Throwback Thursday Travel: Las Vegas

May 28, 2020May 28, 2020 MstldelanoLeave a comment

Sin City. What happens there, stays there. The Entertainment Capital of the World.

Of course, I’m talking about none other than Las Vegas, Nevada. I went there in November 2019, and I loved it! Much like last week’s Throwback Thursday Travel post, I think I’ll have to break this one down into two (or maybe even three!) posts to capture all of the things that I saw and did. However, for today, enjoy these pics from what is sure to be the first of many trips to Las Vegas.

We’ve arrived!

For this trip, I rode with my friend from San Diego to Las Vegas. On the way there, we saw Seven Magic Mountains, a vibrant art installation that offers a striking contrast of color against the desert backdrop.

I couldn’t get a good picture of Seven Magic Mountains, but I still loved it

I stayed at the luxurious Bellagio Hotel. However, staying at just one luxury hotel would be a disservice to yourself: there are so many exquisite hotels in Las Vegas, so why limit yourself to one? The next time I go, I’ll definitely try either the Venetian, the Waldorf Astoria (formerly the Mandarin Oriental) or Caesar’s Palace. Here are some pictures as we drove to the hotel, as well as photos of the pool and courtyard area.

Valeting at the Bellagio and views from my hotel window

The entrance to the courtyard surrounding the pool area

The Bellagio’s pool area

My motto is ABS: Always Be Shopping!

Souvenirs for family members that enjoy novelty shirts

That’s all for today’s Throwback Thursday Travel post! Have you ever been to Las Vegas? How did you like it?

art · culture · travel

Throwback Thursday Travel: New Orleans

May 21, 2020May 20, 2020 Mstldelano2 Comments

Laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)

I went to New Orleans in 2011, a few weeks after I got married. So, this trip was almost like a honeymoon, though we had an official honeymoon trip several months later.

I fell in love with the Big Easy, and I hope to return within the next year or so. However, I’ll be sure to visit during the cooler months: the summertime is unbearable hot! In any case, here are some of the pictures I snapped during my trip. Enjoy!

I loved seeing the street names in the sidewalk

A souvenir shop on Canal

Fun in the French Quarter

I wish I had a chance to go into Harrah’s, but we were having way too much fun taking in all of the sights

As I look through my photos, I realize this post really needs a Part 2. So look out for some additional New Orleans pictures soon.

Have you ever been to New Orleans? I’d love to hear all about it. Have a great Thursday!

art · culture · travel

Throwback Thursday Travel: Kenya, Part 1

May 14, 2020May 12, 2020 Mstldelano2 Comments

Nairobi remains one of my favorite places on Earth. I wrote a while ago about my Kenyan adventures. Here are some few more pictures from that trip that I hadn’t shared before. I’m breaking this into two parts, because one day of my trip involved a trip outside of Nairobi (to my friend’s family farm) and there are pics from the Nairobi National Museum that weren’t shared in this post. Today’s post features pics from the farm. Enjoy!

This particular cow was my friend’s favorite on her family’s farm

Just a turkey, minding his (or her) business

Adorable piglets and their momma!

Because the climate in Nairobi and the surrounding areas is favorable for gardening during most of the year, my friend’s family farm basically produced food year round.

Lush views surrounding the farmland

art · culture · international · travel

Throwback Thursday Travel: China, Part 1

May 7, 2020May 4, 2020 MstldelanoLeave a comment

I shared some photos of my trip to China almost two years ago (to the date!) on this blog. I remember this trip fondly and I can’t wait to return when international travel is an option again. Until then, here are some photos that I haven’t shared before. These are all from Beijing: I’ll add pictures from Hangzhou and Shanghai in a separate post. Enjoy!

Meal I enjoyed at a local mall: one of the best veggie curries I’ve ever had!

A quick snap at The Forbidden City

The Great Wall

Local shopping district: I visited Plastered8 t-shirt shop and found some cool stuff

Yum!

Spots of beauty everywhere

Cute bib from Haidilao restaurant (their hotpot was superb!)

A philosophy for life

life curation · travel

Throwback Travel Thursdays: San Diego, Part 1

April 23, 2020April 21, 2020 Mstldelano2 Comments

Nearly five years ago, I took my first trip to California. I went to San Diego for a tax workshop. I was just reminiscing about how much I loved Cali and how beautiful San Diego was, when I decided, why not share a few #throwbackthursdaytravel pics from my first California trip?

I stayed for a week at the Town & Country which was lovely and picturesque. It was a delightful hotel and I’d certainly be willing to stay there again.

Touching down in San Diego

Posting outside of my room

A statue on the hotel grounds

The most perfect roses I’ve ever seen

The bed in my cozy little room

I got a gorgeous tan in under an hour. I was thrilled!

A view from the room

I returned to San Diego in 2019, though I didn’t say in SD proper. Instead, I went to a neighboring city to have a girl’s getaway with one of my friends. It was a fantastic break from my regular routine. I’ll post it about that trip in a future #throwbackthursdaytravel post.

Have you been to San Diego? How did you enjoy it? Let me know all about it in the comments below. Take care!

life curation · travel

Throwback Travel Thursdays: Cruise 2018

April 16, 2020April 16, 2020 MstldelanoLeave a comment

I know for a fact that most of us that have permanent cases of wanderlust are seriously missing our ability to travel freely. While we are all (hopefully!) doing our part to flatten the curve, it doesn’t mean that we’re not looking forward to planning our next trip once things are a little more amenable to travel. Until we can look forward, we can always look back, hence

Throwback Travel Thursdays!

I’ll try to post throwback pictures from previous travel in these posts, just to keep things light and fun, and to remind us: we’ll be able to resume our lives soon. Just hang on, friends!

I’ll be sharing some photos from the cruise I took in 2018. I’ll also add links to my cruises posts here. Enjoy!

Fall Vacation Part 1 – Cruise Overview; Cruise 2018: Ports of Call; Cruise 2018: Dining on the Sea

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Beautiful Cozumel

KODAK Digital Still Camera

My first time in Roatan, Honduras

KODAK Digital Still Camera

I miss cruise dining!

art · travel

Getting My Art Fix in Raleigh, NC

September 19, 2019September 17, 2019 Mstldelano1 Comment

While I haven’t personally driven a long distance since late 2018, I still travel via plane, train or as an automobile passenger. A few months ago, my family visited Raleigh, NC, so I tagged along. One of the days while we were there, we got a chance to tour the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA). I mentioned NCMA before (back when I toured the sculpture garden) but the last time I was there, I didn’t have enough time to tour the inside of the museum. I was delighted that I finally got a chance to see some of the artwork housed at NCMA!

Exterior of the museum

I had a great time checking out the contemporary art, and I finally got to see Amy Sherlad’s award-winning painting, Miss Everything. You all may remember how much I love Amy Sherald’s work: I’m always excited when I can see one of her paintings in person.

I also got to see some pieces from artists I’d never known before. I love how I always learn something new when I go to a museum!

Gerhard Richter’s Station (577-2) (1985)

Sean Scully, Wall of Light Peru (2000)

Skunder (Alexander) Boghassian, Night Flight of Dread and Delight (1964)

One of my favorites referenced the three graces, some of my favorite mythological beings. These goddesses rule realms such as charm and elegance (some of my favorite topics!). Three Graces, Les Trois Femmes Noires, by Mickalene Thomas, was a show-stopping piece that was both grand in size and impression it left upon me. It was probably my favorite of this trip.

Three Graces: Les Trois Femmes Noires (2011) Mickalene Thomas

Those are my highlights from my most recent trip to NCMA! I hope you enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to returning and taking some more pics for you. Take care!

international · travel

Cruise 2018: Ports of Call

January 14, 2019January 13, 2019 MstldelanoLeave a comment

Happy Monday friends! If you reside anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic region, you may be digging yourself out of the snow that fell over the weekend. Here in central Virginia, we didn’t get that much snow: we did however get a good amount of slushy rain. We are expecting some more snow and ice in the upcoming days, so stay warm and dry if you can!

With all of this cold, wintry weather, it’s only natural that I might look back on some warmer days. Specifically, I’m thinking about my last vacation to the Caribbean. If you all recall, I went on a Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean. I posted about the ship itself, and I also wrote about the exquisite cuisine that I enjoyed on board. The ports of call for this cruise were Nassau, Bahamas; Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Costa Maya, Mexico. I’ve been to most of these ports before ( Honduras being the only exception), so I was already familiar with the locations. That being said, I still enjoyed being somewhere warm and sunny for a change.

I don’t have much to say about the locations: because I only spent a few hours at each port of call, it’s hard to distinguish between them. As a result, this post will be mostly pictures. I always get so excited to see the beauty of the Caribbean. The crystal clear water, the striking buildings, the unrelenting sunshine … There’s nothing quite like an

island vacation. Enjoy!

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Ship in Nassau

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Views from Cozumel

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Sights in Roatan

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Costa Maya views

KODAK Digital Still Camera

More Costa Maya

life curation

2018 Goals: Final Update

December 26, 2018January 1, 2019 MstldelanoLeave a comment

It’s the last Hump Day before the New Year: can you all believe that we’re already so close to 2019? This year has flown by, but it’s my sincere hope that you all got to see some of your dreams come true during the year or, at very least, made some progress toward achieving your big goals. Remember, taking one step is better than staying still, and you still have time to take one more step before the year end.

Woman writing and planning business strategy

As you all know I had three big goals I was working on this year. While I did a tiny update a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to do one final check-in before the new year. Quickly, here were my goals:

Publish some of my writing
Travel more
Dabble in an art career

Here are the updates on each goal up to this point:

Goal 1: Publish some of my writing

writing

My previous set of goals were as follows:

Complete edits on my novel
Participate in NaNoWriMo in November
Publish my how to book

I didn’t complete the edits on my novel, though I did make some progress on it. I’m cutting myself a lot of slack with that because edits can take quite a bit of time and mental energy. So, just doing some edits is progress enough for me. Over the next year, I’ll work on it in increments, until the edits are done. This isn’t a priority for me, so I don’t anticipate this being completed until Summer or Fall 2019

I participated in NaNoWriMo, so that goal was achieved (yay!) I didn’t finish my novel but I did say that I would participate, and I did. I will resume working on my NaNoWriMo novel in the upcoming year, with the hopes of finishing it before March 2019.

My how-to book still isn’t published, but I explained why in this post. I haven’t worked out the layout stuff yet, but that’s something I’m focusing on in January 2019. The aim is to have the book published in February 2019.

Goal 2: More travel

screen (6)

My 2018 travel-related short-term goals were as follows:

Plan out 2019 trips
Film at least three travel-related videos for my YouTube channel
Get TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry

So, I’ve already started planning my 2019 trips, and I’ll announce my finalized plans next month. I wrote about my 2019 trip planning in this post. Planning travel for the upcoming year is always one of the highlights of my pre-New Year ritual.

I actually began tinkering with some video editing software for some travel related content for my YouTube channel. Now that I’ve gotten a little familiar, I’ll be able to publish some videos in the upcoming year. I have the content, but the formatting and “polishing” needs to happen next.

I researched the TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry requirements and determined that I don’t need it just yet. It’s a great option for frequent travelers but it is a multi-step process that takes more time than I’m willing to devote to it right now. However, it’s something I’ll be considering in 2020, when I anticipate I will be doing far more international and domestic air travel.

Goal 3: Dabble in an art career

art2

In 2018, my mini-goals for transitioning into an art career were:

Clarify what kind of art-related career I desire
Create a preliminary career “plan” for my target career
Attend at least three art related events so that I can meet more like-minded people

I’m still not completely clear on the kind of art-related career I want. I’ve considered a few paths and have eliminated some options, so that has clarified my desires somewhat. I’d prefer a singular, clear “yes” rather than multiple clear “nos”, but some clarity is better than nothing, right? I take it that this clarification process will be a gradual unfolding as opposed to a lightning bolt of inspiration. And that’s fine: the fact that this is coming to me gradually is actually kind of exciting. I anticipate that the end result will be better than I could have ever hoped for.

Well, without a target, I couldn’t come up with a preliminary plan. So that has to be put on hold until the actual desire is clarified. Again, that’s fine: I know that getting clear on what I want is going to be key to completing my plan.

I wasn’t feeling my best over the past few weeks, so I wasn’t energetic enough to handle the art events I wanted to attend. However, for January, I have two art events scheduled, and a third event is on my calendar for February. Since I’m still recovering, I have to pace myself as I plan to attend different art events. But I’m eager to get back into the mix, so it won’t be long before I’m out and mingling again.

**********

Those are my final updates for my 2018 goals. I’ll have a few target goals that I’m working on throughout 2019, and I’ll be sharing those soon. Until then, take care!

travel

Hotel Review: Rodeway Inn and Suites, Fort Lauderdale, FL

December 2, 2018December 2, 2018 Mstldelano2 Comments

Happy Sunday, friends! Here is my overdue review of the hotel that I used when I went on my cruise in October.

Prior to, and immediately after, my cruise, I stayed at the Rodeway Inn and Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport and Port Everglades Cruise Port Hotel (now that’s a mouthful!). I selected this hotel because it offered quite a few attractive amenities. Firstly, it was close to the airport and featured a free shuttle service. This service picked up and dropped off guests at both the airport and the cruise port. As someone that has paid for several shuttles to get around before boarding a cruise ship, I appreciated the complimentary service provided by the Rodeway Inn.

Screenshot 2018-12-01 at 10.34.50 PM.png

Secondly, the hotel had a complimentary breakfast for guests. The breakfast was available for several hours each day, so it serviced both the early birds as well as the slightly late risers. The offerings weren’t luxe – it was just a step up from a continental breakfast – but it was nice to get some fresh fruit, pastries and coffee before heading out for the day.

Thirdly, the hotel offered a very reasonably priced early check-in option. Since we got to Florida well in advance of the standard check-in time, it was nice to pay the small fee and get into our rooms early. Finally, the hotel had a laundry room on site, as well as a gift shop and restaurant. With so many of amenities at the hotel, I truly didn’t need to go anywhere else to get the things that I needed during my stay.

Now, here’s my review of the staff and room.

The staff was excellent! The ladies at the front desk were all friendly, professional and thorough. They made sure that we knew everything we needed to have a comfortable stay and a seamless transit to the ship and airport. If only all hotel staff would be so spectacular!

The room was clean and adequately sized. I especially liked the fact that the room did not have carpeted floors: while most hotels do an excellent job of keeping carpets clean, I’ve seen a few that made me cringe. The floors at the Rodeway Inn were spotless. The bathrooms, too, were immaculately cleaned. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when I saw how much care had gone into preparing our room.

In a nutshell, I enjoyed my stay and I will return. The convenience of a complimentary shuttle, combined with great service and a good breakfast, are fantastic reasons to return!