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8 PLACES A WOMAN SHOULD DEFI. GO
I asked Griest to share some of her travel recommendations. Here are eight of her
favorite picks for women wanderers:
1. For inspiration and enlightenment: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Goddesses reign supreme in Hawaii, and the most venerated is Pele, who presides over
the volcanoes. Legend has it she secretly envies Poliahu, goddess of the snow, and
the two quarrel often - especially over menfolk. Poliahu usually wins, causing Pele
to erupt in fury, and Poliahu gets stuck cleaning the mess with her ice afterward.
(Indeed, traces of lava have been found seeping through glacial ice caps at various
epochs in Hawaiian geological history.) Even when Pele triumphs, she soon tires of
her lovers and sends them racing down the mountain, trailed by her hot, molten lava.
To see her in action, head to the Big Island. Lounge upon the white-sand beaches at
Kona Coast and the black-sand beaches at Puna district, then soak in thermal pools
set in lava rock at Ahalanui Beach Park. Pele dwells in the Halema'uma'u Crater
Overlook of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Devotees leave her offerings of flowers,
gin, and ohelo berries. Then pay homage to Poliahu atop Mauna Kea, the world's
tallest mountain (when measured base to peak). Linger til sunset to see why
Hawaiians consider their homeland to be Earth's connecting point to the universe.
2. For indulgence: Lingerie shopping in Paris
Every woman should have at least one fabulous piece of lingerie tucked inside her
drawers - even if there's no one around to show it to. Slipping on a chiffon
babydoll and dimming the lights is, after all, the best way to turn a lonely TV
dinner into a romantic dinner-for-one. To spice up your collection, fly to Paris,
where they claim to have invented it. Herminie Cadolle went down in fashion history
for "freeing" women by slicing the stifling corset in two in 1889, thus creating the
world's first bra. Even today, her Parisian boutiques - currently run by her
great-great-granddaughter - remain among the finest places to buy one. Cadolle
specialties include Victorian corsets, bodices, and a broad collection of hand-sewn
brassieres, but to truly indulge, make an appointment for a satiny, made-to-measure
something at 255 rue Saint-Honoré (Metro: Concorde or Tuilleries). For her
ready-to-wear collection, visit 4 rue Cambon.
3. For purification and beautification: The banyas of Moscow and St. Petersburg
The Russian banya is a Slavic Eden: a steamy, womb-like place that will tack years
onto your life. According to folklore, these baths are haunted by mischievous
spirits that bewitch clothing worn inside, so strip down all the way. (Most of the
baths are gender-segregated.) Rinse off in the shower and enter the steam room,
where scores of women will be massaging salt into each other's pores, swapping
beauty secrets, and gossiping. Grab a branch of birch leaves and slap it against
your body. Roast. When the heat becomes unbearable, proceed to the pool room and
jump in immediately. (Some are kept as frigid as 42 degrees; stick a toe in first
and you'll lose your nerve.) Get out before hypothermia kicks in and return to the
steam room. Repeat as many times as possible: your skin will glow afterward! In
Moscow, visit Krasnopresnensky on Stolyarny Pereulok 7, near the Ulitsa 1905 Goda
Metro. In St. Petersburg, try Mitninskaya Banya at Ulitsa Mitninskaya 17/19 near the
Metro Ploshad' Vosstaniya.
4. To celebrate powerful women and their places in history: Frida Kahlo's Mexico
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is one of history's grand divas. A tequila-slamming,
dirty joke-telling smoker, she hobbled about her bohemian barrio in lavish
indigenous dress and threw dinner parties for the likes of Leon Trotsky, poet Pablo
Neruda, Nelson Rockefeller, and her on-again, off-again husband, muralist Diego
Rivera. Half a century after her death, her work fetches more money than any other
female artist's (Madonna is said to be an avid collector), and she was the first
Latina ever featured on a U. S. postage stamp. Visiting her cobalt blue home in
Coyoacan is like stepping inside one of her fantastical paintings. The walls are
awash with color and mosaics; a Day of the Dead altar yields pastries, flowers,
candles, and papier mâché skeletons; the courtyard blooms with tropical flowers and
cactus. Her personal effects are displayed throughout the house, including her
pre-Hispanic jewelry, sketchbook diaries, love letters, artwork, and corset-like
body cast. (Stricken with polio as a child, she shattered her spine in a bus
accident at age eighteen.) Frida t-shirts, computer mousepads, and coffee cups are
sold in the gift shop, and you can sip a café con leche in the tranquil café. La
Casa Azul is located on Londres 247 and accessible by the Coyoacan Viveros Metro
Station in Mexico City.
5. To celebrate struggle and renewal: Arts and voodoo festivals in Benin
Traveling in West Africa is empowering for women - precisely because it is
challenging. You must utilize every available resource to make it through the day,
and when you finally find that market or village you are seeking, it is like
unearthing rubies. The warmth and hospitality of its people make Benin especially
welcoming. Upon arrival to any town, visit the mayor's office and ask for the local
women's group. A guide will likely take you to the local crafts cooperative, where
you can buy directly from the artisans. Also explore the world of voodoo, a belief
that natural forces like rain and wind have spiritual forces behind them.
Practitioners build shrines out of small mounds of earth and offer their gods
alcohol, flowers, food, and the blood of animals sacrificed in their honor. On
National Voodoo Day - January 10 - partake in dancing fueled by copious amounts of
sodabe (a local palm liquor) at the vibrant festivals in Ouidah. Look out for the
Mami Wata worshippers, who dress in all white. Mostly women, they are considered
very powerful and are often feared.
6. For womanly affirmation: Belly dancing in San Francisco, New York, or Austin
Belly dancing dates back to pre-Biblical times, when it was performed as a
fertility-cult ritual. In ancient Arab tribes, midwives assisted women in labor by
dancing around them, rolling their stomachs to imitate the contraction of the
uterus. It was also performed as entertainment throughout the Orient by and for
women who stayed home while their husbands were out. Not only a great physical
workout, modern belly dancing will get you in touch with your earthy self.
Communities can be found in every corner of the United States. San Francisco is home
to Fat Chance Belly Dance, a renowned tribal dance troupe. Take a class at their
studio at 670 South Van Ness Avenue. In New York City, look up legendary teacher
Morocco of the Casbah Dance Experience, or Sarah Johansson Locke of Alchemy
Performance. Austin, Texas is the place to be on full moons, when Lucila Dance
Productions hosts Haflas, gatherings of dancers and drummers who snack on grape
leaves as they dance barefoot beneath the stars. Down some wine if you feel
inhibited: it's the best hip lubricant around!
7. For all-around wonder: Mongolia
Mongolia. The word might conjure desolation, but this "last frontier" is actually
steeped in ritual and tradition and surrounded by stark, natural beauty. Come to
race a pony (or yak or camel) across a grassland speckled with wildflowers, to
meditate in hidden Tibetan Lamaist temples, to bask in the legacy of Mandhai-Setsen,
the Wise Queen who re-unified her turbulent nation by leading her troops into battle
in the fifteenth century.
In the countryside, hospitable families will welcome you to their ger (wood-framed
tent) with a small bowl of vodka (if you're lucky) or a potent brew of fermented
mare's milk called airag (if you're not). Drink every drop and hold the bowl upside
down over your head to prove it. Then explore the surrounding area on horseback,
which could mean Sherwood-like forests, Ghobi desert, or tundra. The best month to
visit Mongolia is July - not just for the sunny weather, but for Naadam, a
three-day, Olympic-style festival celebrated throughout the nation. The wrestling
division features 300-pound wrestlers clad only in boots, briefs, and sleeves who
clutch each other for hours (and hours) until their strength wears out and they
knock each other over. Like sumo, but sexier.
8. Just for the fun of it: The Bahamian island of Eleuthera
Nearly every sea culture has tales of lovely maidens who propel through the ocean
with fish-like tails. A few believe mermaids help steer ships from harm's way, but
most claim they are seductresses who, like the Sirens of myth, lure sailors into the
water with their songs and then sink their ships. One place where mermaids are
thought to be alive and well is the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Locals say
that if you rise early enough, you can sometimes catch them washing their golden
locks on the rocks of Whale Point, an old swimming hole. Bahamian children believe
that their parents have seen this, and they will too someday. If your own sunrise
outing is in vain, become one yourself: there is little to do here but splash in the
water. Eleuthera's beaches (in particular, Harbour Island) have crystalline waters
filled with colorful reefs, eagle rays, octopus, and dolphins. Whales migrate
through annually. Then pass the night at Elbina's in Gregory Town, where locals
gather to sing along to live Southern Caribbean music. Ask the old-timers about
their own mermaid encounters; you'll hear some great stories.
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Posted by sanaea on 2008-05-07 00:11:46 | Rating: | Views: 89
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Posted by aiiiii
on 2008-05-07 01:56:26
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