Probably a lot of young people have never even heard of the song, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, but for any Baby Boomer, this was a big Glen Campbell hit back in the 60s!  Well, we got to Phoenix (ten of us!) and after the snow in New York and Pittsburgh, a balmy, sunny 70° (21°C) was somewhat of a shock to our system!

The shock didn’t last long, however, as we took off coats, sweaters, scarves, gloves, and wool caps for lighter clothes.

From skyscrapers to mountains, from streets filled with cars and people, to open plains filled with brush and cactus, we marveled at how beautiful and vast our country truly is.

Maya Muses:  It was a feast for the eyes, where the sky meets the earth and clouds caress the tips of the mountains, on sacred ground and it was nurturing to the soul for us to see such beauty passing by.

Photo Credits:  Personal Photos

I’ve always heard that New York City during the Holiday Season takes on an entirely different atmosphere as New Yorkers get caught up in the holiday spirit.  People slow down and the snow not only covers the streets with a blanket of white and everything seems more hush-hush, but there’s also a blanket of goodwill that comes over New Yorkers.

Of course I wanted to see this for myself!  Afterall, when you go to NYC at any other time of the year it’s a dog eat dog, survival of the fittest, jungle out there!  Everyone rushing about, stressed out in what can only be described as the Rat Race and even though you go there as a tourist, you end up as stressed out as everyone else.

Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Christmas Season really does change New Yorkers.  People weren’t as fixated on getting from one place to another, where time is money and the goal is the almighty dollar.  People in the streets actually stopped and took time to give directions.  Everyone seemed friendly and helpful.

The memo to be nice, however, stopped there; they forgot to tell those working underground in the subways that it was Christmastime.  Whenever one of us asked for directions, this was the usual exchange:

Me:  “Excuse me, is that the direction toward Greenwich Village?” I said, pointing toward the southbound train.
Subway Worker:  “Humph.” she mumbled, waving her hand in the direction I was pointing toward.
Me:  “Sorry?”
Subway Worker:  Still not saying a word, but waving her hand more vigorously in the same direction.  (Words were just too much work to ask of her.)

Again we needed directions down in the subway.

Me:  “Excuse me, can you tell me which train to take to catch the ferry for the Statue of Liberty?”
Subway Worker:  “Mummph, muummble muumble mummble.” she said through the glass window, but with her microphone off.
Me:  “I’m sorry, but I can’t hear you.”
Subway Worker:  Grabbing her mike so I could hear her, and then thinking better of it, she pushed her microphone away from her once more and said, “Mummph, muummble muumble mummble.”
Me:  “Sorry, but I still can’t hear you.”
Subway Worker:  Out came her hand in a “Heil Hitler” salute, pointing in the direction I was suppose to take.

Over and over it was the same old story!

I looked at Patrick and Rose and shook my head thinking, ……And they say that Parisians are rude!  At least in Paris if you ask someone politely for help, they will very politely help you as much as they can.

Maya Muses:  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Parisians get a bum rap.  In 39 years, I can only think of 3 rude encounters with Parisians.  Instead they are as polite and as helpful as anyone can hope for, many times going out of their way to assist you. 

Like Parisians, however, I really shouldn’t generalize about New Yorkers, I’m sure there are many of them who are just as helpful, and as I’ve said, people on the streets seemed quite friendly, but it was systematic down in the subways that any assistance you may need is seen as an intrusion on their naptime! 

Still, it doesn’t take long to encounter a rude New Yorker; from waiters in a restaurant to public transportation, you won’t be disappointed…..not even during the Holiday Season!

Photo Credits:  Personal Photos

Maya Muses:  A friend put this photo on her Facebook page and I just had to share it.  Talk about precision, I don’t think those seagulls could have positioned themselves better, and talk about being in the right place at the right time to snap this picture!  Laurent Fontaine from Bordeaux just happened to take a smile in the sky at the right moment!

Photo Credit:  Laurent Fontaine

We had been walking all day, from the Statue of Liberty to the financial district, over to Ground Zero, Chinatown and finally making our way to Little Italy.  From the outside, Lunella’s looks inviting, but beware, the warm hospitality stops there!  Right at the doorstep!

There were six of us, Rose, Holly, Katarina, Joey, Patrick and myself.  We were lead to a large table in the back room.  When I told the waiter that Patrick and I would be paying a separate check before we started to order, he was not very happy!

Waiter:  “Well, how are you planning on paying?” he stood there tapping his notepad with his hand.
Patrick:  “What?”
Me:  “With a credit card.”
Waiter:  “You have to spend at least $30 to be able to use a credit card.”
Patrick:  “That’s not true.  If I want to spend $1, I can use a credit card.  That’s the law.”

At this point, the waiter backed off.

Waiter:  “I don’t know about any laws, but that’s what my boss tells me and I just follow what my boss says.”
Patrick:  “Well, we plan on spending at least $30, so you don’t have to worry.”
Waiter:  “I’m just repeating the restaurant’s policy.  Take it up with the owner.” he said, walking away.

During dinner a table of eight near us had a slight accident when a young woman spilled a glass of wine on the table.  She quickly used her cloth napkin to soak up as much as possible.  The waiter came by….

Young woman:  “Can I have another napkin to clean up the wine, please?”
Waiter:  “Use the one you have!” he said, in an angry tone, waving one arm in the air.  Everyone looked at him like he had gone mad!  “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” he said, trying to backtrack because he knew he had gone too far, but I noticed he didn’t bring her another napkin.

Katarina and I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo, Patrick had Maniccoti, Holly had Cheese Ravioli, Rose and Joey had the Linguine ai Frutti di Mare and Rose had an appetizer of Stuffed Mushrooms.  The food was good, but nothing exceptional.  The portions were smaller than what you would normally get at an Italian restaurant.  Think of a child’s menu and you’re closer to what they actually serve, although the prices are definitely not children menu prices!

Patrick and I had a bottle of wine, while the others all preferred non-alcoholic beverages.  Dinner went without a hitch, as the two waiters working the room kept an iron fist over the patrons.  A large picture of Padre Pio hanging in the room watched over everyone as I quickly realized with the kind of wait staff we were dealing with, we definitely needed the prayers of Padre Pio!

When we asked for the bill; our waiter brought our checks and left.  Rose paid in cash and left a 15% tip.  Patrick gave the waiter a credit card.  When the waiter returned, he asked Rose if she needed change.

Rose:  “No, that’s fine.”

A few minutes later, the waiter returned and threw the money down on the table.  No one understood why.

Rose:  “What was that?!”
Me:  “Didn’t you tell him that was his tip?”
Rose:  “Yeah, I told him.”

The waiter returned like a raging bull and brought a menu with him.

Waiter:  “Do you see here on the menu, when there’s a table of six, there’s automatically an 18% gratuity.”
Me:  “So?
Waiter:  “You’re suppose to leave me 18%!” he said, pointing his finger at the menu.
Me:  “It says when there is a tab of six people or more; they are four and we are two.” I said, still not quite sure why he was so angry.

By this time, Patrick was getting ready to leave his usual 20% tip, but the waiter wasn’t through.  He came back with the owner, screaming about his tip.

Owner:  “Where are you people from?” the owner asked in a tone of voice saying that maybe us country bumpkins didn’t know we were suppose to leave a tip at all!
Rose:  “Tell her you’re from Paris.” Rose said in Spanish.
Me:  “We’re from Paris, France.”
Owner:  “Well, maybe you don’t know that you need to leave a tip.”
Me:  “Look, he’s owned a four-star French restaurant for over 25 years….”I said, pointing to Patrick.
Patrick:  “I’ve been in the restaurant business for over 30 years, I always leave a 20% tip.” Patrick said, getting caught up in the fracas.
Owner: “You need to leave a tip of…..”
Me:  (To Patrick)  “You know what!  Don’t leave a tip!  Don’t leave a penny!” I said to Patrick, who still had the pen in the air, ready to leave a tip.  (To Rose)  “Take your tip and put it in your pocket.”  Rose was one step ahead of me and was already putting her dollars back into her purse.
Owner:  “You don’t leave a tip and something bad is going to happen to you when you leave.  What goes around, comes around.” she said, pointing a finger at me.
Me:  “Exactly!” I said to her.  “What goes around, comes around.  He was so rude, now he doesn’t get a tip!  He doesn’t deserve one red cent and that’s exactly what he’s going to get!  Nothing!  Nil!  Nada!  You need to fire your waiters and get new staff!”

We got up to leave as the other patrons knew better not to look over at us or else they would be reprimanded by the staff.  It was exactly like an Oliver Twist mealtime at the orphanage!

The owner walked away as we put on our coats and started heading to the front room.  The waiter was there pacing anxiously wanting to know how much he got.

Waiter:  “So, how much did they leave me?” he asked the owner.
Owner:  “Get out of here!” she said pushing him away.  “Get back to work and leave me alone!”
Waiter:  “How much?” he insisted, as only a member of the family would talk to a boss.  “How much did they leave?”
Owner:  “You want to know how much they left you!” she screamed at him as the patrons in the front room all stared.  “They left you nothing!  Zero!  Niente!” she said, parroting my tone of voice and what I had said earlier.

We left the restaurant laughing!  It was like being in some bad movie skit!  I went to see what people were saying about this restaurant on the internet and apparently it happens all the time!  Over and over people have left comments about how horrible the waiters are, how they insist upon getting at least 18% or more in tips, how people have been refused service if they don’t spend enough money, and how small the portions are that you leave the restaurant still hungry.

Maya Muses:  We were no different.  We were still hungry, so our tip money paid for our desserts at another restaurant!  The cakes and pastries never tasted so good!

Maya Muses:  From New York to San Francisco, with all sorts of stops in between, I just haven’t found time to update my blog but we’ll be slowing down shortly and I’ll be able to put photos of some of the great places we’ve been to so far!  Have to run because I have another plane to catch!

Photo Credit:  Flickr

New Year’s Eve in Times Square is a once in a lifetime experience and now I know why!  Anyone would be crazy to do it more than once!

Getting to Times Square at 3:00 in the afternoon was already far too late.  Times Square was filling up faster than a Black Friday Christmas sale!  Katarina, Patrick, Rose, Joey, Holly and myself were in a sprint with tens of thousands of other people from around the world to get inside before we were blocked off by the NYC police!

Unfortunately there were already thousands and thousands of other people ahead of us trying to do the same thing!

As one entire block filled up with people, we were told by the police to run up to the next block before that one closed!  Running with everyone holding hands so we wouldn’t get separated from one another was a crazy ordeal all its own.

Each time we ran and arrived at the next opening, we arrived a little too late; it was blocked.  Over and over we ran, for seven blocks to be exact!

If you’ve ever been to New York City, then you know that blocks in the city are huge!  By the 7th block it was every man for himself!  We finally made it inside huffing and puffing.  The only good thing - with all that running no one was feeling cold!  Not yet in any case!

Our next goal was to make our way down toward Times Square, but we were packed in like sardines and everyone else had the same objective in mind.  The mood was rather festive as we slowly wormed our way down inch by inch meeting people from Italy, France, Spain, Japan, Russia, and Australia along the way.

People were offering chocolate chip cookies to whoever wanted one.  We finally got to 50th street where by sheer luck the police were letting people through and we at last had a perfect view of the ball that would drop at midnight.  Even more incredible we had room to move!  Now all we had to do was stand there another eight hours….yes(!) 8 hours(!)….. and wait for that ball to drop!!!

Halfway through the evening it began to rain!Looking at my watch with four hours to go, I began to question our sanity.  Do we really stand here another four hours in the freezing rain?  Why not go back to the hotel room, order room service and watch it on the big HD TV?  Holly and Katarina, even Patrick, would have gladly left, Joey would have gone with the majority.

I was torn.

We had now spent 5 hours waiting with another 4 to go!  Four hours seems like a lifetime when your legs are beginning to hurt and the freezing rain is making everyone feel miserable.  But!…How often does someone spend New Year’s Eve at Times Square?

I looked at my sister, Rose; she wasn’t about to budge!  Not until 2010 had put in its appearance in any case!  She was all decked out with four layers of clothing on, hand warmers in her gloves, toe warmers in her shoes, 2010 glasses on her face, and a 2010 crown that changed colors on top of her rain hood!

A nearby pizzaria was delivering pizzas to the crowds.  We put in our order and with several pizza boxes we made a dry place for us to sit.

Time moved at a snail’s pace.

Katarina and Patrick fell asleep.  I was glad to be off my feet, but still questioning my sanity.  Others began putting down pizza boxes on the ground to wait out the final hours.

Finally with one hour to go, the last 59 minutes went rather fast.  Everyone was up on their feet and the party atmosphere began.  People were hooting and hollering, laughing and dancing to keep warm.

We were doing well with all our layers of clothing and our toe warmers and hand warmers making us feel like mini built-in heaters.

The count down finally began; 10 - 9 - 8,……. digital cameras began clicking away,……. 7 - 6 - 5,……. camcorders recording the final seconds of 2009,………     4 - 3 - 2,……. people gathered around their loved ones,……. 1 - Happy New Year!!!

Maya Muses: The hours of waiting for a moment in time.  Was it worth it?  I think the answer depends on who you ask.  After watching New Year’s Eve at Times Square with Dick Clark on television year after year when I was a child, it was somewhat surreal.  Would I do it again?  Mostly likely, not.

For me, it was a special moment in time that I won’t ever forget and probably will never repeat again.  That in itself made the wait all worthwhile. 

Photo Credits:  Personal Photos

David had been in an international legal battle with the Lins e Silva family for custody that had no basis when Sean’s mother died in childbirth last year and custody should have been automatically given to David, Sean’s father.  Both the US and Brazil belong to the Hague Treaty which deals with international child abduction and states as their objectives:

• To secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any Contracting State.

• To ensure that rights of custody and of access under the law of one Contracting State are effectively respected in the other Contracting States.

I suppose that “prompt” in Brazil means five years!

The powerful Lins e Silva family made up of (hmm!) “family lawyers” felt they were above the law or any treaties, and for the past five years this seemed to be the case!  So, what turned the tide?  Very simple - Money!

$2.75 billion US dollars a year to be exact!  When once again David Goldman looked like he was going to be denied the right to see his son, the US Senate placed a hold on a trade deal with Brazil worth billions!  What happened next?  The Brazilian Supreme Court went into overtime and rapidly decided that Sean should be returned to his father immediately!  It wasn’t a hard decision.  ”Hmm, let me see….we keep Sean and lose billions of dollars a year or we give Sean back to his rightful guardian, his father, and we have a deal with the US that gives us billions of dollars every year.”

Maya Muses:  If it weren’t for the political pressure by the US and it hitting right where it hurts (in the pocketbooks) Sean would probably still be in Brazil!  The Lins e Silva family weren’t as powerful as they thought!

Photo Credits:  Google Images

Maya Muses:  A Peaceful and a very Merry Christmas to everyone!  Sending warm wishes to Sean and David Goldman and their family for finally being reunited and back in the States after a five year battle!  I’ll write more about that later, but it was great news for everyone following this saga for a number of years!

Photo Credit:  I loved this image so much from last year, it’s a repeat this year!  I don’t know who took it to give credit to - if anyone knows who the photographer is, please let me know!

Busy, busy, busy!  Christmas parties, Ari’s birthday party and the Steelers’ game at my twin’s.  And what a game it was!  It looked like all was lost up until the final 3 seconds of the game!  Roethlisberger threw a 19 yard pass to Mike Wallace like a repeat of the catch Hines Ward made to win the Superbowl.  It went right into the end zone with Wallace’s toes pointed before falling out of bounds!  The touchdown tied up the game and then a field goal for the win 37 to 36 to beat the Green Bay Packers!  Phew!!!

Everything looked so beautiful with the snow covering the trees.  Trying to get out of the drive way, however, was not an easy task!  Everyone had to push!

Maya Muses:  Still haven’t had time to make cookies though!  Tonight is another Christmas party, but tomorrow for sure!  We’ll make Kiss Kringles, Russian Tea Cakes, Walnut Tassies and Spitzbuebe.  If we’re up to it, we’ll make some Rugelah as well!  No plain old sugar cookies for us!

Photo Credits: Personal Photos

Finally!  After the entire month of November spent packing up our belongings, Patrick and I made it to my mother’s house!  We thought it would never end!
I knew I was overdoing it when I averaged 4 to 5 hours of sleep each day! Yes, day!  We were working around the clock.  I would go to bed at 6 or 7 in the morning; daylight beginning to seep through the windows.  I would climb into bed as Patrick would be waking up.  Again I would rise at 10 or 11, noon at the latest.  My body ached, but we had to finish and there was so much to do and so little time.

Before leaving we walked one last time on our beach.  The last red rays of sunlight on the water, the waves pounding on the shore.  Of course we were alone.  This was our beach, our island.  It had been this way from the very first time we arrived six and a half years earlier and it was this way until the very end.

As we drove off the island, Patrick dropped me off on the bridge to take a photo.  A photo that we said we would take so many times and never did.  As I stood there looking at the water swirling beneath me, there was a moment of panic; it’s been like this ever since our boating accident.  Water frightens me now.  I forced myself to quickly take the photos, but of course they didn’t come out as I would have liked.

We left the next morning as the sun came up.  A house is certainly not a home.  The barren walls now empty.  We walked through each room remembering.  Wonderful moments of our lives spent with family and friends in laughter; filled with music and wine and good food.  We thanked this home for the joy and happiness it brought us.  We looked at the view from our living room; the trees, the water sparkling in the sunlight one last time.  One last kiss and then we closed the door.

Patrick in one car; I in the other.  We were loaded down with Christmas gifts, suitcases, and odds and ends that weren’t making the trip back overseas, but still we wanted to keep.  Things that would end up in Mom’s attic or down in her basement to find a new home for awhile or for a long time, I really don’t know.

Maya Muses:  During that long month of November, I told Patrick, “When we get to my Mum’s, I’m going to sleep for three days!”  And so after an exhausting 12 hour drive, we made it, but my body demanded more than just three days.  We arrived a week ago, but it’s only today that I am beginning to feel like my old self once more.

Photo Credits:  Personal Photos