Arnel Pineda . . . a Diamond in the rough!

Any Journey fans out there? I came across this amazing "feel good" story this morning while surfing the web. Ever since lead singer Steve Perry injured his hip in 1996, the famous rock band Journey has been looking for a lead singer. One day, frustrated band member and lead guitarist, Neal Schon, was cruising Youtube and stumbled upon a Filipino rock band called the "Zoo" where lead singer Arnel Pineda was belting out Journey songs.



Several months later Pineda was signed as the new lead singer for Journey! When I watched his Youtube I was totally blown away! Here's Journey with their new band member, Pineda, singing Faithfully!

You know what! Pineda has got the whole dang package! Powerful vocals, personality, talent, looks and awesome stage presence. Dude, you are super talented in your own right!

So move over American Idol, Youtube is finding those "Diamonds in the rough"!

On the wings of a prayer . . .

This post is in support for a fellow Slow Traveler who asked that her blog readers light a candle and say a special prayer for her dear friend, Susie, who is currently fighting a difficult battle with cancer.

I lit two candles and said a special prayer for Susie at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels here in Los Angeles, California. Susie, may these prayers and all the prayers from around the world give you strength.

The Alhambra-Spain Teaser . . .

Someone I know at work who just returned from a wonderful trip to Spain e-mailed me this photo. She took it from inside the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.


I can't wait for my 2008 Spain trip . . . Whoo Hoo!

Finding inspiration in all the right places . . .

Last year I traveled to Venice, Italy and had an awesome time. Before I left I read a great article written by Slow Traveler AnnieNC (thanks Annie) called "My Lessor Known Churches in Venice". Her article was really interesting and it inspired me to visit some of the beautiful and lessor known churches in Venice during my two week stay. And I am so glad that I did! It was awesome!

While I was finalizing one of my Venice photo albums to go with one of my trip report pages, I was thinking about the music that I used for a slide show that I was asked to do for our B2V after party celebration. It turned out to be a big hit! So I was thinking that the music I used for that slide show and some of my Venice photos would make a cool video. I'm still going to upload them to Slow Travel Photos with descriptions, but being the music freak that I am I just had to you tube it as well! :)

I have to say that I really enjoy reading all the Slow Travel trip reports, articles, photos and blogs from my fellow Slow Travelers. For me, I find that they are a great source of inspiration. I probably would not have had the pleasure of visiting some of these "Lessor Known" beautiful churches, if I had not read Annie's article right before I left. Also, I don't know that I could have found the courage to go on my first completely independent solo trip in 2006 if I had not read about the positive experiences of other Slow Travel solo travelers that have blazed the trail before me like girasoli, sandra, annie, marian, ellens . . . and anne will soon be joining in too. Whoo hoo!

So here's to finding inspiration in all the right places (wherever they may be for you). . .

My definition . . .

Today, I looked up the definition for "Father" on Wikipedia. And it says that "a father is the male parent of an offspring". Well, okay that seems pretty direct and to the point.

So here's my definition . . . a father is someone who gives you unconditional love, works hard to send you to college, is there when you fall, fixes things when they are broken and never asks why but when!

In Memory of my awesome Dad, Happy Father's Day Everyone!

Waiting a lifetime for . . .

I recently read a post on the Slow Travel Board from a person who was planning their first trip to Italy. She wanted to know if one week in Venice would be too long because people were telling her that it was and 2-3 days would be enough.

She explained that she had wanted to visit Venice her entire life! As usual she received some very good feedback from other members and now feels more reassured that she is making the right decision to spend at least one week there! Whew!

It made me think about what places I have wanted to visit my entire life. I have a gazillion places that I want to visit, but I'm talking about "my life won't be complete if I don't see it before I die" type places. With that in mind it took less than a minute to come up with . . . .


# 1 - Venice, Italy (Was there even any doubt!) :)


# 2 - Rome, Italy


# 3 - Florence, Italy


# 4 - Swiss Alps, Switzerland


# 5 - Paris, France


# 6 - Salzburg, Austria

Mission complete! But wait . . . maybe I can add a "Non Europe" list and add Africa, India, Thailand, Peru, Chile and Argentina . . .

Beijing here they come . . .

Wow, if there were any doubts before this weekend, there are none now! Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are outstanding Beach Volleyball players and they will be the team to beat this summer at the Beijing Olympics.



Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers were also winners this weekend in Hermosa and are strong contenders to medal in Beijing as well. USA is looking pretty darn good for the Beach Volleyball event. And it was only a few years ago that the Brazilians were dominating the sport. I have a feeling the host team of China will be strong as well.

When perfect strangers meet...

Yesterday I finally got done with my Jury Duty. This was my very first time serving on an actual Jury and it lasted 5 weeks. Yikes! I have to say that the most interesting part of serving on a jury was the experience of being thrown into this environment with 14 other perfect strangers. These are people that I would normally walk right by on the street without so much as a glance and yet in the last month I have had the chance to get to know them pretty well and I actually really like them.

They all got to learn about my Spain trip and other travels. One really nice lady gave me some tips that she got from a Spanish friend of hers. She also gave me the name of this very cool and hip Spanish restaurant in Hermosa Beach that prepares Tapas and will hold a Special Spanish Wine Tasting event later this month. And then there was the lady who is currently taking this on-line course to get her Public Administration Degree so she can promote up in her job. I'll never forget this very sweet retired lady who was given a cell phone by her grown up son and was just learning how to use it. Or what about the TRW Engineering Director that is the spitting image of Tom Brokaw. I really enjoyed my conversations with the Air Traffic Controller and how about that really nice guy who is a Restaurant Manager in Hollywood and the list goes on . . .

In the end, I can honestly say that I enjoyed meeting and getting to know these people and I am really looking forward to seeing them again as we are planning a little Get Together to discuss the case and hopefully other much more interesting things!

After the verdict was reached and we parted ways, I had just enough time to rush over to catch the last few matches of the day at the Hermosa Beach AVP. Today, we'll be watching the final matches. First up, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

Here are a few highlights from yesterday afternoon: It was a spectacular Southern California Day!

Going for Gold . . .

Hey, hey, hey . . . it's AVP Time! This weekend is the AVP Crocs Tour at Hermosa Beach and I think we could be witnessing future gold medalists (Misty May and Kerri Walsh) play this weekend. They will be representing the USA in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China this summer and I can't wait. On the men's side, I think Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers have a great chance to medal as well. They're not as consistent as the women's team, but I think they should at the very least medal.

I'm such a huge fan of the Olympics that when I was in Munich, Germany for a couple of days in 2006 I went to visit the Olympic Park which was built for the 1972 Munich Games. In more ways then we would like, I think the 1972 Olympics will always be remembered for both the athletic excellence that was achieved by many of the athletes during the spirit of competition and for the unforgettable tragedy that unfolded. It was an upsetting time in Olympic history and it changed the way security measures are implemented for all future Olympic Games since then.

Once I figured out the system(which by the way is very easy in Munich), I got on their subway and it brought me directly to the Olympic Park. I spent a very pleasant morning walking around and taking in the historical significance. It's so great to learn that the Olympic Park was transformed into a public recreation facility for all the residents to enjoy. It was so cool being there and seeing everything in person. Here's the famous swimming venue:

Here's the park from above:

A new toy . . .

Guess what I just stumbled on? Google Maps! I can do a google map for all the places that I visit and add text, photos and even youtube videos to them. Pretty awesome feature.

Here's a quick one that I did on Spain, which I'll keep updating. Very cool!

And how could I resist . . . . Campo Santa Margherita from above!

* Edited to insert referring links.

Ordinary can be fun . . .

The photo I selected for the month of June was taken near the famous Rialto Market in Venice Italy last November. The colors and food displays were amazing to see and I enjoyed the experience a lot. I really love traveling because it exposes me to experiencing different cultures and gives me the opportunity for learning about the art, history and even cuisines of the places that I visit. I love it!

But on this last trip to Venice, I discovered another great reason to travel. I found that one of the most enjoyable experiences to have when traveling can also be found in some of the most ordinary of things. For example, staying in an apartment I had to go out and buy groceries for myself. In Venice, there are no large food chain stores like Vons or Ralphs and there is certainly no Costco equivalent. So I found myself shopping for items at the local markets and food stalls located near my apartment and in some of the nearby campos or calles.


Instead of buying a bulk supply of items to last me two weeks, I just purchased two days worth of items at a time. This is unusual for me because I'm the sort of person who can walk into a Costco store needing a box of Kleenex and then walk out with a pack of 20! :)

In Venice, one of the markets I frequented was located on one end of the very popular Campo Santa Margherita in the Dorsoduro District. It was fun trying to figure out what brand of orange juice or bread to get. On one of my visits when I was buying some fruit, I had an apple in my hand. I looked down and noticed these plastic gloves in a box located above the fruit. I suddenly remembered a thread that was posted on the Slow Travel Community Board about the rules when purchasing fruit. When handling (or picking out fruit) we are required to put on these plastic gloves. I forgot about that rule and immediately put the apple in my basket. A few seconds later, I watched a lady walk up to the fruit, pick one up, looked at it then put it back down. I thought to myself . . . tourist. :)

Here is a photo of the market . . .