I'm Tired

Casey says he is tired
Isn't he funny? this is how he sucks on my thumb

SO SO Sleepy
Samont coming to check it our as she is tired too, and she wants to Knead my neck
And here is the two fat boys, Oliver and Tittertat. This was a surprise as they NEVER lay next to each other

Oh, Beauty!

Don't know where to pass next month with great pleasure not only for body but to gift the greatest joy to your eyes? I'll tell you the place.

Vietnam; Ho Shi Min and Njachag.
There you will find not beaches, restaurants, nature, historical places or what else from the classical tourist's kit. You will find all the most beautiful girls of the globe there. "Miss Universe 2008", the 57-th show, where on 14 Gune you will have the possibility to see aboout 80 of the girls.

To have something to do in the time when they wait for the final play, the girls exhibit national costumes. I, sincerely, did not understand if those are really national costumes but I think it was beautiful to see them. You can see the photoreportage clicking Here and than on the thumbnails under the great photo.

I liked Miss Thailand:

Photo from «Etoday.ru»

Dubai Insider's Guide

Our Dubai Insider's Guide is now on the Nine MSN's travel site. Take a look here and let us know what you think. I'd be especially keen to know what any Dubai locals, expats and recent visitors to the city-emirate think and to hear your insider tips, favorite 'near the beaten track' things to do, and the things you recommend people avoid. I'm expecting our own suggestion to give the Burj Al Arab a miss will be controversial... You can leave comments on the site or let me know here.

Pictured? Expats relaxing by Dubai Creek. One of our favorite things to do on a weekend afternoon.

Where there is smoke there is beautiful sky

My sky watch is after these
6-28-08
Tonight Nevada was out watering, the temperature today was HOT HOT HOT almost reaching 97 degrees. He came in and said you need to go look at the sky its beautiful, as he knows that i love to take photos of sky. I grabbed the camera and out i went, flashing away, and then the smell came. I got this shot of my kitchen window.
Click on photos for better viewing

Here is the end result of that beautiful sky, filled with all the smoke, have not heard yet where it is exactly but it is towards the Sisters area. Fires seem to be all over the place and so early in the yr.California has so many fires going now, it is sad. Many of our firefighters are there, but with the fires starting here it will be very scary, everything is so dry.

Life of a Travel Writer: when the travel writer dreams about taking a holiday

It's been a tough week. We're still completing the writing on one book project while we're researching others, as small assignments continue to come in, and other offers too good to refuse present themselves. It's hard to say no even though we're both completely exhausted. Terry appears to be getting the flu, I had an infected blister that saw one foot so swollen and inflamed I couldn't walk on it for a day, and I can't ever remember having been this tired before. We slept in until 9am today and yet I felt guilty even though we had an early start yesterday, worked all day, and were pounding the pavement until 10pm checking out bars last night for the book. We had a dinner reservation at 10.30pm but then even after our meal Terry continued to take photos for the book of the lively Navigli bar scene on the way home. We finally crashed around 2am and yet today I felt guilty for those seven hours of sleep. And it's been a hard week. We've been on the go all day every day from early until late with photo shoots and interviews at museums, theatres, shops and restaurants. In between Terry is walking the streets in the sticky 35+ Celsius heat (the humidity in Milano has been high this week so it seems even hotter than it is) and I'm researching, writing, and planning the next leg of the journey, to the Italian lakes and other parts of Northern Italy, and for two more research trips after that. And while our work is going to be taking us to some incredibly beautiful places, all I can think of is a holiday somewhere. Anywhere but there. Somewhere where there is nothing to do except lie on a beach and read books for a few weeks. And you thought travel writing was one great big holiday...

Sky Watch Thursday/Friday

These were taken on 6-23-08 after a storm, I have to show you the difference around the sky with all the different formations that was going on, at different times in each direction there was a different color and formation.

Click on photos for better viewing.


Please click on this photo and look at the sky in the window of our motor home.


Sky



Nope its not Sky Watch Friday yet, but i can't let these photos go by without sharing, I took these 6-21-08 more sky watch to come for Thurs/Friday Sky watch One thing i love about Central Oregon in the summer time we have some beautiful sunsets.

Odd Shots Monday

Do you see the horse? Clcik to enlarge photo for better viewing.

Disover this land underground: Caverns and Grottos in Tuscany



Depending on what part of Tuscany you are visiting, there are several spots for you.

The Apuane Alps, in the Lucca and Carrara region, offer the Antro del Corchia (info at: www.antrocorchia.it), the Grotta dell'Onda free to all (info at: www.comune.camaiore.lu.it), the Grotta del Vento (info at: www.grottadelvento.com), the Grotta di Bagni di Lucca (info at: www.termebagnidilucca.it), and the Parco Naturale delle Grotte di Equi (info at: www.comunefivizzano.it).


If you are in Siena or the Val di Chiana Area you have the Parco Archeologico Naturalistico di Belverde (info at: www.comune.cetona.siena.it), the Bottini di Siena (info at: www.comune.siena.it/diana), and the Labirinto di Porsenna (Tel. 0578 227667).

The Valdarno area near Florence offers the Grotta Giusti (info at: www.grottagiustispa.com), and the Grotta Maona (info at: www.grottamaona.it).


The coast and the southern part of Tuscany include the Miniera del Siele (info at: www.abiesealba.com), the Museo delle Miniere di Montecatini Val di Cecina (info at: www.viaggioantico.com), the Museo Minerario di Abbadia San Salvatore (info at: www.terreditoscana.it), the Parco Archeominerario di Montieri (info at: www.parcocollinemetallifere.it), the Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro (info at: www.parchivaldicornia.it), the Parco Minerario dell'Isola d'Elba (info at: www.parcominelba.it), the Parco Minerario Naturalistico di Gavorrano (info at: www.parcominerario.it), and the Galleria delle Fonti dell'Abbondanza (info at: www.coopcollinemetallifere.it/musei)

So now you have plenty to explore, discover and relax in Tuscany...even underground!!

Camera Critters



Ok there not real but i thought they were fabulous. These are at the High Desert Museum Click here a must see when coming to Bend. Make sure you plan for several hours there. Click on photos for better viewing.


Where Oh Where is my beautiful tail?Come children!

10 Reasons to go to Dubai now

Call me crazy, I'm in Italy and I'm telling you to go to Dubai. But my beloved Dubai has been getting some bad press lately. Call it a backlash, jealousy or - dare I say it? - racism, it's undeserved. Ignore the critics and go look for yourself.
1.
AFFORDABLE HOTELS - Hotels have slashed prices up to 50% off rack rates, including includes luxe hotels like Bab Al Shams, Al Maha and Burj Al Arab. If these special luxury packages are still be beyond your budget, there are great deals to be had at the rest of Dubai's 400+ hotels in all price brackets. Check Expedia to see what I mean. My picks: Bastakiya boutique charm at Orient Guest House for $86, sleek business-style at Novotel for $90, stylish BurJuman Rotana for $160, Carlos Ott-designed Hilton Dubai Creek for $170, and Moroccan-chic at Park Hyatt Dubai for $286.
2. SPA SPECIALS - Dubai has some of the world's best spas with a long list of luscious Oriental treatments (a milk bath anyone?) and most are offering summer promotions, including the Angsana, Akaru and Talise.
3.
CHEAP EATS - Many of Dubai's restaurants offer great value degustation menus, promotions one night a week, all-you-can-eat champagne brunches on Fridays, and fantastic fixed-priced set lunches, but there are more restaurant deals than ever at the moment. So why is everything so cheap right now? Well, because...
4.
DUBAI IS SIZZLING! - I'm talking about the temperature. Right now it's a scorching, sweltering, suffocating heat hovering around the low 40s in Celsius (around 105-110 Fahrenheit). And it's only going to get hotter. It's something you may never have experienced before, and probably won't again, so why not try it once?
5. EMPTY BEACHES - who wants to lie on a crowded Italian lido, only centimetres from the person next to you, when you can have a whole gorgeous white sand beach to yourself? And, um, the thousands of other holidaymakers in Dubai for the summer deals. But seriously, Dubai's public beaches are lovely and wide and rarely far from a leafy park, while the hotel beach is never far from the icy swimming pool, a wet-bar, or your air-conditioned room.
6. STAYING COOL IS A CINCH - you can escape the heat, whether it's in the temperature controlled hotel swimming pool, swooshing down the slopes at Ski Dubai or ice-skating at one of the city's rinks. Everywhere is air-conditioned in Dubai - taxis, malls, hotels, restaurants - so the heat is only a problem when you go outside...
7. PIERRE GAGNAIRE'S REFLECT IS OPEN - this sublime restaurant by three-star Michelin chef Pierre Gagnaire, one of the world's greatest chefs, has just recently opened its gorgeous doors, promising a multi-sensory experience. We interviewed restaurant manager Etienne Haro and saw the the glam space while it was still being decorated. We can't wait to try it!
8.
SALES ARE ON! - the city's seasonal shopping festival, Summer Surprises, is on and the bargains are unbelievable. Ordinarily shopping in Dubai is cheaper than Europe, especially when it comes to electronics, designer fashion, shoes, perfume and cosmetics. Why? Because there's no tax. So when the sales are on, the prices are even crazier.
9.
THE KIDS WILL LOVE IT - as part of Summer Surprises,, there is tonnes of indoor family entertainment on everywhere, in the malls, libraries, hotels, and at Mohdesh Fun City, named after the festival mascot.
10.
THE CITY IS TRAFFIC-FREE - well, not quite, but there are far fewer cars on the road because most expats have gone home or are travelling for the summer and the Emiratis have moved to cooler climes. The sensible people have left town essentially. But that means faster travelling time for you. Traffic is a problem in Dubai; it's the thing residents hate most. So go and enjoy something locals rarely get a chance to - empty roads! - and whizz around the city eating, drinking, pampering, and shopping yourself silly!

How To Stand Relocation

The independent life of every person begins with the own home. And the change of life is the change of home too. So we all have to stand this problem later or earlier. That is why we need Property Town Information to make right decisions in these periods in our lives. It doesn't matter you rent or buy a house or a flat.

There are different sides to consider when you look for your own home. How to chose the realtor, where to look for loan, and how to choose the deal too.

But first of all you have to plan your relocation. Are you ready to begin the process? Begin with planning of all the event from the first to the last point. Make your ideas clear thinking about next points: What do you want to buy? What do you need to have in your house? What is it dedicated for? How much time you have to make the decision?

You see, these are important questions. When you have your ideas clear from the first day, all process will cost you less time and health.

Next question you have to ask yourself is about your financial possibilities. There are many innovative loan programs today, they allow to buy a house practically to everybody who has stable monthly income. Attention! You have to think about the closing of the loan costs too! And it will be more complicated if you have bad credit. But you can find a solution in this case too.

So, once you are ready, you can begin the exploration of the avilable properties information.

Breaking News: Orientalist Dubai Dream Tour Shattered! (Part 3)

By Terry*
Continued from part 2 and part 1.
Anon continues:
* “The miracle of Dubai is also made possible by a largely invisible army of cheap labour: 90 per cent of the population are foreigners, including Western professionals lured by the black gold, but mainly Filipino maids and nannies, and construction workers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh” and “Construction workers are paid a paltry US$100 a month and sleep in huge hostels, where 20 people share a single bathroom.”
Yes, those construction workers, waiters, maids, nannies and shop assistants I talked to every day for years were just a mirage. But the ‘invisible army’ and the mention of mistreatment of workers are obligatory in any story on Dubai that takes a negative stance. I’m starting to feel nostalgic for the old days when it was obligatory to mention the cruel Arabs and the five-year-old camel jockeys

Workers’ conditions and living conditions for the underprivileged is an issue everywhere but If I write about New York restaurants, should I devote a paragraph to the illegal dishwashers from South America without health insurance who help keep America’s economy just above the waterline? Should I write about Maori alcohol and incarceration problems if I write about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc? If I write about Outback Australia, should I always mention the ‘Aboriginal problem’? Is a travel story the place to talk about globalisation and the migration of workers looking for a better life and getting screwed? Sometimes. But if you’re going to do it, be balanced. Oh, and the last time I heard the term ‘black gold’ was on the Beverly Hillbillies theme song. Man, I love me some banjo. Can’t get the song out of my head now.


* “We also check out Little India, swarming with tourist tat touts and shops cluttered with cheap Chinese-made clothes and plastic utensils, which are what real people use”.
What sort of utensils do the people who aren’t real use and what do you have against utensils made of materials other than plastic? (Note: for those shopping for plastic utensils, the author probably means Karama Souq.)


* “Shindagha, the original site from which Dubai grew, is by the river mouth. Sheikh Saeed's house, the former home of the ruling Maktoum family, has been 'carefully restored' and is open to view.”
Why is carefully restored in inverted commas? Are those Arabs trying to trick Anon again with a ‘fake’ house and yet another fake experience? Is there nothing really authentic in Dubai? Not according to Anon.


* “Nearby, the Heritage and the Pearl Fishers' villages purport to offer a glimpse of traditional life - with credit card facilities.”
It’s actually ‘Heritage and Diving Villages’ and the author clearly didn’t visit during the frequent Emirati events (pictured), including traditional dances and singing, as well as our favourite, the rifle-throwing competitions – you don’t need a credit card for those, just for the ‘fake’ souvenirs. You also don’t need a credit card to buy the authentic breads and snacks made by ‘real’ local women, just some small change.


* “In fact, there are few historic buildings left standing. Between the corrosive elements of sun and wind, mud walls don't tend to last long and for the past few decades, Dubai's natives have been more enthusiastic about building comfortable, modern mansions than restoring mud huts.”
We’ll overlook the inaccuracies and horrid sentence construction, but damn those ‘natives’ wanting to live in comfortable, modern mansions when they could live in a ‘mud hut’ with no air-conditioning for the sake of not appearing ‘fake’ to a New Zealand ‘journalist’ who can’t even get his ‘facts’ straight. The cheek of them.


* “A dignified older man offers us dates and coffee spiced with cardamom.”

At last, the Wilfred Thesiger or Lawrence of Arabia moment that Anon has been looking for happens! Luckily, it wasn’t an ‘undignified’ older man that he met. I hear they’re not as friendly.


* “Hospitality is one of the most highly esteemed virtues in Islamic culture. The touching family scene straight out of centuries past is disrupted by the arrival of a giant SUV sending up clouds of sand. The other men of the family are arriving.”

Damn, just as Anon’s Orientalist dream – straight from ‘centuries past’ – is realised, it’s snatched away by ‘fake’ Arabs and their ‘fake’ 4WD’s. Don’t they know anything about authenticity, like, you know, white New Zealanders earnestly doing the Haka? By the way, it’s Arab (and especially Bedouin) hospitality that Anon might be thinking of and Islam is a religion.


* “When we recount our meeting later, our guide is quick to quell any romantic notions of traditional lifestyles surviving into the 21st century. It turns out Bedouin all live in the city these days, and drive to their estates at the weekend. "Camel caretakers", predominantly from Southeast Asia, are paid a pittance to do the actual day-to-day camel wrangling.”

Wow. Sounds like these tour guides are a real downer in Dubai. As soon as you think you’ve found something authentic – baaaaammmm – they’ll spoil it for you!

And so it turns out that the only ‘real’ moment of Anon’s Orientalist Dream Tour was fake as well.

* Terry Carter is my husband and co-writer.

Breaking News: Orientalist Dubai Dream Tour Shattered! (Part 2)

By Terry*
So, where were we? If you’re just joining us, see this post
about an Orientalist fantasy of an article on Dubai in The Sydney Morning Herald by an anonymous author who I'm calling 'Anon':

Anon writes:
* “The encampment is furnished with modern flush loos…”
Yes, they’re all the rage in Dubai now, the Sheikh apparently has a gold one! Clearly the author wanted to pee in a dark, smelly, open pit. Damn you, oil money!

* “Locals in traditional white dishsasha robes and headdress are commonly seen getting happily loaded on alcopops in hotel bars.”
Alcopops? Probably not a local. Common? Nope. And the robes are more commonly known as ‘dishdashas’ which means robe anyway, so Anon's said they’re wearing ‘robe robes’, but that’s a minor point an editor could have picked up. If there was one…


* “Men from neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which has a much more hard-line approach to liquor, frequently slip over the border for a quaff before driving home.”
Hard-line? It’s illegal in Saudi. And that’s a long way to drive home drunk from Dubai, a round trip of at least 800km (see this map.) Perhaps the author meant Bahrain where Saudis drive across the Johnny Walker Bridge, woops, I mean, King Fahd Causeway to imbibe. But the vision of drunk Saudis driving home all the way from Dubai would probably make a great road movie. Especially if they sang ‘99 bottles of beer on the wall’ in Arabic...

* “Like our ‘desert experience’, much of Dubai is essentially fake. Forty years ago, Dubai was a dusty fishing village on the banks of Dubai Creek.”
Clearly, Anon wanted it to stay like that so he could have an authentic Orientalist experience. How dare they build new ‘fake’ buildings. Damn you, oil money!


* “Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also prime minister, and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, is estimated to have a personal wealth of US$16 billion. Yet he apparently has the common touch: his FaceBook site has 6995 registered fans.”
Clearly a lot more than Anon, but what’s the point?
Sheikh Mo also has his own website.

* “The sheikh has bankrolled some of the city's more fantastic constructions, such as the Burj Al Arab hotel - the only six-star hotel in the world - and the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai, which is under construction.”
None of which is entirely true, and yet another ‘journalist’ gets the Burj Al Arab’s hotel rating wrong. Dubai has a five-star rating system at the moment. The Burj Al Arab is not classified although they claimed to be the world’s first ‘seven-star’ hotel. So Anon isn’t even close no matter which way you look at it.


* “I find myself wondering how New Zealand would spend the money if we suddenly had trillions of dollars injected into the economy: massive rugby stadiums in every suburb, perhaps?”
Really, did an editor – either in New Zealand or Australia – actually read this dribble? Did Anon even realise he typed this instead of just thought it?


And yes, indeed, if you can believe it, it gets even worse.

* Terry Carter is my husband and co-writer.

Breaking News: Orientalist Dubai Dream Tour Shattered! (part 1)

By Terry Carter*
Dubai is still sizzling as a travel destination, no matter what part of the planet you look at it from. But let’s look at Dubai from an Australasian travel media perspective for a moment. Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald and sister publication The Age love running stories on Dubai, but they've really run out of steam if their latest article is any indicator. But really, what should we expect from a once well regarded publisher that has a blog called ‘The Backpacker’ that explores themes such as 'Joining the Mile High Club', 'Travel cliches (sic): are they worth it?' and 'How to get rid of your backpacker'. Seriously.
However, this latest anonymously authored story, which ran in New Zealand’s Dominion Post first, manages to set the bar to an all-time low, appearing like a package tour report that wouldn’t be out of place on TripAdvisor. The 'author' of the article has an odd preconception about Dubai from the start, but then feigns surprise when the destination doesn’t live up to his skewed expectations. So, what does he do? Call the story ‘Truth and Trickery in Dubai’. So, what's wrong with this story?

‘Anon’ as we’ll call the writer, is disappointed to learn the belly dancer on his desert safari is from Egypt, claiming she’s no more a Dubai local than he is (we’ll assume it’s a ‘he’). Last time I checked Egypt was in the Middle East and New Zealand wasn’t. We’re already off to a weird start. I don’t want to get into the much-contested origins of belly-dancing, but if you have an Egyptian belly-dancer in front of you, that’s a lot more authentic an experience than most visitors to any Middle East destination get these days. Even in Egypt itself (arguably the spiritual home of the dance), you’ll probably be confronted by the ‘fake’ shimmying of an Eastern European dancer if you go to an ‘Oriental’ show.

Anon then contradicts himself by saying it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the dancer isn’t a Dubai local as “one is lucky to see an ankle belonging to a local woman, let alone an exposed navel”. Actually, local women do a dance similar to the ‘belly-dance’, just not half-naked, not in public, not in front of men, and certainly not for creepy foreigners like Anon. So, let’s get this straight. He’s saying: the belly dancer is inauthentic because she’s from Egypt, Dubai women don’t do the belly dance, therefore Dubai=Fake. Or perhaps that makes it doubleFake? Can’t argue with logic like that.

To be honest, I debated whether to bother going further to deconstruct this article, but a story as misanthropic, sexist, and filled with thinly veiled racism as this (not to mention being published in such well-regarded newspapers), deserves it. So, let’s just get the attacks on the people that our fearless Orientalist comes across out of the way first. Here are some of Anon's choice quotes:

“…a pock-marked Bangladesh-born wide-boy”

“…one hapless male whose game attempts to mimic her pelvic thrusts are slightly impeded by his fluorescent bumbag and complete lack of coordination”

“…fat-bottomed tourists” and

“It is fun to get lost in the narrow alleyways of the gold and spice souks and get high on the heady mix of cloves, cardamom, incense and armpit.”


Clearly Anon dislikes acne, fluoro bumbags, people lacking dancing skills, fat-bottomed tourists, and people who don’t wear deodorant. I’m still trying to figure out why this is exclusive to Dubai. Really, did anyone edit this? But what Anon really dislikes is how ‘fake’ Dubai is. And he’s in Dubai to separate the truth from trickery.


But if Anon was ‘tricked’ about what to expect in Dubai, who deceived him, and what were his expectations? It’s clear – at least for the purposes of creating an angle for his story – he was expecting some sort of Orientalist fantasy of Bedouin goat-hair tents lining Dubai’s main thoroughfare Sheikh Zayed Road, where there’s a ten-lane camel highway (and perhaps a flying carpet lane as well?) leading to ARABIA, while the score from Lawrence of Arabia fills the air. However, Anon never sets out his expectations at the start of the story. Heaven forbid that would create a narrative! But here’s a hint as to where his desires lay: the belly-dancer is “an exotic apparition” before the spell is broken and he finds out she’s a ‘fake’ from Egypt.

And it gets worse... (read part 2 here.)

* Terry Carter is my partner and co-writer

Sky Watch Thurs/Friday

I took these on 6-18-08 Click on photos for better viewing



I was in the house when i looked out the window to see that almost the same formation was still there but now with color, and i also thought these 3 little clouds looked a lot like flying saucers

Life of a Travel Writer: when the travel writer's plans come together...

The weather is still perfect in Milan - it's another balmy summer's evening. Terry's out shooting, and I'm still holed up in the apartment writing (and, um... blogging in my coffee break). Something the Renegade Writer thinks would be impossible for her to do - she said my post about the nightmare my dream job had turned into set her straight about travel writing and she'll no longer be fantasizing about all-expenses-paid travel writing trips. But there's good news in my In Box today that could make her change her mind... one of Milan's best chefs agreed to do an interview and shoot for the book, we're also shooting at La Scala next week and taking a look backstage as well as interviewing the head of scenic direction. Planning for other shoots in museums and shops are starting to come together. And some rather exciting news this afternoon: we had an offer to do another book today, for a publisher we've never worked with before, which is always nice. And it's in one of our favorite cities, which is even better. The problem is our schedule, which is fairly full (an understatement), so unless they can shift the deadline, it's not looking possible. But the news I think I'm getting more and more excited about the more I think about it... we've been invited to La Traviata at Teatro alla Scala next Friday night!! What will I wear???

Temple of Serapis In Pozzuoli

The second place of my interest in Pozzuoli was the Temple of Serapis. I was very impressed by this excavation because you can see here very clearly how the level of the sea changes here. But I have to begin from amphitheater. Because I told you last time about it.

I did not know before that this town is situated on the mountainside. The railway station is in the high part and I had to go down about 10-15 minutes to reach the other railway that went in the direction where was our ritrit.

The first time I lose about an hour to find the right way to do and walked around these streets with the sea in front of me. But it was not very nice walk. Because... See the next photo.


Finally I found the temple and made the photo fron the auto-bridge. If you look with attention, you can see me too there.

Click on the next photo and look at the great columns. You see they are "eated" by the sea organisms. It was time when they were under the level of the sea. But first they were in a high place of the greek town. This town is possible to see if you take a boat.

This temple was not a temple but a market- or slaughter- place. And you see one of the rooms on the next photo.

Finally here you can see that the sea is about 100 meters far from this place today.

Life of a Travel Writer: when the travel writer comes to her senses

After only five hours sleep, a not so great day yesterday, and still feeling bleary eyed and in need of a few hours more, this weary travel writer nevertheless rose early this morning and went downstairs. Even before putting on the coffee she opened the French doors in the living-dining area (now their cluttered office) in the little Milano apartment (see here), and she looked out to see a cobalt blue sky. It was a relief after several weeks of dreary grey skies and occasional rain showers, punctuated by haze and fog, or, at best, blue sky with light cloud cover, none of which are optimum conditions for shooting books. Especially to photo editors and art directors who always want to see cerulean, no matter what Terry says about clouds being a photographer's friend. But as the writer watched the suited Milanese with briefcases in hand, the models carrying portfolios, and the students with backpacks slung over their shoulders, all rushing up and down the stairs of the charming bridges that cross the Navigli canal, on their way to work and school, she also felt relieved. Relieved that she didn't have a 9 to 5 routine (really 7 to 6, or even 6 to 7 when you count breakfast, shower and travel), that she didn't have to sit in rush hour traffic or on a crowded train, and then go through the monotonous motions of the day, which no matter how interesting a job is and how fascinating the people are you with work, still involves a routine. The travel writer decided she would rather go without sleep, food and showers, and have these periods of intense work and long days at a computer, to have the weeks when they're driving through stunning landscapes in places like Crete or Syria or enjoying sunsets over castles and beaches in Italy and Turkey. Especially if the computer is in front of a window looking on to the streets of Milan. And Amsterdam. And Buenos Aires. And Brussels... And so the travel writer came to her senses.

The photo? Our work space in Brussels two years ago. Grey skies there too, but we didn't mind with that view.

Life of a Travel Writer: when the dream job is a nightmare

Remember how I told you how much I loved my work as a travel writer? And you said I had the dream job everyone envied? Well, it's not so dreamy at the moment. We are tired. Really tired. For the last few days we've been at our laptops 17 hours a day. We haven't showered. We're not eating properly anymore. All the wonderful food we bought at the market on Saturday - the proscuitto, bresaola, rucola, buffalo mozzarella, the big bunch of basilico! - it's all going to waste. Okay, maybe it's not a nightmare. I'm exaggerating a little. But let me share the highlights (or rather lowlights) so you know a travel writer's life is not all VIP openings, private parties and seas of champagne! I'll put you in the picture: we're in an apartment in Milan so all we should be doing is researching Milan and Terry should be taking photos of Milan. We have started researching Milan, although we haven't been pounding the pavement every day as we'd have liked and Terry's only been able to spend two days taking photos because we've had grey skies and rain almost every day since we arrived. I'm working on another book about another place, which I should have finished a month ago but couldn't because the editor only recently approved the final outline. As the delays aren't my doing, she's extended the deadline, but I don't want to be working on this now, I want to be working on Milan. What's really frustrating is we'd stayed on in Turkey to finish the thing there. I'm also planning post-Milan research, which I should have done weeks ago but couldn't because that editor has just now been able to provide a final brief. So we're writing outlines, floorplans, shot lists, itineraries and books. And over the last week I've written hundreds of emails my hands are aching so much I'm sure I have carpal tunnel syndrome; Terry feels like he's getting the flu. I'm sending emails to museums, theatres, hotels and restaurants to get permission to visit, shoot photos, do interviews. I'm emailing tourism organizations, airlines, car rental agencies, hotels, tour companies and PR reps to get help for a forthcoming Australia trip. I'm dealing with magazine and newspaper editors about other ongoing and future projects. And I'm chasing editors of past projects for payments. And while getting paid is never normally a drama, for some reason everyone wants to send cheques all of a sudden (I didn't even know people used them anymore! Doesn't everyone do electronic banking?). A story I wrote in English for a Gulf magazine has been published in Arabic, another piece I contributed to has been published without my credit, while a story Terry spent hours prepping dozens of images for (at the art director's request) has appeared with only two of his pics among twelve stereotypical stock shots. But whose going to listen to a travel writer complain? This evening, the weather is perfect in Milan. It's a typical balmy early summer's night. As it's meant to have been! We can hear the bars downstairs on the Navigli buzzing with locals, eager to make up for all the socializing they've missed out on. Meanwhile, we're here finalizing outlines and shotlists when we should be checking out those bars. It's times like these when we start to wonder whether we should just give up and get 'real' jobs...

Italians passionate? Si! Especially when it comes to football

By Terry Carter*
Something that strikes us about Italians is their love of football**. In Amantea in Calabria a few weeks ago the local’s favourite team had just won a match so we were stuck in our car for a while in the middle of the celebratory procession through town. We were the only ones not tooting our horn or hanging out of the car cheering! Here in Milan in our apartment on the Navigli last week we knew Euro 2008 was on when we heard screaming and cheering from the local bars down on the street below. We turned the TV on to see Italy playing the Netherlands. Every time Italy had a shot at a goal (and missed) the collective groans echoed through the streets. After their loss, the locals quietly streamed out of the bars, jumped on their biciclettas and Vespas and headed home. On Fridays the streets are generally filled with locals heading for aperitivo hour at the local outdoor bars. But last Friday the streets were empty. We were thinking it was probably the threatening weather or Friday the 13th keeping locals at home. But then loud cheer echoed through the streets. Euro 2008. We turned on the TV to see Italy playing Romania. Even with the sound turned down we could tell how the game was going by the noise emanating from the bars. Very little noise means Italy is not doing well. Groans mean they’ve had a shot at goal and missed. Wild cheering indicates a goal from Italy, while silence means the other side has scored. As I write this, the game between Italy and France has not long started. The mood of the whole neighbourhood will change depending on what happens in the next hour and half. Italians. Passionate? No denying it. Even in the streets of ‘reserved’ Milan. Gotta go - the football's on.

* Terry is my husband, co-author and occasional co-blogger

** generally called soccer in countries where it’s not the main form of football

Are hotels going out of favour? Let's hear what the apartment rental gurus think

Here are two more views on the hotel versus apartment rental debate from a couple of vacation apartment moguls. Marvin Floyd, GM of VRBO admits: “I'm biased for vacation rentals of course, but don't believe hotels will ever go away or even out of fashion. Business travellers will continue using hotels to get points and preferential treatment. I stay at the Radisson in Austin every month rather than dealing with a different short term vacation rental... I know the hotel, the route, etc, so it's just a lot easier. Many couples will continue staying in hotels... a nice romantic weekend with a daily room cleaning is preferred by many people who get away to be pampered. They love going downstairs to a nice restaurant, visiting the pool or hot tub or spa, things many vacation rentals don't have... There will always be a place for the consistency of most hotel chains, where you know exactly what you're getting ahead of time…” Robert Shive of Buenos Aires-based Living-like-locals writes: “They are going out of fashion for me. I just spent two weeks in hotels in Sun Valley, Utah, and Park City, Utah, while shopping for a ski condo. No matter how nice the hotel, the rooms just can't compare to living in an apartment. The trade off is making my own bed, and not having fresh towels every day – but it is worth it for the space to spread out.”

We so know what you mean. Yes, that's me, pictured, and that's one of our many temporary 'offices' that we find ourselves creating when we're on the road. Admittedly, that was the last night before flying out (from Buenos Aires via Milan to Dubai), and you know that feeling, right? In the Milano apartment we’re currently renting,
our laptops, drives, boxes of CDs and DVDs, guidebooks, brochures, press kits, business cards and so on, completely cover the 'dining' table as they did at one of the BA apartment we rented above. We just can’t do that in a hotel. Although it would be kind of nice to have someone come and clean up occasionally…