Sheron Long's Blog, page 25
August 31, 2015
Travel Inspiration from Pencil Lead Art
The Eiffel Tower rises majestically . . . on the tip of a pencil.
© Salavat Fidai
Russian Artist’s Tiny Carvings Get Right to the Point
Good travelers seek out adventures and stories—as well as classic world landmarks.
France’s Eiffel Tower. England’s Big Ben. Italy’s Colosseum.
These are not just icons of their countries. These structures offer travel inspiration, whether we are standing in front of one for the first time, passing by one for the hundredth time and seeing it in a new way, or studying a photograph or painting on a virtual journey.
We are so familiar with these monuments that they often seem larger than life . . . except, perhaps, when we find them on the point of a pencil.
The tiniest of Big Bens
© Salavat Fidai
Small is Beautiful
Russian artist Salavat Fidai offers us the world in miniature. When looking at his creations, it is...
August 10, 2015
A Traveler’s Oasis: Toluca’s Cosmovitral
At Toluca’s Cosmovitral—cultivating the cosmos and an entire botanical garden
© Dia Glez
A Botanical Garden Grows Under Glass
As I walked a stone path enveloped by plants from around the world, the light winked a blue-purple and then a red-orange. Plants dangled in the air. Behind supple foliage emerged hard lines of steel supports. Contrasting sounds hit me—bird song and human murmuring; water trickling and car engines rumbling.
What was this ethereal place of such contrasts?
I had stumbled into an unlikely oasis within the city of Toluca, Mexico. Here was both the largest art installation of stained glass in the world and a botanical garden with hundreds of plant species from around the world—the Cosmovitral.
Gardens the length of a football field under a sky of glass
© Eva Boynton
The name Cosmovitral comes from a combination of...
July 20, 2015
Opening Eyes to the Cultural History of Africa
Ikhlas Khan, from the Diaspora series, 2015
© Omar Victor Diop. Courtesy Galerie MAGNIN-A, Paris
Omar Victor Diop’s Transformative Portrait Photography
The room is alive with cultural history. The photographs exhibited in the Grande Halle of the Rencontres d’Arles are rich in texture and color. The historic African figures are presented formally, elegantly, powerfully. Their pride shines through.
As the photographer Omar Victor Diop explains, “They seem to say, ‘Look at me. I was here. I did this.’”
The portrait photography in Diop’s exhibit “Diaspora,” which recently opened at the Arles festival of photography, transports us to another time. The images are not just a sensory journey into the cultural history of Africa, but are also a making of history of the artistic kind. The 34-year-old artist has something compelling to say.
Omar Victor...
June 29, 2015
At Lunch in the World—How to Stay Out of the Soup
Places to eat, and people to meet. Do you know what’s taboo?
© eyegelb / iStock
10 Cultural Do’s & Taboos at the Table
When you travel the world, there’s much more to dining than tasting the food. In fact, it’s the cultural dimension of the dining table (or mat) that often makes or breaks the meal. Here are 10 cultural do’s and taboos to keep you out of the soup when you’re at lunch in the world.
#1 Chile: Respect the Mealtime
In many places in Latin America, the working lunch just doesn’t work. On a business trip to Santiago, Chile, a colleague suggested that we save time by continuing our meeting over lunch.
Much to her surprise, a Paraguayan man in the meeting stood up, puffed out his chest, and insisted that lunch was the time to socialize with his colleagues, to learn about their families and their health, and...
June 22, 2015
Web-Footed Wanderlust
Getting out and about
© iStock
Five Travel Tips from a Penguin Parade
You can learn a lot of things from a jackass.
It’s not often that I get to start a story with a tribute to a jackass.
In this case, I’m talking about the jackass penguin, or African blackfooted penguin. (The unfortunate nickname of “jackass” comes from the honking sound they make, reminiscent of a donkey braying.)
I first learned of these penguins when I saw their penchant for curiosity and wanderlust in a whimsical YouTube video. They were the stars of the penguin parade at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
(If video does not display, watch it here.)
Who doesn’t love waddling penguins? They always seem to be on their way to something important. And these Monterey Bay Aquarium penguins clearly love a leisurely stroll around the building.
They get to see their...
June 8, 2015
Climb into a Painting and Take Some Selfies
Becoming part of the art
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)
Somewhere deep in our dreams, we all want to be famous—or at least the lead actor in a production or the star of the moment.
I sang my heart out as an 8-year-old, in the secluded corners of our house, with a broomstick microphone in hand. I knew the words to every musical. I pictured myself accepting the Oscar (with great humility and a speech that brought tears to every member of the audience). Didn’t happen.
Open wide
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)
Thanks to the Korean creators of a new interactive 3D art museum in the Philippines, these kinds of dramatic-role dreams can come true for all of us non-celebrities. Visitors can become stars of selfies, letting their inner actor emerge.
Bring your own...
June 1, 2015
True Warmth in Jordan’s Wadi Rum Desert
In a climate so harsh, it’s no wonder people are so warm to one another.
© Sally Baho
It was the dead of summer, and I was taking a road trip from Aqaba, Jordan, back to the capital, Amman. We stopped in Wadi Rum to explore the desert that Lawrence of Arabia had traversed just about a century prior.
Although not as grandiose as T.E. Lawrence’s experiences, my short time in Wadi Rum was a lesson in bridging cultural barriers by way of unexpected friendships.
Warm Wadi Rum
Now tree-lined, the King’s Highway is the road
where, according to the Old Testament,
Moses was refused passage.
© Sally Baho
The two-lane King’s Highway leading into the wadi (valley) is flanked with palm trees. All you can see for miles is the desert with occasional herds of camels and goats.
It was just over 100˚F...
May 26, 2015
Mexican Dances Step Across Cultures
Las Chiapanecas (The Women of Chiapas) whirl in an elegant tornado of color and tradition.
© Eva Boynton
When you travel, timing is everything.
In a new city, any turn down a street can bring a surprise—like my walk down calle Miguel Hidalgo in Toluca, Mexico, that led me straight into a festival lit up with color, music, and dance. This was Toluca’s third Festival Cultural, highlighting National Teacher’s Day on May 15.
A single stage celebrated dances and music from around the world, showcasing performers of traditional Mexican dances side by side with those who embraced more modern influences. The event showed how Mexico goes across cultures to form an eclectic cultural identity.
Embracing the PresentLos niños (the kids) launched the festivities with flair. In colorful costumes, they performed dance...
May 18, 2015
Cultural Differences of the Fast Food Kind
Sweet Dreams
© Meredith Mullins
Yummm. Rows of macarons in their inviting soft pastel palette. Rich chocolate cake. Little canelés rising like flour fortresses. Tiramisu. Cheesecake. Cookies. Lemon tarts.
Where are we?
In a sweet dessert dream? In a prominent Paris patisserie? In the restaurant of a Michelin-starred chef?
We could be. But, in fact, we’re at a McCafé, a part of the McDonald’s ambiance in France that brings all the lusciousness of French pastries and desserts to its fast food counter. From croissants to muffins to traditional French pastries, they’re all here for the (fast) taking.
McCafé in a Paris McDonald’s
© Meredith Mullins
I remember when a McDonald’s finally came to our town (somewhere around high school for me). The...
May 11, 2015
From Colorful Guatemala to Post-Vacation Blues
The flowers aren’t the only thing that provide color in Antigua, Guatemala,
the houses remind you of a painter’s palette. © Scott Kafer
Only yesterday, I had returned from Guatemala, surrounded by people, colors, smells, and noise—music, cars, crowds, conversation. Now here I was back in Pacific Grove, CA, known as “America’s last hometown,” waking to the low hum of my refrigerator. Looking around, my once beloved apartment seemed silent, cold, desolate.
I felt as if someone had pulled the plug on me—where was everyone? They had gone and left me with the post-vacation blues.
A Sense-sational TripTraveling—when done right—hits all your senses. My trip began in the streets of Antigua, a colonial town and UNESCO World Heritage Site, where old cobblestone streets crawl past colorful...
