TravelswithCharie

For Week 6 of shelter-in-place, I wanted to revisit some museums around the world and reminisce about the good old travel days through images of my favorite paintings. Travel is a deep well of learning experiences and visits to museums add color to these experiences. Photographs, videos or postcards are beautiful keepsakes we can browse over whenever we please. This time spent in isolation has given me the pause I needed to appreciate the places I’ve been and the masterpieces I had the pleasure to behold. Las Meninas, Diego Velasquez, 1656, Museo del Prado, Madrid The French Impressionist painter, Édouard Manet, called Velasquez a “painter of painters”. It isn’t hard to imagine why. Velasquez challenges and provokes the viewer to dig deeper than what the eye perceives at first glance, to never judge a book by its cover. Liberty Leading the People, Eugène Delacroix, 1830, Louvre Museum, Paris “I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and although I may not have f

As the stay-at-home directive wearies on, I’m adjusting well to this new lifestyle. For one thing, it’s a delight to no longer have to go to the supermarket. I tried to avoid food shopping pre-quarantine days and only went once a week. Having discovered Instacart recently, it is a relief to have a personal shopper who can go grocery shopping for me and deliver the goodies to my door.  I’ve also learned so much these last three months (I have sheltered-in-place since late January) which I wouldn’t have had the time to attend to were I traveling instead. There’s a reason for everything. And this time spent in isolation has made me appreciative of the place I call home. Prague, Czech Republic The Ecumenical Art Chapel, Hirvensalo, Finland Tai O, HongKong Grand Canyon, Arizona  Puerto Rico Grand Place or Grote Markt, Brussels, Belgium California, USA “Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson   ***** Images by Travelswi

Four weeks after Governor Newsom announced the stay-at-home order for California, the corona virus is still taking a toll on Californians and the rest of the world. Physical distancing may have played a big role in capping the number of cases but we are not out of the woods yet. It looks like we’re home bound for a few more weeks. I don’t mind this at all because I know that it will help flatten the curve and set us free to live a “normal” life again. If there’s one thing I’ve learned during this period of self isolation, it is that I should never take anything for granted, especially traveling.  Champs Elysées, Paris, France Singapore Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland Tlaquepaque,  Guadalajara, Mexico Malmö, Sweden Lake Tahoe, Nevada The Sphinx, Giza, Egypt ***** Images by TravelswithCharie 

As the clock ticks and the corona virus rages unabated, my travel plans taunt me. I’m kept wondering when I can safely walk again in unfamiliar places and listen to a cacophony of foreign tongues. Unearthing these images from previous trips instills in me a strong resolve to travel again when the all clear is sounded. I am hopeful this will be soon. “It may be that the satisfaction I need depends on my going away, so that when I’ve gone and come back, I’ll find it at home.” Rumi Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California Ta Prohm, Siem Reap, Cambodia Reynisfjara Beach, South Iceland  West India Warehouse on Tolbodgade, Copenhagen, Denmark (houses Royal Cast Collection) Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand El Ateneo Bookstore, Buenos Aires, Argentina Irreverent Amsterdam, The Netherlands  ***** Images by TravelswithCharie

As we continue to stay at home to help flatten the curve on corona virus, I’m finding more ways to make the most of the situation. One of these is catching up with writing travel articles from my trip to Europe last year. Several have been posted on the blog. Please check them out.      On Week 2 of my Travel in the Time of Corona series, I’m sharing images from past travels that remind me why I love traveling so much.    Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto, Japan Kubuswoningen (The Cube Houses), Rotterdam, The Netherlands   Sardines shop, Lisbon, Portugal St. James Church (St. Jacob’s Church), Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany Baybay Beach, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines   Crossing the runway, Gibraltar, British Overseas Territory Salzberg, Hallstatt, Austria “My home is where my travels begin.”   TravelswithCharie  ***** Images by TravelswithCharie 

What I miss most about this Stay-at-Home order is traveling. I have many travel plans for 2020 which would have commenced in mid January. Those plans are now on hold but I’m not giving up on them. For now I’m digging up old photos relegated to the “dust bin” so I can travel vicariously and relive the good, old “If It’s Tuesday This Must Be Belgium” days. Join me for Week 1.   Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy  Dubrovnik, Croatia  Bato Bolong, Bali, Indonesia Malalison, Antique, Philippines Myeongdong, Seoul, South Korea  No Bucks Cafè (outreach service), Dublin, Ireland Pueblo Blanco, Andalucia, Spain ***** Images by TravelswithCharie

On the bus ride to Gstaad from Les Diablerets, I met an Indian couple who were traveling in Switzerland. They told me about the popularity of Gstaad in India thanks to blockbuster Bollywood movies which feature this renowned ski resort. I was just passing through Gstaad and had no idea about its attractions other than its ski slopes but it wasn’t winter yet so the town was quiet, so quiet even the Louis Vuitton shop was closed. Grey skies and light rain threatened to drive me indoors and miss out on this winter playground of the rich and famous. But I had an umbrella so I walked up and down the Promenade to see a little bit of the town that will come alive when the skiing season begins. Swiss chalets with window boxes brimming with colorful flowers line the street all the way to the river where frigid waters burble across town to steal its tranquility and wake up sleeping beauty. As I continued strolling, I found sculptures blending with its backdrop like the two musicians in the