Pisa, Italy

Today’s photo essay is a collection of pictures from cemeteries and burial sites around the world. Just to get you in the mood for Halloween tomorrow!

The Wailing Wall, Rem'uh Cemetery, Krakow, Poland

Rem'uh Cemetery, Krakow, Poland

The new Jewish Cemetery, Krakow, Poland

The new Jewish Cemetery, Krakow, Poland

Skellefteå churchyard, Skellefteå, Sweden

Iceland

Fjaerland Cemetery, Fjaerland, Norway

Geiranger cemetery, Geiranger, Norway

Siida Museum, Inari, Finland

Colonial Cemetery, Savannah, USA

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, USA

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, USA

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Hierapolis Necropolis, Pammukale, Turkey

Gallipoli, Turkey

Marie Laveau's tomb, St Louis Cemetery #1, New Orleans, USA

Lafayette Cemetery #1, New Orleans, USA

Lafayette Cemetery #1, New Orleans, USA

Kaisergruft, Vienna, Austria

Kaisergruft, Vienna, Austria

Arlington Cemetery, Washington DC, USA

Arlington Cemetery, Washington DC, USA

Greyfriars, Edinburgh, Scotland

Vyšehrad Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic

Mono Lake, USA

Tongatapu, Tonga

Tongatapu, Tonga

Tongatapu, Tonga

Ancient burial site, Tongatapu, Tonga

Pisa, Italy

Pisa, Italy

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France

Losing my dignity in Las Vegas

There are many ways to lose your dignity in Las Vegas. Getting groped by a stranger is one of them. No… I did not indulge in a lap dance at a seedy strip club. I just went to the airport.

So far on our trip I had been lucky enough to avoid the enhanced pat down. As you may remember I have been rather vocal about my feelings on this and the Backscatter Machine aka pornoscanner. I refuse to go through that machine but so far I haven’t needed to opt out as I have always ended up in the metal detector queue. Jesper has not been so lucky, being treated to a very awkward pat down by a TSA officer who was clearly more embarrassed than he was.

This had nothing to do with the dignity loss

It was my turn in Vegas. I winded up in the metal detector line but was selected for random explosives testing. And it turns out my shoes are explosive. It’s either that or I have the wrong views on evolution. The TSA official who was conducting the explosives test saw the book I was reading, Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin. It details how our body plans and genetics are similar to our very distant relatives, fish.

“What’s this about then?” the TSA man asked while swabbing my shoes.

“Oh, it’s about how we are similar to fish,” I replied softly somehow aware of what was brewing.

“What do you mean?” he asked ominously, looking inside my shoes and pulling out my orthotic inserts.

“Well… just about all the things we have in common with fish, similar bone structures and things…” I said trailing off.

“What about all the ways we are dissimilar?” he asked and then the alarm went off.

“Your shoes have set off the explosives alarm. I need to call my supervisor.”

Great. Stupid explosive shoes.

“Could that possibly be from going to a shooting range?” I asked meekly.

This was to be my undoing

“Yes, yes it could,” the TSA officer drawled.

The supervisor came and peered at the screen, “Yes… well you’re going to need to give her an STD.”

Or at least that’s what it sounded like.

“We need a woman, a woman… no… no one available… well send us a woman ASAP,” the supervisor barked into his walkie talkie.

Just my luck… I need an STD and there’s a shortage of women.

A mild-mannered woman shuffled up to us and directed me to stand spread-eagled on the mat.

Well this is fun…

Turns out walking on casings does in fact explosify your shoes

The original TSA official was in the background swabbing my items for explosive dust and telling me that some people believe that humans aren’t related to monkeys while the woman is trying to explain that she will only touch my sensitive parts with the back of her hands.

Why do I always end up in these ridiculous situations?

When I’m having my “sensitive parts” groped by a stranger I’m not really in the mood for a discourse about my views on evolution. Ever notice how the gyno doesn’t ask you about your political views when you’re in the stirrups. No… they talk about the weather or your plans for the weekend.

The patdown itself was not so bad though I felt rather embarrassed pulling up my shirt to expose two and half months of pigging out in America. I think worst of all was the creepy anti-evolution spokesperson glancing up from his swabbing every so often to watch another woman feeling me up. Ugh. I also think the TSA woman was thankfully a little embarrassed to do it properly because she barely touched the inside of my leg.

Eventually they gave me my things back and sent me on my way sans dignity. The whole thing (plus Jesper’s experience) has led me to two conclusions. 1) the TSA staff are as embarrassed as you are if not more and 2) they seem to have a shortage of staff available on hand (heh) to do the pat downs. Which means opting out is always inconvenient and awkward for the staff so it’s a great way to protest if you have concerns about invasive security measures like the Backscatter machine.

So from now on I’m opting out. Dignity be damned.

Lafayette Cemetery #1

Week Seven we flew to New Orleans where we ate too much food, visited spooky cemeteries, wandered the streets of the French Quarter and Garden District, jazzed it up at the Preservation Hall and Maple Leaf Bar, visited the Bayou and met lots of friendly alligators who liked to eat hot dogs and marshmallows, traded ghost stories with bartenders, got rained on in massive thunderstorms, saw waaay too many men in red dresses, toured the art galleries with drinks in hand on Dirty Linen Night and learned that New Orleans has not fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina.

Catfish Po' boy

The French Quarter

Afternoon thunder storm

French Quarter street

Window where people feel the ghostly hands of slave children

Afternoon sun and cat in a book shop

Honey Island swamp boat tour

Feeding the alligators

Born on the Bayou

An alligator called Cindy comes to say hello

Mardi Gras farewell

Lafayette Cemtery #1 in the Garden District

Tuba player at Preservation Hall

The running of the red dresses

A couple of beauties in scarlet dresses

Red dress craziness

Paint in a gallery on Dirty Linen night

Blue dog at Dirty Linen Night

Marie Laveau's tomb at St Louis Cemetery #1

Air boating in the Everglades

So far behind! It’s week twelve now and we are heading home in a few days. But I will continue to dutifully post the pictures and stories . Week six began with us still blobbing around on Miami Beach though we took a short trip out to The Everglades where we rode an airboat, got rained on and made friends with a baby alligator. Then we were meeting up with my friends Lydia and Chris to travel down to quirky Key West which was totally fun. We spent four days eating stacks of delicious food (much of it in a dessert restaurant called Better Than Sex), drinking much too much, lazing by the pool/sea and watching the home renovation channel at our apartment. We also went to visit the Hemingway House to meet a multitude of six-toed cats (the descendants of Hemingway’s original cat). Oh… and ate conch fritters.

Sunset at Miami Beach

Sunset silhouette

Sunset rays

Everglades reflection

Winding our way through the Everglades

Shy Everglades alligator

Making friends with a baby alligator

Afternoon rain in the Everglades

Sunset on the way to Key West

Key West sunshine with my friends Lydia and Chris

Colourful parrots

Best dessert restaurant ever!

Chocolatey alcoholic drinks at Better than sex

One of the best things I have ever eaten: grilled cheese and chocolate sandwiches

Mimosas for breakfast anyone?

Sunset drinks on the pier

Welcome to the conch republic

Colourful buoys

Conch fritters

Sunset fish

A descendant of Hemingway's six-toed cat

Honey I've shrunk the Verity

Getting hennaed

The Magic Kingdom

Week five saw us heading south to Florida. We started in Orlando which was actually kind of a horrible place. We were staying downtown and it turned out that our hotel was right on the border between the okay part of town and the very very bad part of town where scary people shouted at us and followed us down the street. We escaped to the Magic Kingdom for a day getting thoroughly disneyed. The next day my contiki buddy Jeff was kind enough to drive us out to the Kennedy Space Center, which was wonderful (Disney world for nerds). After bidding Orlando goodbye we trained it down to Miami Beach for a bit of relaxation on the beach.

International House of Pancakes how I missed you

Orlando clouds

Hall of the Presidents aka the animotronic president show
Photo credit: Jesper Särnesjö

It's a small world after all... creepy
Photo credit: Jesper Särnesjö

Unfortunately not the real one

The Haunted Mansion

Disney exhaustion sets in

Cafe view

Cindarella's Castle by night

Kennedy Space Center rocket garden
Photo credit: Jesper Särnesjö

Trying to squeeze into a space capsule
Photo credit: Jesper Särnesjö

Rocket

Rocket garden

Old rocket launch site
Photo credit: Jesper Särnesjö

Mecury Seven memorial

Rusting away: the old launch pad

Meeting up with my contiki buddy Jeff
Photo credit: Jesper Särnesjö

Cocoa beach

Miami Beach

Art Deco Miami Beach

Sunset at the beach

Bonaventure Cemetery

Week four brought us to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil territory, the beautiful, old town of Savannah. I finally discovered an American city I would like to live in. We met up with our friend Katty and spent the week wandering around the streets of the historic district visiting mansions with fantastic architecture and languishing in shady, green parks while Spanish moss swayed in the breeze. We discovered fried pickles, had amazing breakfasts, ate fantastic tapas, drank the strongest drink ever and had afternoon tea almost every day in old-fashioned tea rooms. We spent a day out at the beach at Tybee and I got stung by a jellyfish. We had pirate try and convert us to Christianity. We spent an evening with Cthulhu, visited a multitude of spooky cemeteries and heard plenty of ghost stories. Savannah is a place I definitely need to visit again.

Savannah church

Spanish moss moustache

Forsyth Park

A passerby

Broken window

Drinking call-a-cab at Wet Willie's

Our accommodation

Bonaventure Cemetery

Grave at Bonaventure

Spanish moss trees

My new favourite thing: red velvet cake

Katty and me at the Gryphon Tea Room

Sunshine through the cracks at Tybee

Tybee beach

Kids playing in the fountain

Chocolate martini at Lulu's

Jepson Center for the Arts

An evening with Cthulhu
Photo credit: Jesper Särnesjö

Lovecrafted

Colonial Cemetery at midnight

St Louis Cemetery No. 1

On the 29th of August 2005, the huge category five hurricane we came to know as Katrina tore through the city of New Orleans and changed its face forever. Six years on the city is pulling itself slowly back together, putting on a brave face, smiling beneath the sequins and glitter of Mardi Gras, grinning behind the mouthpiece of a gleaming tuba blaring out a cheerful tune, but the wound is still so very raw. Katrina is there, waiting behind the laughter, looking out through the eyes of those who survived. She is on the tip of every tongue, mentioned in passing all the time, despite the city’s best efforts to wash her away.

A passing storm

Our trip out to the swamps on Pearl River took us past some of the worst devastated areas of New Orleans, in the East. Our bus driver told us on the way of the destruction the area had experienced.

“That house over there covered in vines, the inhabitants left…and never came back. Block of apartments… they never came back. All of them there, left rotting as they stand and the city can’t afford to even tear them down.”

“Hospital there’s gone. University building gone. That one too… gone,” he said as we passed by empty mouldering buildings.

“New Orleans East used to have more than a hundred restaurants, now there’s only six.”

The Pearl River bayou

As we drove past we saw houses completely overtaken by vines, all mildewed wood dotted amongst those whose inhabitants had returned and tried to restore their lives. In many places all that remained were the concrete slabs, bleak in the scorching, hot sun like bones scrubbed bare by the ravages of time. But these slabs were scoured in mere minutes as the water came rushing through.

Along the sides of the road were signs offering apartments for sale for next to nothing. We passed by a group of policeman lined up about to raid a house, a brief snapshot of the dangerous side of these forgotten places.

Ruined walls

An exhibit in the Presbytère, a part of the Louisiana State Museum had more horrors to show. In the foyer a piano belonging to Fats Domino lay upended, in the same position it was found, the mud-stained keys cracked, never again to be used. Littered throughout the display were ragged pieces of wood, eaten up by mould, fetid, dark and yet somehow flower-like in shape covering the surface. One room showed a collection of videos taken during the storm, houses ripped away by the floodwater, dirty water pouring in under front doors, trees whipped in the terrifying winds. I couldn’t help the tears that rolled down my face as I walked through that museum and listened to the voices telling their stories, the awful suffering that had occurred in this city.

Fats Domino's piano

The message of hope was there however, hope for people rebuilding this city they love. And it made me wonder, why is this taking so long? The thing that surprised me so much is how much of that devastation remains, tucked away in the poorer parts of town, away from the raucous bars and strip-clubs of Bourbon Street. Away from the tourists clutching their souvenir, plastic drink containers in hand as they wobble down the street. This is the question that was asked again and again by the people of New Orleans. Why is this taking so long? Why haven’t we been rescued yet? Why can’t we go home now? Why is our city still broken after all this time?

“There’s no supermarkets anymore in this part of town.” Our host.

“You can see there, the high water mark, that shadow along the wood there.” River tour guide pointing to the level the water came up to, higher than the light switch on the front porch.

“But after Katrina we had to move for a while.” Bartender.

“Some people are just coming back now, they’ve been back only for six months.” Our host.

“I’ve been volunteering here during my holiday for the last two months, helping with the building. She’s just arrived in the last two weeks.” Korean exchange student and volunteer gesturing to her knew friend, a girl from Germany.

“I lived on the bayou here, near Slidell. Been living there near seventy years. But my house went in the flood.” Bus driver.

The piano plays no more

Colonial Williamsburg

Week three on our US trip (I know, I am woefully behind since we are up to week six!) we rested up a bit in Williamsburg, Virginia. We spent the week visiting our friends Malin, Martin and their super cute daughter Sofia, relaxing in our hotel room and ordering Chinese food (and doing some work), wandering around Colonial Williamsburg, eating a tavern, visiting the first permanent English settlement Jamestown and the revolutionary battlefields or Yorktown.

Chinese takeaway delivered to our room... in those little boxes!!!

Tasty bread at the Trellis Cafe

Old-fashioned hats

Making friends with the locals

Reconstructed Fort wall at Jamestown

Jamestown archaeological site

Beautiful Jamestown clouds

Full moon over Colonial Williamsburg

Cannon at Yorktown battlefields

Spiderwebs

Yorktown

Turquoise shutters

The view over the river

Another new friend

Colonial Williamsburg Street

Menu refraction

More beautiful clouds

Cakes in the bakery at Flushing

New York is a fantastic place if you like eating. Which, as you may have noticed I really, really do. My cousin Heather and blogger friend Sarah took us out to some fantastic places (thanks guys!). Here are some of my favourites (please excuse the poor quality of some of the photos… I didn’t have a good camera with me:

Yakitori Taisho

Crammed full of people sitting at benches in the funky East Village, Yakitori Taisho is a fantastic place to eat. And better yet, it won’t break the budget. Bring some friends to share so you can taste as many things as possible. Order big… remember you can always take it home for later in the US if you find yourself getting full (just ask for a box). Yakitori Taisho has a range of dishes but also skewers with various grilled vegetables and meats. The atmosphere is frenetic and loud, with laughter and chatting people filling every nook. Make sure you order the pork with glass noodles, slippery and salty with the tangy bite of scallions (spring onions for those of us hailing from different climes). Of the skewers we loved the spicy green peppers.

Chilled Udon noodles, skewers with various vegetables and meats, edamame and pork glass noodles

Yakitori Taisho Restaurant

Marble Lane

We were lucky enough to have an exclusive preview of this amazing restaurant a few days before opening since the other Heather was friends with the chef. Located in the Downtown Dream Hotel, if you’ve got some cash handy it’s definitely worth a visit. I highly recommend the steaks. You will never eat such a tender juicy steak in your life. In fact, steaks are their specialty. And believe me, I don’t usually even like steak but this was fantastic. They have a range of other options, a great vegetarian dish is the sweet corn and truffle pasta. Don’t miss out on the desserts, we got a taste of four of them (compliments of the chef) and they were all delicious. Once you are sated see if you can get into the rooftop bar. Ultra-cool with a phenomenal view of the city lights, they play music that is a little bit different to the run of the mill, what’s-cool-on-the-radio-right-now hits that seem to be everywhere else. Also, you might even spot a celebrity (we did… though not a very exciting one).

Complimentary tower of seafood

Scallops with pomegranates and peanut sauce

Poco

If you find yourself in New York on a Sunday don’t miss the great tradition of brunch. You have heaps of different options including buffets and all you can drink cocktail brunch (crazy brunch). Many places offer very good deals where you can get a very filling brunch for around USD$25. We decided to go for the crazy brunch and headed again to the East Village to the very hip and popular Poco… it’s crowded, it’s loud, it’s dripping with Bloody Marys and it’s a great way to start the day (no matter when in the day that may be for you as long as it’s before 3pm). At Poco they have different menu items with lots of great breakfasty options like eggs cooked in various ways and French Toast, as well as a little bit lunchier like lobster mac n’ cheese and skirt steak. I had the Poco Benedict, eggs done Benedict style but with a twist of tiny pieces of chorizo and machego cheese, served with a pimento hollandaise sauce. The food was pretty tasty but the real winner here is the unlimited cocktails. You can choose from Bloody Marys, Mimosas or Sangria many of which are served in old jam jars.

Poco Benedict

The best way to wake up

Asian food in Flushing

My blogger friend Sarah was kind enough to show us around the Chinatown that has sprung up in Flushing, Queens (check out her great blog here… she likes to write about food too and takes phenomenal food pictures that will make your mouth water). We went out for some delicious food at Sunway Cafe. Sarah recommended the Korean barbeque ribs and they were amazing. Jesper’s golden fried tofu had the perfect contrast of crispy shell with a soft melt-in-your-mouth inside. We also tried some dim sum, shrimp dumplings, chive pancakes and turnip cake. The turnip cake was particularly good, a slightly gelatinous but not unappealing texture with little chunks of bacon here and there. We also tried bubble tea for the first time, a rather shocking contrast of sweet drink with very chewy jelly type balls at the bottom. It was really quite addictive though. Sarah took us for a stroll down the main street to look at the various markets and shops along the way and to stop for more tasty snacks. If you visit, eat your way down the street stopping for small, tasty morsels along the way. You can get all sorts of great things. We tried some spicy, seasoned chicken skewers and red bean cakes for dessert.

Passionfruit bubble tea

Korean Barbeque ribs

Golden fried tofu

Visiting the shops in Flushing with Sarah

Upstairs at the Kimberley Rooftop Bar and Lounge

My cousin, Heather saved the best table for us at the rooftop bar where she works. Another place with a breath-taking view (it feels like the General Electric and Chrysler buildings are right next door) After she finished work we tried some of the tasty snacks. Stuffed mushrooms with goats cheese, tiny lobster hamburgers (sliders) and the most wonderful crispy artichokes with Parmesan cheese and lemon. It’s a great place to meet up for a drink and a bite to eat.

Beauty and Essex

If you’re dressed well enough or happen to know someone who used to work there stop by Beauty and Essex. Who knows, you might even see the lead actor from Sweet Home Alabama (we didn’t but apparently he was there whoever he is). Hidden in an old pawn shopfront, harking back to the speakeasy days, Beauty and Essex is done up like a jewellery box. Dripping with pink and pearls and glamour they have a wonderful selection of cocktails (I tried the Earl the Pearl which was a fusion of earl grey tea and lemon, mint syrup and belvedere vodka). They also have two of the best things I have ever eaten, a tomato tartare with sunnyside up quail eggs that burst in your mouth and are so good they make your eyes roll back in your head, and the creamy thick Black Bottomed Butterscotch Pot de Creme with rich, dark chocolate at the bottom. So good!

Soup dumplings and tomato tartare with sunny-side up quail eggs

Desserty goodness - Black Bottomed Butterscotch Pot de Creme

The Washington Monument

Week two saw a change of scene with us heading to the political seat of the US, Washington D.C. We stayed in a super fancy hotel in the embassy area of Dupont Circle (thanks lastminute.com). Ordering room service on the first night we spent the next few days walking around Washington in the heat checking out all the monuments. And the free museums! The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History was all I dreamed it to be. The rocks… oh the rocks.

Room service!!!

Don't disturb the mammals

Check out these huge garnets. Whoo!

All the pretty colours

Watermelon tourmaline

A lovely view

Capitol reflection

Pizza at the park

Space sculpture

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Rocketman

Ugly blue ponchos

Sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves at Ping Pong Dim Sum

Coconut and mango spring rolls with butterscotch dipping sauce

The White House

Reflection Pool fail

Arlington Cemetery

Arlington Cemetery

Arlington Cemetery

Sunset at the Tidal Basin

Washington Monument at sunset

Another great brunch