2014 June | Daydream Tourist

Jun 30

Exploring China and Kenya at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

It’s not every day that you can walk from Kenya to China, but that’s what I did this Saturday. Every summer for two weeks, the National Mall is DC is transformed into a center for global culture when it hosts the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Over 100 artisans, musicians, performers, and chefs take up residence and share their national traditions with Washington DC. The rich cultures of Kenya and China were presented this year and I had a wonderful time exploring the festivities!

The Flower Plaque gate made of bamboo, paper, and plastic welcomes visitors into the Chinese section of the Festival.

Jun 25

The Ruins of Pergamon

The ancient city of Pergamon, just outside modern Bergama, is not necessarily on the “tourist trail” in Turkey, so I made a special point to visit. From the garden behind my guesthouse, I shared a bottle of Raki with the other travelers and watched the fading sunset and twilight dance across the ancient ruins on the mountain above us. My mind wandered back and forth between imagining this once magnificent capitol city and contemplating the quiet, emptied ruins present today. That ancient Pergamon exists at all today in Bergama, Turkey is a wonder and a testament to its phenomenal and multi-layered history.

Part of the Temple of Trajan, Pergamon

Jun 16

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The Airport Rijksmuseum: Best Layover Ever

Lay-overs can be excruciating. The anticipation of arriving at a new destination or finally getting home makes it hard to keep reading your “airplane book” on the ground. You can only browse the duty free stores for so long. And really, how many laps can you walk through the terminal before that starts to get old? For the art lover or curious traveler, salvation from airport lay-over boredom can be found at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport which contains a mini Rijksmuseum! It’s actually worth planning to have a lay-over in Amsterdam just to check it out!

viewing Rijksmuseum, SChiphol aiport amsterdam

There is always time to fit in a little more art when you travel! Travelers visit the mini Rijksmuseum at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam.

Jun 10

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Imagining the Splendor of Ancient Corinth

In the heart of ancient Corinth, between the extensive market and the main road to the sea, there was an Imperial Roman monument that was designed to be unforgettable. The Prisoner’s Facade was constructed by Septimius Severus (145-211 CE) to celebrate his victory over the Parthians. The elaborate two-story tapestry in marble depicted vanquished, captured soldiers and the victorious Roman army. Perhaps the boldest element of the prisoner facade were four sculptural columns that each included a statue of a docile, captured youth in oriental costumes.

An enigmatic Parthian slave from the ancient Roman “Prisoner’s Facade” in Corinth

This exotic sculpture and fantastic architecture was typical of Corinth – the Roman capital of the Greek province. Lively, international, and wealthy, ancient Corinth figures into Greek, Roman, and early Christian history. While today there are only neglected embers of its former glory, you can still picture the excitement of ancient Corinth in the expansive but slumbering ruins and in the unique museum pieces like this beautiful column of a captured man.

Jun 6

D-Day 70 Years Later – The Omaha Beach Memorial

My first impression of Omaha Beach in Normandy was of summer fun. Alongside the massive stretch of sand, there was a boardwalk dotted with summer beach rentals, ice cream stands and the occasional creperie. The laughter of a visiting group of British school children added to the ambiance of carefree days. But anyone who has studied the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944 knows that Omaha was the bloodiest of battlefields of D-Day with some units in the first wave suffering up to a 92% casualty rate. How do we memorialize the 4,000 who died in a few hours? Today a bold, modern memorial stands out along the relaxing beach and marks the critical military objective that the American soldiers sacrificed so dearly to achieve.