From Amman, Jordan there are many interesting day trips to make, following ancient routes that, except for the roads’ surface, have not changed locations over the centuries.
The Kings’ Highway follows ancient trade routes, connecting north and south of the country. It is believed that the Three Wise Men followed at least part of this very same route on their way to Bethlehem. Moses used it to lead his people to Canaan… The Bible refers to it by name.
Just recently Nico, my 12 year old grandson, and I flew to Amman, Jordan. I had been briefly to Jordan before - to visit Petra. This time we would explore more of this ancient country and learn much more about its history. While the current Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is relatively new, formed in 1949, the country has ancient roots…
This adventures happened in another lifetime. At least that’s how it feels.
Our children were growing up in Whitehorse, Yukon where Kees worked as Director of Parks. We had build our own dream home overlooking the Yukon river valley. One day an acquaintance walked in and announced that he wanted to buy our house. We told him it wasn’t for sale. No way. But he left us a blank cheque (yes, really!) and we started dreaming of traveling….
This time a different story… Not our physical travels to a special place on earth, but a story of tradition and customs as it traveled around the world and through time. Because the weekend of this blog post is St. Nicolaas Day, I’d like to share with you the story of how St. Nicolaas became Santa Claus, the origins of a celebration that traveled from Turkey to Spain throughout Europe and to the new world…
After having spent three weeks on a repositioning cruise, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, our final stop was New York City. We get up early because how often in your life do you get to sail closely past the Statue of Liberty? She stands in the early morning hours, holding her torch high after we sail under the George Washington Bridge.
In Limburg, we stayed near the Military Cemetery of Margraten so we paid a visit. Rows upon rows of white crosses under a misty sky and bright red and yellow fall colours, were touching and gave me goosebumps. To read the names of thousands of young American boys who came from so far to help liberate a country they didn’t know…. a humbling and sobering experience. When will we ever learn?
One of our favorite places we’ve had the privilege of visiting, was Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as its original inhabitants call it.
And one of the most unusual cultural events we’ve ever learned about is a traditional competition called the Birdman competition.
Birds were important animals on such a remote island where almost no large mammals or reptiles lived. Birds were believed to connect earth, sea and sky.
I have been fortunate enough to attend a potlash and other celebrations on Haida Gwaii, an island of First Nations people with a rich culture and history. A highlight of my life was to be invited as the poet laureate for the Peter Gzowksi Invitational for Literacy event. I wrote this poem to close the event and celebrate the highlights of my stay on this incredible island on Canada’s north west coast….
The Netherlands is likely one of the best countries in the world to visit with children. I mean, where else do you get raisin buns for breakfast and bread with chocolate sprinkles for lunch? And pannekoeken (crepes with syrup) are often considered dinner… There are so many special facilities and attractions for kids, that it is hard to select just a few.
After taking a week of Spanish classes in Salamanca and exploring Extremadura by car, we headed down to the coast and Seville. We had enjoyed driving throughout Portugal and Spain, and now decided to crash on a beach for awhile. Hoping to avoid crowded shores with high rises, we booked an AirBnB apartment in a small town called Matalascañas on Spain’s south coast.
During our visit to Cambodia, of course we went to Angkor Wat. Our time in Siem Riep and visiting Tonlé Sap, the largest lake in SE Asia, was amazing. We are also learning many fascinating things here.
Cambodia’s religion is mostly Buddhist but with its own strong blend of with Hinduism. Cambodians seem to celebrate everything: Chinese New Year, their own and a few others… Smart. This country needs all the celebrating it can get.
On the Clipper
We have two young grandsons and wanted to take them on an exciting, but short, trip. A few days in a city might be fun for island kids: a zoo, a museum, the science centre perhaps? But then we stumbled on an idea that would make even the travel itself exciting: boats, trains and a border crossing!
The Clipper, the fast ferry between downtown Victoria and downtown Seattle offers packages on their website. We discovered that we could take the ferry to Seattle, stay in a hotel there, then return by train! The Clipper organized all details.
We made our way to Victoria where we boarded the Clipper in the inner harbour, right across from the Parliament Buildings. The ride takes less than 3 hours. You go through US Customs and Immigration prior to boarding. Because we were taking our grandkids, we had a letter from their parents saying that we were allowed to take the kids across the border. Children don’t need a passport for this land crossing (they DO need it if you are flying back!).
The Clipper has comfortable, assigned seats and offers food and drink. The kids can walk around and we played games at ‘our’ table.
It was fun for all of us to see the San Juan Islands from a different angle and a different side of Seattle as we approached.
Because the ferry docks right downtown, we didn’t even need a taxi to get to our hotel. We had booked a two night package deal through the Clipper and simply walked uphill to the downtown hotel.
The hotel was perfect, with two beds, plenty of space and a pool. The next day we walked to the famous Fisherman’s Wharf where large fish are being tossed through the air at the open market place. We visited our favourite little shop with magic tricks, where the kids’ dad shopped for flaming wallets and fake thumbs when he was their age. Of course we had a coffee at the original, very first, Starbucks on the water front in Seattle.
Seattle’s mono-rail
Riding the mono rail.
Another exciting form of transportation in Seattle was the mono rail. We boarded it not far from our hotel and rode, right up front, to the Space Needle. The Space Needle is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the US. It was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and stands 605 feet tall. The tower’s “top house” offers 360-degree views of downtown, Mount Rainier, Puget Sound, the Cascades and Olympic mountain ranges.
Floating on a glass floor high above Seattle!
The top includes a floor-to-ceiling glass observation deck with open-air glass walls and a rotating glass floor. I opted to stay on solid ground but Kees and the kids zoomed skyward in the elevator and loved walking around, gazing down on Seattle and surrounding area.
Right next to the Space Needle is Pacific Science Center. We spent hours in here, exploring tide pools, shooting water guns, playing with gigantic chess pieces and much, much more. Well worth a visit.
There is also a great, large playground right by the Space Needle and Science Center.
On our second full day in Seattle we rented a car to reach another of Seattle’s iconic landmarks: the Boeing factory. We had booked a tour time online to visit what is, apparently, the largest building in the world, measuring 13,385,378 m³ and covering 98.7 acres! We all enjoyed walking around this operational airplane factory to watch how Boeing airplanes are assembled from engines to wings to seats and everything in between. Be sure to check online if you want a tour because I think it has been closed during Covid. The Future of Flight shows do seem to be open.
Boeing: largest building in the world.
After these days full of excitement, it was great that our hotel had a pool where we could relax before bedtime. On the day of our return trip, we had to get up early and made our way to the Amtrak station. Our package included the return trip by train: Amtrak-Cascades. How exciting to settle into our seats for a different view. This time Washington zoomed by our window as the train clickety-clacked us back up to the Canadian border.
In Amtrak’s dome.
The train was a bit run down and food at the cafeteria cart was very limited so it was good that we brought some of our own lunches and snacks. But it was again great that the kids could move around. We spent much time in the view dome above the regular compartments. The border crossing was painless as US Immigration boarded the train and walked around checking passports while we traveled north.
This entire 3 day trip was something we thoroughly enjoyed. It was a chance to relax, not having to drive, to watch the scenery and explore attractions we had not visited before. With or without kids, this is a tour we highly recommend if you want to explore the Victoria/Seattle area.
RESOURCES:
https://www.clippervacations.com/seattle-victoria-ferry/
https://www.warwickhotels.com/warwick-seattle
https://pacificsciencecenter.org/
https://www.boeing.com/company/tours/
Often, our travel destination is determined by which international school invites me to do author presentations and workshops with their staff and students. And almost always these destinations are fabulous and exciting. But our bucket list contained a few places that we wanted to see without waiting for a school. At the top of our list? Easter Island!
We’re lucky that a friend who lives in Hong Kong, has lend us his condo. Housing is hard to find and expensive in this mass of people: 7.5 million live in this special Administrative Region of China, which measures a mere 1,110 km² (429 mi²). It’s different from mainland China: no need to apply for a visa ahead of time and much easier to enter. Hong Kong is made up of over 260 islands. The major cities are Hong Kong and Kowloon. Most people live vertically: in the many skyscrapers that make up HK’s concrete jungle.
