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One Day in Calgary

It was about two months since my trip to Yemen, and I was desperate to go somewhere. I didn’t have enough time to do a proper trip anywhere internationally, but I just felt that urge to get on a plane. And that’s what it occurred to me: I never been to Calgary, Alberta. I also had no desire to go to Calgary, Alberta, but I looked at the flights and there was a flight leaving early in the morning and coming back in the evening for about $100 round trip on Flair Airlines. Without giving it any more thought, I booked the trip. I may have had no interest in Calgary, but surely there would be enough there for me to be entertained for the day.

The time it took me to get to the airport in Vancouver was longer than my whole flight to Calgary which was only about an hour and a half. I landed in the morning and took a bus into the city. It was a Saturday and I wasn’t quite sure where to go, but the bus dropped me off in the business district, which was kind of a ghost town on the weekend. I found a nice cafe and had an espresso and came up with sort of a plan.

I went for a bit of a stroll which involved walking down Stephen Avenue, a pedestrian street lined with restaurants and shops. Nothing on the street interested me other than a few statues in the area, but it was good for a wander.

Weirdly, the thing that I was most excited about seeing in Calgary was the public library. It is an impressive modern art building completed in 2015, the work of a Norwegian and American design firm. It has a huge atrium with a lot of light and curved wooden elements. It’s very nice but I have to say that its shape did remind me a bit of a vagina. It’s worth checking out if you are in the area; it has some sculptures outside which are interesting and the building itself is attractive, but also inside there were various art displays and lots of places to sit and relax. But I had no time for relaxing. I was only there for the day.

I spoke to the people at the information desk at the library and they recommended that I check out the National Music Centre. It wasn’t on my radar previously, but it was free on the day that I happened to be there so I figured why not check it out.

This was another knew an impressive building, although unlike the library I didn’t find this one to be that attractive. Nevertheless, it was something to see. They had live music concerts going on and displays about the history of different genres of music in Canada. It was more interesting than I thought actually and I gave it a walk through. Not really giving it the time that it deserved but I got a sense of this thing and it gave me some more appreciation for Canadian musical artists.

From there I had decided to walk to a neighbourhood called Inglewood as I heard that it was sort of the “hipster” kind of neighbourhood of Calgary. It was a beautiful Sunday and a pleasant walk over a little river and into the neighbourhood. This was my favourite area that I saw while I was in Calgary. It had a street lined with lovely shops. Thrift stores, record stores, bookstores, coffee shops, even a vegan bakery. I browsed around, bought a book, and had a bite to eat.

There was also a small art museum called the Esker Foundation on the 4th floor of a commercial building. The art was good and although it was a small space there was a lot to look at. This was also free and, strangely, it didn’t even have anyone working at the information desk. I would have thought that it was closed except the doors were opened and the lights were on. I was delighted with the find.

If I had more time, I think I could have spent more of it in Inglewood just exploring the neighbourhood, but I had two more stops to make.

I called an Uber and I went to Contemporary Calgary, another modern art museum. This one wasn’t free, but it had reasonable admission price which was absolutely worth it. It had some excellent exhibits, including several by American artists dealing with subjects like slavery and immigration that were quite moving.

It was just about 5:00pm and I had my final stop to make on Calgary day tour and this was the thing that I most wanted to do in Calgary. Years before, my mother, whose name is Betty-Lou had told me about her speakeasy bar at Calgary called Betty-Lou’s Library. How could I not visit? I love a speakeasy bar, and my mother loves books, so how could I help visit the bar that seems to be her namesake? It was delightful. It was in the basement of an older building on a residential street just off of a commercial street. You’re supposed to make a reservation, although I’m not sure it’s technically necessary. I had emailed them to make the reservation, and I had gotten the necessary code word. Entering the building, I picked up an old-fashioned phone, and they asked me for the code word which I gave them. (The name of an English author.) And then a bookcase opened and I was let inside. The decor is exactly what you would want in a place like this: vintage furniture, dark with red lighting, and old time jazz. It was wonderful. It was also just after 5:00pm and they had just opened, so I was one of only three people inside but I bet it would be even more fun to go later in the evening when it’s busy.

I sat at the bar and had a cocktail and chatting with the bartender I told her about my mother Betty-Lou and how she loved books, and I showed her the tattoo I have of Betty-Lou’s name on my arm as proof that I wasn’t inventing the story. The bartender told me that the owner had named the bar after his mother whose name is also Betty-Lou and a photo of her was hung above the bar. The owner came out and introduced himself and then my next drink was on the house. I was delighted to have been able to go to this place. (Thanks mom)

And with that, it was time to return to the airport. I called an Uber and arrived just in time for my flight.

I had a thoroughly enjoyable day and would recommend it to people living in Vancouver who have never been to Calgary and need a little travel fix. Would I go back? I don’t think so. I did everything that I wanted to do (and more) but I didn’t like the city enough to warrant a return visit. There’s nothing wrong with it really, I just didn’t really like it. It’s definitely a driving city, not a walking one, and a lot of it just feels very business-y and not that interesting or beautiful, however, I was delighted to have gone.

This trip would tide me over until my Mongolia trip in August.

Asia Yemen Yemen Trip 2025

Yemen – Shibam and Departures

We awoke on this, our last full day, at our beautiful hotel in the valley. The previous day had been our excellent visit to the villages of Wadi Doan. The routine was well established at this point: I woke up, had my cigar, and watched the sunrise, followed by breakfast with the group before we set off on our next excursion.

Today, we would be heading to Shibam. As I’ve said in earlier posts, this was the thing that I most wanted to see. This was the picture that I had seen on the internet years ago, making me think, “Someday, I must see this place.” And that day was today.

The Old Walled City of Shibam is one of the highlights of a trip to South Yemen. The town was founded in the 3rd century, but the buildings that you see today were built in the 1500s. The structures are made entirely of mud brick and stand between 5 and 11 stories tall. They are narrow and built close together. Apparently, this particular design was meant to protect them from Bedouin attacks, but whatever the reason, it looks unusual and beautiful. Amazingly, the buildings remain strong and resilient. While they need regular, fresh applications of mud to the exterior, they have lasted all these centuries. The tallest ones are just over 30 metres high. It is the look of these closely clustered tall buildings that has given Shibam nicknames like “The Manhattan of the Desert” and “the World’s First Skyscraper City.”

Seeing it from a distance the night before was magical, but walking amongst the buildings was equally special. People actually live and work here. We saw pharmacies and honey vendors, little shops selling antiquities, and, of course, men sitting around smoking and drinking coffee. Sometimes, seeing things that you’ve been dreaming of can be a disappointment. This was not one of those times.

From Shibam, we drove back to Seiyoun, where we had started our journey; however, we hadn’t seen much of the city at the beginning. This time, we visited a museum in the market. I was delighted to explore the marketplace, finally try some Yemeni coffee, and browse through the little shops. I picked up some small bottles of oud as a souvenir. We sat around a café with our guide and driver, and I thought again about how much I wished I could just explore a little bit on my own. I could have spent all day sitting at a café, smoking and watching the people go about their daily activities.

We went to a specific spot near the market where they made jambiyas. A jambiya is a large, curved dagger that Yemeni men wear as part of their traditional ensemble, tucked into a thick, embroidered belt and worn on top of their futa. John and Doc had not gotten their jambiyas when they first bought their Yemeni clothing, but now they would. The craftsmen at the shop picked out the right jambiya for each of them and hammered holes into custom-fitted belts so that John and Doc could wear them with pride — right up until they had to go through airport security, I guess.

I bided my time at one of the nearby gun shops. This is another moment where I must emphasize that my trip to Yemen felt completely safe, and that the people were extraordinarily nice and hospitable, but there is a tremendous amount of guns. This little shop, which was no bigger than a single parking stall, sold an astonishing assortment of handguns, machine guns, and rifles. They even let us handle and pose with them—without any ammunition, of course. I couldn’t resist posing for a few photos. I had mixed feelings about sharing these pictures online, but I think I’ve been clear that Yemen is not a scary or dangerous country. I just really like this picture of myself with the machine gun. I’m not someone who does online dating, but if I did, I think this would be a fun picture to use in my profile.

Next, we made a specific visit to the honey market, where rows and rows of small shops sold an incredible variety of locally produced honey. Yemenis are very proud of their honey, and we had been eating it every day, but I had no idea there was such a wide variety. We got to sample different types and were told about how different varieties of honey were good for various ailments. Each of the three of us picked up a tiny little bottle of the most expensive honey (sidr) to take home. It was thick, a dark amber colour, and very strong-tasting. I think it was about $5 USD.

But there was still more sightseeing to do. We drove to the nearby city of Tarim, walked the streets, and took in the Al-Mihdar Mosque and some Sufi shrines.

We returned to the Hawta Palace Hotel (the place where we had stayed on our first night in Yemen) for our final night. We were called to dinner and told there would be a special surprise. A group of men arrived and set up for us just before we ate. There were about 8 men dancing and another 10 men playing musical instruments and singing as they put on a performance. It was wonderful, although admittedly, I was trying to juggle a bit of remote work during the show. My companions, John and Doc, were called up to dance with the performers. John tried to call me up as well, but it was very quickly made apparent to me that this was a men-only situation. No problem. I sat outside with my cigar and just watched the show. It was a terrific end to an incredible trip.

The next day was the day of our departure. We got up, had a leisurely breakfast, and went into the city to walk around the market a bit more. We even went to a sort of Western-style coffee shop for iced mochas and lattes. These fancy coffees were not included in the trip budget, and I think this brought the total amount that I spent on the entire trip to about $30 USD—not including the tips that we gave to our guide and driver, of course. I had no idea how much spending money I would need and had brought a lot more with me; it is always better to be safe than sorry. If you are bringing money to Yemen (and you should) make sure that it is crisp, new US bills. They won’t accept anything with any imperfections.

At the airport, we said our goodbyes to our guide and driver and headed through security. There was little to no fanfare or hassle at immigration. Once we were through, we found a little seating area with a café, and we spent the last of our local money on snacks. I realized at this point that I was no longer really in the country and no longer had to wear my abaya. I had thought earlier in the trip that I might bring it home with me, but after six days of wearing it in the heat, it was crusted with sweat and dirt. I was completely sick of it, so I took it off and left it behind.

We boarded the plane and said goodbye to Yemen. It was an amazing trip. While I wouldn’t visit those same sites again (simply because I think we did them justice) I would be happy to go back to the country if the northern part ever reopens to tourism, as I would love to see the capital, Sana’a.

We shared a quick overnight layover in Cairo before John, Doc, and I went our separate ways. Next was a short layover in Cairo where we spent the night and I got interrogated at the airport.

A few more pictures from that final day in Yemen.

*i accidentally snapped a photo of the most handsome man in Yemen*

North America USA

Detroit: A Surprising Weekend in Motor City

Why Detroit?

After my trip to Belize, I wanted to get a Nexus card. For people who don’t live in Canada or the United States, a Nexus card is something that gets approved by the Canadian and American governments that allows you to cross the border by going into express lanes on the freeway and in the airport and without answering a bunch of questions because they’ve already vetted you as a not a security risk. I thought it would be handy to have because sometimes I’m transiting through airports in the United States and I have gotten ensnared in long immigration queues and almost missed my flights. The problem was that you must get an interview done and I had been trying for close to a year to get an interview at the closest place to where I live in Vancouver, but the interview slots were always full. Apparently, this is a common problem. When I looked for alternative interview spots, one place that always had available times was Detroit. I had been a bit curious about Detroit, so I thought this was a good opportunity to do a weekend trip somewhere new and accomplish something practical at the same time. And that’s how I ended up going to Detroit in April 2025.

Initially I thought I would just go for one night do the interview and come back the next day, but I wanted to be able to bring cigars back into Canada, which requires staying out of the country for at least 48 hours, so it became a two-night weekend trip. Of course, I was going to go solo as I basically always do and is my preference.

Not Solo Travel

But then things changed. One of my cigar buddies from my cigar club (we will call him ‘Mariner’ for the purpose of this post) mentioned that the weekend I was going was the season opener for the Detroit Tigers (a baseball team) and he has a dream of visiting every professional baseball stadium in America and he had not been to the one in Detroit. So, he said, maybe he would go the same weekend as me and we could go to the game together. And this is how I got hoodwinked into going to Detroit for a weekend with a cigar buddy. #notsolotravel.

I agreed to it though; it’s not like he ambushed me, but I was a little bit nervous. What if it spoiled the whole weekend? It didn’t. It was certainly a different experience, and I don’t think I would trade in my solo trips for buddy trips very often, but it was a good time. I think traveling with someone easygoing is probably the key and Mariner is good company and easy going.

We landed in Detroit separately. I arrived first and took a taxi directly to the interview station, which is in no man’s land between the United States and Canada. They did the interview in five minutes and sadly did not ask me to recount my travels to far-flung and dangerous locales, and I took the taxi back to my hotel to begin my short holiday. I was a little bit nervous about applying for the Nexus card because I thought, surely, they will never give it to me after I’ve been to so many countries that the United States warns against, but a few months later I received approval for the card.

Where I stayed in Detroit

I had selected the Siren Hotel. I looked at all the hotels in downtown Detroit and most of them were way too expensive, especially considering the Canadian / U.S. dollar exchange. I wanted to stay somewhere central and there were a couple that were less expensive but did not look very appealing. I picked The Siren because it was just barely in my budget and it was oozing historical charm. It was designed by architect Robert Finn in 1926 as the headquarters for the Wurlitzer organ company, and then it was recently almost torn down but was saved and turned into this hotel. They’ve embraced the historical design of the building, and it is picturesque at every corner. The rooms are a little more basic but still cozy. I absolutely loved it; I think it might have been a step down for Mariner, but he could have stayed somewhere else.

Art and Protest

The first thing I decided to do, because I didn’t think that Mariner would have any interest in it, was I went to the Detroit Institute of the Arts.

I walked there and paid a small fee. The museum is fantastic. Like, it’s New York or London fantastic. It has historical paintings and portraits as well as 20th century works of art that are significant. It’s probably most famous for having the Diego Rivera paintings called The Detroit Industry Murals (1932–1933), which are impressive depictions of early 20^th Century industry, but I liked the most some of the very modern works of art by black artists. It was just excellent and exceeded any expectations that I had.

*one wall of the* *Detroit Industry Murals (1932–1933)*

When I left the building, outside there was a massive protest against Donald Trump. I was in the USA and happy to see that people were exercising their civil liberties. I had been a little bit nervous about going to the States at this point because I had heard so many terrible things about the border and because relations between Canada and the United States had taken a surprising downward turn, but I will say that everyone I interacted with on that weekend, including the border officers, were incredibly friendly. In fact, many people that I talked to, when they found out I was from Canada, actually thanked me for coming down and apologized for their president. Certainly, they didn’t have to do that, but it was nice to feel so welcome.

Leaving the art gallery, I decided to take public transit back to my hotel. There was a streetcar that was headed in that direction. I sat at the stop and chatted with a couple of older ladies that had just left the protest. And on board, the two ladies and everyone seemed to be chatting with everyone else. Say which will about the US, but I find the people to be extremely friendly. The incredible thing about the streetcar was that it was free. In fact, all public transportation in Detroit is free. If I want to take the bus for two blocks in Vancouver it cost me over $3. This was great. Downtown Detroit also has a monorail (Monorail!) which I rode at one point just for the views of the city and, again, it’s free so why not?

Cathedrals of Industry and Finance

Back at the hotel, I met up with Mariner, and we went out for tacos and strolled around. We had two major objectives, apart from my Nexus interview, on this trip; one was to visit all of the cigar stores and lounges and the other was to go to the baseball game. More on the baseball game later. But we also wanted to check out Detroit, so we walked around the downtown core to take in the vibe and the architecture. It was Saturday, so maybe it was quieter than it would be during a weekday, but the city felt almost deserted. It was a little bit unsettling. Where were all the people? I had heard that Detroit was unsafe and there was no part of it that felt unsafe to me, but it did feel strange that it was so quiet. Maybe it is partly due to people driving their cars and not walking very much so it leads to quieter sidewalks? I never did get the answer, but I didn’t love the vibes of downtown Detroit; that said, there are a lot of beautiful things to look at in downtown Detroit; some interesting sculptures and some murals, but what it really shines for are the buildings.

Detroit was one of the major cities in the United States in about the 1920s as it was the centre of automobile manufacturing, giving it the nickname ‘Motor City’ and it became extremely wealthy. This is obvious as you walk around because there are many tall and beautiful buildings all built in around that period. The terrific thing is their lobbies seem to be open all the time so you can just walk in and appreciate the architecture, which we did. Some of them are truly extraordinary, incorporating with elaborate church-like arches, painted ceilings, and glittering mosaics. Really inspiring stuff. The best downtown one was definitely the Guardian (500 Griswold Street), built in 1928-1929 it has an art deco style with Aztec Designs. It is amazing.

We hit up a cigar lounge, again more on that in the next post, and went to the baseball game.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I am not a sports person. I enjoy a bit of boxing and American football at my cigar club because it is on a lot, but I don’t follow any sports and I think it’s all a bit silly, but I am always up for new experiences, so I agreed to go to the baseball game. Mariner is a baseball fanatic. Like a savant. He knows every statistic, every player, every mote of history and trivia. He was excited to be at the game, but maybe not as excited as I was once I walked into the arena and saw how much of a spectacle it was. All around the stadium there were festivities. Buskers playing music. Vendors selling disgusting foods. People dressed up in jerseys and costumes. Inside, there were even games and best of all, a Ferris wheel where each of the little compartments was shaped like a baseball. Of course, I insisted that we ride on it and we were the only adults on board without any children to accompany us. It was excellent. But then came the time to watch the actual baseball. I have watched baseball on TV and it is extremely boring. Watching baseball at the stadium though was pretty good. It was a sunny day, and we had excellent seats and it wasn’t loud and obnoxious like a hockey game. Everybody was chill and no one tried to high-five me. I liked reading about the players on the big screen and analyzing the walkout songs that they played for each hitter. Did I really pay attention to the game? No, not really, but I had popcorn and I was enjoying being there. I don’t remember who they were playing and I don’t remember who won. We left after the 8th inning. I’m not entirely sure why, but Mariner just said he had seen enough so we left and we went for more cigars and dinner.

*Comerica Park-Home of the Detroit Tigers*

We went for dinner at the London Chop House. We picked it because it was a fancy steakhouse, and Mariner likes fancy steaks, but also because it is one of those classic old school steak houses where everything is rich brown woods and leathers with dim lighting and live jazz. It was actually a person I met at a cigar lounge in San Pedro Belize who recommended this cigar spot in Detroit. Anyway, it was a perfect place. The average age of the band members must have been about 75 and they were terrific. It was just the right atmosphere. I had salad and a martini. We then went upstairs to enjoy cigars in the lounge, which lacked a bit in atmosphere, but a leather sofa, a cigar, and a cocktail was enough to bring me happiness.

After that it was late and Mariner tapped out and went back to the hotel to sleep. I carried onto the third cigar lounge of the trip.

(More on these and the other cigar lounges we visited in this post: Where to Smoke Cigars in Detroit.)

Street Walking in Nostalgic Detroit

The good thing about traveling with Mariner was that he was not keen to get up and do anything right away in the morning, while I was. So I left him to read the newspaper and sleep in and eat eggs or whatever people do, and I went off exploring. I walked countless blocks in a different direction with the goal of seeing a particular building that I was interested in seeing and a mural that I had heard about that had both Axel Foley from Beverly Hills Cop and Tom Selleck from Magnum PI painted on it, as well as RoboCop.

While Detroit might be famous for its baseball team or its car manufacturing history or its tradition of gun violence, to me Detroit will forever be the city that Axel Foley was from in the movie Beverly Hills Cop. My favourite comedy of all time. That opening scene in Beverly Hills Cop where it shows the people of Detroit as Glenn Frey’s “The Heat is On” plays is burned in my brain forever, and as I walked around on that morning I listened to that song on my headphones and the city really came alive. Especially as I walked around the more economically depressed areas. Why not create my own soundtrack for movies for cities that I’m visiting? You can’t do that when you’re walking around with someone else. I found the mural and took some pictures of it. I know that RoboCop was set in Detroit and I’ve seen it but I’m not a big RoboCop person but I was excited to see Axel Foley and also Tom Selleck dressed as Magnum Pi, another of my favourite TV shows. Tom Selleck is a native of Detroit which is why he wore a Detroit Tiger baseball cap in the show.

Anyone who’s reading this and is under the age of 40 probably has no idea what I’m talking about and that’s fine. This part isn’t for you.

In that area were other impressive murals and appealing old houses.

I walked over to the Fisher Building and admired its stunning lobbies. There’s a theatre there as well, which I couldn’t get into, but I bet it’s stunning. I went for coffee at a charming little spot called Café Sous Terre and then I caught an Uber over to a different neighbourhood to visit a couple of businesses.

I kept reading about how Shinola was this famous Detroit store and that it was a must see kind of thing and so I decided to go to that store and I guess it is historic and everything they make in there is from Detroit and all the leather goods and watches seem nice but it really was of no interest to me; however, next door was Third Man Records. A record shop owned by Jack White of the White Stripes who is also from Detroit. It’s super cool and I thought it was worth the visit, unfortunately on the weekends the record manufacturing part of it wasn’t in operation but you could see it through a window. If you go at the right times during the week, you could take a little tour and watch them making records. I would have loved to have seen that. But in the record shop itself it was neat there was lots of music memorabilia and vinyl for sale and books and it just had a really cool vibe. Sometimes they have concerts. I left there and meandered my way back to the hotel to meet up with Mariner.

After that, we went for a cigar at a lounge and just sort of ambled about the city. Had a tasty dinner at Standby, where I had a cocktail made with roasted leeks (interesting but not amazing), followed by more cigars and then sleep.

The next morning, we flew home separately via Toronto.

It was a delightful trip to Detroit. I think if you are in North America and want an unusual city break weekend, it is a good choice, but if you are into cigars I would definitely recommend it.

I go into more detail about the cigar lounges in this post.

And I write about my brief layover visit to Toronto in this post.

North America USA

Back under the Palms: Miami Revisited

It was January 2025, and I had the urge to go away. It had only been a couple of weeks since my Christmas trip to Cyprus but I suppose I felt like I needed something exciting to kick off the new year. A friend had been to Miami a few months prior and was sharing with me what a wonderful trip it was, and so I decided I would go for the weekend.

Miami, and particularly Miami Beach, and even more particularly South Beach, is not unfamiliar to me. I visited there countless times and I lived there for a year, back when a certain presidential election had the world focused on South Beach and its hanging chads and just before 9/11 when travel between the two countries was a little easier. I’m not going to retell what brought me to Miami in the first place all those many years ago, or why I stayed, or what I got up to there, but there are a lot of good stories.

I loved Miami. There are a lot of reasons to not like Miami and a lot of those reasons resonated with me when I lived there, but I really think it’s a very special place and I have very fond memories from there.

As much as I love it, I hadn’t been back in many years. Not since 2007 (that’s when i started this blog and there is an early Miami Beach post here). My sister moved to Los Angeles, and the boy that I loved moved back to New York and almost everyone else that I knew there then moved away or died, and I just hadn’t been back in many years.

Time to change all that.

I flew to Miami and landed midday and took an Uber to South Beach. As soon as I got there the smell was overwhelming. That way where you smell something and you are instantly transported to a time or place. The way that when I smell decaying apples in orchards in the autumn it smells like my youth, or for some reason Giorgio Red perfume in the autumn smells like London, but there’s a smell that South Beach has, created by the heat and the humidity and unidentified sources that I’ve never smelled anywhere else. I was so happy to be back.

I didn’t really have a plan. I just wanted to wander around my old neighbourhoods and see how they changed and just see what things were like, and of course I wanted to check out the cigar scene. I did both of those things. What I didn’t do was I didn’t go to the Wynwood Arts District or to the new Institute of Contemporary Art there, neither of which were things when I lived in Miami. I wanted to go, but I simply ran out of time. I’m already certain that I’ll have to go back again before too long.

South Beach

I feel like a lot of people might roll their eyes at South Beach as a place to visit. I certainly did before I ever went there. And it is a place of vapid beach-goers and party people, criminals, wannabes, retirees and the people that prey on them. But I love it. And to be clear, I don’t like the beach at all, and I don’t enjoy parties. I don’t really fall into any of the other categories either, but there’s just something very special to me about South Beach. Maybe it’s because it’s the first place that I ever experienced a subtropical climate or saw that many palm trees. But I still think it’s kind of magical. The weather is always perfect, and it’s such a great place for walking and bike riding. And then there’s the architecture. This perfectly preserved Art Deco architecture that is so sweet and charming; little apartment buildings two-three stories tall, in pastel hues with Art Deco lines and little insignia of seahorses and flamingos built into the doorways. Like little pastel cakes. I never get tired of it.

And because the weather is perfect and because there are all these charming postcard-perfect hotels and restaurants, almost every eatery has a patio. And sitting on that patio and ordering, admittedly massively overpriced coffee, and watching people go by while smoking a cigar is maybe one of my favourite diversions. Because of the beach-goers and the party people and the wannabes and the plastic surgery addicts, little dogs, weirdos, muscle-heads, gold-diggers, misfits, and people from all over the world in Miami for a fresh start (or running from something), South Beach is just top-notch people watching. And yes, the patios are cigar friendly.

And then there is that Cuban influence, in the food, the music, the cigars, and the friendliness; it feels special. It doesn’t even feel like you’re in America half the time. I’m not even a fan of Cuban food or Cuban coffee but I love hearing the music and smoking the cigars and generally being around Cuban culture.

It’s underrated, but Miami has a pretty good arts scene. I think a lot of artists from New York migrated down there or go back and forth, or maybe it’s the multicultural aspect of it, or the annual Art Basel art fair, but there are some good art galleries and museums down there. Back when I lived in Miami I was much more dialed into that scene, but it’s worth it to seek out some good art galleries down there. And I don’t mean the awful paintings depicting Ocean Drive or tropical fruits, I mean the people that are doing the kind of art that puzzles the viewer or causes them to say I can’t believe they get paid for that. I visited The Bass, a small but satisfying art museum showing interesting contemporary art. Since it’s small and in South Beach, I walked down there and enjoyed the visit.

So much of what I wanted to do in South Beach was just walking around to places that I knew. I was delighted that so much of it looked exactly the same. Ocean Drive was unchanged. The residential streets generally looked the same. All the heritage buildings remained intact and the roads looked the same. It could have been 2000 all over again.

Even some of the main commercial streets looked familiar. Many of the businesses had changed, but not all of them. My favourite little pizza place Pizza Rustica was still in business. A couple of classic dive bars like Mac’s Club Deuce were still operating, and most of the hotels were the same. I saw ads for strip clubs that I visited back in the day and was pleased to see that some of them were still in business. All of this filled me with intense comfort and nostalgia as I walked around and was flooded with memories.

But not everything was the same in South Beach.

There were fewer cigar places. Maybe just two proper lounges, both of which were new from when I lived there, but there was neither the number of cigar lounges or stores that there was in my day.

The only thing that really bothered me, was seeing what had happened to Lincoln Road. Lincoln Road is a mostly pedestrian thoroughfare in South Beach that, when I lived there, was my favourite place in South Beach. It was lined with cute little local shops and restaurants and cafes, a cigar store, a bookstore, a theatre – all delightful and charming. The street was lined with palm trees and had quirky little fountains and seating areas down the middle bit. When I first moved to Miami Beach, I lived with my sister a block off Lincoln Road and it was where I started and finished every day, enjoying a cigar and the New York Times drinking coffee or having a bite to eat. It was peak people watching and after I had been there for a while it was always the place where I would run into people that I knew.

Lincoln Road has fallen on hard times. The road is still there and the trees and the quirky fountains, but with one exception, all of the old businesses have gone. Most of the storefronts are empty and boarded up and the ones that are open are just boring mall stores selling sneakers or capsule coffee or bath bombs. It’s lost all its local charm. Even the restaurants and cafes are different. The Van Dyke Café, which was my absolute favourite place for my morning coffee, is now a big brand sneaker store. Very sad. The only exception was a little Italian restaurant called Spris, that I used to go to sometimes for pizza. It’s still there and looks exactly the same (right down to the flowers on the tables) and, yes, I went there for a pizza. But it was sad to see what’s happened to the rest of the street. (There is a Miami New Times article here about the closing of the Van Dyke and the changes to Lincoln Road.)

On a positive note, however, when I was there the Sunday flea market was still operating. On Sunday morning people from all over South Florida would come to Lincoln Road and put out their wares for sale. This is a quality flea market. I would say the vendors are largely split between middle-aged gay men and older Jewish women displaced from New York. Both delightful to talk to and everyone has quality things for sale. An Art Deco tea set? A full length fur coat? Mid century modern furniture? They’ve got everything. It’s the perfect way to start a Sunday in South Beach.

Another thing that had changed was Española Road. Another pedestrian street in South Beach, but this one very short and narrow. I remember that back in the day it had a couple of little cafés on it and was quite charming. A true hidden gem. Well, hidden no more, Española was shoulder to shoulder with people and lined with packed restaurants. That was fine, but what I was excited about is that there’s now a bustling cigar store / lounge / restaurant there: Española Cigar Bar & Lounge. A little pricey, but a wonderful place to have a cigar and cocktail. I went there twice in two days.

I rode a bicycle down the paths along the length of the beach and felt the sea air, just as I did in the past. Heavenly.

So overall, I was amazed at how much South Beach was exactly what I remembered. Just a couple of small changes and still one of my favourite places on earth.

Miami & Calle Ocho

Leaving Miami Beach, however, things were very different. Downtown Miami, when I lived there, was a place to be avoided. It was a place where you would change from the bus to the train if you were heading to some other part of South Florida, and you wanted to do it as quickly as possible at night because it never felt safe. Well those sketchy neighbourhoods are now replaced by massive high rise apartment buildings and high-end financial district companies. It is completely unrecognizable. This time there were two reasons for me to visit downtown Miami; one was to change from one bus to another as I visited Calle Ocho, and two, there is a very classy cigar lounge in that district (Empire Social Lounge (Brickell Location), as one would expect in a financial district, and I went there and had a cigar and a martini. But what a change; seriously, it’s just a completely different place.

Calle Ocho, or Little Havana, was certainly there when I lived in Miami and I went there to visit some cigar factories, my first cigar factories, and buy cheap cigars, but it wasn’t really a place to visit otherwise. Well it has leaned into its Cuban culture and now attracts busloads of tourists there to browse around, but it seems no less authentic. If anything, it’s better. For countless blocks down 8^th Street in Little Havana there is business after business selling cigars. Some are just cigar stores selling a collection of non-Cuban (New World) cigars, but many of them have their own brands and rollers and it was incredible to be able to go into all these little shops and sample their house brands before moving on to the next. All along the way were little restaurants serving Cuban food and playing Cuban music, and with cigar ashtrays on the tables out front. I was in heaven. Honestly it felt a bit like I was in Cuba. The domino park is still there where old Cuban men get together and play dominoes, gossip, and enjoy the odd cigar. Some things never change.

I had an incredible weekend in Miami revisiting familiar places and discovering new ones. Although some things have changed, I was happy to see that it is still, in most respects, the place I remember. And I still love it.

I’ll be back.

But my next trip would take me much farther south, to Argentina.

Africa Eritrea Eritrea-Djibouti trip 2024

Back in Time in Asmara, Eritrea

When I told people I was going to Eritrea, all but the most die-hard travelers had not heard of it. Fair enough. Although Eritrea is famous for a long-standing conflict with Ethiopia, it is not well known to your average person. Eritrea occupies a sliver of land northeast of Ethiopia, just above Djibouti, and along the Red Sea.

Eritrea has been notoriously difficult to visit. You need a visa and someone on the ground to arrange it for you. At the time I went, you had to go as part of a tour, but the tour needn’t occupy all of your time. You needed a permit to leave Asmara (the capital). There is little to no wifi, no ATMs, credit cards are not accepted, and the country tightly controls the information coming in and out. It is often referred to as the “North Korea of Africa.” Not exactly inviting.

But I was so curious to visit this secretive nation that I planned a trip around it.

I booked a day tour and visa support through an Eritrean travel agency called Adulis Travel. They were very helpful. All I had to do was send them my info and agree to pay them in cash and they took care of my visa, hotel, and tour.

I planned to spend a few days in Asmara. One day on the tour and then two days to myself being gloriously offline; relaxing at cafes and taking in the architecture.

I arrived from Cairo (written about in my previous post). I arrived after midnight and my guide, Selihom, was waiting for me and thankfully so. With her help, I was able to get my visa in my passport in about 30 minutes. Others waited for more than an hour. I paid $70US cash for the visa and Selihom dropped me off at my hotel, promising to pick me up in a few hours for my day tour. Sigh. Another night of only a few hours’ sleep.

I stayed at the Crystal Hotel. There are other and cheaper options, but they are located farther from the centre. The Crystal Hotel was not cheap, but central and well staffed. My room was huge and devoid of any character.

My first glimpse of Asmara was that it was completely empty of people and quiet at this time of night. Also, the streets were immaculate. Well-paved and free of trash. It looked quaint and I could not wait to go see it tomorrow.

The next morning, Selihom picked me up with a driver. The tour would be a walking / driving affair. It was a good introduction to the city. Of course, were it not for the need to have a tour to get the visa, I would have visited on my own and that would have been fine, but we did see a lot on that first day and I got a good sense of what the place was like. What was allowed, what people’s lives were like, etc. As much as you can in a day.

We visited Medebar market – always a favourite stop of mine. We went to a local scrap area where people were taking discarded items and making them into new things. Old paint cans, scrap metal, barrels et cetera, all became something new. They told me this is because of their environmental concerns, and I am not saying that is untrue, but it is certainly also because they do not have a lot of money or access to world markets.

Medebar Market and a welder there with a homemade mask

We visited a video store and electronic repair shop. I know, but it was really interesting. Because there is little to no wifi in the country, people are not streaming their media; they are renting it. Ah, nostalgia. The guy fixing the TVs and phones said he could fix everything and did. Again, in a limited economy things must be reused, but it is also a good lesson to those that throw things away and replace them without a second thought.

We walked the streets of the downtown area. This was terrific. Asmara is full of 1940s architecture, and little has been upgraded. It is a UNESCO site for these reasons. Part of what makes it so appealing is that the Italians occupied Eritrea, built terrific theatres and cafes and then left and the country has been more or less frozen in time since then. Those cinemas and cafes are still in use. The coffees and atmospheres are wonderful. All of Asmara has this suspended in time feeling and in a lovely way. No billboards or flashing signs, people are not on their phones constantly (because no wifi), there are old cars, clean streets, and everything is quite well taken care of. It reminded me a little of Havana before they got wifi.

This was the atmosphere I wanted to enjoy for a few days.

The only downside is that Asmara has very strict smoking laws. No smoking indoors or on any patios. Period. And I only found one place (a courtyard at a hotel) that was willing to break the rules. That was a bit of a disappointment. I had imagined myself on patios with tiny Eritrean/Italian coffees, puffing on a Ramon Allones. Oh well. I still was able to smoke outside my hotel in the evening sitting on a chair they let me borrow.

We continue our tour by visiting the thing I was most excited to see: the Fiat Tagliero Building. The building was designed as a petrol station by Giuseppe Pettazzi and was built in 1938. It has an art deco/futurist style and is intended to look like an airplane. It is fabulous. It is no longer in use but is very much intact and you can enter and climb up to the roof for a different perspective. It was this building that first made me want to visit Asmara and it did not disappoint.

But there was more to come!

We visited the tank graveyard; a pretty field littered with piles of tanks, trucks, and other army vehicles. They remain there as a symbol of Eritrean independence and its victorious struggle against Ethiopia in the war of independence (1961 to 1991). The site is just out in the open but there is a cabal of taxi drivers who monitor the comings and goings and charge a small fee. It was super fun to climb on all the old wrecks and play with the tanks.

Amongst the things frozen in time in Asmara is the bowling alley. Built in the early 1950s for American using a base nearby, it exudes vintage charm. Vintage photos of long deceased leagues adorn the walls. Translucent red brick detail on the walls and lanes where the balls are returned and the pins reset by hand. By children. Of course, Selihom and I played a round. There was no one else bowling at the time, but the billiards tables next to the lanes were packed.

We stopped by a cemetery and walked the tombstones and then we had lunch.

Traditional Eritrean food is similar to Ethiopian and I had a platter of vegetarian treats served on spongy injera bread.

We made a final stop, which was up in the mountains for views of the valley and to try a local cactus fruit that is picked and sold by the local kids. Honestly the fruit was only so-so, but I had several of them.

It was a marvellous day. I learned a lot of about Eritrea, saw ‘the sites’, and enjoyed Selihom’s company. And then I was set free.

I went out for dinner – pizza (hey, it was an Italian colony) – and had a walk and a cigar before bed. I couldn’t wait for the next day of wandering around at my own pace and enjoying the city. Except…that didn’t happen.

Sorry for the cliffhanger, but read on, for the tale of how quickly things can change in Eritrea.

Andorra-Lithuania trip 2024 Asia Latvia

Return to Riga

I had arrived in Riga by land coming from Vilnius, Lithuania. I think it was about 3:00pm when I arrived and I checked into my hotel. I had booked a bed at a hostel but something got screwed up with my reservation so at the last minute I ended up booking a room at a hotel in the centre. This was my second time in Riga, and I would only be there a short time, leaving very early the next morning. But I was delighted to have a bit of time to revisit the city.

It had been exactly two years since I was there last when I came for a four day long weekend in May. It was just as lovely as I remembered. I don’t really have much to say about Riga this time, because I said most of my impressions when I arrived the first time, so if you’re interested in going to Riga or knowing what it’s like, go back and read the two posts that I made in 2022. This time I’ll just say that it is terrific city. I think it’s one of my favourite cities in Europe. It’s very pretty and pleasant, with wonderful architecture, an interesting history, and a nice vibe.

I already had a sense of my way around, so I walked around the historic centre and took in some of the lovely streets and buildings that I had seen before, before going to a cigar lounge (The Oak Lounge) to sit and have a cigar of course. I wandered over to Albert(a) Street past the famous art nouveau buildings, which truly are exquisite.

I grabbed a bite to eat somewhere unremarkable. And I made plans to meet up with a friend. When I had been to Riga in 2022 I had booked a private historical walking tour of the city with a fellow and we got along quite well. At the end of the tour we went for drinks with some of his friends and it was the highlight of my trip. So I let him know that I was coming to town and we met up exactly two years later at exactly the same bar with a couple of the same friends and a couple of new ones. Again, it was my favourite thing about the trip. It’s just a good group of guys at a cool neighbourhood bar that I would have never found on my own. I like the bar so much that I’m not even going to say what it’s called or where it is because I don’t want to encourage too many people to go there and ruin its authentic feel. (But I will post a couple of pictures and if you can figure it out, good for you.) They have a little leafy courtyard where people drank and nobody minded if you smoked. I spent a couple of hours there, leaving after dark and walking back to my hotel.

*bar door on arrival; bar courtyard; bar door on departure, a few drinks later*

That was it. Like I said, it was a short visit. My flight the next morning was at 8:20 AM heading to Stockholm. The flight was part of the reason that I decided to go back to Riga in the first place, because the flight from Riga to Stockholm was ridiculously cheap and while I had been to Sweden I had never been to Stockholm and it seemed like a great opportunity. The day of my flight to Stockholm was the 8th day of my trip and I must admit that all of these crazy early morning flights, days constantly on the go, and late nights out was starting to catch up with me a little bit but I was still excited to see what lay ahead. Read on for Stockholm…

Andorra-Lithuania trip 2024 Asia Lithuania

Vilnius: It’s Pretty Amazing

I left Barcelona the day after my trip to Andorra and flew to Vilnius. A direct flight. My first time to Lithuania. There were really only two things that I wanted to do in Lithuania: see Vilnius and visit the Hill of Crosses. Vilnius was first on the list.

Lithuania is a Baltic state, which shares borders with Poland, Latvia, and Belarus, and has a coast along the Baltic Sea. It was a former member of the Soviet Union. Vilnius is Its capital. Lithuania doesn’t get a lot of attention from a tourism perspective, which led the government in about 2018 to come out with a tourism slogan comparing Vilnius to the g-spot: “Nobody knows where it is, but when you find it – it’s amazing“. Terrific.

Arrival in Vilnius

Since this was kind of a last-minute trip, I didn’t have my pick of places to stay. If there were excellent hostels in Vilnius, they were booked up by the time I went there, so I ended up staying at a proper hotel (a Conti Hotel), a little more than I wanted to spend but still within my budget and walking distance to the centre of the city. It was a nice hotel with a swanky lobby in a comfortable room.

My flight landed in the evening and by the time I got to my hotel (via taxi) it was about 8:30pm and the sun was low in the sky. I threw my bag down and walked into the city centre. I was immediately so happy. Barcelona is a good city, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. And Andorra was really just checking a box and I wasn’t that thrilled with what I saw. Vilnius was a welcome sight. I’ve said repeatedly that I’d love former Soviet countries; I have yet to visit one that I didn’t love. And Vilnius just felt so comfortable. I saw the orthodox churches, the charming buildings, and the cobblestone streets, felt the cool air and saw and the relatively stony faces of the people that I passed and I felt at home.

Unfortunately, shortly after landing I got a text message from work and it kind of derailed what should have been a perfectly pleasant evening, but aside from work drama that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning, I did enjoy my walk around the city and I had an excellent dinner on a patio over Georgian restaurant (Khinkalnya Vilnius), was persuaded to drink a couple of shots of chacha by the owner, and had a Cuban cigar on the patio. It was a great introduction to the city, and I couldn’t wait to wake up an explore. (I only got to sleep for about three hours, so I didn’t have to wait long.)

Wandering Vilnius

The next morning, as always, I got up early as it was my only day in the city and I had a lot to see. Vilnius doesn’t have a lot of specific touristic sites; the main thing is just to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, all of the churches and charming cafes, public art, the pedestrianized streets with restaurants and cute shops.

I don’t know what it’s like to visit at other times of the year, but I think that spring was lovely. It was a little bit cool in the evening which I liked, and it was warm enough during the day to sit outside comfortably. The lilac bushes were in full bloom and everything was green.

There is a ridiculous number of orthodox churches in the city and there it’s worth ducking into all of them. Some of them had beautiful singing happening, and all of them had the glittering excess of Russian orthodox churches, which I love.

For me, one of the key things that I wanted to visit was an abandoned building just outside of the city centre. It was a pleasant walk across a bridge, aside from when an American man who was there standing on the street and proselytizing about Jesus told me I was ongoing to hell when I didn’t take one of his brochures. Oh well. The building is a spectacular abandoned stadium that was opened in 1971 as the Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports. It is a massive, brutalist-style concrete structure built in an unusual sort of wave pattern. At some point it was converted into a sort of mall and then it was closed completely in about 2004. It is now covered in graffiti. It is excellent and just a little creepy.

It is also located just near a Jewish cemetery which is also pleasant for a bit of a wander.

Užupis

The other place that I really wanted to visit in Vilnius is the semi-autonomous area of Užupis, which means “beyond the river.” It’s just a short walk from the Old Town, across the river (obviously). In 1997, a group of artists declared it the Republic of Užupis. It’s not really its own state, but it was set up that way. There is a border crossing and it has its own flag and constitution, which is on display in the street and includes such mandates as everyone has a right to be happy, man has the right to individuality, and everyone has the right to appreciate their unimportance. I dig it.

The motto of Užupis is “Don’t Fight”, “Don’t Win”, “Don’t Surrender”.

Part of the idea behind the creation of Užupis is a belief founded in the Aristotelian thought that people should live in small communities where everyone knows one another, which will result in people being more honest and happy. The area is a terrific place to visit. While it was once kind of a derelict ghetto, now it just feels like a proper part of the city but with lots of public art on display and at a lot of small independent businesses and artisan shops. In a way, it’s like Freetown Christiania in Copenhagen except without the focus on drugs.

*The Užupis Cat, which comes with a little poem. Worth finding.*

Back across the River…

I visited the MO Museum (Museum of Modern Art), which is relatively small but definitely worth a visit.

I thought Vilnius was delightful.

Smoking Cigars in Vilnius

Before dinner, I sought out one of Vilnius’ cigar lounges. For a former Soviet country, Vilnius is kind of difficult to smoke in. Indoor smoking wasn’t allowed, and it seemed to be banned on all of the patios. The Georgian restaurant that I ate at the night before let me smoke outside but only because I was the only person on the patio due to the cold weather. Fortunately, there are several hidden smoking rooms in the basements or backrooms of restaurants and a few proper cigar lounges.

I visited one cigar lounge in the old city, Cigarų namai, which was excellent. It had everything you’d want in a cigar lounge, an excellent selection of cigars, beverages for purchase and a calming room full of soft leather furniture. The only downside was they were playing the worst smooth jazz music that I’ve ever heard. It seemed like they only had one CD and it was on repeat. I was there for about two hours, and I heard the CD at least twice. I wanted to kill myself. At some point I just put in my headphones and listen to a podcast while I enjoyed my cigars. Music aside, it was a lovely interlude.

There is another cigar lounge called Cigarų kambarys (Cigar Room) located at Vilniaus g. 29 but upstairs with no obvious signage. I went there as well but it was empty.

I had dinner on a leafy patio and wandered the streets until it was dark. I was very happy in Vilnius, but I was also excited for the next day when I would travel by car to Latvia, stopping at the Hill of Crosses along the way.

Central America / Caribbean Nicaragua North America

Two Days in Colourful Granada

Leaving Estelí for Granada

I left Estelí, Nicaragua early on Friday morning. I left the way I came, in a private care instead of on the bus. Friday was a working day for me, and I couldn’t afford to spend half of it in transit, so I hired a driver. The trip took about 2.5 hours. Not a bargain, price-wise, but worth it

Arriving in Granada, I was immediately charmed. This was the colourful city I’d seen in pictures, and it was the city in which I had planned to spend my entire week, before the lure of cigars and tobacco farms took me to Estelí. We arrived in Granada at about 8:00 AM. I would leave two days later. Two days was enough time in Granada.

*main square as seen from my hostel window*

The Poshest of Hostels

I was staying at the Selina Hostel (since changed its name to Socialtel Granada); it was an absolute delight. It’s one of those fancy hostels that feels more like a hotel than than it does just a regular hostel (a poshtel). It is pricier, but you can’t argue with the quality. I had booked a private room, and it was gorgeous. The common areas were full of people hanging out, drinking smoothies and beer, planning day trips to volcanoes, and chit chatting in aesthetically appealing surroundings. As a side note, I did plan to do a day trip to a volcano but it just wasn’t happening while I was there due to volcano activity so I just hung out in the town.

I spent Friday morning sitting on the patio in front of the hostel having a cigar and working on my laptop. With work done, I went out to explore for the weekend.

Wandering Granada

Grenada is one of those places that doesn’t really have tourist attractions per se, it’s really that the city itself is the attraction. It is a gorgeous Spanish colonial town with the oldest architecture dating back nearly 500 years. The buildings are brightly painted, and the streets are cobblestoned. In the centre is a leafy square presided over by a tall bright yellow church.

I know, it’s a lot of photos, but its is just so pretty

It has an active street life, with markets, people playing dominoes, food and drink vendors, add a selection of horses and donkeys.

The central market was an explosion of colours, smells, and fruity goodness.

It is an ideal place for wandering with no destination.

The only downside to Grenada was that it was blisteringly hot and humid. It was hot in Estelí but in a comfortable sort of way. It was so hot when I was in Granada in February that at certain points I felt like I couldn’t see. No matter, the city had an ample assortment of charming cafes and breezy courtyards that I could sit in to take respite from the heat and drink a refreshing beverage or a coffee.

And that’s basically what I did in Granada: I wandered around, I looked at buildings, I took pictures, and I had and I had tasty (non-alcoholic) beverages.

*smoothies, coffee, and a virgin passion fruit colada*

One of the great things about being Granada was that there was a variety of food. It reminded me a lot of Antigua, Guatemala in the sense that it really does cater to tourists and so it has charming cafes with good assortments of vegetarian food. I was in heaven I was able to have vegetarian dishes and nice salads without getting sick. The downside of this was Granada is not particularly cheap. You’re going to pay almost Canadian prices for the pleasures of those lovely cafes. But I was fine with it.

Smoking Cigars in Granada

Of course I smoked cigars. There was one small cigar factory in Granada: Dona Elba. It’s tiny, as their main factory is in Estelí, but there were people in there rolling cigars and cigars were for sale. I made a point of going there and tried a couple of their locally rolled cigars, each of which was only OK. I sat in a rocking chair in their shop area and smoked this very unfortunately named cigar when I was joined by the tired wife of a cigar curious tourist who sat down to talk to me. It was one of those conversations that started normal but then took a turn when this woman, who was from America, began telling me about her COVID conspiracy theories and how Muslims are ruining Europe. Awkward. I obviously don’t agree with her theories and there’s just no point in debating some people. At that point I miss being in Estelí where almost no one spoke English.

*A nice little factory with unremarkable (and one unfortunately named) cigars*

One other note on cigars, don’t buy any here unless it is from a proper cigars store (and even then be careful); Granada was full of egregious fake cigars – not just fake Cubans, but fake non-Cubans, like Padron, Fuente. Nasty looking things, some with beetle holes.

In the evenings I sat outside enjoying the less hot air and smoking cigars, well the people from the nearby hostels marauded about in search of drinks.

It was all perfectly pleasant and was an excellent end to my time in Nicaragua.

Heading Home

I flew home via Mexico City where I had a ten-hour overnight layover. Normally, when flying through Mexico City I’ll go into the city, but I had no desire to go in the middle of the night sleep couple hours and come back to the airport, so I booked a ‘room’ at a little pod hostel just outside of the airport. (izZzleep.) Literally outside the door of the airport and up a flight of stairs. It was my first time staying in one of these little space age pods and I loved it. Great use of my time and money.

Nicaragua was a success I felt fulfilled and rejuvenated.

My next trip would keep me in the Americas: a short jaunt to southern California.

North America USA Zimbabwe-Zambia 2023

In Heaven at the TWA Flight Centre

I booked a trip to Zimbabwe. Not just Zimbabwe also Zambia and Botswana, but that’s not really the point. The point is I flew to Harare, Zimbabwe. A long flight: Vancouver to New York; New York to Nairobi; Nairobi to Harare. It was nearly two days of travel and none of the layovers were long enough where I could leave the airport and go visit the cities, so I had braced myself for gruelling days of travel. My layover in New York was only about six hours so I looked for things to do within the airport, apart from the lounges. And that’s where I discovered the TWA terminal at JFK airport.

The TWA terminal, AKA the TWA Flight Center, AKA the Trans World Flight Center was built between 1959-1962 to be the terminal for Trans World Airlines. It was designed by architect and designer Eero Saarinen in the 1950s. By the time it was completed, it was virtually obsolete. Traffic had increased to JFK so much that the terminal wasn’t really functional anymore. But the terminal was preserved and in 2019 a hotel was opened in it. The terminal itself is otherwise preserved just as it was, in all of its glory.

I didn’t know what to expect. I just read that there was a hotel and a cafe or restaurant in this 1950s sixties designed airport terminal. And that was enough for me. I took the elevator up to the appropriate floor and when the door opened I think I actually gasped audibly staring ahead of you is this long tunnel with white round walls and bright red carpeting that leads you into the terminal immediately you look like you’re in some sort of 1960s vision of the future. It’s incredible.

*entering the past’s version of the future*

The terminal’s design is neo futurism. Minimal and clean. Everything is white or red. All the chairs are the gracefully simple Saarinen tulip chairs. Everything has round edges. It’s cool. It is both futuristic and retro at the same time. It’s the encapsulation of everything that the height of glamorous air travel represented.

I was in heaven. The decor was impeccable and they were playing the best music: Frank Sinatra and the like. I wandered around and took in the decor and took a few photos of displays they had of random, period-appropriate things like a hair salon and a twister room. There was a display of all the uniforms of TWA stewardesses over the years (fascinating). And there was both a cafe and restaurant. I settled into the restaurant and had a cup of black coffee and a slice of avocado toast. The only thing missing was an ashtray.

There is also a TWA shop in the terminal where you can buy TWA branded merchandise. Mercifully the store was closed when I was there at my early hour, which is good, because gazing through the window, I wanted basically everything inside. Just outside the store is a free photo booth where you can take fun photos and have them printed. Did I do it? Of course I did.

*don’t judge my appearance. I hadn’t slept or showered in over 24 hours*

I do have a predilection for this era of time: the design, the clothing, the music, the unrepentant smoking…so it was guaranteed that I was going to enjoy the TWA Flight Centre; However, even if you don’t love these things, it’s worth a visit. There is a lot of space with seating, views outside, and little nooks tucked away where one could sit and have a nap or just while away some time in between flights, even without spending any money. It is maybe my favourite airport feature I’ve experienced.

It was an excellent way to kill some time during my layover. I find myself now wanting to have another layover there just so that I can visit the terminal again. Next time, I might stay at the hotel, or if it’s in the evening, I would visit the bar. Oh, didn’t I mention? There is a 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane parked outside that you access through another tunnel and the plane has been turned into a cocktail bar – The Connie Cocktail Lounge. It looks incredible. Next time: martinis. This time, it was a morning visit and on to Harare, Zimbabwe.

Balkans Trip 2023 Europe Montenegro

In Defence of Podgorica

Podgorica is often referred to as ‘Europe’s most boring capital city.’ It is either dismissed or reviled. (For the latter stance, I recommend this blog post, which is too harsh, but it is a fun read.) So why did I voluntarily spend two days there? I shall explain and also justify why Podgorica is actually ok.

A bit about Podgorica and why I was there

Podgorica was at the end of my Balkans trip. I had started in Ljubljana, gone to Lake Bled, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Mostar, and then Podgorica, from where I would fly home to Vancouver. My plan, when I booked the trip, was to use my time in Podgorica as a base from which to visit coastal and medieval Kotor. But then I arrived in Podgorica and the thought of getting on another bus and traveling in a long day trip AND the thought of visiting somewhere else precious and picturesque just did not appeal. All the places I had been were so busy with tourists and many of them were so precious, that I just found if off putting. I just wanted to do something more normal and unexciting. Podgorica fill the bill.

The thing about Podgorica is that it was decimated in World War Two. Here and there you can see slivers of history. There are a few blocks of old cobblestones and the barest of ruins of a castle, a clock tower, and a stone footbridge. Other than that, everything is after the war and it’s not great. There are even far better cities for Soviet modernist architecture. There are no impressive museums, no ornate churches, no notable street art scene, no wonderful parks. Everything it has is fine.

I arrived in Podgorica by bus from Sarajevo. A stunning journey, scenery-wise. I was deposited at the bus station and walked to my hotel: the Hotel Marienplatz. Perhaps not surprisingly at this point, there are no charming or cool accommodations in Podgorica; at least not that I could find. I picked my hotel because it was central, not too expensive, and looked conformable. After ten days of dorms bed, I was ready for a little comfort. The Marienplatz was on a pedestrian street lined with restaurants and bars and, at night, is absolutely throbbing with music. Fine. I can sleep through anything.

I dropped of my stuff at the hotel and hit the streets. I spent a day and a half (two nights) in Podgorica. Here is what I did…

The streets around my hotel

Laziness Along the River

There is a river that runs through the centre of the city. It is fairly shallow and not that wide and has high, steep edges. Various bridges run across and there is a park on either side. From the bridges you can see people swimming and kayaking in the river. If you were so inclined, you could join them. I was not so inclined, so I wandered around the ruins of the castle and took a picture of some small murals at the foot of a bridge and had a drink at the cutest little tiki bar in the park by the river.

This tiki bar is so cute; just a little tiki shack in the park with a handful of seats – a couple of them are swings. I sat and had a drink and chatted with the bartender and a young guy celebrating his early 20s birthday. We talked about our lives and about how Montenegro has a reputation for laziness – a stereotype the Montenegrins seem to have embraced. During the time I was there, the annual ‘Laziest Man’ completion was ongoing; an event in which men compete to see who can lie down the longest. The bartender spoke about how he had always been a bartender and the young man, who was going to school in Germany, said he aspired to move to Brazil because they seem to not work that hard. Fascinating.

Near the river is a hotel, the Hotel Podgorica notable for its modernist design by architect Svetlana Kana Radević. I went and had a cigar on the very excellent patio overlooking the river.

High Five

I walked to Blok Five, which is a group of high-rise apartment buildings, now at least party abandoned. They were designed and built in the 1970s/80s with the goal of creating a perfect community that emphasized community involvement and communal living. The buildings are worth a visit if you like that kind of architecture or if you like creepy feeling abandoned places, or graffiti. I like all three.

Under the Bridge

I visited a lot of cafes, the best of which was the Itaka Library Bar, which is just under a bridge, by the river. On one side f the structure is a small bookstore (all in languages other than English) and on the other side is a café/bar with some indoor seating, but the real pleasure, was sitting outside, under the bridge and next to a small riverside patch of green. I went there twice and loved it. Great spot to smoke cigars.

Cigars in Podgorica

There are a few cigars stores in Podgorica. None were cheap, but all had good selections. There were no dedicated cigar lounges, but smoking was allowed on every patio. I smoked a ton of cigars during my time in there.

Art

There is an art gallery/museum. Local artists and a few historic relics. Really it is shocking that for a capital city – that this tiny museum is the best they came up with – but it was interesting, and it was free, so I am not complaining. As mentioned previously, there are some murals/street art in Podgorica, but nothing amazing or worth specifically seeking out.

A Glimpse of the Past

There is a small (pocket-sized) historical neighbourhood that someone survived the war and there are a few streets with cobblestones and cute houses with grapes growing. On the edge of the neighbourhood is a clock tower that is the oldest surviving thing in Podgorica and it is…honestly, it is not that interesting, but if you are there, you may as well seek it out.

Two Churches

I walked to the (Catholic) Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus, which is interesting in that it is such a severe concrete, brutalist structure. The walk there is not at all pleasant, as it is just along stretches of highway, but if you are into weird, brutalist structures, as I am, it is worth the walk.

I walked to the beautiful Orthodox Temple of Christ’s Resurrection, which was stunning inside and out – and the walk there was lovely, just across the river and past the tiki bar. I bought a trinket at the church shop and chatted with the woman working there. She seemed genuinely thankful and surprised that I was visiting Podgorica.

Podgorica after Dark

In the evenings I stayed on and around the pedestrian street where my hotel was. During the day the streets was quiet and pleasant but at night….wow. It was like an actual party. Every single bar and restaurant was packed. There was live music and karaoke and DJs playing impossibly loud music. The women were so dressed up. Tiny sequined dressed, skin-tight body suits, stiletto heels, cleavage, fully made-up faces and gorgeous. Men were there too. I asked at the hotel if there was something special going on, but they said, no; on the weekends, locals just like to dress up and go out. After a lot of searching, I found a place on a patio and had a cigar and watched the parade.

Is Podgorica worth visiting?

I did all of this in a day and a half. I walked a lot, exploring to seek out other things of note, but there was not much else worth mentioning. The nice thing was that I got to sight-see at a leisurely pace. Normally I am moving around at such a fast pace; this was a relaxing change.

Podgorica was warm and sunny. It was quiet. There was birdsong and coffee, time for luxuriating on patios, and just being present. There was no reason to rush anywhere to see things because there was not that much to see. What there was to see was interesting and attractive enough. I had a great time. Would I recommend visiting Podgorica? No. Not at all (unless you are on a quest to visit every capital city in Europe), but if you are there, or if you have the opportunity for a long layover, there is enough to see to make it worthwhile. It might be ‘the most boring capital city in Europe’ but still has redeeming qualities and was a nice way to end my Balkans trip.

Tag: architechture