Bryce Canyon

After a couple weeks in the green part of California, we headed east to Utah to visit some friends and attend a wedding.  The beautiful orange colors reminded us a little of our current corner of the world.

But we'd never seen anything quite like Bryce Canyon, with its immense towers, arches, bridges -- and incredible swaths of lush, green forest.

Slot Canyons

Four hours from Vegas, and five from Salt Lake City, adventures await. 

Say yes to everything: smoked jalepeno buffalo. 

Claustrophobia. 

A tight squeeze.

And exploring with old friends.

The Atlantis Aquarium

Legend has it that, when building the Dubai Palm, workers uncovered a lost city. To a city crowded with delusion-prone imaginations and eager to realize the most extravagant childhood dreams ("let's build the tallest, shiniest tower we can!"), underwater ruins could only mean one thing: Atlantis.

And so the grand hotel at the end of the Palm is called the Atlantis. And the fancy aquarium within it is Atlantis-themed, with a confusing array of unspecified fish and jellies drifting through fake ruins. In between the tanks, designers have interspersed rooms full of mist, fog, mystifying sculptures, and fountains.

Were we confused? Why, yes. Not having read up on the fake history we were encountering, we were occasionally at a loss. But we were also pretty happy. Why? It's summer here, and it's cold in the aquarium. Crazy cold.

Skiing (inside) in the desert

A few months ago, we made a list of things to do in the summer in Abu Dhabi. At the top was "walk around Carrefour and find the weirdest food we can." We still haven't done that, or rather, we still haven't actually bought cassoulet in a jar, or samosa wrappers, or *all the spicy sauces* from around the world. 

But we can now say that we've accomplished the second item on the list, which involves less thought: Ski Dubai. The Mall of the Emirates, home of Ski Dubai, has long been an object of fascination for Margaret, who dreams of their après-ski, their hot chocolate, and their penguins.

But Ski Dubai is an object of much mirth, both in the Emirates, and beyond. Our plans to go ski a few weeks ago inspired jibes not just from friends and family back home, but incredulous stares from most expats, too. They don't understand: it is perhaps the only place on earth where we can consider ourselves competent ski-ers, and as a result, it is a ski Mecca of sorts for us. 

We went on a sleepy Saturday morning, hoping to beat the crowds. We did: at first, there were more slow signs than people.

And the slow signs, they were urgent, occurring once every thirty meters or so. There are lots of reasons to go slowly, apart from our skill level. There are plastic trees to see, interior decorating choices to critique, and there is even a halfway cafe, which we admit we frequented....

...but we have some standards. We didn't induulge in the après-ski fondue and hot chocolate. Their establishment failed to provide a real fire.

We did, however, consider dining at Mall View Palace, whose name caused us much joy. Only in the Emirates could a mall be considered view-worthy. (Its status as a palace is doubtful the world over.)

California adventures in pictures

While we were back in California, we got to visit a few of our favorite places. We went tide pooling in Point Lobos...

Tide pooling in Muir Beach...

To the top of Mount Tam...

And castle-building and seal-spotting on the beach with cousins...

It was wonderful to be back in the land of family, fog, and temperate weather. California, we miss you!

The Highlands

Take the train from Glasgow to Fort William. It has the reputation of being the most beautiful train ride in Europe. And though I have been on very few train rides in Europe, I cannot imagine my jaw dropping any lower than the moment when I looked up from my computer to see the sun setting over the beginnings of the Scottish highlands.

Pictures are insufficient. You must go. It will be a wonderful day, and as my thesis director insists every time train travel gets a mention, "It's wonderful. You can have lunch on board."

I went to the Highlands to hang out and write, and to climb Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. It is short enough that I ran up most of it....past the tree line...

Up through pastures and heather....

...until I reached the North Face of Nevis....

...where I joined forces with a very gentlemanly Polish medical student. We spent the day attempting to climb the North Face, instead of going up the easy-peasy tourist route. 

This was about as high as we got. Then the fog rolled in. We spent some time clinging to some grassy cliffs, before I suggested that we make our way down to sanity. So we never made it all the way up, though we were only twenty feet from the ridge. Both our mothers heaved an unwitting sigh of relief, as we slid our way slowly down. Out of the fog, it was fun to ramble and trade stories.

Down in Fort William (the hub town for Nevis), the weather was downright sunny, and I had a gorgeous run back to Ban Navie (a tiny little enclave where I stayed). A little trail meanders through pastures to join the two towns.

As if the scenery weren't enough, there is also a ruined castle along the route (Inverlochy). 

And a canal to explore....

....with a fancy Victorian loch system (Neptune's staircase) to gawk at.

And my lovely mountain to salute. Next time, Ben Nevis, I will climb you. 

I have to admit that the next day, I was too tired for much running or walking. So I took the Jacobite Express, a restored steam train, from Fort William to Mallaig.

The train is now famous as the Hogwarts Express....



...but there was lots to see besides the aqueducts. For example:

(Yes, that's Scotland.)

In Mallaig, I escaped the bevies of tourists in search of fish and chips, and found a lovely little loop in the hills above town.

Scotland, I'm in love.

Glasgow in Pictures

Glasgow was gorgeous. Some fellow graduate students piled into a West End apartment, where we had a conference. We didn't expect much. Isn't Glasgow an industrialist waste land?

Not really. There were lovely parks...

....a tremendous university campus, medieval, and rebuilt in the Victorian period.

And unbelievable museums. In this one (the Kelvingrove), there is an organ concert every day at 1 pm. It may begin seriously, but it winds up playing soundtracks for Indiana Jones, Star Wars, etc.

The city was full of beautiful surprises....

 ...and the tiny ones were best of all.