I just returned from a busy week in Sao Paulo, Brazil where I presented at a regional DB2 conference. Time outside of work was limited and wandering around Sao Paulo is discouraged. A lot of time was spent going back and forth in taxis, but I managed to get out and enjoy this amazing city.
Our last day was a day off but an important meeting was scheduled with the local team for mid afternoon. Feeling confined to the hotel I decided to indulge in a relaxing massage in the morning. All in all it was a very nice trip but I needed to get out more. I hope to be back for this conference next year and see more of Brazil.
Last weekend Pam and I stayed on Calypso in the Santa Cruz Harbor and witnessed packs of sea lions hunting sardines. The harbor was full of hundreds of sea lions chasing sardines, jumping and bubbling in the water. I took several hours of video over three days to capture this amazing four minute minute video.
I’m home again after 3 weeks in Europe. The trip started in Madrid then on to Amsterdam and finally Milan and Verona. I had the opportunity to meet many new people and get new insights to other cultures.
The journey home proved to be a challenge. The night before my departure for home from Miilan I went to get traveling cash and discovered that my cash card wasn’t working. Bank of America’s fraud detection had blocked the card based on suspicious activity and I could not get any cash. After checking that the taxi would accept credit cards I headed to the airport the next morning with 10 Euros. Unfortunately I got confused about the times and arrived a few minutes late for my flight.
The only option was to take the next flight to Madrid and spend the night. I arranged to have cash wired to me but had to go to four locations before finding an available Western Union. Departing from Madrid the next day we arrived in Dallas late. Clearing customs and security plus some confusion on the gate caused me to miss my flight to San Francisco. American Airlines rebooked my flight home to San Jose which was delayed further by bad weather on the incoming flight.
I just uploaded the pictures Italy to Flickr and was reflecting on the lessons I learned on this journey.
I had great professional interactions and met great people.
I saw Juliet’s balcony and Picasso’s Guernica.
I had romantic dinners in Madrid and rode a bicycle in Amsterdam.
I extended my travel plans repeatedly and had my credit card number stolen.
I was ill prepared for unfortunate events and made poor decisions under stress.
I am home again and very happy to be here.
In my travels around Europe, I found myself in Amsterdam for the weekend after visiting some customers. Although it rained on both days I took the opportunity to wander around a bit and go on a bicycle tour.
Like all big cities Amsterdam is teaming with traffic. But the Dutch are committed to bicycles and there are bike lanes through out the city. Since I was bit nervous in navigating the city, I opted to take an organized tour with Yellow Bike Tours. We went on a leisurely three hour tour around the city with frequent stops for pictures and descriptions by the tour guide. There were a dozen or so people in our group from all across Europe, China and the US. It was a great way to see Amsterdam and I would recommend it for even novice cyclists.
I also wandered aroumd by foot between the brief periods of rain and stopped at several sidewalk cafes along the famous Amsterdam canals. There was plenty to see and lots of picturesque spots. It seemed like everywhere I turned were plenty of boats.
Amsterdam is very tourist friendly and everyone speaks English. Between all the bikes and boats, it’s a perfect place for Green Wandering.
When the opportunity arose for a mini vacation with Pam in Madrid, we both jumped on it. Sometime the universe aligns and you have to seize the opportunity. I was asked to present a sales workshop in Madrid just as Pam was ending an extended contract, We found an airline ticket within our budget and arranged a long weekend together in downtown Madrid.
Pam arrived on Friday afternoon as my training session ended. We shared a delightful dinner with a colleague and his wife at the Sanxenxo Seafood Restaurante. Pam and I walked to the restaurant then got a little lost on the way back, but had fun finding our way to the hotel. We had fresh seafood each evening in different parts of the city and stopped to sample tapas and Sangria at scenic sidewalk cafes.
The high point of our dinning experience was a small restaurant across from Retiro Park, called La Gamella, self described as an eclectic mix of Ibero-Anglican influences reflected in its “contemporary fusion cuisine”. From the start when our server, Jens recommended a wonderful, little known, Hedricks Gin, we were impressed. We were delighted as the staff split and served our appetizers and main courses individually with a grand finale of chocolate lava cake and porto. We savored every bite while chatting with the owner, Theresa and Jens about our respective journeys.
One of the things I love about Santa Cruz is breakfast at Aldo’s which overlooks the mouth of the harbor. My first visit to Aldo’s was nearly 30 years ago and I have been a regular customer since then. When we first started spending time on our 27′ sailboat, Calypso, we would gaze across the harbor towards Aldo’s and talk about walking around the harbor to have breakfast. Over the last year, we have incorporated this morning walk into our regular weekend routine.
Last weekend we had a wonderful breakfast and struck out to walk the mile or two back to Calypso. We decided to take some time to capture the images of the harbor.
We stopped for a few minutes at this picturesque spot down the hill from Aldos.
The walk up the west side of the harbor is full of hidden surprises.
The harbor stretches north almost a mile and provides additional small craft berths. “J” Dock is at the end of the harbor and like the sign says, THERE IS NO DOCK LIKE J DOCK.
The walk down the east side of the harbor ranges from the power boats and small crafts of the upper harbor to the commercial fishing center of the lower harbor.
Back at Calypso, our 27′ sailboat which is berthed across the channel from Aldo’s.
I’m spending a few days on Calypso and then off to Madrid next week for 2 weeks. Check back for more pictures and stories about wandering around in Europe.
There are many paths in life. I learned years ago that one chooses their path through their mental pictures which can be directed by focusing on positive images. I believe that I will always end up where I need to be if I just embrace the journey. This last week in London proved to be no exception.
Sunday I set out on foot to Piccadilly Circus for a theatre ticket but found my options limited. After buying a ticket for an evening revue called La Clique, I went in search of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. I got caught in a sudden rain shower and sought shelter under the portico of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Just as suddenly, the sun broke through and reflected on the rain drops which magically filled the air with thousands of tiny sparkles.
I was soon on the path to the Globe along the River Thames through a park and across the bridge to the south side. After a mile or so I found the Globe and was delighted that “Romeo and Juliet” was playing. Although I missed the first two acts, for £5 I got a standing only ticket and realized a life long dream of watching Shakespeare at the Globe.
There was a strike the next day which shutdown the London Underground. We allotted extra time but had to wait in a long queue for a taxi and then struggled to travel 5 miles through the London gridlock. We arrived late but were able to meet for several hours. Fearing that we might get stranded, I visualized a taxi waiting for us. Sure enough as we emerged from our meeting, there was an empty taxi stuck in the traffic waiting for us.
I wrote this post on the plane home after watching a wonderful movie called “Last Chance Harvey” which is set in London. I watched Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson stroll along the south bank river walk where I had wandered a few days earlier and reflected on my good fortune. After all, I always end up where I need to be.
The week in Berlin began with the overnight train from Zurich and ended with a walk along the remnants of the Berlin Wall. I spent the first hours on the train in the dining car sipping wine, watching the country side and then retired to the sleeping car. The next morning I had a delightful breakfast with my cabin-mate, a retired Swiss plumber.
On my first day in Berlin I decided to wander around to orient myself before a week at the IDUG conference and was drawn to a crowd around a bandstand. I was pleasantly surprised to see a large group of cyclists zooming past the finish of the Tour de Berlin. Although there were few recognizable teams, I thoroughly enjoyed mingling with the German cycling crowd and was amazed by some of the Berlin youth with extreme hair, dress and makeup.
On my final day in Berlin I visited some of the local sites including the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. I was struck by the similarities between the Berlin Wall and the Great Wall in China and overheard a tour guide quote President Kennedy, “a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war”. I couldn’t help but think that the Chinese Emperors must have thought something very similar. Has history proved this statement true, do walls really prevent wars? At the Brandenburg Gate, built centuries ago to enforce excise taxes, I saw a large portrait of President Obama at the Kennedy Museum. Does this juxtapositioning signify that it is time to break down the walls that separate us?
As I traced the path of the Berlin Wall past a Jewish war victims memorial and on to Checkpoint Charlie, the current global transitions took on a new meaning. The Germans have it right, we should celebrate (re)unification for we are one people sharing one planet with one destiny.
We did a little site seeing on our first day in Sao Paulo and visited the central market and Museu da Imigração e Memorial do Imigrante (Immigration Museum). It was fun to get an introspective on historical as well as modern Sao Paulo. 
The Brazilian population is culturally and financially diverse yet wonderfully integrated. Sao Paulo is the largest city in South America. The dichotomy of modern skyscrapers set among deteriorating neighborhoods is striking as you consider Brazil as a key emerging market similar to China and India. But the Brazilians seem to have a joy seldom seen in super cities and celebrate their role in the emerging world.
