Mary and Jubie's Great Adventure...JoyRide 2010!

Music Improvisation Playshop in Nagoya!

2011-08-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

After our taiko drumming experience, we took a short break and had tea and treats and then proceeded to set the room up for a music improvisation workshop, which I had offered to do for Yasuyo’s community. We had a delightful intergenerational mix of folks and spent the next two hours engaged in some fantastic and fun music improvisation with a host of instruments and plenty of vocal experiences. I cannot think of a better way to spend a day in Japan-music music and more music. Heaven on earth in my book!

Taiko Drums- We gave it a try

2011-08-11T16:37:00.001-07:00

After a few of their original pieces, they set the drums up and gave us a taiko lesson on a few of the drums. I had the best time playing these drums and can still feel it in my arms today, a wonderful physical workout indeed!

GONNA Again-fantastic!

2011-08-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

The movement of the players in this band completely fascinates me.

Taiko Drums: What could be more FUN!

2011-08-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

I have long loved the movement, power and sound of the Japanese Taiko drums and I had mentioned this to my wonderful host Yasuyo and she gave me the gift of a lifetime- the chance to not only hear a group perform but to play these incredible drums myself. We arrived at the music studio where the group “Gonna” practices and this dynamic group of musicians set up the large Taiko drums and a marimba and began to play. The sheer volume of power of the Taiko drums feel like a literal “wall of sound and vibration” sending the rhythms pulsing through every cell of your body. It is an amazing feeling to be in a rather small room with these drums. POWERFUL!!

Here is a clip of the band, they were absolutely incredible!

The Bon Festival: Community Dancing

2011-08-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

I loved watching this community dancing event, and even was invited to join in after two women noticing me trying to get the steps in my body from the sidelines. Quite a lovely experience to be a part of the slowly circling group of people, a meditation in movement shared by the community.

The Bon Festival: Dancing in the streets

2011-08-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

After spending the afternoon in this quaint mountain village, we made our way back through the mountains as the sun was setting and the sky was lit up with periodic lightening and even a rainbow! We stopped in another small town to witness the celebration of Bon (which is a festival to celebrate the dead). In this small town people of all ages, some in traditional dress and others in modern street clothing all gather together to dance the traditional dances while musicians play in a small gazebo like building in the middle of the street.

Rice fields surrounded the village-such beauty and serenity

2011-08-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

More village photos

2011-08-11T09:50:00.001-07:00

These photos will give you a sense of the village, it was very beautiful and although it was fairly high in the mountains, it was still (much to my personal disappointment) incredibly hot. There has been no escaping the heat on this visit to Japan. Each time I go outside it feels like I have stepped into a blast furnace of heat and humidity. Apparently most folks carry around a handkerchief of some sort to manage the constant stream of sweat.

Ogimachi Village: Japanese style living

2011-08-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

As we drove out of Nagoya and into the mountains I simply could not get over how different these mountains were than any I have seen before. They are peaked and pointed but full of lush green trees and the peaks are closely condensed so there is one after another after another- as we drove north we went through one tunnel after another and each time we came out of the tunnels there was a new unfolding array of gorgeous mountain peaks. We drove for over two hours and came to a most remarkable town that still held the old Japanese style of living. The village is called Ogimachi and it is a quaint village that has homes in the gassho style with thatched roofs, which resemble hands in prayer. (gassho means to “pray”)

Family road trip to the mountains

2011-08-11T09:41:00.001-07:00

After the morning Music Together classes, the entire family (Yasuyo, her husband, and two children) Scott and I ate lunch at a little local café, ramen noodles, udon and such- and then piled into two small vehicles and headed north into the mountains.

Gotta love these great Music Together classes!! What Fun!

2011-08-11T09:39:00.001-07:00

Music Together classes in Nagoya with Yasuyo

2011-08-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

I was delighted to have the opportunity to attend two of my host, Yasuyo’s, Music Together classes in Nagoya. She rents a great space that, although in the city, is surrounded by peaceful rice paddies- such a lovely setting to arrive at for class. Yasuyo is a wonderful facilitator/teacher and her classes were such a joy to participate in. The Japanese mom’s and children sang, danced, played instruments and just generally had a wonderful and joyous time for 50 minutes and then a second class came in and we had the chance to see the magic happen for second time, each time is as unique as the group that attends. I was so happy to experience Yasuyo’s classes and was quite inspired by her work with these families.

Japanese style hotel in Nagoya

2011-08-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

In Nagoya Yasuyo had helped me make reservations for a Japanese style hotel which included sleeping on mats on the floor, shared bathrooms and a traditional Japanese bath house which has a place to rinse and wash yourself and then a deep community soaking tub. It brought back memories of the hammam in Morocco, but this was a much more relaxed version and you were on your own here, unlike the Moroccan hammam.

Somehow I got a room next to the dorm room (kind of like a youth hostile) and ended up in what has to have been the noisiest place in all of Japan. On the street people are very quiet, but this group of young people were anything but and partied late into the night. Luckily I was tired enough to sleep anyway.

Visit to Nardan harp shop and Sports Bar

2011-08-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

Yasuyo took us over to an instrument maker that makes a fascinating version of the koto that is much smaller than a koto and has buttons that push down on the strings somewhat like an auto harp- it is called the nardan harp. I loved the sound and would have purchased one if they had been somewhat less in price.
Here is a link to a you tube about it- very cool: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgBwGlgjNB4

That night Scott, Yasuyo, and her husband and two children ate at a Japanese sports bar and had good ol’ familiar hamburgers, chicken wings and beer, it was good for me since I was suffering a bit from too many unfamiliar foods which included a hefty percentage of raw fish and unknown gelatinous items.

Never good to miss your stop on a bullet train!

2011-08-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

After exploring the Palace ground in Tokyo with my host Takeshi, I boarded the “bullet” train toward the city of Nagoya where I had planned to meet my second host, Yasuyo. Yasuyo is a Music Together teacher as well as a drum circle facilitator and she had invited me to visit her city of Nagoya some months back so I decided this would be a wonderful way to get the chance to travel a bit while in Japan. As you might imagine, the bullet train moves very fast, so fast in fact it is difficult to focus on anything that isn’t quite far away out of the window, so I found myself closing my eyes so as not to feel dizzy. The next thing I knew I heard the announcer call a stop and I gathered my things and headed for the door, then I heard Kyoto over the loud speaker, yikes, had I missed my stop? I asked a young woman who had been sitting in front of me if this was Nagoya, and she made the sign of sleeping and a sad face and pointed to the stop and said Kyoto. Yes indeed I slept right through Nagoya and was 1 hour beyond my stop. (which is pretty far considering it was the bullet train and all). Just as I got off the train and was going into a mild panic state, my cell phone rang- no one has called for days and I am really not using it while overseas, but I answered and an American male voice was on the other end asking if I had missed my stop in Nagoya. It was Yasuyo’s American friend Scott who was helping her try to figure out what had happened to me. Turns out I could slip back through the gate to the other train track and catch the next train back to Nagoya, which I did. So it all turned out ok apart from the fact that dear Yasuyo had to wait around the train station much longer than she had planned.

Tokyo - the Palace

2011-08-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

On Monday morning Tak and I visited the palace in Tokyo, one can only walk around the outside but you can get a sense from the pictures of the area. What I loved the most was that all of the trees had been shaped into bonsai like trees- a little forest of them. Takeshi loved the fact that you had a little forest of trees and right behind them stands the city. Such contrast in images!

The Fun Loving Staff at DCFT!!

2011-08-07T15:58:00.001-07:00

The Healing Power of Music: A Profound Experience for me

2011-08-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

The final session of the conference was what is fondly called "jump time" in the drum circle world. It is a time for co-facilitated leading by the conference participants and anyone who wishes may come in and lead the group toward a new music making direction. This session was filled with humor, energy and great enthusiasm from both the people that stepped in to lead and the participants.

Tak had asked me to lead a closing with the intention of healing those reeling from the disaster and peace to those that lost their lives.

I must say that this closing was one of the most profoundly powerful music making experiences I have had, bringing me back to the music making around the time my Mom was dying. One of the facilitators in the final jump time activities had invited participants to leave their drums and play the chime bars, these are the kind of instruments played in bell choirs- and the sound of each note is sustained and pure- just heavenly- this is when Tak and I stepped in to close the group- Tak set the intention for healing and I invited Mr Pecker to play the didgeridoo, sharing that this is a healing sounds from Australia, then we moved to a very quiet heartbeat on the drums in honor of the Native American healing pulse and then we added piano and long vocal tones over this as a personal way in which each person heals from the vibration of sound- from there the music, chanting, and drumming took on a life of it's own and even now as I write about this I am in awe of the power of this moment for me- through the music making I could feel the pain of the past months for these people and the profound love and support that they have for another- and there were moments that the voices would rise with this feeling of hope and then fall to a hushed whisper...the group facilitated itself through this most profound musical journey and as it began to find it's natural ending, I invited people to leave their instruments and step into the center and stand closely, while sounding long tones. There was this moment for me, eyes closed, engulfed in the sheer magnificence of the human experience in sound and vibration, as it rose and fell of it's own accord, changing with each breath- that I felt what Jill Bolte Taylor describes in her book "My Stroke of Insight" the complete connection of everything and everyone, that we share this planet , both it's joy and it's pain, and even though we may live half way around the earth- we are all completely connected to one another and can most profoundly effect one another's lives by the vibrations that we sent forth, take in and share.

This was a moment I will never forget and will be ever grateful to this amazing group of people for inviting me to share it with them. It is why I do what I do in my life.

Later I heard that our participant from the disaster region, a man, had left during the middle of this final session- overcome by the experience. Later that evening he emailed the staff and told them that during this music making experience, he was overcome by the love and support that poured out in sound from the group and that he felt, for the first time in a long while, a sense hope and joy returning to his life. He had written to express his gratitude to the group.
Truly the healing power of music in action.

Life After the Sunami

2011-08-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

The second day of this conference was most remarkable to me. On Saturday evening at a casual dinner on campus I had to chance to hear these folks talk about the past few months here in Japan, the earthquake and sunami and the slow movement toward clean up and restoration of their northern region. One of our participants was from the hardest hit region and many others had relatives that they had lost during the disaster. And then there seems to be the unanswered questions about the nuclear situation. It seems that they are closing the power plant and searching for other viable power alternatives. Until then they have severely limited the use air conditioning (and this has been a particularly hot and humid summer for them).

Mr Pecker, one of the leading facilitators here, is creating a non profit organization to bring music back into the lives of the most devestated areas of the disaster. He wants to support the region by donating musical instruments to the children and schools as a way to promote joy and healing into their lives. Takeshi told me about his cousin who lives in one of the areas that was hardest hit by the sunami. He said that after the sunami there was no power and therefore no form of entertainment by any means. He said that after a few weeks his cousin called him up and asked him to send an MP3 player or something that could be battery operated as he felt that music might bring back the joy of life. Tak sent along the player and then shortly after that, his cousin called again and said that he had acquired a ukelele and wondered if Tak could send some books so he could learn to play. It seems that his cousins and others in the region found that through music making they could tap into a feeling of hope and joy. I was particualrly happy to hear it was a uke that he was learning, there is something inherently happy about the uke and it's sound!

Mr Pecker thanked me time and time again for coming to do this conference, as he said many people had decided to cancel their trips to Japan in the wake of the disaster. I understand this as I also had to really consider if it made sense to come at this time. But what I know from our past journeys is that our news media neglects to paint the full picture of any given situation and chooses to target the most sensational elements of world affairs. Life goes on in Tokyo with a fairly normal feel they tell me and I see this as I am here. The northern region is about ten hours drive from here and this is the area that was hit the hardest.

I am struck by the great heart of the people I have met here.

Ah, the Joy of Drum Circles!

2011-08-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

I was honored to open this conference of about 70 participants with a drum circle, where I of course had to try out a few of my new Japanese phrases : )
The participants were a mix of teachers, musicians, therapists, school principals, and drum circle facilitators and they were all interested in finding ways to create community through drum circle activities. These people were delightful to work with- there was great energy and joy in their music making.
In the afternoon I had the chance to work with some of the more experienced drum circle facilitators and it was such fun to see all of the unique, personable, and energetic variations of facilitaton they shared!
Later in the afternoon two teachers shared their work with drumming in the classroom. We watched some video footage of their wonderful work in the schools here and I was struck by the fact that kids are kids everywhere and I loved seeing the sheer delight on the students faces as they explored the drums. It seems that schools everywhere are in great need of activities that create community, reduce stress and that are just darn right FUN!!

more images- Tokyo

2011-08-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

Drum Circle for Teachers Conference- Japanese Language

2011-08-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

For my first days here I had gathered from Tak all kinds of simple Japanese words I might be able to try out in my workshops, fun things to say like: lambulu (rumble) and moto oh ki ku (louder) and shing on (heartbeat) adigato (thank you)
my favorite thing to say and the one that stuck in my brain (because it was fun to say) was oh skinny dozzo (which means "make it your own") so the facilitators say
ONE TWO OH SKINNY DOZ ZO and it just tickles me to no end every time I heard someone say it.

I had also made lots of little notes about people's names, they kindly had a good sense of humor about how I bumbled through their names over and over again- But the names are also fascinating to my ear, and these people are truly an amazing bunch! Mr. Pecker, my host Takeshi, Yasuyo, Toshiko, Miho, Key Chung, Kazu and Shoko
I had conversed by email with many of these folks and could never quite grasp what a female or male name was, so meeting them was surprising to me as I was wrong about the gender in a couple of cases.

I found myself loving the sound of Japanese being spoken all around me. The language feels very musical to my ear, it has a beautiful flowing quality to it.

Tokyo Images-

2011-08-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

Takeshi tells me this beer company is quite a landmark in the city of Tokyo, and next to he laughs and says that they put this giant edamame bean- it seems that folks here love to eat edamame while drinking their beer!

Tokyo Adventure- Day 2

2011-08-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

What a treat to have such a delightful host as Takeshi and the Drum Circle Facilitator's group. After a rainy start to the day, I was happy not to do too much today as I wanted to get over my jet lag (I wake up promptly at 3am), so my host Tak took me to an udon noodle place, I suppose the Japanese equivilent to a comfort food. Perfect for me, with miso broth, wonderful noodles and veggies and tempura shrimp. Then we headed over to the western part of Tokyo to the location of the weekend conference- Drum Circles Facilitation for teachers. After checking into the hotel I met the rest of the team that would host this conference for dinner at a lovely little traditional style restaurant. The meal included all kinds of sushi, sashimi, and all sorts of unidentifiable things.
We talked about our work and the conference and then, it seems this place had a "two hour" rule and you couldn't linger- so we had to find another place to go as we still had an hour to wait until we could get into our workshop site and set up.

So guess where we went? Kentucky Fried Chicken, of course! How funny is that? And everyone seemed to get food again and we sat there and ate again. So here is the group at the Japanese version of KFC. It seems we Americans just can't escape ourselves between the worldwide epidemic of Mcdonald's, KFC, Mister Donut (that's what I see here) and more. We certainly have made our mark in the world!

Tokyo images

2011-08-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here are a few images of the temple, the traditional dress of women near the temple.

The BLOG Resurrected! A New Chapter in Travels: JAPAN

2011-08-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

It's 4:30am in the city of Tokyo- this journey is a new chapter in the blog that began over a year ago with my daughter Jubie and now will be carried on my myself. Rather than setting up an entirely new blog, it seemed easier to resurrect our original travel blog and breathe new life into it.
I am here in Tokyo to share at a conference of drum circle facilitator's. As I arrived in the Tokyo airport after a surprisingly easy 14 hour flight from EWR, I noticed the airport staff in a rather large group doing movement exercises- it was around noon and this must be one of the ways in which they take their breaks. Fascinating!
My host for the conference, a lovely friendly man named Tak, met me at the airport (always a most wonderful treat) and off we went into the city of Tokyo. The city is a busy bustling place like so many other cities I have seen along my travels, but there is one major difference for me- it is one of the quietest cities I have ever experienced. The streets are filled in the late afternoon with cars and people, but I have yet to hear a single horn blow, a siren, loud music booming from cars - it is simple astonishing to me!
It is, as I said, now almost 5am and I have my window open to a rainy (of course I happen to be here at the beginning of monsoon season, a seemingly signature feature of travel for me) morning in Tokyo and I can hear all kinds of birds, if I close my eyes I could imagine being at the seaside from the sounds I am hearing. What an amazing difference!
Yesterday we visited a temple that resides in the middle of downtown, it was fun to see the mix of people, many were in very traditional Japanese garments in and around the temple. After our temple excursion and a visit to some wonderful music and percussion stores, I was beginning to fade quickly so Tak took me to my hotel and we dropped off bags and walked down the street to a cute little sushi place that had all kinds of unrecognizable sushi variations moving in front of us on a conveyor belt. I pulled off things I knew I had eaten before such as shrimp, crab and salmon and left some of the other more gelatinous looking fish versions, including a bunch of octopus variations on the belt. I have been to sushi bars in the states and I really like this idea that an ever changing array of food appears in front of you and you just pull a plate off when you see something you like. Ah sushi!

Journey Home

2010-06-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the airport in Denpensar to find that the Icelandic Volcano had finally effected our travel plans- it seems a large ash cloud had yet again closed the airspace in London and our options were to stay in Bali or take our chances and fly to Hong Kong- we were ready to go home and decided to go for it and if we got stuck, we would explore Hong Kong. Luckily when we reached Hong Kong, the airspace in London had opened and we were able to proceed with our flights home without further delay.
We arrived home to Newark, exhausted with head colds, luggage in tact, and so happy to be back on our home soil yet again! We will be posting our reflections of our journey and it's further impact on our lives in the weeks and months to come. So tune in from time to time to see how this experience continues to shape our lives, work and thoughts!

A Bali Picture Gallery

2010-06-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Bali Reflections

2010-06-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

We asked several of our Balinese friends if they traveled much. Few of them had traveled outside of Bali, with the exception of one young woman who traveled to the US with a dance group many years ago. It seems that money for travel is not available, and when there is financial abundance, it is spent on family ceremonies and celebrations so that the entire community benefits and shares in the experience. It was a wonderful honor for us to spend time getting to understand this unique culture of people that live life with a very different value and belief system. We were struck by the feeling that life did not revolve around making money, that these people have great respect for their rituals and spiritual lives and a great deal of time, energy and love go into the making of beautiful art, caring for their environment, and the keeping of their ancient traditions alive. In a rapidly changing global community, we think it is quite extraordinary that one can travel to Bali and still feel a strong connection to the ancient traditions. Perhaps this connection to traditional values is why we never felt unsafe or threatened. What Bali gave to both of us (grander than any mask, wall hanging or memento) was the inspiration of creativity generated from true appreciation and gratitude.

Death and Dying in Bali

2010-06-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Bali was the most interesting culture we had encountered when it came to our discussions of death and dying. We found Bali to be a highly spiritual culture who celebrates the after death and daily blessings, offerings and celebrations of the present moment. There seemed to be little emphasis placed upon the dying process itself. There is no hospice like setting for those dying and they appear to have no ritual for the actual process of dying, however they have month long celebrations for cremations following death. Often the bodies are preserved until the most suitable calendar date arrives, then the cremation ceremonies of many of the deceased may take place.

Visit with a Balinese Healer

2010-06-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

During one of our dance lessons our teacher Barbara, discovered that Jubie was a nurse and suggested that we visit one of the traditional Balinese healers living outside of Ubud. In Bali healthcare is private pay, so each individual is responsible to pay for each doctor or hospital visit. Because of this, Balinese still tend to use their traditional healers for most health matters. Jubie called Jakorta Rai , who is also a high priest, and set up an appointment. We were both excited, and a bit apprehensive, as we rode the 20 minutes or so outside of Ubud to our appointment. Upon arriving at the family compound of Jakorta Rai (our healer), we were led to an outdoor pavilion where we sat and talked to a few “students” who gather and witness the daily healings. These “students” came from various countries (Switzerland, Malaysia and Germany), as well as various professions (hypnotherapy, kinesiology, etc). It seems some individuals come for weeks, some for months and they spend hours observing, witnessing and sometimes asking questions or participating in discussions with Jakorta Rye and his clients. We were there only a few minutes before a serious-looking man in a white shirt approached us from the house. He had us sit with him under the pavilion and he asked his first question “Why are you here?” This should have been a question we were easily prepared for, however we oddly seemed to stumble for an answer. Jubie began with an explanation that we were traveling on an expedition of education, experience and joy. Due to the fact that we did not have much to complain about regarding our health, he offered to do a “scan” of our being. He began by sitting behind Jubie with his fingers moving skillfully from the sutures of her skull, around her head to her ears, neck and shoulders. Reminding her of the monkeys preening one another, Jubie instantly broke into giggles. The assessment was predominantly positive, except for a strong sense of sadness that he encountered while fingering the inside of her left ear. How ironic for this diagnosis of sadness to appear on the great joy journey! He further examined her while lying flat, and drew strange designs in the air over her, as well as applying pressure to certain points on her feet. There was no question that this healer-man held special power and energy in his abilities. A wonderful sense of calm, trust and ease seemed to permeate the encounter. Mary was asked to lie flat for her assessment, and Jakorta Rai scanned her feet first detecting a spot that elicited a VERY DRAMATIC response. Mary yelled “ouch” and practically jumped off the ground. It seemed she was “out of balance” according to the healer. He again drew unusual designs over her. Mary, incredibly relieved that it was only a re-balancing that she needed, felt a calm trust in the healer as well. Upon leaving Mary asked if we could "make a picture" with him for our blog. He happily agreed, and even set up a pose for the traveling duo.

Rain, Rain and more Rain!

2010-05-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Although we reached Bali at the very beginning of their dry season, we experienced a great deal more rain that even the Balinese expected this time of year. During the first week there was an occasional and brief shower each afternoon. During the final two weeks, it was much hotter (we heard many locals remark about the intense heat) and most afternoons included a torrential downpour or two, some lasting most of the afternoon and into the evening hours. We walked in the rain a great deal and saw the front of the villa flood many times, as you can see in the pictures. We truly felt as though we had entered a tropical rain forest during the second half of our trip.

Mysterious and Magical Monkeys

2010-05-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite parts of each day in Ubud was our walk through the Monkey Forest to get into town. There is something almost magical about the feeling that the Balinese are “living with the monkeys”. They are everywhere and we wanted to devote one entire entry to Monkey Forest and it’s monkeys. You will see Mary feeding one of the monkeys, what you will not see is what happened directly after the picture was taken. The very same monkey, looking for more, scaled up the front of Mary and took the remaining portion right out of her hands! Yikes!

Visienne from Belgium

2010-05-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

We made a friend who is staying in the villa below us. Visienne is a doctor from Belgium traveling around Bali alone. The three of us woke up early one morning to visit the “early” Ubud market, also considered the Javanese market. The village market was full of local Indonesians buying essentials and surprisingly… offerings. Throughout the day the Balinese set out offerings of food and flowers in a variety of simple, woven containers. We had thought that each person created their own offerings every day, but it turns out that they buy these offerings from the market in large quantities.
That evening Jubie and Visienne attended an Ashtanga yoga class at the Yoga Barn. The yoga barn is an open-air high ceiling villa that overlooks the lilly ponds. One of the most beautiful places for yoga. Interesting to note, there was not one Indonesian present. It appears they are "living meditation" without the need for a special class.

Ah yes- NATURE!

2010-05-21T06:48:00.001-07:00

Returning home from town we witnessed another Bali national geographic moment in the form of a snake dining upon one of our friendly villa frogs. At first sight we were uncertain as to whether we should interfere, but we chose to let nature be and photographed the event instead.

Balinese Dance Classes

2010-05-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

We had decided to take several traditional Balinese dance classes from our Shakti dance instructor, Barbara. Barbara has studied many years (and moved to Bali 20 years ago to study) under the direction of a still bright and spunky 90 year old teacher,
Barbara even showed us pictures of she and her teacher dancing last week. The traditional Balinese moves, we both agree, are complicated and complex. We get a chance to stretch even our eyeballs. The steps are often small and intrinsic, but full of intention and energetic focus.

Roaming Barong Groups

2010-05-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

The day after Galungan day we saw many roaming barong groups of children performing in the streets, hoping for sweets and treats.

A New Generation to Celebrate!

2010-05-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Whahoo!!!! What exciting news we received this week. Benjamin Smith (weighing 8lbs 6 oz) was born on May 3rd to beautiful Amanda and beloved son/brother Jared. We even got to Skype the little fella. So we pay Galungan tribute to ancestors and new generations alike.

Galungan Celebration: Ubud

2010-05-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

We were greeted like long, lost family by our sweet group of Indonesian caretakers at Puri Asri (even offered another welcome “home again” watermelon drink). With Jubie requiring rest (and restrooms) frequently, we took time to witness and participate in the Balinese celebration of Galungan days. The Galungan celebration is a ten day period wherein families must welcome and entertain, with prayers and offerings, their deceased ancestors. Preparations begin weeks before the actual day. We watched as “penjor” (long bamboo poles decorated and hung with offerings) were constructed and erected in front of every family compound and storefront. On Galungan day itself we joined the villagers at the Monkey Forest Temple for prayers and blessings. No businesses were open and the streets were quiet of tourists, but the local children were everywhere hanging out in large gangs laughing and teasing one another. We even tried to help Puri Asri with the penjor decoration, but we were never quite timely enough. During the afternoon rains (which happen every day despite that this is the beginning of Bali dry season) we took time to reflect on our adventures and pay tribute to our deceased ancestors.

Tenganan- The Ancient Traditional Village

2010-05-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

As Mary and Jubie lay in bed the second night in Amed (we ran out of things to do around 7pm) they looked at each other and both agreed that they wanted to go home, well shall we say the most recent place that felt like a home, Puri Asri. So they called up their friends at Puri Asri and said they had run out of things to do at the beach- and Jubie and Mary were happily welcomed back!

The next morning Made arrived and off they went toward Ubud, with a stop to the traditional village,Tenganan, along the way. We again felt rather trapped as tourists here as it was set up (seemingly to us) as yet another way to sell stuff to the tourists. I suppose we should expect this, but somehow it is always disappointing. Nonetheless we enjoyed seeing the weaving, the making of the triple icot fabrics and the making of the lontar-leaf books and calendars. The lontar- leaf process is done with tiny etching and the etchings are colored with macademia nut. Many of the fabrics from the village are dyed in the old ways using nature. We heard that buffalo were allowed to roam freely in the village, but if they were there, we didn’t notice, it was pretty quiet overall. Mary and Jubie met the village musician who introduced them to some of the very old gamelan instruments which were tuned with a seven note scale as opposed to the more common pentatonic or five tone scales.

Mopeds and More!

2010-05-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

After Jubie’s moped lesson and a nice ride in the countryside, we stopped in a Mama’s Warung for a little dinner. We had fresh fish and shared a large Bintang beer after which we both felt very relaxed. Jubie wanted to drive the moped, Mary agreed as she was doing very well throughout the day. After a few photos with the guys from Mama’s Warung, Jubie climbed onto the Moped, Mary got on the back, and Jubie gave it a little gas and as she was trying to get to the left side of the road, forgot where the brake was and off they both went, across the road and into a tree (at about the slowest speed one could imagine possible). You could imagine the shock of our new friends at Mama’s Warung as they witnessed the rather hilarious event! The moped was unscathed, however Jubie and Mary sustained a few abrasions in the incident. Mary drove home and encouraged Jubie to drive one more time the next morning, the old “get back on the horse that threw ya concept”. It worked and the next day Jubie had a much more successful drive- we are certain it was the Bintang!

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The sights near the volcano mountain were quite amazing in the early evening mist. We stopped at what looked like someone’s house to buy petrol that is sold by the liter and is stored in plastic water bottles. It cost us 10,000 rupiah (or $1.10) to fill er up! No wonder they use mopeds. Everyone drives a moped. We saw drivers as young as 12 years old and we also saw entire families on one moped- Dad driving with baby in front of him, child behind him, Mom at the back. No one had helmets on- you wouldn’t see this in the USA!

Bali belly strikes

2010-05-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

The next morning we had breakfast on the beach, and it was after breakfast that the dreaded “Bali belly” hit. Jubie had to return back to the hotel for a few hours of gut rest. Bali belly is actually a pretty hard core virus that tourists sometimes get, we think Jubie may just have the less severe “travelers belly”. Either way it means that “gut rest” is required after eating, and often activities are time limited due to fatigue. Unwilling to let this setback shut the day down completely, Mary rented a moped (yes, she is an experienced motor-cyclist) and taught Jubie how to ride her first motor-bike. What exciting liberty to have the wind in our faces and the open road ahead (the Indos do drive on the left)! We were able to explore the tiny villages along the coast-line, as well as the winding roads towards the mountains inland. In the villages, we observed the strange sight of elderly men stroking and cuddling their roosters. These roosters were then typically returned to individual wicker cages. Mary had been puzzled and scratching her head over this image for days. What we found upon questioning the locals, is that “cock-fighting” is the most popular gambling pastime. Even in the most gentle, creative and spiritual cultures there is an edge of violence.

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We took a walk along the dark, rocky beach. We watched the fishing boats, that appeared as distant insects, cruise lazily on the horizon. We stopped into a beachside warung for the local Indonesian beer Bintang. As we were relaxing, we got our first taste of the “child beach peddlers”. As we walked into the beach there was a sign warning us not to buy from the children peddling on the beach. The sign let us know that this would teach them to be lazy. It also informed us that school is free in Indonesia and that they should be there. It seems that a young child (4-10 years) approaches with a bag from which they pull a tiny woven jewelry box and begins the sales pitch. Often they seem to know some English, enough to try and engage in conversation, like “where are you from”. They were undeterred by a “no, thank you”, “ti duk (Indonesian for no)”, dismissive look, or even a frank ignoring shift of our body. What did work was a stern bark “NO” from Miss Mary (not something that she is known for, but something she has learned from the dog whisperer and her many encounters with unknown canine), seems to work with peddler children too. However we must admit that although we hated being hounded by these children, we also felt very bad that they had to experience so much rejection from so many adults at such a young age.

Amed

2010-05-20T08:15:00.001-07:00

After lunch we drove two more hours toward our beach town of Amed where we were to stay for four nights that turned quickly into two nights. Amed is a very small collection hotels and warungs. It is a popular diving and snorkeling site. The sand is black and difficult to walk upon and the coastline is quite rocky. Made had a friend with a hotel called the Amed Café, so we booked a rather lovely room for a very reasonable price and set about exploring Amed. Our room had a terrific balcony that had a couch and even a four-poster bed in it! It overlooked the road and one could hear the crashing of the waves from the porch. One could also hear the teenagers making music across the street, it seems that the teenage population has little to do in this coastline community. It was funny to hear these young Indonesian teens learning to play American songs on guitars and djembe drums.

Our friend the bat in motion

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Lunch in the Rice Paddies

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From the temple we then drove to the rice paddies where we ate lunch high upon a hill overlooking geometric fields of rice. The restaurant had a resident bat living on a perch near the front entrance. This bat was the largest bat we had ever encountered close up (not to say that we have closely encountered that many bats). The bat captivated tourists by stretching his huge waxy wings open revealing his oddly orange furry body. He even reached out and grabbed the camera of German tourist much to her surprise!

Amed: Trip to the Coast of Bali

2010-05-20T08:03:00.001-07:00

Although we were entirely happy and content at this point in our trip to stay put at our villa in Puri Asri, we were advised that a scenic trip to the coast would be a valuable venture for us. Our trusty guide, Made, planned to take us on a temple tour along the way. Made drove us up through windy steep mountain roads toward the temple, where we donned our sarongs and ventured in. We paid the small entrance fee and were advised that we needed a guide, which really frustrated us. This guide concept was one that we battled in Morrocco as well. It’s not that we have a problem with having a guide, it’s just that in these locations it’s forced upon tourists and often times it actually detracts from the overall experience. So we got a guide and he led us up the many steps toward the expansive temple complex. We were told that it would take two hours to tour around the many temples on the site. We were guided through a prayer in Indonesian style because as we were told “everyone is a Hindu when they enter the temple”. The largest temple was also the highest on the mountain and one could see all of the way down to the ocean from the temple steps. Our guide told us that once a year, the Balinese make a pilgrimage from the temple to the sea, which takes an entire day of walking through the thick brush and rice fields.

Gusti the drummer

2010-05-14T18:01:00.001-07:00

One of the treasures here in Ubud is a drummer who is known as Gusti, from the warrior caste, therefore he has a different given name than the sequence of names that we mentioned before in the blog. Gusti manages the Drum Factory and instrument stores in downtown Ubud. Gusti was the contact that recommended our wonderful villa Puri Asri and we are ever grateful to him for this! We have visited Gusti many times in his biggest shop on Monkey Forest road. There we have jammed on a great variety of fun instruments. Gusti also runs drum circles here and works with disabled people on the island. He has a big heart that matches his big smile.

Dance Class in Ubud with Barbara Minz

2010-05-14T17:59:00.001-07:00

After looking at community message boards and local activity books we stumbled upon an American dance teacher who has lived here in Ubud for twenty years. She has studied both the gamelan and traditional Balinese dance, as well as many other dance forms including Indian, modern and bellydance. We managed to find her open air studio, which is located off a tiny side street in town over looking rice paddies. We had our usual difficulty with Ubud directions and arrived late for our 9:30 class, luckily we were not the only late ones, Bali time is relaxed time. The class we attended is called Shakti and is Barbara’s own blend of belly dance, pilates, Indian and modern dance. We were guided through floor exercises with an emphasis on “swinging” of momemtum, which we both found fascinating. Later we took the same principals to more traditional upright belly dance moves. It was a great work out for two stiff and tired travelers. We set up a traditional Balinese dance class for next week. Barbara gave us information on a well known musician who plays an very old style of gamelan (which is the name for the metal and gong orchestra in Bali) and recommended that we see him during our time in Tingalon, the old traditional city.

Learning to Cook Balinese Style

2010-05-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

We decide to schedule a cooking class with the Villa across the road from us, owned by a french woman. Speaking of French, we feel as if we have joined the annual French holiday in Bali. Most of the tourists we have contact with are French, and do not smile often. This is a marked difference from the ever-smiling Balinese. We believe the Puri Asri staff has embraced our American good humor, appreciation and willingness to smile and blunder through the Indonesian language. We notice they search us out, and our daily flower arrangements (in our room) continue to be more exotic and intricate each day. Back to the cooking class. We learned how to prepare three Balinese dishes (all sampled in the days prior to our lesson). Our new culinary skills include Balinese peanut sauce (or Gado Gado), coconut chicken cooked in a banana leaf (Paso), and sembal metah (Balinese spices, shredded meat/fish and veggies). Here we are with our finished meal!!

Ubud: performances

2010-05-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

We spend the first few evenings attending a variety of traditional Balinese music and dance performances. We prefer Laka Lele just down the road from us where we can eat and attend the show free (as long as we eat). We note a repeated storyline of men in meditation, beautiful girl/god distraction, battle or crisis, then big, funny, wise white hairy god seems to bring peace and understanding to the conflict and eventually harmony is restored. The music reflects what we hear each morning in the nature around us. A cacophony of noises and sounds settle into a slower, softer background that randomly erupts into wild rants of high pitched frenzy (like the birds chirping over the monotony of frog calls).

MONKEYS!!!

2010-05-11T23:25:00.000-07:00

It is very hot here. Mary, who rarely experiences a sweat, has been a non-stop puddle of perspiration. We believe this may be a very healthy cleansing for her. Who knows, maybe this will begin a trend and she shall begin to sweat as others do. Each day we venture on foot (slightly ashamed that we are staying in full AC at night) in the moist air, toward the cultural center of Ubud. Our path leads us through Monkey Forest Park where the resident primates prowl around the old walls, hang and swing from tree branches and spend hours grooming one another. We love our daily walks through Monkey Forest, each time we pass through there is some new and hilarious monkey antic going on, whether it be monkeys rolling and clunking coconuts on the ground, monkeys splashing in the little waterways, baby monkeys being rescued by the mama’s as they run into the moped path, monkeys picking stuff off of others monkeys or as we witnessed yesterday, two monkeys embracing, just holding each other. We love the monkeys, you would too!

View from our villa

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2010-05-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

Our villa is the only two story, located at the west end and facing open farmland and rice patties. We are on the second story, and overlook our favorite new Balinese friends, the brown cow and the white egret. We observe the attentive egret fluttering around the cow. We imagine this must be a symbiotic relationship where the egret feasts and the cow is relieved of pesky flies and insects. It is amusing to watch such a funny interaction. Another national geographic moment we witnessed the first night was one of our friendly villa geckos swallowing a huge (only 5 legs??? odd spider) spider in the loo.

Home at Puri Asri

2010-05-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

We found our way to Puri Asri, the hotel we would be staying. Located in a quiet neighborhood (looks nothing like any neighborhood in America) amid the rice patties, Puri Asri welcomed us with watermelon welcome drinks. The open-air reception/dining room is beautiful to behold. It turns out some of the staff (and their families) are talented wood carvers. We met an Alaskan businessman, Walter, who deals in hand-carved wood furniture, and ships from Puri Asri. We were there one day watching 48 large boxes being transported by petite Indonesian men (always with huge smiles). In all the years Walter has worked with the Balinese, he says they have conducted blessing ceremonies for each shipment, and to this date all shipments arrive safely and timely without issue.

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Our kindly Balinese driver, Made (named for his birth number #2 in a family of four siblings) waited the full three hours for us to emerge from Immigration, we were ever so happy to have this luxury yet again of someone to meet us from our hotel, this time with a sign that said Mary on it. Made told us a bit about Balinese culture as he drove the 90 minute trip to Ubud. Regarding population, Made told us the Indonesian culture is trying to embrace fewer births (stopping at two), but couples continue to keep trying for “the boy”. Now before this sounds too gender biased, remember that in most southeast tribal cultures the male carries on the name and the children belong to the male family clan. Jubie had never been to Bali, but fifteen years ago Mary had spent a month in Ubud and she was struck by the changes she saw in Denpensar city. There were McDonalds, KFC, surf shops and many new malls. Mary wondered if Ubud would also seem so different to her. Upon their arrival in Ubud, Mary was happy to see that town looked very much like she remembered, apart from the fact that now internet cafes were scattered throughout the town. She remembers the single international phone that people would have to line up to call home.

Long flight...and still more waiting

2010-05-11T22:57:00.000-07:00

The next morning we boarded our elegant Cathay Pacific airlines and headed out for our 12 hour flight to Hong Kong. Over the past three months, we had seen two movies, both in London and were long overdue for a little mindless fluff entertainment. We are happy to report that we were treated to twelve hours of non-stop movies, sitcoms, and dramatic series on our long haul to HK. We did what any savvy world traveler do when reaching the Honk Kong airport for the first time, we headed over to the local coffee shop, and noticed that the airport was oddly hot and sticky, no frigid air conditioning here.
After a few hours we boarded our next five hour flight to Denpensar, Bali, arriving on time. HOWEVER, it seems that they had just changed the protocol in the immigration department during the past few weeks. So we spent the next three hours herded like cattle into a small pasture, with little air flow. There were hundreds of us, all ages, forced to wait while the Balinese Immigration officers finger printed and photographed visitors, as well as stamped their passports. We were impressed by how well this large group of very tired and sweaty travelers managed their frustrations, even the young children found ways to amuse themselves

Travelers two await Bali

2010-05-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

The weary travelers two arrived at Heathrow airport around 7pm, homesick for Gatwick and our little town Horley but ready to try a new hotel- whoops we took the bus system and ended up at the wrong Sheraton, had to take a taxi to the right Sheraton, then we holed up for the night with a good movie and our Mark and Spencer sandwiches (nothing tastes good after Italy).

Santa Rosa Church

2010-05-11T03:34:00.000-07:00

The next day the trio divided, and David returned to Lugano while Jubie, Mary and Jade went for a long “pilgrimage” to Santa Rosa Church. Jade tells us that her Catholic grandmother would take this long “pilgrimage” through the arcades when she was feeling like an unworthy Catholic. When one reaches the church at the top of the steep stepped arcade, they can see an incredible view of Bologna and the surrounding area. Later that night Mary, Jubie and Jade shared their final Italian dinner in a small and charming grotto in the old section of Bologna.

Italian Liberation Day!

2010-05-11T03:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Italian Liberation Day. Only fitting that the citizens of Bologna gathered for a Liberation Day soup party. Cooks from all over Bologna assembled with heavy pots of homemade soups, hoping to win the Best in Show Soup Award. Unfortunately we arrived late and most of the soups were gone. We did get to enjoy the music, especially the Soup and Samba parade.

Music Together Family Event- Italian style

2010-05-11T03:23:00.000-07:00

Music Together is an organization that provides parents and their young children with research based interactive music and movement activities. The classes are designed to have parents participate in music making and movement with their young children and with other families. Basically, it is a circle of adults, children and babies playing, singing and bouncing around together. So imagine, if you will, three hundred young, lively Italian families gathering together with food, music and dance. Did we mention it was held in a senior citizens center, in a large banquet size hall? The food tables were a carb lover’s paradise packed with homemade pizzas of all shapes and sizes, pastas, cakes, cookies and sandwiches. Not a leaf of lettuce or vegetable to be found! The Italians make up quite the gourmet potluck. Only thing missing was gelato. The party started around seven, but music and dancing continued long after 10pm. It was wonderful to participate in such an inter-generational event designed for children and their development. Kids just love to sing and dance with adults!

A few more images from beautiful Cinque Terre

2010-05-11T03:14:00.000-07:00

Walking the path from town to town

2010-05-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

We took a train to the furthest town and still riding high, Mary and Jubie decided to hike in the rain most of the trail that links the five towns. What a fantastic decision, as we took in the most majestic views of colorful homes and stone buildings wedged and tucked into jagged cliffs. Over the cliffs was a beautiful coastline of deep, turquoise water and charging breakers. It reminded us of Big Sur, if one could hike Highway 1 from small village to small village.
The next morning the train strike had ended without issue, and we were headed back to Jade and her Music Together Community extravaganza.

Ohhhh Vernazza

2010-05-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

The second town we visited, Vernazza was a delight from the moment we stepped off the train. With its small cove of colorful boats, it’s tall medieval tower and cobblestone streets we were beginning to shake off the rainy day blues. It was here that we decided to stay, for certain, a second night. We inquired at a small wine store, and found the family had an apartment to rent for the night.

Exploring Cinque Terre in the rain

2010-05-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

We awoke the next morning expecting to hike along the coast of the five cities. Sadly, we were met by the most rainy, gray and misty day. As this is the Joy journey, the weather was not about to damper our plans for the day. So we bought our green matching umbrellas, and headed out for the train to explore the tiny towns that nestle along the ragged, Italian coastline.

Cinque Terre

2010-05-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

The next morning the traveling trio (Mary, Jubie and David) boarded another train this time bound for the west coast of Italy and the towns of Cinque Terre. Several hours later we were picked up at the train station by our hotel host, and given disturbing information. There was to be a scheduled train strike the following day, so we would have to spend an extra night in the area. We ate the most fantastic dinner that night, served by the multi-purpose host and owner of the hotel. He served as driver, receptionist, bartender, wine expert, and waiter. He was everywhere!

Music Improvisation Workshop in Bologna

2010-05-10T05:49:00.000-07:00

The following night Mary ran a music improvisation workshop in Bologna with Jade’s Music Together staff, parents and community members. Participants drummed, strummed and sang their way through three hours of expressive music exploration.

Oh How They Can Sing- Those Gondoliers!

2010-05-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

Volcano

2010-05-10T05:38:00.000-07:00

It was in Venice that we first heard the news about Iceland’s volcanic eruption. Strange that with all the frequent flying we have been doing, that something of this nature would happen during our 3-week hiatus from air flight. We were still somewhat affected as there many long lines and full trains for those stranded and trying to find other modes of travel home. We rode one of these packed passenger trains back to Bologna.

St Mark's Cathedrall

2010-05-08T17:19:00.003-07:00

Unable to find by foot St Mark’s Cathedral the first day, today we decided to take the water taxi through the canals straight to our destination. St Mark’s square was lovely and busy. We were turned away at the entrance of St Mark’s due to Mary’s backpack. At this point the fellowship of the three travelers broke down, and some time apart was required.
To soothe her frustration, Jubie ventured out on her own and chatted up a young storekeeper learning much about modern Venetian life. The storekeeper’s boyfriend was a musician and they were both in their late twenties. The couple had moved to Venice hoping to find a lively arts scene, but rather they found a large retirement community that prefers peace and quiet. After we heard that, we seemed to notice herds of grey-haired elders milling through the aves and chatting in groups at cafes. Apparently, the bars close down quite early and the cafes are the place to be.

Yikes! Mosquitoes!

2010-05-08T17:19:00.001-07:00

We spent the night in a typical budget Venetian hotel, the double room was large and had it’s bathroom and balcony, whereas the single room (heads up to you single travelers, those doubles get a much better break) was a tiny, dark, stark room with little to offer but two narrow beds. To make matters even worse, it seems that all over Europe people do not use screens on their windows, therefore we found ourselves swatting mosquitoes all night long. In the morning the walls in Jubie’s room looked somewhat like a murder crime scene site with splatters of blood and dead mosquitoes all over. Needless to say, it was not a restful night. At breakfast the next morning, Jubie reached over and loudly swatted a huge mosquito on the wall next to her. The entire room stopped, paused, and then looked knowingly as they all nodded with compassion and understanding.

Graceful Gondoliers

2010-05-08T05:32:00.001-07:00

We spent the day, as true Venetian tourists, LOST for most of the day wandering aimlessly along canals and tiny cobblestone alleyways looking for St. Mark’s Cathedral and soothing our frustration with one gelato after another. We enjoyed the animated gondoliers, admiring their balance, flexibility and skill. David informed us that these gondoliers had to study in a university and that it was quite difficult to gain this position. We noticed that most of these dashing men in striped blue and red shirts were young and we wondered if there was an age for these men to retire. We loved listening to their song and watching them glide effortlessly through the romantic waterways of Venice. We imagined what it might have felt like to live in Venice during the sixteenth century, mask in hand, feathered wig on head on our way to a gala Venetian event.

More Images of Venice

2010-05-08T05:27:00.001-07:00

Off to Venice!

2010-05-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

David, Jubie and Mary decided on a quick over night trip by train to Venice, the city of arts and creativity. The train system was fairly easy to figure out and apart from not realizing we had to punch our tickets in the yellow box before departing (which lead to a 10 Euro fine that could have been a 150 Euro fine- yikes) we got to Venice fairly easily. Upon arrival to the festive city, we were met with the ravenous desire for gelato, it was everywhere and everyone was eating it! During the course of two days we devoured gelatos of every flavor, discovering what we thought was the best gelato ever for a mere one euro a scoop. (We were unaware that Jade would soon introduce us to truly the finest gelato in the land).

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The next day we spent hiking the paths and trails that wound through vineyards, farms and estates.

MonteVeglio “the Medieval Cluster”

2010-05-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

The first two nights in Italy, Jade drove us outside Bologna to the small ancient community high atop a mountain. This medieval cluster community is built around a monastery of Franciscan monks. Yes, they hear confession…in case you wondered.
This particular place is very significant for Jade, as this is the burial site of Jade’s mother who died 5 years ago. Jade had spent many months with her mother in this town before she died. We gathered at the gravesite as Jade shared stories and pointed out the rose bush that has grown out of control and now completely obscures the headstone. She fondly calls this gravesite her mother’s “garden”. In tribute to her mother, both she and her brother share a tattoo of her mother’s initials done a year after her death.
That evening we walked to the town grotto for THE GRANDEST feast ever imagined, complete with delightful breads and handmade pasta. We enjoyed an antipasti plate with delicately thin slices of unusual meats. To our shock (because we liked it!) we found that one of these was lard…straight fat. These Italians aren’t about to waste a sure fire, tasty artery plug.

Bologna Bound

2010-05-03T19:47:00.001-07:00

Charlotte and Zach extended great kindness to we weary ones by driving us from Lugano to Bologna. A proper car ride, after the many trains, planes, boats, busses, donkeys and camels seemed almost too easy and sophisticated.
Bologna, oh Bologna! Some fun facts: Our friend Jade tells us that Bologna boasts the oldest university in Italy. She tells us Bologna is the gay capital of Italy. Wouldn’t you know that higher education and liberal lifestyle go hand in hand! Bologna is well known for arcade style of promenade architecture. Once a walled city with canals similar to Venice, Bologna still celebrates these ruins scattered throughout the city proper.
Two of the tallest standing structures in Bologna are two towers built by rival families. At the time of their construction, these towers were to represent the power and wealth of the family line. The story goes that the tallest tower toppled over (too much lean). One can see the city and stubby remnants of this tower from the top of the other tower. We spent an hour climbing to the top. This narrow and claustrophobic staircase made it difficult to pass the large groups of boisterous Italian teenagers.

Our Final Day in Lugano

2010-05-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

On our final day in Lugano we visited Charlotte’s school and gave a little concert to the children, then Jubie attended a dance class with Charlotte and many of the other teachers from her school. That evening we dined at a local grotto and ate all kinds of odd meats including wild boar (dark not pink), rabbit, goat and of course plenty of local wine!

Springtime in Lugano

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Visiting the Ancient town of Monte Bre

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Funicular Ride to Monte Bre

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The following day we went back into town, played a quick game of “street chess” in one of the piazzas, then caught the funicular straight up the mountainside to the tiny Medieval town of Monte Bre. After many arguments about which way to walk when we reached the top, we found our way down the hill to Monte Bre. We walked about on the cobblestone streets imagining what life might have been like during Monte Bre’s hayday.
We stopped at a grotto and ate our first truly Italian dish (or almost Italian, as we are just on the border of Italy).

More Lugano Mountaintop Views

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From McDonalds to a Posh Lugano Hotel

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The next day we walked into Lugano, where we noticed that people look much more Italian than the northern regions and most even spoke Italian. We noticed that spring was just beginning to burst forth as we ambled along the colorful waterfront and the tidy streets. We stopped for coffee, slightly ashamed of ourselves, at the local McDonald’s, which is nothing like our American version. This McDonald’s is housed in one of the fanciest buildings in downtown Lugano and it boasts cathedral ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and even urinals that are action sensitive and provide the patron with advertisements while relieving themselves! Imagine! We walked into several very very old cathedrals on the piazzas and marveled at the artwork that we saw. We bumbled around trying to figure out the bus system, without the best of luck, and finally found our way home. That evening we joined more of Zak’s friends for drinks at a very posh hotel high on the hills of Lugano. Mary strummed the water harp, which was an art installation on the grounds and managed to take some photos of the breath taking views as the sun set.

Journey to Southern Switzerland

2010-05-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the train station in Lugano later in the day, and were met by our good friends David and Zak. Zak and his wife, Charlotte, graciously offered to house us in their lovely contemporary home up on the hills above the city of Lugano. Zak was the original percussionist for David’s band Tamboura, and now he is a teacher (former administrator) at Franklin International School in Lugano. Charlotte teaches English at a private international school geared to the earlier grades and loves her job there.
The first night Zak, a talented chef and host, shared many tales of his recent trips to Africa with his students. The focus of these expeditions was to help African communities create sustainable living environments. After dinner David, Zak and Mary shared music with the guests that Zak and Charlotte had invited to join us. Everyone had a good time.

Elf and Fairy Queens

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Jubie and Cliohdna share the fact that they have both been named after other worldy creatures. Galadriel Jubilee is named after the wise Elven queen in Tolkien’s "Lord of the Rings" and Cliohdna is named after a lovely and enchanting Fairy Queen in Irish Gaelic folklore. So here they are, Elf and Fairy!

Swiss Organization

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Check out this wood pile, typical in Switzerland, and a perfect example of Swiss precision and organization!

A Few More Workshop Photos

2010-05-02T19:40:00.001-07:00

Hello To All of Our Swiss Friends Who are looking for more workshop photos.
Here is the link for our pictures from the workshop we held a few weeks ago. ENJOY!!

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1365998025/a=2607841025_2607841025/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Music for People Program in Kientalerhof

2010-05-02T19:36:00.001-07:00

The week long music improvisation seminar went very well and included participants on all kinds of instruments, some more experienced and some less experienced, but the simple games and improvisational structures provided all to play and improvise together with great success. Early risers were also lucky enough to join in the NIA movement classes that Jubie led. It was quite a treat to warm up the voice and body while looking out at the sun rising slowly over the Alps! People loved the movement classes and they grew larger each day. Here are some photos from our workshop at Kientalerhof, hopefully it will give you some sense of both the magnificent location and the lovely people that we met and worked with.

Ah the mountains in Kiental Switzerland!

2010-05-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Back on the train later in the afternoon, through the little town of Thun and Spietz, both border the brilliant blue Thunnersee (or Lake of Thun). And finally a bus that took us the final leg of the journey to the town of Kiental. Mary has been coming to Kiental for ten years and the first three days on the mountain were some of the most spectacularly clear days that she had ever seen on the mountain. She was ever so happy to catch some of these incredible views from the windows Kientalerhof. Throughout the day the shadows on the mountains move and illuminate an ever-changing array of snow covered mountain peaks.

A beary good day in Bern

2010-05-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

We spent the afternoon in the capitol city of Bern with Mary’s Irish friend Cliohdna (a wonderful cellist and teacher), who happens to live in an apartment at the highest point in Bern, as you can see from this photo taken from her living room window. It was a lovely spring day and we really enjoyed our time spent walking on the ancient streets of the Old Town, watching the Bern bears in their new and quite beautiful grounds, and meandering through gardens that were just beginning to come to life.

Headed for Switzerland

2010-05-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

Next morning we were back on the 6:40am flight to Zurich and headed to the tiny town of Kiental, Switzerland, high in the Swiss Alps. Mary has been working in Kientalerhof, at center for Healing and Creativity over the past ten years in the Swiss branch of the teacher-training program she works with in the United States. The organization is called Music for People (www.musicforpeople.org), the artistic director is a Grammy winning maverick cellist named David Darling and the work is based upon music improvisation as a powerful tool for self expression.

Easter in Horley-Alice in Wonderland Movie : )

2010-05-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Back to Gatwick and to a sweet little B&B in the little town of Horley- The Corner House. We recommend this great B&B for anyone looking for a charming place to stay, great prices, lovely breakfast, and a free shuttle that runs to the airport. We stayed two nights and we were sorry we had not discovered this place sooner as this was our last visit to Gatwick of the journey. We managed to find make our way on the bus system to the somewhat unremarkable town of Crawley to see a movie as our Easter treat to ourselves. Johnny Depp in “Alice in Wonderland” in 3D!! What a wonderful treat for two movie lovers that had not seen a movie for many months! This movie was filmed in one of the English estates near Cornwall- Jubie regrets that she will not get to go to Cornwall on this adventure, maybe next time!

Easter in Greece

2010-05-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

Easter is a huge holiday in Greece, bigger than Christmas we are told. We witnessed much pre-Easter celebration in Crete with colorful eggs baked into woven loaves of bread (representing the baby Jesus we were told) and many church celebrations taking place on Good Friday, then in Athens we walked by giant crowds of people gathered outside of the Greek Orthodox churches with lit candles, listening to the chants and prayers of the priests over loud speakers. We returned to London late in the afternoon on the day before Easter, and the woman at the Easy Jet ticket desk in Athens asked in great surprise “Are you sure you want to leave before the Easter celebrations?” She told us of the grand celebrations that happen on Easter, beginning at midnight, that included fireworks, food, parties, and the traditional of cracking the hard-boiled egg game. Each person holds a hard boiled egg with the more pointed side aimed at one another. The top person slams the egg down on the other person’s egg (who is supposed to just hold the egg firmly)- one egg breaks and the person with the egg that does not crack is the recipient of good luck. Upon losing the first battle of the egg, Jubie disputed the outcome (she couldn’t believe that it could be random). Alas, a second and third round revealed that no matter who or how the egg was held there was no way to predict the outcome.

Last Day in Crete Painting Gourds

2010-05-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

We were glad the winds blew all day, we stayed in bed late, read, made tea, wrote and had a complete “down” day- which becomes quite necessary the more one travels.
On our final day in Crete, we finally got around to painting the gourds that Juliet planned to hang in the trees for the summer months. It was quite fun, as she sprayed painted and we chose to hand paint designs of many colors. We hung our gourds outside our sweet little Cretan home and departed late in the afternoon, back to Athens and then on to London.

Other Images of Crete

2010-04-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Scirrocan Winds

2010-04-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

During the night, the Scirrocan winds began to blow and shutters rattled while wind chimes down on Juliet’s lower level called out through the night. We woke up to a complete change in the weather, from slightly cool during the day to quite cool in the evening and very dry to a warm sort of tropical wind that blew relentlessly throughout the entire day, tangling the wind chimes beyond repair and leaving them silent. It was such a drastic change! Dave and Juliet told us that these winds at times blow in red sands from the Sahara desert and leave a reddish golden coat of sand on everything before they die down. It reminded us of the Santa Anna winds that blow off the coast of California, which are said to make people somewhat crazy…Dave and Juliet agreed that the same effect happens in Crete.

Half Way Celebration

2010-04-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

2010-04-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Later in the afternoon we reached the south shore beach of Crete, complete with sandy beaches, clear blue waters that are shallow enough for one to walk out to a little island quite close to the shore. This was the first day that we encountered tourists, families and couples traveling in small camping vehicles. We had a HALF WAY through the trip ceremony in the clear blue Cretan waters this afternoon- a celebration of where we had been and to what we were yet to learn on this adventure. On the drive back home we chose to drive through many of the beautiful green gorges and tiny villages. That evening we finally took some time off to settle in and begin to read the book that our host Juliet had given us.
Juliet wrote a little paragraph describing the details of where we have traveled and we will include it here as it also has some pronunciation help for those of you planning a trip to Crete anytime soon!
From Juliet: “The gorge you went to a little way with both of us was Deliana Gorge. Pronounced thelyanA, where the 'the' is as in 'then'; the 'y' as in yes, you etc.;
the last A is emphasised but still sounds like the a in bat. You also walked Polyrhinnia Hill and went to Katsamatados, through the Topolia Gorge. You walked with me from Mouri to Latziana looking at Mouri Gorge, Topolia Gorge and the gorge which you see from the house, Sassalos Gorge. That's gorged you out now.
You also went to falasarna and Elafonisi on your big round car trip and to the Monastery with the golden step. You sat on the beaches Vari Bobbi and Mavro Molo.

Church with Golden Step

2010-04-30T20:59:00.000-07:00