The history of Madrid is written on the walls.  The architecture of this city in Spain will give the first time traveler not only stunning structures to simply admire, but will illustrate the history of the city throughout time, in some cases, depending on how a walking tour is organized, in chronological order.  This is a must-visit city, and a must-do tour for any student of both art and architecture, or of history and design.  Hotels can be found at reasonable rates by checking here at www.madridbesthotels.com.  All that is needed after finding accommodations, is a bit of energy and some proper walking shoes.  The tour begins in the Medieval Epoch, with a walk through the Barrio de la Morería.  This was the legal center for the Moors, which contains the structures of the time period, and the public squares, the Plaza de Cruz Verde and the Plaza de San Andrés.

The Habsburg Epoch was a time when the city was under the rule of King Charles I.  The buildings in this section of the city are in the Baroque and Renaissance style of the German Empire.  Along with the impressive plazas such as the Plaza de la Villa and the Plaza Mayor, the cathedrals and the monasteries are simply breathtaking, as too the old bakery and butcher shops, the Casa de la Panaderia and La Casa de la Carniceria.

When the Bourbon Family came to power, this is when the architecture of the city flourished, with the Royal Palace and the Real Casa de Aduanas.  The decorative and elaborate designs are apparent each and every time one turns their head, for even the cafes in this area are decorated as such.  And of course, no tour of art or architecture in the city of Madrid would be complete with a visit to the Prado Museum, often considered to be the best museum of art in the world.  Add to this the surrounding gardens, the incredible restaurants and the hospitality of the people of Madrid, and one finds that they are truly standing in one of the most incredible cities in the world.

Rita is more my coworker than my boss. She works in management, training program, leading, organizing. There is no thing that she considers below her to do. She is a team player, understanding that mistakes happen and never faulting a person for it. For her birthday, we actually got her a red stapler because of her love of the movie Office Space. Rita keep an awful lot of knickknacks that she has accumulated over the years at various jobs, which she jokes was not as glamorous as it sounds.

Though there are a lot of knickknacks on her desk, they are all related to office or business work. For instance, she has a plush voodoo doll of pointy haired boss from Dilbert on top of her computer. She wanted a Catbert plush toy, the evil HR cat from the same cartoon, but he was already sold out. In the cartoon, he, like all cats, has a fondness for warm computer monitors. However, Rita says the cartoon seems kind of dated for that since monitors have grown smaller and smaller during the years. There is no space for a cat on top anymore, unless he or she was a small plush cat.

Her other favorite item on the desk is the number of names she has collected throughout the years. They aren’t actually names, but the nameplates she collected during her years at various locations in the world of business. She has four of them lined up in the front of her desk in a row. For fun, she covered any “i” that was in her name with a big sparkly red heart. One day her daughter came in, aghast to see the hearts, calling her immature for it. Rite just said that she was trying to be trendy and cute like her daughter, who apparently, though a good writer, made the tops of her “i’s” with a big heart.

Rita might be getting another nameplate now because of how the economy is now for a company that provide organizational development, which is where she would like to go. But she promised to leave the pointy haired boss with us.

Our first full day in Santa Monica we decided to do the touristy thing and rent some roller-blades so we could skate along the beautiful beach starting at Santa Monica pier. That was a total blast and an easy way to see all that’s happening on the beach. At first, being on the blades, I was a bit wobbly and I really thought my ankles would break, but Bill was a real pro on the blades and showed me the ropes and waited until I was more confident in my technique. We skated all the way to Venice beach, stopped at a food stall for a funnel cake and to take a look at muscle beach, now there’s a place over-loaded with testosterone.
 
It was amazing how fast we travelled everywhere, so we decided to blade into Downtown Los Angeles and see the Hollywood walk of fame. That was a huge mistake on our part, blading there took us much longer than we thought, but it was still a good adventure. We saw the walk of stars and I spotted my favorite, Marilyn Monroe. We found out though, that any star can apply and pay for the star; they aren’t just issued by the city. I thought you’d have to be accomplished, but I guess not, kind of took the glamour aspect away. We bladed to Mann’s Chinese Theatre to see all the footprints and hand-prints of famous movie stars, that was pretty cool. I found Johnny Depp’s hands and feet and Bill found one of the ratpack’s hands and feet, I forget which one.
 
We had a hard time blading past Michael Jackson’s star, there were so many people around it and tons of flowers and other items. We decided to take a cheap movie star home tour, which was only okay, mostly because there was no star sighting; but we did like seeing Mick Jaggar’s mansion, Rod Stewart’s mansion, the Playboy mansion and going through Rodeo Drive, Melrose Avenue and several other places we recognized from TV shows. Oh, and we drove past the Viper Room, which is Johnny Depp’s bar and where River Phoenix died outside on the sidewalk.
 
Instead of skating back to our hotel in Santa Monica, we took a taxi. I was really happy Bill was just as tired as I was.

Taking flu medication and tons of cold medication, then hopping in a hot, hot shower, hoping that I’ll still be able to enjoy my time here in New York. I’m surprised I’ve lasted this long, I’ve been with flu for a week now, ever since I arrived from London. When I left London, I was feeling fine, but by the time we landed at JFK, I was feverish and achy. My boyfriend feels fine and he has headed down to our hotels restaurant for breakfast. This is our first USA hotel in New York and all I can say is: Wow! We really lucked out, I mean to say that now I’ve had a taste of a 5-star hotel, I’m never going back.

I met up with boyfriend for breakfast, he already had a plate of pancakes, sausage, and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice waiting for me. After breakfast, we caught the subway then picked up the ‘E’ line down to the World Trade Center. Even though we’ve visited the site over a year ago, much has changed and it was really great to see how well the construction is progressing. Our last visit, the builders were excavating in preparation for the foundation. Now there’s framework!

We took a stroll around and down to the Seaport of Lower Manhattan. We took a look at the river and the bridges. My flu was rearing it’s ugly head, so we walked back to our hotel. Once we were back in our room, my boyfriend took a shower while I rested and took more flu medication. After about an hour, I was feeling better, so we texted this couple we meet the other night at a club, who were from Brazil and extremely fun, to see what they were doing. They texted back saying that they’re at Times Square, and in about an hour they’re off to Rockefeller Center.

We hooked up with them at Rockefeller and went off to find another club to party the whole night out, like we’ve done all the other nights. I just hope my Flu behaves!

When my family first moved to Arizona in 1973, we stayed for two weeks in downtown Phoenix, as my parents looked for a house to buy, only blocks away from one of the Southwest’s more interesting museums: The Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art.

Most of my early life I lived among Native peoples, because my father worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a forester, and even though Phoenix is in the middle of a desert, there are forests throughout the state.  Those first few weeks in downtown Phoenix, and over the years in the metropolitan area, I found that the Heard Museum was a place I visited most frequently.  Whenever my parents had out of town guests, it was among the first place they took them.  The museum’s purpose is to teach people about the heritage, culture, and art of Native peoples, especially those in the Southwest.  It was founded in 1929, when Phoenix was a small town, and the years have seen the place grow, from the times when it was run by Maie Bartlett Heard following the death of her husband Dwight, and continued after her own death in 1951,  until today where it maintains an international reputation for its quality collections, operating as a living museum for Native Americans.

During the days I lived in town, the Heard Museum expanded to 78,000 square feet in 1983.  Another 50,000 square feet was added in 1999, which included structures like a Museum Shop and Bookstore, the Dorrance Education Center, the Steele Auditorium, and the Cafe at the Heard Museum.  During this time, the Heard Museum grew to ten galleries.  Today, the permanent galleries were renovated again, allowing them to open the exhibit “Home: Native People in the Southwest.”

These days when I return to Phoenix, I have to find a place to stay with friends or seek out one of the luxury hotels Arizona is known for, such as The Phoenician, well known for its resort and spa.  While there are many things to do in Phoenix — golf courses, Papago Park and the Zoo, even Big Surf (a favorite spot in childhood featuring man made waves you could surf on; sadly, it’s closed — I’ll always suggest visitors and newcomers alike check out the Heard.

I have a friend who at one time danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.  This amazed me, as the company has a reputation that is out of this world.  The world acclaim that this company enjoys is really unparalleled, not only for their innovative and exciting performances but for their dedication to arts and dance education through their community outreach program, Dancing Through Barriers.  When you are walking through the streets of the city, or sitting down for breakfast in one of the many fine restaurants of New York City, chances are you will hear someone having a conversation about the arts, about theatre, the museums, or the dance companies that this city so inspires.  And chances are you will this company’s name.

They are now, and have always been, committed to the enrichment of the lives of the children not only in the borough of Harlem, but the rest of the state of New York, the country of the US, and the countries of the world.  Around the city of New York, the company regularly holds classes in public schools, either a few classes at a time, or a series of classes provided through the “artist in residency” programs.  All of the programs are part of a collaboration with the staff of the schools, in Manhattan as well as such cities as Detroit Miami, Washington DC and Miami.  These programs have been made possible through a partnership between the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Kennedy Center, and for the past fifteen years this partnership has served to bring dance to many communities who would have otherwise never experienced this art form.

The company was founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell.  Mitchell was inspired by Martin Luther King, and shortly after King’s assassination, Mitchell decided that he wanted to start a company that would offer ballet classes to the children of his hometown community of Harlem, New York.  His legacy is not only the wonderful opportunities he has provided to many children over the last fifty years, but one of the most exciting ballet companies in the world, and in the history of dance.  When in the city of New York, make every attempt to see these dancers giving back to the community and back to the cultural vibe that is that of one of the most incredible cities on the planet.