Author: kidatheart

The art of entitlement

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Yes. There’s an art to this. More brownie points are earned the further you stuff your nose up the crack as possible. There. I’ve said what needs to be said.

I’ve dedicated a whole blog just for people who feel entitled. That’s correct. The operative words are – feel entitled.

Entitlement is a delusion built on self-centredness and laziness.

They’re essentially the flies on top of the carabao. Most, if not all of them, are basically incompetent. They have no purpose in life except to exist like the fly. What’s the purpose of the fly? None. Without the fly, there would be no story to tell. No comparison to make.

Entitled people are the reason for the rise of the incompetent (check out my blog the day before this).  They THINK they should be given the red carpet treatment. The only reason – because.

Despite their average IQs, they land posts in formidable positions or places, not because they deserve to or because they have rightfully earned it. Rather, they just know how the right connections and family tree, which buttons to push and how to play the game.  The major advantage they have in the game of life is that they are survivors.  And they’ve mastered the art of manipulation.

Lies are made to look like truths because the master is as clueless as an empty coconut.  They are adept at the art of propaganda and strategising on how to use the gullibility of the master to get what they want.  They are ambitious but ungrateful people.  Hypocrisy is the mantra to their daily existence.  They don’t like being told what to do or that they are wrong.  Self opinionated and evil in thoughts, their being inconsiderate is because they have no conscience.  And they enjoy the spotlight.

Entitled people lack integrity because their thoughts and actions are based on personal gains rather than on values.

The entitled feel that what you give them is never enough.  Even if you’ve given them everything they deserve.  One of the consequences of entitlement is that people who have contributed nothing to society feel that society owe them something, apparently just for being nice enough to grace us with their presence.

The other day, in the midst of all the silence at the library of the country club where I sometimes do some writing, a young man is overheard breaking that silence.  He took a call from his mom. I thought that he was just going to chit chat for a bit but after 5 minutes of yakking, I turned around and saw that he wasn’t planning to end that conversation anytime soon.  And that’s when I reminded him that there was supposed to be silence in the room, and could he please take the conversation elsewhere?  A few minutes passed, and there was silence again.  He stood up and approached me and sarcastically said, “sorry for the noise”.  Well, it was an apology, but you could tell that it was full of sarcasm.

Another one of those millennials feeling entitled.  Mind you, they are dependents of members of the club.  They don’t pay club dues or expenses.  And their membership is dependent on the status of their parents.  At 25 years old, they are not entitled to dependent privileges anymore.  And there are many like him.  Regardless of age. They justify their entitlement. Maybe the parents raised them that way.  Maybe society has praised them to the point where they feel the world owes them more than what they can churn.  Maybe because we tolerate the entitled.

We need to break down this class of entitled people.  Like the fly in the story, they serve no purpose in life. And if you’re one of the entitled people reading this post, there’s something wrong with your character if opportunity controls your loyalty.

Axing the tree

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There’s an African Proverb (Zimbabwean from the Shona Tribe) that sends a strong message in six words.

Many scenarios in life are reflected in this proverb.  From school to work, from friendships to relationships, from health to disease – these six words are an apt description of how alliances or associations are made and destroyed.

The axe does the damage and does not regret the hurt it causes. The tree will always be the victim.  Helpless as the axe grinds from its bark to its core.  Incessantly pounding until it can stand no more.

Sometimes, the axe realises too late that it has damaged the tree too deep and by the time it professes apologies, they are often insincere and crass.  Their regrets are shallow quick fixes so that THEY can move on.  And that since the axe has expressed its apology, it EXPECTS the tree to accept the apology and to move on as well.

They say that time eventually heals all wounds. But the axe will always remain the same.  Hurtful. Violent. Loud. No remorse.  They are wolves waiting for the prey.  And the trees, well, we will always remember the hurt and pain.

The rise of the incompetent

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We have a lot of these.

But they’re usually swept under the rug.  No one minds them.  No one actually cares about them.

They rise above their hubris when an incompetent person is made to lead them.  I say this from experience – whether it is in the academic, political or business stratosphere – when incompetence is appointed or voted into the highest position of that office, the institution decays and eventually dies.

What leads to the rise of incompetence?

Friedrich Nietzsche once said that

They muddy the water, to make it seem deep.

Strategists build on other means to rise to power and fame.  Hire someone who can make you look good, beautiful, insightful, purpose driven or look and feel like the masses and people will adore you.  No one wants Mr. Right or Ms. Morality.  They are a threat to exposing Mr. Incompetent and Ms. Ineptitude.

We live in a society where creating an appealing story for the less educated masses is the rule, rather than the exception.  And this has nothing to do with digital technology.  Time immemorial, we have manipulators and strategists who have forged alliances with their kind of people in order to achieve their agenda.  They have been existence since the creation of man.  Monarchs, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Emperors and other rulers were created by man.  Some, were brought into power because unscrupulous people skilfully and methodically planned it well.

The incompetent leader is chosen form among the substandard lot.  Someone who can easily be manipulated into believing he or she is “great” but at the time subservient to the king maker.  They are unfit and not up to scratch.  Governance from their pulpit is pathetic at best.  And propaganda is their method of choice in leading.  There are no defining moments.  Only building obscure, tangential stories made to deflect the real issues.  When the dust settles after their reign, they would have destroyed an institution, a business, a nation.

Today, the rise of the incompetent is clearer than ever.  Due to the digital age, we are able to document faux pas more rapidly than ever. It’s also the same tool used to create false opinions and stories, fake people or trolls, and fraudulent lives. To lead the gullible, the misguided, the incompetent to the promise land. It begs attention to both the exploiter and the exploitable. And the easiest to captivate with incredulous promises are the naive, the poor, the hungry, the desperate, the dupable, and the incorrigible.

What is unclear is why the reaction to such incompetence is delayed. It’s not that people don’t see the signs on the wall! They do! They actually do.  You see, to the incompetent, when the stories become unreal and by the time they get to realise that they’ve been fooled all along, they’re already confused.  This state of uncertainty is a natural phenomenon.  And it becomes an internal battle – to live with it or go against the flow.  When they realise that they were credulous, they’re unsure of how to react.

First there is denial. Being duped isn’t something easy to live with.  After all, risking a reputation to only realise that you were part of a conspiracy to stupidity isn’t an easy pill to swallow.

Then there is anger.  Unsure of where to thwart the anger at – the disbelief, the disillusion, being manipulated.  The anger is at everyone and everything.  The question lies in how much pride there is to swallow. But that is all the incompetent thinks about.

Bargaining.  The despot will change.  There will be apologies.  There is good in spite of evil.  The boss will finally give that all expense vacation break badly needed because he/she was part of the connivance to the crime.  The incompetent is in shit so deep that he/she will try to wiggle his/her way around in order to justify the end from the means.

And depression sets in.  There is guilt.  An awakening.  And a need to vindicate oneself. Before acceptance. The final act is the liberating one.

But the stages are complicated.  And the incompetent will not be able to differentiate pride from truth. Some would have made and imbibed that world of make believe as being so real that it becomes their way of life till their graves.

Recognising the incompetent leader is easy.  Their knowledge is ludicrously shallow. They don’t bring anything to the table.  Ambitious and proud, they use fear and name-dropping on their road to perdition.  They surround themselves with advisers because they’re afraid that others will expose their inadequacies.  Yet the same advisers they surround themselves with are as incompetent as them.  Because the choice is not based on qualifications.  It is based on alliance.  And fear. They are not fit to lead but they want to. They are easy to manipulate by the puppeteer. Their principles have a price tag. They are, in one word, wannabes.

Once you have an incompetent leader that is endearing to the masses, what evolves can be petrifying.

An alliance of incompetents is alarming.  If we fail to stand up against them, rebuilding an institution is a longer and more painful process.  A lot of truth has been buried in the bag of lies.  Recognising what is true from what was perceived to be true becomes more difficult to discern from the pile of rubble of lies.

History will always be the judge on how we create our lives.

In my travels, I learned about the politics and economy of the various countries and cities I had gone to.  While many of them have reached the pinnacle of being either the most liveable or most industrialised or most envious country to live in, they had their fair share of gaffes in their history.  From corrupt kings to evil queens. From despots to democracies.  Each country had a story to tell.  History was their constant reminder that whatever prosperity they have today, had bad beginnings as well. There are still the incompetents. What place on earth does not have them?

It’s how to contain them and place them in their right places that becomes the challenge.

Bias is human

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We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.

Perception is a way of regarding, understanding or interpreting something.

Opinion is a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

So, yes. This blog is about the recent PGH incident with a media person.

The perceptions of the media person were:

1. There was an immediate need for the  doctors at the ER to see the patient. Regardless of triage or protocols.

2. He is (was) an important person.  Which may have meant that when he tells the doctors at the ER that it’s an emergency, they should take his word for it.

His opinion, ergo, of the incident about the ER fracas was that the doctors were not paying attention and, as he would put it, should have attended to the “patient first”.

This is where cognitive bias is found.

A mistake in reasoning, evaluating, remembering or other cognitive process as a result of holding on to one’s beliefs and preferences regardless of contradictory information.

It is systematic. A deviation from what is the norm. Subjective social reality created from the perception of the input.

The putrid anger spewing from his mouth (as evidenced in the videos online) were, from any form of human standards, unacceptable.  Even, if for arguments sake, he wasn’t being attended to immediately, he still had no right to curse the medical staff.

While he had his perceptions, for the sake of intelligent argument – his perceptions were totally wrong.

If he felt that immediate attention should have been accorded the child, he should have done what was right – bring the child the the nearest hospital AFTER the accident.  Transporting the child 13 km from the scene of the accident in the midst of traffic, to a government hospital whose emergency room was undergoing renovation (and this was announced by the hospital all over media the past months), was irresponsibility from his end already.

He was just being an ass.  He thought he could get away with popularity.  At the same time, because it was his driver that hit the child, he thought he (and his driver) could scrimp on expenses by taking him to a premier government hospital.  The question now lies – what were the circumstances that led to the driver hitting the child?

There will always be people like him who feel entitled.  And they are not necessarily from his profession or his age group.  Lately, I’ve seen more and more of these “entitled” people from all walks of life and from extremes of ages.

Sadly, what is wrong is twisted to make it sound rationally correct. Keyboard warriors paid to undermine the truth by creating unsubstantiated opinions and perceptions are destroying the institution of our democracy.

We live in challenging times. The creation of bias is human. This month’s blog is about the truth unveiled. Let the dice be cast and fall where it should.

The writing is on the wall

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The travels written so far, were within an 8 years look back period. There are more places I have not written about. I’m still trying to sort out the pictures from my phone. It’s quite difficult to blog from an app (and the editing isn’t that easy either. Thankfully, technology provides me the chance to update the blog posts.)

And I will pause the travelogues as I sort out the scattered pictures and diaries. Surprisingly this segment had tremendous feedbacks from friends and followers. Thank you for liking and sharing.

The poster on the wall of this blog post is the reason why I am sharing some of my travels with you.

We play hard at work to make a living. The fruits of our labor should make a life.

We need to explore the world in order to find ourselves. And while it is not an opportunity provided to everyone, to those it presents to, we need to grasp that moment while we still can, in order to find ourselves.

The photos are mine. The places we stayed at, the flights we took, the food we ate, everything we did in these vacation spots were personally paid for. Even if at the end of the day, it left me having to work triple time and with empty pockets, the memories were worth it all!

They are unbiased reviews of the adventure I and my family or partner took. There were no sponsorships to my vacations. Positive and negative points were highlighted. You see, every destination has its own story. And I am telling you mine.

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The take home message? The writing is on the wall…

Summer, Winter, Autumn and Spring – it will be always Japan

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So many places…so little time.

If there is one country that I will continuously want to visit – whether business or pleasure, for any season, over and over…Japan will always be the place for me. More specifically Tokyo.

My favourite hotel will always be the Tokyo Station Hotel.  No other hotel compares to the grandiosity of this Renaissance splendour.  High ceilings.  Bountiful breakfast.  A bathroom as large as the bedroom.  A foyer. Right smack at the Tokyo Station. (You can get a room that faces the dome and watch the people in and out of the train station or choose to get the rooms facing the Imperial Palace.) Even our stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Maranouchi could not compare to how beautiful the interior design of this hotel is.  It took six years restoration of the dome shaped building to complete this flagship hotel for its owner JR Lines. From its private entrance on both the train station and the streets, to the fancy restaurants within the hotel, to its adjacency to the swanky Ginza and Maranouchi district – the stay alone at this European crown jewel that stands astride the Tokyo Station has, to me, been one of the major reasons why Japan never ceases to amaze me.

There’s something about Tokyo that beckons for a second, third, and multiple look. It’s worth going back to again and again. Whether it is for leisure or work, at any season of the year, there will always be a place and event to explore in Japan.

The capital of Japan, Tokyo is one of Japan’s prefecture.  Each side of Tokyo offers an interesting lesson in the deep culture of the Japanese people.  Not only is the shopping and entertainment unlimited – from the edgy designer boutiques to the jaw-dropping architecture structures – this city has the most Michelin stars than any other city! And for good reasons.  After all, Japanese cuisine has been added to the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Central Tokyo offers the Tsukiji Market (Japan’s largest and busiest fish market), Akihabara (for electronic goods), the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Gardens, Ginza (Japan’s premier shopping district), and Maranouchi (business district). To the north are Asakusa, Ueno park, Ikebukuro and the Botanical Garden.  On the west area are the hip Shibuya, Shinjuku, Yoyogi Park, Shinjuku Gyoen, the Meiji Shrine, and Harajuku (the centre of teenage fashion and cosplay). Southern Tokyo is where the futuristic architecture on a man made island is found – Odaiba. Not to be missed in the south is the uber chic Roppongi Hills and Shiodome. Finally, don’t forget to visit the happiest place on Earth – Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

And while Tokyo may be one of the most expensive cities to live in or travel to (accommodations are pretty steep for even the smallest rooms and food may be quite off your budget for authentic Japanese dishes), this is one city where you shouldn’t mind the spending spree because they have almost everything for everyone with every need.  From the phenomenon pop culture, to gawking at sci-fi or simply appreciating the expanse greens within a city, from Hachiko to Godzilla, Tokyo will always be my kind of city to be in – all seasons of the year.

London wears the crown

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It’s supposed to be my last blog for the month for vacation spots.

As the saying goes, too many places, too little time.

The epilogue goes to London.  Charming with history etched in every architecture.  Pompous and beguiling.  This is a city of ideas and imagination.  And residence to the monarchy in England.  Like Toronto, this is a city that is deeply multicultural, yet unequivocally snotty at the same time.  Prim, proper and proud.  London, like its queen, definitely wears the crown to my blog on vacation stories.

Arriving on Qatar Airways.  Among the middle eastern airlines, I have always loved Qatar Airways. Great ambience, luxury seats and amenity kits, pyjamas onboard the biz flights, and the best food in the skies. After all, who serves Laduree dessert 33,000 feet in the air? Pampering takes a new level with this airline. And their lounge in DOHA provides excellent menu and amenities (shower and business centre) as well. The flights on biz class are not too expensive as well (flying from Manila-London-Manila on Qatar was $1000 cheaper than flying on Philippine Airlines). The only downside with the middle eastern airlines is that while they are not too expensive, few have alliance partners, making mileage accumulation difficult and sadly, useless.

This vacation to London was interrupted in between with a weekend to Edinburgh, Scotland.  Our first hotel in London was the Haymarket Hotel at 1 Suffolk Street on Piccadilly.  It is located right in front (walking distance) of the Philippine Embassy. Breakfast (at Brumus) at this hotel was outrightly awesome (and according to the waiter there, the Philippine ambassador frequently has breakfast here). As part of a Firmdale chain of hotels, the Haymarket was a show stopper by any standard! The gym, the pool, the room, the fragrance, the bed, the service, the breakfast!

We made it by foot to many of the touristy spots that gorgeous afternoon.  And the following day took the hop on/hop off bus to gallivant around London. London Bridge, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, St James Park, Harrod’s (with a dedicated shrine to Princess Diana and Dodi) and a pitstop for meals at the Laduree patisserie in Harrods. On foot you can explore Nottinghill and 10 Downy street or stroll along Central London, Piccadilly Square or the British Museum. England has a deep and amazing history – like one out of a fairy tale book.

And a trip to London would never be complete without going to Warner Bros. Studio Tour of Harry Potter.  There is only one Harry Potter Studio in the whole world.  This is where they shot all the movie and its sequels for 10 years. Traveling from London, take the train from Watford Junction and arrive there from London Euston (a 20 mins journey) or Birmingham New Street (a 1 hr journey).  When you arrive, you will see the Harry Potter buses outside which will take you to the studio.

After a few days scouring London, we hied off to Edinburgh, Scotland for the weekend.  Because we booked another Firmdale Hotel when returned from Scotland, the hotel was more than happy to send our luggages directly to our next hotel and they kept our luggages for the 3 days 2 nights of our stay in Edinburgh.  We packed a few clothes and from London King’s Cross left a little past 11AM and arrived at Edinburgh Waverley station after 4 1/2 hrs.  The hotel was right on top of the train station in Edinburgh – so that was a plus!

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Balmoral Hotel was home to us for the weekend.  This hotel was a special request as J.K. Rowling had stayed in this hotel as she was writing the last book of Harry Potter.  She stayed in Room 552.

Draped across a series of rocky hills (and the climb to the top is a challenge and a must if you want to break out some serious sweat) overlooking the sea, this city is small enough to tour in a day, but must be enjoyed leisurely.  The Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Yacht Brittania, The Scottish Parliament Building, and that climb to Arthur’s Seat! This is one of the most spectacular cities in Europe.

After Sunday service, we had brunch. And were on our way back to London for finishing touches to our vacation.

Our second hotel was another Firmdale Hotel.  It’s sister hotel, the Ham Yard Hotel, was not only flabbergasting…I have never seen a boutique hotel as spectacularly amazing at this.  While its amenities were way above the Haymarket, the noise around the area was a turn off.  It’s located right at the Piccadilly Circus area and closest to all the shops and eateries.  It actually is a small fort within the city.  And I will let these pictures speak for themselves.

There were still many places to visit.  And so many shows to see.  While we saw The Elephant Man (with Bradley Cooper starring) and Sunny Afternoon (which was just okay), the icing to the cake was Gypsy (showing at the Savoy Hotel London). And Laura Stanton deserved that standing ovation!

The following day we decided to go take a trip to Stonehenge in Salisbury. It was a 2 hrs trip on the tour bus (which meant a whole 4 hours of travel time back and forth).  While there is a story to this place, I felt that it was just a bunch of rings of stones in a barren field in the middle of nowhere.  But don’t get me wrong. You will need to go through the history and mysteries that were concocted for this place in order to appreciate the trip.

But London was not all about the tourist spots.  Whetting ones pallet was definitely on our…uhmmm…menu as well. Whether we were binging on Chinese or a burger or fish and chips…the food scene in London is expansive, a tad expensive, but delectably good.

Relax. Recharge. Rewind. Repeat.

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Vacations are all about stories we can tell. Over and over.

Bienvenue au Canada

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Vancouver

Lonely Planet opens its description as

Don’t tell Toronto or Montreal but Vancouver is the real culinary capital of Canada. Loosen your belts and dive right into North America’s best Asian dining scene, from chatty Chinese restaurants to authentic izakayas…from farm-to-table movement…

And yes, I agree.  Not even Chinatown in downtown San Francisco could compare to the culinary spectacle that Vancouver brings to the table.

But Vancouver isn’t all about food. Our hotel against the backdrop of Stanley Park was enough to make us fall in love with both the hotel, the chilling in the city experience in this lotusland metropolis.

On our travel to Vancouver, we took Delta Airlines.  It was actually the last time we took Delta.  The travel on a US Carrier had become so costly you can fly to North America and Canada with their rates on biz class with other Asian or middle eastern airlines on the same biz class for 2! It was a Manila-Narita-Seattle-Vancouver leg (I know right? We were punishing ourselves). It’s sad that I’ve always loved Delta Airlines, unfortunately, economics would tell us to follow what is right.  The shorter flights.  The ones with less stops. The miles accumulated on the airline and its partner airlines. And of course, the cost.

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We stayed at the Loden Hotel, which was conveniently located near Stanley Park.

The perks of the hotel was having bikes to use to get around for free! And what a welcome treat for those like us who took physical activity seriously.

If there’s one place that you should have dinner, it’s at Ringyo.  This hole in the wall Japanese restaurant packs one mean authentic Japanese fusion cooking! Even the salt came in three servings – Japanese, Utah, or Himalayan.

Aside from downtown Vancouver (which you can practically go around in a day), renting a car was the best way to go beyond the city to those snow-dusted mountains peeking and beckoning at you from the glass windows of your room. So off to Whistler Blackcomb we went.  The quaint town to the mountain peak alone was breathtaking.  And this was the site of the 21st Winter Olympics.

After a couple of days of debauchery and meeting some friends in Vancouver, the next destination was Toronto, on Air Canada.  And I thought only Philippine Airlines was “late”.  The plane we were taking had a delayed arrival from Sydney.  After getting delayed for over 3 hours we were finally boarded for Toronto.

Toronto

Le Germain Hotel was home for the next few days in the most multiculturally diverse city in the world.

Interestingly is how this city alone is so culturally different with over 140 languages spoken and half the residents here born outside Canada live in harmony with one another.  Some call Toronto the New York of Canada.  Well, I guess to some degree you would say that, but it’s more of a sleepier laid back New York.  Unlike New York where life begins after dark, Toronto is more somber in its mood.  And like its sister Vancouver, the gustatory delights of Toronto will wow you!

Casa Loma, the CN Tower, St. Lawrence Market, and the Eaton Shopping Centre we definite musts in downtown Toronto.  Of course, why go to Toronto if you don’t drive to Niagara Falls.  That breathtaking view alone is enough reason to pass by Toronto! Thanks to my friend who took the time to drive us through the US Border (one throw to Buffalo, New York) for some retail therapy (the US is just plastered with so many outlets that there’s one right in the heart of Buffalo) as well.

When you’re in this side of Toronto, don’t forget to wine and dine at the Distillery District for a smorgasbord treat of what it’s like to welcoming the diverse cultures in the heart of Toronto.

Truly, Canada is one country that greets everyone Bienvenue!

Stereotypically wowed in Spain

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Our final destination on the European trip was Barcelona.

Two years later, Barcelona, Madrid and Toledo were part of our itinerary on our return trip from South America.

Passionate. Sophisticated. La Vida Loca! y más!

Barcelona

Home to Catalan culture, modernism and the gastronomic feast of pure indulgence in eating with gusto! And as if traveling to one of the liveliest cities this part of the world isn’t enough, this city that rests its laurels on the architect Antoni Gaudi is home to Casa Milà, Casa Battló, and the famous Sagrada Família church.  The 1992 summer Olympic Games was hosted by Spain and held in Barcelona.

During our first trip, we stayed at the Ohla Hotel.  Swank and weirdly modern, the bathroom and shower was right in the middle of the room and the water closet hidden on a wall behind the bathroom.  It smelled so good and they serve champagne on check-in.  Their food at the Gastronomic Bar served excellent food!

Let me put it this way, every place we ate made our tastebuds tingle for more.  Your palate wrests on local Cava, sirloin steak in sea salt and pepper, tapas, mussels in white wine sauce, Sangria…what isn’t there to love when it comes to food in Barcelona? The word “diet” has no place in Spain.

There is a subway station right in front of Ohla Hotel and is in a more quiet area of Barcelona.  It is walking distance to the Hop On/Hop Off bus stop and located one block from the back of the hotel is the Barcelona Shopping Line, where you have over 5 Km of design and creativity.  It is Europe’s largest retail area and literally just a stone’s throw to the words “shop till you drop” district!

On our second trip we stayed at another boutique hotel called Omm.  This one was at the other end of the Barcelona Shopping Line and right in front of all the noise, chitter chatter, and night life of Barcelona! What better location than to be right beside Prada and Diagonal Exit Metro Subway. Of course, we got to explore more of Barcelona including La Rambla, where the Philippine Consulate is located.

The icing to the cake on this trip was courtesy of Hotel Omm.  They had a special feature for dinner during our stay.  And no, it wasn’t at their hotel.  We took a cab to get to Barceloneta Beach, where dinner was at the Pez Vela of the W Hotel.  And my God, what a spread.  This was dinner for two!

No wonder gluttony is so sinfully good.

Madrid

Because technically, Madrid was a stopover en route to and from Singapore to Brazil, we made sure that we spent a couple of days in Madrid as well.  And it did not disappoint.  As a matter of fact, we loved Madrid more than Barcelona.  While Barcelona has that eclectic feel, that radiant vibe, that chutzpah as a city, Madrid is an artist’s palate of a city.   If you love the food in Barcelona, none of that matches the food in Madrid – and rightfully claiming the culinary capital of Europe. And the evenings in Madrid are made for fine arts and fine dining.  Never have I spent so much to taste food this great, and not regret a single Euro!

But eating is not the only thing that will captivate your hearts in Madrid.  From medieval mansions to royal palaces, from the lazy markets to the lovely garden Parque de Buen Retiro, none of the cities in Spain compares to how beautiful the city of Madrid is.

Toledo

This can be either a day trip or a half day trip.  Take the bus from the market place in Madrid for this destination which is about 30 minutes by high speed train or a little over an hour by bus.  We took the bus.  And I would recommend just the half day walking tour.  Go first thing in the morning (so it’s not too warm), have lunch there and get back to the city.  The buses are every hour on the hour.

Dramatically set atop a gorge overlooking Rio Tajo, the stories have it that once upon a time, Christians, Muslims and Jewish communities co-existed peacefully in this place.  And you can tell during the walking tour of Toledo how deep that culture is. The forte of Toledo is the art of El Greco.  An impossible to classify painter, as synonymous as the city of Toledo.

If there is one country that one should just travel to (without having to hop from country to country), Spain is definitely among those on the top of my list.

The other two – Canada and Japan.

Grace & beauty of Monaco

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The Vatican is the smallest country in the world.  The second smallest, at 200 Hectares is Monaco.

Located in the southern part of France is the Principality of Monaco.  It is home to notorious tax havens and the annual Formula One Grand Prix.  The James Bond movie GoldenEye was filmed at the Casino de Monte Carlo.  Prince Albert II from the House of Grimaldi have ruled Monaco since the 13th century.  And, while Monaco is located in Europe, and along the French Riviera, this country is not formally a part of the European Union but participates in some EU policies.

But Monaco caught the spotlight of the world when Prince Rainier married the American actress Grace Kelly in April 1956.  She would become Princess Grace of Monaco to the world, after retiring from acting at the age of 26.  Prince Rainier and Princess Grace had three children – Caroline, Albert and Stephanie.  In 1982, Princess Grace met a fatal car accident on her way back to Monaco from a vacation with her daughter Stephanie.  According to the doctors, Princess Grace had a stroke while driving which caused the accident.  Another stroke in the hospital was the cause of her demise.  The other theory, which was never popular, was that Stephanie was driving that fateful day.

Princess Grace was buried in the Grimaldi family vault at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco.  Prince Rainier never remarried and was buried alongside her in 2005.

It’s a 20 minutes train ride from Nice to Monaco, and a visit to this lovely enchanting opulent city in the French Riviera is a must when you’re in this part of the world.