My Top Ten Desserts In The World So Far

Posted on November 1, 2016 by jaynezak

“I am starting to think that maybe memories are like this dessert. I eat it, and it becomes a part of me, whether I remember it later or not.” Erica Bauermeister

When the mood for dessert strikes, I am there. I consider it a necessity not a choice to try desserts when I am traveling. There isn’t a problem in the world that a good dessert can’t make feel a little better. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

Pastel de Nata – Portugal

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Baklava – Greece

Red Velvet Cupcakes – USA

Semolina Halva – Turkey (nice with fresh fruit)

Black Sesame Ice Cream – Japan

Malva Pudding (poeding) – South Africa

Sweet Sticky Rice With Coconut Cream and Mango – Thailand

Dulce de Leche – Argentina ( on ice cream, cookies, cake, bread)

Fresh Acai and Tapioca Ice Cream – Belem, Brazil

Mango Pudding – Hong Kong

Fly safe, JAZ

First Food That I Want To Eat When I Revisit A Country

Posted on July 5, 2016 by jaynezak

First Food That I Want To Eat When I Revisit a Country

“Like I said before. Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”Anthony Bourdain

Japan Sushi at Tsukiji Market, any dessert made with yuzu or green tea.

Turkey Pide, fresh pomegranate juice, anything with eggplant, and any dessert made with semolina.

Croatia Fresh tuna and bean salad, grilled calamari and swiss chard.

Cambodia Fresh coconut water and amok (I loved Cambodian food).

Greece Avgolemono soup, baklava and Greek salad (feta, tomatoes and olive oil don’t taste the same anywhere else).

Italy Pizza, pasta with fresh tomato sauce and basil. (My dream is to go to Sicily and eat pizza).

South Africa Biltong (Im not even a meateater and I love it).

Israel Falafel and Hummus.

Colombia Guanabana juice and Arepa con Quisito.

Spain Churros, hot chocolate and real gazpacho.

Panama Sancocho soup.

Netherlands Pofferjes and poached egg on brioche with smoked salmon, (first time that I have had that).

Brazil Tacaca with shrimp and fresh acai ( not the watered down sugary stuff we get here) in the Amazon.

Thailand Thai iced coffee.

Peru Ceviche with giant corn.

Argentina Alfajores from Havanna.

Mexico Tacos, guacamole, mole or really anything in Oaxaca. (except not a fan of the crickets every day)

USA When I come home I want a turkey burger from Golden State in LA.

Fly safe,
JAZ

My Top Ten Instagram Photos This Year (travelwellflysafe)

Posted on January 2, 2016 by jaynezak

“Just give me a thousand words and you may make your own pictures.”
Erica Goros

I have been instagramming for about half of the year. I see the world in pictures anyway so it is really fun for me. I learn as I go. I have “internet brain” now. i think it’s going to be a real thing. It is getting harder and harder to immerse myself in a book or lengthy article. It is much easier to spend time looking at photos that have nothing to do with anything, places I want to go or have been or finding the perfect emoji to put on my comment. My topic hopping, time-wasting, hashtagging, bad spelling sessions have resulted in this blog. (No particular order)

#sunset (Yesilkurt,Turkey)

#hiking in#redmountain (St. George, Utah)

impossibly#wide #beach (Marajo, Brazil)

Can you take a bad #Venice photo? (Italy)

#car in#cuba (Varadero,Cuba)

#streetart in #bogota (Colombia)

Holding up the #mountain just noticed the #cross (Tilcara, Jujuy, Argentina)

#cactus or #cacti (Jujuy, Argentina)

#sunset makes the best #photo (Izmir, Turkey)

Another boring day in #marajo (Belém, Brazil)

None of my LA photos made it into the top ten. Instagram likes me out-of-town, with mountains, a beach and a great sunset. I agree.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Ten Reasons Why I Love Pope Francis

Posted on September 28, 2015 by jaynezak

Ten Reasons Why I Love Pope Francis

“The media only writes about the sinners and the scandals but that’s normal, because ‘a tree that falls makes more noise than a forest that grows.” Pope Francis

Its true. I have a crush on the Pope. Every story I hear about him reminds me that I can do better. He leads by example. I was lucky enough to see him in Argentina and if he came to Los Angeles, I would be one of those people in the crowd.

1. When he was in Buenos Aires, he was known to eat with the homeless in the street. He often leaves the Vatican at night to hang out with the homeless. Why is it surprising that he chose to eat lunch with them in Washington DC?

2. In his first year, he refused to move into the 16th-century Apostolic Palace, had his old black shoes replaced by the cobbler instead of buying fancy new papal slippers, and opened his door to three homeless men and a dog named Marley (after Bob Marley).

3. Pope Francis has an “intense fondness” for tango dancing. In 2014, over 3,000 dancers from all over Italy celebrated his birthday by dancing tango in Saint Peter’s Square. A lifelong fan of the Argentine soccer team San Lorenzo, he celebrated the team’s victory by hoisting the trophy over Saint Peter’s Square for the crowd to see.

4. The Popemobile is a Ford Focus or other non luxury car. He refused to drive in a bulletproof car with glass up. He said “its true that anything can happen but at my age (78) I don’t have much to lose.”

5. He studied philosophy at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires and also has a master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires. He was a teacher of literature, psychology, philosophy and theology before becoming the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. It seems like he was interested in everything.

6. He is the first Pope to deal with the “political” issue of the environment and climate change. “Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years,” he wrote. He has been criticized for meddling in a non religious issue.

7. Pope Francis is a porteno, a man of the people. He wants the church to be available and accessible to all people and he knows that it begins with him. His focus is less on sin and more on love. He is less about judgement and more about open-mindedness. He talks about gay marriage and abortion in a way that the Church hasn’t dealt with it before.

8. The reason that the Pope has never been to the Unites States before is because he has made a point of prioritizing the third world countries.

9. He is unusually multilingual, speaking Spanish, Latin and Italian fluently and understanding German, French, Portuguese, English, and Ukrainian.

10. Pope Francis is exactly who he appears to be, which is so often not the case with a public figure. He doesn’t “play the Pope.” He is 100 per cent sincere.

Fly Safe,

JAZ

Around The World With Beaded Bracelets

Posted on June 30, 2015 by jaynezak

Around The World With Beaded Bracelets

“I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten, – happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another.” Brenda Ueland

That should really be the name of my blog. I don’t know when it started but I buy cheap ethnic bracelets in different countries around the world for myself and gifts. People like them. (temple cedar bracelets – Viet Nam)

I try to spend under five dollars a bracelet and buy them in markets or from street vendors. A dollar or two is even better. (ceramic – Mexico)

It is an easy to pack gift and a nice memory for me of a country I have been to. I mix them all up and wear them almost every day. Today I am wearing Argentina, Mexico, Myanmar and Thailand. (Myanmar, Thailand)

It’s good to buy indigenous jewelry because it helps the local communities. Many countries have stores or markets that feature local artisans. The bracelets are made from wood from local trees, nuts, seeds, glass, silver, tin, brass, bamboo, woven, pottery and even plastic. Sometimes they have religious significance and sometimes only decorative.(Peru)

My favorite one comes from Panama and is made from a tagua nut which is known as vegetable ivory. Due to tagua’s properties in color, appearance, hardness and feel like those of natural ivory, it is being substituted for the latter one. This helps in the depredation of elephants while at the same time keeps rain forests from being deforested which in turn favors the ecosystems and the environment.

I also buy ethnic designed bracelets for myself. When I wear them, they remind of the special day in the country where I bought them. (Myanmar, Cambodia, Murano glass – Italy, Argentina, real coral-Croatia)

Another important factor to consider is that making things by hand provides work to thousands of people in these poor countries giving them and their families a better life and the opportunity of offering their children a better education. (shells-Panama)

Shopping for bracelets is perfect street consumerism for me.(Coca nut -Argentina)

There is the thrill of finding the bracelet among the crafts and tourist crap. I know these look touristy but there was a beach in Panama that was covered in these pinkish orange shells so they remind me of that beautiful beach. Yes I brought home a bag of the shells also. (Panama)

Then there is the delicate negotiation of getting the right price without insulting anyone.There is the danger of going too low and the stupidity of paying too much. (plastic- Turkey or anywhere that has real Turquoise)

Finally we have the adrenalin rush of the purchase. (Aborigine – Australia)

It makes my world better and their world better. It’s a win – win situation.

Fly safe,

JAZ

What To Bring Or Not Bring To Someone’s Home In A Foreign Country

Posted on May 17, 2015 by jaynezak

What To Bring Or Not Bring To Someone’s Home In A Foreign Country

“What you consider gross—dead rats—I consider considerate gifts.” Jarod Kintz

I’m a person who always likes to bring the right gift so having dinner in foreign country at someone’s house always requires a bit of research for me.

To the Japanese, gift giving is a way of communicating respect, friendship, and appreciation. It is good to be ready for the gift giving ritual that has been deeply rooted in the Japanese culture for centuries. Everything should be beautifully wrapped and ripping open the paper is bad form. Downplay the importance of the gift. This is typical in all Asian cultures. Always present the gift with two hands.

Do not give wine as a hostess gift in Argentina because it is considered common. Champagne or hard liquor is fine. Don’t bring scissors or knives because that means you want to sever the relationship.

What can you bring to someone in China? They make everything there. First off gift giving is not easy. They don’t open their gifts in front of you and they refuse them several times. You have to be persistent but not pushy. It’s a delicate balance. Again no knives or scissors to break the relationship. I am missing something. When people in these countries get invited for dinner is the go to gift a pair of scissors? Why do they have even have to say that? Also no clocks or anything in sets of four. Four is an unlucky number in Chinese because it sounds like death. This is true in most Asian countries. Avoid white chrysanthemums because they are used at funerals.

In Malaysia pay attention to the Muslim culture. Avoid pork, knives, alcohol, and highly personal gifts. Present gifts in the right hand only. In Indian sections of Malaysia, avoid black and white colors. Instead, opt for yellow, red or green which symbolize happiness.

Israelis have a tendency to overdo gift giving and put a lot of thought into choice and presentation. If you are going to the home of Orthodox Jews or Muslim Arabs remember that the gifts must not violate any of their religious beliefs. Candy, flowers and gifts for the kids are always appreciated.

If you are invited to a Quechua home in the mountains of Peru, coca leaves are an acceptable gift. Coca leaves have always been present at all important moments of community life. Today, the history and traditional use of the coca leaf in Peru are a solid part of ethnic and national identity.

In Korea, generosity is a highly valued personal trait. Give expensive gifts if possible.

When invited to a home in Russia, bring something other than vodka. If you bring flowers only present them to a woman. Avoid yellow flowers (unless you picked them yourself in the countryside). White flowers should be given with caution. Same with red as they usually mean love. Fine chocolates are always appreciated.

In Italy, it is nice to bring cakes for coffee when invited to dinner. The cakes have to be of a special kind, bought in a pasticceria by weight. These delicious cakes are placed in intricate patterns on a golden paper tray and wrapped in paper nicely folded with carrying handles After opening the present the hosts and the other guests will take pains to point out which cakes, they each do not like. In the end the cakes are pushed aside in the assumption that nobody can eat another bite after having partaken of a full delicious meal.

You must bring a gift if you are invited to someone’s house in India. Chocolates or flowers is acceptable. Different flowers have different meanings in India so always check with the florist about what is a proper choice. When in doubt red roses usually work. If they have children (and many do) it is nice to bring something for them. If you are visiting during a festival always carry a box of sweets with you. Be cautious in giving leather as a gift. The cow is sacred in India and many Hindus are vegetarians.

In Ethiopia a traditional gift if you are visiting someone’s home is coffee. However a chicken from the market may be well appreciated. They cost anywhere from $5-12. The average weekly wage is around $25 a month in a government job. So a chicken is quite a gift. If they have room the family may keep it for eggs. If not then it will make the next meal. To transport them, just pick them up by their feet. When chickens are upside down they do not move or make noise. They are very easy to handle. See this is where they lose me, I feel bad to carry an upside-down chicken around.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Animals I Met When Traveling

Posted on April 15, 2015 by jaynezak

Animals I Met When Traveling

“Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to.” Alfred Montaper

Kangaroos Australia