What’s the buzz: Bees in Jardin du Luxembourg

June 9, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Some of the luckiest bees in the world make their residence in Paris’ exquisite Jardin du Luxembourg. Their homes (bee boxes), some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, are nestled in a corner of the Luxembourg gardens conveniently close to the meticulously cared-for fruit orchard. The bees pollinate these trees, many of which are named after senators, because the gardens surround Luxembourg Palace are currently home to the French senate, although the palace was originally built to serve as the royal residence of regent Marie de Medicis, mother of Louis XIII of France.

With such a zen spot to buzz around, an abundance of organically grown flowers and fruit trees (Paris is a pesticide-free zone), it’s no wonder these Parisian bees are extraordinarily healthy. There have been no signs of the well-publicized “colony collapse” plaguing bees around the world. In the U.S. most commercial apiaries replace their queen at least once a year, whereas the queen bee of the Luxembourg Gardens lasts for 2-3 years!

Jardin du Luxembourg has also been home to a beekeeping school, a permanent fixture in the garden since 1856, the same year the nursery was es when it was founded by Henri Hamet. In 1866, the garden was destroyed (along with much of the city) when Baron Hausmann commenced with his massive renovation of Paris. It was restored to its current location in 1872.

The current school, Rucher Ecole, is led by Jean Pauchon, who learned bees could thrive in Paris after temporarily storing a hive on the roof of the Opera House twenty years ago, where they collected an abundance of pollen to make honey. Pauchon’s classes include a beekeeping outfit (with a netted hat) and a smoker. Once a year, the honey harvest is sold at the honey festival, Fête du Miel, which takes place in September.

If you visit, you’ll see a collection of gorgeous antique wood bee boxes, however the bees have moved to more contemporary housing, populating hives with copper roofs surrounding the gazebo. The bees even have their own personal (artistically designed) fountain, a necessity for their water consumption.

If you’re in Paris and want to check out the bees, or Jardin du Luxembourg–one of Paris’s most lovely gardens–you can, find the bees happily buzzing in their apiary near the rue de Fleuris entrance in the southwest corner of the park.

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Take the road less traveled, Beth

Shipshape: Lindblad Expeditions and the National Geographic Sea Bird

May 5, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

They had me at “massage in the waters of the Galapagos Islands, surrounded by sea lions.” I confess: Visiting the Galapagos has always been at the top of my bucket list where travel is concerned, and now that I’ve had a personal tour aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird, I am even more certain this trip would be the experience of a lifetime.

Although the Sea Bird is not one of the ships with Galapagos on its itinerary, Lindblad Expeditions has ten ships in their fleet with wide-range of destinations in North America, South America, South-east Asia, Polar regions, Europe, and Africa. The Sea Bird, a 62-guest ship travels the waters from Alaska to Baja, and up and down the Columbia and Snake Rivers, most likely too chilly for in-water massage, but ripe for many other exciting adventures.

And, the Sea Bird plies the waters in updated style, one of the reasons I was invited on the tour, to view the myriad of changes that have been made on board. Rooms were redesigned–literally down to the woodwork–which, after all was said and done, took three tons of weight off the ship!

Sea Bird has new ceilings, new linens, LED lighting, USB ports, Wi-Fi, new bed boxes. All the wood used is fireproof and lightweight, made from a honeycomb wood product. The rooms are airier, sleeker and more inviting.

As someone who lives in a very small house, I am forever trying to find clever ways to create storage and functional living spaces despite a lack of square footage. The Sea Bird does this in spades with beautiful artwork in every room, efficiency bar none, every nook and cranny used wisely.

I’ve never been on a cruise and confess I never had any interest, until I saw small ship like those National Geographic has in it’s fleet. I really like the personalized, intimate approach–definitely not “one size fits all”– provided by Lindblad Expeditions, as well as the focus on education for passengers and stewardship for the regions their ships traverse. They told us about the thousands of dollars that they have spend removing non-endemic species in the Galapagos and many other ways they do much more than simple transport people to a location–as a company, they commit to conservation in the local communities where they travel.

On every voyage you’ll find six naturalists per one guest, a wellness specialist who offers everything from on-board yoga and fitness classes to that massage I mentioned earlier (which you can have in the ship’s own tiny spa, as well as in the midst of the Galapagos), and a host of experts on local flora and fauna and–hello–National Geographic photographers, who are board to help capture the splendor of the natural world.

It also doesn’t hurt that the food is divinely delicious as well as being locally sourced, seasonable and sustainable–and healthy. I always figured cruise food was overly sauced, overly rich, overly everything, but the meal I had was generous with fresh vegetables and salmon right from Washington State’s Columbia River.

As a mom, I was heartened to hear of all the really awesome ways the ship staff engage kids. Each kid receives an “expedition kit” with a book, maps, and details. Every day kids are asked questions about what they’ve learned and if they answer all the questions, at the end of the trip they receive a Jr. Naturalist hat. How cool is that?

Like our guide said, going on an expedition with Lindblad and National Geographic is “the difference between watching the Discovery Channel on television versus being one of the film crew on location.”

After touring the Sea Bird, all I can say is sign me up. Bon Voyage!

This experience was complimentary and provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, but all opinions expressed are my own.

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Take the road less traveled, Beth

Yellowstone National Park: The wheels on the bus go round and round

April 30, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

She was a sweet ride. Yellow as the breast of a Western Meadowlark, the state bird of Wyoming, from where she hails.

Built for comfort up top by White Motors in 1937, with reliability underneath (her chassis is a Ford motor home!), she can accommodate up to 14 passengers. She is–the Yellowstone National Park Touring Bus.

This week, I was lucky enough to go for a ride in her, though sadly not in Yellowstone. Our tour guide was Leslie Quinn, a real-deal veteran Yellowstone National Park tour guide, who came out to give bus tours for one summer when he was in college, and never left. He told us Yellowstone has approximately 50 guides (30-40% women–I asked). These days Leslie trains all the park’s tour drivers (19 new drivers this summer), teaching them everything they need to know, except one thing:

“The only thing I can’t teach you, is enthusiasm.”

And, an enthusiastic guide he was, as we took a tour of Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood. We rumbled in style past Safeco Field, where any wild animals in the area gave a wide berth. Not a single unwelcome visitor appeared at our bus windows asking for handouts, in contrast to some of the stories our guide regaled us with.

When I asked him if the bus ever experienced “close encounters” with big game, Leslie said yes indeed. Until 1970 people who rode the touring buses frequently fed bears, even though it was (and still is) against park regulations. Until, one day, as a former bus driver Jerry Pessman was telling the tourists on his bus, “Please don’t feed the bears,” and turned around to find a woman–just behind him–feeding a bear from her bus window. He swung out his arm and cold-cocked the bear, who promptly headed for the hills. After that Jerry became famous for being the first, in the park’s history, to perform such a feat of derring-do.

During our 20-minute tour, Leslie told us the Yellowstone Touring Bus runs tours along the figure eight roads in the park every day, except in the early spring and late fall when most of the roads in the park are closed. Leslie reminded us that while tourists come to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful, Yellowstone’s reliably erupting geyser, and the big mammals–spectacular megafauna–that roam the park such as bears, moose, elk and wolves, the parks true aim is to protect and preserve the wildness of the park. That’s why they don’t want people feeding bears from the bus, or any other place they might run across them, and that’s why the park rangers themselves never feed wild animals–even those who may be starving or appear to be in desperate need, because they don’t really need the “help” of humans, and have managed to survive for centuries without it.

If you get to Wyoming and Yellowstone, make sure to take a ride on the Yellowstone Park Touring Bus. The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round…all through the park.

This experience was complimentary and provided by Wyoming Office of Tourism, but all opinions expressed are my own.

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Take the road less traveled, Beth

Three years ago: London, England

March 12, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Three years ago, on March 13, Big Papa and I boarded a British Air flight and headed to London.

This was the first leg of a journey which would ultimately culminate in an Armenian court, in front of a judge, who would determine if she would allow us to adopt one special baby girl. And, this was also the last leg of a journey that had taken us three years, four trips to Armenia (five for me), and one failed adoption, before we were able to reach this milestone: Parenthood!

We were very excited.

And extremely terrified.

We arrived in England the next day, March 13, after10 hours of flight time and with a nine hour time difference.

Hello London! Hello jet lag!

The last time I was in London was 1980, at the end of my semester abroad in Amsterdam. I was excited to spend a few days–our last hurrah–before two became three. We had a grand time:

Exploring Kensington Garden and Hyde Park

Visiting Big Ben and Buckingham Palace

Walking over bridges–old and new

Enjoying a few meals out–bangers and mash…and beer, of course!

Three days later, it was time to say farewell. See you on the flip-side Heathrow. All aboard to Armenia!

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Hyde Park: Taking a gander by the Serpentine

March 6, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Three years ago, visiting London, we spent a sunny afternoon strolling through Hyde Park. When we spied a Greylag goose frolicking in the Serpentine, we just had to stop and watch his antics. What a grand time he was having splashing, flapping, rolling over, and diving into the water. His goose friend (gal pal?), standing a mere few feet away, appeared to be unaware or else she just didn’t care. Maybe she wanted a few moments of peaceful meditation in the sunshine. As for the gander…

You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching

~William W. Purkey

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Kids on Kauai: 8 things to do rain or shine

February 20, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

A year ago, we vacationed on Kauai. We rented a house on the north shore near the town of Kilauea.

I’d like to say we spent the entire trip sunning ourselves on a sandy beach, but sun was a scarce commodity. Big Papa would remind me: Well, we are staying within a few miles of the rainiest spot on earth.

But the ocean was–right there–as were turtles, so I am fondly reminiscing. Plus, Big Papa got me a tropical bouquet for Valentine’s Day this year with a few of these:

And these…so I’ve been missing Kauai.

This was Little Bird’s first trip to the tropics. For a 2-1/2 year old, island life is grand. Here are 8 of her favorite things to do on the island of Kauai, rain or shine.

1. Ride the mini-carousel in Hanalei. We did this several times during a downpour. Bring lots of quarters.

2. Eat shave ice. It’s extravagant, colorful and yummy. This monster cup is from Ono Ono in Kapa’a.

3. Go to the beach. Anini Beach is awesome for Keiki–little ones. And there are turtles.

4. Chase chickens. They are everywhere, so why not?

5. Hop aboard the Kauai Plantation Railway. Beautiful farmland, a train stop to check out goats and pigs. Samples tasty rum back at the depot. Something for all ages.

6. Kanoodle with the babysitter. First time we’ve ever had someone sit for Little Bird on vacation. Sharon was the bomb. Arrived with a suitcase full of fun. Ardea loved her. Best $ Mama and Dada spent!

7. Luxuriate in the outdoor shower. This was Mama and Little Bird’s special together time every day. We had a blast.

8. Which brings us to the BEST thing of all to do on Kauai. Run NAKED as much as possible. Who cares about free-range chickens? Free-range kids are where it’s at.

Rain or shine, run wild, run free. Be a kid on Kauai.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Six things I miss about HOME when I’m traveling

January 23, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

I love to travel. Even when I long for the comfort of home, I always feel a little sad when we’re about to board that plane and head back. Here are six things I miss when I’m away from home:

1. My cat*: I think about her all the time when I’m on the road. Traveling without her makes me feel like I’ve left a family member behind. Because I have.

2. My bed: Even though I’ve slept in some very interesting beds–a straw bed in an Austrian B&B, and a rock hard Tibetan bed come to mind–in several really cool places, there is nothing like your own bed, your own pillow and being asleep in your own familiar bedroom. And yes, there she is again, that cute cat.* I can’t think about my bed without thinking about my cat. She’s slept by my, and now our, side for nearly 20 years. My bed always feels a bit empty when I’m traveling and she’s not in it.

3. My shower: Occasionally I’ve enjoyed an incredible shower when traveling. I remember some of those to this day! Showering nude with Little Bird in the outdoor shower on Kauai, large dual shower heads at the Oregon B&B in a silo. However, more often than not, I’ve had showers I’d like to forget, where there was no hot water–or no water at all. I still remember some of those to this day too (like not being able to take a shower the morning we left Armenia for our 36 hour adventure bringing home Little Bird). Plus, at home we have an awesome old claw-foot tub…and the best shower assistant, aka Maggie, the cat,* a family could want. She is always on the rug whenever someone is taking a bath or a shower.

4. My garden: I’ve had the good fortune to visit some amazing gardens and sit in adorable pocket-sized city parks. But in my garden, no one tells me I can’t walk on the grass (even though we have none) — I’m talking about you parks in Paris. I don’t have to worry about being propositioned while sitting on a park bench (Athens) or seeing some guy, or two guys on the same day in two separate parks enjoying himself (Athens, again). If I need a little respite, I can sit and watch the plants grow, listen to the birds tweet (I love those birdies!), dig my fingers in the soil, or grab a bite of fresh-grown veggies if I’m hungry. Maggie* likes the garden too, lounging in the sunshine, savoring a bit of catnip.

5. Water straight from the tap and fresh vegetables: This only applies when traveling abroad in certain destinations. When we visited China and Tibet nearly a month, and on our longer trips to Armenia, I really missed drinking fresh water that didn’t come from a bottle. I missed ice cubes too. And brushing my teeth with water that flowed freely from the tap. We always try to be super careful and–knock on wood–so far have not gotten sick (at least from water or food).

Not being able to drink water straight from the tap also means not eating any fresh veggies that may have been washed with water. Not being able to eat fresh vegetables really bums me out because I love them and would like to try some of unique fresh veggies I’ve encountered in far-flung locations. But I’ve heard stories from fellow travelers who did indulge, and they weren’t pretty. I’m not sure how to tie this into my cat,* other than she also enjoys water straight from the tap. And asparagus.

6. Being in one spot: Exciting as travel is, and as much as I wish I could travel quite a bit more than I currently do, being on the road and living out of a suitcase can get old. There is nothing like the security of familiar surroundings, sights and smells.

There is no place like home. With a cat.*

*And this is not a post about my cat. Well, maybe just a bit.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Five things I miss about TRAVEL when I’m home

January 22, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

The road less traveled is the road I’d like to be on. I miss traveling and wish I could take trips more often. Remembering places we’ve been makes me happy, and dreaming about the places I’d like to go stirs my imagination. And I love hearing friends tell stories of their journeys, envious though I might be.

Here are a few things–and there are many more–I miss about travel:

1. Adventure: Hearing monks chant in Tibet and seeing the Mt. Everest are the types of adventures I wish I could have more of. Finding myself in unfamiliar settings, being surrounded by people speaking another language, not knowing what surprises might lie around the corner–I love it all. I’ve probably been to more places than the average person, but far fewer than many travelers I know. After all, this blog is hosted on a travel website! It’s hard not to feel envious when I scan blog posts and read travel memoirs. So when people ask why we chose to adopt from Armenia well, for one–duh–travel!

2. Trying new food! Whether it’s yak lung in Tibet or Lahmajun in Armenia (oh Lahmajun, how I miss thee), enjoying unfamiliar cuisine is thrilling to me. Shave ice in Hawaii, Gouda cheese in Amsterdam, champagne in Epernay. Stinky tofu might not go down in the record books as a food I’d try again, but telling the story of Big Papa’s memorable stinky tofu encounter always makes me laugh. Or remembering our lunch with a lama–and being served hot water instead of tea. Even the Parisien waiter who stiffed us by giving us change in foreign currency from around the world, not Euros, on our first trip together to France–I’ve filed him in my travel memories under food.

3. Meeting people: I have met some really fabulous people while traveling, like Sergei, our favorite Armenian painter whose artwork is on the wall in nearly every room of our house. Or my dear friend Hripsime who lives in the city where my daughter was born. Even fleeting encounters have turned into longer correspondence, like Karla–the incredible photographer I met while whale watching in Baja. And I still think about how lucky I was to run into two female Swedish travelers while camping in Matala, Greece. They were my companions for only a few days, but I got to see and do things I otherwise might not have traveling solo on a Greek island.

4. Stepping out of my comfort zone: Shop at the same grocery store, drive familiar routes–the habits and rhythm of my days at home, while enjoyable, don”t deviate much. When I’m traveling, every day is a new opportunity to do something different, see something I’ve never seen before, get lost, haggle, discover something–about a new place or about myself. It’s fun to shake things up a bit, good for the brain and good for the soul. If we hadn’t turned left at that corner, we never would have found the perfect little park for having lunch. If we’d stopped before the last switch on that trail, we would have missed the mind-blowing view.

5. Disconnecting: In our uber-connected first world lives, we are always in touch. Sure there’s something comforting about knowing I can see a familiar face on Facebook with one click on my keyboard, but when I travel I find it freeing to be “out of touch.” I can’t check my email at 17,00 feet in Tibet and you know what, I don’t even want to. It’s a relief to put the news aside for a few days, a few weeks, and not feel compelled, compulsive even, about checking in on social media. My senses awaken and suddenly I’m in touch with so much more–the world outside.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

International Day: People with Disabilities

December 3, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

In too many countries, what we take for granted here in the United States

has never been granted at all.

~John Kerry, International Day of Persons with Disabilities

A friend sent me a moving video and a reminder that today, December 3, 2014, is International Day of People with Disabilities. As a person who grew up with two disabled family members, I am so aware of how far the U.S. has come, and how far we still have to go.

Growing up, there were no stalls big enough for wheelchairs, no curb cuts, no mechanical prosthetics, no accommodations in schools or work places. The attitudes people held about those with disabilities were astounding: fear and ignorance, misinformation, lack of compassion, and the assumption that if a person was less able physically, or cognitively, they were less of a person.

When I travel, I am always saddened that very, very little of what we take for granted in the United States, is available to disabled people around the world. I still remember seeing a man in Lhasa, Tibet without legs, on a skateboard, using his arms to maneuver himself around and it struck me how few disabled people I saw–anywhere–in public. I’ve commented on this fact to Big Papa many times. I thought about it a lot when we were in Armenia. I never once saw someone with an obvious disability, never once someone in a wheelchair, never once even someone on crutches…other than within the confines of an orphanage.

And the lack of services for disabled people internationally doesn’t even begin to touch on the attitudes held in many countries about being disabled. Even though more than one billion people – approximately 15 percent of the world’s population – live with some form of disability they are viewed as an embarrassment, pariahs. Disabled people have poorer health, lower education achievements, fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without. People with disabilities are also at higher risk of violence, are frequently stigmatized, discriminated against, and ignored. There is virtually no support for someone with a disability, and certainly a lack of social support for those who care for them.

I’m not sure what it will take to raise awareness, increase understanding, educate, and foster change. But change we must.

Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.

Nikos Kazantzakis

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Kensington Gardens

November 7, 2014 by Beth Shepherd

Where Kensington high o’er the neighbouring lands
‘Midst greens and sweets a regal fabric stands,
And sees each spring, luxuriant in her bowers,
A snow of blossoms and a wild of flowers,
The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair
To groves and lawns and unpolluted air.
Here, while the town in damps and darkness lies,
They breathe in sunshine, and see azure skies.

~Thomas Tickell, Kensington Gardens

Kensington Gardens, a lovely place to meander if you happen to find yourself in London. Magnificent trees, sculpture and a royal palace are spread across 242 acres. Kensington was originally part of Hyde Park and it was in these gardens Queen Victoria lived, until she became queen of England in 1837. When I visited, in 2012, I tried to imagine her as a young girl, strolling through this elegant landscape with its serene gardens.

Take the road less traveled, Beth