snowstorms and scenic seas

It's been a while since wonder | wander | women took a long train ride, and we didn't expect that Storm Eowyn would sweep in that weekend and strand us for a day. The next day we were worried, but the ominous weather seemed to have cleared and we finally got on the train. The rolling English countryside made the perfect backdrop for our quiet thoughts. 

Shakespeare’s hometown: Stratford-upon-Avon

wonder | wander | women have had many visitors over the years in London, but it's always a joyful surprise when a dear friend comes into town. We love this city and it's great to share this joy with friends who love it too. 

Dinner with friends, photo from Chris Costello

As obsessed as I am with it, London isn't the only place people come to see. Recently my friend Vida, who spent the day at Hampstead Heath with me a few years ago, came back for a visit to the UK and Ireland, and wanted to visit the birthplace of Shakespeare: Stratford-upon-Avon.

winter wonder

wonder | wander | women find peace and solace watching the changing light over the water as we sort and pack through more of a few of our favorite things. 

neighborhood winter foliage

Preparing again to leave for an extended journey back to our island home is a complex mix of earnest excitement and worrisome weariness. 

National Galleries of Scotland: Modern One and Two

Last October wonder | wander | women took the train up to Scotland for the second time this year to see our good friends the Milligans. They had generously offered to host me when I mentioned coming back to see the tapestries at Stirling Castle.

countryside flooding, seen from train

Of course we didn't expect when we booked the trip that I would arrive in the middle of Storm Babet, a massive rainstorm that battered the North Coast and turned the creeks and pathways of Scotland and Northumbria into rivers. 

the North Sea battering coastal villages

Half the trains running that day had been cancelled. Luckily ours wasn't, but it crept up the countryside delayed by almost an hour, advancing at a cautious pace through icy sheets of rain.

love locks

On a recent visit to Evans, Georgia wonder | wander | women had the sweet privilege to visit one of its famous nature parks - the Augusta Canal. 

The Augusta Canal

The canal and industrial district were designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2018.

The Power of Water by Reginald D. Fraser, NHA

travel thrills

wonder | wander | women aspire to an itinerant lifestyle surrounded by globe-trotting family and friends. Yet even the most seasoned traveler can easily succumb to boredom or weariness, worry or stress. 

Pandemics, extreme weather, over-crowded long-haul flights can easily be an aggravation. Leaching the spark and joy out of any adventure. 

view from the airport lounge before takeoff - Manila, Philippines

Determined to keep our outlook and journeys fresh, we practice beginner's mind and mindfulness to help us ease off our comfort zones and provide some new travel experiences. 

Our latest flight on Turkish Airlines has renewed our faith in traveling once more. Flying out of the Philippines and heading to New York via Istanbul we were rerouted due to a passenger emergency. 

the largest international airport in the world - Istanbul, Turkey

Bali bliss

It seems like the whole world is back to flitting and flying - vacationing any and every where humanly possible. Taking to the air in record numbers - as pandemic fears fade and restrictions are lifted all around the world. 

Day 1 at our Bali home for the week , Manyi Village Ubud

Summer fling flung floom! A welcome boom for the travel business even if the sudden glut after three years of bare movement has caused major adjustments and problems. 

wander for wonder

wonder | wander | women are on a month long indulgence of our happy feet after years of not traveling much at all. 

Mahala & Issa at the Hotel Okura walkway

This last week in the Philippines has been a dizzying whirlwind of errands and visits with local specialists and friends. Trips to favorite pasalubong centers and eateries we grew up with and continue to long for. 

Mimi's Cafe & pasalubong center

trippy journeys

This time last year the London half of wander | wander | women headed home after being Stateside for the holidays. 

pit stop before heading out, Edgewater NJ

This week finds us both packing our bags - Mahala in London, Issa in Edgewater, New Jersey. We return to the Philippines where neither of us have been back since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

views from the top deck

Riding the famous London bus was one of my favourite pastimes in pre-COVID days. After two years I have been able to go on again once or twice, and it reminded me how much I enjoyed it. 

St. Paul's Cathedral at dusk

a much missed view

wonder | wander | women are reunited! For the first time in several years, London HQ set off across the Atlantic for US HQ. Which meant several days of COVID testing setup and many other hoops to jump through before we even set foot on the plane.

leaving the green and grey flats of England

fire and earth: exploring Etna

Visitors flying in to the Italian island of Sicily will see its magnificent volcano Etna breaking the horizon.

AGO mon amie

This June found the US part of wonder | wander | women back in Canada for a family vacation with our niece, nephew and their kids. 

AGO facade from their website

Warrior with Shield by Henry Moore

On our one day away from them the sisters walked over to the Art Gallery of Ontario which Mahala and I visited last year and where we fell in love with the Inuit art of Kenojuak Ashevak and her nephew Timootee (Tim) Pitsiulak.

wonder | wonder | women, 2018

Italian food trip!

Italian food has always meant comfort food to wonder | wander | women, but we forget it's had years of being Americanised before it arrived in the Philippines. My earliest memories of eating 'Italian' were declaring that pizza was now my favourite food after watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Genius Kitchen - Sicilian Calzone

woawomen NYC selfies

How many selfies can one take and keep up their entertainment value and originality?

Frick Museum, NYC

Who knows really? Yet Mahala and I are determined to test our limits now that we are reunited once again.

Day 1, Hudson Market on 57th & 11th

wonder | wander | women tearing up the NYC scenery and our phones to max this out as we optimize our time together.

fly away home

I seem to have gotten out of New York City just in time.

As the Christmas rush gripped daily commuters in traffic gridlock wonder | wander | women carefully packed our bags with gifts and clothes for an extended tropical vacation back with family.

As sirens blared and blazed to shut down yet another terrorist threat in the Big Apple I breezed through airport TSA checks patiently waiting to board.

As the first pristine puffs of snow dropped down to blanket the city I landed across the world in the muggy sweltering heat of the little island we were born and raised on.

Florence, part 1: Florence at night!

wonder | wander | women were incredibly lucky and got to visit a dear family friend in Florence for a few days! We took so many pictures our camera ran out of space, so we have to document our trip in a few installments. Part 1 presents Florence at night, a side the daily crowds of tourists don't always see.

flying friendly skies

With the loss of many of its luxuries and perks, traveling seems fraught with woes nowadays.

LA bound

Going through TSA was bad enough but these new viral images of some oriental dragged bleeding and bruised out of an airline speaks volumes to our deepest darkest fears.

the earth from above

Being insatiable tourists, the wonder | wander | women love taking pictures, but some of the best photo opportunities come at thousands of feet above ground level.

London museum shops - summer trippin'!

With the BBC making dire predictions that this could be the last week of truly hot summer in London, we couldn't help but grab every last second of sun available. Monday to Wednesday was a three-day season of what the British newspapers call a 'scorchio': the classic heatwave that brings the sun-starved public out in waves to every park, bank or canal side, or anywhere that catches just a bit of blue sky.