New York's Often Green Hidden Treasures

My search for the world's hidden treasures includes looking in my own backyard, namely New York City.

1. The most awaited treasure -- which will hardly be hidden but absolutely worth visiting -- is the soon-to-open High Line Park that represents an amazing transformative design making use of the old elevated railroad line that once ran along the West Side of Manhattan. Here you'll find some of the old 1930s tracks as well as a sundeck and a shallow fountain for dipping your feet.

2. In the heart of Midtown on 51st street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue, postage stamp-size Greenacre Park is complete with a two-story waterfall and a small babbling brook.
3. Equally small Paley Park sitting on 54th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues is noted for its 25-foot waterfall and juniper trees.

4. Central Park’s only formal garden, the Conservatory Garden, is an almost undiscovered gem. If you enter on Fifth Avenue, you’ll step past the original wrought iron gates of Cornelius Vanderbilt’s house. An expanse of manicured green lawn spreads before you with an allee of crabapple trees on either side. At the center of the South Garden sits a reflecting pool and a bronze sculpture fountain of Mary and Dickon, two characters from the children’s classic novel, 'The Secret Garden." Depending on the season, thousands of blooming tulips or Korean chrysanthemums grow in the nearby North Garden.


5. A place to enjoy cool breezes and great views is Hudson River Park, where a bike/jogging path stretches five miles along the river from 59th St. to Chambers St. and then continues inland to Battery Park, the oldest park in the city at the southern tip of Manhattan. At Pier 40, stop at the Downtown Boathouse for a kayak rental. Nearby, you can watch people fly through the air at the Trapeze School of New York.

Probably the prettiest section of the Hudson River front is Battery Park City Parks, a series of green spaces from Nelson A. Rockefeller to Robert F. Wagner Jr. parks. Along these 36 acres are wide meadows for sunning and picnicking, planted gardens, a cove with a patch of shaded wilderness and views of the Statue of Liberty.


6. Many who stroll this area also come to experience the Irish Hunger Memorial, an unexpected slice of that country's rural countryside complete with rocks and flora brought from Ireland and sweeping across an undulating landscape.


7. The Museum of Jewish Heritage with its unique rooftop "Garden of Stones" dedicated to those who perished and survived the Holocaust. Here you'll find a rooftop dotted with boulders, the base for growing dwarf oaks. It's certainly a place the lends itself to contemplation.
8. Across from Ground Zero, the gleaming Winter Garden is a 10-story glass and tricolor Italian marble atrium with sixteen 40+ foot-tall Washingtonia palm trees. Each month, especially during the holidays and summer, there is some going on, whether a concert or a dance performance.

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London's Less Visited Greenspaces

There's no lack of parks and gardens in London but it seems that four -- Hyde Park, Regent's Park, Kew Garden and Kensington Gardens -- seem to attract all the attention. In fact, when I told a friend who recently relocated to London that I would be visiting a roof garden and a medicinal herb garden, he wanted to tag along. He had no idea what I was talking about.


• The Kensington Roof Gardens literally sits on the top of a building down the street from Kensington Gardens. Once you get off the elevator and walk through the doors, you'll hear the sound of cascading water in this garden that's said to be the largest roof garden in Europe. Part of the garden sports an English woodland as well as Tudor and Spanish gardens, the latter reminiscent of the Alhambra.

• The Chelsea Physic Garden, founded in 1673, sits on four acres and features more than 6,000 species, including medicinal plants that allow visitors to trace the history of medicine. (Because I have a background in biology and medicine, exploring the plants that were used to make various drugs was oh, so fascinating.) This is also London's oldest botanical garden.


• There are parts of Green Park, next to the Ritz Hotel, where you won't run into anyone. Named for the dominant color, Green Park has no flower beds. Instead, you find rolling fields of grass and hawthorne, silver maple and black poplar trees.

• Sixty different species of wild birds have been spotted in 50+ acre Holland Park. Walk the woodland paths to the tranquil Japanese Kyoto garden with its small lake and stone lantern. (I always enjoy finding a Japanese garden in an unexpected locale.) You may even spy a white peacock. (I did.) Or visit the formal garden with geraniums and blue salvies.
• Just across the Thames from Kew Gardens sits Syon Park with its conservatory housing exotic flowers, such as banana and pineapple plants. You can walk along the lakeside, and pass a woodland of oaks, maples and sweet gum.

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Bicycling Norway's Lofoten Islands

In northern Norway, bicycling the Lofoten Islands from the town of Svolvaer to Å, I found picture-postcard harbors, bright red rorbuers (or spelled rorbu) aka traditional fisherman's huts) set on stilts and perched on tiny bays, and the ever-present massive cliffs that rose high above.


Svolvaer, a busy port town, is a town noted for the Lofoten War Memorial Museum dedicated to World War II. They display original military uniforms and many unpublished World War II photos on display. If you stay overnight in Svolvaer, you may want to take a ferry to the Skrova, a very walkable offshore islet.

Just outside of Kabelva are two institutions -- the Lofoten Museum and the Lofoten Aquarium
with plenty of exhibits that provide insights into life in the Lofotens. In addition, in the Espolin Art Gallery hangs the work of Kaare Espolin Johnson, a well-known painter of the Lofoten people.

In Henningsvaer, a large fishing village, I easily spent a day just strolling the curvy streets and sitting in restaurants and bars along the waterfront. Housed in a former fishing processing factor, the town’s Hus Gallery has an extensive collection of paintings by Lofoten artist Karl Erik Harr.

In Borg, I stepped into the life of the Vikings in the Viking Museum, where I examined a replica of a Viking ship, sniffed the aroma of wood tar, saw the flickering of light radiating from cod liver oil lamps and tasted bowls of lamb stew as peasants would eat.

But, some of the most dramatic Norwegian scenery can be found in Nusfjord. It’s also where I stayed in an original fisherman’s hut or rorbuer. To get the most authentic Lofoten experience, staying in a fisherman's hut is a must. In fact, I found it one of the highlights of my trip. Some of these rustic rorbuers come with a hole smack in the middle of the floor which the fishermen used to cast their line.
The town of Reine, another dramatic spot backed by high pinnacles, is the focal point for boat excursions, including trips to the turbulent Moskenstraumen where you may catch a look at puffins and other sea birds.

Nearby, I browned the dolls, teddy bears and historic toys among the more than 2,000 collectibles on display at Dagmar’s Doll Museum.

I easily lost track of time as I bicycled along to the 19th century (and oddly-named) village of Å that's been turned into a living museum. It's also literal end of the road on the Lofotens. Here you can tour the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum with its cod liver oil factory, smithy and century-old bakery that serves up tasty cinnamon buns. For a real education on cod fish, Norway’s oldest export, a visit to the Stockfish Museum is a must. This museum traces every step of cod production from the ocean to the plate.

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Barbados Beyond The Beaches

There’s plenty of development on the island of Barbados but unspoiled locales are never far away. Sure, we know all about the swaths of sandy beaches. But this island is actually laced with dozens of trails running through unspoiled wilderness. Were it not for the Barbados National Trust, one wonders how unspoiled these lands would remain. If you want to explore Barbados' wild side, every Sunday, the National Trust offers guided hikes where dozens of locals and tourists show up.

You're initially broken into different groups based on speed, from those taking a breakneck pace ("Grin n' Bear") to the "Stop and Stare" group that takes plenty of time to smell the roses. I chose the latter, not because I couldn't deal with a challenge but because I wanted more time to learn about the area's botany, history, geology and architecture.
On my five-mile trek, we:

-- strolled along a beach where coral and sea grass grew, great food for turtles.

-- encountered a black belly sheep, a tough animal that can go all day without water. I'm told the meat is very lean.

-- gazed from atop a cliff where I found out that this spot is noted for its stiff wine, the longest uninterrupted wind run in the world, 3,000 miles across the ocean.

-- headed through a meadow carpeted with wildflowers.

But the hike is not a walk in the park. Two miles of difficult walking on slick mud, wet rocks, leaves, roots and stems required good balance, a walking stick or help from the locals -- they're skillful at negotiating the steeps.


Offshore, we spotted the remains of the old railway line, which, on the land, was converted to a 24-mile walking path.

We only walked a portion of this trail but our guide provided plenty of narration on why the railroad was doomed from the start: landslides and salt corrosion to name a few issues. As one of the steepest lines in the British empire, the railroad sometimes required passengers to get out and walk.

There's not much of a chance of getting lost on the trail. Since sea grape was used to stabilize the railway line and protect it from the salt, by following the sea grape you can easily follow it.

For me, hiking the trails in Barbados provided a welcome way to get away from the typical tourist attractions while learning about the island's ecology and history.

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The Galapagos Without A Cruise Ship

Instead of exploring the Galapagos by cruise ship -- the most common way of visiting the archipelago -- I instead wanted something a little more carefree. So I based on the main island of Santa Cruz, staying at the Royal Palm Hotel, a five-star resort in the tropical Highlands that's hard to leave, and took day trips around the island as well to other nearby isles.


These are some of my favorite activities on Santa Cruz Island:

1. Visit Tortuga Bay with its calm lagoon and fine white sand. You'll see plenty of Opuntia or prickly pear cactus.


2. Hike up the almost 3,000-foot Cerra Crocker, the islands highest point and a volcanic cone. The steep climb is worth it for the panoramic view of the surrounding islands from the top. On the way, I spotted a variety of bird life, including finches, the Galapagos rail and the dark rumped petrel -- it's a key bird watching area.

3. Trek to El Chat, the Tortoise Reserve. You can get extremely close to the reptiles that roam the dirt paths munching on grass.



These are the islands that make great day trips from Santa Cruz:

1. South Plaza where I found the black and white striped hybrid iguanas, born to a female land iguana and a male marine iguana.


2. Santa Fe, an arid land populated with pale yellow-green land iguanas. I wandered a trail that wanders through a forest of Opuntia that actually grow like trees. Some are more than 100 years old.
3. North Seymore where blue-footed boobies mate. We watched their odd dance which is part of their courtship ritual. Then I walked a trail that courses past palo santo trees -- their resin smells like incense -- and lava rocks.


4. Bartolome, three hours from Santa Fe, harkens to a moonscape, splashed with black sand and dotted with volcanic cones. Off of the north beach, you can snorkel with penguins.

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Marvelous Walking Tours In Madrid

Madrid is one of my specialties. And, because I often like quirky activities, I found that a walking tour with the offbeat (some might say eccentric) Chairman of the Wellington Society of Madrid fits right in with my sensibilities. I've taken many of his walking tours and, with each one, I came away with lessons in Spanish art, history, literature and plenty of royal and political gossip and rumors. Whether it's a night walking tour in Madrid or a day trip to Segovia, visitors who tour with Stephen Drake, a former art history professor, will have a unique experience.



The Wellington Society of Madrid is not a tour company, but rather a society involved with education, culture and research. So, in order to sign up for any tour, you have to first become a member (and pay 50 euros). (Prices for the individual tours vary.)

Named for the Duke of Wellington who is most remembered for the Battle of Waterloo, the Society offers its new members a free two-hour walking tour of Madrid, plus tapas/wine stops along the way, as well as a travel help line and restaurant/wine recommendations, all for a 50 euro fee.

Here's what I learned on the many walks Stephen led:

• On the Hemingway’s Madrid walk, for example, we visited the writer’s favorite watering holes, hotels, cafes and restaurants.

• On the Bloody Madrid tour, Stephen pointed out the street where an assassin killed a philandering count on orders of the king, and the apartment where a writer, as renowned as Dickens. killed himself over a lost love.


• In Aranjuez -- a day trip from Madrid -- Stephen told me that the Bourbons hated to read but instead entertained themselves on the property’s hunting grounds and landscaped gardens.

• In Segovia, most people learn about the Roman aqueduct but Stephen pointed out the house where the public executioner would stay, the four restaurants favored by King Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, and the castle that inspired Walt Disney in the 1950s.

• Visiting the Valley of the Fallen, I got the real story behind the 50-foot-tall cross that sits above the underground basilica. It was not built, as most tours are told, as a memorial to some 40,000 soldiers of the Spanish Civil War but, rather, in honor of Franco and his right-hand man. In fact, tens of thousands of Republican prisoners were the laborers over the 19 years it took to build it.

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Adventures in Travel on Blog Talk Radio

Ellen Barone (no relation) who has a new show on Blog Talk Radio called "Travel Talk" just interviewed me. Check it out. You'll learn plenty about how I plan my trips, how I manage to never check luggage, why I love Madrid, and much more.

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A Beach For Every Personality in Vieques

As far as Puerto Rico goes, one of my favorite places is Vieques, the offshore island that once had a reputation as a test-bombing site for the U.S. Navy. The only plus to that situation: the seaside remained largely undeveloped. With the Navy now completely gone as of a few years ago, I have concern regarding overdevelopment along the waterfront and elsewhere. But there are still so many untouched sandy swaths and secluded covers that you'll easily find a place where you'll feel like Robinson Crusoe. Here's a large sampling of the beaches I've visited; each offers a different pleasure, whether you prefer to set your blanket in the midst of crowds or you would rather stroll the sands without any distractions.


• Sun Bay, where Lord of the Flies was filmed, is so easy to get to that it's the beach everyone flocks to on the weekends. I enjoyed hiking around Cayo de Adentro, one of the keys that's accessible by walking on a narrow spit of sand. Visitors to Sun Bay will have plenty of opportunity to eat local food thanks to vendors at the entrance selling cod fish fritters, mashed plantain with meat or seafood, conch salad and pastelillos.



• A short walk or drive down the Beach Road is Media Luna, named for the half moon shape of its bay. This calm water attracts families who wade several hundred yards into the still water and, like Sun Bay, is fringed with tall coconut palms.


• The next beach, Navio, is renowned for its white sand and clear turquoise water with strong waves that make it good for surfing. On either side of the beach are caves, one where fruits bats live, that you can either swim or walk to.


• At Esperanza Beach, in the eponymous town with restaurants and bars aplenty, you can get away from it all by snorkeling around the coral reefs of the uninhabited island, Cayo Afuera, that sits a few hundred feet offshore. You can easily kayak to the island that's also noted for its surf-battered sea cliffs.

• On the west end of the island, Green Beach is where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean. From there, I parked the car and walked to a series of sandy coves that are so desolate yours will be the only footprints. Most visitors stop at the main beach rather than continuing south to a rocky point and then east to a series of beaches with intimate coves and stands of coconut palms. Backed by hills topped with scrub, these beaches are desolate with desolation with sculpted boulders.


• Among the beaches that were off limits but opened to the public as of 2003 are Red and Blue beaches on the east end of the island. (They are now part of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge.) Playa Caracas (Red Beach) is one of the prettiest on the island with white sand, gentle waters and volcanic outcroppings. The much longer Bajia la Chiva (Blue Beach) allows those with four-wheel vehicles to drive onto the sand.

• Also on the island's once off-limits east end are the latest beaches to open to the public. These include Playa Escondida, Playa La Platita and Playa La Plata (Silver Beach), aka Orchid Beach. No matter which one you choose, you'll be delighted with the bay views as well as the expansive verdant hills in the distance. The often calm waters make La Plata especially appealing.

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Walking in the Footsteps of Frank Lloyd Wright

For someone who's an obsessed Frank Lloyd Wright fan, like myself, visiting Oak Park, IL during the annual Wright Plus house walk is a joy. I just returned from the event that's in its 35th year that's run by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. This was my first year at an event that I've always wanted to attend but the timing never quite worked out before. What could be better than spending the day touring several of the master's private houses and public buildings as well as those of his?


Don't get me wrong, this is not a walk in the park for those committed to touring every property. I found that in order to explore all 10 Oak Park buildings you have to postpone lunch as well as bathroom breaks and make your way briskly from one building to the next. After all, the buildings open at 9 am and close at 5 pm. And, though it sounds like plenty of time to view all 10, it's not without a lot of planning.



With some 2,700 tickets sold this year, I found long lines galore, many requiring a 45-minute wait outside -- not a problem this past weekend when the weather was sunny and mild. And it also provides plenty of opportunity to chat with the other visitors who come from all over the world for this event. I spoke with people from France, Belgium, Canada and Italy. And what I found was that declaring my love of FLW was never met with quizzical stares -- as it usually is -- because everyone on the line was also obsessed.

It's easy to get around, with most people walking from property to property. Others take the free shuttle bus. Some ride bicycles while others preferred to sit in bicycle rickshaws.

Here are more tips and insights for making the most of your visit with minimal hassle:


1. Don't get on line with backpacks or tripods or anything bulky. They'll ask you to check these outside the house. If you come to the event with luggage -- I did because I had to leave for the airport afterward -- you can easily check it at the Orientation Center where you pick up your tickets.

2. You are not allowed to take any photos inside because these are private properties. But you can take as many exterior shots as you like.

3. I recommend pre-ordering the box lunch because otherwise you waste a lot of time walking back into town and ordering lunch. My choice was the turkey/cheese sandwich, which came with a broccoli slaw, BBQ chips, chocolate chip cookie and a beverage.

4. Box lunches are not ready until after 10:30 a.m. So it's best to tote along snacks. I didn't stop for lunch until 3 p.m. and wished I brought something with me.


5. If you didn't pack a snack, there are plenty of local children selling homemade cookies (the chocolate chip were quite good) as well as lemonade, sodas, popcorn and various packaged snack items: chips, pretzels, chocolate bars and peanut butter crackers. (These are very inexpensive.)

6. There are different theories as to how to plan your day. Some suggest visiting the non-FLW properties first because the lines will be short. I did the opposite for several reasons: I love his properties the best and wanted to assure I saw them. In addition, these lines were certainly the longest but I'd rather do my waiting in the morning when I was still fresh.

7. If you can't get everything done in one day, the ticket allows you the rest of the year to visit Wright's two Oak Park public buildings (Unity Temple and his Home and Studio) as well as the Robie House in Chicago.



8. Pack an umbrella because the event isn't cancelled if there's rain.

9. If you're truly into history and architecture, you'll love the end of each property tour because there are usually posters showing photos of the original owners, the original exteriors/interiors as well as house plans. And, though you'll find plenty of volunteers leading you through the house and providing background information, there are often an additional volunteer or sometimes an architect or designer on hand to answer more detailed questions at the end of each tour beside these posters.


10. If you can't get enough of FLW, get to the area early (8 a.m.) and stop by the museum shop to peruse the books and other memorabilia. I purchased "A Guide to Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School Historic District." This is a particularly useful book because it lays out each property on maps so you can check these out as you wander through Oak Park for the open house event.

11. I stayed overnight in downtown Chicago and took the Green Line to the end of the line, the Harlem stop. It's a 15-minute brisk walk from the station to the start of the event. When I do this event again, I think I'd prefer to stay in Oak Park at either of these two convenient and comfy accommodations: the Wright Inn or Under the Ginkgo Tree.

12. For next year's event, plan to order tickets by October or November. This year's event was completely sold out.

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