Taking a Trip Back in Time

My Facebook profile is littered with horror stories from my subway commute. In fact, the "My Top Status Words of 2010" app returned the word "Subway" at Number 1, and believe me, they were all rants, not raves. So imagine my surprise when this Sunday the MTA delivered this delightful holiday surprise: a vintage train from the 1930's running on the M track. It turned a dreaded Queens-to-Brooklyn trek, usually spent waiting and cursing, into a magical trip back in time. I had no idea that the MTA has been doing this for years, calling it the "Nostalgia Shoppers’ Special Train."

Let me emphasize this is not a reproduction, it's the real deal - a working antique train complete with vintage ads, wicker seats and ceiling fans, and it makes all the stops on the M line from Queens Plaza to 2nd Ave. Knowing that the best camera is the one you have with you, I snapped some pics with my iPhone that you can see here. New Yorkers, you have one last chance to catch the nostalgic train this year - on Sunday, Dec. 26. Don't miss it! Oh, and as for MTA, I'll take a little holiday sabbatical and then continue ripping them a new one on January 2. Until then, Happy Holidays! Choo-choo!

Mt. Fuji Miracle

In April 2004, I spent some time traveling in Japan — visiting Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Nikko. It was an incredible trip, but as I sat on the plane departing Tokyo, I couldn't help feeling disappointed that I didn't manage to see Mt. Fuji. I realized I had missed an opportunity, and wondered if I would ever make it back to Japan again to see it. As the plane took off, the reality set in - it was over, I didn't see it, and there was nothing I could do about it. The best I could tell myself is that it just wasn't meant to be.

I leaned back in my seat, put my headphones on and closed my eyes. After we were in the air for a little while I just happened to glance out the window - and couldn't believe what I saw. We were flying right past Mt. Fuji! It's beautiful snow-capped peak was breaking right through the clouds, and I had a direct view of it, clear as day. My jaw practically hit the floor. I fumbled for my camera, managed to snap a quick photo, and just sat there and stared at it in amazement until it moved out of sight.

This is the luckiest photo I have ever taken in my life. I didn't do anything special other than have a loaded camera with me, zoom and snap. Sometimes the scenery really does do all the work.

Fortunately for me I was on the right side of the plane (technically, the left) and looked out the window at just the right moment to see it. And the way the clouds broke to reveal the mountain as we passed, well, I couldn't help but feel that Mt. Fuji was winking at me.

Note: I chose this picture to be the cover of the 2011 Calendar to Cure Sanfilippo. Here's wishing for a cure for Jonah Wood Weishaar and all the Sanfilippo kids.

Rome If You Want To...

The following is an e-mail I sent to family and friends during my May 2005 trip to Italy and Sicily.

Ciao Amici!

Warm - make that hot, very hot - greetings from Italy, where the Atkins diet has not quite caught on yet. I swear, trying to find a salad here is like a detour challenge straight out of The Amazing Race. I can just hear host Phil Keoghan say: "Teams must now navigate the hot, narrow streets of Rome in search of fresh lettuce... the last team to find it will be eliminated."

Here is my interpretation of the Italian food pyramid:

                                                      Gelato
                                           Espresso/Cappuccino
                                      B r e a d / R o l l s / P i z z a
                                  P          A          S          T          A

As for the transportation, since we've been here, there has been a train strike, a vaporetto strike (those are the water buses in Venice) and believe it or not, they discovered a WW2 bomb under the train tracks between Rome and Naples which forced us to take a different train - the slowest train in the world. It made Muni (SF) seem like Nascar. After sitting still on the tracks for most of the day, we finally started moving... backwards. Ah, all in a day's travel in Italy!

Anyway, I'm probably making it sound much worse than it's actually been. Highlights of the trip so far include flying over the Dolomites and having an aerial view of Venice before landing at Marco Polo airport, being invited into the home of a little old Italian woman for a cold drink in Burano, being flashed by a young man in the very same Burano, driving through Rome at night listening to Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", and seeing the new Pope, Papa Benedetto, in St. Peter's Square.

I didn't think I would be that excited to see him because he isn't John Paul II, but for one thing, from where we were standing they look exactly the same! And besides, when he came out and zoomed around the square in his Pope-mobile, organ music blasting and people going crazy - it was like being at a rock concert. Popestock, I guess.

The very next night my Mom was driving around Rome with a friend when they were stuck in a traffic jam caused by the Pope's procession. Looking out the window she saw a bunch of people standing around by the car waiting for the jam to clear, and one of them was actor Willem Dafoe! So she rolled down the window and said, "Se grande!" - "You're great!" and he shook her hand. So there you go, she saw the Pope AND Jesus while in Rome.

Anyway, I didn't think that could be topped, but it was - two nights later in Capua, an area outside of Naples where part of my family comes from. We have been staying with a friend of my Mom's, and we actually had the chance to chat with my Dad via webcam from here to Ontario, NY. I'll bet my ancestors could have never imagined that happening in their wildest dreams! (And props to my Dad for handling those Mary Kay orders while my Mom is out of the country.)

This just in... I just got back from dinner where I finally managed to get a salad... of course it was on top of a pizza, but one can't be picky. The girl next to me got a pizza that was COVERED in french fries. South Beach it ain't.

Alright, I have to get going... I'm exhausted, I have mosquito bites on my face and cappuccino stains on my jeans. Tomorrow we're off to Capri and after that it's on to Sicily! I'll see if I can find a copy of the Sicilian food pyramid, but I have a feeling it looks something like a bunch of stacked cannoli.

As I used to say in the 4th grade,
Ciao for now!
Love,
Tootsie

Which is Rich?

I had been traveling solo through China for almost a week and had barely spoken to anyone due to the language barrier. I was beginning to feel very isolated and alone. As I was sitting by myself in a park in Guilin, a man walked by and gave me the most cheerful "hello" in a British accent. He completely surprised me! We had a wonderful conversation that must have lasted an hour. The part I remember most is when he asked me where I was from, and I said The United States. He responded, "Oh, a very rich country!" That surprised me too. I was just a backpacker, living with 3 other roommates in an old, run down flat in San Francisco. I hardly considered myself rich. But his comment, and other experiences I had on that trip, made me realize that compared to much of the world, I am rich. It really humbled me to think that I was born into resources and opportunities that so many people on this earth don't have. I told myself I should never take my circumstances for granted again. I can't say that has always been the case, but I have never forgotten this man or the lesson he gave me. The thing is, I believe he is truly rich. Every once in a while I think of him and wonder how he is. I hope he's still smiling!

99 and Still Ahead of Time

Had an amazing experience at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema on Thursday night. I was there for a screening of "Ahead of Time" a documentary on the extraordinary life of journalist, author, photographer and all-around trailblazer, Ruth Gruber. It also happened to be Ruth's 99th birthday, and she was in attendance to do a Q&A following the film.

As a young, restless Brooklynite, Ruth dreamed of the big world beyond and couldn't wait to get out of New York. Her writing talent landed her a fellowship from the University of Cologne in 1931, where she obtained her Ph.D in one year (and became the youngest Ph.D in the world in the process). Her unquenchable thirst for adventure combined with a fiercely independent spirit and a level of courage seldom seen by women in her day (or even today for that matter) took her on dangerous and exhilarating journeys to the Soviet Arctic, Alaska, Nazi Germany and the Middle East. Along the way she married (but didn't change her name) and rubbed elbows with President Harry S. Truman, Virginia Woolf and Israeli Prime Ministers David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir. To get an idea of the fearlessness and tenacity this woman possessed - she hid her passport, removed the American flag pin from her lapel and posed as a German citizen to attend a Nazi rally. She witnessed first hand Hitler's racist and hysterical rants against Jews and Americans, of which she is both. Those are just a few of the remarkable stories you will hear Ruth tell in "Ahead of Time."



When the movie ended, the lights came on, and a tiny woman entered the theater from the back exit, accompanied by her walker and a few aides. She received a standing ovation. It was hard to believe that such strength, grit and fearlessness could come in such a delicate and beautiful package. Then again, who better to embody CHUTZPAH than a Jewish girl from Brooklyn? She was charming, delightful, and at 99, still witty and sharp as a tack.

As someone with a love of travel, but not without my own fears and hesitations, I asked if she was ever afraid to go forth on those adventures, and if so, where did she find the courage? She answered that "every now and then I was close to death, and I was afraid." She proceeded to tell the story of how while on her honeymoon (a working honeymoon, of course) she was visiting an area of Libya where Jews were living in caves, when an Arab man pushed her against the wall and stuck a gun in her back. She thought her life was over, and was resentful that her honeymoon was ruined! Ultimately, they were rescued by the French Legion. You can listen to her tell the full story here.

When the Q&A was finished, the audience sang her "Happy Birthday." Then everyone began to exit the front as the crowd for the next movie filed in. While her assistants were lost in the shuffle up front somewhere, a woman in a wheelchair was trying to get past Ruth's chair and out the side exit. Her aide was stuck behind her and there was no one else around to help, so I reached out my hands, and helped her to her feet. I told her it was an honor, and that if I lived only half as an exciting life as her I would be satisfied. As she put on her coat and was helped back out the same side door that she entered, a funny thing happened. The theater dimmed and began to play a preview before the next movie. It was the trailer for "Ahead of Time." In the foreground I watched the slow but graceful exit of this 99-year old pioneer, while the background flashed the accomplishments of her youth and remarkable life. It was inspiring to witness. L'Chaim, Ruth!

Top 5 Road Books

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."  - Saint Augustine

Nothing inspires me to travel more than a great story about the road. Continuing my "Top 5" series, here are my Top 5 Road Books:

5. Oh, the Places You'll Go!

This was given to me as a high school graduation gift from Mrs. Suellen Graney. It's a surefire confidence builder that never fails to inspire.

4. On the Road

Appropriately, I read this for the first time while living in San Francisco. I had a temp job with Wells Fargo where my only duty was to answer the rollover calls from a VP's phone and transfer them back into his voicemail. He got about 3 calls a day, and the rest of the time I read books and plotted my cross country road trip. 

3. Seven Years in Tibet

Don't let the Brad Pitt movie dissuade you from reading this book. The escape from an internment camp and the subsequent physical, emotional and spiritual journey of Heinrich Harrer is incredible.

2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This book accompanied me on the train rides around Europe. I would literally burst out laughing and receive weird stares from the people around me, but it didn't matter, because I had the answer. 42. 'Nuff said.

1. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

My favorite book and the greatest road trip of all time. I dare anyone to top The Merry Pranksters and their acid-induced 'trip' on the "Further" bus.

Flushing and Blushing

I was using a restaurant bathroom in Nara, Japan and the toilet had one of those high-tech keypads attached to it. It must have had 50 buttons on it that did everything from warm the seat to splash your cheeks (yes, there was an image of a butt getting water-blasted on it). But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to flush the toilet. I tried a number of different buttons, but the closest I could find was one that simulated the flushing noise, but did not actually flush the toilet. Complicating matters, a woman was standing outside of my stall waiting for me to finish. I didn't know what to do. Should I walk out and leave her to my unflushed toilet? She would think I was some sort of pig. I kept trying buttons, to no avail. I hoped she would just leave, but she didn't. Finally, I had to open the stall door. I apologized profusely and tried to explain (in my best pantomime) that I couldn't find the right button to flush the toilet. She nodded, walked past me to the back of the toilet and pushed down on the metal lever. The flusher was exactly the same as American toilets! I had been so distracted by the computerized keypad that it never dawned on me to check for a manual lever.

Top 5 Road Films

It would be impossible for me to compile a comprehensive list of road films, and I’m sure there are several websites out there that have done it anyway. But I have to discuss them on here because it's my favorite genre, and many of them have inspired me to hit the open road.

In my opinion, a true road film contains the following elements: a character or characters must leave one destination (usually their home) for another, and find themselves somehow changed or evolved through the process. Generally the person has a physical destination in mind, but unbeknownst to them, they are on a spiritual or emotional journey, such as self-awareness, redemption, forgiveness or closure. The road is a 'test', and the protagonist's evolution by movie's end ensures their success, whether they live or die.

It was really hard for me to narrow it down, but here are my Top 5 Road Films:

5. Transamerica



4. Finding Nemo



3. Thelma and Louise



2. The Straight Story



1. The Wizard of Oz



Honorable Mention: Fandango
(Any discussion of road films must start and end with the movie that inspired my own cross-country road trip, ‘Fandango’)

Goodbye China, Hello Kitty!

The following is an e-mail I sent to family and friends during my April 2004 trip to China and Japan:

Kon-nichiwa!

And hello from the future, where today is tomorrow, and yesterday was.. uh.. hmm... well anyway, greetings from the far east, so far east in fact... it's west!

I'm writing to you from Japan - The Land of the Rising Sanrio. It's been a strange, crazy, dizzying first week or so. I started my trip in Hong Kong, SAR - or Hong Kong, SARS - as they like to joke. I met up with 2 girls from Hong Kong, Tess and Emily, whom I met while traveling in Finland a few years back. They proceeded to show me all the sights and completely stuff me with food. I don't normally eat a lot of meat or Chinese food, so it didn't take much to make me full. It was hilarious because I am as big as Tess and her boyfriend Terrance put together, and yet they ate 3 times as much as I did. They couldn't understand how little I ate. Mind you, I was eating huge plates of noodles, meat, assorted fried foods, soup, and desserts. For 3 meals. Forget about Pearl Cream, I want to know how the Chinese can eat so much and stay so thin.

One afternoon I went with Emily and her boyfriend Sunny to see the Biggest Buddha in the World. (I will be able to confirm this after today, because here in Nara, Japan they also claim to have the biggest Buddha in the World. Perhaps I should suggest regionalizing the title, like The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota.  See - no controversy there - you know exactly what you're getting.  But I digress...) So after we ate a lunch as big as the Buddha itself, we got on a bus that took us from the top of the hill back down to the bottom of the island.  A high speed, curvy, swervy, bus ride. Basically, imagine eating at a China Buffet, and then immediately following, riding a rollercoaster. For 45 minutes. I thought I was going to puke, but somehow I managed to hold it together. Thank God - we finally got off the bus. Except the ferry boat to Hong Kong was leaving that second, and we had to SPRINT to catch it. So now imagine eating a China Buffet, riding a rollercoaster, and then running the 220. As we were running I could actually feel my lunch coming up and I had to stop a few times and double over to hold the food back in, and then keep running. It wasn't quite a movie moment where we had to jump over the water and land on the boat as it was taking off, but it was darn close. Thank God - we were finally on the boat. Except now the boat is rocking and swaying. You get the idea.

Seriously, the food was delicious and I had an amazing time in HK and mainland China. It was frustrating, chaotic, confusing, crazy, exhausting, beautiful, charming, warm, friendly, and exciting. And that was just day one. As for the bathrooms, well, let's just say I know where they got the title "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

I'd love to write more but my time is almost up.  I'm in Japan for about a week before finishing up in Beijing.  I don:t know if I'll get a chance to send another update, so for now, it's Sayonara!!

Much Love,
Tootsie

The Ordinary is Extraordinary

While traveling in Tokyo, my friend Chiharu took me to a huge market that sold all kinds of food, but what caught my eye was some packaged octopi. I thought they would make a great photo and began snapping away. Chiharu thought it was weird and asked me why I was taking pictures.
I explained to her that I'd never seen packaged octopus like that in any American grocery stores.

Later in her apartment I was looking through a photo album from her California vacation. Amongst the typical scenic shots was a picture of a frying pan with sausage and eggs in it. Not even realizing I was doing the same thing she did earlier, I asked why she would take a photo of eggs and sausages. And she explained to me that it was exotic to her! It literally hadn't crossed my mind that something so completely ordinary to me could be so exotic to someone else.

Continuing to flip through the album, I saw a picture of her holding up a gallon of milk in a grocery store. So I said, "Ok, I know you have milk here, so why did you take this picture?" And she said, "because it's SO BIG!"

Have Chess Will Travel, Peace by Piece

“Mathematics is the only true universal language.” - Ellie Arroway in Contact

Do you remember in the movie Contact how Jodie Foster’s character deciphered an alien message through mathematics? Well, when traveling to other countries, rather than chit-chatting via the quadratic equation, a great way to combat the confusion of tongues is to learn a universal game that doesn’t require verbal communication. Enter: the game of Chess. Played for thousands of years in cultures all over the world, this wargame can actually be a bridge to peace. In fact, the Chess for Peace Program was “designed to promote peace throughout the world by bringing secondary school students from different countries together to learn how to play chess and to establish lasting friendships. The vision of the program is to establish a long-term relationship among the young people around the globe as the vehicle by which to promote mutual understanding of shared problems.” And right here in New York City, the nonprofit organization Chess-in-the-Schools hopes students who learn chess through their curriculum will be "more likely to solve conflicts using peaceful means.”

Xiangqi in Shanghai

I remember at many times during my trip through China, I felt isolated due to my inability to communicate with the people there. Time and time again I happened upon groups of people gathered around the games of Go and Xiangqi (Chinese Chess). In some cases, I was offered a chance to play, but I had to turn them down because didn’t know how. I regretted so much that I hadn't learned the basics of game play before taking the trip, and that I missed out on such meaningful cultural experiences.

Tootsie's Travel Tip #1: Before your next trip, try researching what games are popular to the culture you are visiting and see if you can learn how to play. With games like Chess, Go or Mancala, you can easily pack a thin, portable mat and pieces to take with you. Or while you're there, seek out parks or public squares that have game boards set up and an active scene. That simple opening move may lead to an end-game of lasting friendships and travel memories. So, “how about a nice game of chess?”

Mapping Out Your Future

For years I’ve been keeping maps on my bedroom walls with pins stuck in all the places I’ve been. It mainly keeps me connected to trips long past and serves as an inspiration for future travels. I’m not sure where I got this idea from, but I think the first time I ever saw it done was in the movie “Mask” with Cher and Eric Stoltz. Pardon the pun, but it has stuck with me ever since.

In the film, Rocky Dennis had pinned a map of Europe with all the destinations for his dream motorcycle trip, but when the dream fell apart, he took the pins out. Near the end of the movie, when Rocky dies, his mother re-pins the map and says, "Now you can go anywhere you want, Baby." I actually couldn’t find an English-speaking clip of this scene, but as this is a travel blog, I suppose an Italian version will do:



On a side note, the song you hear in the background of that scene is “Ripple” by The Grateful Dead, a great road song in its own right:

There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone.

But road songs are certainly another topic for another day. Back to maps, to avoid the issue of too many pinholes in the walls, I switched to marking them with star stickers. Yeah, I’ve definitely been laughed at for being a 37-year-old with maps and glow-in-the dark stars on my walls, but to me there’s nothing cooler than turning off my lights at night and seeing all the places I’ve been, light up.

But if maps on the wall are a little too "college dormy" for you, try creating a virtual map of the places you’ve been or the places you’d like to go.

Postcards & Journals - The Original Travel Blog

Just unearthed from my parents’ basement is a bag containing my travel journals from the 1999 road trip across America (a.k.a. “Fandango”) I took with my best friend Kate, and from the summer of 2000 solo backpacking trip (still yet-to-be- named) I took around Europe. I have no idea if there's anything good in there – but I’m definitely excited to read them now, with the added perspective of time. Will they have aged like a fine wine or depreciated like an Italian lire? I’m about to find out.

One cool little surprise (Self Doubt: There's that word "cool" again) was just opening the front cover to my Fandango journal to find the names, addresses and phone numbers of all the family and friends that I wanted to keep in touch with along the way.

Do you remember when you used to have to write down phone numbers? Do you remember actually calling people to talk? Do you remember taking down people's addresses?
Do you remember hand writing anything longer than a sentence? Do you remember what it was like to get something hand written in the mail?

I remember when 1999 sounded like “the future” and yet now it seems quaint and old-fashioned. Sure we had email and the Internet, but we didn't live our lives online. Today I don't really call anyone other than my Mom. I certainly couldn't tell you anyone's phone number. Letter writing? Forget it. In fact, if you're not one of my Facebook friends, we probably barely talk at all. Email's a pain in the ass. I'd much rather just "like" something. Talk about minimal effort! Is this really what we've become?

Yep, things are better now all right. It's so easy. Travel's a cinch - just take your iPhone and you'll never get lost. You can Facebook friend everyone you meet along the way, and check-in to all the sites on Foursquare. Upload your photos and share your experience with everyone in real-time. There's no need to write a letter, but also no need to tell a story when you return. Because the sad thing is, by the time you get back, it's already old news.

Now, I'm not a total luddite, but putting my hands on these actual artifacts from my trips has me a bit sentimental for a time when you could experience something very personally and then share it interpersonally. Not to the whole world, not to a generic "Facebook feed" of former friends, random acquaintances and coworkers who may or may not even see it. But face-to-face or ear-to-ear.

What I wouldn't give to dial 305-386-3113 just one more time. That's my Grandma's phone number. Some things you never forget.

The Journey of a Thousand Blog Posts Starts with a Single Word

Here I go. I’m about to take one of the scariest and most unpredictable journeys of my life. I’m starting a blog. Of the many topics and ideas I’ve had over the years (none of which have made it outside of my head) I decided to focus on travel, well, because it’s something I love. And if this is actually going to get off the ground, so to speak, it’s going to have to be about something I love. But I’ve struggled with the question of why - why do I love it so much, and is that selfish of me? With so much suffering in the world, so many people in need, isn’t it a bit self centered that I want to spend all of my free time and money on something as self-serving as travel? Maybe. But when I think about all my travel experiences, I think they have been much more than a snapshot of a famous monument or a tour of a historic site. For me, travel has been about two things: individual freedom and human connectivity.

When I set forth on a trip, I leave my home, my job, my possessions, and my problems, behind me. This is not to say they won’t be there when I get back, or even pop up along the way, but in the act of stepping out into worlds unknown, I leave my static, defined persona behind, and open myself up to a new way of being. I have explored the confusion of my sexuality from the comforts of European train cars, and experienced the liberation of knowing that everything I need to get through the day can be carried on my back. Free from being bogged down in the constraints of daily life and responsibilities, I have explored the world both inner and outer, looking for and understanding of my place in it. I began as a novice just interested in seeing sights, but it has evolved into something much deeper. In every place I’ve been, what always stands out first and foremost in my mind, are the people I have met and the connections I have made. Despite our varying backgrounds, I have found that our commonality is much stronger than our diversity.

I have been thinking about this blog for months, and find it ironic that it’s finally ready to launch today, September 11th. I considered waiting until tomorrow, but then I thought that starting it today is actually quite fitting, because a theme that I hope will emerge from this is “world peace through travel.” The idea is that by getting outside of our comfort zone and learning about cultures and connecting with people so seemingly different from ourselves, we will forge bonds and change our minds. Instead of "us" and "them," it becomes "we".

At the bottom of this blog, I have the word “peace” written in all the languages of the places I have visited. With each new trip, I will add a new translation. Perhaps the best way to sum this up is not with words, but with this most-inspiring video by Matt Harding, one of my personal favorites: