Muse Food – Mounted Police And Setting The Mood
I was completely enchanted by these mounted police in Qatar.
And…I shouldn’t have been. Because they ARE the police. They have the ability to arrest me and others and perhaps do worse to us.
Those beautiful horses? I suspect they have been trained to kill.
But someone from North America, like myself, associates them with parades and other peaceful events. We don’t view them as possible weapons.
If you want to change the mood of a story, that can be as easy as changing a small detail…like the mode of transportation the rule enforcers use.
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Lemurs In Madagascar
The Dear Wonderful Hubby arranged for the two of us to go on a private tour with a world renowned naturalist in Madagascar. This naturalist has appeared in many documentaries and often shows scientists and other visitors the land he clearly loves and knows VERY well.
He took us to the Amber Mountain National Park and…we saw lemurs! (And a gazillion other critters and plants)
We saw two large groups of them. They were in the trees but clearly visible. They were cuddling with their babies and chattering. There was much fruit eating and some sh*tting (NEVER look upward with your mouth open. The naturalist told us how some visitors learned that lesson the hard way. – grins).
Very few visitors, unfortunately, saw lemurs even though our naturalist tried to help the other guides find them. But many of those groups could be heard from far away. And those visitors were unable to move off the main paths.
Wild lemurs prefer to avoid humans.
One lady was exhausted and crying because seeing lemurs in the wild was her purpose for the tour she’d taken and it was unlikely she’d do that. I felt bad for her.
But there is never any guarantee of seeing wild animals. Stars. The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I have trekked around countless Northern Ontario (Canada) boreal forests and he has yet to see a moose in the wild. I’ve seen countless numbers of them but only when I’ve been without him. Not seeing any wildlife IS a possibility. (Which is why I love that I love plants and trees also. They are usually stationary.)
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Muse Food – The Beings We Celebrate
When the Dear Wonderful Hubby and I were in London, UK, we briefly stopped at the National Portrait Gallery (Admission is FREE!).
There were thousands of portraits on display.
I suspect there were more portraits stored in back rooms.
And I found it fascinating to see which portraits the National Portrait Gallery obtained and decided to display.
That is SO revealing of what and WHO they and society value.
What portraits would be displayed in your world?
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Reunion Island And The Importance Of Timing
A church and banyan tree on Reunion Island.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I explored Reunion Island via public bus.
On one bus ride, we sat behind a very enthusiastic fellow tourist. He was taking photos of EVERYTHING from his seat near the window.
We could see his screen and…
All his photos were of posts and trees and random buildings.
He captured NOTHING he intended to capture.
He’d see a site, excitedly lift his phone and then take his sweet time framing the shot and tapping the button.
By the time he took the photo, the bus had moved far from the site.
The man did this again and again.
He was five or so seconds behind on EVERY shot.
(grins)
All I could do was shake my head.
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Madagascar, Zebus And Dowries
We saw many zebus as we were being driven around Madagascar. These big humped cows are a huge part of the locals’ culture.
Our awesome guide shared that a zebu was a big part of the traditional dowry (a gift from the groom to the bride’s family). But the zebu had to be female as they are good for milk and babies, in addition to meat, riding, farm work, etc. To give a male zebu was an insult.
If the bride’s family lived too far away to send the animal itself, the equivalent funds to buy a female zebu could often be sent.
The penalty in Madagascar for stealing a chicken was five years in prison. I don’t want to think about what the penalty for stealing a zebu would be!
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Flamboyant Trees In Mauritius
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I were fortunate to visit Mauritius while the flamboyant trees were blooming. They traditionally bloom from November to January and WOW, their blooms are a bright, happy orange.
A driver called them New Year Trees, sharing that they signify luck for the new year. Another person called them Christmas Trees. The Mauritius Tourism Facebook account calls them “bouquet banané’ or flower of the year. By any name, they’re beautiful!
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Brush With Royalty In London
Recently, the Dear Wonderful Hubby and I had a full day layover in London, England. So we stored our luggage in lockers and headed out to explore.
(First, we had to visit the post office to exchange some ancient pounds for current currency, a task we were given by the elders to complete.)
The streets around Buckingham Palace were blocked off. The Qatar flag was flying everywhere.
Some guards on horseback passed.
We stopped and watched.
Then a carriage with King Charles III clearly visible in it passed. (He was looking his age.)
A carriage with Kate, Princess of Wales, visible followed. (She was looking extremely regal.)
The parade continued for many moments after that.
Dear Wonderful Hubby joked that every horse in England was in attendance. (grins)
It was all very exciting!
But not everyone was as enthralled as we were. During the display, one woman was enthusiastically taking photos…of a squirrel in a nearby park. (laughs)
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Love And Hamburgers In Dubai
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I were taking a City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus around Dubai. It had a longer stop at Atlantis, The Palm, a luxurious resort in the city.
From the bus, we watched a man eat a hamburger while he was waiting for a taxi.
The man, at first, looked like he has stepped out of a page out of GQ. He was impeccably dressed in a navy blue suit, white shirt and a royal blue tie with a geometric design on it. There was a silver Rolex on his wrist and shiny black leather dress shoes on his large feet. His dark hair was swept back. His skin was tanned. He had romance cover-worthy dark stubble on his square chin.
I say ‘at first’ because the hamburger he was eating was HUGE.
As the man was devouring it, his expression was blissful.
That hamburger must have been delicious. But eating it came at a price.
Its innards went EVERYWHERE. Hamburger toppings and juice splattered on the man’s chin, his cheeks, his suit, his shoes and the sidewalk.
We’re talking complete disaster.
(grins)
An equally well-dressed woman, around the same age, then claimed the next spot in line.
The man saw her, his eyes widened and he straightened…which yes, showed off his fit physique but also caused more of the hamburger to drip down his tall form.
He then OFFERED this beautiful woman some of his hamburger!
(laughs)
The woman looked at the burger, then at his chin, lowered her gaze to the bit of hamburger topping now clinging to his tie.
She grinned and shook her head, refusing his most generous offer.
He shrugged and said something to her. I suspect it was along the lines of “You don’t know what you’re missing. This hamburger is GOOD.”
He resumed eating the hamburger with great gusto.
The woman laughed and chattered to him and that was when the bus, unfortunately, moved.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I continued on our tour.
We don’t know what happened next but I project the woman and the hamburger-eating man exchanged phone numbers. There was definitely a spark between them.
(smiles)
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Snow Magic
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I flew home via London, England yesterday, on Christmas Eve.
The flight was packed with kids.
As we left London, some of them (stationed all over the plane) sang ‘Rain, rain, go away.’
On repeat.
For at least a half hour.
(I fell asleep after that.)
When we approached Toronto, we saw that the city was blanketed with a layer of fresh white snow.
One child whispered with wonder, “Snow.”
“Snow, mommy, snow.” This was said louder by another child.
Soon, it became a chant by kids seated all over the plane. I couldn’t understand some of the languages spoken but I KNEW what they were repeating.
Snow.
Snow.
Snow.
A child started singing the ‘Do you want to build a snowman’ song and other kids quickly joined in.
It was magical.
(smiles)
Truly magical as this snow had arrived on Monday, the 23rd, and we’re expecting 3 mm of rain on Friday, the 27th.
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