On a dark desert highway / cool wind in my hair. You simply can’t escape whistling to the tune of the Eagles’ hit Hotel California while driving through the barren emptiness of eastern Jordan’s desert where signposts tell you the distance to Iraq and Saudi Arabia in the surreal setting of both Lawrence of Arabia’s conquests and the legendary Tales of 1001 Nights. I never found the hotel though.
As previously mentioned, art is abundantly available and not just in nature. Take for instance Amman, the bustling capital of Jordan: it’s a paradise for lovers of cubism. Wherever you look you’ll find square concrete blocks of buildings strewn out over the hills. Some sure enough would call it ugly, but then again: cubism isn’t for everyone.
Don’t get me wrong: I love Rome and if there were one place in Europe where I could live, Rome would be it… And then there’s Petra, ancient capital of the Nabataeans in Jordan. Never in my cultural life have I understood George W.’s “shock and awe” better than when viewing the Treasury for the first time just after daybreak. From there to the Monastery and back, climbing and descending Petra’s mountain tops for 10 straight hours, meeting its charming inhabitants, I feel I can safely say: Rome is for sissies.
As promised, though a week late, a picture many here in the Old World will have made themselves of the gently rolling slopes of Tuscany. Taken earlier it would have been more pleasing but then again: there is something to be said for sleeping in. Especially in such a nice place as Fattoria San Martino, an ecologically managed small agriturismo on the edge of sedate and wonderful Montepulciano. And that ends this commercial.
Yup, the Mack is Back. Kind of refers to the fact that my own internet connection will arrive shortly; in the meantime I’m virtually exploring the local community by illegally tapping into an unsecured wifi connection of some neighbour. The past months brought me to our new home in Brussels, a private air show by Saab in Sweden and the northern parts of Italy, amongst others. The 25 second exposure that you see above and which has been made a gazillion times before, is obviously taken in overcrowded, noisy, smelly, hot and humid, but oh so beautiful Venice. I’ll try and post an accompanying “been there, done that” image of Tuscany sometime next week…
If you don’t know the Alsace region (see our recent sentimental journey): here are some shameless but well-deserved plugs. If you like the image above, love hiking and need some peace and quiet, you can stay at Les Alisiers, a charming family-run hotel tucked against a hillside, and watch deer and fox emerge from the forest while having dinner. In the daytime, either hike around the rural countryside or buy some of the best Alsatian wines at our old favorite Jean Sipp in historic Ribeauvillé or at our new discovery Albert Klee in nearby Katzenthal. And that ends this commercial break.
We started our stay in France some five years ago tucked away in a small and messy hotel in Strasbourg where we had to put the bed up against the wall each day to be able to walk around the four square meters we had to our disposal. Nonetheless, we have fond memories of both the city and the Alsace region and so we went back on a four day sentimental journey, this time enjoyed some good hotels, had wonderful meals, strolled through the countryside, visited our favorite wine growers and drove back to Paris yesterday rested, happy and with 120 bottles of wine in the trunk of our car to make sure the happiness will stay with us for some time to come.
Where I’m from, the Netherlands, we have a political party dedicated solely to animal rights (seriously!) and I figure they’d probably take offence at the Peking ducks on display here (in Singapore). On the other hand, where I live now, France, the party for hunting and fishing (seriously!) probably would take offence at there being a party for animal rights. Don’t you love cultural differences? As for me, I just don’t recommend using this image to learn your kids all about what the duck says…
As I promised some time ago, I finally present you a revamped website! From now on everyone can comment on each post I dump on the unsuspecting visitor. Hope you like it and drop me a note if you run into any problems. On another note, I met the cute girl above in a dirt-poor village on the North coast of Bali. I thought I’d give her at least a small part of her 15 minutes of fame over here…
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Well: eat this! The top room, second from the right, was ours for three nights and I had to dive into the pool with some €5000 worth of gear hanging from my neck to provide you with this image. Place of crime: Bali. Just to make you feel better: I’m back, it snows outside and it’s 45° colder.
