Armenia: memorializing the depths of genocide.

When I first conceived this blog as a means of escape during the pandemic, I dreamed of posting about luxurious beaches and the world's most revered cultural institutions. Not knowing much about Armenia, I reached out to one of my dearest girlfriends who is Armenian to get a few suggestions about places to "go" this weekend. She mentioned Lake Sevan and the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, but tonight I was drawn to her recommendation of the Armenian Genocide Memorial. 

The video clip above captures the stories of two centenarian Armenians who lived through the genocide. Before tonight, I knew very little about this tragedy in which over a million and a half people died. But in listening to these two people's stories, I imagined that these two soulful people were just like my grandparents, who lived through the crime and devastation of World War II in Poland. 

Sometimes travel is not about escaping to a fantasy world. Sometimes it is about educating, confronting, becoming vulnerable to sadness. History and reality can transform your soul in such a penetrating way and I am grateful to my friend for granting me such a good lesson.  

 

Argentina: the birthplace of tango.

 

Sexy. Think Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair. More intimate than many love scenes, with legs intertwining legs and bodies slithering bodies.

According to Wikipedia, the tango originated in the border between Argentina and Uruguay. While it had its origins in brothels and bars of ports, today it is on the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. 

Each year, Buenos Aires hosts the "Tango World Cup." This video captures the quest of two dancers as they attempt to win the competition. In my opinion, Pierce and Rene have nothing on them.

Antigua and Barbuda: Sailing Week.

I love sailing. There is something therapeutic about being on the water, sleeping on the water, doing everything on the water. My husband and are were scheduled to celebrate our shared milestone birthdays on a chartered yacht last April, but COVID changed that.

COVID also wreaked havoc on Antigua Sailing Week for the second year in a row, as the regatta takes place in April and the pandemic has not yet subsided. The 53rd edition of the race will take place April 30 - May 6, 2022, and this video from 2019 is a lovely reminder of life BC (before COVID).

Angola: gleaming from the ashes of its colonial past.

 

Google Angola and you will find lots of information on the influence of its Portuguese colonizers and the Catholic Church. However, if you spend any time exploring those links, you can likely to fall into a rabbit hole of stories and images of European ex pats running charities caring for children living on the streets. If those stories and images are all you see of Angola, you will miss the more inspiring narrative of sons and daughters returning home to a nation to build upon their parents' legacies or starting businesses. 

This video (another gem by France 24) showcases Luanda, the capital of Angola. True, you need not look to far to find multi-lane highways that dead-end into dirt roads or families who were displaced by urbanization. But you will also find a place that gleams with the hopes and dreams of its young people. 

Andorra: ever heard of it?

I fancy myself a well-traveled person. I was an international affairs major in college. But I had never heard of Andorra -- until I saw it on my alphabetical list of countries recognized by the United Nations. Before doing any research I thought it was in Africa, but was schooled by a girlfriend of mine when she informed me that it was a microstate in the Pyrenees between Spain and France.

So rather than being a travel vlog, today's trip by sofa is an engaging history lesson on the 16th smallest nation in the world, courtesy of Simon Whistler. You're welcome.

Algeria: Rock the Casbah.

The Sharif don't like it

Rockin' the Casbah

Rockin' the Casbah

The Sharif don't like it

Rockin' the Casbah

Rockin' the Casbah

- Rock the Casbah by The Clash

I had no idea what this song meant when I first heard it as a teenager in the 1980s. I could have sworn that the first line of the song was about two women, Charlene or Diane, and the singer was trying to pick one of them based on how they were doing something called the casbar. It was quicker for me to understand existentialism by Albert Camus' famous tome, L'Etranger (which I read in the original French) than to figure out what Joe Strummer meant singing about those women.

Fast forward to today. I finally had a chance to research the song's lyrics, what they mean, and even their place in cultural history. The song was banned from American radio following the September 11 attacks for being inappropriate. I watched the video for the first time ever today and still can't figure out what a Hasidic Jewish man, an armadillo, and an oil rig have to do with a Mediterranean citadel.

All of this is pretext for today's sofa adventure to the Casbah in Algiers, made possible by France 24. Even though I run the risk of some people not understanding French, I chose to share it provides the most compelling images of the Casbah renovation I have seen.

  

The Albania Riviera.

In researching this week's destination, I realized that I know very little about Albania. I did not realize that Mother Teresa was born in Albania, nor did I know that the Albanian Riviera was a thing. The host of this video is David Hoffman, the creator the David's Been Here website. You can visit a lot of beaches and see a lot of Albanian cuisine in 33 minutes!