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Panamá, Vive por Más

Panamá City Skyline Panama is a country of contrasts. Modern skyscrapers form the backdrop to 16th century ruins. Bustling traffic stands still beside a calm coastline that provides aqua therapy on the most stressful days, like before Mother’s Day. The people are friendly and always greet you with “Buenas”, the seafood is fresh and served in generous portions, and the highways and streets are clean. How about the music? I feel I could dance to that beat all night long. Si, Señor! Panamá Viejo Panama Viejo is the first permanent European settlement site on the Pacific coast. Pedro Arias de Avila and his companions settled here in 1519. The town flourished through the years and had its own Cathedral, Archbishop’s house, convents, a hospital and well drawn up streets. Fires, an earthquake and finally the attack of Welsh pirate, Henry Morgan, in 1671 razed Panama Viejo to oblivion. It was not rebuilt and was abandoned after a new city was established a short distance away in what is now, C

Where to go in 2022

Ruins of Jesuit Church, Casco Viejo, Panamá We’re still not out of the woods with this pandemic as the Omicron variant rages around the world. To this end, travel books, magazines and newspapers have published their annual lists of places to go in 2022 with cautious optimism. Fodor’s and Frommer’s have both decided to only include domestic destinations in the US for practical as well as health and safety reasons. Panama, Belize, Mexico and Singapore seem to be popular choices, appearing on several lists. Let’s hope we have a healthier world so we can freely explore once again. Afar Magazine Best Places to Travel in 2022 https://www.afar.com/magazine/best-places-to-travel-in-2022 Condé Nast Traveler 22 Places to go in 2022 https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-places-to-go-in-2022 Fodor’s Go List https://www.fodors.com/go-list/2022 Frommer’s Best Places to Go in the United States in 2022 https://www.frommers.com/slideshows/848505-frommer-s-best-places-to-go-in-the-united-states-in-202

My Amazing Ride - 2021

Pismo Beach Pier, California Traveling during the pandemic was  quite different from my previous last minute trips with no hotel reservations and lots of taken for granted expectations. There are health disclosures to fill, vaccination cards to show immigration, covid tests to take, and in some cases, travel insurance and confirmed paid hotel reservations to show the border police. Thankfully the airports were quiet at the beginning of my European trip in June but by the time I got home in July from Paris, travelers were back in droves that it took me close to three hours to get to my gate. The same was true in December when I returned from Costa Rica. LAX was full of Christmas travelers, it was hard to find any seat at the gates let alone, breathing space. Enough whining! After all, I visited 7 countries in 2021 plus the Arctic Circle, Interior Alaska and Las Vegas and had reunions with my close friends in Michigan, Amsterdam and Vienna. It was an amazing year of travel! April. After

At Santa’s House in North Pole, Alaska

Here comes Santa Claus! Do reindeers really know how to fly? Oh tannenbaum your  branches green delight us. Rocking’ around the Christmas tree. Have yourself a merry little Christmas now. Frostie is  made of snow but the children know How he came to life one day. I saw Santa kissing Mrs. Claus Underneath the mistletoe last night. How to get to North Pole, Alaska from Fairbanks Catch the green line from the Transit Center in downtown Fairbanks located between 5th and 6th Avenues on Cushman Street. Fare is $1.50 as of this writing. Seniors (over 60 years old) and children up to age 5 ride free. Bus stops in front of Santa’s house. mactransit.com There are cookies and treats for sale if you want to relax a bit. I got a letter from Santa for my little nephews and niece which will be mailed to them directly from North Pole on the first week of December. ***** Images by TravelswithCharie

Pinault Collection at the Bourse Museum

Untitled, Urs Fischer, 2011 The first thing that struck me about the Bourse Museum is the neo classical aesthetic of both its façade and Rotunda. The vast light-filled Rotunda draws the eyes to the metal and glass dome above and the panoramic fresco, Triumphal France, that surrounds the cupola. Without taking away the architectural integrity of a historical landmark, Tadao Ando restored and renovated the former stock exchange building into a museum for contemporary art for the collection of François Pinault, a French art collector. “The spatial layout of the Bourse de Commerce is designed to create an intense and more subtle dialogue between new and old.” Tadao Ando The wax sculpture by Urs Fischer, a Swiss artist, claims the central position in the Rotunda. It is a replica of The Abduction of Sabine Women by Giambologna. Fischer’s other works surround this sculpture. Even the birds love this museum. Wait a minute, are they for real? Others by Maurizio Cattelan, 2011. (Pigeons) Untitle