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SPECIAL NOTE: I am saddened, angry and disgusted by the BP oil spill.  Our beautiful beaches and wildlife all foresaken for oil profits.

Visit my friend’s Blog Coast of Living and read her poignant insights into the lives of those affected by this horror.    Through her blog, you can make a donation to Gulf Aid, a 501(c3) nonprofit corporation, has been established in response to what has been called one of the biggest oil spills in history just 50 miles off of the Louisiana Coast.

Written in happier times …when the waters were blue & clear.

White sand, blue water, splashing dolphins and beautiful sunsets.   These words might conjure up beaches in Mexico, Greece, and other exotic locales.  However, when I let my mind wander to beautiful beaches and lazy days, I don’t have to travel any further than the Gulf Coast of Florida.  Known as the Emerald Coast, or the Redneck Riviera, there is a lovely strip of beaches that rival the most famous beaches of the world.

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This 1wrongturn takes a car.  It is also part of my family history.  I am as strong believer in short side-trips to explore the smaller towns and surrounding areas.  I am always pleasantly surprised by my findings.  This 1wrongturn is the town of Rosenberg, Texas. Rosenberg is on U.S. Highway 59,  twenty-eight miles southwest of downtown Houston in central Fort Bend County. The area was originally settled around 1823.   Today, it is a sleepy town with antique shops, little restaurants, and small businesses.  When you visit Rosenberg, you feel like you have stepped back in time.

While we were there, we ate a great hole-in-the-wall called Taqueria Leon.  We ate great enchiladas, pupusa, and munched on delicious pastries, all washed down with tamarind soda.  YUUUUUUM!  There is no website but here are a few comments on Chowhound.  If you want to see the city, take a look at these Rosenberg videos.

Partly because it is a neat little town and partly because it is where my family settled in Texas, I recommend that you take 1wrongturn and visit Rosenberg.

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Japan offers a mixed bag of experiences that range from historic to ultra modern, traditional to kitsch, super quiet to uber chaotic.

One of the big issues that I grappled with during the planning stages was where to stay.  Do I stay in a super modern – techno hotel or a traditional, authentic ryokan.  I am usually driven by location and décor, then I will look at the price.  Within the first two parameters, there is quite a bit of choice.  When it came to the third, there was not a large disparity in price unless you go really high-end or hostel.  Narrowing down my choices was hard.  Ultimately, I ended up with a little of both: a high-tech, modern hotel in Tokyo and a hostel/minshuku in Kyoto.

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Although we were under no delusions that we could learn the language, we did make an effort to learn the key expressions of greetings and appreciation. In a culture where ceremony reigns supreme, these little gestures were greatly appreciated and returned with compliments and giggles. If you do nothing but learn to say “please,” “thank you” and count to five , you will be in good standing.

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There are many customs that are very foreign to visitors. But, I encourage you to make the effort to learn about the Japanese customs and etiquette.  Don’t be put off by the length of this list.  Not only will it impress and please the Japanese, but it will bode well for the reputation of your native country.

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My first attempt to plan our trip to Japan started with maps. I should have known that one week would not be enough when I realized that I could not find Kyoto on the map because the map was not Japan, but simply Tokyo.  I consider myself fairly adept at reading maps and being able to “get a lay of the land” before I ever visit a place.  That was until I battled the map of Tokyo and Tokyo came out the victor.  I folded the map, waived the white flag and proclaimed, “Forget it!  We will figure out when we get there.”   My husband laughed, as he knew that the map may have won the battle, but the war had just begun.

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Depachika – Food Lover’s Paradise

You can’t go to Tokyo without checking out a depachika, the lavish department store food basements that sell everything from dainty wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) and bento to$500 melons and European pastries.  Depachika is a combination of  ‘depa’ (department store in short) and (‘chika’) and they are truly a food lover’s paradise.  In addition to buying wonderful meals and gifts, you can also sample your way through and end up quite full.  Some of the highlights included:

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Bargain Shopper and Proud!

Say what you want but I am a Dollar store junkie.  Some of must best finds have been at Big Lots in America, the Pound Store in London, and the 100-Yen Shop in Japan.  You can find these 100 Yen shops all over but the biggest one that I visited was the Harajuku Daiso with four floors full of things you just have to have.  I bought 4 lovely little yellow ramikans that I use ALL THE TIME.

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The tiny, winding, dark streets, grand, tree-lined paseos and intimate, ancient squares keep beckoning me back to Barcelona. On every street, around every corner, in every neighborhood, there is a magnificent juxtaposition of old and new, ancient and modern, traditional and cutting edge. This is a city and people that both celebrate and are inspired by their rich heritage. Barcelona is a city and people that inspire its visitors to celebrate and become immersed in its rich heritage.

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