THOMS SUNDAY TRAVEL SECTION.
Exploring Worlds, Old, and New can mean many things.
The Old World can be where we believe life began.
Or the lands where kings, prophets, and Apostles once trod, laying the cornerstones of our faith.
The Old World can be where your parents or relatives from long ago left to come to a new world.
What is a New World?
Columbus made a big deal about a new world, but there were already people living there for thousands of years.
If you have never left your home town, the next town over could be a whole new world.
Or your first visit to a big city.
What if you visit your ancestors home in the old country, isn’t that a new world?
There’s the world under the sea and space, which may not be the final frontier.
There is a world of food and another for beverages—the art and architecture worlds.
There are a lot of worlds out there. Resolve to explore at least one of them in 2021.
A Whole New World.
Explore the world of food.
If a drive-thru taco is your only knowledge of Mexican food, there’s a whole new world.
Mexican and Spanish food are not identical.
Did you know that most Spanish food does not require a first responder to be standing by with an extinguisher?
Sure they use spices—many a gift brought by the Moors from the middle east.
Yes, they use peppers.
But most peppers you find in Spanish cooking are sweet or mild, with just a hint of heat.
The Habanero comes from the Amazon, and now many Central American countries grow them.
But it was not part of Spain’s diet until after Chris went sailing that ocean blue.
Find a Spanish restaurant, cooking school, or google “traditional Spanish cooking.” Discover a tasty new world.
A Fit New World.
Recently getting new glasses after wearing the same prescription for five years allows me to see a new world.
Take care of yourself. Glasses or a hearing aid can show you incredible “new” worlds in a flash.
Losing weight, taking care of an ankle, knee, or hip that is causing pain takes longer. The change is more gradual, but the rewards are incredible.
Take that walk. Ride that bike. If the weather allows, go to a different park or neighborhood each day. Explore why you improve your health.
If finances allow, the most popular treadmill and stationary bikes take you on voyages through different settings.
Read of Worlds.
James Mitchner’s books were always twice as thick as other authors. But when you finish one, you have been somewhere else. There was color, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures in his writing. Find an author who “takes you away” over a rainbow, racing across Europe or to another world.
If reading is too difficult or taxing, turn on the 20th-century idiot box. Let your senses take you to the Wild Wild West, a British Estate, or a voyage on a starship.
The greatest thing to happen to the cruise industry was a T.V. show. Was it really the fine acting we were watching or the exotic locales?
Was James T Kirk the first Cruise Director on television?
Explore From Your Desk.
A very good place to start. For now, traveling and exploring is easiest from your computer. Type in “Baroque music,” “Palladino Architecture,” “Greek pastry,” “French Wine,” or a “world” of your own choice.
You should get enough information, although some of it painfully incorrect, to explore.
And the videos… Anyone with a phone is now producing travel videos. The good news, you have hundreds to choose from. The bad news, you have to get through hundreds sometimes to find one that speaks to you.
I still do homework before I travel.
As you probably know by now, I like to immerse myself in a destination. I do not wish to see it whisk by outside a bus window.
I have been to the Frankfurt Airport numerous times transferring to other parts of Europe. It is still on my “to-see” list. Airports give you no insight into what lies yonder.
Just this week, I found something new in Greece while searching for something else.
Explore. open your eyes, your ears, taste, and smell the wonderful worlds around you.
Visit New Worlds.
Plan, then practice exploring your new world.
I used to be a very picky eater. Now, I am apt to try something an entire nation or culture eats if it does not kill them. But it has to be inanimate.
After two years on Greek cruise ships, many of you know I had no plans to visit THAT country.
I have C.D.s and albums (YES, I am that old) of music from different countries and cultures.
Think of musical performances in 4000-year-old theaters or mariachi bands on a sandy beach.
Eating Smyrna figs in the orchard they come from, or wine in the country where the grapes grow.
Seeing your favorite artist or piece of art in person.
Listen to a choir sing the Sound of Music in Salzburg.
Worlds collide.
New Worlds Resolution
2021 is almost here. Why not make it the year you actually keep a resolution.
“Visit” a wonderful new world.
Find one you can explore from your home. The writings of, the paintings by…
Then find one outside your door. A new walking or biking path. A class in… a glass of…
Plan a trip to somewhere you have never been.
Mash your worlds together.
Read up on Paul and the other apostles.
Go out for a Greek salad.
When you can, travel to Greece and walk in the footsteps of Paul. And have a salad.
Or Ansel Adams now, a drive through the Tetons later.
Your family ancestry now, and a trip to the “old world” when you can.
Enough sitting around. Get up and discover a new world. NOW!
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“Where do you dream about visiting? A city, a country, or another type of world? What can you do now to start discovering it?
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“See the World” Continued on Page T3. “Taste the World” Continued on T11.