If you’re one of the lucky 76,468 people with tickets to the Super Bowl this year, chances are you’ve already got a room booked, and you’ll be spending a few days in New Orleans. You’ve got your Sunday pretty much figured out, but how should you spend the rest of your time? I spoke to my friend Vanessa, a native of New Orleans, and she had these suggestions for me.
Which brings us to the question of how to celebrate! Sure, you could freeze your tail off with thousand of other revelers in New York’s Times Square, or curl up at home in your pajamas and observe the traditional ball drop on TV. But if you want to shake up your holiday traditions, here are a few ideas from around the world!
Those fun-loving Scots call New Years Eve Hogomanay, or Night of the Candle. They clean their homes (not fun!), eat traditional foods such as Haggis (questionable fun?) and drink whiskey and wine (now that’s better!) and hope that the “First Footer” to come through their doorway after midnight is a handsome dark haired man bearing gifts to symbolize a coming pleasant year ( who can argue with that?) Often a straw figure known as the “Auld Wife” or a barrel of tar is set on fire to symbolize the end of the old year. And of course people gather to sing the traditional New Year song Auld Lang Syne, which as you may have guessed, originated in Scotland.
Don’t feel like wearing your woolies? Head to Brazil! Pack your bathing suit, because January is summertime in Brazil, and Vespera de Ano Novo is often celebrated at the beach, where people gather to offer flowers and gifts to Iemanja, the Goddess of Water. Floating candles and revelers wearing white add to the beauty of the landscape. Brazilian fishermen believe the New Year’s catch portends the fortune for the rest of the year. But don’t worry if you’re not a fish person, as the traditional holiday fare is lentils and rice, along with a tapioca dish called Farofa.
After a month of Bonenkai (“forget the year”) parties to bid goodbye to the year and all its problems, folks in Japan are ready to forgive grudges, and houses are scrubbed (again with the cleaning!?!) in preparation for the new beginning. New Years is considered the most important holiday of the year. Buckwheat soba noodles are served to symbolize longevity, homes are decorated with ornaments made from bamboo and plum trees, and a visit to a shrine such as Tokyo’s Meijii Jingu is in order. At midnight on December 31st Buddhist temples bang their gongs 108 times to expel 108 types of human weakness.
Traveling for the holidays, but worried about missing out on all the festive décor, delicious food, and frosty snowflakes? Don’t worry. There are plenty hotels across the country — and around the world! –offering lots of lights, sights, treats, and sweets that will make you feel at home.
A 22-foot gingerbread house takes center stage at one of San Francisco’s most prestigious hotels. Take a stroll through the fragrant culinary concoction made from 650 pounds of candy, 12 gallons of chocolate, 7,500 pieces of gingerbread, and nearly a ton of icing. Be sure to peek through the windows at the train running through the house. After exiting this life-size Christmas staple, visit Laurel Court where guests can partake in traditional holiday foods and even a Christmas tea.
This week, Customer Service Agent Cathy shares some of her favorite things about a favorite city, Indianapolis!
Tucked away in the quiet Midwest, Indianapolis frequently is touted as an “up and coming” city. Perhaps surprising to many, it is currently the 12th most populous city in the United States and has many attractions worthy of your visit.
History buffs will want to visit the various war memorials, including the Soldiers & Sailors Monument, the Indiana World War Memorial, and the USS Indianapolis Memorial, among others. The Indiana State Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum are located in nearby White River State Park. The kids will love the Children’s Museum and the Indianapolis Zoo. A short drive north will take you to family-friendly Conner Prairie, where you can experience life in the 19th century.
Sporting News magazine recently ranked Indy as the 19th best sports city in the country. While in town, try to catch a Colts game at the magnificent Lucas Oil Stadium, which was host to the 2012 Super Bowl. Motor sports fans are familiar with the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. If basketball is your thing, check out the Pacers (NBA) or Fever (WNBA) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Also located in Indianapolis is the campus of Butler University, whose men’s basketball team recently went to the NCAA Final Four two years in a row. The Indianapolis Indians play minor league baseball, and their stadium, Victory Field, is a fantastic place to watch a game.
If you’re more artsy than athletic, be sure to visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. For theater performances, check the schedules at Beef and Boards, the Murat Centre and Clowes Memorial Hall. If you can’t make it to Indy Jazz Fest in September, you can swing by the Jazz Kitchen year-round for tasty food and excellent music. The Heartland Film Festival takes place each October and is one of the fastest-growing film festivals in the country.
Overwhelmed by the possibilities? Believe it or not, this just touches on some of the many activities available in one of the best cities in the Midwest. Come for a visit and experience true Hoosier hospitality!
Mu husband and I wanted to get out of town for my birthday… But we didn’t want to spend a lot of money. And we wanted to send some time outdoors before it got too cold (even in Southern California.) Inexpensive outdoor getaway? Sounds like a job for CAMPING!
We’re talking car camping, not backpack-and-powdered-food camping. We have a roomy tent, a big cooler, and a nice propane stove. Hubs made a reservation at Pinnacles National Monument (most major campgrounds take online reservations nowadays,) the site of a long-extinct volcano about 2 1/2 hours from San Francisco. Actually, it’s two-thirds of a volcano; Thanks to movement along the San Andreas Fault, the other third is still near Lancaster, where the volcano first came into being. But it felt more like being in a forest, the campground was beautiful and shady, nothing like the barren, rocky landscape we expected.
We didn’t rough it the whole time… We broke up the drive with stops in the charming Dutch town of Solvang, and did a little wine tasting in Paso Robles. We spent most of our camping time reading, cooking, and relaxing, though we did take a beautiful hike to the Bear Gulch Talus Cave. Talus caves are formed by big boulders falling such that they create spaces inside, where the temperature is blissfully cool, and visitors might run into a few Big-eared bats. (We didn’t, though. We also didn’t spy any California Condors, but 32 of the rare birds live within Pinnacles as part of the California Condor Recovery Program.)
We did get a little dirty, and discover we need to invest in a better air mattress… But Pinnacles National Monument was such a wonderful place to find some peace and tranquility, we’ll definitely be back.
