Carole Terwilliger Meyers's Blog, page 41

Sights to See: Bridge at Q’eswachaka, near Cuzco, Peru

The Bridge at Q’eswachaka near Cuzco, Peru is made out of grass.  Every year since the time of the Incas, it has been rebuilt across a canyon high above the Apurimac River  This annual job takes three days. 

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Sights to See: Castle Howard, York, England

Castle Howard   One of the great historic houses of England, this Baroque masterpiece broke ground in 1699 and took more than 100 years to build.  The Howard family has lived here almost continuously since it was built.  During visiting hours, they have their own private area, but after hours it becomes all theirs to roam at will once again.  It might look familiar because it has been a setting for many movies, including Lady L with Sophia Loren in 1965, Barry Lyndon directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1975, Brideshead Revisited in 1981 and 2008, the Garfield movie A Tale of Two Kitties in 2006, and BBC's Death Comes to Pemberley in 2013.  You must take a guided tour of the house, but you can meander as you like through the surrounding 1,000 acres of gardens.  In addition to spectacular groomed areas, it features extensive woodland walks, temples, lakes, and fountains.  Especially dramatic annual displays include daffodils, rhododendrons, bluebells, and roses.















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images ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

Things to Do: My Five Favorite Fun Things to Do in Iceland

It’s been almost a year since I visited Iceland, and I still so enjoy reminiscing about the exciting things I did there.  When people ask me about the best of it, I answer that these five things are the don’t-misses.  I could easily turn this into a Top Ten list by adding in a drive around the island with stays along the way.  And then there is doing a cave tour, seeing the Northern Lights, and eating some pristinely fresh Iceland fish.  As much time as you have, there is that much more to do that is worth doing. 

1.  Soak in the Blue Lagoon 
This was the number one thing I most wanted to experience in Iceland.  I love hot springs, and this one, described as large and hot and manmade, did intrigue me.  In advance I was concerned about privacy in the changing rooms, which turned out to be a breeze to maneuver and to secure a private spot in a restroom for a quick change.  I also was able to go in the shower in my bathing suit, though I had heard you couldn’t.  I certainly didn’t want to be there in my birthday suit among the many giggling 20 year olds!  The lagoon itself was heaven.  I loved sipping a cocktail while I steamed, and I know that the free goo from the silica pots made me look several years younger, at least while it was on my face.


2.  Ride an Icelandic horse 
Although I didn’t exactly ride my horse, I did mount it and pet it and get my picture taken with it, and I enjoyed watching the rest of the people in my group experience the unique tolt gait trot the horse is famous for.  On the farm visit that was included with this horsey experience, we also were introduced to a charming “sunshine tea” in the farmer’s own home.  It consists of crepes served with blueberry preserves and whipped cream, plus and round donut-hole-like “love balls.”  This tea celebrates the return of the sun after the sunless few months that occur here every winter. 


3.  Take the Iceland Golden Circle tour 
I took a basic group bus tour from Reykjavik that stopped at the major sites along this route:  Þingvellir national park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where we walked through the separation caused by the slow drifting apart of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates that meet here; Gullfoss waterfall, where we were almost blown away by the strength of the roaring falls’ mist; and the Geysir geothermal area, where we walked among bubbling mud pools and watched the predictable eruptions of Strokkur geyser, and where I think my camera met pending doom from the resulting steam (be careful here and cover your camera!).  Lunch was included.  I liked that this expedition was guided because I didn’t have to do any planning—just go.  Some tours add on extras, such as riding an Icelandic horse or soaking in the natural geothermal baths at a wellness center, or visiting one of the farms to meet locals, pet animals, and sample some Icelandic delicacies.  Do a little research and then settle on the tour that adds in what you personally don’t want to miss.


4.  Stroll Reykjavik and select a souvenir  
Reykjavik--pronounced “Ray-kah-vik”--is Iceland’s biggest city but it is small enough to stroll through in a day.  Downtown, you’ll walk along winding cobblestone streets see colorful architecture and street art graffiti.  Try to fit in a visit to the Hafnarhus art museum located in a refurbished 1930s fish warehouse and the architecturally interesting Hallgrimskirkja Church, which  can be seen from almost everywhere in town.  In between, you’ll come across some of the unusual shops where you are bound to find the perfect locally made souvenir.  The Handknitting Association of Iceland is the place to find a well-priced knit sweater or a red knitted Santa (which I still regret not buying).  Visit the Kraum Centre for Icelandic Craft inside the city’s oldest wood house to select from an intriguing collection of Icelandic pottery, jewelry, household utensils, and clothes, plus whimsy in the form of a fuzzy sheep-fleece topped stool (I also regret not buying this!).


5.  Eat an Icelandic hot dog 
Bæjarins Bestu Pylsur is located downtown by the bus station and is probably the most famous spot to eat the famous Icelandic “pylsur,” or hot dog.  Usually made with free-range, grass-fed, organic, hormone-free Icelandic lamb, locals like them with “everything”--ketchup, sweet brown mustard, remoulade sauce (a mix of mayo, capers, mustard, and herbs), raw onions, and crispy fried onions.  When I walked by here, I wasn’t hungry, so I finally ate my dog at the last minute at the airport and it wasn’t bad.


Note:  I was asked to share my Iceland experience here by Guide to Iceland.  All opinions and comments are my own.

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images ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

Sights to See: Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms, California

Joshua Tree National Park   On Highway 62, 1-hour east of Palm Springs, Headquarters and Visitors Center at 74485 National Park Dr. in Twentynine Palms, (760) 367-5500.  Daily 8-5.  $20/car.  Note that it is usually 10 to 15 degrees cooler here than in Palm Springs.  Stop in at the Visitors Center to get oriented.  The namesake trees—which, by the way, are technically not trees, but instead a shrub--begin growing at 2,500 to 3,000 feet and continue up to 5,000 feet.  Featuring a beautiful desert landscape, this park covers 794,000 acres and encompasses two diverse desert ecosystems:  the Colorado and Mojave deserts.  Be on the lookout for bighorn sheep, golden eagles, and snakes.  The Hidden Valley trail is an easy 1-mile, self-guided loop (off Route 12), and the Wall Street Mill trail is an easy 1½-mile trail leading to an old mine and stamp mill (1¾-miles east of Hidden Valley Campground, off Barker Dam Rd.).  Some of this park’s fame is directly related to its attraction to the world’s rock elite--U2, Keith Richards, Gram Parsons (who died of a drug overdose at the Joshua Tree Inn). 

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Carole Terwilliger Meyers in front of world’s largest living Joshua tree, 45 ½-inches tall with an 8-foot circumference.

Great Sleeps: Canal House, Amsterdam, Holland

Canal House   Keizersgracht 148, 20-6229987.  26 rooms.  Breakfast included.  Located on a canal in a quiet neighborhood, this atmospheric 17th-century house is furnished with period antiques and is just a 5-minute walk from the Anne Frank House and West Church.  A great big breakfast is included and served in a wonderful back room facing the garden.  I stayed here many years ago when it looked like it does in the first image.  The rest of the images depict it as it looks today, with a more contemporary style.






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first image ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers; other images courtesy of venue 

Good Eats: el Rico Tinto Bakery, NYC--Queens--Jackson Heights

el Rico Tinto Bakery  76-07 37th Ave., (718) 424-1324.  This simple cafe produces particularly good breakfasts.  Portions are large, and presentations are pretty.  The menu includes a flaky croissant with eggs, hot cakes with strawberry sauce and coffee whipped cream, French toast, chilaquiles, an assortment of omelettes—even eggs Benedict—and pastry cases are filled with tempting items.  Custom-made fresh fruit juices are also available.  Lunch and dinner are heavy with Mexican items—burritos, tacos, flautas—as well as empanadas, pastas, fish, and steak.


  


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images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Good Eats: SriPraPhai, NYC--Queens--Jackson Heights/Woodside

SriPraPhai   6413 39th Ave., in Woodside, (718) 899-9599.  L-D Thur-Tu.  Cash only.  In a no-frills atmosphere, this popular Thai restaurant features two dining rooms plus outdoor seating.  The menu is extensive.  Among the many items on the special vegetarian menu, are:  


crispy Chinese watercress salad
drunken noodles
Pad Prik King with green beans
Penang curry
black beans in coconut milk
mango sticky rice

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images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
 

Good Eats: Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven, NYC

Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven   350 Hudson St., Soho, (212) 414-2462.  Though not too long ago the inventory was made right here, production has now moved to the Brooklyn Army Terminal factory and everything is distributed from there.  Though most famous for their thick and spicy hot chocolate and chocolate bonbons, the company’s more than 100 items—all made without preservatives or additives--include marzipan and marshmallows as well as chocolate-covered fruits and nuts.  There are many more outlets around town and in Brooklyn, where the actual factory is located. 



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images ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Great Sleeps: Paradise Taveuni, Taveuni Island, Fiji

Paradise Taveuni   Waiyevo, 679 888 0125.  10 bures and 1 apartment; maximum capacity is 22 guests.  Pool; full-service spa.  Restaurant; bar; tour desk; full-service dive shop; gift shop.  Located 25 miles from the Matei Airport, this remote resort is reached via a scenic 1-hour drive through rainforest and coconut plantations and over a long stretch of unpaved (or “unsealed”) road.  It is beautifully situated on the Taveuni’s flat south end behind a 2,000-foot-high ridge of mountains formed by 28 extinct volcanoes that protects it from the wind, which ensures calm, clear waters here year-round.  Oceanfront on 5 acres and with a deep-water drop-off, the resort was remodeled from a backpackers resort in 2007.  This property was originally used for growing cotton, and Fiji’s first sugar cane field was nearby.  And though it really does feel like paradise, it is on the dry side of the volcano--the other side is even more lush!  Most guests are American, and all are welcomed with a refreshing coconut milk drink followed by a foot massage on their bure patio. 

Your name is chalked on a board outside your bure, and the staff addresses you by name within hours, adding “welcome home” to the greeting.  Bures are separated from the ocean’s edge by a large expanse of well-manicured grass, and each is positioned for a water view. 

Bures are built mostly with wood from local coconut and rain trees, and each has a king-size bed in a separate bedroom as well as a spacious lounge room with a stocked beverage area, but you’ll find no phones, TVs, or clocks.  “We’re on rooster time,” says personable Australian owner Allan Gortan, and chickens run freely throughout the property.  

Bathrooms have a shower-tub and access to a lava-rock-fence-enclosed courtyard with flowers and ferns tucked in here and there and a refreshing outdoors shower and Jacuzzi.  The showers can be iffy with hot water, which comes and goes, but there is simply nothing like a cool-off in an outdoor shower.  Throughout the bure are cool white-tile floors, some covered by locally made woven-fiber rugs, and a high woven-fiber ceiling with huge support logs has two fans.  Traditional thatching combined with wood louvers keeps air flowing throughout.  Air conditioning is not available or missed.  Glass French doors open to a spacious front patio with daybed.  In the morning, roosters announce the new day followed by the sound of the generator being started up by owner Allen, and often a soft rain falls to help keep the sumptuous landscaping green.  The owner is an award-winning chef, though he now mostly oversees the tasty menu featuring many Fijian delicacies and local organic produce.  Breakfast specialties include lovely sunny-yolk eggs, delicious spicy lamb sausage, and fresh papaya-banana juice.  The addictive house cocktail, a Yellow Bird of Paradise, is made with local white rum, coconut liquor, and fresh papaya and banana.  Meals that are included in the room rate:  a full cooked breakfast, one-course lunch, and two-course dinner.  

Guests may choose to upgrade to a two-course lunch and/or a four-course dinner.  Beverages included in the daily room rate are tea, coffee, and iced tea.  Several drinks package upgrades are also available.  The resort’s tap water is from a local spring in the volcano, so no need to spend big bucks on bottled Fiji Water.  On the night of the Fijian Lovo Feast, guests can watch the traditional preparation of foods for cooking in a lovo pit next to the ocean--including braiding coconut leaves around the chicken, fish, beef, and cassava.  After indulging in an appetizer of really good Fijian popcorn (deep-fried coconut strips), the feast is enjoyed at a long communal table out under the stars.  

Later, villagers arrive to sing and to perform the sacred kava ceremony.  Flashlight fish come out in the evening and are worth the short trek from the dining room to observe.  Free on-site activities include coconut tree climbing lessons and a sulu (sarong)-tying demonstration.  

Optional off-site activities include horseback riding, kayaking, jet skiing, hiking, guided tours to waterfalls and rainforests and to villages and Sunday church services, as well as swimming in the ocean-side horizon-edge pool and relaxing in a hammock.  Snorkeling and diving is excellent right off the resort pier, but trips are also scheduled to the famous Rainbow Reef and other world-class dive sites.  The water is crystal clear and warm.  An oceanfront spa offers massage, facials, and pedicures--Fiji Fuscia anyone?--which are especially enjoyable since you get to look out at the ocean.  Guests who get engaged at Paradise get a free Sunset Wedding if they return.  


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video and images ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

Things to Do: Dash and Shop MoMA, NYC

Dash   119 Spring St./Greene St., Soho, (212) 226-2646.  Well, I never would have known that this little boutique was owned by Kim Kardashian unless someone told me.  My adult daughter was that someone.  So we popped inside to get a look.  There were several pods of teens swarming over the goods, and a herd of Dash Dolls (clerks) taking care of business.  We looked, we left.  But I’m glad we stopped in.



ShopMoMA Design Store   81 Spring St., Soho.  This really big shop is filled with all the wonderful well-designed items this museum store is known for.  I wish I’d bought the Keith Haring umbrella, but it’s a good thing I didn’t buy the limited edition Andy Warhol sideways heart sunglasses because they looked really horrible on me.  Fortunately, some round cut-out sunglasses looked great on one of the customers.  Items make fabulous souvenirs, and purchases benefit the museum. 

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images ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers