StringGrrl sees the World

If you like labyrinthine airports with long walks from hub to hub then Malpensa is for you. Milan Malpensa has two terminal buildings: terminal 1 handling much of the intercontinental traffic and terminal 2 with regional and smaller carriers. In terminal 1 StringGirl prepares to embark on her trip home from Varese. Without prior knowlwedge of the exact location of the lounge(s) we checked the SkyTeam site and found that there were several options available, specifically 2 listed should work. The Sky Team partner lounge for Air France is listed as being in Terminal 1 just after security and the duty free shops. This AM we arrive at the airport just after 5:00. The loung opens at 5:15. A long walk tells us that we have gone too far. However, signage did not. Until we risked a walk toward gates A24-39 did we find our first sign post for Air France. Inside the lounge a consistent appearance of the AirFrance lounge greets us. Semi-comfy pleatherette chairs with lit side tables...

Travel into the North of Italy from arriving over the Alps. StringGirl made the connection from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. In the background are the freshly snowed Alps and any number of mountain lakes. View Larger Map In the town center of Varese, the AutoForm sales team gathers for a photo at the monument of Guiseppe Girabaldi, a national here in the Region of Varese. For the AutoForm Sales Meeting recently held in Varese Italy, StringGirl went along to visit this area which she had not yet explored. Varese is just a few km north of Milan and not too far from the border of Canton Ticino in Switzerland.

Too often as we go about our lives we forget about the lives of those around us. Our cares are not their cares, our lives not their concern nor their ours. Too easily we slip past others, too often do we concern ourselves with just our lives and our own little problems. I wanted a beverage on the plane, I reminded a flight attendant where to find that beverage. I may have pushed too far on a person who needed some comfort instead of yet another request. It seemed a decent request, but I don't now what is happening i her life do I? Patty bailed out her colleague, she got me my beverage, and no she may not have lost here Mother just last week. But Patty, gave the right reaction, Patty was kind to me and her colleague. She gave her fellow Delta attendant an out and saved the day. Patty gets the "mydeltarewards" voucher, for her job well done. Sorry if could not help her colleague smile. Thank you Patty for you kindness to me and you coworker.

not my gate but still watching out for the customer, Alessandro and Abdul give stringgirl a pic.

Fly into Europe enough and chances are you will have a connection through AMS (Amsterdam Schiphol Airport). Set foot into the airport and prepare to be inundated with pleas to "SeeBuyFly", sign-up for Travel Credit Cards, a Casino, and even a visit to the Museum. For a breather you might consider the KLM Crown Lounge.  To enter the lounge you should be a SkyTeam Elite Plus member (that translates to Delta Gold Medallion or higher), if not you might still wander up the escalator/stairs between Terminal E and F as some of the better resting spots are up here on the second level (just outside the KLM lounge is a collection of Chaise Longue set before a couple of Projection Screens that show peaceful images all day long and a non-denominational meditation room. Inside the lounge (no problem as StringGirl has amassed 100,000 miles already this year) you get to see one the the largest Airline lounges ever. No Stats for you, but it stretches over the entire cor...

Departing Germany via Dusseldorf brings StringGirl to the Air France lounge in DUS (Dusseldorf Flughafen). The first step is finding the lounge. That requires some faith in the signage as you navigate a veritable warren of hall ways corridors, stairways (elevators), and doors. Straight, turn, what? straight out to the non-secure side  Sure, the signs hang prominently from the ceiling as soon as you pass security for terminal B, but following the signs you will weave through several corridors passed doors you are clearly not to use, and others that seem innocent enough. Avoiding accidental exit from the secure zone you find a junction that point in two directions for the lounge (one for the lift the other for the stairs), taking a leap of faith you follow the directions to the elevator then are deposited one level up and weave  your way passed the WC then another turn then the lounge. (If you are departing from B1-B20 i have no idea how you get here,...

Housed atop the former Dortmunder Union Brewery, U-view is presented as the destination dining spot in the post industrial coal town of Dortmund. Launched last year in conjunction with the RUHR2010 Industrial Culure fair. The U-Tum (tower) is a new venue for Dortmund to showcase their blossoming arts and cultural scene. The view from the U-view prior to sunset was a pleasant city scape rendering the gritty city in the dusky hues of red and orange light. Shortly after the sun is lost to the horizon, the view from the windows transforms into an abstract light show. The windows of the U-View sit behind a large array of diode tubes that give the street level observers a massive video show, to the diners within the U a pleasant abstract illumination. Gastronomically, the menu at the U seemed simple, with some direct and unaffected offerings. The selections were not overtly numerous nor too diverse (as so many restaurants try to seem worldly and diverse) though they did reac...

Up the stairs from the Zurich Hauptbahnhof you arrive at the park in the junction of the rivers Sihl and Limmat in the shadow of the Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum). On any given sunny day the lawns here are sprinkled with picnickers and sun worshippers: StringGirl is no different. Well tended gardens and manicured lawns provide a peaceful respite to the bustle of the city. Sculpture and the old style architecture of the allow the mind and spirit to wander only a few steps removed from the main station and it's efficiency of timetables. StringGirl still must decide where to eat-the DimSum takeaway at the entrance of the park, doner kebab, or bratwurst from any of the many imbiss (snack) stands that sprinkle the area near the main station. Turkish Sojok sausage, sushi, spanish tapas, chinese, thai, or vietnamese. Zurich is surely a most global of cities where once you look further than fondue and raclette offers a rich variety of cuisine for the picking. But for now, a bier an...

Located in the Western lower peninsula of Michigan is a treasure for the the Arts. For the past 46 years Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp has welcomed gifted students to participate in their summer camp program specifically for the Arts. Since the first session in 1966 more than 300,000 gifted musicians, singers, actors and dancers have braved the summers woods in the Manistee National Forrest for two weeks at a time, to meet other students--ranging from elementary to high school, performing both for themselves and the public, and otherwise being kids in camp. StringGirl and the ladies at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp-Cabin Graham

As a frequent visitor to the Ruhrgebeit area in North-western Germany, I am always hoping for a little bit different of an experience than the lowly hotels in the Dortmund area. I have had the luck (good and bad) to be able to sample many. But this latest finding is even further from the norm than I would have expected to find. source: Daspark hotel flickr Dasparkhotel is a concept where you the guest can stay overnight in a hotel in the Essen area (Bottrop-Ebel) in converted storm drain pipes that have been equipped with beds , electricity, locking doors, and skylight. Looking at the pictures the room is not too much smaller than many euro hotels I have booked before, and if only there was a toilet it might be considered 3 star.