InsideJourneys

Set in Paris

Posted on July 2, 2011July 3, 2011 by Marcia Mayne

Since the release of the new Woodie Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, I've been thinking of the movies I've seen that were set there. [caption id="attachment_5220" align="alignright" width="231" caption="Eiffel Tower"][/caption] Here's my list: The Day of the Jackal (Edward Fox) 1973 A View to a Kill (Roger Moore, Christopher Walken) 1985 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Michael Caine, Steve Martin) 1988 Frantic (Harrison Ford) 1988 Dangerous Liaisons (Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Malcovich) 1988 Valmont (Colin Firth, Annette Benning) 1989 The Bourne…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sky

Posted on July 1, 2011July 10, 2011 by Marcia Mayne

Reaching for the sky. Open skies. [caption id="attachment_5131" align="aligncenter" width="571" caption="New York Sky"][/caption] Above the sky. [caption id="attachment_5132" align="aligncenter" width="567" caption="Cloudy Sky somewhere over the U.S."][/caption] Pie in the sky. Blue skies. [caption id="attachment_5128" align="aligncenter" width="523" caption="Eiffel Tower Sky"][/caption] The sky's the limit. [caption id="attachment_5129" align="aligncenter" width="570" caption="Overcast sky - Cape Town"][/caption] What would we do without the sky?

Travel Photo Thursday: Table Mountain

Posted on June 30, 2011July 4, 2011 by Marcia Mayne

Table Mountain was not on our itinerary, not for that gorgeous day. After an emotionally charged visit to Robben Island, all we wanted to do was have a meal and take a nap. But Ian, our guide, insisted. The weather was perfect, he said. There was no guarantee we'd have another one, best to take advantage. If the clouds came in, visibility on Table Mountain would be reduced. I know this mountain, he said. You only have five days, why…

Tasty Thursdays: July 4th Jerk

Posted on June 30, 2011August 2, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

Jerk is both a style of cooking and the mix of spices used to make jerk. It is a very popular way of cooking in Jamaica that has grown from chicken to pork, fish, sausage, tofu, lobster, etc. My earliest memories of jerk was of a man who used to sell jerk chicken door-to-door on his [caption id="attachment_5104" align="alignright" width="300"] Little Ochie Jerk Lobster - Maynefoto[/caption] bicycle. Back then, making jerk was an elaborate affair – it was always slow-cooked…

Harlem’s Backyard Gems

Posted on June 29, 2011September 9, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

“Harlem's Backyard Gems is my entry into TBEX Blog Carnival Contest sponsored by Choice Hotels International Services Corp.” When I decided to move to New York in the late 90s, the only place I wanted to live in was Harlem. I imagined myself in a brownstones like the one of a family friend I visited in the 1970s that became symbolic of this historic neighborhood. With sweeping steps that led to beautifully hand-crafted double doors it seemed to welcome everyone…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Refreshing

Posted on June 28, 2011July 4, 2011 by Marcia Mayne

[caption id="attachment_5079" align="aligncenter" width="624" caption="Refreshing. The glass that sat near my desk as I worked - Maynefoto"][/caption] A few weeks ago, when the temperature hit the mid-90s, all I wanted to drink was water. Normally, I don't use ice but when it gets really hot, I keep a pitcher of ice cold water and a glass pretty close by.

Is a Tour Bus Right for You?

Posted on June 27, 2011December 1, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

A tour bus gives visitors the option to disembark and re-embark at designated [caption id="attachment_5057" align="alignright" width="300"] London tour bus[/caption] points, makes it easy to cover a lot of territory while on vacation. With knowledgeable guides and pre-recorded information available in several different languages, taking a tour bus also offers a quick overview of points of interest along the way. But is a tour bus tour right for you? It depends. If walking around a new city makes you nervous…

Soulful Sundays: Adele

Posted on June 26, 2011July 4, 2011 by Marcia Mayne

Every summer, a song captures my imagination and becomes my personal anthem. Adele's Rolling in the Deep did it for me this year. The song is catchy and soulful. Singer songwriter Adele, was born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins in England in 1988. Like several singers today, she was discovered after XL Records found her songs on MySpace. Since then, she's won several awards including Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Take a listen to Rolling…

Writing to me is…

Posted on June 25, 2011July 4, 2011 by Marcia Mayne

Writing to me is like using playdoh. When I write, I play with words, string them together, like a necklace to make beautiful sentences. Writing to me is like using the color wheel. Nouns are blue, verbs are red, adjectives are indigo, adverbs are orange, prepositions are violet, articles are brown, conjunctions are green, and interjections are yellow. Writing to me is music. When done right, the words flow together and create harmony. Writing to me is fun when the…

I Didn’t Even Get a Croissant! Ten Things I Wish I’d Done in Paris

Posted on June 24, 2011July 4, 2011 by Marcia Mayne

Okay, so eating a croissant wasn’t really on my list of things to do in Paris. But I had envisioned a much different trip than the one I actually had. In the trip I imagined, I’d spend a week in Paris, visit a few friends and all the must-see spots, the Champs-Élysées, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, etc., then make my way to Bordeaux, the wine region, and Saint-Émilion in search of the Château Grand Mayne. (About 10 years ago,…