boarded a plane for a very new tradition: Christmas in South Africa!
So Nicola, a Bermudian who swims on Christmas Day (!!!), tell us your Christmas tales:
We are racing towards Dec 25th (Christmas of course!) at light speed and palm trees decorated with Christmas lights now make Hamilton our own version of a winter wonderland…
Well, winter in the sense of wet & windy, not white, although we do have a few sunny days too! Thanks to the Gulf Stream, Bermuda is free of frost, snow and ice, but as a ‘sub-tropical’ island we still have chillier temperatures than the Caribbean.
Bermudians swimming at this time of year are few & far between, except for the brave ones who take a dip on Dec 25th or Jan 1st… myself included, I may proudly add.
As a recent university grad, living at home has meant that I have FINALLY been able to partake in pre-Christmas Bermudian festivities since I am no longer taking refuge from the Canadian blizzards to study for the usual onslaught of December exams. Yay!
What sorts of things make up a Bermuda Christmas season?
– The lighting of the Christmas tree at City Hall, with carols and Santa’s visit
– Christmas Pantomime, which always gives the audience a good laugh
– National Trust Walk-About in St. George’s with entertainment and snacks
– Late Night Shopping in the city of Hamilton on Fridays
– Santa Claus reading the children’s Christmas letters on the local TV channel
Plus, as I was delighted to learn myself this week on a visit to Dockyards, the Bermuda Rum Cake Company makes special edition Christmas Rum Cake… now is the time to sample and “Buy Bermuda”!
But Nicola has not always been in Bermuda! Nope. She’s also “done” Noël in France:
The majority my Christmases have been celebrated in Bermuda, although I have spent some memorable holidays in France and Croatia.
Even though I was on Rotary Exchange in Lorraine, France in 2004-2005, I remember the Christmas season very well!
Europeans celebrate the feast day of St. Nicolas on December 6th, and in Lorraine there is a town called St.
Magical candle ceremony at St.Nicolas-de-Port in France, December 2004
Nicolas-de-Port.
Our Rotary district had 25 students and we were all invited to the weekend ‘Fête de St. Nicolas’… with a Christmas market and candlelight church service. We all had long, white candles that we raised during the refrain of this song:
Saint Nicolas, ton crédit d’age en age,
a fait pleuvoir tes bienfaits souverains. Viens, couvre encor’ de ton doux patronage tes vieux amis les enfants des Lorrains!
[Saint Nicolas, from age to age your favor
has rained down supreme blessings.
Come with your gentle protection to cover still
your old friends, the children of Lorraine.]
(As a side note, in France my name always causes excitement as the French pronounce the masculine name “Nicolas” as “Nicola”, with a silent ‘s’… so I tended to surprise school teachers with the morning roll call, and had mail addressed to a Mr. Nicola Arnold… bah humbug!)
Last week, I mentioned that my family and I are jetting off to Europe and ultimately to South Africa to spend the holidays with the Arnold grandparents and relatives who reside in Johannesburg.
We are backpacking, as luggage would be a drag with all our flight connections. To my great delight, my father will be travelling in a kilt. Yes! A Scottish kilt… Why, you might wonder? That is a whole different tale… look out for that posting, as I shall be including photos 😉
Nicola and her sister Katie on the beach in a chilly Crikvenica, Croatia - Christmas 2008
I cannot yet speak of Christmas in South Africa, but to paint you a picture of South Africa, we are looking forward:
– a warm summer sunshine in this beautiful ‘Rainbow Nation’.
– in Cape Town, we hope to have an excursion up Table Mountain
– Cape Town boasts beautiful beaches, perhaps we will visit Camps Bay
– The Arnold family will celebrate and catch-up most evenings around the braai (barbeque in Afrikaans… which I remember writing in my school journal in Grade 4, that my family had a bry [sic] last night, with the teacher being quite confused!)
– we shall try to squeeze our favourite South African chocolates, such as Peppermint Crisp and Chocolate Log, into the sides of our backpacks
– with any luck, I hope that World Cup vuvuzelas do not become the new, creative instruments to festively wish people a Happy Christmas
Christmas in South Africa will be new for me, so I look forward to sharing the traditions and experiences with you upon return… and look out for special “postcards updates” during my Christmas trip!
Nope. Not one! Sorry I know everyone is BIG on Eat, Pray, Love, but I am not a fan. Yes I will be the first and probably only female to say it.
I couldn’t find a book that is so far from the truth of travel if I tried. And god knows I am trying to be closer to the traveling truth with my own. Stay tuned for my book about my navigation of the world last year.
Hint: It is not a pretty bow that is tied by a rich man in Bali.
Anyway, the point of the post today is not to bash a book. No instead it’s to highlight some of my favourites! I love to read and so would any traveler. Do you know how long the bus ride is between Cusco, Peru and Puno, Peru? I didn’t think so.
Well it’s long enough to finish a good book and start a new one! Which is exactly what you could do with my first book:
I raced through The White Tiger and not because it won the Man Booker Award. Nope. Instead I thought this book, published in 2008 as the debut novel by Aravind Adiga, offered a view of India like no other book I have read on the subject. Life is told through the eyes of the main character Balram Halwai. Though clever, Balram is too poor to finish school and takes a job in a tea shop before becoming a driver for the rich in New Delhi. In the city and watching the corruption of his employers Balram realizes that he has to take matters into his own hands! I will leave it at that. You want to visit India without the plane ticket? You want an understanding of the caste system, the conflict between Hindu and Muslim, and the poverty in an interesting narrative? You’ve got your book.
French is Funny!
Ever though the French were funny? No? Well you will after reading A Year in the Merde!
Written by a Brit, Stephen Clarke, it fictionally details another Brit’s (Paul West) attempts to move to Paris for an employer who wants to open tea rooms in the capital. Paul has been recruited by the employer. Ironic, because Paul becomes nothing more than a body in the office.
No one will listen to him when they want to name the British tea rooms: My Tea is Rich. Can you see anyone in Britain drinking in that tea room? Me neither. Want a good laugh at the mannerisms of the French? Enjoy this book and its sequel: Merde Actually! You will find an amusing trip through France.
New York, New York
You’ve been to New York? Are you sure? Haven’t been to New York? Want another side to this capital city that never sleeps? I ran into this book, Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in theBronx while I was browsing a Barnes and Nobles while living in New York (irony, I know, crazy, right!). Anyway, I was looking for something different. I found it in this first book by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc.
Based in the post-1980’s in New York it focuses on families struggling to survive on a multigenerational level. But this is no Hollywood tale. It will take you through the Bronx, but also through each generations desire not to be the one before. And failing. Seriously, I’ve never read a better book about New York!
Number Four is just another uplifting book for you. Ever thought being addicted to drugs was funny? No? Ok well neither did James Frey. Or maybe he did. Anyway, though his book: A Million Little Pieces, was caught in a maelstrom of bad press (did he really do this or not?) it’s a good read. I love first-person narratives. I just do. So sue me. But he doesn’t let it drag and it’s not woe is me.
Why do I include this in my books? Even if Oprah has banned him from her couch? Well because it offers you a chance to travel though the eyes of a drug addict. I can happily say I am not one so why not read a book (as semi-fictional as it is) to get an idea?
Saving the World!
From a man who accomplished nothing to a man who tried to accomplish everything we visit Chechnya. I told you this is a random list of books who will make you travel.
The Man who tried to Save the World was written by journalist Scott Anderson and therefore is a succinct, but descriptive and intriguing novel on the life of Fred Cuny. Dubbed the “Master of Disaster”, Fred was one of the best relief workers there was. Unfortunately in 1995 he decided, against all advice, to return to Chechnya.
Him and a small group attempted to reach a rebel fortress that had been bombarded by Russians. They were never seen again. And you won’t be once you start this book! Gripping and a real life drama, it should definitely be part of your backpack!
Somalia
From the drama of a reported war to the war against women that rarely gets reported, From a Crooked Rib is by no means a new book.
Written in 1968 by Nuruddin Farah (a man) he somehow captures the sad, but real, struggles that women in Somalia face (and other parts of Africa). Ebla, the main character, went through the barbaric ritual of female infibulation, then an arranged marriage all before she ran away.
Unfortunately she is then sold into wedlock where she is raped on the first night of the “marriage”. She becomes disillusioned and yet continues to believe that marriage is the source of love and life. It’s a hard novel to read but an enlightening one on the struggles of women outside of my comfortable home.
From women to male piano tuners, I never said my list was organized. Neither is my book shelf which is what I like. I always get to travel to new places! Why stick with one genre? That would be boring.
So now we’re heading to Burma in colonial times. The Piano Tuner is about, of all things, a piano tuner. I know. Shocking. The reason he’s heading to Burma? Well one of the captains in the British Colonial Army has a piano in the hills. He needs it tuned.
Sounds ridiculous, but I bet it could have happened. In any case, it features the conflict between the British and the Burmese who just want their home back. In the most unique of manners – a piano. Filled with descriptions of jungles and lush food, I most definitely will make Burma a next stop!
Visit Barcelona
From Burma to Barcelona. Shadow of the Wind is the s a 2001 novel by Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón and it is amazing! I couldn’t put it down! Not once.
Based in post-civil war Spain, the books centres on a young boy Daniel who is exposed to the beauty of books by his father. In the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library filled to the rafters with old forgotten titles preserved by a secret group of librarians. New initiates (those who know about the library) can pick one book to take with them.
What Daniel finds with his new book, Shadow of the Wind, is a mysterious author and his home city filled with dark corners and unknowns. It will keep you gripped. Just please don’t read Zafon’s second book, The Angel’s Game. It will ruin The Shadow of the Wind!
So there you have it. My reading list if I wanted to travel to somewhere new without ever boarding a plane, sitting in a car or visiting a train. Enjoy!
Want to escape next year? Why don’t you head to the Caribbean? Worried about the cost? Well don’t worry. I know, I know it’s cold right now and you want somewhere warm.
But the Holiday shopping is eating into the vacation……well it can’t on the Princess Cruises offered by CTravel.
In the new year, the Cruise line is offering cruises to the Caribbean for just $349 for seven days of turquoise water, white sand and…..WARM!
Where can you go? Leave from Ft. Lauderdale, head to San Juan, St. Thomas and Dominica, Bonaire and Aruba! Well that’s just one of the Princess Cruise’s great deals for the New Year. Check with CTravel for your local representative with all the booking abilities!
Seven-day cruise
But maybe you’re still looking for a Christmas Gift that gives back? Are you struggling with that person in your life who has everything?
Well, you and I both know that at some point everyone needs to leave Bermuda. It’s Rock Fever and you know at some point next year the gift certificate you purchased from CTravel will be needed.
So what are you waiting for? Purchase the gift Certificate by December 18 (CTravel is open on Saturday the 18th) and you could also win.
That’s right purchase a Gift Certificate from CTravel and you will be entered into the draw to win two American Airlines tickets to anywhere in The United States.
American Airlines Gift Certificate!
You’ve got three more days to purchase a gift certificate so take the opportunity to take one more person off your list!
And while you’re visiting CTravel in their Queen Street offices why not ask about another deal….Save $1,000 off your trip to Egypt in the New Year if you book by December 31!
Passage through Egypt has been developed to reveal in depth all that Egypt travel has to offer — the celebrated sites along with the less-traveled.
Leading Egyptologists join you as we see the great Pyramids, the impressive monuments and inspiring paintings and statues – built with techniques still not fully understood by modern engineers.
Your trip will include three days in Cairo before explore all of this aboard the Salacia, and along the Nile for seven days and then on land for another seven. Luxor will be fully enjoyed with some of the less known temples.
And all of this could be booked for less than $1,000 if you book by December 31! So call or visit CTravel to ask about your trip to Egypt next year!
Welcome to Robyn Skinner's website. I'm from Bermuda, am a freelance journalist and have spent the last year traveling around the world solo. Visit My Postcards for the travel columns over the last year and every other page here for more information on...travels...and me!
Robyn's Wanderings 