We are so happy to be creating life!

YAY! After three long months of awkwardly hiding my nausea, fatigue, and increasingly poofy waistline, my husband Colin and I can finally announce: we are expecting our first baby this November… and we are so excited!!!!

At Lilac Sunday in Boston with my beloved Mother, Colin’s Mother, and me… a Mother-to-be!

As we walked through Boston’s Lilac Sunday in the Arnold Arboretum (aren’t these flower photos gorgeous?) with our mothers on Mothers’ Day, I thought back with a chuckle to 2010 when I was traveling the world for nine months alone and I wrote an infamous article that began: “Shut up, biological clock, SHUT UP!” I was in Spain, alone, and lonely.

This is a profile of our baby’s face, with its little hand waving!

I had delighted in the previous eight months traveling around the world, but a pang had hit me: Would I ever find a life partner? Would I ever have children?

However, given that I met Colin at my “Welcome Back to America” party, I am now very clear: Though it seemed like a huge risk and blow to my prospects of marriage to leave everything and travel for months, I would not be in this wonderful marriage, joyfully CREATING LIFE today if it hadn’t been for taking that risk to see the world!

Speaking of the world, what is the future of a travel blogger who is about to have a wee baby? Luckily, bright! We have several awesome trips coming this summer (hint: one is a 15 hour plane ride away and will have even more flowers than this post), and I will continue writing weekly on this blog because it brings me great joy. After all, this site was originally envisioned as a “symbolic baby,” as I purposely created my 2009-10 Around the World trip to be nine months long as a response to the fact that so many people around me (students included) were getting pregnant, and I wanted to put forth an alternative.

Caption from Colin: “WRONG BELLY!”

Just four years ago, I thought that things like marriage and having babies were not for me. But now, dancing in a world of happiness, I know that with the right person, and with lots of love and partnership, there is so much joy in creating life! On that note, this week my parents celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, and Colin’s parents celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. WOW– so wonderful and inspiring! Let us continue many more generations of love.

When you realize why this wall decoration is genius, you’ll laugh!

“Why is the decoration in this alley so smart?” our New Delhi guide asked our India teacher tour group with an evil smile.

The seven of us clumped together in the tiny yellow alley, staring at the porcelain tiles showing Buddha, Jesus Christ, Ganesh, and assorted other deities. We were stumped.

The other end of the tiny alleyway where the decorations hang.

We knew India has a passion for religion (or rather, a sea of many religions), but why would someone want to hang all these religious figures in this random alleyway in chaotic Paharganj, India?

Reader, before I reveal the answer, can you guess???

Why is it brilliant to hang Hindu deity, Hanuman, and other religious figures on an alley wall in India?

“Here is the answer,” our guide said, giggling. “If you notice, a lot of streets of India smell like… urine. This is because people in India tend to empty their bladders more freely in the outdoors than perhaps they might in your country. This building grew sick of the stench, so they figured out this solution: In India, people have respect and love for religion. Once these religious symbols were hung on the alley wall, people refused to urinate here anymore because they did not want to offend their deity or deities!”

Did you guess?

Behold: Vermont in April is… um…

“So… now is not a good time to come here,” the Vermont native told me, trying to break the news gently.

“What are you talking about?” I retorted. “I love Vermont! I’m sure any time of year is lovely.”

“See, the thing is…” the gal tried again, “April here is not like our beautiful Winter, Fall, or Summer. It’s just kind of… brown.”

“Pshaw!” I scoffed. With that, Colin and I piled our suitcases into the car for one of our famous weekend escapades. “Brattleboro, Vermont, here we come!” I hollered as we sped down the highway out of Boston.

The Vermont “foliage” of April was a gnarled gray-brown mess.

We checked into a cute Brattleboro Bed and Breakfast and bounded right out to hike around the lake created by West River. The B&B owner had told us of a lovely path right along the water, and we eagerly trudged down to it.

“Yipes,” whispered Colin as we became engulfed in a tortured frizzle of bony brown trees, “This is kind of like Mordor. It’s like one of those wastelands after Sauron zaps it. Can’t you just see some old man hobbling out, grunting, ‘This used to be a lush green village, I tell you, until the Dark One’s power began to take over!’?”

I giggled and snapped a dead gray twig.

Gray twigs clumped around the edge of the lake forlornly.

“Yeah…” I sighed, “I guess I see what that Vermont woman was trying to tell us.”

Suddenly, Colin cried out: “Is that a cheese factory?!”

“YES!” I hollered. “Let’s sample the heck out of it! Er, I mean, tour it!”

Craving color and sustenance, we stopped at a cheese factory.

We ate our way through the cheese factory for a good hour, finally purchasing some 5-year aged cheddar and a spicy mustard that I now slather on everything possible. A friendly cheese fellow popped out of his station to talk us through the various stages of fancy cheese preparation, including my personal favorite: shoveling the cheese nuggets into silver squares, then squiiiishing it all down with the fists!

Packing the cheddar for years of aging. Squish, squish!

Back on the trail, we walked into town and scarfed a Brookie: a cookie baked inside a brownie!!!

“Vermont may be brown this time of year,” I said through mouthfuls, “but it sure is fun. And delicious!”

Next, we headed to scale Mt. Wantastiquet, an activity which had been recommended by a friend. It was there that we realized the other problem with visiting Vermont in April. I’ll give you a hint: SPLASH!

Hiking trails around Brattleboro were a tad damp…

You see, in Vermont in April, the snow (and much snow there was) has all melted, but the ground has not had the chance to absorb the liquid. Meanwhile, no grass or leaves have grown. The result of these ingredients is soup: a stew of mud, dead old leaves, and dirty water. Don’t wear your best shoes hiking in Vermont in April! Our tootsies got quite the bath.

The view from the top of the mountain! Er, brown and gray.

The top of the mountain was nice! It was sunny and breezy and a comforting gray-brown, like a fuzzy rabbit.

Walking back down the mountain, we were so sick of hopping stones to avoid the puddles that we began cutting through the trees instead, praying all the while to avoid poison oak (not that either of us knew what it looked like). Due to this improvised shortcut, we made it down in half the time it took to hike up.

Did our shoes get wet? Yes.

So here’s the bottom line:

Is Vermont in April brown, muddy, and a little strange? Yes.

Did we still have a really awesome mini-vacation there, despite getting a little wet in the toes? YES!

People have their reasons to tell you not to visit places during certain times of year, but in general, you can find your fun whenever and wherever you desire.

Vermont is emotionally tasty, even if the time of year is a little brown!

So what about YOU? Which destinations do you think are worth visiting, even during “bad times of year” for them? Which ones are not?

Me and my little brother in front of the world’s tallest brick minaret.

Did you know that in 2006, more tourists visited Qutb Minar than the Taj Mahal? Though lesser-known to foreign tourists, Qutb Minar contains the tallest brick minaret in the world, and wields a hypnotic power, particularly on a misty Delhi day like the one when our India teacher tour visited.

Colin scopes out the ornate engravings.

Qutb Minar reaches 239 feet towards the sky, and was completed in 1368 AD. It is part of the multi-building Qutb Complex, with ancient buildings layered atop even older ruins to create a lasagna of history. These structures include a mosque and tombs, some of which date back to the 1100s AD.

Such intricate designs! The words display passages from the Koran.

Stunning carvings decorate the walls of the Qutb Complex. Some carvings are purely ornamental, while others display verses of the Koran in Arabic. Islamic art and architecture never fails to impress me with its brilliantly conceived patterns!

Look closely at the artistry.

So, is a tourist allowed to climb to the top of sky-high Qutb Minar, like we climbed to the top of the largest mosque in India on Christmas Eve? Alas no, and for a very sad reason. In 1981, there was a stampede of schoolchildren inside, and lives were lost. Since then, visitors are not allowed inside.

Dorky hide and seek amid the columns.

On a happier note, neon green birds were everywhere at Qutb Minar. How magical to see these arrows of emerald darting between the ancient walls!

There were shockingly green birds flitting about.

We wandered around the foggy complex as if in a dream, imagining the layers of history that occurred in each corner of the buildings. Staring up at Qutb Minar made our heads spin. What must it have been like to build?

A dizzying look up the minaret.

But don’t overlook the smaller things! A hugely important historical relic in the Qutb Complex looks like, well… a boring metal tube. See the Iron Pillar of Delhi standing incongruously in the photo below? In fact, this iron pillar was erected in 402 AD and weighs over 14 THOUSAND POUNDS, making it “one of the world’s foremost metallurgical curiosities.” Indeed, I am curious. That’s crazy heavy! How is that density possible?

This metal pole is exceedingly famous… and shocking.

Moving on to another section of the Qutb Complex, we see the Alai Darwaza gate: the principal gateway to the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, built in 1311 AD. In the next three photos, drink in the stunning architecture of this structure.

The gorgeous Alai Darwaza gate.

The carvings inside are stupendous! Colin is in awe.

New home decorating ideas?

We loved our visit to the Qutb Complex, and can see why it’s right up there with the Taj Mahal as a top attraction for tourists in India. Now if we could only fit that 14,000-pound Iron Pillar of Delhi into our bags to put on our mantel…

You are amazing, Qutb Minar!

What is this astounding Vermont food???

Aching for fresh air and a tranquil place to do our piles of grading outside of Boston, Colin and I spent this week in the beautiful New England state of Vermont. We picked the town of Brattleboro for its proximity to hiking, Boston, and… FOOD.

The mystery food from a side view…

What was the highlight of our culinary pillage of Brattleboro, Vermont? Without a doubt, the highlight was the mystery food you see pictured before you. It was so mysterious, and yet so delicious!

Yum… What a food!

We first spotted this mystery food at a cafe called Blue Moose in one of the three streets that makes up Brattleboro’s petite “downtown.”

“What IS that???” I asked the cashier ravenously, pointing to the glass case that held the desserts.

A cross-section view of the food…

The cashier smiled with wise weariness. “That,” he declared, “is a Brookie.”

“A WHAT?” I asked.

“A Brookie,” the teen clarified, adjusting his apron. “A brownie with a cookie baked inside.”

Yummm, delicious!

“A BROWNIE WITH A COOKIE BAKED INSIDE?!” I screamed. “I’ll take it!”

Colin and I then spent the next hour hiking up a mountain called Wantastiquet in order to eat (and do a photo shoot with) the Brookie while soaking up a mountaintop view. The Brookie was exceedingly heavy to lug, and I forced Colin to carry it after the first five minutes.

And just like that, it was more than half gone.

But it was worth it! When we at last reached the summit, we unwrapped the precious Brookie and (after taking tons of photos of it, which was pretty much torture for my starving husband) devoured it. YUM! Thanks, Brattleboro, for introducing us to this most unique and scrumptious food.

Oh how I adore India’s Little Taj Mahal!

I have a new favorite building! When our India tour leader declared that we were headed for the “Little Taj Mahal” in Delhi, it was clear we were in for something astounding. However, not one of us was prepared for the caramel-colored confection that soon burst into sight.

Behold, stunning Humayun’s Tomb!

Even the grounds are pretty. Here, my brother stands atop the main building.

Humayun’s Tomb was completed in 1572 C.E. and was commissioned by Bega Begum, the first wife of Mughal Emperor Humayun to bury Humayun after his passing in 1556. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, thus lending inspiration to the famed Taj Mahal.

You BETTER NOT bring any “Eatables” into the building!

As you likely can tell, Humayun’s Tomb is built with Islamic style by a Persian architect. It is constructed from glowing red sandstone and white marble that change color with the shifting sun. At its highest point, the building is 300 feet tall. Amazing!

Such intricate architecture at Humayun’s Tomb.

Though Humayun’s Tomb looks serene and stately now, it actually functioned as a refugee camp for five years after the 1947 Partition of India for Muslims fleeing to the newly-created country of Pakistan. Given that Humayun’s Tomb is nearly 500 years old and housed countless migrating people, hats off to the preservation and restoration crews of India for bringing back the building’s former glory!

I look teeny, making a muscle atop the building.

My little brother and I wasted no time in sprinting off to take novelty photos. Idea number one consisted of my dear sibling running to the middle of the main walkway while I bounded up the steps and then posed (looking all tiny from afar) making a muscle under the main arch. Idea number two was to have my 6’7″ little bro pretend to enter the wee doors (sadly locked) at the base of the edifice. Funny!

Hehe… My super-tall brother looked funny pretending to enter a tiny door.

We entered the building itself and gasped in awe. Sun streamed in through windows, which were pattered like lace. High above, the intricate rainbow ceiling smiled down. Feast upon these photos!

The inside of Humayun’s Tomb has lovely pattered windows.

Isn’t this an amazing ceiling design?

Look closely… Can you see me balancing on one leg high atop the building?

My brother and I loved the visit.

Colin, David, and I adored touring beautiful Humayun’s Tomb.

Can you see why Humayun’s Tomb is one of my new favorite buildings, right up there with the Mezquita of Cordoba, Spain, and the #1 Sexiest Building of Boston? It’s an unmissable sight when visiting India.

So what about you? Do you enjoy this type of architecture? What are your favorite buildings around the world? Do share!

What a gorgeous building.

Would YOU pay $3.50 to stroke a charmed snake in India?

“TWO HUNDRED RUPEES?!” our India tour guide, Manu, gasped. “That’s WAY too much, David!”

“Sheesh,” mumbled my brother as we walked out of the Gandhi Memorial in New Delhi. “Three and a half dollars isn’t a terrible price to stroke one of those fancy snakes, especially since the guy said the fangs were removed. Anyway, I bargained him down from 1,000 rupees.”

The snake started to turn to bite, and the charmer slammed on the lid!

“Next time,” Manu instructed my little brother, “Pay only 20 or 50 rupees– less than a dollar. And by the way, snakes are deaf, so they’re only “charmed” by the movement of the flute.” As our van pulled off, Manu turned around with a smile. “Anyway, the better sight is the DOUBLE snake charmer when we get to the City Palace in Jaipur. Two snakes for one!”

A DOUBLE snake charmer in the Jaipur section of our India tour.

Whoa! Double snake charmer?! As you see from these photos, we found that charmer soon enough. Unfortunately for his pockets, by that time we already had our snake photos from the first encounter. And really– how many snake stroking photos can one have?

What a job, eh?

But this whole episode presents several questions. First: How much would YOU pay to stroke one of those famous charmed snakes of India? Second, at what point do you NOT care about getting “ripped off” in a country where your money goes so much further than at home?

The snake charmer got angry that the photo-snapping man didn’t pay!

When I paid $15 to pet fifteen live tigers in Thailand, I assure you that was worth it as heck. (I still use those photos on my business cards and make people faint.) Manu had a point, however, that the more tourists unknowingly pay inflated prices, the more annoying it is for everyone. The notorious price scams of Vietnam travel show this in action.

Come on and stroke the snake…

So… if a snake charmer in India beckoned for you to come hither, what would YOU do and why?

Is this flavor of chips sold anywhere beyond India?

Snack shopping in a foreign country is hilarious. Who knew that Lay’s potato chips made a popular flavor called “India’s Magic Masala” in Asia?

During our India tour, my brother eagerly bought a bag of the snack, shoved a handful of chippy goodness into his mouth then screamed: “SPICY!”

“What did you expect?” asked our guide with a grin. “Masala usually means spicy here!”

Want to eat some nylon? And what is “sev”?

We moved down the snack aisle and came face to face with a snack called “Nylon Sev.” WHAT? Why would you desire nylon in your mouth? And what, pray tell, does “sev” mean? With terrified fascination, we placed the snack in our cart.

Interesting that the only foreign flavor of Lay’s was Spanish…

Onto the van we hopped, popping the bag open once we sat. We peered in. Nestled below the sparkly silver of the bag, the Nylon Sev stared up at us in thin golden curls.

“Wow,” I murmured. “How the heck do you eat it without getting covered in crumbs?”

Staring into the bag of “Nylon Sev.”

My husband, Colin, bravely dove in, pouring a yellow stream of Nylon Sev into his hand. See it below? (And see his fake wedding ring that we busted out to stay low-risk during travel?) Colin brought his hand to his mouth and munched.

“Not bad!” he said. “Nylon Sev tastes… crispy.”

“Nylon Sev” in the hand…

At that point, my brother, David, went wild on the bag. He scarfed it with delight, down to the crumbs.

So there you have it: Nylon Sev does not taste like a pair of wind pants!

Gulping “Nylon Sev” like ambrosia!

What about you? Have you ever tried these snacks? Would you? What other foreign munchies have made you smile? (Besides chicken feet, of course…)