Travel

 

I have just returned from a relaxing trip to Asia and thought that I would share a few images from the journey. Please enjoy this little slideshow from Singapore and Bali, Indonesia.

Who doesn’t love a good party? Okay, so that was rhetorical and perhaps a bit pandering in Carnival Week.

In America we have done a splendid job in rounding off the distinctive edges of most every holiday simply embracing the implied permission to over-indulge and take part in typically harmless group behavior. For a few moments, at least, it’s worthwhile to ponder the reason for the celebrations.

White Sands, Warm Breezes, & Tequila in Playa del Carmen

Familiar getaway spots are near the top of my list of life’s pleasures. Sure, venturing to someplace new, enjoying the endless stream of “firsts” is invigorating and exciting and something that I will never give-up. However, a familiar spot is like an old, comfortable pair of shoes – only better. A regular holiday retreat lives in your mind 365 days a year, not just the week or two that you are physically present. It’s an adult security blanket seen by only you – which is a good thing as carrying a real security blanket to the office might earn you a trip of another kind - to a couch each week. These days, my regular getaway is Playa del Carmen in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

One of the greatest things about traveling is that at times you find yourself in a place that in an instant inspires pause. Not a pause of reflection or of anticipation, but rather a pause of securing the moment, savoring all that surrounds you; the sights, smells, and above all the feeling or dare I say the emotion. This is why Brussels is my Beer exploration destination of choice. The Beer culture in Brussels is not featured with an arrogant strut, nor is it shown with awkward humility.

Chicago. The Windy City, The City of Big Shoulders, or The City That Works; these are just a few of the common Chicago monikers. Chicago is a city of icons; some made of stone or steel while many more are made of flesh and blood. It’s a city of heart, soul, and above all - passion. You can hear and feel passion in the legendary Blues Clubs or in the fans that pack Wrigley Field each and every game-day to support a team that perennially disappoints cursed by fate, a goat, or an infamous black-shirted and walkman-wearing man known simply as, Bartman.

Do you remember the film Risky Business? After eluding Guido, the killer pimp, in his father’s posh sport car, Joel – played by the pre couch jumping/scientology infected Tom Cruise - turning to his mates coolly proclaimed, “Porsche, there is no substitute.” While sporting a less impressive 0 to 60 time, the Great American Beer Festival can make the very same claim; there is no substitute.