NR

Often times, on our way home from a trip, M&I will discuss what went well, what we would do differently, whether we’d re-visit, and if we’d recommend the itinerary to a friend or family member. I love Andalusia for its Muslim and Christian religious history, Bilbao for Gehry’s Guggenheim, Barcelona for the Gaudi art (yes, I LOVE visiting Spain), Reykjavik for the Blue Lagoon Spa and Luxor for the ancient Egyptian ruins. But in all the travel we’ve done since moving to London six years ago, this NYC-Cancun-Florida-LI trip is my favourite. We got the opportunity to connect with close friends in NYC before having “alone time” in Cancun, bonding with M’s family in their new home and mine in LI while caring for and doting on NR, the newest addition to our family.

Looking after NR with my parents while her parents attended to professional commitments, re-connected with old friends, and ran errands was a unique and beautiful experience. When we weren’t feeding and bathing her, we joined together to keep NR happy and entertained by taking her to the local mall’s indoor playground where the older kids would often times dote on her. She loves holding the remote control or a block to her ear and pretend it’s a phone, asking “Hello?” as if someone’s just called her. She is obsessed with electronics and gadgets, particularly ones with lights like the VCR and X-Mas tree. She also enjoys dancing to Latin music… but she also responded well to Bollywood film music! Watching my parents’ amusement as we combined forces to make “Team NR” made this trip and holiday season the best I’ve ever had.

PR Birthday

We hosted a birthday luncheon for PR and invited his friends over for Indian food (samosas, palaak paneer, tandoori chicken, chana masala, raita, naan and fried rice) along with a gorgeous red-velvet cake. The party was a great opportunity for PR’s friends to meet NR who, after getting over her initial shyness, gravitated towards PR’s 3 friends who share the singular characteristic of having shaved heads.

X-Mas 2011

After visiting M’s family in Florida, I headed to LI to see mine. I was particularly excited to spend Christmas with NR, my sweet niece. It’s her first “real” X-Mas as she was only 3 months old last year. Christmas morning she wore the “X-Mas  tunic” my mom got her and we sat by the baby tree so she could unwrap the gifts she got from her “tiger aunt” since I always buy her books (one of my mentors at work gets the credit for coining the phrase!). NR’s mom is appreciative though as she’s intent on holding off the princess-themed girls gifts that are all too popular this time of the year. Luckily, in addition to being cute, NR also has good taste: she loves samosas, so we took her to the Jackson Diner in Queens where she quite happily discovered mango lassi (I told you she has good taste). We introduced her to one of my aunts at Rockefeller Center – NR was enraptured by the Christmas tree.

West Palm Beach CityPlace

One evening we drove to nearby West Palm Beach’s CityPlace, a vibrant urban area. I was impressed with the city planning: there’s a main outdoor plaza and a number of scattered non-commercial areas for people to congregate outdoors, along with restaurants, ice cream parlors, stores, performing arts venues, and art galleries. The seven of us shared a heavenly slice of chocolate-raspberry cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory – I’m still fantasizing about that cake. But in addition to loving the cake, I was impressed with the CityPlace’s upbeat mood: the area was crawling with shoppers, music lovers (there’s tons of live music performed simultaneously in various restaurants and bars), diners and families – and, of course, the requisite hen parties.

Lion Country Safari

Continuing on the animal theme, the next day we visited the Lion Country Safari, the first “cageless zoo” in the States, where we observed a wider diversity of animals. My favorite animals were the white-handed gibbons, the only primate to move upright on two legs while running and walking, and the chimpanzees, the most closely related primate to human beings (we share  97% of our DNA make-up with chimps). I loved watching the gibbons groom themselves and the chimps interact with one another in the shade. There’s something comforting about witnessing such closely-related mammals move and interact: it’s like an opportunity to go back in time and observe our own evolutionary history. M’s favourite animals were the gentle giraffes.

P.S. I’ve got primates on the brain after having just finished reading “Sex at Dawn” in Cancun which spends the introductory chapters discussing human beings’ biology and evolution in relation to bonobos, chimps, apes, etc!

Panther Ridge Conservation Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited M’s parents in their beautiful, new home in Wellington, Florida, near West Palm Beach. The highlight of the trip was visiting the Panther Ridge Conservation Center where Judy B., the owner, took us on a tour to meet her seventeen exotic felines – leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, ocelots, cougars, and panthers. Needless to say, Judy is a unique woman: she grew up riding horses before taking in wild cats. She calls them her “babies”: we saw her enter their cages where she fed, played with and groomed them as if they were domestic cats. The felines are healthy and beautiful, happy and well taken-care of in Judy’s home. The tour was also educational: we learned the effects deforestation has on these endangered species and the significance of genetic diversity for keeping the populations robust. But entering the cage of two particularly friendly cats – Duma the Serval and Phoebe the Caracal – and having the opportunity to pet and cuddle them was the best part (apart from licking my sandaled feet so much that they were drenched in saliva!).

Cancun

We spent our time in Cancun sleeping, eating, and reading, punctuated with walks on the beach. The sand was white and clean, and the waves are so loud we could hear them through our terrace’s windows in the early mornings. While in Cancun I picked up a new hobby: Sudoku. I have become a Sudoku fiend. Conveniently, my mom-in-law is one as well so we got to swap some anecdotes when we visited my in-laws in Florida following our time in Cancun.

NYC

Our first stop on our USA/Mexico trip was visiting NYC to see friends. It was great catching up with G&C + VK so soon after our last visit. And just when you think you’ve seen it all… outside the AOL Time Warner Center we passed by a man skateboarding while swinging oars, as if in a canoe, to push himself along. And our cab driver seemed more preoccupied listening to NPR’s assessment of the Republican presidential candidates than getting us to the airport on time.

“You are what you read” (2011).

Here are 2011’s greatest reading hits:

1. J. Diaz’s “The Lessons”
2. “The Best American Magazine Writing: 2010″
3. “Medium Raw” by Anthony B.
4. “Sex at Dawn” by by Christopher R. and Cacilda J.
5. “Flourish” by Martin S.